Guillermo del Toro

Disney Teaming Up With Guillermo del Toro For New Disney Double Dare You Label

BrianTT — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:04:09 -0600

CHICAGO – The Walt Disney Studios is teaming up with acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Hobbit”) to launch a new production label called Disney Double Dare You. With the new production company they will create new animated movies that are full of “chills and thrills” for people of all ages, announced at D23 Expo last week by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.

Guillermo Del Toro.
Photo credit: New Line

Del Toro who originated the concept of the new production company will produce the movies. “Trollhunters,” which is an original story from del Toro is the first film in development.

Cook had this to say about the announcement, “Guillermo is a brilliant and visionary filmmaker, and we’re excited to be launching this new label with him. His knowledge and appreciation for Disney films, along with his penchant for creating worlds of fantasy, presented a great opportunity for us to explore a whole new genre of filmmaking for moviegoers of all ages. We have admired Guillermo’s imaginative approach to filmmaking for some time, and now we’re proud to be working with him to create films full of imaginative delights and lots of thrills at the same time.”

Del Toro went on to add that, “As a director, I love to take audiences into fantastic new worlds and provide them with some anxious moments in the process. It is part of the Disney canon to create thrilling, unforgettable moments and villains in all their classic films. It is my privilege for DDY to continue in this tradition. To partner up with The Walt Disney Studios, with the support of Dick Cook and John Lasseter, is to belong to a storytelling partnership that I admire deeply. It is a true honor. I look forward to coming up with fresh and original stories that will take Disney films in a whole new direction. The emphasis is on fun, and we have some great ideas already on the storyboards.”

In 2007, Del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” received six Academy Award nominations, including one for original screenplay. The film went on to win three awards. “Labyrinth” also went on to win a BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English language. Del Toro is currently directing back-to-back film adaptations of the Tolkien cult classic, “The Hobbit,” which is set for a 2011 and 2012 release.

By ANGIE RENTMEESTER
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com

Following ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ Regresses From Best to Worst For Guillermo del Toro

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:01:00 -0600

CHICAGO – Hellboy is plugged as the world’s brawniest, kitten-loving superhero. While that paradox is supposed to be both funny and action packed, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” from famed writer and director Guillermo del Toro falls flat on the funny front and instead winds up on the funny farm.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

Amid a superhero-laden 2008 with true blockbusters including “The Dark Knight” (opening on July 18, 2008), “Iron Man,” “Hancock,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Punisher: War Zone” (opening on Dec. 5, 2008), “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” had just as much potential but reveals only semi-blockbuster status.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” in our reviews section.

View our full, high-resolution “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” image gallery.

On the heels of the majestically dark “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Guillermo del Toro regresses from perhaps his finest film hour to his among his greatest misfires in the action-packed but story-miscued film about a tough-talking hellspawn who wages war against rebellious and ridiculous creatures.

If you recall 2004’s “Hellboy” at all, it’s not likely because of the $60 million in domestic dollars the film raked in theatrically or its $100 million worldwide total in theaters. Rather, “Hellboy” earned cult-following status from its subsequent DVD release. It’s that launch pad that’s propelling “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” with steam in 2008.

But while the film will show an improved box-office balance sheet and critically is earning rave reviews, don’t be fooled by the hype machine. Guillermo del Toro delivers the Hollywood filet mignon we’ve come to expect wrapped nicely in all the special-effects bacon we’ve come to desire but without the heart we’ve come to demand.

Do we care about any of these characters? Do we care if this one actually falls in love or if that one actually lives or dies or if this one makes amends or if that one comes to terms with destiny? What we do feel isn’t for the characters, their missions or the performances they deliver.

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” which is written and directed by Guillermo del Toro and stars Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Seth MacFarlane, Luke Goss, Anna Walton, Doug Jones, John Hurt and Jeffrey Tambor, opened everywhere on July 11, 2008.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” review.

