At the Mountains of Madness - Guillermo Del Toro's Next Project!

[Doctor Jones]

Anyone excited that this will be the first R rated blockbuster monster film?

 

[ALP]

What about the Alien series?

Glad Del Toro is getting of his big ass and making something happen. He's one of my favorite filmmakers working. Some of his other work looks really interesting too. Can't wait for Afraid of the Dark. And he's going to turn this into a masterpiece no doubt.

 

[Justkidding]

Anyone excited that this will be the first R rated blockbuster monster film?

I'm excited this is the first H.P Lovecraft film getting a wide release with full on studio ad power. I mean I love the Gordan/Band Lovecraft work they did, but Empire/Full Moom is nothing to Universal.

 

[CrimsonMist]

I'm excited this is the first H.P Lovecraft film getting a wide release with full on studio ad power. I mean I love the Gordan/Band Lovecraft work they did, but Empire/Full Moom is nothing to Universal.

Agreed. I enjoy the Gordon stuff, but it's all really divergent from the source material. I mean, From Beyond...what the hell was that? Dagon was really his only good film, in my opinion. He overplays sex and violence to the point that it really just takes me out of the films.

Based on the script that's floating around currently, I'm glad to see Lovecraft more accurately depicted on screen. And despite the problems I had with the script(it feeling more action/adventure than horror, and Cthulhu's rather pointless appearance near the end), I loved how it allowed for dissection to see the different elements from different Lovecraft stories del Toro was using.

 

[redhawk23]

Glad to hear some more news about this film solidifying a start date. If this falls through it will be another major blow for GDT, which would be a shame as he appears to be a very passionate and devoted man when it comes to his work.

 

[Figs]

Agreed. I enjoy the Gordon stuff, but it's all really divergent from the source material. I mean, From Beyond...what the hell was that? Dagon was really his only good film, in my opinion. He overplays sex and violence to the point that it really just takes me out of the films.

You didn't like Re-Animator?? That was probably his best one and just as a horror film it's a classic.

 

[CrimsonMist]

You didn't like Re-Animator?? That was probably his best one and just as a horror film it's a classic.

I have a love/hate relationship with Re-Animator. For what it is, it's a good, gross, horror film. As a Lovecraft adaptation though? It's pure ****. I'm still trying to figure out how the whole "head giving head" thing even remotely ties into Lovecraft. You see, Gordon has this really strange obsession with really strange sex in his films that doesn't work with me. It only seems to be there for shock value. It's shocking and funny the first time, maybe the second. But after that, it wears thin and comes as a distraction.

That's a problem I have with most of his Lovecraft films, except Dagon. They're filled with sex that doesn't really need to be there. He's apparently working on an adaptation of The Thing On The Doorstep. He wanted Jeffery Combs in it, but Combs didn't wanna do it because he felt that all the weird sex Gordon threw in was too much.

 

[Rac]

I mean, From Beyond...what the hell was that?

Have you read the short story? It didn't actually diverge that much from it.

 

[Doctor Jones]

What about the Alien series?

Glad Del Toro is getting of his big ass and making something happen. He's one of my favorite filmmakers working. Some of his other work looks really interesting too. Can't wait for Afraid of the Dark. And he's going to turn this into a masterpiece no doubt.

I mean like today. We haven't seen a single ballsy big budget blockbuster horror film yet.

 

[dude stannis]

Agreed. There's a lot hinging on the success of this film. Mostly the Alien prequels... mostly.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Del Toro I think has the ability to bring enjoyment and terror to this film.

 

[dude stannis]

Del Toro I think has the ability to bring enjoyment and terror to this film.

What could possibly give you that idea! t:

 

[CrimsonMist]

Have you read the short story? It didn't actually diverge that much from it.

What, the pre-credit sequence? Sure, that's exactly the short story. Where did all the bondsage and S&M sex and crap come from? That's what was really distracting.

 

[Rac]

What, the pre-credit sequence? Sure, that's exactly the short story.

From what I remember, the basic storyline of the short remained there. Even the creatures/visions looked like how they were described.

Where did all the bondsage and S&M sex and crap come from? That's what was really distracting.

Sure it was weird, but I didn't complain.

 

[Boom]

So I finished reading At the Mountains of Madness.

I am very much looking forward to seeing how GDT realizes the creatures, especially the Shoggoth.

 

[Crockett]

The designs are going to be great as usual for a del Toro movie. I also wonder if he'll keep the blind tall albino penguin in the movie, that part was a wtf? moment for me when I read the novella.

 

[Boom]

There is something about the Shoggoths that confuse me though.

On one hand, they are described as being comprised of a black, viscous jelly. But in another description, they are described as being self-luminous and iridescent. Iridescent means "displaying a spectrum of colours that shimmer and change due to interference and scattering as the observer's position changes." Both descriptions seem to contradict each other. How can it be black and colorful at the same time?

Also, I've seen alot of illustrations where the Shoggoth has many mouths and teeth. I know that they have hundreds of glowing green eyes (a detail which alot of illustrations get wrong for some reason), but I didn't read anything in ATMOM about them having mouths and teeth. Is that mentioned in a different story, or did I miss something?

And the albino penuins are ****ing awesome. They better be in.

 

[terry78]

There is something about the Shoggoths that confuse me though.

On one hand, they are described as being comprised of a black, viscous jelly. But in another description, they are described as being self-luminous and iridescent. Iridescent means "displaying a play of lustrous colors like those of a rainbow." Both descriptions seem to contradict each other.

Also, I've seen alot of illustrations of the Shoggoth with mouths and teeth. In ATMOM, I only read of them having glowing, green eyes (alot of illustrations I've seen get even this detail wrong). I didn't read anything about mouths and teeth. Is that mentioned in a different story, or did I miss something?

Del Toro will just have to interpret it on his own merit, like Jackson did with the balrog.

 

[Boom]

Perhaps Lovecraft meant something like this:

Spoiler

 

[Whiskey Tango]

Yeah, that handbag looks about right.

I love this one -

Spoiler

 

[Boom]

I do too, but the eyes should be green like those orb-like objects (unless those are meant to be eyes too). Sorry. I'm very detail- picky .

It is one of the best Shoggoth illustrations out there, though. It looks alot like the symbiote in Spider-Man 3 - very sinewy and tar-like. I love the overall scope and atmosphere of the picture, especially the lighting in the background.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

No worries, virtually everyone is going to have a different idea of what they look like anyway. Who's to say poor Professor Dyer and Danforth didn't get a few details wrong when recalling such a sanity-cracking horror?

 

[Boom]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but in this interview, GDT says that:

Spoiler

Cthulhu will no longer be making an appearance at the end of the film.

http://deltorofilms.com/wp/category/films/at-the-mountains-of-madness

 

[chaseter]

I think you just killed about 99% of the people's dreams in here.

 

[Boom]

I'm disappointed myself, but only because I really really want to see Cthulhu in a big-budget film. But he does not appear in At the Mountains of Madness, so his removal from the end of the film is more faithful to the story.

Of course, if this film is successful, perhaps we could see more Lovecraft adaptations, such as The Call of Cthulhu.