Nothing much new but:
In a conversation with 24 Frames Monday, Del Toro said he's actively engaged with the project and moving ahead with the tale of the mysteries and monsters on an Antarctic expedition. In fact, just last week Del Toro met with studio Universal for the so-called summit meeting in which he walked executives through his concepts and models for the movie. The script is also ready, he said.So how soon could shooting begin? This summer, he hopes, and possibly as early as June, according to the filmmaker.And lest you think producer James Cameron is simply putting his name on it while he's off working on "Avatar 2", think again: The "Terminator" director was present for the summit meeting and has been offering Del Toro some notes."In his subtle style he said to me, 'I have a few notes, but I have one fatal flaw [that I see in the script],'" Del Toro recalled. "He pointed out one thing that was big. I've been thinking about this for 35 years, and he pointed out something I'd never seen."
So how soon could shooting begin? This summer, he hopes, and possibly as early as June, according to the filmmaker.
And lest you think producer James Cameron is simply putting his name on it while he's off working on "Avatar 2", think again: The "Terminator" director was present for the summit meeting and has been offering Del Toro some notes.
"In his subtle style he said to me, 'I have a few notes, but I have one fatal flaw [that I see in the script],'" Del Toro recalled. "He pointed out one thing that was big. I've been thinking about this for 35 years, and he pointed out something I'd never seen."
"There's not enough of that mystical rainforest giggling children shit."
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 6 December 2010 22:49 (thirteen years ago) link
man i wish i liked gdt more as a storyteller... he's smart and has great taste and has his heart in the right place but with a couple exceptions his movies are usually kinda bad
― shirley summistake (s1ocki), Monday, 6 December 2010 22:53 (thirteen years ago) link
great del toro profile from new yorker, has some info on this:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/07/110207fa_fact_zalewski
― My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Princess TamTam), Monday, 7 February 2011 11:51 (thirteen years ago) link
shub niggurath's clit
Can someone debunk the Tom Cruise lead rumors so I can relax and know this movie will be excellent?
― Brakhage, Tuesday, 8 February 2011 03:18 (thirteen years ago) link
Even though he would guarantee the movie actually being made which would be nice. But I just don't want him on screen.
― Brakhage, Tuesday, 8 February 2011 03:19 (thirteen years ago) link
tekeli-li tekeli-li
― not everything is a campfire (ian), Tuesday, 8 February 2011 03:28 (thirteen years ago) link
Well, no need to fret over Tom Cruise,I guess . . .
After three months of deliberation, Universal Pictures, the studio that gave del Toro money for pre-production creature designs, has remained unwilling to give the director a greenlight, citing concerns over the film’s budget and likely R rating. On Monday, del Toro withdrew from the negotiations, and that night at ten-thirty he sent me a short, mournful e-mail:Madness has gone dark. The ‘R’ did us in.Del Toro had told me that he would not compromise on the film’s rating, even though a film rated PG-13 would have a much easier time attracting a mass audience. “Madness,” as he imagined it, would not be particularly gory, but he insisted that he needed the artistic freedom “to make it really, really uncomfortable and nasty.” Del Toro had hoped that a greenlight for “Madness” would mark a new golden age for horror films:Del Toro envisaged “Madness” as a “hard R” epic, shot in 3-D, with a blockbuster budget. Creating dozens of morphing creatures would be expensive, and much of the film needed to be shot somewhere that approximated Antarctica; one of the most disquieting aspects of Lovecraft’s novella is that the explorers are being pursued by monsters in a vast frozen void, and del Toro wanted to make the first horror movie on the scale of a David Lean production. But a “tent-pole horror film,” as del Toro put it, hadn’t been made in years. High-budget productions such as “Alien” and “The Shining” had been followed by decades of cheaper thrills. “The natural flaw of horror as a genre is that, ninety-nine per cent of the time, it’s a clandestine genre,” he said. “It lives and breathes—‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre,’ the first ‘Saw,’ ‘The Blair Witch Project’—in dark little corners that come out and haunt you. Rarely is there a beautiful orchid that blooms.” He mentioned Hitchcock’s “The Birds”: “It was a major filmmaker using cutting-edge optical technology and special effects. It was a big-budget movie. It had Edith Head designing costumes, it had all the luxuries. And it was appealing because it had all the polished aspects of a studio film.”According to Deadline.com, Universal executives felt that “Madness” would need to make at least five hundred million dollars in worldwide grosses in order to turn a profit, considering global marketing costs. It is possible that del Toro will now present the project to another studio.Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/03/guillermo-del-toro-madness-has-gone-dark.html#ixzz1G3d845aI
Madness has gone dark. The ‘R’ did us in.
