Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle is slated to direct a movie based on Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Aron Ralston's harrowing 2004 account of being trapped under a boulder in a Utah canyon, where he was forced to amputate his own arm. In this Aspen Times interview, Ralston discusses consulting with Boyle about the film, to be titled 127 Hours. Although Ralston wanted to film his story as a docu-drama, it had to be turned into a theatrical film in order to get Boyle involved. Ralston says, “Instead of being ‘Touching the Void'” — an acclaimed 2003 docu-drama about a harrowing climb in the Peruvian Andes, that was produced by Smithson — “it'll be more like ‘Into the Wild'.”
But like any serious Phishhead, Ralston has a higher priority:
Perhaps the element of the project that Ralston would most like to keep his hands on is the music. A music aficionado with an affinity for jam bands, he would love to see his favorite group, Phish, contribute to the soundtrack. Ralston said such an idea is entirely speculative, but there is some precedent. He mentioned that Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder wrote the award-winning soundtrack for “Into the Wild.”
“It's just in the fantasy stage,” Ralston said. “We've had talks about Phish music. Danny's asked what Phish lyrics might be able to be worked in.”