• Title: "Meet curious Chris" • Date: 27 May 2007 • Source: Deccan Herald [Click for content] There's more to Chris Evans than his saviour roles. Spiritual by nature, he spends a lot of his time finding answers to the questions that the universe has to offer. Following his successful role in Fantastic 4, Chris Evans is back in another Twentieth Century Fox picture: Sunshine that released recently. This Irish Italian American plays Mace, a charismatic and full of energy scientist. His charm is as strong as his acting skills which explains why he was named one of People Magazine’s ‘Hottest Bachelors’ in 2006. Chris Evans is not only a daredevil in life but he also spends time meditating and trying to find the true meaning of his existence. When not acting he can be found in the high mountains of India and doing yoga. Let's explore the universe with him as we talk about Sunshine. What was your approach to Sunshine and how much study did you invest about the “universe” of this film? We did lots of studies and lots of research. It started in Los Angeles and they made me fly to Northern California to sit down with this American astronaut who holds the record for the longest time in space. The idea was just to sit with him and learn some terms and learn also about the psychological fear about being alone in space for such a long time. Then I arrived in London and I started right away. We had barely a month of rehearsal and Danny asked us to move in together, into dorm-rooms in order to feel the pressure of living very closely with other people and to understand what your brain goes through. And to understand what happens in space when you're all confined in the same limited space and to not have any sense of privacy. We also attended lectures, went scuba diving and flew in a zero gravity plane to experience weightlessness. There was so much effort put in before the camera even rolled. And I like it when it is that intense. Are real scientists as good looking? That's a good question! I only met a few scientists and they were pretty cute. Would you like to act in Europe or elsewhere? I think I might move to New York at the end of this year. I always said when I started that as soon as I could leave LA I would. And I think I'm just now getting to a point that I can do that. There are disadvantages to living in New York. The majority of studios and directors live here. So you will lose a bit in terms of the amount of meetings you can take, but if it can be done I think I’ll do it. Which three things make you an individual? I don’t think many people are compassionate, but I look at myself as a pretty compassionate guy. Loyal, I have a lot of loyalty to my family. I'm curious, but I don't think that's necessarily an attribute. That's not something I'm saying is a good thing. That's something I'm actually trying to be less of, but it's still a trait. What do you do for fun? I read a lot because I'm curious, but I love the outdoors. I love playing sports. I love being outside with my dog. I love the beach. I love the mountains. I love hiking. But for the most part I love films. So it might sound like I sit around all day, but I love watching movies. I love reading scripts. I love writing scripts. I like film. I just think it's a beautiful art. How do you prepare? The first thing I'll do usually is try and find somebody that I know in my life to try and model the character after. Every actor does it differently, but to me it always felt like, if I'm going to create something completely new, does that mean I think my brain is capable of understanding all the deep nuances of a single person? I bet you are the most intricate complex person in the world, as is everybody here, so if you are going to try to create someone new, it is wrong to assume that I can understand all those things on my own. I'd rather just take somebody I already know and understand a lot about them because they are tangible. I've met them and have got to know them. Why don't I try and adopt that? That's half the battle right there. That's half the job being done. I think if you try to invent something completely new on your own, you will end up infusing too much of yourself into it because it's easier. So I will just read a script and, that's why I like to meet people.

