Many of us are still smarting from the blow that came with news of Guillermo Del Toro losing the opportunity to make At The Mountains of Madness with Universal. I certainly feel like an ass, as I just the day before wondered aloud how anyone could be so hesitant and unsure of a project that was surely about to happen. Even those who were skeptical of the film itself or even of Del Toro surely felt some disappointment than an ambitious, unique project was once again shut down due to crass business decisions that feel as much rooted in cynicism as pragmatism. Regardless, the deed is for now done, and we now have a different monster movie to look forward to from Del Toro.
Deadline was able to speak with the filmmaker, who candidly explains (as much as he is able), what happened, and why. It’s well worth reading, and you should certainly consume the entire thing. A few specifically interesting statements though…
On the scale, budget, and possible profitability…
“As far as the movie grossing that much, obviously I’m not impartial, but I have to believe that with 3D, Tom Cruise, Jim Cameron, the scope of Lovecraft’s novel that is one his best regarded and most widely known works, I would venture that it could absolutely have been done. I think the R should be worn like a badge of merit in promoting the movie.”
On his dedication to the project and his disappointment with the results…
“I had to believe right along that they were betting as much as I was. I was betting essentially everything I had, in terms of leverage, betting nine months of development when I was on The Hobbit. This was for me a do or die movie.”
On the possibility of it still happening…
“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.”
There’s much, much more he has to say, but it’s clear that the decision was as much a shock for him as it was for us. It seems everything was edged right up to the starting 
gate, and it really just came down to money and weak knees. There’s still light at the end of the tunnel though, just many years out at least. It’s good to know that Cruise, Cameron, and the rest of Guillermo’s team are still behind him and the project, and one hopes that Universal will do what is right and let them actively pursue another backer.
So we must once again let our excitement for a true-blue Lovecraft film go dormant for a while, and turn our attention to Pacific Rim, a film that under any other circumstances would been announced to much fanfare. The film is unique vision from the director, original, and will absolutely begin shooting this year (though not till September, so there’s still the feeling that we’ve been robbed of far too much productivity from Guillermo), so get excited!
More details on Pacific Rim when Del Toro is finally able to drop some details, which should be soon, now that his considerable momentum has shifted.
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13 comments
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I just don’t understand what his obsession with the R rating is. Mountains didn’t need the R rating, it could have been a hard PG-13. And there isn’t much graphic violence in Lovecraft anyway. Guillermo, sorry to say YOU BLEW IT PAL.
It’s not so much specifically about the rating as it is about compromise. The way GDT wants to tell this story requires an R rating. The studio doesn’t want him to tell his story his way. This is akin to Miramax telling Peter Jackson that he could only make LOTR as two 2 hour movies and Jackson insisting that he couldn’t do it.
Did Jackson “blow it” by trying to find another studio who could understand what he was going for?
I don’t see how he needed the R rating to tell the story “his way”. What does R mean? It means graphic violence and swearing. I’m sure he could have done without both to tell the story. No studio is going to bankroll a $150m R rated film, that is the reality.
At the risk of sounding like a troll, I just want to point out that Miramax wanted Jackson to do the entire LotR trilogy in one film. They also told him to condense the Fellowship characters, lose Lorien and Galadriel, lose Moria (I think), excise either Rohan or Gondor, cut out Helms Deep, and also excise either Sauron or Saruman. He wanted to do it as two films, but when Bob Shaye (a big fan of the books) saw his pitch and the pre-rpduction work Jackson and Walsh had done, he ordered three.
(Sorry, just a huge LotR fan)
That being said, I agree with what you are saying in regards to del Toro and his desired “R” rating. His films. especially his Spanish language works, tend to have a rather graphic, gory bent to them that’s not really gratuitous but is certainly disturbing. The effect is more of lingering “dear God, thats frightening” feeling rather than a momentary “Oh, Jesus that’s scary!” kind of feeling. If he were to bring that to AtMoM, then I for one am certainly open to his interpretation of Lovecraft’s novella.
Truth be told, the rating system for films is pretty arbitrary. Though if I were to guess, the graphic nature of the gore (especially the multiple dissected and vivisected human explorers and the dissection of one of the Elder Things) is probably what pushed it into the “R” territory. Perhaps even image of the Elder Things killing the explorers or flashback of them ruling the earth were considered too graphic of disturbing. If that’s the case, I can’t say I blame Universal for balking. But I also can’t blame del Toro for staying true to the source material.
“That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die.”
this project isnt dead. it’s just going to chill in r’lyeh and wait while dreaming. the stars weren’t right. it’s time will come.
I’ve got mixed feelings toward Del Toro. Kinda like the boy who cried wolf with on-then-off-again projects. The movies he does make are super, tho they tend to get too overblown and a bit too ‘showy’ the bigger the budget. I’d argue his smaller Spanish movies are better than his bigger films. All his movies are very well done and it’s hard to believe with that resume and with the professional friends he has he can’t convince Universal that this would be terriffic for them and everyone involved. Is there a petition we can sign asking Universal to give in? But for now we’ve got ‘The Whisperer In Darkness’ to look forward to…
Thank you Universal for letting the one and only project die that I was really, really looking forward to.
What was it, are you planning „Van Helsing 2 – Crapfest Boogaloo“ or what?
I am telling you all Hollywood is already dead, it just hasn’t realized it….
Just bloody do Hellboy 3 before Ron Perlman carks it and so my wife can stop complaining that there’s no Hellboy 3.
Cockblocked #14…
Greatness Robbed.
There’s more to an R rating than graphic violence and swearing. Subject matter is a much more important aspect, and not so easy to quantify than 3 ‘fucks’ or a dissection. I would like to think GDT is putting more importance behind getting HIS version of this film out than some bad words or violence.
Hmm. good point. I wonder who would be the cock in this scenario, though. Universal? The MPAA rating system? Audiences who’ve shown aversion toward new, innovative things, and hunger for retreads of the same old stuff? Hmm…this is definitely one to sit down and think about.
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