Ever since the opening ceremonies of 2008 Beijing Olympics set a ridiculously high bar for spectacle, people have openly wondered how anyone would be able to top it. Canada, bless them, didn't really try with this year's Vancouver games, settling for something much more low-key and tasteful and, well, Canadian. For the 2012 London games, though, the British seem to think they have an ace up their sleeve-- Oscar winner Danny Boyle.

The Playlist picked up on a report in the UK paper Times Online that the London Olympics committee was approaching Boyle to direct the opening ceremonies, with an anonymous source saying "We want the most imaginative ceremony the world has ever seen." Boyle himself isn't doing much to quash the story; when the Times approached him he gave them a vague "I can’t say any more. It would be lovely, wouldn’t it?”

The "Jai Ho" dance number at the end of Slumdog Millionaire is probably enough to get Boyle the job, but he's displayed visual wit and imagination throughout all of his work. I have no idea how that might translate to a massive ceremony that doesn't involve a camera (at least in the live presentation), but I also trust Boyle to bring in the expert choreographers and wranglers necessary to make it happen. The only downside might be that once Boyle finishes work on 127 Hours, the opening ceremonies might keep him busy for another two years. Small price to pay for Olympics immortality?