Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day

Here's the scene: Britain has decided to drop the pound in favour of the euro and there's just ten days to go before the kingdom's old currency joins the franc, the lira and the mark in the dustbin of history. This is when two young brothers find a bag containing £250,000 stolen from a local bank. Damian, 8, wants to give it to the poor but he can't find any as house prices have driven them out of the area. Anthony, 10, thinks they should tell no one and spend it; otherwise the government will take 40 percent in tax. It's the stuff of comedy drama and Danny Boyle (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, The Beach, 28 Days) is the director.

To help promote Millions, for that is what the film is titled, Boyle has taken to keeping a blog called Weekend Read and, interestingly, the first entry is available as a podcast as well. In fact, it looks as if the emphasis will be on the podcasting as opposed to the posting as the film publicity tour proceeds.

What an up-and-down decade it's been for Danny Boyle since Trainspotting hit the screen. By the way, it's still the second-most successful British film of all time, with only Four Weddings and a Funeral having done better at the box office. The Beach was widely panned, although it proved popular in the Rainy Day viewing room, and it took 28 Days to restore the Manchester-born director's fortunes. Boyle's harrowing vision of a post-apocalyptic London ravaged by a "rage virus" was a critical and financial success on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to positive word of mouth. On a curious historical note, the film is something of a rarity because, months after its initial US release in June 2003, it was re-released with an alternate ending attached to the last reel.

Come to think of it, there is a 28 Days element to Boyle's new film. You know: the end of the pound, the triumph of the euro. What was that again about "a harrowing vision" and "a post-apocalyptic" London?