Danny Boyle Considers Directing '28 Months Later'
Filed under: Horror, Awards, Scripts, Oscar Watch
First, the obligatory Slumdog Millionaire endorsement. I saw it in Telluride, for which I am now grateful, but at the time I cursed the fates. Why? Because I couldn't buy another ticket and go see it again then and there. It opens tomorrow, November 12th, in a bunch of cities, and will trickle on out from there. It's rousing, and wonderful, and I can pretty much guarantee you'll love it.The feel-frickin'-awesome movie of the year was directed by Danny Boyle, whose Millions hinted at his capacity for big-hearted fairy tales, but who is known for darker material. His biggest hit until a couple of weeks from now is the 2003 zombie horror flick 28 Days Later. He gave up the reins of the sequel, 28 Weeks Later, to talented Spaniard Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (whose Intacto was unjustly ignored six years previous), who wound up upstaging him with what was -- to my mind -- a vastly superior film.
The latest had been that up-and-coming horror director Paul Andrew Williams would be stepping behind the camera for the upcoming 28 Months Later. But now Boyle himself has thrown a wrench into that plan. Though he refused to discuss his idea for the third film, he told a table full of journalists that he'd like to return and direct it himself. "I'd certainly like to... I feel the idea is quite a strong idea, and it could well involve directing it. Yeah, absolutely."
We'll see what happens after Slumdog earns Boyle his first Oscar nods. I actually have faith that he won't abandon genre films -- he's so dang good at them (though I think his best showcase in that respect is actually Sunshine). I still prefer Fresnadillo's take on the 28 franchise, but on the other hand Danny Boyle is my new hero. Mixed feelings.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-11-2008 @ 9:59PM
Rufus said...
Haha! 28 Weeks was better... wait, you weren't joking?
What you been smoking buddy?
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11-11-2008 @ 11:02PM
Ray said...
28 Weeks Later was at least equal to the original. The entire 'Code Red' sequence was a complete masterpiece of directing.
11-11-2008 @ 11:28PM
Josh said...
Agree with Rufus. 28 Weeks Later is a typical genre film that is fortunate to build upon the incredible foundation set by 28 Days, an atypical genre film thanks to Boyle's direction.
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11-12-2008 @ 8:25AM
bongo123 said...
28weeks is to days what Aliens was to Alien, both bloody great but with the sequel delivering more of what we loved.. i.e. action, rage infected and more gore, this is great news, id love to see Danny back or Juan Carlos and cant wait for more infected shennaigans
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11-12-2008 @ 9:46AM
Kevin said...
Agreed. I enjoyed 28 Weeks Later far more, but I found them both to be interesting and entertaining horror flicks. Can't wait to see where they take the next one.
11-12-2008 @ 10:15AM
superbagman said...
I enjoyed both movies, but Ray, the Code Red sequence had some of the dumbest logic I've ever seen in film. A virus that infects within seconds and turns people into flesh hungry carriers is loosed upon the island, so what do we do? Lock all the uninfected people in one dark room so they can be EASILY slaughtered. Don't want the infected to have to try TOO hard for their meal.
It wasn't the director's fault though, Fresnadillo did a fine job.
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11-12-2008 @ 11:44AM
Dave said...
28 weeks later was a good popcorn movie but comes nowhere near to the first film in terms of originality. While "weeks" was good I felt I had seen it all before in various zombie movies throughout the years, there was nothing original about it. 28 days later was a far more mature film that actually had an underlying message that went beyond the gore. It was a cautionery tale of scientific expeirmentation gone wild and the naivete of extreme activism.
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11-12-2008 @ 11:52AM
jordan said...
28 weeks later was a solid movie, but 28 days is superior. Cillian Murphy's performance, coupled with Danny Boyle being Danny Boyle, subtly brought subtext to the film. Watching Cillian Murphy's character completely transform so he was indistinguishable from the infected by the end was brilliant. 28 weeks just had more guns and gore, which is fun, but not as interesting the second time you watch it.
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11-30-2008 @ 4:28AM
Ben said...
Jordan has the first movie figured out. Days was brilliant because of the way Boyle used the camera (instead of lengthy dialogue) to explore how fragile society is. It was no accident that Cillian Murphy began the film innocent and naked, and ended the movie capable of gauging another mans eyes out when his woman is threatened. At first he tries to cling to society and its ideals, by the end of the movie he has given up this notion.
All of Boyle's films follow the conflict between our desires and the expectations of society. Train Spotting dealt with who have chosen to live outside of society. Millionaire follows two brothers who adapted to unimaginable hardship in very different ways. One brother clings onto the traits that society cherishes because he knows no other way, the other brother is willing to destroy in order to survive. The best part of Boyle's movies is that he explores these themes without providing an answer.
