Sunshine: Danny Boyle interview

The director of Sunshine offers sound advice and tips on working with actors.

"I love space films. I'm not a Star Trek kind of movie person, but I am drawn to what I would call more elegant space films." Director Danny Boyle has made exactly the kind of film he admires with Sunshine, a stunning sci-fi pic about an expedition to the sun to try and reignite the dying star. The film reunites Boyle with his 28 Days Later writer Alex Garland and the zombie pic's star, cillian Murphy, and it's the best British sci-fi movie since Alien. (OK, it may also be the only major Brit sci-fi movie since Alien, but we'll gloss over that.)

Sunshine was shot for a reported 40million at Three Mills Studios in East London (formerly best known for being Big Brother's first home), a decision that Boyle and his longtime collaborator, producer Andrew Macdonald, fought long and hard for. "The film is set inside a spaceship and for that we need very complicated and detailed sets," Macdonald told Variety in 2006. "London is one of the best places to do something like that. You can always go cheaper, but in the end it's all about where you can make the best film."

Boyle has proved adept in most genres since making his big screen debut with the Edinburgh-set thriller Shallow Grave in 1994, and he'll return to that genre for his next movie, Ponte Tower. A UK-South Africa co-production, it's a thriller set in one of Africa's tallest skyscrapers, the Ponte Tower in Johannesburg.

In the video Danny talks about the decision to shoot Sunshine in the UK, which key component makes up 70% of a film, and how he works with his actors.

Sunshine is released in UK cinemas on Friday 5th April 2007.

Adrian Hennigan | Published 04 April 07