Retreat is a film that lives or dies by its actors. Mainly set in one location and focusing primarily on three characters constantly interacting, that’s an exceptionally tough film to make. That seems like a common thing for actor Cillian Murphy, though. No one can look at Peacock and Breakfast on Pluto and say, “What safe, easy roles.” The actor takes chances, and it all comes down to the directors he’s going to put his trust in. When one works with the likes of Danny Boyle, Christopher Nolan, Ken Loach, and Andrew Niccol, that must not be too difficult. The actor usually manages to work with the best nowadays, but even so, as Murphy says, you’re never going to quite know what to expect from a film. And, at the end of a film, that doesn’t matter much. Murphy’s advice: never be nostalgic and always move forward. Immediately before talking to Murphy, I had just gotten out of In Time. In that film, Murphy spends a lot of time getting his ass kicked, being disrespected, and everything else that would make one of us feel unmanly, similarly to his character in Retreat. A lot of Murphy’s characters seem that way, but to him it’s less about emasculation, more about how everyone’s a contradiction.

Danny Boyle’s upcoming art heist movie Trance has had a bit of a problem casting its leads. Every time they seem to go after an actor, he gets too busy to commit to the film. I guess that’s the breaks when you’re going after the best people in the business. Things seem to be a go for James McAvoy to play the lead role of Simon, however; so there is some traction for the film’s development. And if this next casting rumor ends up coming to fruition, suddenly Trance will go from being a project I am vaguely following, to a movie I’m dying to see.

Kees van Dijkhuizen’s work is kinda great. While most fan edited montages of films you see online feel stilted and blandly cut together, Dijkhuizen’s don’t. Just watch the “this year in film” tribute videos he cut together for 2008 and 2009. They’re excellent. And for the past few months he’s been releasing love letters to some of the most praised directors working today. Dijkhuizen has covered David Fincher, Sofia Coppola, Danny Boyle, Wes Anderson, Baz Luhrmann, and now with his best one yet, Michel Gondry. They’re all worth a watch, especially since they’re all directors known first and foremost for their style. Side note: This video is also a nice reminder that The Green Hornet is better than it’s given credit for. I’ll take Gondry’s anti-superhero pic any day over Green Lantern and — yes, I’m going to say it – Thor.

In a move closely related to a similar one I made while trading X-Men cards with the kid down the street when I was twelve, Danny Boyle is trading a Magneto for a Professor Xavier. Variety is reporting that Boyle’s upcoming dark thriller Trance, which is an interesting sounding art heist movie, is close to signing a leading man. Originally it was thought that Michael Fassbender was the leading candidate to step into the starring role of Simon, but at some point he must have dropped out of the project. Not a lot is known about the plot of this film, but I think it’s safe to assume that Simon is probably the best in the world at stealing art, and most likely something goes wrong during the particular heist that this film details. Dang, that would have been a sweet role to see Fassbender play. But not all is lost, Boyle must be a fan of X-Men: First Class, because he seems to have had a pretty quick backup plan to losing Fassbender, and it’s going after Fassbender’s co-star from that Mathew Vaughn directed super hero joint, James McAvoy. I’ve got something of a Fassbender crush going on right now, so there aren’t that many actors who could have jumped into this role instead of him and kept my excitement level up, but McAvoy is one of them. Hopefully negotiations are swift and positive. If we get word soon that Boyle is looking at Kevin Bacon to play some [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Between Martin Scorsese with Boardwalk Empire, Michael Mann with his upcoming series Luck, Tony and Ridley Scott with The Good Wife, David Fincher with his upcoming House of Cards, Steven Spielberg with too many upcoming projects to name, and an ungodly amount of smaller names that have directed various pilots, many filmmakers have been trying their hand at a smaller screen. While that’s great, it isn’t enough. So it’s time to discuss what other filmmakers would be suited well for the idiot box. Here are seven filmmakers that should try their hand at television.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s waiting to watch the latest episode of Community because it promised its girlfriend it would. And that’s really hard to do, because that show’s really good. Also, Josh Holloway from Lost guest stars in the two-part season finale. How can that be resisted by the world’s most interesting nightly movie news linkdump? Must… hold… on… Must… do… the news… Quentin Tarantino went big when he cast Brad Pitt as his lead in Inglorious Basterds. So to see him considering Will Smith as the titular character, a freed slave trained by a German bounty hunter that sets out on a quest to save his wife from a head slave, is an act of pure bravado — he’ll just go get anyone he effing pleases to star in his movies, won’t he? And if that wasn’t enough to blow your mind, consider this: Christoph Waltz is said to be circling the role of the German trainer, with Samuel L. Jackson in consideration as the bad guy. That’s potentially a perfect storm of awesome, so we’ll see.

