Guillermo del Toro Wants You to Appreciate the Craftsmanship of George Miller and Michael Mann
Zack Sharf
Guillermo del Toro is currently riding high on the critical raves for “The Shape of Water,” which could earn the Mexican filmmaker his first Oscar nomination for Best Director. The fantasy romance will be the last bit of filmmaking audiences see from del Toro for quite a bit, as he has announced plans to take a year-long sabbatical from the director’s chair. So how does del Toro plan to keep busy? In addition to producing some projects, the director will sit down for two-week interviews with Michael Mann and George Miller.
Del Toro had previously teased he would be working in some capacity on a project involving Mann, and now it has been confirmed that part of the project will involve spending two weeks with Mann sometime between now and next December. Del Toro will also be doing the same thing with “Mad Max” creator Miller. As del Toro explains in the Twitter thread below, he really wants to dig into the craftsmanship of both directors.
Del Toro compares Mann and Miller to painters, and he wants to show everyone not only what is it they paint and why they paint it, but also what the decisions are that go into choosing what kind of brush is used and what kind of paint strokes are made. Whatever comes of del Toro’s interviews with Miller and Mann, we can assume they are going to be epic.
Read del Toro’s project tease in the thread below. “The Shape of Water” opens in select theaters December 1.
13 Tweets on why I am interviewing Michael Mann and George Miller (2 weeks each) about their films this Sabbatical year.
I sometimes feel that great films are made / shown at a pace that does not allow them to “land” in their proper weight or formal / artisitic importance…
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 23, 2017
As a result, often, these films get discussed in “all aspects” at once. But mostly, plot and character- anecdote and flow, become the point of discussion. Formal appreciation and technique become secondary and the specifics of narrative technique only passingly address
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 23, 2017
(adressed, I mean).
I would love to commemorate their technical choices and their audiovisual tools. I would love to dissect the narrative importance and impact of color, light, movement, wardrobe and set design. As Mann once put it: “Everything tells you something”— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 23, 2017
I want to do it because I want to know. I want to read their words, their reasons and I want to review their films as I would revisit a painting or a dance piece or a music number- I want to discuss lens choices and the vital difference between a dolly, techno crane or mini jib.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 23, 2017
I think we owe it to these (and a handful of filmmakers) to have their formal choices commemorated, the way one can appreciatethe voigour and thickness and precision of a brushtroke when you stand in front of an original painting.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 23, 2017
A travelling shot IS a moral choice- but also a narrative one, that goes beyond style when applied by a master. I remember that epic moment in which Max steps out of the interceptor in Mad Max and removes his sunglasses- the wide lens pushes in and jibs up- underlining emotion
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 23, 2017
Uh- it’s not quite 13 tweets yet but you catch my drift- and I have brussel sprouts in the frying pan- gotta go. But, there- that’s the idea behind those 4 weeks of visit to two masters. Hugs to all.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 23, 2017
I had my caramelized brussel sprouts. Nice.
Anyway, my hope is that we can dissect the importance of audiovisual tools delivering/reinforcing theme and character in a film. If these interviews / dialogues are useful I would keep having them. Filmmakers to filmmaker.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 23, 2017
