Guillermo Del Toro to Direct Revived 'Carnival Row' as Amazon Series

With all of the feature films we've seen adapted into TV series it should come as no surprise that long-shelved projects are being revived on the small screen. Before Guillermo Del Toro and screenwriter Travis Beacham got together for Pacific Rim they were looking to collaborate on A Killing on Carnival Row, a fantasy detective story set in a world where people live alongside other creatures. It never got off the ground and directors like Tarsem Singh and Neil Jordan tried to make it happen, but now Del Toro is back on board and taking it to Amazon.

According to THR, Legendary and Del Toro are developing an original series with Amazon titled Carnival Row that will use elements from the film. Del Toro will direct the pilot and co-write the script with Beacham and Rene Echevarria. When that's finished, possibly in the spring, Del Toro will go full swing into his Pacific Rim sequel. The story, which sounds creepy and weird and perfectly Del Toro, takes place in a noir Victorian town where a detective tries to track a serial killer who has been murdering fairies.

The rights to the story reverted back to Beacham at one point, only to have Legendary's Thomas Tull pick it up and make the offer to Del Toro to turn it into a series...

"We tried to do it for so long as a film that the rights reverted back to Travis as a basic story. And I’ve always talked about it to anyone that would listen. We always had too many ideas to fit into the feature. We can now really focus on the world and the politics of what it is to be a magical being in Victorian steampunk atmosphere where you are seen as a lesser being."

Hopefully this turns out better than Del Toro's other TV project, The Strain, which had an inconsistent first season and probably should have been a miniseries.

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Guillermo Del Toro Talks 'Pacific Rim 2'; Charlie Day and Burn Gorman to Return

Guillermo Del Toro is always making the press rounds for something because he takes on so many projects, and lately he's been pushing the DVD/Blu-Ray release of The Strain's first season. Of course that means he's going to get asked about other projects like Pacific Rim 2. The script for that one is coming together now that it has been officially confirmed, and while Del Toro has previously said some characters may not return we know two that definitely will: Charlie Day and Burn Gorman as scientists Newt Geiszler and Hermann Gottlieb.

Del Toro went on to reveal to Collider that the sequel takes place a few years after the last film's conclusion, and things have definitely changed...

"It’s a few years after the first one.  It’s not an immediate follow-up.  It is the world having been freed of Kaiju, what happens to the world after – what happens to the Jaeger technology once the Kaiju are not a threat.  It’s quite a jump."

So if there are no kaiju, does the world need scientists like Geiszler and Gottlieb? Maybe not, but there's always room for some comic relief...

"It’s quite a different movie from the first one in that, but I think that two of our main characters like in the first one are Burn and Charlie.  They are really, really – I mean, honestly, they are probably the guys I have the most fun writing along with Hannibal Chau so just from a purely selfish drive, I like writing them.  I love writing for Charlie and Burn.  I mean, [Burn's] in Crimson Peak for that reason, because I love working with him.  You’re gonna get a lot of that, but the Kaijus are very different and you’re gonna see a very different type of the robots I think.  It’s gonna be quite a different adventure."

A totally different status quo from the outset, but we know there will be plenty of new kaiju and jaeger designs so don't expect it to last.  Pacific Rim 2's script is being worked on by Zak Penn and Travis Beacham, with the film due to open April 7th 2017.

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New Trailer for 'The Book of Life' Enlists Biz Markie for Help

In the midst of all the big Hall H presentations at Comic-Con, Jorge R. Gutierrez's colorful animated comedy The Book of Life had one of the show's most memorable moments. With much of the cast on stage talking about the Mexican fairy tale, rapper Biz Markie stepped up on stage for a rendition of his worn out rap classic, "Just a Friend" (I maintain he hasn't done the full song in 20 years), hijacking star Channing Tatum to rap the lyrics right along with him. It was a cute moment and emphasized the movie's good-natured spirit, and you can find more of it in the latest trailer.

Produced by Guillermo Del Toro and featuring the voices of Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Ice Cube, Christina Applegate, Ron Perlman and more, the film centers on Manolo who is torn between his desire to be a musician and his bull-fighting lineage. Tatum voices Joaquin, a boisterous local hero and Manolo's rival for the attentions of Maria (Saldana), their friend from childhood.