• Title: "Searching for sleeper hits among summer sequels" • Date: 25 May 2007 • Reporter: Martin A. Grove • Source: Hollywood Reporter [Click for content] Summer sleeper? In a summer driven by sequels to franchises like "Spider-Man," "Shrek" and "Pirates," it's interesting to ponder if we'll have a sleeper hit and, if so, what it could be? There was a time when sleepers were routine and you'd expect to find one hidden away somewhere in mid-to-late summer. By definition, a sleeper was a film without the kind of star elements that would typically make you anticipate big boxoffice action. In other words -- no superstars, no directors with blockbuster credits, no high profile producers and no brand name source material like best-selling novels. They simply were movies that caught on with audiences and they wound up doing really well because word got around that they were really special and you just had to see them. Fifteen or 20 years ago, picking summer sleepers was a fun guessing game for Hollywood handicappers. If you check out the Filmmaker Flashbacks section of today's column you'll find that in my June 26, 1989 column I made the fearless prediction -- which, happily, turned out to be correct -- that "When Harry Met Sally" would be the summer of '89's sleeper hit. I was on something of a roll at the time, having (as I pointed out in that report) been right a year earlier in picking "A Fish Called Wanda" to be the summer of '88's likely sleeper. But picking sleepers back then was a lot easier than it is today. The marketplace has changed tremendously since 1989 and not only is there much more product competing for moviegoers' time and money now, but there's no certainty that any small film is going to be able to drum up the kind of business that would entitle it to be called a sleeper. This summer is more likely to see much more in terms of high profile mega-blockbuster success given the strong line up of product on deck right now. Thus far, of course, we've seen spectacular presummer ticket sales for the third Spidey and Shrek episodes, both of which exceeded the wildest opening weekend dreams their distributors say they could have had for them. And the "real" summer is actually just beginning Friday with Disney's Memorial Day weekend launch of its third "Pirates of the Caribbean" episode. Here, too, you can anticipate buckets of gold doubloons turning up at boxoffices around the world. [...] When you take those 15 titles out of the summer marketplace, what's left that could emerge as a sleeper hit? Well, looking over the rest of the pack there are at least 10 interesting possibilities -- based on release schedules now circulating, but subject to change -- that might be able to fill the bill. As a group, thanks to their stars, filmmakers or subject matter they look like they have the potential to appeal to a large enough core audience to get word of mouth started. Moreover, most of these titles are targeted to young adults, the best possible demo a would-be sleeper can appeal to. This is an audience that likes movies, spends time and money to see them, lives on the Internet, sends text messages around the clock and responds quickly to the buzz about what's "hot." [...] (10) Fox Searchlight's R rated sci-fi fantasy "Sunshine" (summer undated as of now) is directed by Danny Boyle, director of the hit "28 Days Later," and stars Cillian Murphy ("28 Days Later"), Michelle Yeoh ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") and Chris Evans (Johnny Storm in "Fantastic Four" and the upcoming "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer"). This is another great sounding sci-fi tale set 50 years in the future when the sun is dying and so is mankind. A spaceship carrying a crew of eight men and women is the only hope for the future, transporting a device to breathe new life into the sun. After unexpected problems in space, the crew finds itself fighting not only for their lives, but also for their sanity. With the right release date and marketing, "Sunshine" could shine brightly in the summer sleeper skies. Read the full article here.

• Title: "Danny Boyle's Sunshine North American Release Bumped Up to July" • Date: 24 May 2007 • Reporter: Sean • Source: Film Junk [Click for content] Good news everyone! Fox Searchlight has decided to bump up the North American release date of Danny Boyle’s latest film Sunshine from September to July! The movie was released throughout most of the world back in April, but for some inexplicable reason, the film’s U.S. launch date had been juggled around a number of times before eventually being pushed back to later in the year. Now it seems they have had a change of heart, and I’m curious as to what made them change their mind. Was it the positive reviews? The movie currently sits at 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, although I’ve heard a lot of people were disappointed with the ending. Was it the positive buzz from 28 Weeks Later, the sequel to Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later? Or was it perhaps, the fear of piracy? Either way, I’m pretty pumped to see this film, and a little art house sensibility is precisely what the upcoming summer release slate needed. Sunshine will now hit theatres on July 20th, pitting it against Hairspray and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (yeah, it’ll be an easy choice for me that weekend). The best part is that they’re giving it a wide release right out of the gates, which shows that the studio is really getting behind this movie. Nice.

