Slumdog Millionaire
News

A couple of very different movies open this weekend. Let's take a closer look at each now..

Quantum of Solace
Stars: Daniel Craig
Quick synopsis: James Bond is back, and he wants revenge!
Prediction: The top of the box office, likely for weeks to come.

Slumdog Millionaire
Stars: Dev Patel
Quick synopsis: An Indian boy shocks the world with his performance on a game show.
Prediction: Raves from critics, but a limited release will mean limited box office haul.

Dev Patel is an unknown actor that's about to make it big.

He's the star of Slumdog Millionaire, the critically acclaimed movie that opens in select cities today. Below, Patel responds to a question from ComingSoon.net about the role he plays in the film:

Not being from Mumbai, were you able to relate to Jamal's journey at all?
I think everybody can relate to that. I mean, everyone's drawn to that whole underdog story I think, and he's just a great character, his rise through adversity. He's going to do anything to get this girl. He gets sh*t from everyone, he's tortured, he's interrogated, but he's got a strong sense of destiny, and he'll move mountains to get to her, literally if he has to. To get to her, he's literally one-track minded, that is his aim in life, his mission, and it's a brilliant story. For him, 20 million rupees isn't the prize, it's the girl. For a boy coming from the slums, it's even more awesome. Where a lot of people in that situation are, money is a big dream for them, but that's not his dream.

Dev Patel (left) stars in Slumdog Millionaire.

How did writer Simon Beaufoy come up with the concept behind Slumdog Millionaire? Why has the movie received such rave reviews?

Beaufoy answered questions about the film with Reelz Channel. Here's an excerpt from that interview:

Why do you think this movie is catching on with people?
I think this is a film about hope and overcoming the impossible. That's kind of the flavor of the movie. I think we need a film about hope, and I think maybe that is what people are responding to. There's lots of other things in it. It's in this extraordinary country, and this extraordinary city, Bombay, and it's kind of a big, operatic love story. But overall it's an incredibly optimistic story. The underdog who overcomes everything to get the love of his life, and that's very simple, and kind of sentimental, romantic. But I think we need that. We need, right now, something about hope.

Remember the name Danny Boyle.

There's a decent chance you'll hear his name called on Oscar night, thanks to his direction of the critically acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire.

In a new interview with Reelz Channel, the director talks about the movie's reviews, inspiration and more...

How do you feel about this movie being so well received?
So far it's fantastic. It's amazing. I always think I'm a bit of a traditionalist, really. It hasn't really made any money yet. It hasn't played in any theaters yet. But the response has been tremendous. A few weeks ago, we were kind of dead in the water, really. We didn't have a North American distributor and it looked like it would only play in Europe. But it's an incredible transformation in its fortunes. It's sort of a bit like the story in the film really -- the film and this guy apparently [have] no prospects and then they get turned around and suddenly fortune beckons.

What do you want people to come away with after seeing this?
When I arrived [in Mumbai] they said to me, "This place is a billion beating hearts. Make sure you represent them all, don't leave anybody out." I mean, "Include them all"? What does that mean? But now having made [the movie], I know exactly what they mean and I hope people get a sense of that.... It's that heart that I'm really interested that people take away from the movie.

Slumdog Millionaire opens in limited release this Friday.

And mark our words: within a few days, the Oscar buzz for this film will continue to grow.

Read our complete Slumdog Millionaire review and find out why!

Slumdog Millionaire premieres to rave reviews at the Toronto Film Festival.

In the following clip, we meet the film's hero, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), as he faces off against the Indian Regis Philbin in that country's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Slumdog Millionaire opens in limited engagement November 12.

Slumdog Millionaire is the story of an illiterate Indian child who wins the jackpot on Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Check out the trailer for this critically-acclaimed film below: