Swing by the video store this weekend and rent any Danny Boyle movie, and you’re going to be entertained.
The man was born to create sweeping spectacles. He has an eye for kinetic movements, a pulse for rhythm and pacing, an ear for dialogue and a freaky ability to reject anything that is the least bit routine or mundane. When I think of Boyle’s visual collages, I think of epic entertainments. The drug trips of Trainspotting. The zombie chase of 28 Days Later. The high-stakes sci-fi solar winds of Sunshine. The swooning romance of Slumdog Millionaire.
Well now there are credible rumors that Boyle has been approached by the organizers of the 2012 London Olympics, in hopes that he will go toe-to-toe with filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who masterminded the mind blowing spectacle of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
As to what Boyle would concoct for the opening ceremonies? It’s anyone’s guess, really. But whereas Yimou emphasized mass precision choreography, and multimedia crescendos that paired light shows with fire displays, dancing and singing, I would bet that Boyle would inject more story, and a wider dramatic range.
Yimou’s ceremony focused in large part in walking through Chinese history with pomp and pageantry. But I bet Boyle would focus instead on telling a story that dared to have some of the ups and downs of traditional melodrama. His ceremony would be less tribute and more opera – and I for one think he would make an exceptional choice. Maybe he could mix in some zombies too!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RZ-vtgu1vc]