• Title: "Grab Bag: Danny Boyle" • Date: 21 May 2007 • Reporter: Jaffer Kolb • Source: 3quarksdaily [Click for content] If the legacy of Patricia Highsmith could be said to live on through the work of any contemporary artist, it would surely be the British filmmaker Danny Boyle. Boyle, who has worked in a range of genres—from 2002’s zombie flick 28 Days Later to Millions, a wondrous children’s fable directed two years later—is a director with a vision. Much like Highsmith, he rarely treads lightly. His touch is definitive and recognizable to anyone acquainted with his work. However, his isn’t the first name you associate with the modern-day auteur. He, like Highsmith, is more an artist-craftsman than a flashy star—rarely do their personalities overwhelm their work—a director whose work appeals to those uninterested in film’s form but whose fan’s immediately recognize his narrative and visual style. Through this interplay Boyle’s films bridge the gap between mainstream and independent movies. When they came out, his Shallow Grave (1994) and Trainspotting (1996) catered for a very different audience than The Beach (2000), as Boyle temporary abandoned the gritty Brit genre in favor of a glossy Leonardo DiCaprio blockbuster which, ultimately, earned him the most critical derision. Unlike many of his peers, Boyle traverses genre and thus creates two parallel audiences for his movies: the genre audience likely to only see one of his movies and uninterested in him as a filmmaker, and the audience comprising his fans. Typically, the former group tends to be more disappointed with his films than the latter, who have come to expect of the director certain key successes: a solid soundtrack, engaging story, and generally beautiful photography. Boyle, it seems, falls just short of winning over the adulation of genre audiences. Like Highsmith, he suffers from a certain kind of carelessness with regard to narrative, requiring audience members to abandon logic (even that curious kind of movie-logic that allows us suspend belief and accept the undead and star wars alike). Perhaps this comes from fact that Boyle’s films try and establish practical explanations for unworldly situations: Sunshine sets out a long explanation regarding the looming death of the sun and the mechanics for our salvation. 28 Days Later doesn’t proffer a world in which zombies exist, but rather tries to explain their origin; begging more questions than it answers. Boyle thus tries to weave a certain kind of drama out of extraordinary situations that relate to believable experiences and pedestrian concerns. Like Highsmith before him, Boyle is concerned with revealing threat in the quotidian. Both Boyle and Highsmith set out stories in recognizable worlds floating on an undercurrent of seething tension. Small gestures and brief moments disrupt the tension, causing dramatic action that is both shocking and, strangely, unsurprising. They share in Alfred Hitchcock’s fascination with ordinary accidentally implicated into worlds of horror and intrigue. Highsmith, whose work has been adapted for film countless times and has produced both Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951) and Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), and Boyle, who has collaborated extensively with novelist Alex Garland on Sunshine, 28 Days Later, and The Beach, are both figures whose work is both literary and filmic, rooted across media. Each, however, is bound to their medium of choice through their formal sensibilities. Highsmith’s style is unmistakably literary and Boyle rather unabashedly exploits (cheap) film techniques. Somehow, he employs an MTV-pop-cum-Baz Luhrmann aesthetic with a surprising degree of grace—a signature style that unites his movies. The scenes in which the brilliant Christopher Eccleston loses his marbles in Shallow Grave; DiCaprio’s descent into his hyper-aware hunter state in The Beach; Cillian Murphy’s salvation of the human colony in 28 Days Later; and the dramatic final scene as Cillian Murphy once again comes to humanity’s salvation in Sunshine all share in a set of what have become Boyle’s signature trademark for narrative climax. These scenes feature blurry focusing, wildly mobile camerawork, rapid editing, and confused perspectives to achieve what can only be described as a frenetic environment. Boyle has maintained these techniques across a diverse group of cinematographers, from Alwin Kuchler (who shot Lynne Ramsay’s stunning Morvern Callar and