100Facts About Guillermo Del Toro

From Blade, Japan's Labyrinth, the filmmaker in question

is one of the most iconic and recognized creators of the last three decades

I'm Dave Baker, and today we're going to be listing 100 facts about Guillermo del Toro

you probably didn't know. Guillermo del Toro Gomez was born on October 9, 1964

In addition to being a massive Hollywood writer and director, he's also an author, actor, illustrator

and special effects makeup artist. He's originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. He graduated from the University of Guadalajara

At around the age of eight, Guillermo started to make short films with his father's Super 8 camera

He would use his Planet of the Apes toys and pack out the stories that he would write. One of the more notable early short films

was about a serial killer, Potato. It murdered del Toro's family before leaving the house

where it was run over by a car. Del Toro made roughly 10 short films

before making his feature debut. Only the last two, Dona Lupe and Geometra

have been released publicly. Before entering the US market, del Toro had a lengthy career in Mexico

He had worked on TV shows, in special effects, and had his first feature film produced in Mexico

He worked as a special effects artist for close to 10 years, founding a company named Necropia

Del Toro took special effects so seriously that he even spent time studying with the iconic Dick Smith

of the Exorcist, Taxi Driver, and Scanners fame. He wrote four episodes and directed five episodes

of the Mexican cult TV series La Hora Macara. Del Toro also founded the Guadalajara International Film Festival

Del Toro married Lorenza Newton after they met during college. They had two children together

They divorced in 2017. They were married for over 31 years. His first film was released in 1993

and it was titled Kronos. It was produced in Mexico and distributed internationally

It's an independent horror film which stars Ron Perlman and Federico Lupi

It tells the story of a 400-year-old golden scarab, which, once it attaches itself to someone

grants them eternal life, but also curses them with a thirst for human blood

The film did very well at the box office. When it was released by October Films

Miramax gave del Toro $30 million to produce his next film, Mimic

Mimic was released in 1997. It starred Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northampton, Josh Brolin

Charles S. Dutton, and F. Murray Abraham. The film was co-written by Matthew Robbins

in Batteries Not Included, Sugar Land Express, and the Dragon Slayer fame. Mimic is a monster movie about a species of bugs

that are used to stop an infestation of cockroaches in New York. Only issue being that these special mimic bugs

wipe out the cockroaches and then start to mimic their next target, humans

The film received mixed reviews, but did moderately well at the box office. However, it's since gained a cult following

and Miramax has released two direct-to-DVD sequels titled Mimic 2 and Mimic 3 colon Sentinel In 1997 Guillermo del Toro father was kidnapped For Rico del Toro Torres was held captive for 72 days before del Toro and his family paid millions of dollars to get him back

James Cameron, who became friends with del Toro during the shooting of Kronos, gave him a million dollars

for the ransom money. Ultimately, Ferrico was returned safely, and his entire family moved to America

in pursuit of a safer living situation. The kidnappers have never been caught

Their money was never regained. Del Toro took this traumatic experience and wrote a screenplay about a man with a mechanical hand

seeking revenge for his father's death. The script was titled The Left Hand of Darkness

It was a loose adaptation of Alexander Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. The movie was set in Mexico and was described

as a steampunk gothic western. Unfortunately, the film was never made. The Devil's Backbone was released in 2001

It stars Frederick Luthie, Marisa Perez, and Eduardo Noriega. It's a gothic horror film set during the final year

of the Spanish Civil War. The film was moderately financially successful, but very critically acclaimed

and it set del Toro up for being a hot director in Hollywood. Ultimately, del Toro landed the job of directing Blade II

the sequel to the film that would jumpstart the superhero genre during the 2000s

The film sees Wesley Snipes' titular daywalker going up against a new breed of pale-skinned vampires

with extendo jaws. Blade II was heralded as highly visual and an inventive storytelling

It was produced for a budget of roughly $55 million and made $155 at the box office, making it del Toro's first big success

He quickly followed that up with an adaptation of the beloved indie comic Hellboy, based on the book series by Mike Mignola

The film is loosely based on the initial Hellboy miniseries by Mignola and John Byrne, titled Seed of Destruction

The film starred Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, and John Hurt. The film grossed close to $100 million worldwide, off a production budget of roughly $66 million

During the production of the film, Del Toro often discussed that he saw the film as a Ray Harryhausen stop-motion adventure film

The film even reached out to Harryhausen, asking if he would be inclined to direct a stop motion

sequence within the film. However, he declined, feeling the film was too violent

Pan's Labyrinth was released December 29, 2006. A fantasy film set during World War II

follows an 11-year-old girl as she delves into a world of pure imagination and mythical beings

as she attempts to cope with the traumas surrounding her. The film's Spanish-language title, El Labyrintho de Fauna

is a literal translation to The Labyrinth of the Faun. The film was made for roughly $20 million

grossing close to $84 million. The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography, Best

Original Screenplay, Best Makeup, Best Art Direction, and Best Score. After the roaring success of the film

del Toro began working on a sequel to the film titled However the film was never completed Pan Labyrinth is the spiritual sequel to The Devil Backbone and 3993 was to be the third and final chapter of this trilogy

According to the screenwriter Sergio Sanchez, it's a fantasy film with the Spanish Civil War

in the background. It's the two time periods of the movie that it takes place in

It starts in 1993, and then something happens in 1939 that's relevant to the story

