FILM 1616: T2 TRAINSPOTTING

TRIVIA: This is the first time since 1997 that Ewan McGregor and Danny Boyle have worked together (since A Life Less Ordinary (1997)). The two had a falling out when McGregor was passed over for the lead in The Beach (2000) in favor of Leonardo DiCaprio. McGregor stated that they have since reconciled, and that he considers the whole matter "water under the bridge".

Danny Boyle has credited David Bowie with helping to be able to use various hit songs in the original movie inexpensively because he had ties with Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, and helped Boyle out because he was a fan of Shallow Grave. For his own little personal tribute to him following his death, Boyle decided to shoot a moment where Renton goes through his record collection and finds a couple of Bowie's albums.

FILM 1568: STEVE JOBS

TRIVIA: The three sequences in the film were filmed on 16mm, 35mm, and digital to illustrate the advancement in Apple's technology across the 16 years depicted of Jobs' life.

Michael Fassbender said in an interview that Christian Bale who exited the project in November 2014 would have been "perfect" to play Steve Jobs. "I thought to myself: Christian Bale is perfect, why isn't he doing it?" The actor told The Hollywood Reporter while promoting the film in London. "I actually called him up and told him that myself."

Seth Rogen met with Steve Wozniak extensively to understand him. Rogen also researched Wozniak's keynotes and speeches online. Rogen cited watching an old eighties video on repeat, featuring Wozniak giving a tour of the Apple museum at their headquarters as part of his research. Rogen later admitted that he had no idea who Steve Wozniak was prior to working on this movie.

Kate Winslet found out about the movie from her makeup artist while working on The Dressmaker (2015). The makeup artist just got hired for this movie and told Winslet. Winslet said that she was intrigued by a movie written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Michael Fassbender that she asked for more details about the female part. She later sent a picture of herself with a black wig and then she got the script and met with Boyle which resulted in winning the part.

During the montage depicting the failure of Apple's Newton PDA, one of the clips shown is from the animated TV series The Simpsons. This is a more multileveled reference to the life of Steve Jobs than it might appear at first: Jobs, who was adopted as an infant, discovered well into his adulthood that he had a full biological sister, the novelist Mona Simpson (author of novels including Anywhere but Here, Off Keck Road, and A Regular Guy--which is about a Jobs-like billionaire technology mogul). Mona Simpson was married for many years to Richard Appel, who was a writer for The Simpsons during the mid-1990s. One of Appel's lasting contributions to that show was that he was the writer who named the character of Homer Simpson's mother; since Appel was married to a woman whose last name was, coincidentally, Simpson, he named Homer's mother "Mona Simpson."

Leonardo DiCaprio was originally set to play the lead role but dropped out to do The Revenant (2015). Michael Fassbender was cast when Christian Bale also passed on the project. All three actors were nominated at the 2016 Academy Awards: DiCaprio for Best Actor in 'The Revenant', Fassbender for Best Actor in 'Steve Jobs', and Bale for Best Supporting Actor in The Big Short (2015). DiCaprio ended up winning an award.

During the first act of the film, when Jobs and Woz are arguing in the courtyard about the 2 vs 8 ports on their way to the launch of the Mac, writer Aaron Sorkin makes a cameo as the taller of the two gentlemen walking by in the background.

During the 1984 sequence of the film, Jobs (Fassbender) and Sculley (Daniels) are watching the Macintosh Super Bowl commercial from backstage. The commercial was directed by Ridley Scott, who went on to direct Michael Fassbender in Prometheus (2012), as well as Jeff Daniels in The Martian (2015).

FILM 1357: SUNSHINE

TRIVIA: Danny Boyle found working on a sci-fi project so exhausting, he vowed never to make another one again.

Danny Boyle was so impressed with Michelle Yeoh's audition, that he told her that she could choose any part in the script and he would give it to her - he was even prepared to change the gender if she had chosen a male character. She ultimately decided on Corazon, the biologist.

The distinctive golden color of the space suits was intended to make them memorable to sci-fi fans. The character "Kenny" from South Park (1997) was used as a design reference for the funnel-shaped helmet. A small number of suits and helmets were built as wearable costumes, so the actors could experience the claustrophobia and react appropriately.

The book "Moondust" by Andrew Smith, a collection of accounts of the men who had walked on the moon, was required reading for all cast members.

Actual sounds received from space that were captured by a Midwestern university were incorporated into the sound design.

Cillian Murphy worked with leading physicist Brian Cox to learn all about advanced physics. This included touring the CERN facility in Switzerland and learned to copy physicists' mannerisms. Murphy ended up copying some of Cox's personal idiosyncrasies, such as his frequent hand movements. The actor also studied Henri-Georges Clouzot's classic The Wages of Fear (1953) to have an understanding of the type of suspense that Danny Boyle was attempting to create. Murphy has claimed that his involvement in Sunshine (2007) converted him from agnosticism to atheism.

Danny Boyle's third partnership with Alex Garland, after The Beach (2000) and 28 Days Later... (2002).

Film 1009: Trance

Trivia: Michael Fassbender was cast as Franck but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Colin Firth was briefly considered for the part before Vincent Cassel was cast.

Filmed during a break in Danny Boyle's two-year preparation schedule for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The film was edited after the Olympics wrapped.

Scarlett Johansson, Mélanie Thierry, Eva Green and Zoe Saldana were considered for the role that went to Rosario Dawson.