sundance

The design of 127 HOURS

An interesting article on the construction of the canyon used in 127 HOURS in the which “director Danny Boyle demanded a hyper-realistic set” from the production and costume designer Suttirat Larlarb.

Boyle had one criterion for the reconstructed canyons—the walls couldn’t move. While most sets have moving pieces that allow the actors and filmmakers to access them from all angles, this set would not. The decision, says Larlarb, created a ripple of claustrophobia. Franco was literally trapped between takes. Only one frustrated hair or makeup artist could attend to the actor at a time. The tense cinematographers were severely limited in the way in which they could operate.