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

[Lord]

Never really read anything, but from the plot i think the original time they take place in fits better, also gives it a more mysterious vibe.

 

[Figs]

Would fans accept a modern interpretation of this story? Or does it have to be period?

Period piece all the way. If it's set in modern times, our advanced technology with communicating via satellites and a number of other things would take away a lot of the fear and dread.

 

[dark_b]

Period piece all the way. If it's set in modern times, our advanced technology with communicating via satellites and a number of other things would take away a lot of the fear and dread.

i agree. the technology is the biggest problem.

maybe the 70's or 80's. maybe if it looks similar to The Thing.

 

[Figs]

i agree. the technology is the biggest problem.

maybe the 70's or 80's. maybe if it looks similar to The Thing.

If they were to set it in the late 20th century, I agree, the 70s would be the way to go.

 

[Lord]

Even then i am more tempted to the idea of this film being set in the early 20th Century, not many films set in Antartida during this period.

 

[terry78]

I'd just leave it in the time period it's set in from the book.

 

[Piper Maru]

While I'm not outright against AtMoM being set in modern times, I think it's better to have it set in the time period that it was in the original story.

 

[Victarion]

Period piece all the way. If it's set in modern times, our advanced technology with communicating via satellites and a number of other things would take away a lot of the fear and dread.

I saw a SyFy film adaption of the Dunwich Horror where they did that. Terrible, terrible. There was another one with a wizard who went around fighting different things from the Mythos. Not really in the tone of Lovecraft's work, but pretty cool.

 

[terry78]

A lot of **** in stories adapted to modern day doesn't work because of modern conveniences that can give them an edge. Though I do want to see how Del Toro adapts the final scene of what Danforth actually saw. If he reveals it to the audience or just leaves it as an unreveal.

 

[The Guard]

Period piece all the way. If it's set in modern times, our advanced technology with communicating via satellites and a number of other things would take away a lot of the fear and dread.

Why?

 

[Teelie]

An easy if cheap way is to remove the technological advantage by having it disabled "mysteriously" via some Old One machinations.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

Antarctica was still largely unexplored during the time frame of the story (1930-31). I mean it still is I guess as far as physical presence but if anything were hidden there, especially the sort of things Lovecraft alludes to, we'd have seen it via satellite long before now and a scientific expedition would either be well-prepared and knowing to expect potentially curious things, or completely ignorant and probably not allowed to go at all if governments were covering it up.

I mean you could probably make modern day work, cellphones aren't going to help these guys much, but you'd lose a lot of flavor and it would be a poor trade-off imho. At most I'd go 70's/80's like dark b said but at that point you're doing a period piece anyway so why not remain faithful to the source?

 

[Figs]

Why?

Why?

If **** were to hit the fan, which it does in the story, they would easily be able to call backup of some kind, not to mention what other modern tech they might have to help them while they're there.

You take that away and the characters are truly on their own without any help from the outside world.

If they wanted to, they could make it work in a modern setting, but I would prefer to see a movie based on Lovecraft's work set in the time period it was intended.

 

[redhawk23]

Antarctica was still largely unexplored during the time frame of the story (1930-31). I mean it still is I guess as far as physical presence but if anything were hidden there, especially the sort of things Lovecraft alludes to, we'd have seen it via satellite long before now and a scientific expedition would either be well-prepared and knowing to expect potentially curious things, or completely ignorant and probably not allowed to go at all if governments were covering it up.

I mean you could probably make modern day work, cellphones aren't going to help these guys much, but you'd lose a lot of flavor and it would be a poor trade-off imho. At most I'd go 70's/80's like dark b said but at that point you're doing a period piece anyway so why not remain faithful to the source?

You pretty much just get this.

 

[Teelie]

That story could have worked if anyone had put effort into actually writing it instead of going for cool looking action sequences while not bothering to write the inbetween parts.

 

[:eek:]

"Mountains of Madness" Revived As PG-13?

