Danny Boyle spaced out by Franco

Danny Boyle has revealed he had reservations about casting James Franco in his new movie '127 Hours' because he thought the 'Spider-Man' star was ''stoned'' the first time they met.

Danny Boyle thought James Franco was "stoned" when they first met.

The Oscar-winning director had reservations about casting the actor in the lead role in '127 Hours' - which follows the story of mountaineer Aron Ralston who was forced to cut off his own arm after becoming trapped by a boulder when a climbing expedition in Robbers Roost, Utah, in 2003 went wrong - after finding him to be distant and monosyllabic when he first approached him.

Danny admitted: "I thought, like a lot of people do, that James was stoned. It wasn't a great meeting. But then I spoke to someone at Fox who said he was just sussing us out. And he wasn't high - he's abstemious, he doesn't even drink."

The English filmmaker has also revealed he was thrilled by the success of 'Slumdog Millionaire' as he knew it would make it much easier to get '127 Hours' - which he acquired the rights to in 2006 - made.

He explained: "When 'Slumdog' took off, I thought, 'We've got a chance now to make this film.'

"We had credit in the bank and I felt we could persuade the studio to back what must have been a terrifying prospect. But I never saw the film in that way - I saw it as compelling beyond belief."