This spiritual sequel never made it past the scripting phase, however, because del Toro devoted his energies

to moving forward with his next movie, Hellboy II The Golden Army. This time, the story centers around a displaced army

of magical creatures returning to Earth in an attempt to retake what is rightfully theirs

Initially, the sequel was going to feature versions of the universal monsters

Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, and the Wolfman. Then, Del Toro and Mignolo worked on an adaptation

of the Roger the Homunculus story, Almost Colossus. They didn't quite like this version of the script

so they ended up pivoting again into what the film finally became. The end of the film was divisive with any existing Hellboy

fans, as it deviates significantly from the comics. If you don't remember, Liz confesses

that she's pregnant with Hellboy's babies, and she's having twins. The film made $165 million off a budget of $85 million

This was viewed as a success, but not enough to immediately go into production on the sequel

Talks of Hellboy 3 would continue for years, with Del Toro saying he wanted to go back to the Mignola well

and produce a film starring Nazi expats living in the sewers of America

Unfortunately, no Hellboy 3 was ever produced. Del Toro's next picture was going to be The Hobbit

However, after three years of living in New Zealand for development and pre-production

Del Toro was forced to leave because of extended delays due to MGM's financial issues

His next film was going to have been In the Mountains of Madness with Tom Cruise. Based on the Lovecraft story, the film

was going to be a $200 million R-rated horror film. The studio was scared off by the price tag

and at the last minute, it fell apart. Del Toro's next film that actually did get made

was Pacific Rim, which was released in 2013. The film starred Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba

Iko Kukuchi, Charlie Day, and Ron Perlman. The film was based on an original screenplay

by Travis Beacham, which was then rewritten by Beacham and Del Toro

It's a throwback to the monster-splotation genre from Japan that became so popular after the Second World

War, called kaiju films. The story ballooned to be quite epic during shooting

with Del Toro ultimately cutting over an hour of footage from the finished film

The film was made for roughly $200 million and generated $411 million at the box office

There were immediate talks of a sequel, which Del Toro agreed to return and direct. Crimson Peak is the horror Gothic romance film

written by Del Toro and Matthew Robbins. It stars Mia Waskoska and Tom Hiddleston

Due to Del Toro's previous relationship with Legendary, he sent them three scripts that he would be interested in producing The Left Hand of Darkness At the Mountains of Madness and Crimson Peak which was originally written in 2006 Ultimately Legendary responded well to Crimson Peak primarily because of the fact that it was a more manageable scale

It is heralded today as one of del Toro's most visually inventive films

However, it was not financially successful for del Toro, making $74 million off of a budget of $55

$19 million in profit is considered a failure in the world of big budget films today

Del Toro attached himself to direct a film set in the DC cinematic universe at this time titled Justice League Dark

The film would have followed Swamp Thing, John Constantine, Dead Man, and the many other DC supernatural characters

Ultimately, the schedules for Justice League Dark and Pacific Rim 2 were lining up to be in conflict

and Del Toro had to decide which one he was going to pursue. And what did he choose

He chose Pacific Rim. However, Pacific Rim 2 didn't happen with Del Toro directing

due to the fact that Legendary was being sold to the Chinese investment company named the Wanda Group

Before they could start shooting, they wanted to delay everything six months, which Del Toro didn't want to do

So he decided to pursue an original idea titled The Shape of Water, which was released on December 1, 2017

The film tells the story of a young woman who befriends and then falls in love with a fish monster from the depths of the ocean

It's a parable about love across differences and cultural divides. Doug Jones, the Del Toro regular, delivers a stunning performance as the fish monster

It won an Academy Award for Best Director, Best Picture, and Score and Production Design

The film's monster design is based on the Millicent Patrick designs for the Gill Man from The Creature from the Black Lagoon

Del Toro has begun production on Nightmare Alley, a psychological thriller that he's directed and

co-wrote with Kim Morgan. The film is based on the novel of the same name by William Lindsay

Grisham. The cast includes Cate Blanchett, Bradley Cooper, Willem Dafoe, and Ron Perlman

The film revolves around a con man and a psychiatrist teaming up to trick people into giving them large amounts of money. The film was originally going to star Leonardo DiCaprio

however, due to scheduling, he had to drop out and was replaced by Bradley Cooper. The film

began shooting on January 21, but Disney halted production on March 13 due to concerns over COVID-19

It is unknown when the film will resume. Del Toro's next feature will be a stop motion animated

Pinocchio adaptation, which will be released in 2021. The film will be co-directed by Mark Gustafsson

and based on the designs of famed illustrator Chris Grimley. It stars the voices of Ewan McGregor, Ron Perlman

Tilda Swinton, and Christoph Waltz. The film is a co-production between the Jim Henson Company

and Shadow Machine, the animation company that makes Bojack Horseman. The film will be distributed by Netflix

Del Toro has a house in Sherman Oaks called the Bleak House, which he has an entire library worth of books

and original art housed in. It serves as a well with creative inspiration for him. He's even commissioned multiple life-size statues

of people like H.P. Lovecraft and the Frankenstein's monster and other horror icons

Del Toro is supposedly still pitching the left hand of darkness. Fingers crossed someday we actually

get to see this revenge-fuel would-be masterpiece