IT is a sign of how popular Danny Boyle has become that it was he, and not his handsome leading man James Franco, that the autograph hunters were shouting for on the red carpet at the premiere of his film, 127 Hours, in London on Thursday night.

The Radcliffe director spent nearly an hour speaking to press and fans before heading into the Odeon Leicester Square for the film, which was receiving its European premiere at the closing gala of the 54th London Film Festival.

“The festival is going from strength to strength, and it’s an honour to be here,” he said.

Asked if he thought the film might emulate its predecessor, Slumdog Millionaire, which won eight Oscars last year, Boyle said that it was now “in the lap of the gods”.

Earlier in the day, he praised Franco for his performance as Aron Ralston, the climber who found himself trapped in a canyon in Utah whose incredible tale of human strength the film is based on.

“James’ acting has an empathy that takes you to a place that you feel vulnerable in,” he said.

Franco himself, looking suave in a black tie and white shirt that seemed to be the uniform for the event, said working with Boyle had been an incredible experience.

“Danny’s an incredible director and the thing he does is really challenge you to go beyond yourself,” he said. “He also challenges himself, he is always looking for new ways to make a film.”

During filming the director had pushed his star to his physical limit, asking him to try to free himself from the same position that had trapped Ralston.

Franco said: “Danny does like to push his actors and that meant getting a little methody in our approach to the physical aspects of the film.”

At the film’s grisly climax, Franco depicts Ralston hacking his armoff to free himself from the boulder.

And despite the seemingly superhuman nature of Ralston’s actions, Boyle, a former Thornleigh Salesian College student, said that in the same situation he believed he would probably do the same thing.

“We would all do it — if we didn’t have a knife we’d chew it off, which is extraordinary to say,” he said.

“We would do it in order to get back to the people we love.

“The thing that became clear was that it is actually the very simple things that bind us together and that will bring us back to each other.”