Gutierrez came into town a few weeks ago to show us some footage from the film and while it looks great, the real selling point is the director's enthusiasm and the personal connection he has to the story. This is clearly a labor of love for him and hopefully The Book of Life will do well when it opens October 17th.  Check out the trailer plus Tatum rappin' with Biz Markie below.


The Book of Life Official Trailer #2 by itsartmag

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Guillermo Del Toro Updates on 'Hellboy 3', 'At the Mountains of Madness, and More

Even when he didn't have his next directing effort ready Guillermo Del Toro has always had a lot of projects developing. Right now we know he's planning a smaller black & white film to shoot next before moving on to Pacific Rim 2, but that's just the start of it. He's also got the Gothic horror Crimson Peak arriving next year, and his FX series The Strain premieres tonight (my DVR is set!), but there's even more that we haven't heard much about of late, like Del Toro's adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness and Disney's The Haunted Mansion.

There's still one film that fans won't stop asking about and that is Hellboy 3, which star and Del Toro pal Ron Perlman has been gung-ho for a long time. The last film was six years ago and while they have been reasonably successful no progress has ever been made beyond a few vague comments about what a third film could entail. When asked about the film during a Reddit AMA, Del Toro doesn't sound confident the film will happen, but does give some clues to what the plan might have been.

Del Toro: "Well, you know, we don’t have that movie on the horizon. But the idea for it was to have Hellboy finally come to terms with the fact that his destiny, his inevitable destiny, is to become the beast of the Apocalypse, and having him and Liz face the sort of, that part of his nature, and he has to do it, in order to be able to ironically vanquish the foe that he has to face in the 3rd film. He has to become the beast of the Apocalypse to be able to defend humanity, but at the same time he becomes a much darker being. It's a very interesting ending to the series, but I don’t think it will happen."

He goes on to note that a combination of factors are keeping the film from happening, from scheduling to studio concern over the budget....

Del Toro:  “It’s very unlikely it’ll happen because you need things to converge so strongly. [Producer] Larry Gordon, Universal, the rights, Ron [Perlman’s] and mine’s availability, [comic creator] Mike [Mingola’s] blessing; we have pieces of that, but we don’t have all of that. You need so many things to confluence and then you need about $150 million....I think that the first movie made its budget back, and a little bit of profit, but then it was very very big on video and DVD. The story repeated itself with the second already, it made its money back at the box office, but a small margin of profit in the release of the theatrical print, but was very very big on DVD and video. Sadly now from a business point of view all the studios know is that you don't have that safety net of the DVD and video, so they view the project as dangerous….Creatively, I would love to make it. Creatively. But it is proven almost impossible to finance. Not from MY side, but from the studio side. If I was a multimillionaire, I would finance it myself, but I spend all my money on rubber monsters."

You may recall a few years ago there was this broad sweep of really expensive projects that studios suddenly got all nervous about. One of those was Del Toro's adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, a film Universal put the ax to over concerns about the cost and prohibitive R-rating. But now that he's over at Legendary Pictures, Del Toro is again talking the film up and considering both a PG-13 version and an unrated one....

Del Toro: “The way I’m thinking is, PG-13 goes a long way. It’s not that the novel is graphic, but people forget that there are crucial elements in the novel that are pretty horrific. Like the human autopsy, you know? I think that’s a dark moment. So what I would like to do is shoot it, as dark as it is, in an unrated cut and a PG-13 cut. Ideally they would be released simultaneously if that’s at all possible. We could release one [cut] in a certain format and the other in a different format with the hopes that we can offer more intense moments in one cut and equally intense moments but without graphic content in the other cut. Lovecraft was famous for suggestion, and a lot of the piece can suggest, but there are [certain moments] you need to show.  Part of it is budget, part of it is rating." 

It may be awhile before that one ever gets moving even with Legendary's support, and at least that gives Del Toro time to develop it in the manner he wants, adding...

Del Toro:  "So I’d rather make it in a way that doesn’t compromise the content, or not do it." 

And yet that's still not everything on the director's plate. Four years ago Disney made a splash at Comic-Con by announcing a film based on The Haunted Mansion theme park attraction. Del Toro has been attached only as a writer and producer, although he apparently still has designs on directing if time allows and if the script can be figured out...

