Danny Boyle drops Terry Pratchett movie

Despite winning four Golden Globes last night with his film Slumdog Millionaire, including a best picture award, it is not all smiles for Danny Boyle (pictured). Along with the screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce he had been working on a movie adaptation of Sir Terry Pratchett's The Bromeliad trilogy, which tells the story of a race of tiny people from another world who live hidden among humans.

The pair were believed to have agreed a deal with Steven Spielberg's film company DreamWorks for a big-budget, three-film deal, but during a live web chat on Empire Online about Slumdog Boyle revealed that the project has now been scrapped.

"Oh God, it's fallen apart," he said. "Frank and I were going to do it for DreamWorks but sadly no longer. I'm sorry about it – they are wonderful novels."

Instead, Boyle, who is now a strong contender for Oscar nomination, is to work on another, more manageable adaptation, an English-language version of the Korean film Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, the third instalment of the Vengeance Trilogy. Perhaps with a Golden Globe on his mantlepeice – and maybe even an Academy Award - Spielberg might now consider stumping up the money.