You'd Cut Your Arm Off, Too, Says James Franco's 127 Hours Director

Actor plays real-life mountain climber who did the unthinkable in order to save his own life

By Marc Malkin, Brett Malec Nov 04, 2010 5:00 PMTags
127 Hours, James Franco20th Century Fox

Everyone knows James Franco isn't really cutting off his own arm in the new flick 127 Hours, but rumor has it that some people have actually passed out while watching the scene.

Even Franco himself expected to get a bit squeamish when he watched the movie's final—excuse the pun—cut…

TWITTER: Follow Marc Malkin and Brett Malec!

"I didn't and it's surprising because I am squeamish about blood [and] on my arms in particular," he said last night at the movie's L.A. premiere at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. "Like, I go and get a check up and get blood drawn; it's a hard experience for me and I can't watch."

If you haven't heard by now, 127 Hours is the true story of Aron Ralston, a mountain climber who cut off his own arm when it got stuck under a falling 800-pound rock.

Franco's costar Kate Mara admitted she had a hard time watching it the first time around. "I think you'd have to be blind not to be a little bit moved during those certain moments, but the second time I watched it all the way through," she said. "If you can, I suggest you do watch it with your eyes open."

Squeamish or not, the movie does leave you thinking about what you'd do if you found yourself in a similar situation.

"A lot of people say, 'I would never do that,'" director Danny Boyle said. "And I say, 'No, you would do it probably.' You may not do it very successfully. You may die. You might give up and if you didn't have a knife, you'd chew it. Animals do it all the time…We have that survival instinct. It's like a gene we all carry."

You agree with Boyle? Would you cut off a limb to save your own life? Let us know in the comments below.

PHOTOS: Rewind! Actors Playing for Real