I have to say this project absolutely fascinates me. Guillermo del Toro came close with his James Cameron produced effort to obtain financing from Universal for AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS but in the end the studio backed out. And with that rejection del Toro decided that the project resembled Ridley Scott's PROMETHEUS too much and completely shelved it.
Or did he? Tom Cruise is STILL attached. I'm uncertain if Cameron is still around to produce (his life is about to get some Pandora pandemonium), but this thing is still alive. Sounds more like halfway between the back and front burners to me!
Now check what Guillermo had to say about the project: "I'm going to try it one more time. Once more into the dark abyss. We're gonna do a big presentation of the project again at the start of the year and see if any [studio's] interested...Yeah, Tom [Cruise] is still attached. I think it would be so fantastic to make it with him. He's been such a great ally of the project."
And after seeing PROMETHEUS in theaters, del Toro seemed to be comfortable with the whole thing and laughed it off: "I saw it finally and.. yes, there are things in common, but, you know, screw it. Lovecraft was there first."
...And a huge smile spreads across my face. AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS is an all or nothing effort and judging by the way PACIFIC RIM looks, I think he will get his financing finally. Will Legendary Pictures step up to the plate? Here's hoping! Imagine that Lovecraft classic amplified by del Toro's magic on the silver screen in 3D...
Has Universal killed the Guillermo del Toro project just as all this momentum has been built up? Apparently so according to Steve over at Collider. Not too much is known just yet as to whether the studio axed it (and why - too much $?) or whether Legendary Pictures was successful in luring del Toro away from AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. Or perhaps both.
For those keeping score, this would be Guillermo's second massive project that he has distanced himself from (after THE HOBBIT).
It looks like del Toro will take on PACIFIC RIM for Legendary instead. That movie is “set in a future in which malevolent creatures threaten the earth, the planet must band together and use highly advanced technology to eradicate the growing menace.”
And contrary to some Internet rumors - RIM will not be a Godzilla movie. No word on whether GDT envisions this as a 3D movie or not as of yet.
I wish my friend Guillermo the best in all of this. We have been 'virtually' acquainted for some time now. Even with James Cameron's clout, it seems the tab was a bit too steep for Universal to bite. Clearly I think this is a mistake on their part - but hey, that is a lot of money to be betting with. I will post more information when I get it.
Guys - I have a quick question and answer session for you involving James Cameron and the horror genre site Fearnet about his production of AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS.
Not startling news, but news nonetheless and proof that Guillermo del Toro's H.P. Lovecraft adaptation is indeed moving forward. Have a look:
What is it about At the Mountains of Madness that you find so fascinating? That's made you want to champion the film adaptation? JC: One word, one man – Guillermo. We've been friends for twenty years. We've been trying to work together, really, for that entire time. And it has never quite congealed. We're both Lovecraft fans. Me from my college days, when I discovered Lovecraft. I think I read everything he wrote in about a month. I powered through it. And if anybody can bring Lovecraft to the screen it's gonna be Del Toro. He's got a real vision for the film. It's very, very well-developed in his mind. You know, I'm just there to facilitate his vision. I don't have any strong sense of authorship; zero sense of authorship. I'm just there to try to get it made and help him do the movie that's in his head.
So it's still going to happen, but it's just a question of when? JC: Oh we're very, very actively pre-producing the film right now with Universal. The design work is phenomenal, both the three-dimensional and two-dimensional design work, the physical maquettes, the CG test scenes; the artwork is phenomenal. The fans certainly won't want for a visual feast with this film. But there's [still] a bunch of number-crunching and "How you gonna do it?" and "How you gonna make it?"; "Where you gonna do it?" All that stuff.
Sounds exciting of course! Anything Cameron and del Toro are involved in will be exceptional. I should have some more Cameron updates shortly! Stay tuned...
Guillermo del Toro has been taking it easy for years. Kidding! The man has been so busy and with so many projects it is hard to keep track of them all. One of those projects has been VERY easy to follow and that is AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's novella.
For MADNESS he has the help of little known industry player James Cameron and the two of them presented their concepts and models to Universal last week. The script is also complete added del Toro, but with a significant modification due to Cameron's eye:
Guillermo stated to the LATimes: "In his subtle style he said to me, 'I have a few notes, but I have one fatal flaw [that I see in the script],'" Del Toro recalled. "He pointed out one thing that was big. I've been thinking about this for 35 years, and he pointed out something I'd never seen."
Looks like a summer start date is in the works - most likely June. Can't wait for info to start coming in from this one!!
