http://www.collider.com/2010/09/16/guillermo-del-toro-interview-at-the-mountains-of-madness-haunted-mansion-video-games/
Exclusive: Guillermo del Toro talks AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, HAUNTED MANSION, and Reveals He’s Developing 3 Video Games!!
Over the last few days I’ve posted different parts of my extended video interview with Guillermo del Toro that I recorded at the Toronto International Film Festival. Del Toro was in Toronto to promote Julia’s Eyes – which he produced. While he already talked about his soon to be announced DreamWorks Animation deal, TV projects, and his movie Julia’s Eyes, it’s time for the rest of the interview and it covers At the Mountains of Madness, Disney’s Haunted Mansion, and something not yet announced: he’s making video games!! Here’s the bullet points:
- del Toro told me he has a video game deal that’s not yet announced. He revealed it’s for 3 games to be made over 10 years with the goal of a new game every 3 years!
- Haunted Mansion: he said it will be PG-13 and it will be a “dark ride”. Says they turned in the storyline last week to Disney along with the first few key concept drawings. Matthew Robbins is writing and he’ll start in about a month. Hopes to know if Disney will move forward on it in January. At that time he’ll figure out if he will direct it or if it will be someone else.
- At the Mountains of Madness: del Toro gave me a scoop when he revealed Dennis Muren is designing the monsters! Muren told him “you’ve never seen monsters like this.” If you don’t who Dennis Muren is…look over his resume and you’ll know when it’s so cool that he’s involved. He went on to say the film isn’t greenlit yet, he’ll be talking to some Lovecraft scholars to get their input on the script, hopes to make the movie without interference, explained how he got James Cameron involved, and says the film suffers from two big issues: it’s a hard core R rated movie and it’s a horror tentpole with a big budget.
So much more after the jump:
Rather than have me go on and on about what del Toro said, I suggest watching the interview for yourself. After all, this is del Toro. I’ve time indexed the interview so you can watch the parts that interest you. Trust me, way more is in the interview than what I bullet pointed on the front page.
Guillermo del Toro
- How is At the Mountains of Madness going and is he mad at us about the casting story? Reveals he just finished a rewrite and turned it into James Cameron and the other producers last week. They are on week two of designs. Dennis Muren is doing the designing. Del Toro says Muren told him “you’ve never seen monsters like this.”
- 1:15 – Says if they don’t get the right budget and the right support he won’t make the movie. Talks about how influential the book was for him when he read it as a kid.
- 3:15 – Says he is going to give the script to a few Lovecraft scholars to get their input
- 3:45 – Talks about how in the book the creatures weren’t described in great detail and how it leaves a lot of room for interpretation
- 4:40 – Says he hopes this is his first horror film without interference
- 5:10 – I ask him if this is definitely his next movie. He says he is not taking on any other project right now. But he reveals the project is not yet green lit
- 5:50 – How is it having James Cameron in his corner. He talks about their 20 year friendship and how they were going to do a different project after Hobbit fell apart but del Toro gave him the script for Mountains…
- 7:05 – del Toro explains how Mountains has two big issues: it’s a hard core R rated movie and it’s a horror tentpole movie with a big budget
- 7:30 – Talks about doing a Jimmy Stewart at Universal to get the film made
- 9:00 – Talks about how there are very few filmmakers who can work unobstructed
- 9:45 – Haunted Mansion talk. Says they turned in the storyline last week along with the first few key concept drawings. Matthew Robbins is writing and he’ll start in about a month. Hopes to know if Disney will move forward on it in January. At that time he’ll figure out if he will direct it or if it will be someone else.
- 10:25 – Talks about how he’s a Haunted Mansion freak
- 11:35 – Says Haunted Mansion will be PG-13 and we talk about the tone of the movie. Says it will be a “dark ride” and it will combine the two spirits that built the mansion. Says “one was very playful and one was quite dark and twisted and the result is the unique flavor of the mansion.”