I looked for this same level of depth in Weeks but either it wasn't there or I missed it.
11-12-2008 @ 1:26PM
pete thomson said...
Danny Boyle is a brilliant director. If you havent seen Millions check it out, like all of Boyle's films it has a wonderful look an feel to it as well as very authentic characters. It will be great if he does direct 28months later, there isnt a film of his I havent loved!!!
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11-12-2008 @ 12:41PM
Clark Parker said...
So Eugene... Rather then playing shocked at your choice, I'd rather ask WHY it is you think "Weeks" is superior. I enjoyed it and it was a solid sequel and all but I apart from an amazing opening scene and one or two great moments (red code deserves it's repetitive mentions) it seems to fall far short for me. And let me tell you why.
It was the father. I mean, great actor, great set up but I could not get into the story when he kept contradicting the Rage Virus. The way he'd follow them around, expertly tracking them across the city only to disappear when it was convenient for him to do so, or the way he ducked into an alley to avoid a firebomb that was shown to be so powerful that it gutted even the mother's room deep in the complex... It all just felt liked forced plot, like they wanted this particular set up and were willing to sacrifice the whole franchise's logic to do so. All this only to have him do exactly what he should have in the first place and just attack his kids, being that he is a mindless Rage victim and all.
I just could not get behind that whole mess. I just wish it had turned out differently, that he had not been smart or whatever it was they were trying to say. It certainly had every thing else going for it. Had they dropped the stalker dad story, or at least made it more stick to the rules of the universe it’s set it, I could see it being on par with the original. So I'm curious as to how you think it's better even with this strange choice of subplot.
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11-12-2008 @ 12:55PM
Eugene Novikov said...
Thanks Clark. I try to avoid playing plausibility police in movies like this. I thought that, unlike "Days," "Weeks" was technically virtuosic. Where Boyle's shaky-cam was just a way to disorient the audience, Fresnadillo used the same style to cut together action scenes that built brilliantly, and that were perfectly lucid despite being chaotic. The scene in this post's photo is just amazing.
Also, I thought the political subtext was stronger in "Weeks".
11-12-2008 @ 2:43PM
Clark Parker said...
That's fair enough. It was a well-shot film; there is no denying that. I'm not above a good Deus Ex Machina but I just felt the choice they made regarding the father's character stretched a little farther then my own plausibility meter was willing to go. In most cases, I tend to agree that however implausible a situation is, it doesn't really deter from enjoying the film but in a case like this, where the rules are what sets up the tension, you just need to stick to those rules or you have nothing. Perhaps it is the zombie lover in me (yeah, yeah, they are not zombies... I know.) But I just found that to be a game breaker. It was just such a large part of the plot. Had they spent a little more time finding a better way to bring Rage Dad and the kids together, it would have been a far better film. Imagine if Boyle had stuck to that alternate ending where Cillian donates all of his blood to the girl's dad to cure him... It's nonsense and it flew in the face of what they had established with the "one drop" infection, so a few reshoots and some tweaks later, he had a much stronger film. There is bending plausibility for a good pay off and there is being lazy for the same. I think "weeks" took the latter road and it's a shame. It certainly has potential. As does the director, I'd like to see him get a lot more work.
But from a purely technical standpoint, I can dig what you are saying. I agree that he made better use of the shaky-cam and the story and parallels above and beyond the plausibility issue were strong ones.
Thanks for the answer, I look forward to “Months” and hope this time around we both get what we want.
On that note, would you want to see a return of the original cast, a story set in paris with the kids or a new group all together?
11-13-2008 @ 2:22PM
Tony said...
Amen, Clark. The 'clever' Rage victim depicted by the father ruined it for me too. These creatures supposedly have no sense of preservation, yet this one sneaked about, got out of harm's way, and basically rewrote the 'rules' behind the entire premise of the film license.
If he'd survived in the film he'd probably have nipped off to the shops for some food...no starvation for this Rage victim. :)
Very slickly shot film though, but certainly not one I'd rush to see again.
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12-10-2008 @ 6:00AM
shane said...
are you seriouse about this 28 months later or not cause i am reli big fan of zombies i reli love zombie films but 28 days and 28 weeks later reli awsome love them and if ther is 28 months later that be awsome to watch i put this as 10/10 no doubt about it could you like reply to this tell me if reli true please thanks my name is shane by the way and nickname is infected by a zombie lol im just love zombies soo much
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12-21-2008 @ 5:43AM
곽근형 said...
28개월후가 미국에는 벌써 개봉했다는게 사실인가요? 아시는 분은 제 메일로 답변을 보내주세요.
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