A few months ago it was revealed that director Danny Boyle‘s follow-up to Slumdog Millionaire will be 127 Hours, which tells the story of Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who had to amputate his own arm with a dull knife after a 2003 hiking accident. It was rumored that Ryan Gosling may take the role, but now Production Weekly confirms it will be James Franco. The script is written by Simon Beaufoy, the man behind Slumdog. The first hour of the film will have no dialogue, as previously reported. Fox Searchlight is also behind this production.
I’m very happy with the news. Franco has shown some wide range from Milk to Pineapple Express to the upcoming Howl. This is sure to be a big Oscar contender now that Boyle is in the spotlight and the film seems to be completely focused on Franco. I’m sure we will hear Best Actor nods aplenty a year from now.
127 Hours will start filming in March in Utah for a winter release.
What do you think about Franco as Ralston?