At this point in his career, Danny Boyle has made a good handful of movies that people have really liked. But with his last two features, Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, he has achieved a level of mainstream attention and critical acclaim that has kicked his profile up a few notches. So while Danny Boyle’s next film has always been a point of interest to me, now it’s kind of a big news story. How does one follow up a few years of unprecedented success making inspirational stories for the mainstream? For Boyle, it’s by going back to his roots and making a darkly toned thriller. Trance will be an art heist film shot in London, and it’s said to be more in line with the ick factor that Boyle’s first few works, Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, had than his recent stuff. This news is fine with me, as Shallow Grave is a film that I see as still working really well as a tension builder and Trainspotting was one of those formative, nuclear bombs of independent cinema that blew my mind and helped usher me into becoming a cinephile. I’ve liked Boyle’s slick take on the heart warmer, but I’m ready to see him use his newfound notoriety to take people someplace creepy.

Ever feel like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place? Well, talk to Aron Ralston about that, or talk to James Franco who played Ralston in the film 127 Hours. Yeah, I know… It just might be in bad taste to propose a drinking game about a man who was dying of dehydration over the course of five days, but I’ve never been one to shy away from bad taste. So take a couple drinks to wash that bad taste out of your mouth as you watch 127 Hours on DVD or Blu-ray.

This article is part of our Oscar Week Series, where you will find breakdowns and predictions for all of the major categories. The process of making a film involves thousands of moving parts and pieces from the actors to the director to the caterers and beyond, but arguably the most integral aspect of the process is the script. I say arguable, but I’m only being polite. The script is the most important part of a film… it’s responsible for the words coming out of the actors’ mouths, for the shifts in story, for the very tale itself. Actors bring it to life and the director makes it a visual reality, but it all starts from the script. An argument could be made that scripts adapted from a previous source have most of the heavy lifting already done for them, but the ones making that case have most likely never written a script. It may be an advantage to have the story beats clearly marked out for you in advance, but it doesn’t make the process of writing a smart, entertaining, and well crafted screenplay any easier. This year sees a mixed bag of nominees in the Adapted category, and while one film seems to be a lock to win there’s at least one nominee that just don’t belong on the same stage. I’m looking at you Toy Story 3. The nominees are listed below with my prediction for the winner in red…

Simon Beaufoy, the writer behind Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, is ready to change his stripes to write Sharp Teeth – based off the novel of the same name – which features a south LA gang made up of werewolves. Well, not werewolves really. They turn into giant wolves, but they can do it whenever they want (thus sidestepping the terrible curse of the moonlight and its emotional/psychological implications). Basically, these guys can’t do a drive-by without shedding on the car seats. That’s their cross to bear. Although they’ve partnered on two consecutive films, it’s unclear whether Danny Boyle will ultimately agree to adapt it, but that certainly seems to be Beaufoy’s goal. In his interview with BBC America, he claimed, “If I write it well enough, he’ll direct it.” Boyle has already done faux-zombies, so maybe faux-werewolves will be a natural next step (especially if returns to the 28 Somethings Later… franchise for one last go). At any rate, it would give audiences a pack of shape-shifting dogs of a different color than Team Jacob and Twilight. On the other hand, the idea sounds crazy – which might be another reason to love it. The best talent in the business should never be afraid to do some genre work.

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr puts on a wizard’s robe, wears a colorful scarf and dances around in the woods with his magic wand yelling, “Stupify!” And that’s just to celebrate the release of Fair Game in his home town. He also takes a look at this little independent film that few people have even heard of, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. Sadly, a bizarre mishap with his wizarding skills causes a boulder to fall on his hand and pin him for 93 minutes, which was actually quite fortunate because it gave him just enough time to watch 127 Hours.

