Del Toro Talks More About ‘Mountains of Madness’

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 ass 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).

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The Hobbit Begins Shooting In June

The Peter Jackson-produced, Guillermo del Toro-directed two-film adaptation of The Hobbit will begin shooting in June.

 

This according to actor Ian McKellen, who is returning as Gandalf. He wrote the following on his official website:

THE HOBBIT’s, two films, start shooting in New Zealand in June. Filming will take over a year. Casting in Los Angeles, New York City and London has started. The script too proceeds. The first draft is crammed with old and new friends, again on a quest in Middle Earth. The director Guillermo del Toro is now living in Wellington, close to the Jacksons’ and the studio in Miramar.

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