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The Simon Cowell of British cinema? + Czech film fest + blogger review

23 March 2007 at 12:33 AM | by Melty_Girl

A sunny Danny Boyle in The Guardian

Today's Guardian boasts a delightful interview with Sunshine director Danny Boyle, covering the making of Sunshine, Trainspotting's potential sequel, Ewan McGregor, and other lively topics. Often credited for discovering a whole generation of great actors, Boyle poo poos any notion of being like a

"...Simon Cowell. I trained in the theatre. A lot of film directors are quite scared of actors. They are a bit of a nightmare sometimes, but I like them."

Kenny from South Park
Kenny, you may be in trouble again...

Capa from Sunshine
...are you headed for the sun?

Of the actor he helped make a star in 28 Days Later..., he says,

"[Cillian]'s a reluctant hero, that's what's good about him. ...He's quite modest as a person, and he has to be pushed into the centre of the film a bit. He kind of turns away from the camera. I saw him doing that in the Ken Loach film as well. He has to be eased in there and that's really appealing. It stops it being too obviously heroic."

Recent articles point to Cillian's performance as Capa being at least partly inspired by the persona of Sunshine's science advisor, Dr. Brian Cox, and here Boyle discusses directing his actors to adopt

...the "uncompromising, cold eye" of scientists. He lowers his voice... "Brian Cox is the nicest guy, but he's so arrogant. I used to tell the actors to watch the way he'll just go 'no'. ...We had this argument in the bar last night. He said it's absolutely critical we use nuclear power and Cillian said, 'What about the Irish sea? It's so polluted and there's all these leukaemia clusters.' And Cox went, 'If we use nuclear power we can give light and food to a million people in Africa and you're worried about a few hundred people in Ireland?'"

Boyle also reveals that South Park's Kenny was one of the inspirations for the look of Capa's gold space suit!

Sunshine at Czech Febiofest in March

Is the Czech Republic in the house? The Prague International Film Festival Febiofest 2007 gets Sunshine on 26 and 27 March, and from Prague it moves on to other Czech cities. The full schedule is on the Febiofest's Sunshine page.

An attendee of the cast and crew screening reviews Sunshine

Blogger Dave Medlo wrote an interesting early review of Sunshine—mind the mild spoilers. Despite feeling that "the need to follow conventional plot points ... hampered the movie," Medlo was blown away by the visuals and enjoyed the film.

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pfcdvknd
Posts: 6
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pfcdvknd
Reply #9 on : Sat September 01, 2007, 06:03:06
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Anne
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Arrogant scientists
Reply #8 on : Sun June 03, 2007, 17:52:02
I agree with the comments below: I would probably have punched Cox out. I am scientist myself, but I truly ABHOR that type of arrogance.

You know, the greatest scientists that have ever lived have been distinguished by their humility, not by their hubris.
selkie
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cilliansite's THE BEST!!
Reply #7 on : Thu May 31, 2007, 23:59:30
Thanks so much for this treasure trove today. Seeing the added photos from the Moscow trip AND enlarged is just too beautiful for words. So nice to hear how Cillians' thinking about the Big Stuff...
Melty_Girl
Posts: 3
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Re: Doug
Reply #6 on : Tue March 27, 2007, 03:09:20
Hey Doug, while I completely agree with Cillian's concerns about nuclear power, I have to take issue with your comments about the million babies in Africa. The earth's problem is not as simple as you describe; the West uses far more resources per person than Third World people do. And while I disagree with Dr. Cox's proposition to use nuclear power, I am glad he is concerned with the lives of Africans, because they face very complex problems that are not all of their own making.

This is not really the forum to have a longer discussion about this topic -- it is The CillianSite after all -- but thanks for commenting. It's good to hear from new folks.
doug
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Re:
Reply #5 on : Mon March 26, 2007, 21:49:10
I think if Cox had hit me with his "Africa" comment, I'd still be picking his front teeth out of my knuckles. You go save your million Africans, Dr. Cox-- and then go on feeding the million babies they make, and the million-plus babies THOSE babies make. Mr. Murphy has every right to be concerned with people in his native country. I'm sure he was very polite to Dr. B; I probably wouldn't have been. Just saying.
Melty_Girl
Posts: 3
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RE: *chills!*
Reply #4 on : Fri March 23, 2007, 17:02:37
BTW, there's actually another interesting anecdote about Dr. Cox's cockiness in the article, if you didn't see it -- just follow the link.
nancy
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*chills!*
Reply #3 on : Fri March 23, 2007, 16:15:30
I just have to sayu, that interview is cool and all but what's really interesting is when Danny talks about Dr. Cox's cockiness. I mean, the part about him arguing nuclear power to Cillian in a bar gave me the chills. I wonder what his reaction was when he said that. would LOVE to be a fly on THAT wall.
Melty_Girl
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Re:
Reply #2 on : Fri March 23, 2007, 12:47:39
Yeah, his humility makes him even more attractive.
Kerry
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Re:
Reply #1 on : Fri March 23, 2007, 04:25:24
Aww, every time a director talks about Cillian it makes me love him even more.
The fact that the suit is based on Kenny is just adorable too!