I thought the film was fantastic, first of all.
Were you daunted by the task of writing it?
Yes, I know!
And this story had been knocking around in his head for years.
It was an amazing piece of work.
All those things were of interest to me, and rang bells for me as a writer.
That they wouldnt see the psychological value in the story?
So, they all know he chopped his arm off, and they all know he survived.
Immediately, youve lost any sense of tension, of drama.
And you havent got much there in the first place, because theres only him, no other people.
Its a brilliant set of limitations, in a way.
See if you could make everyone in the audience forget that he survived.
Youve got to be with him for every moment while hes down there.
Its a big challenge.
How important was casting James Franco?
How early in the scriptwriting process was he considered?
We had a pretty tight script by the time he came onboard.
I understand that youre quite into climbing yourself.
Yeah, Ive done a lot of that in the past, yeah.
How did that help you to connect with Ralstons experience while you were writing the script?
We both love the outdoors and mountains.
We talked a lot about that before I sat him down and said, Okay.
We need to discuss the tough bits of your life.
So, I think it definitely helped, yes.
I think it would have been a disaster if you had done that.
You immediately know hes all right if you do that.
Youve lost your subjectivity.
Youve allowed the audience to step away from the person and go, Oh, its just a film.
Were out here, and hes in there.
The whole point is, if hes in there, were in there.
If he doesnt get out, we dont get out.
Its interesting to contrast127 HourswithBuried, which are, of course, very different films.
Yes,Buriedsounds like a very bold film.
And they both feature a single actor trapped in one location.
I dont think I could watch it!
There were rumours that the first part of127 Hourswas originally going to be shot without any dialogue.
Was there any truth behind this?
That was always going to be in there.
As it is, the script is extremely economical.
Yes, I think it needs to be.
Did much change between writing it and the actual shoot?
Not a great deal, no.
Its such a strange piece of work.
It doesnt have the shape of your average drama about.
The received opinion is that its about one person doing extraordinary things, but its not, really.
Its about all of us.
Its about people, about crowds, about humanity.
And hes turned his back and said, I dont need them.
Its his movement towards grace, if you like.
You do need people.
You cant live without them.
Were all interconnected in some way.
I wanted to start with crowds and end with crowds.
And the tone of the film is extremely positive, of course.
When he cut his arm off, he had a smile on his face.
And I remember thinking, Really?
Well, I cant put that in the script.
This was a really euphoric moment for me when I realised that I could chop this dead thing off.
It was almost like a psychological hurdle he had to jump.
And thats perhaps what other people can take from the film.
I always think of that.
Its not a survival story.
Well, its not just that.
Everyones got a boulder that they have to overcome, of one sort or another.
Its a film about confronting your big problem, and getting back to people.
Understanding that complex web of interpersonal relationships, which help us all through.
And you have to get it right.
Youve got an obligation to the facts, which can obviously run counter to the demands of the drama.
Youve got to shape and balance, hone and polish.
Real life is messy, and drama is a shaped version of real life.
It was a great, fascinating challenge to get that right.
We didnt know we got it right until he was sitting in the theatre watching it.
It was a good thing we did get it right.
Hes very proud of the film.
He feels its very true to his experience.
And we took on board as much of that as we could.
You get a sensational survivalist tale, and we were after more than that.
Fortunately, he really understood that.
He really got what we were trying to do.
The hallucinations that Aron experiences are a big part of the film.
How did they come about?
They all came out of conversations with him.
By then hed run out of water.
And all those things allowed me to spin drama out of what he was thinking.
Not exactly what he was thinking, but a version of it.
The key scene is, of course, where Aron finally releases himself.
How did you decide how graphic you should make it?
In the book, its a moment that really lingers in the mind.
Its an amazing passage in the book, isnt it?
Startlingly written, yes.
That was our guiding light, really, is that we should stick to what he wrote.
Its superbly described in intimate detail.
And it took him over an hour to do.
So, we could hardly cut away and say, Oh, his arms free.
Its part of the experience.
You have a duty to survive it with him.
Its tough, but he does survive it, and everyone knows he survives it.
And I always think, if he can do it, we can watch it.
Simon Beaufoy, thank you very much!