Hellboy (Ron Perlman) does battle with an elemental in “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”.
Photo credit: Double Negative, copyright Universal Studios

Writer and director Guillermo del Toro holds Hellboy’s revolver on the set of “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”.
Photo credit: Egon Endrenyi, copyright Universal Studios

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” review.

Production Stills Surface For George A. Romero’s ‘Diary of the Dead’

HollywoodChicago.com — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:01:24 -0700

CHICAGO – The Weinstein Company has released 11 new production stills for George A. Romero’s “Diary of the Dead,” which will show at the Sundance Film Festival later this month and hits limited U.S. theaters on Feb. 15.

In the film, a group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own. “Diary of the Dead” is written and directed by horror master George A. Romero (“Land of the Dead,” “Day of the Dead,” “Dawn of the Dead,” “Night of the Living Dead”).

Though the film’s primary cast relies on many actors you’ve likely never heard of, it interestingly features voice work from people including Wes Craven, Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino and Guillermo del Toro.

I’ve included a few of the production stills below. All of them can be found in our new “Diary of the Dead” image gallery.

The publicist for the film has informed us that “Diary of the Dead” will show at the Sundance Film Festival on these dates and at these locations:

Jan. 18, 11:30 p.m., Library Center Theatre
Jan. 22, 9 p.m., Tower Theatre, Salt Lake City
Jan. 26, 11:30 p.m., Holiday Village Cinema II
Jan. 27, 10 a.m., Holiday Village Cinema I

Click here to view the entire “Diary of the Dead” image gallery!

The trailer – along with a challenge from Romero to submit your own short horror film for possible release with the DVD version – can be viewed below. This was posted on our boards on Jan. 11. You can discuss these production stills at this new thread on our boards.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Darker Director For Darkest ‘Harry Potter’? Guillermo del Toro Hopes So

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 22:07:44 -0700

CHICAGO – So, Warner Bros.: Yes or no? Darker director Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”) wants to direct “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” so badly he bought the final J.K. Rowling book for his daughter and latched onto it himself so she had to say: “When are you going to give it to me?”

He solidified his position of passion for the gig to MTV on Tuesday.

Guillermo del Toro.
Photo credit: mun²

“I read it and I was very moved by the ending. It ends very much like a [Charles] Dickens novel.”

“I’m definitely interested [in directing the seventh ‘Harry Potter’ film],” he insisted, “now that the movies have grown darker. They have a contrast between the gloomy existence of the kid and the world he’s exposed to. They have evolved into a really nice universe.”

MTV can envision the fit, too:

The ‘deathstick’: a wand of destiny [that] makes its bearer unbeatable. A resurrection stone [that] enables the one who wields it to visit with the dead. A trip to the afterlife and a final duel [that] makes “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” look like kindergarten cops and robbers.

Indeed, given all the new elements of the “Harry Potter” universe introduced in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” there’s little doubt it would be right in del Toro’s wheelhouse – especially after the visionary “Pan’s Labyrinth” cemented him as the master of fairy tales that cross over from children to adults.

Even back on Oct. 26, 2007, the director again talked to MTV in Budapest about his interest in the project. His name even popped up as a directorial possibility for the third film (“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”), which winded up going to good friend Alfonso Cuarόn.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

New Trailer For ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ Surfaces Online

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 13:46:06 -0700

On Wednesday, we reported that the new trailer for “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” would pop up online on Thursday. It indeed has. I’ve embedded the trailer below.

New Trailer For ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ Surfaces Online

New Production Photos Surface For ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’; Trailer Coming on Thursday

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:47:21 -0700

Three new production stills surfaced on Tuesday from IGN for “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”. In the first photo below on the left, we see the reveal of agent Johann Krauss. All images can be clicked for larger versions.

Also, various sites confirm that the trailer for this film will appear online this Thursday at noon PST or 3 p.m. EST. Stay tuned.

Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, the second installment in the popular comic-based film series stars Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Luke Goss, Thomas Kretschmann, Doug Jones, Anna Walton, Brian Steele, Roy Dotrice and John Hurt.

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” is slated to open on July 11, 2008.