The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Del Toro eyes monster hit with ‘Pacific Rim’ Posted: 12 Jul 2013 02:04 AM PDT
Ever since childhood, del Toro has been captivated by Japanese "kaiju," the name given to huge creatures such as Godzilla who emerged in popular culture in the 1950s. Monsters and the supernatural have been a recurring theme of del Toro's movies which include "Cronos" (1993), "Mimic" (1997), both "Hellboy" films and his Oscar-nominated 2006 masterpiece "Pan's Labyrinth." "Monsters are my obsession," del Toro told AFP. "You see some people whose faces light up when they're talking about their puppies or kittens. Me, I'm happy when I'm talking about monsters." Del Toro's new film -- with an estimated budget of around $180 million -- has allowed him to indulge his passion on a vast scale. The film stars British actors Charlie Hunnam and Idris Elba as humans who control giant robots constructed to battle a crop of enormous sea monsters who emerge from a chasm at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The film is by far the largest and most complicated of del Toro's career, but he said he was unfazed by the scale of the movie. "I've always been a filmmaker with a strong technical bent, whether in terms of makeup, animation and special effects," he said. "So I wasn't lost in the technical aspect of the film. Making a film of this magnitude, is above all a matter of discipline, work and energy," del Toro added. The challenge, del Toro said, was trying to ensure the overall feel of the film was not overwhelmed by the myriad visual effects. "The most daunting aspect was to coordinate the artistic aspect of the film -- to be visually beautiful, in terms of colors, textures and shapes," he said. As usual, del Toro's film creates some stunning images, from a colossal robot emerging from the ocean and collapsing on a beach, to the heart-stopping scene where a huge creature chases a girl through the streets of a devastated megalopolis. Del Toro also emphasized his desire to create strong human characters from a cast which, in addition to Hunnam and Elba, features Ron Perlman and Rinko Kikuchi, who, in 2006, became the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Oscar in 50 years for her performance in "Babel." "I wanted to do an ensemble film, where there is not a single hero but where all the characters have the same weight," says del Toro. "Because the film is about humanity saving humanity. The human element was very important for me." Ultimately, though, "Pacific Rim" is a monster movie, and del Toro hopes it will inspire a whole new generation of movie-goers in the way characters such as Godzilla inspired him as a child. "I hope that young audiences and family will go see the movie," he said. "It would be very nice to create a new generation of fans of this genre." Del Toro has paid a respectful homage to"kaiju" monster mythology in "Pacific Rim." "The typology of kaiju is very strict: there's the bug, the crustacean, the reptile," he says. "I chose to use some. There's one that looks like an elaborate crab, and others that are clearly reptiles." But the scale of "Pacific Rim" has left del Toro looking for a smaller project. "What I want to do now is something quick, short, and does not cost much money," he said. - AFP/Relax, July 12, 2013 |
| Sam Mendes to direct next James Bond film, out in 2015 Posted: 11 Jul 2013 04:53 PM PDT The next James Bond film will be released in late 2015, producers announced Thursday, with Daniel Craig reprising his role as the suave British spy and Sam Mendes returning as director after dramatically reversing his decision to quit. A few teasing details of the unnamed 24th official Bond adventure were announced in a picture posted on Agent 007's official Twitter feed, emblazoned with the words "BOND 24" in large letters. "Daniel Craig is 007, Sam Mendes back as director," the tweet said, adding that the film would be released in Britain on October 23, 2015, and in the United States two weeks later. The screenplay will be written by John Logan, who penned the last Bond film "Skyfall", as well as other hit movies including "Gladiator" and "The Last Samurai". Mendes, 47, directed "Skyfall", which became Britain's highest-grossing film ever and took more than $1 billion at box offices worldwide when it was released in 2012. The Oscar-winning British director said in March that he had turned down the chance to direct the next Bond film in order to concentrate on his theatre work, but confirmed on Thursday that he had changed his mind. "I am very pleased that by giving me the time I need to honour all my theatre commitments, the producers have made it possible for me to direct Bond 24," he said in a statement published on the official Bond website. "I very much look forward to taking up the reins again, and to working with Daniel Craig (and producers) Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for a second time," he added. Mendes, who won an Oscar in 2000 for directing "American Beauty", is currently working on a new musical theatre version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" that opened in London last month. He will direct a production of William Shakespeare's "King Lear" at the National Theatre in London from January 2014. - AFP/Relaxnews, July 12, 2013. |
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