Del Toro:  "It's a hard screenplay to crack. We've done it a few times. We are on our third or fourth draft, with 2 different writing teams, and I think the main thing is to try to combine everything that is great about the ride into the movie, and to make it a really intense but with a sense of fun - just like the ride."

Another one that sounds a long way off, but when it does happen it's likely Doug Jones (also of the Hellboy movies) will be playing a version of the ride's Hatbox Ghost...

Del Toro: "We have developed 50-60 pieces of art. We've developed maquettes of the Hat Box Ghost, over the body and face of Doug Jones, but we have not succeeded yet in cracking the screenplay. I have to believe that Disney will make this movie as soon as we crack the screenplay, but until then we cannot tackle it... We always feel like we are very close, but not yet."

He also has a film that would team up DC's supernatural heroes like Swamp Thing, Zatanna, and Constantine, but there hasn't been any talk about it in quite some time. Hopefully it's still in Warner Bros.' future plans.

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Guillermo Del Toro Reveals Details on 'Pacific Rim' Animated Series

Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim wasn't quite the hit  here as it was globally, but there were still a ton of fans excited when a sequel was officially announced for April 7th 2017. That enthusiasm went beyond just news of a proper follow-up because Del Toro also revealed an animated series was on the way. Few details were available at the time but in a conversation with Collider about his FX series, The Strain, he talked about his plans to explore the world of Pacific Rim cartoon-style.

Not that Del Toro seemed too limited in what he could do in Pacific Rim but he says animation allows for even greater possibilities. He also says the series will serve as a bridge to the sequel, introducing some new characters while leaving room for familiar faces to appear....

Del Toro:  “We are right now in the middle of talking and negotiating with a few Japanese companies for the animation.  We are talking to a couple of showrunners that have a strong animation background, [we’re] casting the writers room.  What’s great is it’s a great set-up and a link between the first movie and the second movie.  It really enhances the mythology of the characters; we have cameos of characters from the first movie, but mostly it’s a new set of characters.  New jaegers, except for one or two, [and] new kaijus.  It’s really fun.”

He envisions it as a 13-episode season that will be one long arc following a specific group of characters and exploring different ideas, including the effects of "drifting"....

Del Toro: “We’re going for a long arc, so the idea is to show a group of characters—we have pilots, functional jaegers, but we have all these younger characters.  I really want to explore things that are complimentary to the things that I want to explore in the second movie: drift, what drifting does to you, what is needed to drift, a lot of stuff that I think is important, but also the jaeger technology, the kaijus being evolved, ideas about the precursors—the guys that control the kaijus.  We have a lot of leeway in 13 episodes and I wanna make it sort of in the same spirit of Pacific Rim, which is the ideal audience for Pacific Rim was young—very young, 11-year-olds and so forth—but with really beautiful design and stories that make these characters interesting in a way that I found them interesting in, for example, Year Zero, the graphic novel that we did.  And I think that’s the basic thrust of the thing.”

A network to carry the series hasn't been found yet, and Del Toro may not commit to an additional season until the first one lives up this expectations. 

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Guillermo Del Toro to Shoot Small, Black & White Film Before 'Pacific Rim 2'

Guillermo Del Toro is hardly the most prolific filmmaker around, which is why it's such a big deal when he undertakes anything. Pacific Rim was his first movie since 2006's Pan's Labyrinth, although his name was attached to many other projects as a producer. While he's turned his attention briefly to TV for The Strain, which debuts later this week, we also know Del Toro will be returning to the kaiju world for Pacific Rim 2 in 2017. But it won't actually be the next thing he directs, as he tells Collider something much smaller will precede it.

Del Toro: “Right away, in February/March I should [start on] another very small movie, black and white, really, really bizarre before starting—we start pre-production on Pacific Rim 2 in August, and then I interrupt it briefly to go into the first of next year to do this strange little movie, and then I restart it and go all the way until we start shooting Pacific Rim 2 at the end of 2015 for release in 2017.”

He doesn't reveal much else about it, except it will have a very small cast and he has a couple of actors in mind for it. One of those would be John Hurt, currently seen in Snowpiercer, and the other is an unknown actress he didn't want to name. And will there be monsters in this one like so many of Del Toro's films tend to? The answer is yes, but only "one great creature" will appear.

It has been a long time since Del Toro took on a small-scale project and it will be very interesting to see if his studio experiences color his approach. 

