Aron Ralston

Between a Rock and a Hard Place Aron Ralston Atria Books, $26 Perhaps the most astonishing thing about Aron Ralston's infamous adventure last summer wasn't that, after three days with his arm trapped between boulders in Utah's Canyonlands National Park, he freed himself by amputating his own hand with a 1 1/2 -inch blade and a pair of pliers. More surprising was the almost eerie, self-possessed air with which he addressed the swarming international media immediately afterward.

127 Hours Fox Searchlight, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99 James Franco scored a well-deserved Oscar nomination for playing cocky thrill-seeker Aron Ralston in director Danny Boyle's true-life adventure "127 Hours. " When Ralston's arm gets pinned by a boulder in a remote Utah canyon, the hiker does what it takes to stay alive including, eventually, hacking away at the limb. The subject matter is harrowing and gruesome, but Boyle turns the story into more of a celebration of life and companionship ?

A steel gray cloud booms down thunder and snow flurries over Engineer Mountain in southwestern Colorado. As quick as a lightning flash, an easy day hike on this 13,000-foot peak turns into a frightening adventure. Making matters worse, the leader of the small climbing expedition, Aron Ralston, is ill-prepared for the trek, wearing only shorts, a short-sleeve shirt and running shoes. He didn't even bring the prosthetic arm he designed for mountain climbing.

Jesse Eisenberg Nominated for his role as Facebook mastermind Mark Zuckerberg in "The Social Network. " "I think there's a misconception that all people who have chosen to act in movies are eager to see themselves in the thing," the 27-year-old told The Times. "You're eager for the experience; you don't necessarily mind that it comes out. " James Franco Nominated for his portrayal of Aron Ralston in "127 Hours," the story of the real-life outdoorsman who had to sever part of his arm to escape from a remote Utah canyon where his limb was pinned under a boulder.

Law enforcement officials gave a more detailed account Saturday of the rescue of the trapped mountaineer who severed his own arm to save his life, even as hospital officials in Grand Junction upgraded hiker Aron Ralston's condition from serious to fair. Ralston, 27, was described as being in good spirits. An accomplished mountaineer, he was trapped in the Utah desert for five days after a boulder wedged in a narrow slot canyon shifted just enough to pin his right arm.

Before they joined forces on "127 Hours," director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy had collaborated on just one movie ? but what a film that was. "Slumdog Millionaire" not only swept 2009's Academy Awards but also gave Boyle (who won for best director) and Beaufoy (who won for adapted screenplay) the commercial momentum and creative freedom to make, as they call it, "an action movie in which the hero doesn't move. " The pair's adaptation of hiker Aron Ralston's memoir of how he cut off his own forearm to escape a climbing accident is considered a lock for a best picture nomination, and star James Franco (who plays Ralston)

Two at the Telluride Film Festival, three at the Toronto International Film Festival and one at the Mill Valley Film Festival. If that were a list of trophies for the new movie "127 Hours," which opens Friday, the filmmakers would be overjoyed. In fact, it's a partial tally of people who have collapsed during early screenings of the movie about a real-life hiker who amputated his forearm after a falling boulder pinned his hand in a remote canyon. "I started to feel like I was going to throw up," said Courtney Phelps, who was watching "127 Hours" at a recent Producers Guild of America screening in Hollywood and grew ill just as the amputation scene ended.

Danny Boyle could barely be heard over the low-flying helicopter. "It's like 'Apocalypse Now,'" he yelled as he fastened his helmet and tightened a climbing harness around his waist, preparing to descend into a narrow canyon. The British director had brought his moviemaking team to this remote locale just outside Canyonlands National Park to film several key scenes in "127 Hours," Boyle's first feature since 2008's " Slumdog Millionaire. " Every supply ? sleeping bags, tents, toilets, cameras, makeup, forks, beef jerky ?

Re "Ranger Awed by Hiker's 'Will to Live,' " May 4: Tell CBS to cancel its series "Survivor." The ultimate survivor has been found in Aron Ralston. Anyone who can survive what he did deserves the title and the money. Those so-called survivors on the series will never be able to hold a candle to Ralston. How many of them would be willing to cut off their own arms with a pocketknife to survive? Kathy James Cypress

' Fresh off his best picture Oscar triumph, "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle has signed a three-year deal with Fox Searchlight, which will co-finance and co-distribute the British filmmaker's future films. The director already has identified a possible initial production under the first-look deal, a drama about Aron Ralston, the American mountain climber who amputated part of his arm when it was pinned in a 2003 backcountry hiking accident. Boyle's long relationship with the studio includes "28 Days Later," "Millions" and "Sunshine."

