Guillermo del Toro to Receive VES Award for Creative Excellence from Visual Effects Society

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro is being celebrated for his creative genius…

The 57-year-old Mexican Oscar-winning film director, producer, screenwriter and author will receive the Visual Effects Society’s career honor next month.

del Toro, a two-time Oscar winner for The Shape of Water — whose credits also include such effect-laden films as Pan’s Labyrinth, Blade II and the Pacific Rim and Hellboy films — will pick up the VES Award for Creative Excellence during the 20th anniversary VES Awards on March 8 at the Beverly Hilton.

“Guillermo is a fiercely inventive storyteller, who has pushed the boundaries of filmmaking,” VES Board Chair Lisa Cooke said. “An exemplary talent, he has consistently elevated not just the technical aspect of visual effects but also the emotional.”

Del Toro is up for the Best Picture Academy Award again this year for Nightmare Alley, his reimagining of the gritty 1947 noir Nightmare Alley.

The film starring Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett has four total Oscar nominations and will vie for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature at the VES Awards.

Along with his writing and directing credits, del Toro also is a prolific producer of such acclaimed and successful films as The Orphanage, Julia’s Eyes, Biutiful, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots and Mama.

He studied makeup effects with legendary artist Dick Smith; spent 10 years as a special-effects makeup designer; and formed his own company, Necropia.

The VES Award for Creative Excellence recognizes individuals who’ve made significant and lasting contributions to the art and science of the visual effects industry by uniquely and consistently creating compelling and creative imagery in service to story, per the group.

“Guillermo is an amazing creative force and a defining voice in our global community, and his body of work is a rich source of inspiration for future generations of artists and innovators,” Cooke added.

Netflix Orders Guillermo del Toro Horror Anthology Series “Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight”

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro is expanding his partnership with Netflix…

The 53-year-old Mexican filmmaker, the creator of Netflix’s Emmy-winning DreamWorks Trollhunters, is creating a live-action program on the Netflix.

The online streaming service has ordered Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight, its first original horror anthology series.

The series is described as a collection of the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s personally curated stories, described as both equally sophisticated and horrific.

The Shape of Water writer-director created the series and will write and direct certain episodes. In addition, he’ll handpick a team of top horror writers and new filmmakers to bring his selection of stories to life.

Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight is a Netflix production. The project extends del Toro and Netflix’s collaboration that began with the animated series DreamWorks Trollhunters, which returns May 25 for the third and final season. The Emmy-winning Trollhunters is the first installment of a trilogy dubbed DreamWorks’ Tales of Arcadia. The next chapter, 3 Below, debuts later this year followed by Wizards in 2019.

Del Toro’s The Shape of Water, which earned four Oscars this year, including Best Picture, Best Director for del Toro, Best Original Score and Best Production Design.

His previous films alternate between Spanish-language dark fantasy pieces, such as The Devil’s Backbone (2001), and triple Oscar winner Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), and American studio movies such as the vampire superhero action pic Blade II (2002), the supernatural adventures Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) and the sci-fi monsters-versus-robots film Pacific Rim (2013).

del Toro to Receive Filmmaker Award from Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE)

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro is getting a reel special honor…

The 52-year-old Mexican filmmaker will receive the 2017 MPSE Filmmaker Award from the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE).

The organization will celebrate del Toro at the 64th annual Golden Reel Awards on February 19.

“Guillermo del Toro’s relentless imagination and energy provide inspiration to all of us in the entertainment industry,” MPSE president Tom McCarthy said in a statement. “He is constantly surprising, challenging and delighting audiences worldwide. We are extremely proud to recognize his contributions to our industry and culture with our Filmmaker Award.”

del Toro’s directing credits include Hellboy, Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak, Oscar winner Pan’s Labyrinth and the forthcoming The Shape of Water. Earlier in his career, he worked as a special-effects makeup designer. He also has produced such titles as Biutiful, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Book of Life and Puss in Boots.

“Texturally and narratively, sound and image fuse in the cinematic experience,” said del Toro. “I have spent as much time on the mixing board as I have on a stage, shooting or in a color-correction suite grading the final film. To paraphrase Mark Twain: ‘The difference between the almost right sound and the right sound ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.’ I am thus delighted and honored to receive this award from my colleagues and partners in the storytelling experience.”

Rodriguez to Star in Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim 2”

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Shyrley Rodriguez is Pacifically inclined…

The 23-year-old Latina actress has been added to the cast of Legendary/ Universal’s Pacific Rim 2, the sequel to Guillermo del Toro and Travis Beacham’s 2013 sci-fi film that stars John Boyega, Scott Eastwood and Chinese actress Jing Tian.

Steven S. DeKnight directs the pic, which is currently in production with a storyline that has “a strong connection to China,” according to Jack Gao of Wanda, which owns Legendary and made the announcement today.

The film is scheduled to hit theaters on February 23, 2018.

Rodriguez, who can currently be seen on Baz Luhrmann’s Netflix musical series The Get Down, has also landed a role in the film Wheels, the directorial debut indie from Top Chef and Project Runway helmer Paul Starkman. The film follows Max, a teen from Brooklyn, who pursues his dream of becoming a DJ.

