Danny Boyle

I fell in love with the script though I ended up changing it completely. It was one of those insane things in the film world where you fall in love with something and change everything except for one scene. Everyone wants me to make a sequel to 28 Days Later because it was such a hit or they want me to make another Trainspotting. But if you are lucky, you will be able to make decisions based on instincts. A lot of people had read the script and turned it down so I think they thought of me as a last resort. I could see why they didn’t think I would be right for this because maybe I’ll turn it into some slasher revenge horror child murdering movie. But I the script had such a connection to my background because I was brought up a very devout and strict catholic. At 14 years of age I was all set to go to the seminary and to become a priest. I recognized a lot in this imaginative kid and it gave me a chance to do a film about Manchester where I grew up. I don’t see Manchester like a lot of people see it, as the kitchen sink drama movies from the 60’s. To me it’s a place of vitality and energy so the film bursts with color. It’s a life affirming place which is how I see Manchester.

I feel like all my films are life affirming and full of energy. I feel that when you go into the cinema you should come out feeling positive. I see this as a part of my body of work.

I felt they should have a bit of a personality and they shouldn’t be pious and sanctimonious. They are real to him and they should express themselves to him because they have a speaking relationship. That prevents it from becoming too Catholic or even too sacred. Something we wanted going in was that we wanted the whole film to have the spirit of generosity within all the characters. I don’t feel bitter about my Catholicism because it shaped the kind of person I am. When I reintroduced myself to it through the film it all came flooding back.

I’m not actually but the writer of the film [Frank Cottrell Boyce] is a practicing Catholic. The idea of how we represent Catholicism is something we worked on very carefully together. The film shows that we should have faith in people rather than icons or a particular brand of religion.

It’s funny because back before Shallow Grave we didn’t have any money. Then Shallow Grave was a hit and we were suddenly given money. I’ve made more money than my dad saw in his whole entire life and we have to deal with that. It’s a very interesting crossover world. I think you just have to behave well because this is a world that can encourage people to get revenge because of how they’ve been treated or they may behave in a vain and excessive way.

I’ve only sacked one person in life. It was someone playing one of the infected in 28 Days Later. He was called to set earlier than he was supposed so he was screaming at this assistant director. He was absolutely vile to her and I sacked him on the spot. I can’t take that kind of behavior.

Well the bag of money is a great cliché to start a movie because it changes everything. It’s a classic. As for the guy in the ceiling I guess I just like people in the ceiling [laughs]. Also I heard this story a long time ago when I was in Belfast. I was told that the British army used to raid republican streets and 50 troops would arrive, block off both ends of the street and search all the houses then 48 soldiers would leave. Then two days later the same 48 soldiers would raid the same street and 50 soldiers would leave. They were secretly dropping in spies to live in the rooftops. The people eventually found this out because they would find these bags filled with excrement, urine and bits of food because they were spying for two days. Ever since then I’ve had this thing about people up there watching.

I’m not paranoid. I realize that I’m a regular guy who likes to scare people. I like to create unease and I’m not sure why.

The rule that we have is that we work the script very hard before shooting. We make the film with the writer even going so far as to film little bits. We do as much as possible beforehand then after we start shooting we don’t change anything else. It’s something that helps make a little bit of money go a long way. One may think that when you change things while shooting it may seem fascinating but it ends up being a cul-de-sac and an expensive one at that. You get into editing and its nonsense.

Sometimes when we finish shooting we might do some pickups where we try other things. For Millions I told the screenwriter that he should turn the screenplay into a novel. You only have to suggest the idea of a novel to a writer and they are off like a shot so he got a publisher and a two book deal. He wrote the book while we were shooting so I read it and there were scenes in it I wanted in the movie. The scene with St. Peter wasn’t in the original film so we did it as pickup and put it in.

It was easy with Lewis because his character has to be able to deliver his lines sort of as an adult. He has an extensive knowledge of what adults like. With Alex it was more to do with a spirit and it made me realize that I didn’t want an actor. There were a couple of kids that were better actors than Alex technically but they weren’t as interesting. They would be safety casting and Alex is bold casting. He has a unique way of saying his lines. Someone said to me that people like that have an old soul to them.

