Two things. ¬†The first, I shamelessly stole this off of Scott Feinberg’s latest projections on his newly launched scottfeinberg.com for Oscar (which I find silly since most of these movies haven’t been seen so what’s the point, really? I like the site, though, cool layout) which has Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours as a possible for Oscar’s Big Ten. ¬†Feinberg’s biggest mistake? ¬†Not including Toy Story 3, one of the only sure bets so far this year, in the Big Ten. ¬†I mean, jerk off all you want but you never count out something like this (cough cough, like I did with Up last year, cough cough).
Second thing – Slash Film did a nifty little buzz rundown of the film a few days ago which served to whet my appetite. ¬†We’ve got Danny Boyle, we’ve got James Franco, we’ve got Boyle’s solid team, we’ve got a great subject:
127 HOURS is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston’s (James Franco) remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Over the next five days Ralston examines his life and survives the elements to finally discover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, scale a 65 foot wall and hike over eight miles before he is finally rescued. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers (Clemence Poesy), family, and the two hikers (Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara) he met before his accident. Will they be the last two people he ever had the chance to meet? A visceral thrilling story that will take an audience on a never before experienced journey and prove what we can do when we choose life.
This is all on Franco and if he pulls it off, this might be a big deal, Oscar-wise.  Danny Boyle we already know could pull this off with both hands tied behind his back.  Millions remains my favorite Danny Boyle movie (neck and neck with Transpotting).
I don’t think the film has a release date. ¬†I don’t know if it will stupefy in Telluride or bloom in Toronto. ¬†All I know is what’s written down.
Boyle himself remarked upon the film in Empire magazine, saying this about the fact that there can’t be much dialogue:
“There is dialogue at the beginning, and at the end, obviously, but for most of the film he doesn’t have anyone to talk to. But what came to light is that he had a video camera with him, and he recorded six or seven messages, for those he thinks are going to grieve for him, basically saying goodbye. We’ve seen the messages, he doesn’t tend to show them. … So if you like, that is the dialogue, with a future he thinks he is not going to have.”