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'Pacific Rim' Sequel Set for 2017, Preceded by Animated Series

This is turning out to be one epic day for fans of giant robots slugging it out on the big screen. Right now audiences should be sitting down to take in Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction, which will probably bank a cool $1B for Paramount. And over on the Universal lot they have just confirmed what fans were hoping for, that Guillermo Del Toro would get a sequel to Pacific Rim.

After revealing a few weeks ago that he and Zak Penn were working on a Pacific Rim 2 script in hopes it would be green lit, the studio has now slotted the film for April 7th 2017. There aren't any plot details yet but we can probably expect new Jaeger designs, bigger Kaiju, and the return of Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi. Del Toro tells Buzzfeed...

“The characters I love will return. Raleigh, Mako, Newt, Gottlieb and who knows, maybe even Hannibal Chau – but we are taking them into a fresh territory that will display amazing sights and battles. The first film set the stage and now we’re ready to have a blast.”

There will also be a Pacific Rim animated series arriving some time before the sequel. More details on that when it becomes available. I'm sure our own +Julian Lytle is doing backflips right now.

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Guillermo Del Toro Won't Direct Emma Watson in 'Beauty and the Beast' After All

The promising combination of Emma Watson and Guillermo Del Toro, long attached to a live-action Beauty and the Beast adaptation for Warner Bros., sadly isn't going to happen. There are a ton of good things to say about Del Toro but one bad thing is that he takes on too many promising projects and has to drop out when scheduling gets tight. And that's what happened with Beauty and the Beast, but Warner Bros. will soldier on.

Even though Disney is planning their own version of the fairy tale, Warner Bros. is pushing forward on Beauty and the Beast with Watson still on board to star. Del Toro's script remains in effect and he'll continue to produce, but a new director is being sought now and should be announced in a few days.

Hopefully Del Toro will have some input in who takes over and will select someone that can bring his vision to life. [Deadline]

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Guillermo Del Toro and Zak Penn Working On 'Pacific Rim 2' Script

While there has been faint chatter of a sequel to Pacific Rim, Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. have yet to make a firm decision. Guillermo Del Toro's first film checked in with about $400M mostly earned overseas which isn't surprising given the many influences from Japanese culture. During the Austin TV Fest where he was promoting his FX series, The Strain,  Del Toro confirmed to Buzzfeed that he and Zak Penn are working on the script for Pacific Rim 2 as if it will definitely happen...

Del Toro:  “I’m working very, very hard with Zak Penn. We’ve been working for a few months now in secret. We found a way to twist it around. Travis Beacham [co-writer of the first film, now working on Fox’s Hieroglyph] was involved in the storyline and now I’m writing with Zak because Travis has become a TV mogul.” 

Penn has been a part of some big films but also a lot of duds. He helped develop the story for Marvel's The Avengers, and co-wrote the screenplays for X-men: The Last Stand and The Incredible Hulk. The script will take place after the first movie and brings back jaeger pilots Raleigh Becket and Mako Mori, played by Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi respectively.

Del Toro: “Some people were wondering if we were going to do the prequel. I was never interested in doing that first wave of invasion. I’m going for very new, very crazy ideas on the second one, which are very different from the first one — but you will get really great spectacle.”

Del Toro says he hopes to shoot it after his next project which is presumably the horror Crimson Peak, which stars Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, and Hunnam.

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First Trailer and Images from Guillermo Del Toro-Produced 'The Book of Life'

Whenever Guillermo Del Toro is part of a project, whether it's as producer or director, certain expectations come with it. We've come to expect fantastical imagery and haunting art design, whether the film is a dark fairy tale like Pan's Labyrinth or a giant robot flick like Pacific Rim. This fall he is producing the animated film, The Book of Life, based on the Mexican holiday the "Day of the Dead", and now USA Today has new images plus the first trailer which looks like it could have come from Del Toro himself.

Animator Jorge Gutierrez is at the helm and wrote the script, with Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, and Diego Luna voicing the three lead characters. The story largely centers on Manolo, a young man with creative aspirations that go against his family's deep history as bullfighters. He embarks on an incredible journey across three remarkable worlds before deciding whether to follow his heart or family tradition. Meanwhile, the gods are waging on who will win the love of Maria; Manolo or his best friend, Joaquin.

Also featuring the voices of Ice Cube, Danny Trejo, and Hector Elizondo, The Book of Life opens October 17th.