Rodriguez plays the love interest Liza, a neighborhood girl who is strong willed, street smart, and sees the good in the world.

del Toro to Direct Untitled Supernatural Romance for Fox Searchlight

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro’s next project is taking Shape…

The 51-year-old Mexican filmmaker will direct an untitled supernatural romance for Fox Searchlight with Michael Shannon is in talks to star.

The project, rumored to be titled The Shape of Water, is set in 1963 with Shannon playing the villain of the story. A mute laboratory worker, to be played by Sally Hawkins, falls in love with an amphibious man who’s being held captive.

Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer and Michael Stuhlbarg will co-star.

del Toro is directing and producing with Callum Greene, who worked with him on both Pacific Rim and Crimson Peak.

del Toro to Direct & Produce a Cold War Drama for Fox Searchlight

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro is going off to war…

The 51-year-old Mexican filmmaker is set to direct and produce an untitled Cold War drama from Fox Searchlight.

It’s described as a mysterious and magical otherworldly love story set in 1963 America. J.Miles Dale will produce with del Toro.

Sally Hawkins is set to star in the film, and Octavia Spencer is in talks to join the cast.

Meanwhile, the Crimson Peak and Pacific Rim filmmaker is developing and might direct Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark for CBS Films, based on the book trilogy by Alvin Schwartz.

Collins to Star in HBO’s Sci-Fi Western Series “Westworld”

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Clifton Collins Jr. is heading West(world)…

The 45-year-old Mexican and Spanish American actor has joined the cast of HBO’s series Westworld, a television adaptation of the 1973 sci-fi western film that was set in a high-tech theme park that was staffed by robots who authentically replicated Roman, cowboy and medieval times.

After the park’s computer system breaks down, the robots ran amok and guests found themselves stalked by a gunslinging robot, played by Yul Brynner.

Collins will star opposite Ed Harris, Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden and Thandie Newton in the reboot of the 1973 pic.

Collins, who starred in Pacific Rim, will play Lawrence, a sly criminal who really knows his way around Westworld.

Scheduled to air in 2016, Westworld hails from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, Jonathan Nolan, writer Lisa Joy plus Warner Bros. Televison and Jerry Weintraub Productions.

del Toro Reveals New Details About His “Pacific Rim” Animated Series

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro is taking Pacific Rim to the small screen… And, he’s letting the world in on the concept.

Following the international success of his 2013 sci-fi monster film, the 49-year-old Mexican filmmaker will not only release a sequel. He’ll also launch an animated series.

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, del Toro opened up about the storyline for the upcoming television show.

“We’re formulating ideas that are, again, interesting and not the usual route, but the series tackles the stories that happened to pilots working in the Shatterdome (a building where jaegers are built and maintained and pilots train), but also cadets learning how to become pilots,” he declares.

del Toro notes the stories take place prior to events in the first film, adding, “It gives you a little more depth into the background of certain characters that will appear in the second movie. So it’s really expanding the material.”

The filmmaker hopes that with the planned movie sequel, the animated series and the comic book series, fans will “have a good feel for the world, and we can dedicate ourselves to character and ideas and spectacle.” Asked where the television show will land, he says, “We are talking about all the possibilities in terms of networks.”

Meanwhile, Pacific Rim 2 has been slated for April 7, 2017 release in 3D and IMAX theaters.

del Toro says the sequel will be “very different” from the first one.

“I don’t want to spoil it, but I think at the end of the second movie, people will find out that the two movies stand on their own,” he teases. “They’re very different from each other, although hopefully bringing the same joyful giant spectacle. But the tenor of the two movies will be quite different.”

Collins, Jr. to Star in John Hillcoat’s Cop Drama “Triple Nine”

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Clifton Collins, Jr. is on Cloud Nine, Nine, Nine…

The 43-year-old Mexican and Spanish American actor has joined the cast of John Hillcoat’s cop drama Triple Nine.

Collins, Jr., last seen on the big screen in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, joins Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Kate Winslet in the Matt Cook-scripted drama about a crew of dirty cops who are blackmailed by the Russian mob to execute a virtually impossible heist. The only way to pull it off is to manufacture a 999, police code for “officer down”. Their plan is turned upside down when the unsuspecting rookie they set up to die foils the attack. That triggers double-crosses, greed and revenge.

Triple Nine will begin shooting next month.

Collins Jr. to Star in ABC’s Drama Pilot “Secrets & Lies”

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a case of secrets & lies for Clifton Collins Jr. …

The 43-year-old Mexican and Spanish American actor has signed on to co-star alongside Ryan Phillippe, Juliette Lewis and KaDee Strickland in ABC’s drama pilot Secrets & Lies.

The project centers on Ben (Phillippe), a family man who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a young boy when he finds the body.

Collins, who appeared on the network’s short-lived drama Red Widow last season, will portray Ben’s childhood friend and the tenant in Ben’s pool house who is unwaveringly supportive of Ben.

Collins most recently starred in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim and guest-starred on NBC’s The Blacklist. His other television credits include The Event, Southland and Alias.

He’ll next appear opposite Johnny Depp in Transcendence.

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