Directors Study - Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle 

Danny Boyle is an academy award winning film director. Born on the 20th October 1956 in Lancashire, England; he went on to study English and Drama at Bangor University, Bolton.

Boyle has not only directed films, but he has directed theatre too; some of his theatre work includes The Genius, Saved (both performed at Royal Court Theatre). He also directed five productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2011, he directed Frankenstein for the National Theatre and also was the artistic director for the 2012 summer olympic games in London. He was offered a knighthood but turned it down in the New Years Honors List.

In 1987, Boyle started working in television, working as a producer for BBC Northern Ireland where he produced 'Not Even God is Wise Enough', 'Inspector Morse', 'For the Greater Good' and a few others. He has also directed two other TV movies for the BBC; 'Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise and 'Strumpet'.

Boyle first realized his love for films when he viewed 'Apocalypse Now'. The first movie Boyle ever directed was Shallow Grave, which is a crime/thriller dark comedy starring Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston and Kerry Fox. The film was quite successful in Britain and was named the most commercially successful British film of 1995. After the success of his first film, he then moved to Hollywood where he sought a deal with a major US studio; he then declined an offer to direct the fourth film of the 'Alien' series. He then continued to direct films such as 'Trainspotting' and 'A Life Less Ordinary', which both starred Ewan McGregor.

Boyle's next project was 'The Beach', which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and filmed in Thailand; this lead to a feud between Boyle and Ewan McGregor, the star of his first three films.

After 'The Beach', he directed '28 Days Later', a post apocalyptic horror/thriller film, starring Cillian Murphy, Christopher Eccleston and Naomie Harris, he had collaborated with Eccleston in two of his films before this. 28 Days Later was a big success and became very profitable on a budget of £5 million. It became a big hit in the US too, taking over £45 million despite only being released in about 1500 theatres. The film ranked at seven in Bloody Disgusting Top 20 Horror Films of the decade. The film won Best Horror Film, Best British Film, Best Director, Best International Film, Best Breakthrough Performance and Best Cinematography. A sequel to 28 Days Later was later created and directed by Boyle, it did not do as well as the first film but still received mainly positive reviews.

He then went on to direct many other films, such as 'Millions', 'Slumdog Millionare' and '127 Hours'. '127 Hours' is a thriller/survival film released in 2010, it received very good reviews and many notable awards, such as, outstanding british film, best director, best cinematography etc. Slumdog Millionaire won many awards too and is an outstanding film.

List of Danny' Boyle's films as Director -

• Shallow Grave (1994)
• Trainspotting (1996)
• A Life Less Ordinary (1997)
• The Beach (2000)
• Vacuuming Completely Nude In Paradise (2001)
• Strumpet (2001)
• 28 Days Later (2002)
• Millions (2004)
• Sunshine (2007)
• 28 Weeks Later (2007)
• Alien Love Triangle (2008)
• Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
• 127 Hours (2010)