Guillermo del Toro
GUILLERMO DEL TORO - LIVE FROM L.A. (Sydney Only)
Guillermo Del Toro was born October 9, 1964 in Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico. He 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, 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 80's. Del Toro got his first big break when Cronos (1992) won nine academy awards in Mexico, then went on to win the International Critics Week prize at Cannes. Following this success, Del Toro made his first US studio picture, Mimic (1997), starring Mira Sorvino, but his first taste of Hollywood was not one he enjoyed.
Del Toro shot his next film in Madrid: The Devil's Backbone (2001), a Spanish Civil War ghost story. The film was lauded 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. On a roll, Del Toro followed up Blade II with another successful comic-book adaptation, Hellboy. A huge fan of Mike Mignola's series, del Toro turned down the chance to direct Blade: Trinity, Alien vs. Predator and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to work on his dream project, in which he cast one of his favorite actors, Ron Perlman, as the titular character.
In 2006 came Del Toro's masterpiece, Pan's Labyrinth. Taking nearly two years to make, Del Toro put his heart and soul 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 academy awards for Best Makeup, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography (for Guillermo Navarro).
Del Toro's current project Hellboy 2: The Golden Army already looks amazing, and his upcoming slate includes the H.P. Lovecraft tale At The Mountains of Madness, as well as Doctor Strange and The Hobbit, parts 1 and 2.
Married with children, Guillermo Del Toro currently lives in Los Angeles.
As an awesome exclusive event for Sydney SUPA-FAN PASS holders only, we are going live direct to Hollywood to talk to the director of the upcoming highly anticipated sequel 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army', Guillermo Del Toro.
Joining him will be one of the stars of the movie, the lovely Selma Blair! Hellboy II opens here in August and features the return of Earth's most butt-kicking demon in an all-out war with the angry inhabitants of the fairy realm. This exclusive chat will give you a chance to ask questions of two members of the creative team making this eagerly-anticipated film.
The live cross is happening at 9.00 am on Sunday the 22nd of June, so make sure all you Sydneysiders grab your SUPA-FAN PASS! It could be you asking your question or winning some cool prizes from our sponors.
Perth people, the live hookup will be at the Sydney event only, but we'll have a special event and prizes for Perth fans too!