Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Academy Award nominated director/producer/writer/special effects & make-up artist Guillermo del Toro's films bridge the gap between cult favourite and mass market success, producing comic book adaptations like Hellboy, Hellboy II, and Blade II, along with historical fantasy/horror...
[more]Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Academy Award nominated director/producer/writer/special effects & make-up artist Guillermo del Toro's films bridge the gap between cult favourite and mass market success, producing comic book adaptations like Hellboy, Hellboy II, and Blade II, along with historical fantasy/horror like El laberinto del fauno (released in English as Pan's Labyrinth,) set during the Spanish Civil War.
Del Toro studied at the University of Guadalajara, as well as special effects and make-up with Dick Smith, an Academy Award winner. He worked in the field for about 8 years, during which time he co-founded the Guadalajara International Film Festival. In 1998, his father was kidnapped in Mexico, prompting his move to California. In an interview, he lists his obsessions as "insects, clockwork, monsters, dark places, and unborn things", and those elements run like threads through most of his work. Even in comic book stories like Hellboy, in classic fantasy tradition, his scripts tackle larger issues of human existence, often set inside a family drama, and often dealing with issues of fatherhood.
In a move that pleased fans, in April 2008, it was announced that he would direct The Hobbit with Peter Jackson as executive producer, a highly anticipated project.
(image by Manuel Bartual, 2002)
[show less]
