Filming starts on Danny Boyle's sci-fi thriller The Untitled Sunshine Project

By M&C News Aug 23, 2005, 17:25 GMT

DNA Films and Fox Searchlight Pictures announced that principal photography has begun in London on "THE UNTITLED SUNSHINE PROJECT." The film once again pairs helmer Danny Boyle with scribe Alex Garland, who previously teamed up for Fox Searchlight's 2003 smash hit "28 DAYS LATER." The cast will be led by Rose Byrne ("TROY"), Cliff Curtis ("WHALE RIDER"), Chris Evans ("FANTASTIC FOUR"), Troy Garity ("AFTER THE SUNSET"), Cillian Murphy ("28 DAYS LATER"), Hiroyuki Sanada ("THE LAST SAMURAI"), Benedict Wong ("DIRTY PRETTY THINGS") and Michelle Yeoh ("CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON"). "THE UNTITLED SUNSHINE PROJECT" will be produced by Andrew Macdonald through DNA Films. "DNA films are delighted to continue our relationship with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland by producing and financing their exciting science fiction film," says producer Macdonald.

Fifty years from now, the sun is dying, and mankind is dying with it. Our last hope: a spaceship and a crew of eight men and women. They carry a device which will breathe new life into the star. But deep into their voyage, out of radio contact with Earth, their mission is starting to unravel. There is an accident, a fatal mistake, and a distress beacon from a spaceship that disappeared seven years earlier. Soon the crew is fighting not only for their lives, but their sanity.

For his direction of "28 DAYS LATER," which earned more than $75 million worldwide, Danny Boyle earned a Saturn Award for Best Horror Film from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, and was nominated for three British Independent Film Awards, including Best Director, Best Film and Best Achievement in Production. His first feature, "SHALLOW GRAVE," earned Boyle the BAFTA Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film, as well as a host of other accolades, including Best Director at the San Sebastian Film Festival, the Empire Award for Best Director and Best British Film, and the London Critic's Circle Film Award for Best British Newcomer. Boyle's second feature, "TRAINSPOTTING," is one of the highest grossing British films of all time. The critically-acclaimed film won four Empire Awards, including Best Director and Best Film, and was nominated for a BAFTA Alexander Korda Award. Boyle's other feature films include "THE BEACH," starring Leonardo DiCaprio; "A LIFE LESS ORDINARY," starring Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz; "ALIEN LOVE TRIANGLE" and most recently the Fox Searchlight release "MILLIONS."

Alex Garland first paired with director Danny Boyle and producer Andrew Macdonald when they filmed the screen version of his first novel "The Beach," and again in 2003 for the blockbuster hit "28 DAYS LATER."

"THE UNTITLED SUNSHINE PROJECT" will be shot by Director of Photography Alwin H. Kuchler ("PROOF," "CODE 46"). Returning to the Danny Boyle production team following their collaborations on both "MILLIONS" and "28 DAYS LATER" are Production Designer Mark Tildesley ("MILLIONS," "28 DAYS LATER") and Editor Chris Gill.

Joshua Deighton, Vice President of Production for Fox Searchlight, will oversee the project for Searchlight.