- 12:40 – I mention all the projects he gets attached to and how rumors flow online that he’s attached when it’s really just a meeting and nothing more
- 13:10 – Says he has a video game deal that will be for 3 games over 10 years and they’ll officially announce it soon. Basically every 3 years a new game.
http://www.firstshowing.net/2010/09/17/del-toro-talks-monsters-and-more-for-mountains-of-madness/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+firstshowing+%28FirstShowing.net%29
Del Toro Talks Monsters and More for 'Mountains of Madness'
September 17, 2010
Source: Collider
by Ethan Anderton
While many of you are psyched at the prospect of seeing H.P. Lovecraft's classic novel At the Mountains of Madness come to life on the big screen, I can almost guarantee none of you are as excited as the film's director, Guillermo del Toro. We heard not too long ago that Tom Cruise and James McAvoy were being pursued to lead the literally monstrous adaptation, and since Collider broke that story, that's the first thing they asked about in a recent interview. Del Toro says it's too early to begin casting as they just turned in a new draft of the script to James Cameron and producers. However, he does up offer some amazing details.
Though the film hasn't officially been greenlit yet, del Toro has met with ILM's Dennis Muren, who is designing the monsters for the film. If you don't recognize the name, you'll surely know his work in visual and creature effects for the Star Wars Trilogy, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Jurassic Park. Yea, he's kind of a big deal in the visual/special effects world. Apparently Muren turned to del Toro at one point and said, "You've never seen monsters like this." Apparently the book doesn't describe the creatures in very intricate details so that gives Muren and del Toro a lot of room for creativity.
Don't worry though, because del Toro isn't looking to stray far away from the novella. Helping along the adaptation process, del Toro will be anding out the project to some Lovecraft scholars to get their input on it. However, he's quick to say, "I'm not going to get it right for all the fans. There's no chance of that." The fact that he understands that concept is reason enough for me to believe without a doubt that he's the right man for the job. Other directors will blow smoke up your **** and say that they want to please all the loyal fans, and that's what makes an honest and true artist like del Toro so inspiring. This is also the very reason that it sounds like he'll have no interference from the studio in the creative process (more on that below).
The only issue right now is that the film isn't greenlit yet, and it sounds like it's still in a very delicate place. The filmmaker reveals that this movie is one that "if we don't get the right money, if we don't get the right support, I won't do it." He goes on to say, "It's a movie that's been with me for thirteen years. It's been with me as a fan since I read it as a kid. It's one of those seminal books." Along with other horror classics like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein, The Incredible Shrinking Man and Salem's Lot, H.P. Lovecraft's book certainly holds a special place in his heart and in his mind. This isn't just another project for him as much as a dream that he gets to finally direct himself (which we've heard him talk about for years and years prior).
And with this dream project, he's not going to be taking any other directing jobs at the time. This is his sole concentration as a director, and he's hoping like hell (as we all are, too) that it comes together. His biggest concern is that the project contains three of the big turn-offs for studio execs: it's a horror tentpole with a big budget, a period piece and a hard R-rated story all rolled into one. But del Toro said he pulled a "Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and gave a grand speech to Universal to get them on-board.
In addition to all of Collider's fantastic updates, Alex also spoke with del Toro a few days ago up in Toronto (full interview forthcoming) and got a few great quotes out of him as well about the adaptation. I asked him if he has complete creative freedom with At the Mountains of Madness and development of the project:
"100%. I mean, the movie waited 13 years to be done the right way — I mean, the right way for me. That's not going to be the right way for everyone… But I waited for 7 years to make Hellboy because I wanted to do Hellboy with Ron Perlman. And I waited 13 years to make Mountains because I need the creative freedom. I need to keep it period, I need to make it a period film, I need to make it R-rated, and I need to make it a big tentpole. And within those three — freedom.
And the partnership with Jim Cameron is great because Jim has been a friend for 20 years, but he's been a supporter also, and he made it very clear to me. We had the conversations, and we haven't done anything together professionally — I showed him my movies, he shows me his movies, we talk in the editing room, but we said 'do we formally work together?' And we had the conversation and I said: 'complete freedom.' And at this stage also, I do have more control… So if I screw it up, it will be all my fault."
I don't know about all of you guys, but this is unquestionably one of my most highly anticipated projects coming up in the next few years, it really sounds like it will be incredibly. I can't wait to see what Guillermo is going to do with complete creative freedom, especially because that means he's going to make the exact At the Mountains of Madness movie he's been trying to make for many years. And although we still don't know about the cast and even though it's not greenlit yet, I'm already enthusiastic thinking about these monsters we've "never seen" that del Toro and Murren are coming up with. We already know what his imagination can come up with in Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy II and I'm so excited to see what his cthulhu will look like.