THE BOOK OF LIFE - Trailer by dmagianet
 

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Review: 'Pacific Rim', Directed by Guillermo Del Toro

While it's preferable to leave aside the movie politics and the Internet hype that surrounds any film, it's tough to do that with a summer blockbuster the size of Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim. To put it bluntly, a lot of people have saddled his sci-fi juggernaut with a ton of expectations, some good and some not so good, that are unfair in a number of different ways. Whether it's the negative and vastly out of whack notion that it's little more than a Transformers knock-off, or that it's the most important original property in ages and must be supported (lest it flop like analysts project), it's tough to not walk into the film without some opinion already formed about it.

                                

The simple truth of the matter is that Pacific Rim is way smarter than Transformers, and even though it's not the most original of concepts, through sheer size, scope, and audacity it stomps every other summer blockbuster flat. Nothing else compares to the gargantuan Colossus-inspired scale of giant monsters slugging it out with equally massive robots. It's truly impressive what Del Toro, who just a few years ago was the guy who made really cool creatures for Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth, can do when his imagination is allowed to run unfettered. So even if the script co-written by Del Toro and Travis Beacham, riffs on many familiar war movie tropes and takes liberally from the likes of Top Gun, the line of American movies that look anything close to Pacific Rim is extremely short. Which is to say the line doesn't exist at all.

Drawing inspiration from the likes of Robotech, Gundam, Voltron, and other Japanese pop cultural phenomenon, Del Toro lovingly and enthusiastically lets his geek flag fly. What's more, this isn't just a blind clashing of clunky robots with all of the grace of a garbage compactor. Pacific Rim is gorgeous, glittery, and the over-sized battles choreographed with operatic precision. Under any other director's hands this could have been a logistical nightmare, at worse an ugly assault on the senses, but Del Toro is always in complete control.

Less promising is the storyline itself, and the lack of human characterization that gets lost while you're in awe watching a Jaeger wield a battleship like a katana. A brilliant intro clues us in to the fate befalling humanity in the near future, when towering creatures known as Kaiju began emerging from a rift in the ocean floor, destroying coastal cities and wiping out the population. To fight the threat, the world's governments put aside all of their petty differences and began the Jaeger program creating skyscraper-sized robotic warriors to combat the Kaiju. In full-on Maverick mode, Charlie Hunnam plays Raleigh Beckett, a hot shot Jaeger pilot whose reckless stunts got his brother killed, forcing him out of the program just when he's needed most. Six years later, the Kaiju are stronger than ever, and the governments have grown tired of funding the failing program. But that doesn't sit well with the awesomely-named General Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba), who decides to round up his few remaining Jaegers and mount one final assault. To do it, he'll need Raleigh back, and he'll also need his old washed-up Jaeger to be brought back from the scrap heap.  Because every story like this needs them, there are a couple of goofball scientists (Charlie Day and Burn Gorman) to provide comic relief and explain things. There's also the General's troubled right-hand woman, Mako Mori (Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi), who shares a past with the General nobody knows about.

So you have all of the familiar archetypes in place, and it's impossible to escape the fact that some aspects of the film are riddled with clichés. Raleigh needs to learn how to be a team player and put his ego aside, and as he does so he squabbles with a fellow pilot (Rob Kazinsky) who has a chip on his shoulder. Mako has vengeance on her mind but must overcome her fears to ever have a real chance at it. We've seen it all before, but there's nothing really wrong with that, and in some ways it’s comforting that the script bothers to make this a story about humans as much as it is about monster brawls. The simple story also leaves plenty of room for a few brilliant ideas to take root. The best by far involves the Jaeger pilots needing to form a neural bridge and meld minds to fight effectively. It involves the unrestrained sharing of memories, can make or break a partnership real fast. The Kaiju design, mostly taken from various forms of lizard and aquatic animal life, draws from the story's other surprising idea. It’s probably left unspoiled, but Del Toro and Beacham clearly put a lot of thought into why the Kaiju look the way they do. And of course, at times of tragedy there are always those seeking to make a dollar from it. Enter the gruff and eccentric Ron Perlman as a black market dealer and Kaiju aficionado. Most of the performances are functional at best, with Hunnam only coming to life when he's throwing punches. Elba is as cool and authoritative as ever, but his Braveheart-esque "we're canceling the apocalypse" speech feels forced and uninspired.

