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A Life in Pictures: Guillermo Del Toro

08 July 08

From Cronos and Mimic to the Hobbit and Hellboy II, Mexican filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro talks to Jason Woods about his remarkable career.

Supported by The Farm Group

There is beauty, poetry and moments of immense power in horror...

Producer and director Guillermo Del Toro is one of Mexico’s celebrated filmmakers. Since winning international acclaim for Cronos in 1993, Del Toro has given us some of the most visceral, powerful and intelligent films in modern cinema.

Before the release of his latest project Hell Boy II, Guillermo visited the Academy to speak to writer, film critic and programmer Jason Woods.

Watch him discuss his career highs and lows, from his early relationship with Mexican film institute and winning in Cannes (for Cronos) to working in Hollywood and the emotional power of horror movies. "I believe that magic exists ... the way we see the world we transform it, from the inside out. Every single act - pain, joy - is absolutely our own making," he says.

The webcast includes clips of Del Toro’s most-celebrated films - Cronos, Mimic, The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Orphanage - and ends with his plans to direct Tolkien's The Hobbit, a story he describes as his "enduring passion".

More on Guillermo Del Toro...

Guillermo Del Toro was born October 9, 1964 in Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico. Raised by his Catholic grandmother, Del Toro developed an interest in filmmaking in his early teens. Later, he learned about makeup and effects from Dick Smith (The Exorcist) and worked on making his own short films. At the age of 21, Del Toro executive produced his first feature, Doña Herlinda y su Hijo (Dona Herlinda and Her Son) (1986).

Del Toro spent almost 10 years as a makeup supervisor, and formed his own company, Necropia in the early 1980's. He also produced and directed Mexican television programmes at this time, and taught film.

Del Toro got his first big break when Cronos (1992) won nine awards in Mexico, then went on to win the International Critics Week prize at Cannes. Following this success, Del Toro made his first Hollywood film, Mimic (1997), starring Mira Sorvino.

Del Toro had some unfortunate experiences working with a demanding Hollywood studio on Mimic, and returned to Mexico to form his own production company, The Tequila Gang. In 1998 his father was kidnapped in Mexico, which prompted Del Toro to move abroad to live as an expatriate. His father was returned safely, and Del Toro has mentioned, very tongue in cheek, that his dealing with the kidnappers was not as traumatic as his experience filming Mimic.

Del Toro’s next film was El Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil's Backbone) (2001), a Spanish Civil War ghost story. The film was hailed by critics and audiences alike, and Del Toro decided to give Hollywood another try. In 2002, he directed the Wesley Snipes vampire sequel, Blade II. He followed this up with another successful comic-book inspired film, Hellboy, starring one of Del Toro's favourite actors, Ron Perlman.

In 2006 came Del Toro's masterpiece, El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth). Taking nearly two years to make, Del Toro put his heart and life into this film, and even gave up his salary in order to make sure the end product matched his vision. His efforts paid off - the film, an "adult fairy tale" taking place during the Spanish Civil War, won critical praise, and became the highest grossing Spanish film ever at the U.S. box office. It went on to win three BAFTA Awards for Best Film not in the English Language, Best Costume Design and Best Hair and Make up and was also nominated for a further five BAFTA Awards: Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Screenplay - Original and Best Sound.

A Life in Pictures

The Academy's A Life in Pictures strand of events explore a major and distinctive contribution to the artistic development of the film form, enabling audiences to hear first-hand from a creative force in the industry.