‘127 Hours’ Of Silence

A couple days ago, we brought to you the news that Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle had signed on for his next project, 127 Hours, a film that will tell the true-life story of Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who spent 5 days trapped by a boulder before finally amputating his own arm.

One big detail of how Boyle will shoot the film has now been revealed, and it’s a fairly daring move on Boyle’s part.

Boyle plans to keep the movie as realistic as possible, which means shooting the first hour entirely free of dialogue, since Ralston was completely alone while trapped. Unlike Castaway, which also followed a character stranded by themselves, 127 Hours will not give the actor cast as Ralston any external monologue or prop to talk to.

Because the first hour will consist of a solitary character and no speaking, it will be a challenging role for whoever is cast in the part. Facial expressions, sighs and moans, and other physical acting will have to be spot on.

The film currently has no budget, or even the official go-ahead, but Simon Beaufoy, writer of Boyle’s award-winning Slumdog Millionaire, is attached to write the screenplay. Boyle hopes to start shooting 127 Hours in March, to be released by Fox Searchlight by the end of next year.