Danny Boyle
| Danny Boyle | |
|---|---|
 Boyle in November 2008 |
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| Born | Daniel Boyle 20 October 1956 Radcliffe, Lancashire, England |
| Occupation | Director/Producer/Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Director 2008 for Slumdog Millionaire |
Danny Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter, best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, Shallow Grave, 28 Days Later, 127 Hours and Trainspotting. Boyle won numerous awards for his 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, including the Academy Award for Best Director. Boyle was presented with the Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award at the 2008 Austin Film Festival, where he also introduced that year's AFF Audience Award Winner Slumdog Millionaire. In 2012, Boyle was the Artistic Director for Isles of Wonder, the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games.[1] He was subsequently offered a knighthood as part of the New Year Honours List, but declined.[2]
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Early life and background[edit]
Daniel Boyle was born on 20 October 1956 in Radcliffe, Lancashire, to Irish parents from County Galway.[3][4] Although he now describes himself as a "spiritual atheist",[5] he was raised in a working-class Irish Catholic environment. Boyle was an altar boy for eight years and his mother had the priesthood in mind for him, but aged 14 he was persuaded by a priest not to transfer from school to a seminary.[6]
Whether he was saving me from the priesthood or the priesthood from me, I don’t know. But quite soon after, I started doing drama. And there’s a real connection, I think. All these directors — Martin Scorsese, John Woo, M. Night Shyamalan — they were all meant to be priests. There’s something very theatrical about it. It’s basically the same job — poncing around, telling people what to think.[7][8]
He later studied at Thornleigh Salesian College in Bolton,[9] and studied English and Drama at Bangor University.[3][10] While at university, Boyle dated the actress Frances Barber.[11]
Boyle is a trustee of the UK-based African arts charity Dramatic Need.[12]
He has three children, Grace, Gabriel and Catilin, with ex-girlfriend Gail Stevens.[13]
In 2010, “The Tablet” named him as one of Britain’s most influential Roman Catholics. [14]
Career[edit]
Theatre[edit]
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Upon leaving school he began his career at the Joint Stock Theatre Company, before moving onto the Royal Court Theatre in 1982 where he directed The Genius by Howard Brenton and Saved by Edward Bond. He also directed five productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company.[15] In 2011 he directed Frankenstein for the National Theatre.[16] This production was broadcast to cinemas as a part of National Theatre Live on 17 March 2011.[17]
Boyle was Artistic Director for the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in London. Over the years, Olympic Opening Ceremonies have become multi-million pound theatrical shows, which have become known for their extravagance and pageantry to celebrate the start of the largest multi-sport event in the world. The ceremony, entitled Isles of Wonder, charted aspects of British culture, including the Industrial Revolution and British contributions to literature, music, film and technology. Reception to the ceremony was generally positive, both nationally in the United Kingdom and internationally.[18][19][20][21] In December 2012 it was widely reported that Boyle turned down a knighthood in the New Year Honours list. He told BBC Radio 4 “I’m very proud to be an equal citizen and I think that’s what the Opening Ceremony was actually about.”
Television[edit]
In 1982 Boyle started working in television as a producer for BBC Northern Ireland where he produced, amongst other TV films, Alan Clarke's controversial Elephant before becoming a director on shows such as Arise And Go Now, Not Even God Is Wise Enough, For The Greater Good, Scout and two[22] episodes of Inspector Morse. These were Masonic Mysteries, and Cherubim and Seraphim. He was also responsible for the BBC2 series Mr. Wroe's Virgins.[15] Danny Boyle is not to be confused with a different Daniel Boyle, who is not related, who scripted five original teleplays for Inspector Morse at about this time, and who has continued to write and adapt crime stories for television including much of the popular series Hamish Macbeth.[23]
In between the films The Beach and 28 Days Later Boyle directed two TV movies for the BBC in 2001 – Vacuuming Completely Nude In Paradise and Strumpet.[24] He has also appeared on Top Gear and drove the fastest wet lap at that time.