Del Toro had told me that he would not compromise on the film’s rating, even though a film rated PG-13 would have a much easier time attracting a mass audience. “Madness,” as he imagined it, would not be particularly gory, but he insisted that he needed the artistic freedom “to make it really, really uncomfortable and nasty.” Del Toro had hoped that a greenlight for “Madness” would mark a new golden age for horror films:
Del Toro envisaged “Madness” as a “hard R” epic, shot in 3-D, with a blockbuster budget. Creating dozens of morphing creatures would be expensive, and much of the film needed to be shot somewhere that approximated Antarctica; one of the most disquieting aspects of Lovecraft’s novella is that the explorers are being pursued by monsters in a vast frozen void, and del Toro wanted to make the first horror movie on the scale of a David Lean production. But a “tent-pole horror film,” as del Toro put it, hadn’t been made in years. High-budget productions such as “Alien” and “The Shining” had been followed by decades of cheaper thrills. “The natural flaw of horror as a genre is that, ninety-nine per cent of the time, it’s a clandestine genre,” he said. “It lives and breathes—‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre,’ the first ‘Saw,’ ‘The Blair Witch Project’—in dark little corners that come out and haunt you. Rarely is there a beautiful orchid that blooms.” He mentioned Hitchcock’s “The Birds”: “It was a major filmmaker using cutting-edge optical technology and special effects. It was a big-budget movie. It had Edith Head designing costumes, it had all the luxuries. And it was appealing because it had all the polished aspects of a studio film.”
According to Deadline.com, Universal executives felt that “Madness” would need to make at least five hundred million dollars in worldwide grosses in order to turn a profit, considering global marketing costs. It is possible that del Toro will now present the project to another studio.
Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/03/guillermo-del-toro-madness-has-gone-dark.html#ixzz1G3d845aI
― Ian Curtis danced like a tortured chicken DO U SEE (Phil D.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 00:24 (thirteen years ago) link
Aw, fuck.
― I'll take u down 2 the dark grosse chap L (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 00:55 (thirteen years ago) link
Sometimes it's just better than way.
― Stockhausen's Ekranoplan Quartet (Elvis Telecom), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 01:03 (thirteen years ago) link
nice article by Drew McWeeny about the state of the biz as it relates to 'mountains...' being scrapped
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/motion-captured/posts/is-it-fair-to-blame-universal-for-the-state-of-the-industry-today
Universal badly wanted to be in the Guillermo Del Toro business. It was a priority to them, and when they made "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army," that was in large part a show of faith on the part of the studio. They wanted to make "Frankenstein" with Guillermo. They wanted to give him a home for his particular voice and vision. And when it came down to it, after a few years marked by expensive filmmmaker-driven flops and sure-thing properties that failed and cult fanboy favorites that no one turned out for, they looked at that R-rated $150 million horror film and said, "We can't." Not that they didn't want to, or that they don't believe in Guillermo, or that they want to make crap instead. They looked at the money they've made, the money they've lost, the choices that have led them to this place, and they said, "We can't."
― ℳℴℯ ❤\(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 05:19 (thirteen years ago) link
:(
― 'what are you, the Hymen Protection League of America?' (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 14:59 (thirteen years ago) link
It was a no brainer that this would never be made the second they announced that del Toro wanted to make it. Besides, Carpenter already did the mutating gory monster in Antarctica thing as well as anyone ever will. For a visionary, del Toro is having some trouble getting the vision-thing working for him. "Madness" was never feasible, "Frankenstein" would be a disaster, "The Hobbit" was a poor fit. And yet, "Devil's Backbone" and "Pan's Labyrinth," his best movies, were both original scripts. Stick to your strengths, big guy! You've got great, original ideas. Make a movie out of your great, original ideas!