Just got off the phone with James Cameron! Great to hear from him again and get some interesting news and confirmations. If you would like to listen to the last time I spoke with him, you can check out the interview here.
Today's call was made available in connection with AVATAR: SPECIAL EDITION which will be running in a limited engagement starting August 27.
I have broken down today's interview into segments listed below so you can quickly find your interest item, but of course I recommend listening to the whole thing!
With all the recent hoopla over 3D conversions and the ridiculous stories that 3D is dying, it is so refreshing to hear from the man that really started it all for modern 3D in Hollywood (along with Mr. Katzenberg of course). Have a listen!!
0:40 - Cameron confirms he is producing Guillermo del Toro's AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. The movie will be shot in native 3D using next generation FUSION 3D cameras from Pace. The project came up only 2 or 3 weeks ago when Cameron asked about if del Toro was still interested in it. As del Toro was clearly excited to do it, Cameron said "let's do it". They took it to Universal with both of them attached to the fast tracked project and now it looks like it will be going in the 2nd quarter of 2011.
2:30 - Cameron talks about 3D conversions. TITANIC's conversion is taking 8 months to a year to complete, not a fast turnaround like CLASH OF THE TITANS. Cameron: "(TITANS) showed a fundamental lack of knowledge about stereo space, in addition to the shoddy work that comes from rushing."Cameron likes TITANS in 2D as do I (I have had the Blu-ray since it was released) from a directorial standpoint and as a fan of Sam Worthington.
5:00 - Cameron on how they are technically converting TITANIC."You just can't cut out edges, you're going to get flat people moving around." He will be using all his knowledge to put things on their right depth planes. They had tests for TITANIC from seven different conversion vendors on the exact same shots and they got back seven different answers as to were they thought things were spatially. "Some of them were not bad guesses and some of them were ridiculous."
6:50 - The whole argument about conversion will go away for high end, first run 3D. Two years from now when there are thousands of 3D cameras out their shooting live feeds to 3D broadcast networks, how can a producer go to a studio and say: "I can't shoot 3D. It's too difficult. There are too many problems. It costs too much. It adds 6 months to post-production. They won't be able to say any of that stuff. That stuff is all garbage."
9:05 - Cameron on talking with Steven Spielberg about converting his classic movies to 3D. "Make sure you are there for (the conversions), then it can be great."
11:20 - Cameron talks about AVATAR 2's current status. He has an overall story arc for 2 and 3, but has some modifications for that after spending some time during the last few months with native tribes in the Amazon basin. Script will be a ways out yet for AVATAR 2.
12:04 - He is focusing his writing right now on the AVATAR novel (corresponds to the first film) and that will take him the next couple of months to bang out. Not sure when it will be coming out, perhaps the end of the year or the first quarter of 2011.
12:45 - The AVATAR re-release will have 9 extra minutes, not 8 and it will all be CG. No extra footage of live action characters drinking coffee. Rainforest; some at night; a hunt sequence - a lot of flying; high impact action; an emotional scene toward the end has been added back; "the best CG in the film has been added as far as facial performance"; A Na'vi counterattack after the bulldozer attack; more of Grace at the school; adding the Stingbat and Sturmbeast creatures; additional Quaritch final AMP Suit battle shots; more of the glade love scene. It is all on par with the best of the rest of the film. They had lots of footage to choose from and they put back the absolute best scenes and shots they could.
15:45 - Cameron does not have the release timing of the 3D Blu-ray as they want to have a nice distribution of 3DTVs in homes. He has seen the 3D master run on consumer 3DTVs from Panasonic and Samsung and "It looks amazing. It looks really spectacular."
Special thanks to Jim Cameron and 20th Century Fox for setting this up! I am looking forward to the re-release on August 27 and to hearing more about the AVATAR novel and AVATAR movie sequel in the coming months. Stay tuned for more information as I get it...
Sounds too good to be true! Keep in mind folks this is still just a rumor but it has been reported by Deadline that Guillermo del Toro's next project will be H.P. Lovecraft's AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS!! Deadline is usually reliable (but do tend to steal other's exclusives once in awhile).
The kicker is that James Cameron has apparently agreed to lend his name as a Producer! I am a bit taken aback by that, but if true certainly underscores the relationship that Cameron and del Toro have fostered over the years. Seems Cameron trusts him to deliver a great 3D movie. Bring it on!
As AICNhas postulated - wouldn't MADNESS look great as an R-rated tentpole? You bet. We are all with you Guillermo!!
