Oversized For Underlings...

A new featurette is out for "Pacific Rim" with a lot of cool footage...

Guillermo del Toro gives a lot of narration explaining about the Jaegers's heads and how the pilots operate them.  This film seems like an eleven year old's dream come to life before their eyes.  What young male wouldn't want to imagine himself in a giant robot kicking the butt of a giant monster?

The director will now move on to "Crimson Peak", but after that what?  I wonder which project that Del Toro is connected to he'll decide to direct next?  "Justice League Dark" (I prefer the "Dark Universe" title), "Hellboy 3", his opus, "At The Mountains of Madness" or maybe, just maybe that "Haunted Mansion" reboot?

Alan Horn, please pick up the phone...

Pacific Plot...

Godzilla! Godzilla! Wait? Generic Godzilla!







As the days progress, we'll hear more and more about Travis Beacham's "Pacific Rim," maybe even sooner than expected...

News In Film has got a heck of a spoiler of what the first act of this film is supposed to be about and boy does it sound wild and big. Mostly big. The site says that if the budget is proper and Guillermo del Toro is given enough free reign then this could be his "Jurassic Park." I'm sure he'd like that, as it would probably make it easier for him to get "At the Mountains of Madness" made. Who knows, maybe if he delivers in spades for Legendary Pictures, they'll buy the script/option from Universal and make it themselves? Time will tell.

Now, about that "Haunted Mansion" reboot...

Hat Tip to /Film.

Guillermo's Rim...

So Legendary Pictures made it official about Guillermo del Toro directing their big, monster film...

Hours after it was revealed that Universal had passed on "At the Mountains of Madness" and Del Toro was likely to be filming "Pacific Rim," this press release was issued:

Legendary Pictures announced today that Guillermo del Toro is directing the company's upcoming feature, Pacific Rim, confirmed as his next film. The film has already entered pre-production and will begin principal photography in September 2011. Pacific Rim will be released during summer 2013 and will be produced by Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni for Legendary Pictures and Guillermo del Toro.

Stated Guillermo del Toro: "We started developing PAC RIM a while ago with the mad passion and enthusiasm of a project unwatched and unchecked by politics or comparisons. We designed and shepherded the movie we want to make. We start shooting in September and we hit the ground running because we are so in sync. My partnership with Legendary represents, both in scale and creative demands, a huge step forward for me."

It's difficult to believe that the last film he directed was in 2008 with "Hellboy 2." The long, gestating "The Hobbit" ate a great deal of time from his already busy schedule, and for the better part of the last year he's been working on ATMOM. And all he has to show for it are a couple of rejection notices. Well, that's not really the case. He has a great script, impressive FX and models as well as a commitment from Tom Cruise to do it a little later, and I have a feeling that it still may see the light of day a few years down the line. But right now he's prepping "Pacific Rim" for a 2013 release. Again, no word yet on his re-imagining of "The Haunted Mansion" film/attraction, but his love for it should carry it though, although not as a director, but just as a producer/co-writer.

We should start to hear casting/story/location details about GDT's Rim by summer, Mansion is another story...

The Man Who Directed Too Much...

Lights, camera, what's next...






Wow, the economy is bad, but some people never run out of job opportunities...

Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Guillermo del Toro has been offered the directing gig of "Pacific Rim," the giant monster film written by Travis Beacham. This after having difficulty getting the green light for his adaptation of "At The Mountains of Madness." With James Cameron producing, Guillermo directing and Tom Cruise starring and they can't get the Universal Suits to pull the trigger? Man, this town is seriously risk averse big time. Movies such as "Apocalypse Now" could have never been made today. It's sad that this has happened.

Of course, from what I hear, Pacific Rim is right up the director's alley, and something where he would be in his element. But his heart is in this project and although he has have a dozen other films in preparation, the H.P. Lovecraft novella is the dream that he wants to wake up to. If he does decide to make the film, it'll be with the intent of showing Universal that he can make a big budget commercial film so that they'll let him make Madness.

He wouldn't be the first to do this, remember that Brad Bird took the reigns of "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" so as to prove to Warner Suits that he was capable of directing a big, live-action film and therefore be allowed to make "1906" a reality.

If Guillermo del Toro does take Rim, to make ATMOM, then that will likely be the death nail for any chance of him directing the "Haunted Mansion" remake. He already said that he was producing the script with he wrote with Matthew Robbins and that directing would be decided later and time permitting. Well, this would certainly kill the "time permitting" part. He would have to just produce/co-write it and start hunting for another director for the project. All this doesn't even address the many film projects which his name is attached to, or the "Incredible Hulk" series that he's shepherding with an eye in directing the pilot. And then he has an untitled series for cable that he's been developing for a couple years. Not to mention his entry in the video game business with "inSane." And on and on and on. The man is seriously busy and waiting for something to yell: "Action!" on.

We just don't know what will be the first one out the gate..

Love The Craft...

The Old Ones are coming...

There's a great new interview by Daniel Zalewski with Guillermo del Toro over at the New Yorker magazine that is really interesting...

I really like the way Zalewski writes, almost creating a narrative story out of a simple interview.  Guillermo sheds light on several of his upcoming ("At the Mountains of Madness," "The Haunted Mansion") as well as aborted projects ("The Hobbit") and provides an in depth look into the mind of one of the most interesting film makers working today.  If you're a pop culture geek, a comic book lover or a Disney fan, there's something in there for everyone.

Take a look and be in the know before everyone else is...

More Del Toro Madness...

Yesterday, while I was out in the real world some exciting and geeky news broke...

Michael Fleming over at Deadline Hollywood broke that Guillermo del Toro next project was going to be his long desired, dream project, H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" before del Toro could announce it. It was expected that Guillermo would announce his next directing project right after Comic-Con (he said so, after all). But before he could, Fleming let the cat out of the bag. I'd wondered if he would announce this long in development hell project, not having any inside information on it, I just speculated if he was finally going to get his chance. There are other films that the man is lined up to either direct or produce over the next few years and I wondered which would come first. It looks like his dream project will be it.

The Film Maker is having a serious bounce back from his having to leave "The Hobbit" when you consider that this film has long been talked about as his holy grail and getting to write and produce the "Haunted Mansion" project is also a dream come true for the man. I know there are those out there that were disappointed to hear he was making the film, but he's a huge fan of the attraction. If he had the time, he's said that he'd direct it himself, but with his prior commitments, he'll simply have to guide it forward. I'm willing to settle for the writing/producing credit because I know he'll find the right person to interpret his story. But over the next couple years, we will get to see some serious film-love from this man, who I'm sure right now is just giddy.

A maddening time for sure...