Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle
Boyle in 2017 at the T2 Trainspotting premiere
Born Daniel Boyle
(1956-10-20) 20 October 1956
Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, England
Alma mater Bangor University
Occupation
  • Director
  • producer
  • screenwriter
Years active 1980–present
Known for Shallow Grave
Trainspotting
28 Days Later
Slumdog Millionaire
Steve Jobs
2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
Partner(s) Gail Stevens (1983-2003)
Children 3

Daniel Boyle (born 20 October 1956)[1] is an English director, producer, screenwriter and theatre director, known for his work on films including Shallow Grave, Trainspotting with its 2017 sequel, The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, and Steve Jobs. His debut film Shallow Grave won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film. The British Film Institute ranked Trainspotting the 10th greatest British film of the 20th century.

Boyle's 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, the most successful British film of the decade, was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won eight, including the Academy Award for Best Director. He also won the Golden Globe and BAFTA 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.[2] He was subsequently offered a knighthood as part of the New Year Honours, but declined.[3] In 2014, it was announced that Boyle would become a patron of HOME in Manchester.[4]

Early life and background

Danny Boyle was born on 20 October 1956[1] in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, England, about 6 miles north of Manchester city centre, to Irish parents from County Galway.[5][6] Although he now describes himself as a "spiritual atheist",[7] he was brought up in a working class Catholic family. 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.[8]

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.[9][10]

He later studied at Thornleigh Salesian College in Bolton,[11] and studied English and Drama at Bangor University.[5][12] While at university, Boyle dated the actress Frances Barber.[13]

Boyle is the patron of North West-based young people's substance misuse charity, Early Break, which was founded and based in his home town of Radcliffe. Boyle is also a trustee of the UK-based African arts charity Dramatic Need.[14]

On 16 February 2017 Boyle announced his bid to help launch a £30m film and media school in Manchester, stating: "This is just what Manchester needs and I am delighted to be part of the International Screen School Manchester."[15]

Theatre and television work

Boyle (back row, third from right) with the cast of The Children's Monologues in 2010

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.[16] In 1987 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[17] episodes of Inspector Morse. These were Masonic Mysteries and Cherubim and Seraphim. Danny Boyle is not to be confused with a different Daniel Boyle, who is not related, but 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 the first episode of Lewis, and much of the popular series Hamish Macbeth.[18]

Boyle was responsible for the BBC2 series Mr. Wroe's Virgins in 1993.[16] In between the films The Beach and 28 Days Later Boyle directed two TV films for the BBC in 2001 – Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise and Strumpet.[19]

On 14 November 2010, he directed a one night play at the Old Vic Theatre titled The Children's Monologues with Sir Ben Kingsley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Gemma Arterton and Eddie Redmayne as the cast. In 2011 he directed Frankenstein for the National Theatre.[20] This production was broadcast to cinemas as a part of National Theatre Live on 17 March 2011.[21] He has also appeared on Top Gear and drove the fastest wet lap at that time.[22]

In 2014, it was announced that Boyle would become a patron of HOME in Manchester.[4]

Boyle prior to the 2012 London Summer Olympics opening ceremony

Isles of Wonder

Boyle was Artistic Director for the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in London. Over the years, Olympic Opening Ceremonies have become multimillion-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.[23][24][25][26] 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."[27]

Film

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.[28]

1990s: Shallow Grave and Trainspotting

The first film Boyle directed was Shallow Grave.[16] The film was the most commercially successful British film of 1995,[29] won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film, and led to the production of Trainspotting, based on the novel by Irvine Welsh.[30] Working with writer John Hodge and producer Andrew Macdonald, Shallow Grave earned Boyle the Best Newcomer Award from the 1996 London Film Critics Circle.[29] Shallow Grave and Trainspotting caused critics to claim that Boyle had revitalised British cinema in the early '90s.[16] The BFI ranked Trainspotting the 10th greatest British film of the 20th century.[31]

Boyle declined an offer to direct the fourth film of the Alien franchise, instead making A Life Less Ordinary using British finance.[32][33]

2000s: The Beach, 28 Days Later and Slumdog Millionaire

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.[16] He then collaborated with author Alex Garland on the post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later.[34]

Boyle at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival

He also directed a short film Alien Love Triangle (starring Kenneth Branagh), which 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.[35] In 2004 Boyle directed Millions,[9] scripted by Frank Cottrell Boyce.[36] His next collaboration with Alex Garland[9] was the science-fiction film Sunshine, featuring 28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy, and was released in 2007.[37]

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 Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Director. The most successful British film of the decade, the film won eight Academy Awards and seven BAFTA Awards in total.[38][39] On film-making Boyle commented, "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."[16] 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."[16]

2010s: 127 Hours, Steve Jobs and T2 Trainspotting

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 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.[40][41]

Boyle's next film was Trance, while another instalment of the 28 Days Later franchise is in the development stages.[42][43] Boyle has stated previously that in theory the third instalment 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.[44] He has directed the sequel to Trainspotting, T2 Trainspotting.[45]