It’s not often that a movie gets a physical reaction out of me. Emotional, sure. That’s par for the course. But physical? Not so much. In 127 Hours there was a moment where I was curled into so tight a ball while sitting in my tiny theatre seat that my legs started cramping and my back got sore. All the while my gag reflex was working overtime. I’ve squirmed in movies before, but never like that.

Danny Boyle is a jolly type of guy, which is a fact clearly shown in his past few films. Even when Boyle is tackling bleak material, like Sunshine or 28 Days Later or The Beach, he still finds a way to interject a hopeful message. With 127 Hours, he does the same: taking a not so upbeat sounding story on paper and making it almost nothing but upbeat and moving. There’s a lot of ground you can cover with Boyle not just when it comes his filmography in general, but with the film at hand. Thankfully, I still got enough one on one time with Boyle to discuss the diversity of his films, the themes of his work, how Aron Ralston isn’t a superhero, and also his approach to crafting imagery. Although Boyle says he’s not a happy “happy” type of guy below, when you speak to him he most certainly comes off that way.

Before you throw your computer at your television and yell, “Aww, hell naw!” take a moment to ponder the existence of an Old Boy remake/new manga adaptation that doesn’t at all, in any way, star Will Smith. Seriously. That equipment is expensive. Calm down. Even without Will Smith, the prospect of a remake isn’t a pleasant one, so keep your fingers crossed that this remains a rumor. Pajiba has the inside scoop that I Am Legend writer Mark Protosevich’s pass at a script is into the studio, they like it, and that Mandate is attempting to get Spielberg back on board. If this is true, and if they can’t get Spielberg, the secondary rumor is that they’ll try to put the hammer in Danny Boyle’s hands. Boyle might be a strong choice, even if Spielberg doesn’t shy away from violence the way people seem to think he does. Either way, while this all shakes out, I’ll be watching Chan-wook Park’s version on the television I didn’t destroy earlier.

After winning the Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, director Danny Boyle set his sights on the real-life thriller 127 Hours. The film tells the story of mountain climber Aron Ralston (James Franco) who becomes trapped for days under a boulder. It’s already getting some great buzz and reviews, and it is rolling out in limited release through the country. Next stop: Columbus, Ohio. For our FSR fans in Buckeye country, we have secured some passes to this film.

If you are anything like me — and I hope, for the sake of those around you, that you are not — then you only read Film School Rejects for the pictures. The words within the articles can sometimes be very difficult to decipher. Especially when we let Landon “Thesaurus-saurus” Palmer out of his cage. It’s that college reading level writing that keeps us locked in our niche (read: readership of 12. Hi Mom!). And for most readers (and site publishers), it makes all of our stuff pretty inaccessible. But there are the pictures… With that in mind, I’d like to focus this entry of The Week That Was on the articles with the best pictures. I’ve also thrown in a few with some fancy wordiness, for good measure. Please enjoy and click around on all of the stuff you missed earlier in the week while you were slowly re-reading Culture Warrior for the 35th time.

The first teaser has hit for Danny Boyle’s new film, and as should expected from the eclectic director of Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, Sunshine, 28 Days Later, and others it’s an entirely different animal from the rest of his films. Boyle has a habit of rarely repeating himself within his filmography so it should come as no surprise that his follow-up to the Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire doesn’t feature a single Indian. There probably isn’t even a single dance number. Instead the film is based on the true story of outdoor enthusiast Aron Ralston, played by James Franco, who finds himself trapped beneath a boulder in a ravine for five days straight. Isolated and alone, Ralston’s will to live leads him to examine not only his past but also the lengths he’ll go to for a chance at a future. Check out the teaser after the jump.

This week’s Culture Warrior gives an exhaustive review of the decade that you won’t find anywhere else on the Interwebs.

Fox Searchlight, the studio that distributed Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning gem Slumdog Millionaire last year, is teaming up with the director on his next project, 127 Hours.

In which two men, one having never seen a zombie film and the other a casual fan of the genre, create the best zombie flick since Shaun of the Dead. And in which, I get the scoop of the century on who will be playing Venom.