With the Olympic Games coming to London for the 2012 iteration, a local may direct the opening ceremony. And not just any local – Danny Boyle is rumored to be in the running.
Boyle, who got his start directing theater at the Royal Court Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, got his filmmaking start in 1994 with “Shallow Grave.” Since then, the UK-based filmmaker has given us “Trainspotting,” “28 Days Later,” and the vastly underrated “Sunshine.” His last film, “Slumdog Millionaire” (have you heard of it?) won eight Oscars, including a Best Director award for Boyle. The Times Online reported a source as saying “Nothing has been signed yet, but we do fully expect him to do it.” Boyle himself had this to say on the subject: “I can’t say any more. It would be lovely, wouldn’t it?” The Olympic organizers attempting to woo Boyle continues the trend of film directors choreographing the opening ceremonies that seemingly started with Zhang Yimou, who put together the eye-popping spectacle that launched the 2008 Beijing games. If Boyle does take the duties for the Olympic games, his biggest challenge might be in making the official mascots Wenlock and Mandeville somewhat respectable instead of the laughing stock they have already become.
Boyle is currently bringing Aron Ralston’s miraculous survival story to the big screen in “127 Hours,” which recently saw Lizzy Caplan (best known as the snarky hipster chick in “Cloverfield”) join the cast. Boyle is also keeping busy on the stage, lining up Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” at London’s National Theater, which will open early next year.
