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

[Carmine Falcone]

I see some of you guys are really into H.P. Lovecraft. Now, I'm something of a sci-fi nut as far as books are concerned, I love the work of Philip K. Dick, H.G. Wells and I loved books like Dune, I am Legend and Rendezvous with Rama. I'm also a huge fan of Mike Mignola's Hellboy and the spin-off B.P.R.D. and Mignola often mentions Lovecraft as an inspiration, so I have to say that I am realy interested in reading some Lovecraft, but I have literally NO idea where to start... Does any of you guys have a suggestion?

 

[Secret Fawful]

@Carmine: The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward, At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Call of Cthulhu, and The Whisperers in the Darkness are some of his greatest works. There are many more I'd love to recommend but I don't want to overwhelm you.

On an unrelated note, I managed to see La Herencia De Valdemar. There are a couple of very hokey actors in the beginning, but overall every Lovecraft fan owes it to himself to see this film. It puts movies like Dagon to shame technically, atmospherically, and artistically. For anyone who has their doubts about viewing the film, I'll just leave this cryptic little image here.

 

[Boom]

I particularly enjoyed The Haunter of the Dark, as well.

Also, does anyone happen to still have a copy of the out-dated script?

 

[Whiskey Tango]

Just finished The Shadow Over Innsmouth. Would love to get a big-budget adaptation of that.

Spoiler

YES. Also, The Dunwich Horror.

 

[Boom]

That picture is scarier than any horror film I've seen recently.

 

[Evil Twin]

I'd recommend The Colour Out of Space, which Stephen King put his own spin on in Creepshow, and The Rats in the Walls as good starting places. Probably particularly because they don't involve Lovecraft's mythos.

The definitive Lovecraft website is http://hplovecraft.com/ and all his fiction is there.

 

[CthulhuWho1]

"At the Mountains of Madness" the complete, unabridged William Hart reading of the original 1931 H. P. Lovecraft novella that Guillermo del Toro and James Cameron are about to base their 3D Universal Studios movie upon, is now freely available in MP3 format for downloading from several online sites.

The novella is twelve chapters long, and runs about 4-1/2 hours.

Find it, and more Lovecraftian readings at:

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[WildcatNC]

I see some of you guys are really into H.P. Lovecraft. Now, I'm something of a sci-fi nut as far as books are concerned, I love the work of Philip K. Dick, H.G. Wells and I loved books like Dune, I am Legend and Rendezvous with Rama. I'm also a huge fan of Mike Mignola's Hellboy and the spin-off B.P.R.D. and Mignola often mentions Lovecraft as an inspiration, so I have to say that I am realy interested in reading some Lovecraft, but I have literally NO idea where to start... Does any of you guys have a suggestion?

Your in for a treat. I would suggest getting one of the collection of short stories rather than the larger works. They are easy, quick hitter reads and will make you want more. Also gives a better idea of the breadth of his imagination and subjects.

The first one I bought was headlined by At the Mountains of Madness, and had many of the shorts/novellas mentioned above. Some are only a few pages.

Being a horror/scifi fan and not having read Lovecraft is like being a fantasy fan and not reading CS Lewis or Tolkien.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

Thanks for the tips guys. I''ll look into it.

 

[Crockett]

A small update about the movie from Cameron.
http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=17650

During a recent press function, however, he provided FearNET with an update:

"We're very, very actively pre-producing the film right now with Universal. The design work is phenomenal, both the three-dimensional and two-dimensional design work, the physical maquettes, the CG test scenes; the artwork is phenomenal. The fans certainly won't want for a visual feast with this film. But there's [still] a bunch of number-crunching and "How you gonna do it?" and "How you gonna make it?"; "Where you gonna do it?" All that stuff."

 

[dark_b]

producer talk. meh

go make Battle Angel and shut the flick up.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

Battle Angel's not gonna happen anytime soon.

 

[Boom]

Finished reading the script.

While it certainly is an entertaining script, and promises to be a visually stunning film, it didn't really feel like Lovecraft's story to me. It felt less horror and more action/adventure, and I felt that much of the ambiguity in the short story was lost in translation. GDT shows us alot, rather than letting our imaginations run wild.

