It somehow feels like ages since 127 Hours hit theaters. Overshadowed by stronger Best Picture candidates like The Social Network and The King's Speech, not to mention the constant antics of star James Franco, it made a small amount of money, won a collection of fans, and slipped away seemingly unnoticed. And Boyle will be a little under the radar for a while longer, committing himself to direct the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, work that starts next January. But Boyle, never a guy who seemed to particularly care about vacation, is going to manage to squeeze in a film first.

According to Deadline he'll star work in September on Trance, a hard-edged thriller more along the lines of his early work like Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. He and his Slumdog Millionaire producer Christian Coulson will reteam, and they're looking into old familiar distributors Fox Searchlight and Pathe for funding and worldwide distribution. The production schedule is going to be a little batty-- Boyle will shoot starting in September, dedicate himself exclusively to the Olympics starting in January, and once that's over in August 2012 return to Trance in time to finish it for a March 2013 release. It's a timeline that means we'll see a new film from Boyle far sooner than we'd be able to otherwise, but who knows what that might do to his focus. Boyle seems to have more energy and enthusiasm than most other humans, so if anyone can handle the pressure of two simultaneous projects, it's definitely this guy.