One thing was certain, Boyle would have to find one hell of an actor to take on such a punishing, and unforgiving role.

At the rumour stage, Cillian Murphy (a twice-capped member of the Boyle movie-club) was initially believed to be the favourite in the running, and Ryan Gosling was also apparently in contention, but the gig eventually went to James Franco.

Perhaps a little better recognised than some of Boyle's previous leads (thanks in no small part to his role in the Spider-Man trilogy), Franco is still not quite A-list, and since Sam Raimi's superhero trilogy, he's often been seen favouring small-scale interesting projects (Milk, Howl) over bigger-budget fare.

It seems fair to call 127 Hours his toughest project yet, in terms of shooting conditions and what will be required of him, but Boyle has plenty of faith: "I think we thought he's always been underrated… He wasn't an obvious choice but he was great, so we asked him to do it."

"I hope that everyone will see what a great actor he is in it. And there's a little Pineapple Express bit in there to cheer everyone up in the middle."

It should certainly be a change of pace from Your Highness anyway.