Ratcatcher) to the superlative Anthony Dod Mantle (the preferred photographer of Dogme founders Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg), and while the films at large are totally different visually, Boyle’s style prevails over these moments. The transformation of his protagonists reveals Boyle’s fascination with the Nietzschean übermensch. His themes of nihilism and the abandonment of traditional moral systems all parallel the philosopher’s own interests, and are a extension of the same narratives crafted by Highsmith decades earlier. Like Tom Ripley or the hundreds of protagonists of Highsmith’s short stories, Boyle’s characters transcend their humanity during narrative climax to confront not only adversity, but the traditional worlds in which the narrative itself is grounded. Nietzsche’s influences over Boyle shouldn’t be passed off as merely an afterthought and the comparison isn’t meant to be heavy-handed, but it would be remiss not to at least acknowledge the commonality. I also don’t mean to gush over Boyle by aligning him with figures as illustrious as Nietzsche or Patricia Highsmith. I mean only to explain why he warrants attention as a director and not the sum of his products. Highsmith, for example, has a remarkable ability to keep her verbal cool when describing horrific scenes. Her descent into violence isn’t marked stylistically or structurally, as is Boyle’s. Hers instead is a world whose very consistency renders its violence all the more terrifying. She doesn’t seek to disaggregate the horror from the tension nor the bloody from the quotidian. They are the same, and they are simultaneous. Boyle, on the other hand, creates a dichotomous world of climax and latency. His threat underlies both, yet he literalizes the expression “to break into chaos.” This is a choice, of course, yet in my mind one that detracts from the potential power of his carefully constructed situations. Ultimately, Boyle and Highsmith create worlds both pedestrian and accessible, that is until they reach the tipping point and our empathetic ties carry us through their terrifying descent.

• Title: "A chat with Director Danny Boyle" • Date: 16 May 2007 • Reporter: Matt Killeen • Source: Film snitch [Click for content] “It’s hard,” says Danny Boyle. “There’s a level, it’s 2001, it’s Alien, and if you don’t get there, it’s Red Planet and Mission to Mars.” The assembled giggle and nod sagely, because he’s right. If you make sci-fi you can’t be OK. Adequate is nothing. Average is, frankly, rubbish. Whether Sunshine, the fruit of three years work by the 28 Days Later director meets his own lofty ambitions is debatable but it is clear that he cares deeply about it. It is all or nothing. He is also ready for the pedants and Kubrick freaks... “No sound in space? I know but if there’s no sound, there’s no movement. The ship would have no mass – the sound provides weight. Movement is everything. It’s the same with the stars. I wanted a jet black sky, there are no stars that close to the sun because of the light, in the same way you can’t see stars during the day on Earth. But first time I saw it, the ship didn’t seem like it is moving, that’s why there are always stars in these films. There’s a reason that these things are there. No gravity in space, make something on the ship spin. You learn these things as you go along. Oh and no classical music otherwise it just sounds like you’re ripping off 2001.” It’s clear that, now at least, he understands sci-fi. The man who strapped Ewan McGregor to a railway track has chosen on this occasion to strap eight astronauts to a bomb the size of Manhattan and launch them at The Sun. For this premise, originally a bomb the size of Kansas, he has gathered a few familiar faces. There’s 28 Days Later writer Alex Garland, musicians John Murphy and Underworld, and of course Cillian Murphy who seems barely less emaciated than in his previous roles. To this he’s added Japanese megastar Hiroyuki Sanada and kung fu specialist Michelle Yeoh in what seems a concerted effort to shift the focus of the fictional crew to the East. However he did stubbornly complete the entire production on British soil. “It’s not meant to be a consciously British thing,” Boyle explains. “The cast is very international, deliberately. It’s just there are a lot of talented people here so it made sense.” He is so proud of Sunshine that he eschewed the directors chair for the zombie sequel 28 Weeks Later. What this has cost him personally can