Danny Boyle, Filmmaker Extraordinaire

After leaving college, Danny Boyle began his career in show business in theater, working for several British theater companies before transitioning to television. He started out as a television producer for BBC Northern Ireland before he directed on a handful of British television shows. Boyle jumped into film in 1995 with the hit Shallow Grave, a British variation on the Coen Brothers’ debut film, Blood Simple. Starring Ewan McGregor, Shallow Grave was the most successful movie of the year in Britain. After that, Boyle directed the cult classic Trainspotting, a kinetic masterpiece that earned him numerous accolades and made him a true director to watch in the future. After that, he directed a string of films which weren’t received nearly as well, starting with A Life Less Ordinary and continuing with The Beach. Then, in 2002, he created one of his best films with the zombie classic 28 Days Later. 28 Days Later is also significant for bringing about the ‘modern zombie’, a variation on George Romero’s creation that is lightning-fast and infinitely more terrifying. After 28 Days Later, Romero directed the children’s fantasy Millions, a lackluster attempt at a morality tale. Next up, Boyle did double duty and directed his best film, Sunshine, while executive producing 28 Weeks Later, as well as doing some second-unit directing on the sequel to his zombie classic. After Sunshine, Danny Boyle hit the mainstream with his Oscar-winning film, Slumdog Millionaire. While the film is trite and shallow, Boyle’s direction was a highlight and he won his first Oscar for it. In addition to the Oscar, Boyle won the Best Director awards at the Golden Globes, the Director’s Guild, and the BAFTA, making him one of only seven directors to do so. Boyle has won scattered other awards for his work, mostly for 28 Days Later, Trainspotting, and Shallow Grave, including twin victories at the Empire Awards for the latter two films.

Works Cited
"28 Weeks Later (2007) - Trivia." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 18 Apr. 2010. .
"Danny Boyle - Awards." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 18 Apr. 2010. .
"Danny Boyle - Biography." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 18 Apr. 2010. .
"Danny Boyle - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia." Main Page - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. .
"Shallow Grave (1994) - Trivia." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 18 Apr. 2010. .

The Life and Times of Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle was born October 20, 1956, in England. His family was a traditional working class Irish Catholic unit, and it was expected that he would become a priest in his adulthood. At age 14, just before he signed up for seminary, a priest advised him to go a different path with his life. Boyle thinks this encounter has a greater significance than he originally expected, saying, “I was meant to be a priest until I was 14, I was going to transfer to a seminary near Wigan. But this priest, Father Conway, took me aside and said, ‘I don’t think you should go’. Whether he was saving me from the priesthood or the priesthood from me, I don’t know. But quite soon after, I started doing drama. And there’s a real connection, I think. All these directors — Martin Scorsese, John Woo, M. Night Shyamalan — they were all meant to be priests. There’s something very theatrical about it. It’s basically the same job — poncing around, telling people what to think” (Wikipedia). Pursuing his drama career, Boyle went to college at Thornleigh Salesian College and Bangor University. After college, he became a theater director, working at the Joint Stock Theater Company, the Royal Court Theater, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He later moved on to television, and eventually film.

First Post

Hi, this is a student blog for a English class, so please don't look at me as a legitimate source of Danny Boyle-related information.