A couple of months back we got the news that Aron Ralston’s story was coming to the big screen courtesy of Academy Award winning director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire). At the time, we only knew that the film would be called 127 hours, which matches the amount of time that Ralston was stuck out in the wilderness, while trapped under a boulder. He would later cut off his own arm with a pocket knife to walk back to civilization.
Today, we get word from the Wend Blog that the part of Ralston has been cast. It seems that James Franco will play the role of the intrepid hiker/climber with a high tolerance for pain. Franco is probably best known for his role in the Spider-man movies.
Personally, I think Franco is a solid actor and will do well in the role. I’m not sure he has the right “look”, but we’ll see. I have a lot of faith in Boyle to pull this movie off well, and I’m already looking forward to it down the line. Reportedly filming is set to begin in March with the intention of being released later this year.
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I'm pleased to see that Franco will play Ralston. I have a lot of confidence in his capabilities as an actor (great job on Flyboys, Milk and Pineapple Express without much of any similarities between characters).
I just have to admit, that seeing this film will be a bit like seeing the movie Alive. I had read the book by Piers Paul Read several times and knew the story well. When I sat down in the theater with my brother and the lights dimmed, we both instantly thought…"Oh, maybe we don't actually want to see what we know is going to happen…"
I've spent a lot of time in the canyon country of southern Utah and I hope the production can show how worthwhile it is to explore that landscape and not simply make the terrain "the bad guy".
Jon
http://www.therestofeverest.com
I agree. I think he'll do a good job as well. He's more versatile than you think if you just consider his Spider-man role, but he's a solid actor. In addition to your list Jon, he was funny as hell on Saturday Night Live too. 🙂
Hopefully Boyle will do a great job telling the story and showing the landscape. He's a very capable director, so I expect this to turn out pretty well.