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 15:25 (thirteen years ago) link
it's silly, you could totally make Mountains PG-13. The book isn't that violent, aside from mutilation-discoveries that could totally be managed at Star Wars-level gore.
― David Allah Coal (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 16:00 (thirteen years ago) link
50-ft penguins are the elephant in the room
50-ft penguins are the 50-ft penguins in the room
― I love priest but I've chosen maiden (Edward III), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 16:05 (thirteen years ago) link
the cancellation of this project is so tragic and i hope he gets to make this movie one day. there are very few directors i'm as interested in seeing what they come up with as del toro.
― Mordy, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 16:33 (thirteen years ago) link
OTM
― I'll take u down 2 the dark grosse chap L (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 17:26 (thirteen years ago) link
dude had a hard R vision
― I love priest but I've chosen maiden (Edward III), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 17:32 (thirteen years ago) link
Not dead yet, getting better, etc.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 27 June 2011 22:37 (twelve years ago) link
Somewhat of an uh.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 7 May 2012 18:58 (eleven years ago) link
GDT entering competition for unluckiest filmmaker in the game
though i'm looking at the imdb for pacific rim and the cast is p awesome
― JIM THOMETHEUS (zachlyon), Monday, 7 May 2012 19:06 (eleven years ago) link
so basically space jockeys = old ones, aliens = shoggoths
(seriously fuck off to anyone who thinks that's a "spoiler")
― bark ruffalo (latebloomer), Monday, 7 May 2012 19:08 (eleven years ago) link
You heartless cynic etc
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 7 May 2012 19:11 (eleven years ago) link
Nah it's just kinda obvious that's the route they're gonna take with Prometheus. Lovecraft invented so many sci-fi/horror tropes that are still being used that it's pretty easy to spot the influence.
― bark ruffalo (latebloomer), Monday, 7 May 2012 19:14 (eleven years ago) link
Xenoarcheology
― Choad of Choad Hall (kingfish), Monday, 7 May 2012 19:45 (eleven years ago) link
lame
― the late great, Monday, 7 May 2012 19:49 (eleven years ago) link
Enjoyed the first episode of The Strain! (Don't know if it's being discussed elsewhere) Very well put-together nonsense.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Monday, 8 September 2014 23:50 (nine years ago) link
That seems to be the general takeaway. Basically, as long as you begin by understanding it is nonsense, the rest comes very easily.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 9 September 2014 01:15 (nine years ago) link
Wow, "The Book of Life" (which he produced) has got to be one of the most gorgeous films I've seen in years. I sort of want to see it again to see it in 3D. Loved it.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 19 October 2014 21:43 (nine years ago) link
Did I say "Book of Life" was gorgeous? Well "Crimson Peak," while both overheated and undercooked, boasts some of the most sumptuous production design I've seen in years. I'd see it again in a heartbeat despite it having nothing much else compelling really going for it beyond some impressively bloody make-up. Because I mean, who really makes a ghost movie where the demonic scary ghosts are supporting players at best? Surprised they didn't just go all the way and reveal it's all been a book she was writing ... or was it?
Man, del Toro, what is up with you? You spend years juggling dream projects, then when you finally do make a movie - this, "Pacific Rim" - it's something that no one really wanted.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 18 December 2015 04:18 (eight years ago) link
What might have been:
https://money.yahoo.com/tom-cruise-versus-cthulhu-inside-104759713.html
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 18 August 2020 15:14 (three years ago) link
I would have watched that! V intriguing
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 18 August 2020 16:48 (three years ago) link
I would have watched that on an airplane
― sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Tuesday, 18 August 2020 18:31 (three years ago) link
Wouldn't mind seeing more of the concept art, that one image was pretty good.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 18 August 2020 18:35 (three years ago) link