Well, apparently the ominous R-rated, scifi horror origin-of-evil 3D blockbuster land has all been had. So says Guillermo Del Toro in a post on his message board about how Prometheus has effectively killed At The Mountains of Madness, or at least put it on a much longer “pause.”

You’ll remember that the reason Guillermo Del Toro is currently working on Pacific Rim is because Universal flaked out on the big budget, James Cameron and Tom Cruise-backed horror project with Guillermo, and WB was waiting with open arms and another scifi horror project. Despite the collapse of the project, is was left in such a place that it could shopped around or picked up by more adventurous studio heads. Del Toro even remained optimistic as he moved on, remarking that he still expected it to happen sooner rather than later.

“Frankly, I think we’ve come so close with Mountains that to me it’s an indicator of the great possibility we will get to make it, as soon as possible. As long as the idea stays fresh and no one beats me to it, in terms of the origins of the monsters, the scope and the aspect of Antarctica where these creatures are discovered, I will continue to press forward. I’m knocking on wood. I have great partners in Jim Cameron and Lightstorm, and Don Murphy and Susan Montford, great partners in this adventure who are not giving up and not letting me give up.”

Well now Del Toro feels he has been beat to it by Ridley Scott, as Prometheus will soon hit theaters and likely hit many of the same epic, horrifying, ancient-evil beats that ATMOM functions on.

 I have been interviewed about this lately and wanted to post my two cents about this:

Prometheus started filming a while ago- right at the time we were in preproduction on PACIFIC RIM. The title itself gave me pause- knowing that ALIEN was heavily influenced by Lovecraft and his novella.

This time, decades later with the budget and place Ridley Scott occupied, I assumed the greek metaphor alluded at the creation aspects of the HPL book. I believe I am right and if so, as a fan, I am delighted to see a new RS science fiction film, but this will probably mark a long pause -if not the demise- of ATMOM.

The sad part is- I have been pursuing ATMOM for over a decade now- and, well, fter Hellboy II two projects I dearly loved were not brought to fruition for me.

The good part is: One project did… And I am loving it and grateful for the blessings I have received.

Onwards.

G

You might actually be inclined to think that the connection might actually help Del Toro’s project were Prometheus to become a success and interest studios in similar films, but Del Toro went on to clarify that the two films having the “same premise. scenes that would be almost identical,” kills even that marginal hope. Looks like it’s time for a new Cockblocked entry.

As silly as it may be, I can’t help but imagine the scene in There Will Be Blood in which Plainview explains to Eli that just because a specific plot hasn’t been developed doesn’t mean it’s still viable, as surrounding developments will suck the oil up from all around it. That scene has become the stuff of memes, but it applies far too well here.

It’s a tough thing to contemplate, as Prometheus does look excellent. It’s a shame to think that accomplishment may stomp on the back of a decade of work by a truly passionate filmmaker, even if this could be Ridley Scott’s own return to form. That we don’t even know how successful Scott’s film will be makes it tough to shed a tear yet, as perhaps we’ll find that Del Toro dodged a bullet, and that’s without even accounting for the hundreds of variables that might have made Mountains unrecognizably different from Prometheus. It will definitely recalibrate the way I watch Scott’s film though, and will make for fascinating, bittersweet speculation for many years, I’m sure.

Frankly, with all of this, I’m most interested in that “Onwards” part of Del Toro’s post…

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Source | DelToroFilms (via Collider)