Boyle told an interviewer about the eclectic range of his films, "There's a theme running through all of them—and I just realised this. They're all about someone facing impossible odds and overcoming them."[46] With a strong 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 film, and, in 2013, a sequel to 28 Weeks Later.[47]

Boyle's eponymous biopic of Apple Inc. founder Steve Jobs closed the 59th BFI London Film Festival. This was the third time Boyle has had that honour, after Slumdog Millionaire in 2008 and 127 Hours two years later. The BFI's London Film Festival Director, Clare Stewart, said Boyle had created an exhilarating and audacious film about a complex, charismatic pioneer.[48]

In a BBC interview, Boyle stated that he didn't write his own films but they did reflect his personality. "I am not a big auteur fan and like to work with writers, but ultimately a film is a director's vision, because he gets all its elements together towards that vision."[49]

In March 2018, Boyle confirmed he would be directing the new James Bond movie, Bond 25.[50] In August 2018, it was announced that he no longer would direct the film due to creative differences.[51]

Future projects

In March 2018, Danny Boyle and writer Richard Curtis announced they were working on a musical comedy set in the 1960s or 70s centred around a struggling musician. The Untitled Danny Boyle/Richard Curtis film is scheduled for release in September 2019.

Personal life

Boyle was in a relationship with casting director Gail Stevens (1983-2003). They had 3 children together: Caitlin Boyle (born 1985), Gabriel Boyle (born 1989) and Grace Boyle (born 1991).[52]

Filmography

Film

Year Film Director Producer Screenwriter Notes
1994 Shallow Grave Yes
1996 Trainspotting Yes
1997 Twin Town Yes Credited as executive producer
A Life Less Ordinary Yes
2000 The Beach Yes
2002 28 Days Later Yes
2004 Millions Yes
2007 Sunshine Yes
28 Weeks Later Yes Credited as executive producer
2008 Slumdog Millionaire Yes
Alien Love Triangle Yes Short film
2010 127 Hours Yes Yes Yes [53]
2013 Trance Yes Yes
2015 Steve Jobs Yes Yes
2017 T2 Trainspotting Yes Yes
Battle of the Sexes Yes
2019 Untitled Danny Boyle/Richard Curtis film Yes Yes Filming

Television

Year Show Director Producer Screenwriter Notes
1987 The Rockingham Shoot Yes TV film
1987 Scout Yes TV film
1987 The Venus de Milo Instead Yes TV film
1989 Elephant Yes TV short
1989 Monkeys Yes Yes TV film
1989 The Nightwatch Yes Yes TV film
1989–1993 Screenplay Yes 3 episodes
1990–1992 Inspector Morse Yes 2 episodes
1991 For the Greater Good Yes TV film
1993 Mr. Wroe's Virgins Yes 3 episodes
2001 Strumpet Yes TV film
2001 Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise Yes TV film
2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony Yes Yes
2014 Babylon Yes Yes Episode: "Pilot"
2017 Alternativity Yes play of Banksy
2018 Trust Yes Yes 3 episodes

Recurring collaborators

Boyle at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada, 10 September 2008

Awards and nominations

Recognition

In 2010, The Tablet named Boyle one of Britain's most influential Roman Catholics.[54] The BBC referred to Boyle as a “titan of the British film industry – renowned for his spunky grit – typified by his 1996 film Trainspotting.”[55] In 2012, Boyle was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his lifetime.[56][57]

Bibliography

Books

  • The Filmmakers Filmlovers Survival Triva Cookbook (1984)
  • Slumdog Millionaire, Class Set: Helbling Readers Movies/Level 5 (B1) (with Paul Shipton, 2013)

