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| Guillermo del Toro directs Picturehouse’s Pan’s Labyrinth – 2006 |
It might seem like a near-impossible feat to make it big in Hollywood while maintaining your own unique voice, but Mexican writer-director Guillermo del Toro has proven that being successful does not have to mean selling out.After the smash success of his first feature, Cronos, in 1993, del Toro quickly gained a reputation as one of the most original and imaginative moviemakers working today. After being recruited to direct the cult hit Blade II, del Toro became the go-to guy for quirky, science-fiction and fantasy flicks—he wrote and directed the film adaptation of the comic book favorite, Hellboy, and his most recent endeavor, Pan’s Labyrinth, was released in theaters on December 29.
The film, considered by many to be del Toro’s best work to date, details the adventures of a young girl living in Franco-era Spain and has been lauded by critics for its darkly surreal dreamscape of a story. With the success of high-concept fantasy flicks like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Pan’s Labyrinth may even find significant success stateside, breaking out of its foreign indie niche. What’s more the Pan’s Labyrinth illustration contest (http://www.panslabyrinth.com/mysketchbook) offers fans the chance to win a movie poster signed by the writer-director and have their work featured on the film’s DVD.
Next up is an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel, The Witches, produced by another acclaimed Mexican moviemaker, Alfonso Cuarón. With the Children of Men director behind the scenes and del Toro both writing the script and directing, this version (an update of the lackluster 1990 film by Nicolas Roeg) promises to do justice to Dahl’s wickedly twisted story as only del Toro’s original and entertaining voice can accomplish.
Shameless Plug: Read del Toro’s take on the Latin film scene in the summer issue of MovieMaker, available to purchase here.
Sound Off: Guillermo del Toro has established himself as one of the most talented creators of sci-fi and fantasy cinema in the business. In addition to The Witches and his own Pan’s Labyrinth, what classic fantasy tale would you like to see the writer-director tackle? Talk back in the comments section of the blog!
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