By Garth Franklin Friday July 4th 2014 11:10AM
Every filmmaker has at least one 'dream project', a movie they've been trying to make for years but aren't able to get off the ground for one reason or another. For filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro, that project has been his long-awaited adaptation of horror icon H.P. Lovecraft's atmospheric 1931 story "At the Mountains of Madness".
The story follows explorers in Antarctica who uncover the remains of highly evolved creatures neither plant or animal. Investigating a gigantic mountain range, they come upon an abandoned ancient city. Their explorations underground causes something to stir from its slumber.
The film has started and stopped again over the years at various studios. Things seemed to be gathering steam three years ago when the project was at Universal Pictures. James Cameron was slated to produce and Tom Cruise was linked as a possible star, but the film's $150 million budget and R rating meant the studio wasn't keen on green lighting it and ultimately pulled the plug.
Del Toro then went on to make "Pacific Rim" and the upcoming "Crimson Peak" with Legendary Pictures. Now, with Universal and Legendary in bed together, talk of 'Mountains' has come back around and del Toro is hopeful he has the chance to make it for both of them. He's also realised that the need for an R rating isn't as necessary anymore with PG-13 being more relaxed these days. He tells The Wall Street Journal:

"That's exactly what I discussed with them. I said to them, that's the movie that I would really love to do one day, and it's still expensive, it's still… I think that now, with the way I've seen PG-13 become more and more flexible, I think I could do it PG-13 now, so I'm going to explore it with [Legendary], to be as horrifying as I can, but to not be quite as graphic.
There's basically one or two scenes in the book that people don't remember that are pretty graphic. Namely, for example, the human autopsy that the aliens do, which is a very shocking moment. But I think I can find ways of doing it. We'll see. It's certainly a possibility in the future.
Legendary was very close to doing it at one point, so I know they love the screenplay. I think there's a really strong possibility we can do it at Legendary because now they are at Universal, and Universal, you may remember, almost greenlit the movie.
The fact that we now have two studios together that love the material, and if they support each other, they are risking a lot less. It would be great to do it, but I've understood that you don't plan your career, it just happens... Hopefully it'll happen. It's certainly one of the movies I would love to do."
​

 

[MadVillainy]

In before the PG13 whining

 

[Piper Maru]

Come on Hollywood, you know you want to. I've been waiting aeons for this movie, don't let me down!

 

[Lord]

Is the source material too gory? The few i know and Del Toro's passion for it realy give me a lot of excitement for this.

 

[Tim_Riggins]

The script is quite graphic at times, but I think it could be done on PG 13, a few select scenes would need the gore but overall, I think you can maintain the feel with a PG 13 movie.

It's probably much safer for Universal to go PG 13 on this one, would make sense, this needs to happen because the script is pretty awesome, especially the end (at least in my opinion). I feel like the movie would play much more on a sense of dread & impending doom, a totally creepy atmosphere, The Thing-like really rather than flat out gratuitous violence, I sh** you not, there's a scene in the script pretty "early" on in the movie where reading it just gave me chills & left me kind of terrified for a few seconds.

If Guillermo says he can do it PG 13, I think we can trust him, although yeah, it'd be good to have that extra bit of gore for a few select scenes, especially that one he mentions in the interview. Although, it's pretty surprising what you can get away with these days with a PG 13 rating.

 

[dark_b]

there is no way that this movie can be PG13. its not about gore,blood,....
its about the atmosphere and f. TONE.

i rather wait 10 years before del Toro directs this movie than accept a pg13 version.

fact is that with a PG13 rating the groundbreaking ILM design of the monster will change

 

[Whiskey Tango]

Atmosphere and tone have nothing to do with the rating. This movie has zero need for a bunch of f-bombs or ****, and gore and gruesomeness was barely present in the story anyway. PG13 affords more than enough room to do this story, and do it well.

I'm glad they're talking about this again.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Yeah, I haven't read the script but I think you could make this a PG-13 film and not really lose anything, except maybe some of the gore.

 

[jonathancrane]

Even then, Lovecraft's story was not that gory; the horror was in the understanding of the cosmos the narrator had at the end...and seeing creatures whose mere existence shattered their empiricism and illusion of a sane, ordered world.

 

[ThePhantasm]

there is no way that this movie can be PG13. its not about gore,blood,....
its about the atmosphere and f. TONE.

Thank goodness the MPAA doesn't really base their ratings that much on atmosphere and tone then.