Guillermo del Toro's much buzzed about project, At the Mountains of Madness, is not quite dead in the water but seriously listing to one side and taking on water at a dramatic rate. Universal recently decided to pass on Mountains, a project del Toro had been diligently working on, was gearing up to begin shooting, and had Tom Cruise attached to star. del Toro's adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's novel would have been shooting for an R-rating in 3D with a $150 million budget, but the studio apparently balked at the idea of an R-rating. At this point, in order for Mountains to move forward del Toro will likely have to take it to another studio - if Universal allows him to do so.
So, now that he's not busy with At the Mountains of Madness, del Toro's schedule has opened up enough for him to direct Pacific Rim next. Not much is known yet about Pacific Rim (set up at Legendary Pictures) except that it's something del Toro's been quietly working on for a while now. Shooting's expected to begin in September with an eye on releasing the film during the summer of 2013.
In the press release from Legendary Pictures, del Toro said, "We started developing Pac Rim a while ago with the mad passion and enthusiasm of a project unwatched and unchecked by politics or comparisons. We designed and shepherded the movie we want to make. We start shooting in September and we hit the ground running because we are so in sync. My partnership with Legendary represents, both in scale and creative demands, a huge step forward for me."
del Toro's most recent film as director was 2008's Hellboy II. He had been attached to direct The Hobbit however had to step away from that project after the two-part film was delayed due to MGM's financial problems. del Toro co-wrote The Hobbit scripts with Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens, with Jackson (the director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy) taking over the director's chair after del Toro left.
Also of Interest:
- Exclusive Guillermo del Toro interview on Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and the Haunted Mansion film
- Exclusive interview with Guillermo del Toro on Hellboy 2
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(Photo of Guillermo del Toro by Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)
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