This is Del Toro's show, though, and he does a masterful job of creating a sense of awe around every single Kaiju encounter. They're so huge that we never see one in full, but we can see of them is spectacular. The mecha design is even better, with each Jaeger adopting traits specific for their locale. The American 'bot Gipsy Danger has an Art Deco model reminiscent of New York skyscrapers, while the Japanese one will have Robotech fans salivating. Most of the fights take place at night, but even with 3D it never gets murky or tough to follow. The amount of destruction would give Man of Steel a run for its money, but unlike Zack Snyder's film it never slips into repetition.

Clearly, Pacific Rim has a very specific target audience, and it mostly consists of folks who are packing their bags for Comic-Con right now.  But those who pass it by because they think it will be too geeky will be missing out on what is definitely the biggest movie of the summer. It may not be perfect in the way it handles characters, but Pacific Rim is fun, epic, exhilarating, and the reason why we get excited for this time of year.

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New "Resistance" Trailer for 'Pacific Rim' As Early Reviews Roll In

As we turn the corner on the summer blockbuster season, only a couple of major tentpoles are left to be sorted out, and while The Wolverine will have a lot of eyes on it later this month, it's nothing compared to the attention Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim is going to receive. Warner Bros. has been pulling out all of the stops to staunch the flow of bad press, beginning with tracking projections that have it debuting behind the abysmal-looking Grown Ups 2, not to mention the general perception on social media that the film is little more than a Transformers knock-off. We dealt with this a great deal on the Punch Drunk Podcast yesterday, and to say we were pissed over Del Toro being compared to Michael Bay is an understatement.

Certainly it helps to have Kanye West come out and say Pacific Rim is one of his all-time favorites, and now that early reviews are starting to land with major outlets like THR, Bleeding Cool, the Telegraph, and Total Film giving it high praise. Most of the positive buzz stems from the film's scale and action, with more than one outlet referring to it as "big dumb" blockbuster stuff, which probably isn't what Del Toro was going for but appears to have achieved nonetheless. Variety was a little more reserved, comparing it to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers at one point, and not in a good way. Still, the pros far outweigh the cons, and is as good a way as any to launch into the film's debut on Thursday night. 

In one last ditch effort to win over those on the fence, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have released one more trailer, titled 'Resistance', and again does a pretty good job of highlighting the human pilots as much as the giant robots and monsters.

Pacific Rim - Bande annonce Resistance [HD/VO] by ExtraterrestresTV

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New Posters and Final Trailer for 'Pacific Rim'

If the spectacle of Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim hasn't won you over by now, chances are it won't before the film hits theaters next week. But for those who are chomping at the bit for the giant Kaiju vs. kung-fu Jaeger action, the final trailer offers up something a little different.

While there's still a great deal of action, ramped up to in a relatively slow burn, the focus is squarely on the human pilots. It becomes clear that there will be a great deal more than just geeky sci-fi theatrics, and building believable characters is another crucial element. We learn a bit more about the nature of the neural link between the pilots, and the deeper their trust in one another the more in sync they'll be with their Jaeger. Expect to see a great deal of bonding time between Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi, and not just when she's kicking his butt in the training room. Also released are a pair of one-sheets, featuring the Australian Jaeger Strike Eureka, and the Kaiju known as Leatherback.

Pacific Rim co-stars Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, Clifton Collins Jr., and arrives on July 12th.


Pacific Rim New Trailer by Teaser-Trailer.com

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New Trailer and Images From 'Pacific Rim'

A new trailer for Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim has been released, giving us yet another look at what could be the special effects spectacle of the season with giant glittering robots battling monsters that fill up the entire screen. This particular trailer, titled "At the Edge" emphasizes a couple of other aspects, as well, namely that there's plenty of geeky science talk involving the creation of the robotic Jaegers, and that Idris Elba will spend much of his screen time as the bearer of rousing patriotic Braveheart-esque speeches.

The phrase "neural handshake" is repeated often, and while it's unclear exactly what it is, the name suggests its how the two human pilots bridge their minds to control the Jaeger warriors. Hopefully they don't spend too much time breaking down all of the fine details, and get right down to leveling some more cities. There's plenty of gloriously-constructed destruction here, backed by Elba's rallying of the troops: “At the edge of our hope, at the end of our time, we have chosen not only to believe in ourselves, but in each other.  Today there’s not a man or woman in here that shall stand alone.  Today we face the monsters that are at our door.  Today we are cancelling the apocalypse!” Well I'm ready to fight, how about you?