"Black Swan," director Darren Aronofsky's dark ballet thriller about a dancer descending into madness, won top honors at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, where it was named best feature. The movie, which collected four awards, is also in the running for the best picture Oscar at Sunday's 83rd annual Academy Awards. "Black Swan" won prizes for best female lead for star Natalie Portman, who attended the ceremony in a sleeveless yellow dress, best director for Aronofsky and best cinematography for Matthew Libatique.

When director Danny Boyle began making "127 Hours," the real-life tale of hiker Aron Ralston, who amputated his arm after five days pinned under a rock, he knew he had a compelling story to tell and an even better resource. After all, who better to steer the director through difficult dramatic terrain than the outdoorsman himself? But for Boyle, an in-the-flesh, on-set guide like Aron Ralston also came with a liability: Aron Ralston. The hiker insisted, for example, that his character (played by James Franco)

Before they joined forces on "127 Hours," director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy had collaborated on just one movie ? but what a film that was. "Slumdog Millionaire" not only swept 2009's Academy Awards but also gave Boyle (who won for best director) and Beaufoy (who won for adapted screenplay) the commercial momentum and creative freedom to make, as they call it, "an action movie in which the hero doesn't move. " The pair's adaptation of hiker Aron Ralston's memoir of how he cut off his own forearm to escape a climbing accident is considered a lock for a best picture nomination, and star James Franco (who plays Ralston)

For Lights, Camera ? , we ask a craftsperson to talk about a specific scene in his or her latest film. This week, Suttirat Larlarb, production designer on "127 Hours," writes about re-creating the Utah canyon in which rock climber Aron Ralston became trapped and in which actor James Franco was going to film some of his scenes portraying him. -- [Director] Danny [Boyle]'s "manifesto" was that nothing should be convenient about the canyon set: The walls should not move to accommodate anything or anyone (lighting, cameras, crew)

When they first met, Danny Boyle thought James Franco was stoned. When they next saw each other and Boyle had Franco memorize and read a scene from the "127 Hours" script, Boyle realized that Franco's half-baked demeanor had been a ruse, a combination of exhaustion and wariness. Franco hadn't actually taken a permanent seat on the " Pineapple Express. " He was just sizing up Boyle to see what he was about. FOR THE RECORD: "127 Hours": In the Nov. 18 edition of The Envelope, a caption for a photo accompanying an article about James Franco and his work in "127 Hours" said that the film's director, Danny Boyle, was shown at right.

The slow-open, word-of-mouth strategy is paying off for "127 Hours," the Danny Boyle-directed feature based on the experience of Aron Ralston, the hiker who had to amputate his own arm to save himself when he literally got caught, as the title of his book noted, between a rock and a hard place. Starring James Franco as Ralston, "127 Hours" played in 22 theaters last weekend and took in $453,104 and had a healthy theater average of $20,596. Overall, it has made $826,093. It opened last weekend in New York and Los Angeles and over this weekend it made its debut in several additional major markets including Boston and San Francisco.

The slow-open, word-of-mouth strategy is paying off for "127 Hours," the Danny Boyle-directed feature based on the experience of Aron Ralston, the hiker who had to amputate his own arm to save himself when he literally got caught, as the title of his book noted, between a rock and a hard place. Starring James Franco as Ralston, "127 Hours" played in 22 theaters last weekend and took in $453,104 and had a healthy theater average of $20,596. Overall, it has made $826,093. It opened last weekend in New York and Los Angeles and over this weekend it made its debut in several additional major markets including Boston and San Francisco.

When director Danny Boyle began making "127 Hours," the real-life tale of hiker Aron Ralston, who amputated his arm after five days pinned under a rock, he knew he had a compelling story to tell and an even better resource. After all, who better to steer the director through difficult dramatic terrain than the outdoorsman himself? But for Boyle, an in-the-flesh, on-set guide like Aron Ralston also came with a liability: Aron Ralston. The hiker insisted, for example, that his character (played by James Franco)

There is such a tangible life force pulsing through "127 Hours" that it is almost impossible not to be drawn down into Blue John Canyon alongside its star, James Franco, for the real-life ordeal of Aron Ralston, a solo hiker trapped in a remote area of Utah's Canyonlands National Park. Once there, with the hiker's right arm hopelessly pinned by an 800-pound boulder, director Danny Boyle wrings you out completely with a film so emotionally and intellectually involving that when the horrific last resort finally arrives, it leaves some moviegoers in a faint.

The 2010 Holiday Movie Preview is a snapshot of films opening through the end of the year. Release dates and other details, as compiled by Liesl Bradner, are subject to change. Nov. 5 Boxing Gym Director Frederick Wiseman's documentary portrait of Lord's Boxing Gym in Austin, Texas. Zipporah Films Due Date An expectant first-time father is forced to hitch a ride with an aspiring actor on a road trip to make it home in time for his baby's birth. With Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Juliette Lewis and Jamie Foxx.