Guillermo talks!

JoBlo/AITH man on the scene Jason Adams just got off the set of HELLBOY 2 in Budapest and while Universal is holding my first born as assurance we don’t break our embargo, we are allowed to bring you some scoops about other Guillermo del Toro projects that don’t feature a giant, red man-monster. So without further ado, here’s a dispatch from across the sea. Sez Mr. Adams…

-AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS: Universal has finally acquired the rights, and he’s self financed designs and maquettes. No greenlight yet though, mostly cause it will be “expensive, R-rated and doesn’t have a happy ending.” del Toro says it would be a return to big scale, tentpole horror pictures, like ALIENS, THE SHINING and THE EXORCIST.

-Guillermo is producing Neil Gaiman’s DEATH: THE HIGH COST OF LIVING, which Gaiman is also directing. Selma Blair said she really wants to play Death, but Guillermo already has someone in mind.

-Guillermo is no longer doing a movie called BORN with Jennifer Connelly. Just said it fell through.

-The project he “would kill to make” is a faithful “Miltonian tragedy” version of FRANKENSTEIN that doesn’t suck wild ass like Branagh’s. He mentioned reading Frank Darabont’s draft and saying it was pretty much perfect. (He was quoted a few weeks back saying something about using classic Universal horror monsters along with Hellboy, but today he seemed to insinuate if that happened it would be in one of the animated films.)

-Sadly, No WIND OF THE WILLOWS and no CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON for del Toro.

-He’s using his clout from PAN’S mostly to produce stuff for first time directors, and not for his own projects. He’s planning on overseeing a an English remake of THE ORPHANAGE, which he just produced. If he gets who he wants to make it, he promised it would be good, but wouldn’t tell us who.

-If he had the freedom to choose, MOUNTAINS would be next. But from experience, he’ll take what he can get and not wait five years before his next movie. He mentioned some of the screenplays he wrote that never got made: MEPHISTO’S BRIDGE, COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. Some of these might still be made, but as part of the “first time director/del Toro producing” projects. He’s already setting one up at Miramax.

-Doug Jones said he hasn’t heard anything about a Silver Surfer spinoff, but that he WOULD be willing to do it (and would prefer to use his own voice this time).

Thanks Jason and keep your peepers peeled on JoBlo.com for when the time comes that my kids are returned and we’re free to post all the deets from HELLBOY 2…