It's hard to believe it's been a full year since the first unfinished footage was revealed at Comic-Con. I remember being stunned by it then, and the crowd was equally amazed. So to say my expectations for this are high would be a huge understatement. 

Pacific Rim opens on July 12th.


Pacific Rim - "At the Edge" [HD/VO] by ExtraterrestresTV

 

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Mia Wasikowska May Replace Emma Stone in Guillermo Del Toro's 'Crimson Peak'

Ever since she made a splash a few years ago in Disney's Alice in Wonderland, Mia Wasikowska has settled into a nice groove of prestige films. Movies like The Kids Are All Right, Jane Eyre, Lawless, and this year's Stoker have kept her busy, but she's now being called back into the world of blockbusters by joining Guillermo Del Toro's Crimson Peak.

Scheduling conflicts have forced the previously announced Emma Stone to drop out, with Wasikowska being eyed to replace her. She'd be joining Charlie Hunnam (Pacific Rim), Benedict Cumberbatch, and Jessica Chastain in the Gothic horror/ghost story, which we now have a few new details for. Wasikowska would play "young author named Edith Cushing who discovers that her charming new husband is not who he appears to be", while Chastain and Cumberbatch are siblings.

Filming is set to begin some time in 2014, which should give Wasikowska time to wrap up some of her other projects. She'll be seen later this year in Jim Jarmusch's vampire tale Only Lovers Left Alive. An adaptation of Madame Bovary is in the works, along with Todd Hayne's Carol, and David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars. She recently wrapped Richard Ayoade's The Double starring Jesse Eisenberg.

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The latest 'Pacific Rim' trailer delivers incredible Jaeger vs. Kaiju action

 In a blockbuster summer that has iron men battling wolverines and men of steel, Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim stands as potentially the biggest of them all. In terms of size, scope, and sheer "holy cow" levels of widescale action, it doesn't look like anything can compete with Del Toro's giant robots vs. giant monsters mash-up. But at the same time, without a big name headliner there's always the chance it falls between the cracks during a crowded season. While those concerns are probably warranted, when Warner Bros. drops a trailer as awesome as this one, it's pretty easy to see how this could stomp all of those superhero movies flat.

Jamming as much incredible action as possible in a cool 2 1/2 minutes, this looks like Del Toro has decided to fulfill the cinematic dreams of every fan of Japanese pop culture. You want awe-inspiring robotic warfare on an almost unimaginable level? Del Toro appears to be delivering it in spades. But there is a shimmering golden beauty as the massive Jaegers rumble with their Kaiju enemies in the lit up city streets, and it becomes apparent that this is one beautifully choreographed piece of work. The trailer gives us a bit more detail on the Kaiju's true nature, but this is really about showing off the many bells and whistles Pacific Rim is armed with.

Starring Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Idris Elba, and Ron Perlman, Pacific Rim opens on July 12th.

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New trailer for Guillermo Del Toro's 'Pacific Rim' is 2500 tons of awesome

Is it possible that Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim is being looked over just a little bit as we turn the corner into the summer blockbuster season? Maybe it's just a by-product of Warner Bros. putting all of their marketing eggs in the Man of Steel basket, but for whatever reason it seems like Del Toro's giant monsters vs. giant robots flick is flying a little bit under the radar. For the most part, Del Toro has chosen to keep the monsters, known a kaiju, hidden in fog, only teasing at their massive scope. But the latest trailer does away with all of that and reveals the monster vs. robot action is going to be truly epic.

The footage premiered for WonderCon and CinemaCon attendees, but now it's been made available to the rest of us, and we're all much better off for it. Revealing deeper looks at the origins of the human Jaeger program, which involves two humans mind-melding so as to pilot one of the gigantic robots, we're also treated to Charlie Day as the token science nerd ("2500 tons of awesome"), and Idris Elba as the inspirational leader of the resistance. But most importantly, this shows off just how much mayhem Del Toro is planning to put on display, from rip-roaring sea battles to aerial destruction, and yeah, that was a jaeger using a battleship as a friggin' sword! Guh! Geek juices are flowing!

