James Franco and Simon Beaufoy on making '127 Hours'

"Between a Rock and a Hard Place" is the name Aron Ralston gave his memoir, the account of how he amputated his forearm in a hiking accident that director Danny Boyle has turned into "127 Hours." But the book's title also describes the challenge in making the movie — how do you create suspense when everyone knows how the story ends?

At a recent screening of "127 Hours" for The Envelope Screening Series, actor James Franco (who plays Ralston) and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (who co-wrote the film with Boyle) described some of the tricks they used in making the film and how critical Ralston's own videos were in the filmmaking process. Franco also describes how Boyle encouraged the actor to try to escape from the boulder pinning his arm, knowing Franco would get beaten up in the process.

— John Horn

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