Guillermo del Toro talks shutdown of Mountains of Madness; directing Pacific Rim

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

As everyone knows by now, Guillermo del Toro’s much anticipated AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS was shut down, maybe for good, earlier this week. It would appear as though, despite the involvement of James Cameron and Tom Cruise, the price tag of $150 million, combined with an R rating del Toro wasn’t willing to budge on, killed the project. But, on the same day we got that update, it was revealed that del Toro had already found another monster movie to focus on, PACIFIC RIM, from screenwriter Travis Beachum (CLASH OF THE TITANS). Hopefully, after the disappointing results HOBBIT and MADNESS yielded, PACIFIC RIM will actually get made.

In an interview with Deadline.com, del Toro opened up a bit about what happened with his dream project. Read on for a few samples:

On whether the reported $500 million in profit Universal would need to recoup their investment is what shut down the movie: “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. To say, this is not a gory movie, not a movie full of profanity or violence, but it’s a really intense movie. It’s all what you do with what you’re given. 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 whether or not there’s hope for MADNESS down the road: “I have learned in the last few years that God laughs as we make plans. The beauty of it is, in the last few days, I spoke to Tom, who has been incredibly supportive and who said, ‘Let’s keep going, let’s make this movie down the road.’ He’s definitely that interested and that happy where we were creatively. So we have good legs to travel on, if the time and the opportunity present itself. But we’re going to fight for that to happen.”

On the emergence of PACIFIC RIM as his next directorial focus: “I can only say I was very happy to be able to develop it under the radar in many ways. People got it confused with the Godzilla movie a few months ago but we cleared that up. I can say the scope and imagination that have been outlined in it are absolutely appealing to me. I cannot say more, it’s not the time.”

Del Toro also goes on to say that he hopes to be behind the camera for PACIFIC RIM in September. The film is also scheduled to come out in 2013. But, as the man said, God laughs when we make plans… and it would appear he laughs even harder when it comes to del Toro.

For the entire interview, head on over to Deadline.com.