Guillermo del Toro Breaks Our Hearts Describing What Could’ve Been with At the Mountains of Madness
Jonathan Barkan
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We all know that at one point writer/director Guillermo del Toro had plans to make a big budget adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness, a combination that had horror fans jumping for joy. However, no matter how many stars align, all it takes is one to shift its place and the entire project comes crashing down, which is what happened here.
Talking with Collider‘s Perri Nemiroff, del Toro described what went into creating the presentation for studios and the breadth of talent that was going to be associated with the project.
“We thought we had a very good, safe package,” he states. “It was $150 [million], Tom Cruise and James Cameron producing, ILM doing the effects, here’s the art, this is the concept, because I really think big-scale horror would be great… but there was a difference of opinion; the studio didn’t think so. The R [rating] was what made it. If Mountains had been PG-13, or I had said PG-13… [but] I’m too much of a Boy Scout. I should have lied, but I didn’t.”
Del Toro also tackles the public impression of directors, saying the power they wield isn’t necessarily true. “A lot of people think of directors like Caesar sitting on a chaise lounge like somebody feeding them grapes, and you say, ‘I would like to do Mountains of Madness now.’ And it’s not. You’re a blue collar guy working your way, putting numbers in front of studios, putting [together] stars, packages, whatever, and you have your stuff to move,” he explains. “That’s why I tried to do a small movie and a big movie, because the small movies, you suffer with the budget, but you have complete freedom; you can do whatever you want. That gives you a line.”
Perhaps the most heartbreaking moment, however, is when del Toro emphatically states that all the work that was put into the presentation for the studios will prove how much love was going to be put into the film. “One day I’ll show you the art’; I’ll show you everything we did. We did over 300 pieces of art, we did storyboards, we did models… we had a whole presentation. You will cry, you will go, ‘Why?’”
If anyone could’ve made such a film incredible, it would certainly be Guillermo del Toro. Maybe one day a studio will take the risk and give him the money he’s asking for, but until then we can only imagine what could’ve been.
Art by kkkiri (Deviant Art)
Categorized:News