Films[edit]
Boyle's love for film began with his first viewing of Apocalypse Now:
It had eviscerated my brain, completely. I was an impressionable twenty-one-year-old guy from the sticks. My brain had not been fed and watered with great culture, you know, as art is meant to do. It had been sandblasted by the power of cinema. And that’s why cinema, despite everything we try to do, it remains a young man’s medium, really, in terms of audience.[25]
The first movie Boyle directed was Shallow Grave.[15] The film was the most commercially successful British film of 1995[26] and led to the production of Trainspotting, based on the novel by Irvine Welsh.[27] Working with writer John Hodge and producer Andrew Macdonald, Shallow Grave earned Boyle the Best Newcomer Award from the 1996 London Film Critics Circle.[26] Shallow Grave and Trainspotting caused critics to claim that Boyle had revitalised British cinema in the early 90s.[15]
He then moved to Hollywood and sought a production deal with a major US studio. He declined an offer to direct the fourth film of the Alien franchise, instead making A Life Less Ordinary using British finance.[28][29]
Boyle's next project was an adaptation of the cult novel The Beach. Filmed in Thailand with Leonardo DiCaprio in a starring role, casting of the film led to a feud with Ewan McGregor, star of his first three films.[15] He then collaborated with author Alex Garland on the post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later.[30]
He also directed a short film Alien Love Triangle (starring Kenneth Branagh), and was intended to be one of three shorts within a feature film. However the project was cancelled after the two other shorts were made into feature films: Mimic starring Mira Sorvino and Impostor starring Gary Sinise.[31]
In 2004 Boyle directed Millions,[7] scripted by Frank Cottrell Boyce.[32] His next collaboration with Alex Garland[7] was the science-fiction film Sunshine, featuring 28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy, and was released in 2007.[33]
In 2008 he directed Slumdog Millionaire, the story of an impoverished child (Dev Patel) on the streets of Mumbai, India who competes on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, for which Boyle won an Academy Award. The film won eight Academy Awards in total.[34] "To be a film-maker...you have to lead. You have to be psychotic in your desire to do something. People always like the easy route. You have to push very hard to get something unusual, something different."[15] Andrew Macdonald, producer of Trainspotting, said "Boyle takes a subject that you've often seen portrayed realistically, in a politically correct way, whether it's junkies or slum orphans, and he has managed to make it realistic but also incredibly uplifting and joyful."[15]
In 2010, Boyle directed the film 127 Hours, starring James Franco and featuring Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara. It was based on Aron Ralston's autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place, which detailed his struggle of being trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone in Blue John Canyon, southeastern Utah, and resorting to desperate measures in order to survive. The film was released on 5 November 2010 to critical acclaim. The film got six nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay for Boyle and Best Actor for Franco.
Boyle's next film was Trance, while another installment of the 28 Days Later franchise is in the development stages.[35] Boyle has stated previously that in theory the third installment of the series would be titled 28 Months Later, but alluded to a film taking place somewhere else in the world he created in 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. He is also stated to be producing the upcoming film Paani.
Boyle told an interviewer about the eclectic range of his films, "There's a theme running through all of them—and I just realized this. They're all about someone facing impossible odds and overcoming them."[36]
In a webchat interview with Empire Magazine, Boyle stated on more than one occasion his enthusiasm to work again with Ewan McGregor on his next feature film.
Recurring collaborators[edit]
| Cast/Crew | Shallow Grave | Trainspotting | A Life Less Ordinary | The Beach | Strumpet | Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise | 28 Days Later | Millions | 28 Weeks Later | Sunshine | Slumdog Millionaire | 127 Hours | Frankenstein (Play) | 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony | Trance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ewan McGregor | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||||
| Christopher Eccleston | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||||
| Keith Allen | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||||||
| Peter Mullan | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||||||
| Robert Carlyle | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||||
| Jonny Lee Miller | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||||
| Jukka Hiltunen | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||||||
| Cillian Murphy | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||||||
| Naomie Harris | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||||||
| Rose Byrne | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||||||
| Andrew Macdonald | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||
| John Hodge | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||
| Alex Garland | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||||
| John Murphy | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||
| A. R. Rahman | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||||
| Anthony Dod Mantle | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||
| Chris Gill | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||
| Underworld (Rick Smith, Karl Hyde &/or Darren Price) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔[37] | ||||||||
| Mark Tildesley | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||
| Suttirat Anne Larlarb | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||
| Simon Beaufoy | ✔ | ✔ |
Awards[edit]
Shallow Grave[edit]
- 1995 Angers European First Film Festival
- Audience Award, feature film.
- Best Screenplay, feature film.
