Guillermo del Toro has mastered the art of monster-horror movies but his work encompasses several subgenres. The Mexican filmmaker is known for making hauntingly scary and deeply personal movies. As a result, it shouldn’t be a surprise to his fans that the director’s personal experiences have greatly impacted his projects.
During an interview, del Toro was asked about depicting pain in his films, admitting that two of the worst experiences in his life were responsible for it. In the process, del Toro compared his father’s tragic kidnapping with the experience of working with Harvey Weinstein. Here is what del Toro had to say about the most harrowing events in his life.
Guillermo del Toro recalled the two worst experiences of his life
Guillermo del Toro rose to prominence during the 1990s in his native Mexico before directing his first English movie, 1997’s Mimic, produced by Miramax Films operated by brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein. However, del Toro did not have a pleasant experience working with the duo.
During an interview with The Guardian, del Toro compared the experience to his father’s disappearance in the late 1990s.
I’ve gone through many painful things: a movie with Miramax and the kidnapping of my father. Those two things were pretty harrowing experiences and to survive both with a degree of sanity is quite remarkable.
Del Toro made the above comment, confirming that he had a bad experience with Miramax, and admitting that such painful events turned him into the filmmaker he is today.
According to reports, after the Weinstein brothers were unhappy with the rushes they had seen from the director’s movie, they allegedly tried to replace del Toro during the production of Mimic (via Den of Geek). As a result, del Toro later disowned the film’s theatrical cut, citing creative differences.
Guillermo del Toro praised James Cameron for helping him deal with his father’s kidnapping
During the same interview, del Toro signed out his father’s kidnapping as one of the most harrowing experiences in his life. His father Federico del Toro Torres, was an automotive entrepreneur, who was kidnapped during the late 1990s.
According to some reports, del Toro’s close friend director James Cameron had to intervene and took some responsibility so that the former’s father could return home as quickly as possible.
When my father was kidnapped … there’s information that is not correct, that he paid the ransom. He didn’t. We did. But he paid for the negotiator. He paid for the negotiator, and we paid (Cameron) back a little while after.
Del Toro made the above statement, explaining that since the situation was so harrowing, Cameron set up a negotiator for his family.
The Avatar franchise director not only paid for the negotiator but also offered to pay the ransom. Therefore, del Toro described Cameron as an extremely loyal and strong friend (via CinemaBlend). Therefore, given how closely his father’s disappearance happened to his clash with the Weinsteins, it is easy to see how the experiences have informed his filmmaking.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