I learned as much directing Millions as I did on my first film. They had the two steepest learning curves. I learned on Millions that you can’t leave your fingerprints on the kids. We did some early footage and I looked at it and I could tell that the kids were being over-directed. So I had to back off and that’s scary because directing is about control. You have to create an atmosphere that makes them feel confident and secure to make them understand the ideas. If the kids are good in the movie you tend to get a lot of praise but it’s not really applicable because it’s their performance. The best example of that is when they are looking at the women in the bras on the internet. If you could imagine me explaining to them my thinking about how the scene should be done, it would be vile because they are eight and ten. So I just said “You come in there, look there and come out there.” It ended up as a beautiful bit of film acting.

With the exception of The Beach we try to work lower down on the radar in terms of visibility so the films can pop out. It means you have to do a lot more work publicizing the film and you aren’t guaranteed anything as opposed to doing a film with a big star. It seems to help the stories. The next film we are doing is Sunshine, a sci-fi film, and generally big stars tend to not be in big sci-fi films. Those movies tend to be ensemble films. It’s project dependent and I certainly feel that having done The Beach I know that I’m better at working under the radar. Though I don’t think there is anything better than seeing a really good big movie that is playing all over the world. You get a buzz off of it.

The biggest thing for me is that when I arrive on a set or location, Plan A is to see what happens when you get there. Most directors’ Plan A is to know what exactly is going to happen. I’m a great believer that actors are different everyday. I love that feeling and that’s where ideas come from. On a huge film you can’t do that and there is so much depending on your decisions being made in a clear way. Literally there is an army of people waiting for you to tell them what to do. I like a family atmosphere on set and Leonardo [DiCaprio] is into that so that’s what we tried to do but it was just impossible with so many people. I admire directors that can do that because obviously there are people who can do it and keep it fresh and spontaneous. I don’t think I have that skill so I hope I have other skills.

It’s very expensive to make a film in Britain because the exchange rate is so terrible. Dollars are worthless in the UK. Since 28 Days Later made so much money it gives you credit for your next movie. After they got over the disappointment of hearing that it was going to be about two boys growing up in Manchester [laughs] they said, ok.

[laughs] I don’t know how brutal or ruthless I am. People tend to think that directors are ruthless and I think you have to be tough sometimes but I don’t know if I could be that tough.

Naw, she’s a sweetie.

I’m a twin and my dad took me to see Battle of the Bulge and my mom took my sister to see The Sound of Music. So you could see what kind of gender upbringing I had.

It’s going to have to come out now because Miramax is jettisoning all their product. Alien Love Triangle has been done since 1999. It’s like 25 minutes long so it’s kind of like an orphan, because it doesn’t have any partners. It was meant to have two other 30 minute films to go with it. The other two they commissioned they turned into full length films and that was what Miramax wanted us to do. But we always thought it was ideal as it is. We tried to come up with two other parts to go with it. It’s got Courtney Cox, Heather Graham and Kenneth Branagh and it’s very funny and very silly. Courtney Cox and Heather Graham play aliens. But Courtney Cox is a male alien inside Courtney Cox’s body which is always an interesting place to be. Heather Graham is a female alien who arrives to take Courtney Cox back.

We hope to start shooting it in July. They’re taking a bomb to reignite a section of the sun that’s failing. The bomb is immense, the size of Kansas
It’s also a mystery because there was a mission that went up to the sun seven years earlier which failed and no one really knows what happened to the crew. At the end, they get to meet the source of all life in the universe which has got to be worth at least ten bucks.

Yes but that’s a long term project. We want to make it about those guys when they look middle-aged so we might do it 20 years from now. The idea of it is not to try and attract a new audience to Trainspotting but to play it to everybody who watched it when it first came out.

It’s cool in the English sense of the word rather than the American sense so it’s not hot. It’s pleasant and fine. I’m sure we’ll be fine.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

SG Username: AndersWolleck