- Liberation Advertisement Award.
- 1995 BAFTA – Alexander Korda Award for best British film (shared with Andrew Macdonald).[26]
- 1995 Cognac Festival du Film Policier
- Audience Award.
- Grand Prix.
- 1994 Dinard British Film Festival
- Golden Hitchcock.
- 1996 Empire Award
- Best Director.
- 1996 Evening Standard British Film Award
- Most Promising Newcomer.
- 1995 Fantasporto (Portugal)
- International Fantasy Film Award, Best Film.
- 1994 San Sebastian International Film Festival
- Silver Seashell, Best Director.
Trainspotting[edit]
- 1997 BAFTA Scotland Awards
- Best Feature Film
- 1997 Bodil Award (Denmark)
- Best Non-American Film (Bedste ikke-amerikanske film)
- 1997 Czech Lions
- Best Foreign Language Film (Nejlepší zahraniční film)
- 1997 Empire Award
- Best Director
- 1996 Seattle International Film Festival
- Golden Space Needle Award, Best Director
- 1996 Warsaw International Film Festival
- Audience Award
- 1997 Academy Awards
- Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay
28 Days Later[edit]
- 2003 Fantasporto (Portugal)
- Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver.
- International Fantasy Film Award, Best Director.
- 2003 Neuchâtel International Fantasy Film Festival
- Best International Film.
Slumdog Millionaire[edit]
- 2009 Academy Awards
- Best Director
- 2008 Austin Film Festival
- Audience Award, out of competition feature.
- 2009 BAFTA
- Best Director
- 2008 British Independent Film Awards
- Best Director
- 2009 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
- Best Director
- 2008 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- Best Director
- 2008 Chicago International Film Festival
- Audience Choice Award
- 2009 Golden Globes
- Best Director – Motion Picture
- 2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
- Best Director
- 2008 Satellite Awards
- Best Director
- 2008 Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards
- Best Director
- 2008 St. Louis International Film Festival
- Audience Choice Award – Best International Feature
- 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
- Audience Choice Award
Career awards[edit]
- Mayor's Career Achievement Award: Presented by Starz Denver Film Festival[38]
Filmography[edit]
- Released Films
- Planned films
Due to his interest in music, Boyle has mentioned in interviews that he has considered a musical film with original compositions. Boyle has also expressed interest in an animated movie.[44]
Filmography by awards[edit]
As Director[edit]
| Year | Film | Academy Award Nominations | Academy Award Wins | Golden Globe Nominations | Golden Globe Wins | BAFTA Nominations | BAFTA Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Shallow Grave | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 1996 | Trainspotting | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||
| 1997 | A Life Less Ordinary | ||||||
| 2000 | The Beach | ||||||
| 2002 | 28 Days Later | ||||||
| 2004 | Millions | ||||||
| 2007 | Sunshine | ||||||
| 2008 | Slumdog Millionaire | 10 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 7 |
| 2010 | 127 Hours | 6 | 3 | 8 | |||
| 2013 | Trance | ||||||
| Total | 17 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 9 | |
Further reading[edit]
- Mayer, Geoff; McDonnell, Brian (2007). Encyclopedia of film noir. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-33306-8
References[edit]
- ^ Hedgecoe, Guy (17 June 2010). "Danny Boyle To Oversee 2012 Olympic Ceremony". Huffington Post. Associated Press.
- ^ "Oscar Winning Director Danny Boyle Says He Turned Down A Knighthood". Huffington Post. Associated Press. 19 March 2013.
- ^ a b Danny Boyle. New York Times. Retrieved 29 October 2008
- ^ Danny Boyle - Biography. Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ http://movies.ign.com/articles/772/772907p2.html
- ^ Caden, Sarah (22 May 2005), The man who could have been pope, Sunday Independent, retrieved 23 February 2009
- ^ a b c Moggach, Lottie (26 May 2005), Danny Boyle, entertainment.timesonline.co.uk, retrieved 11 March 2009
- ^ Leach, Ben (14 January 2009), Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle almost became a priest, telegraph.co.uk, retrieved 23 February 2009
- ^ Dibbits, Kat (10 January 2009), Golden Globes are calling for Danny Boyle, theboltonnews.co.uk, retrieved 25 February 2009
- ^ "Slumdog Millionaire fast becoming one of year's major films.". Bangor Univerrsity. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
- ^ Lewis, Tim (21 February 2009), Bangor professor remembers ex-student Danny Boyle, walesonline.co.uk, retrieved 23 February 2009
- ^ Boyle, Danny (11 November 2008), Why the Congo needs art as well as food, London: timesonline.co.uk, retrieved 22 January 2010[dead link]
- ^ Nick Francis (14 January 2009). "Danny Boyle reveals that he almost joined the church before he got into drama". London: The Sun. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ^ "The Tablet's Top 100".
