JAMES FRANCO MAKES A SUPREME SACRIFICE
In 2003, American rock climber Aron Ralston cut off the lower part of his right arm with a dull knife in order to free himself from a fallen boulder in a Utah canyon. His shocking deliberateness saved his life. When Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) first heard Ralston's story, he started envisioning what he calls ''an action movie where the hero can't move.'' 127 Hours — out Nov. 5 and starring James Franco as the imperiled mountaineer — chronicles the excruciating period of time Ralston spent trapped alone as his panic and desperation mounted. —Karen Valby
GOING TO EXTREMES
''The movie is going to be obsessive, and it will be for obsessives,'' says Boyle (left, with Franco), who assures potential viewers: ''You will want him to cut his arm off by the end.'' —KV