Guillermo Del Toro Working on Frankenstein
In between threatening to show off his incredible “chocolate bar physique,” Hell Boy 2 director Guillermo del Toro revealed to MTV that he is working on preliminary sketches for an upcoming “definitive take” on the Frankenstein monster. Del Toro says that his vision, which is in the earliest stages of pre-production, will not be a literal adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, rather a permutation on the myth. It’s all very cryptic, isn’t it? Does this mean he’ll be bringing Frankenstein into modern times or creating his own twisted Gothic fairy tale?
“The only way to do the Shelley novel is to actually do a four-hour miniseries,” he said. “But I think there permutations in which you can tell the myth in a different way.”
With Mark Romanek’s Wolf Man starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins due in 2009, it appears these traditional monsters of yore might be in for a more promising, hipper comeback compared to their last mediocre return to theaters in the early ‘90s, when Mike Nichols’ Wolf, Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Kenneth Branagh’s Frankenstein put audiences to sleep, as well as the horror icons. Indeed, sounds like the perfect old school anecdote for what remains of the torture porn, ‘80s remakes and Japanese remakes still haunting theaters.
Who would you cast as Dr. Frankenstein and his bolt-brained pal?
Pan’s Labyrinth expands to Over 1,000 Screens This Weekend
Ever wonder what an Academy Award nomination can mean to a film? Up until January 18th, the critically acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth was only being shown on just under 200 screens nationwide. With six nominations, the film will expand to over 1,000 screens on Friday. This is one of the must see movies of last year. If you haven’t checked it out yet, be sure to go to your local theater this weekend and see it on the big screen. Press release after the jump.
PICTUREHOUSE EXPANDS PANS LABYRINTH
TO OVER 1,000 SCREENS THIS WEEKEND
(New York, February 1, 2007)
Picturehouse will expand Pans Labyrinth to over 1000 screens this weekend. Pans Labyrinth was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Foreign Film, Cinematography, Art Direction, Makeup, Music Written for Motion Pictures (original score) and Best Original Screenplay.
Pans Labyrinth won 7 GOYA Awards this past weekend including Best original screenplay, Best Cinematography, Special Effects, Makeup, Sound, Montage, and best new actress for Ivana Baquero! It is also the best reviewed film of 2006 and 2007 (mentioned on over 100 top ten lists).
Directed by Guillermo del Toro, Pans Labyrinth is a fanciful and chilling story set against the backdrop of a fascist regime in 1944 rural Spain. The film centers on Ofelia, a lonely and dreamy child living with her mother and adoptive father; a military officer tasked with ridding the area of rebels. In her loneliness, Ofelia creates a world filled with fantastical creatures and secret destinies. With post-war repression at its height, Ofelia must come to terms with her world through a fable of her own creation.
Launched in April 2005, Picturehouse is the joint venture of two leaders of the entertainment community - HBO and New Line Cinema. Currently in release is Guillermo del Toros gothic fairy tale Pans Labyrinth, Starter for 10 from Tom Hanks Playtone Productions; El Cantante, a music-infused biography of Puerto Rican, salsa pioneer Hector Lavoe, starring Jennifer Lopez and her husband, Marc Anthony; Olivier Dahans Edith Piaf biopic, La Vie En Rose; Gracie, directed by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) and starring Oscar Nominee-Elisabeth Shue, Andrew Shue and Carly Schroeder (Firewall, Mean Creek); and Francois Girards Silk, starring Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley, Koji Yakusho, and Alfred Molina.