- ^ a b c d e f g Grice, Elizabeth (24 February 2009). "From fleapit to the red carpet". London: Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2009
- ^ "Danny Boyle to Direct Frankenstein for UK's National Theatre". DreadCentral.
- ^ Frankenstein - Productions - National Theatre
- ^ "Media reaction to London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony". BBC News. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ "London Olympics opening ceremony kicks off". Xinhua News Agency. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ Lyall, Sarah (27 July 2012). "A Five-Ring Opening Circus, Weirdly and Unabashedly British". New York Times.
- ^ "Media reaction to London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony". BBC News. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ "Danny Boyle Biography (1956–)". Film Reference.com. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
- ^ http://www.blakefriedmann.co.uk/filmClients/_338/ Agent's webpage for Daniel Boyle (writer)
- ^ "The Danny Boyle Project, Part Five: "Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise"". Vanity Fair.
- ^ Boyle, Danny. Interview by Robert K. Elder. The Film That Changed My Life by Robert K. Elder. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2011. N. p28. Print.
- ^ a b c Mayer & McDonnell 2007, pp. 377–380.
- ^ BFI Top 100 British films. BFI. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2009
- ^ Martinson, Jane (5 April 2007). "Bringing a ray of sunshine to British films". London: The Guardian.
- ^ "Danny Boyle Asked About ‘Alien 4′, ‘Lady Vengeance’, ’28 Days Later...’ Sequel, and More". WeAreMovieGeeks.
- ^ Hiscock, John (3 April 2007). "Another bright idea from Mr Sunshine". London: telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2009
- ^ Kermode, Mark (15 February 2008). "Aliens come to Wales". London: Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
- ^ Frank Cottrell Boyce: Writersroom. BBC.
- ^ "Sunshine (IMDB)". imdb.com. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
- ^ Singh, Anita (23 February 2009). "Oscar winners: Slumdog Millionaire and Kate Winslet lead British film sweep". London: telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2009
- ^ dreadcentral.com, "UPDATED: Exclusive: Danny Boyle Directing the Next 28 Days Later Sequel". Accessed 18 October 2010.
- ^ Himes, Geoffrey (March 12, 2013). "SXSW: Danny Boyle talks up new film Trance". Baltimore City Paper (Baltimore, Maryland). Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21600859
- ^ "An Afternoon with Danny Boyle at Starz Denver Film Festival". Yahoo Movies News.
- ^ Brooks, Xan (5 November 2009). "Danny Boyle climbs on mountaineer epic 127 Hours". The Guardian (Manchester, England: Guardian News and Media Limited). Retrieved 5 November 2009.
- ^ "Danny Boyle On '28 Months Later': It's Not Called '28 Months Later'!". MTV Movies Blog. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
- ^ Mitchell, Wendy (28 February 2007). "Danny Boyle plans thriller set at South Africa's Ponte City". Screen Daily.com (EMAP Media). Retrieved 5 November 2009.
- ^ "Danny Boyle talks Trainspotting Sequel, Porno". /Film.
- ^ "Danny Boyle to produce Paani". Times of India. 3 June 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ^ "MOVIE CON III: Danny Boyle and Christian Colson Part 3". Empire Magazine. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
External links[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Danny Boyle |
- Danny Boyle at the Internet Movie Database
- Danny Boyle biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
- Interview about Slumdog Millionaire on MyNorthwest.com
- Podcast with Danny Boyle on Intent.com
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- 1956 births
- Living people
- Alumni of Bangor University
- Best Director Academy Award winners
- Best Director Empire Award winners
- Best British Director Empire Award winners
- English Roman Catholics
- English film directors
- English film producers
- English people of Irish descent
- English television directors
- People from Radcliffe, Greater Manchester
- Short film directors
- Best Director BAFTA Award winners
- Best Director Golden Globe winners