I am aware that this is an outdated version of the script (GDT himself said it is four drafts removed from the current one), so I know that much could have been changed. But as far as this script is concerned, I don't know. The structure and tone are completely different to how I envisioned it.

 

[Gabe99]

From Evil Monito Magazine:
The Master of Monsters

ArcLight Theatre – Hollywood, CA
1/18/11

Guillermo del Toro knows his monsters, whether they’re vampires, ghosts, mythical beings, hell beasts or humans. His richly written creations are also visual marvels – from the grey-skinned ghost of “The Devil’s Backbone” to the rickety, mossy faun of “Pan’s Labyrinth”. They occupy elaborately constructed fantasy worlds that, however gory and strange, have at their center sharply felt human emotion. Del Toro, whose upcoming projects include a remake of “Frankenstein” and a three-part video game called inSANE, visits Zócalo to talk about his work, his vision, and why the monstrous and the human are so closely connected

Time:
January 18, 2011 at 7:30 p.m

Price:
Free. Advance reservations required. RSVP HERE

LOCATION:
Arclight Hollywood
6360 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA

Parking $3 for 4 hours with validation. Entrances on Sunset, Ivar, and Delongpre.

***
For more info, visit: http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/upcoming.php?event_id=456

 

[Timstuff]

If this movie is successful, I wonder if other stories from the Lovecraft mythos like Call of Cthulhu could end up being made into films? Is there even enough material in CoC to make a full length movie out of, I wonder? If not, maybe a script based on multiple works involving Cthulhu would be the best route to go. It would be very cool if they could turn the Eldritch mythos into a series of films.

 

[TruerToTheCore]

Call of Cthulhu would become very Indiana Jones-like.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

So, I picked up a H.P. Lovecraft collection at the library and so far I've read the stories The Statement of Randolph Carter, The Outsider, The Music of Eric Zann and Herbert West - Reanimator. I think it's bordering on absolutely terrifying. I love it.

 

[Rac]

On an unrelated note, I managed to see La Herencia De Valdemar. There are a couple of very hokey actors in the beginning, but overall every Lovecraft fan owes it to himself to see this film. It puts movies like Dagon to shame technically, atmospherically, and artistically. For anyone who has their doubts about viewing the film, I'll just leave this cryptic little image here.

I'll check that out. I like Spanish horror.

 

[Timstuff]

Call of Cthulhu would become very Indiana Jones-like.

If, at the end of Temple of Doom, Indy goes insane and spends the rest of his days being wheeled around a mental hospital.

 

[TruerToTheCore]

If, at the end of Temple of Doom, Indy goes insane and spends the rest of his days being wheeled around a mental hospital.

That would be pretty awesome

 

[Boom]

The New Yorker posted a superb article on GDT. A large chunk of it is dedicated to At the Mountains of Madness - particularly the design work. Check it out.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/07/110207fa_fact_zalewski?currentPage=all

 

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=73792

Tom Cruise Eyeing At the Mountains of Madness

Source: MTV News
February 3, 2011

Tom Cruise is likely to play the lead in Guillermo del Toro's At the Mountains of Madness, producer James Cameron revealed to MTV News.

"I don't think we have a deal with him yet," added Cameron, "but we're hoping to get that closed soon. Guillermo is madly working on a new draft of the script. Hopefully we'll be shooting by June or July."

Though the project, officially, has yet to be greenlit, it was revealed earlier this week that del Toro has been hard at work designing creature effects and pitching his R-rated take on the H.P. Lovecraft story.

Cruise, meanwhile, is next slated to appear in Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, hitting theaters on December 16th.

 

[Boom]

Don't be stupid, Universal. Greenlight this film.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Cruise in this film? Yes! Do it Del Toro!

 

[Whiskey Tango]

I'm not sure how I feel about Cruise being involved with this. I do think he's a good actor and I don't allow his personal weirdness to wreck my enjoyment of his movie career but I'm on the fence with him and AtMoM.

I guess I just feel like it might lose some of the Lovecraftiness with Cruise involved, like it'll turn into a more typical action-horror movie. But maybe that's the way it's heading anyway?

Whatever, I'm still down. I have faith in whatever GDT decides.