Guillermo del Toro talks GODZILLA MINUS ONE and his difficulties launching period films in Hollywood

Director Guillermo del Toro recently shared his thoughts on Godzilla minus one, which he calls a “superb” film. One of the things that struck him most was the fact that it was a period film set in the post-World War II period, and this inspired him to speak openly about his experiences in attempting to present a period genre film. era in Hollywood. As you might imagine, studio executives weren’t interested in this. Del Toro shared X:

A little memory: looking at the superb GODZILLA MINUS ONE, I was struck for the first time by the fact that it was a period piece. Necessarily so. I remembered my early days, when Mark Frost and I developed LIST OF 7 for Universal. When we presented it, they said: ‘But… this is Victorian…’ To which, of course, I agreed, and said: ‘But shot in a modern way, with atmosphere and great action!’ and he received the reply: “People don’t care about period pieces.”

The project he is talking about here is The list of sevenwhich would have been an adaptation of Mark Frost’s 1993 novel of the same name.

Set in Victorian England, the story follows the adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous author of Sherlock Holmes, as he becomes involved in a series of mysterious and deadly events. Doyle teams up with Jack Sparks, a brilliant and enigmatic detective, to unravel a complex conspiracy involving a secret society known as the List of 7. As they delve deeper into the intrigue, they uncover dark secrets, supernatural elements, and a web of intrigue. which threatens their lives and the very course of history. Mark Frost’s novel combines historical fiction, mystery, and supernatural elements to create a gripping and suspenseful story. Del Toro continues:

To which I replied, “What about Raiders of the Lost Ark?” They validated my parking. This was around 1995 or so. My stalwart leaders were Carr D’Angelo and Barry Josephson, I think. Ah, there are so many good ones that will never get made… Barry and Carr both wholeheartedly supported the film – it was the upper management who nixed it. I wasn’t being ironic at all: we’ve been trying for years.

This would have been an amazing movie! It’s a shame that many people without creative vision run Hollywood. I mean, look at this nonsense Godzilla vs. Kong movie that’s coming out! You’d think the studio executives and filmmakers had never seen a Godzilla movie before.

Anyway, Del Toro managed to make a few period films in his career like The shape of water, Pan’s labyrinthAND Alley of nightmares. He too will finally be able to do his thing Frankenstein movie! However, some of his film proposals are still rejected! He had previously called the process of making the film “frustratingly difficult” and compared it to “eating a shitty sandwich.”