References

  1. 1 2 BOYLE, Danny. ukwhoswho.com. Who's Who. 2015 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. (subscription required)
  2. ↑ Hedgecoe, Guy (17 June 2010). "Danny Boyle To Oversee 2012 Olympic Ceremony". The Huffington Post. Associated Press.
  3. ↑ "Oscar Winning Director Danny Boyle Says He Turned Down A Knighthood". The Huffington Post. Associated Press. 19 March 2013.
  4. 1 2 Stage New Manchester venue Home appoints Danny Boyle as patron
  5. 1 2 "Danny Boyle". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
  6. ↑ "Danny Boyle – Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  7. ↑ Kolan, Patrick. "Interview: Danny Boyle". IGN.
  8. ↑ Caden, Sarah (22 May 2005), "The man who could have been pope", Sunday Independent, retrieved 23 February 2009
  9. 1 2 3 Moggach, Lottie (26 May 2005), "Danny Boyle", The Times, retrieved 11 March 2009
  10. ↑ Leach, Ben (14 January 2009), "Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle almost became a priest", The Daily Telegraph, retrieved 23 February 2009
  11. ↑ Dibbits, Kat (10 January 2009), Golden Globes are calling for Danny Boyle, theboltonnews.co.uk, retrieved 25 February 2009
  12. ↑ "Slumdog Millionaire fast becoming one of year's major films". Bangor University. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  13. ↑ Lewis, Tim (21 February 2009), Bangor professor remembers ex-student Danny Boyle, walesonline.co.uk, retrieved 23 February 2009
  14. ↑ Boyle, Danny (11 November 2008), "Why the Congo needs art as well as food", The Times, London, archived from the original on 18 September 2011, retrieved 22 January 2010
  15. ↑ Williams, Jennifer (16 February 2017), Danny Boyle to help launch £30m film and media school in Manchester, manchestereveningnews.co.uk, archived from the original on 16 February 2017, retrieved 17 February 2017
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Grice, Elizabeth (24 February 2009). "From fleapit to the red carpet". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  17. ↑ "Danny Boyle Biography (1956–)". Film Reference.com. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  18. ↑ Agent's webpage for Daniel Boyle (writer) Archived 25 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  19. ↑ "The Danny Boyle Project, Part Five: "Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise"". Vanity Fair.
  20. ↑ "Danny Boyle to Direct Frankenstein for UK's National Theatre". DreadCentral.
  21. ↑ Frankenstein – Productions – National Theatre Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  22. ↑ "Celebrity Laps". BBC Two. 26 May 2018.
  23. ↑ "Media reaction to London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony". BBC News. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  24. ↑ "London Olympics opening ceremony kicks off". Xinhua News Agency. 28 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  25. ↑ Lyall, Sarah (27 July 2012). "A Five-Ring Opening Circus, Weirdly and Unabashedly British". The New York Times.
  26. ↑ "Media reaction to London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony". BBC News. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  27. ↑ "Danny Boyle: The Golden boy is back". Independent. 26 May 2018.
  28. ↑ 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.
  29. 1 2 Mayer & McDonnell 2007, pp. 377–380.
  30. ↑ "BFI Top 100 British films". BFI. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  31. ↑ British Film Institute - Top 100 British Films (1999). Retrieved August 27, 2016
  32. ↑ Martinson, Jane (5 April 2007). "Bringing a ray of sunshine to British films". The Guardian. London.
  33. ↑ "Danny Boyle Asked About 'Alien 4', 'Lady Vengeance', '28 Days Later...' Sequel, and More". WeAreMovieGeeks.
  34. ↑ Hiscock, John (3 April 2007). "Another bright idea from Mr Sunshine". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  35. ↑ Kermode, Mark (15 February 2008). "Aliens come to Wales". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
  36. ↑ Frank Cottrell Boyce: Writersroom. BBC.
  37. ↑ "Sunshine (IMDB)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  38. ↑ Anita Singh (23 February 2009). "Oscar winners: Slumdog Millionaire and Kate Winslet lead British film sweep". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  39. ↑ Singh, Anita (23 February 2009). "Oscar winners: Slumdog Millionaire and Kate Winslet lead British film sweep". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  40. ↑ Williams, Joe (January 25, 2011). "Oscar nominations confirm it's good to be 'King'". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Lee Enterprises. Archived from the original on August 24, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  41. ↑ Germain, David (January 25, 2011). "'King's Speech' rules with 12 Oscar nominations". U-T San Diego. MLIM Enterprises. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Danny Boyle On '28 Months Later': It's Not Called '28 Months Later'!". MTV Movies Blog. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  43. ↑ dreadcentral.com, "UPDATED: Exclusive: Danny Boyle Directing the Next 28 Days Later Sequel". Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  44. ↑ "Danny Boyle to produce Paani". The Times of India. 3 June 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  45. ↑ "Danny Boyle talks Trainspotting Sequel, Porno". /Film.
  46. ↑ Himes, Geoffrey (12 March 2013). "SXSW: Danny Boyle talks up new film Trance". Baltimore City Paper. Baltimore, Maryland. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  47. ↑ "MOVIE CON III: Danny Boyle and Christian Colson Part 3". Empire. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  48. ↑ "What's Worth Seeing: Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs to close LFF 2015". Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  49. ↑ Husam sam Asi (25 January 2016), Danny Boyle: A film reflects the director's personality – Interview, retrieved 4 April 2016
  50. ↑ Guerrasio, Jason (March 15, 2018). "'Trainspotting' director Danny Boyle confirms he will be directing the next James Bond movie". Business Insider. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  51. ↑ "Danny Boyle Exits Next James Bond Film as Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  52. ↑ "Danny Boyle". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  53. ↑ Brooks, Xan (5 November 2009). "Danny Boyle climbs on mountaineer epic 127 Hours". The Guardian. Manchester, England. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  54. ↑ "The Tablet's Top 100". Archived from the original on 13 March 2016.
  55. ↑ "What will director Danny Boyle bring to James Bond?". BBC. 26 May 2018.
  56. ↑ "New faces on Sgt Pepper album cover for artist Peter Blake's 80th birthday". The Guardian. 5 October 2016.
  57. ↑ "Sir Peter Blake's new Beatles' Sgt Pepper's album cover". BBC. 8 November 2016.

Further reading

  • Mayer, Geoff; McDonnell, Brian (2007). Encyclopedia of film noir. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-33306-8.
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