be seen in his face as he recounts tales of law breaking in a deserted London on location for the original and of stalking reclusive avant-garde rockers God Speed You Black Emperor for the soundtrack to the famous waking sequence. However, there can be only one baby in the nest and he seems relatively happy with the prodigal son in the hands of Esposados and Intacto director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. The theme of the narcotic, be it heroine, money, or in this case light, recur in Boyle’s work. Narcotics give and take, demand payment and encourage aberrant behaviour. Even choosing life, as Renton discovers, has consequences. This is the conflict at the heart of Sunshine. What price something that must be done at all costs? For the first hour Sunshine is a beautiful thing of scintillating sights and carefully underplayed acting as you wait for inevitable problem to occur. The moment when the crew sit and watch Mercury pass in front of the sun is almost breathtaking and when you consider that the actors are really sitting watching nothing, it’s quite an achievement. All this will mean hordes of the gormless complaining about a lack of pace of course, but let them moan. There are more references to Alien than the nodding toys of which Danny Boyle is so proud. Like the Nostromo, the Icarus 2 is a ship where people live and work, they are supposed to be real people. People do not, on the whole, behave like Hollywood actors. As such, Danny Boyle hits most human notes perfectly. So how good is Sunshine? It is actually hard to tell. 2001 got a clean run at history – literally no-one had seen anything like it. Star Wars managed the same trick a decade later with that Star Destroyer roaring overhead dragging endless waves of nostalgia behind it. Maybe it’s actually not possible to surprise and inspire in this medium. It doesn’t help that both Event Horizon and The Sphere have trampled through this territory like poorly scripted elephants. Is it great? Maybe but only just, and it takes a sci-fi fan to truly appreciate it. However, the financial success of 28 Days Later, in percentage terms the second highest grossing film in Fox’s history, afforded Boyle and his team a great degree of creative freedom. It meant no studio contract star, no overblown American hoopla and perhaps most importantly no script interference. This effectively means you don’t know who is going to die and when, or even whether the mission is going to be a successful. As fate’s pendulum swings back and forth, this most basic but neglected of cinematic devices gives the final moments of Sunshine genuine tension. It’s a rare thing and that should be enough for anyone.

• Title: "Lemmons' film to open LA festival: Boyle's 'Sunshine' to screen closing night" • Date: 8 May 2007 • Reporter: Dave McNary • Source: Variety.com [Click for content] Film Independent has set Kasi Lemmons' "Talk to Me" and Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" as the opening- and closing-night films for this year's Los Angeles Film Festival. Fest, which runs June 21-July 1, will include the previously announced presentation to Clint Eastwood of the Spirit of Independence Award on June 28. Tony Bennett, the focus of a documentary for which Eastwood serves as exec producer, will make the presentation. Focus Features' "Talk to Me" will unspool at the Mann Village Theater. Biopic about ex-con/radio personality Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene stars Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Mike Epps, Vondie Curtis Hall and Martin Sheen. Fox Searchlight's "Sunshine" will screen at the Wadsworth Theater. Sci-fier stars Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Cillian Murphy, Hiroyuki Sanada, Mark Strong, Benedict Wong and Michelle Yeoh. The festival will be centered in Westwood Village with 230 feature films, shorts and musicvideos, as well as coffee talks, poolside chats and other events. Lineup includes eight pics in the narrative competition for emerging filmmakers, 11 in the docu competition, 21 in the international showcase and 13 in summer previews, including "Charlie Bartlett," "Chasing Ghosts," "Does Your Soul Have a Cold?," "Exiled," "Great World of Sound," "The Hottest State," "How to Cook Your Life," "Interview," "The Last Winter," "Moliere," "Rocket Science," "Two Days in Paris" and "War/Dance." Fest will also feature tribute screenings of "A Christmas Story," "Chinatown," "The Elephant Man" and "Love Story."