Pacific Rim finally arrives on July 12th, starring Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, and Ron Perlman.


Pacific Rim - WonderCon Footage by Flixgr

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Jessica Chastain next to scale the 'Crimson Peak'

Although plot details remain bare on Guillermo Del Toro's upcoming horror, Crimson Peak, the cast he's putting together suggests it will be something special. Already with Emma Stone, Charlie Hunnam, and the newly-added Benedict Cumbertbatch, the latest to join is Zero Dark Thirty's Jessica Chastain.

What the Best Actress nominee has signed up for is still pretty much unknown, except that it will be a gothic romance and ghost story set at the turn of the century. Del Toro is quoted describing it as being "in a Bronte fashion. Dark and stormy and wind-swept."

It's possible that the surprising box office success of Mama helped Chastain decide to tackle the genre again. Filming on Crimson Peak begins next year, which gives Chastain plenty of time to star in Liv Ullmann's Miss Julie. She'll also be seen this year in the twin relationship dramas that comprise The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.

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Benedict Cumberbatch joins Guillermo Del Toro's 'Crimson Peak'

If it seems like Benedict Cumberbatch has been everywhere lately, that's probably because it's true.  Already featured as the bad guy in Star Trek into Darkness and the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit trilogy, he'll also be taking on the role of Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate. And that's not even counting his regular gig as the iconic sleuth in the BBC's Sherlock. So what's next? How about joining an upcoming horror film being put together by Guillermo Del Toro?

Cumberbatch has joined  Charlie Hunnam and Emma Stone in Crimson Peak, a film that Del Toro has mostly been keeping details on under lock and key. We know it'll be a ghost story with gothic romance elements, but that's pretty much it at this point. Obviously that means there's no info on Cumberbatch's role.

Filming is set to begin next February. Cumberbatch will be seen later this year opposite Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep in August: Osage County. He'll also appear in Steve McQueen's Twelve Years a Slave. [Variety]

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Guillermo Del Toro talks 'Justice League Dark'; reveals a new team member

While Warner Bros. seems completely lost in the development of their Justice League film, Guillermo Del Toro's Justice League Dark (aka Dark Justice or Heaven Sent) is progressing right along. At this point it wouldn't be a complete surprise if it's ready to roll first, although the studio probably would hold off until the entire superhero line is in a better position. What we know about the film so far is that it will feature anti-heroes from the supernatural realm of the DC Universe, so don't expect to see Superman flying in to the rescue. While at WonderCon to promote this summer's Pacific Rim, Del Toro spoke to Collider about the film's development while also revealing the addition of a rather obscure character.

Del Toro: "The route we’re going is Constantine is our lead.  Constantine is the guy who leads us in and out of the plot.  We have Swamp Thing, Etrigan, we have Zatanna, we have—I will spoil it—the Floronic Man.  We have stuff that those who love the darker side of the DC Universe are going to appreciate, and we’re trying to be true to the origins of the characters."

We were already aware that most of these characters, including the unmentioned Deadman, would be a part of the team. The one surprise addition is Floronic Man, a plant-based character best known for his appearances during Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run. He's the sort of character that only a
devoted fan would recognize, much less have any desire to use in a feature film.  He's undergone a lot of changes over the years, but Del Toro's desire to "be true to the origins" means his version will likely be an alien from the plant world of Floria. It also means he may be one of the film's villains, and not an actual member of the team.

Back in January, Del Toro said he had the "perfect writer" for the film, but he remains tight-lipped on just who that is....

Del Toro:  "I won’t say who it is.  I’m not allowed.  But we’re waiting, and when the right time comes, hopefully that writer will take over, and then we’ll see if it’s directed by me or someone else and I’ll just produce.  I don’t know."

So it's still up in the air if Del Toro will even be behind the camera for this one, although it sounds like a project very near and dear to his heart. That could factor in to his final decision, and could cause him to push back any number of the various projects he's got sitting on the backburner....

Del Toro: "I’m literally playing with two of my oldest and most favorite characters in my life—Swamp Thing and Etrigan.  These were the guys I was drawing with crayons when I was a kid.  I cannot tell you how happy I am, but I am finishing my bible, and then I deliver that bible, which is about 45 pages, to Warners, and we have a screenwriter that we like and that we talk to, but he is writing his own movie right now and is thinking about it.  But I am going to try to wait for him."

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