• Title: "Chris Evans" • Date: 6 May 2007 • Reporter: Drew Turney • Source: DrewTurney.com [Click for content] Blink and you’d have missed Chris Evan’s auspicious first big screen lead as stereotypical jock Jake Wyler in 2001’s surprisingly funny teen movie parody Not Another Teen Movie. Making the leap from small comedy to one of the four leads of 20th Century Fox’s 2005 summer hopeful smash Fantastic Four (by way of only a couple of other projects) signalled something of a star in the making, and after seeing a thrilling new side to Evans in Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, he may just be a good actor too. It was also a great surprise to see the great role you had in Sunshine. I love that movie and was so pleased to be a part of that project. Do you have a preference? Absolutely. I love films like Sunshine. It’s so nice – not just the final product but the process. There was two months of rehearsal time and very in-depth preparation, from going to see films and going to lectures to taking classes in scuba diving and zero gravity plane. There’s was so much homework to be done – which I feel is necessary for any good film – and it was just such a nice process. It must have been a different experience from Fantastic Four where you’re sitting around forever waiting for effects, etc. Yeah, it feels a bit more tedious, there wasn’t as much rehearsal time, you just dive right in and give it a shot. Sunshine felt much more like a project of passion. What about the difference between the characters of Johnny Storm and Mace, you have to play them quite differently. Does one or the other give you more of a charge or challenge you more? I guess Johnny’s a bit more available. It’s more accessible because Johnny’s a happy guy, he’s in a good mood. Everyone at some time in their day is just in a good mood – whether you have peaks and valleys or not there’s some part of your day where you just feel great and Johnny lives in that moment all the time. So it’s a lot of laughs and a lot of smiles and it’s easy to funnel in what’s happening around you through that kind of filter. Mace is a bit more internal. He’s more complicated but he doesn’t always choose to express himself. He doesn’t mince words and he bites his tongue. It’s kind of a lot of contradictions that just adds more layers and you feel like you’ve definitely worked as an actor. Is one or the other character a bit more like the real Chris Evans? That’s a good question. I think I may be seen as a bit more Johnny but at times I feel a bit more like Mace. Obviously we don’t see a film like Fantastic Four for the Shakespearian drama, we see it for the effects and the spectacle. On a film like that do you end up feeling a little like you can just coast and not have to try too hard? That’s dangerous and risky because if don’t try too hard I think you’ll see it in the final product and be unhappy. At the end of the day this is permanent, and it’s not only permanent, it’s your job, so if you’re not going to put 100 percent into it, it really isn’t worth doing. How did they do the effects of you flying and on fire, was it full body scans by the computer and green screens and stuff? Pretty much, that’s all CGI. There wasn’t one bit of pyrotechnics on the set, every bit of it was added in post production. They didn’t really light you on fire then? [Laughs] No, they didn’t go that far. Johnny Storm is a natural show-off. It’s said to be a successful actor all you need is to be a show-off. How true is that? What does acting talent mean to you? I guess showing off could make sense if you mean being able to expose yourself. It’s being able to be vulnerable, it’s being able to shut off your third eye and recognise that you’re about to make a fool out of yourself in front of 30 strangers and they’re all right next to you so you have to check your ego at the door. In a sense I can relate that to showing off, so in a way that’s accurate. Is it a crazy time now you’re tipping over to real A-list stardom? How does it feel? It’s wonderful, I get to do what I love and that’s rare. I think everyone in the world I trying to get to that place and do what they love for a living. So I couldn’t be any more grateful and I’m trying to enjoy every minute of it, try to be present and just hope it doesn’t end. Sunshine was a lot more dramatic for everyone involved including you, is that a direction you want to follow? Absolutely. Not only is a personal favourite of mine as far as genres go but at this point in time it’s not so much a focus on the genre as it is a focus on the director. I’m interested in making good movies and I think where you find a good director good films tend to follow. If Danny Boyle called me tomorrow and asked me to do a broad comedy I’d probably do it. I think if you have a good captain – a good storyteller – you’ll end up with a good movie. Any desire to write or direct? That’s the next plan, that’s on the horizon and the sooner I can get to it the better. Any thing going on you can tell us about? Oh my God, no, if there was anything to tell I’d tell it just to try and move the process along but as of right now it’s still at ground level form.