Hellboy 2 | Based on exclusive interview with directo Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman
Posted on April 28, 2008 in the Highly Anticipated, Movie Reviews category
Director Guillermo del Toro of Hellboy and most recently Hellboy 2 “The Golden Army”, and Ron Perlman star of both movies previously mentioned both sat down with with msn movies Don Kaye for an exclusive interview. Here is the high points of that interview.
MSN Movies: This is the little movie franchise that could, isn’t it? You had a long, hard struggle to get the first one made, and it seems like you’ve had to go through the same thing on this one.
Guillermo del Toro: You know, we released the first one in 2004, and during post-production I started prepping “Pan’s Labyrinth.” I started writing and preparing it. So then later, when I was doing post-production on “Pan’s Labyrinth,” I began writing the script for “Hellboy II.” There were a lot of places thematically where the two films mingled, but when I finally had the “Hellboy II” script ready, as [producer] Larry Gordon says, I delivered the screenplay so late that the studio went broke! [Laughs] The week I was finishing the screenplay was the week that Revolution was announcing it was going to downsize. And then the problem was that the deal we had with Revolution was so difficult to get somewhere else. We went to Sony, we went to Dreamworks, we went to Paramount … all these places had weeks, if not months, of being interested.
The first movie cost $66 million and we were looking at making this one considerably bigger, so when Universal came in and was interested, we settled for making it for $85 million. We went through a complicated rebate structure, we ended up shooting in newly constructed studios in Budapest, we did a lot of — frankly — bending over backwards to make the movie. But it always seems to be like that, because incredibly enough, we were having meetings about the second movie that I felt like we had already had for the first movie. There were questions like, “Can we call the movie ‘B.P.R.D.’ [Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense] so that we don’t have to use the word ‘hell’?” It was the same questions all over again. But in the end, I’m grateful that anyone wanted to make it.
Ron, what drew you initially to this character and what brought you back to him the second time around?
Ron Perlman: First of all, it’s a great opportunity to work with Guillermo again, and you don’t need any more compelling reason than that. But then there’s the fantasy element of it, in terms of my life, being handed a character that, on the one hand, has these epic, sort of unique powers, and on the other hand, is the most ordinary slob, the most underachieving of all superheroes. He truly lives in a bachelor pad from hell. If I was gonna want to play any superhero, it would be that guy, the guy who would probably sleep in on the day the world was going to be completely compromised. This is a guy who’s perpetually servicing his adolescent, completely undisciplined impulses. But he’s also asked to do these things that test him, and when the game is on, he’s a bad-ass. And if you’re fighting with him, he’s gonna trash talk you. He’s gonna trash talk you into being so emotionally out of control that he’s gonna get the upper hand.
It’s a beautiful character to play, and his heart is very, very dear to me, what he finds important and worth dying for — his innate sense of what is just and unjust. I’m a very, very lucky guy to be handed this gift, and I appreciate every single day I get to play it. It’s as much fun as I’ve ever had as an actor.
Guillermo, you mentioned a thematic link between this movie and “Pan’s Labyrinth.” Can you elaborate on that?
Del Toro: The link is the same thing I’ve been attracted to in all my movies, which is the clash — if that’s what you want to call it — between the most mundane everyday life and fantasy. “Cronos” is like that, “Mimic” is like that, and so on. All my life I’ve collected fairy tales and mythological books and so forth, and I was fully immersed in that with “Pan’s Labyrinth,” so I just think they overlapped. The idea was that the most vulgar reality is killing fantasy — as a species.
For me, the beauty of “Hellboy” is that, in the first movie, it was him awakening to the idea of “OK, I’m human even if I don’t look it.” And the second movie is him saying, “Maybe I have misplaced my loyalty. Maybe I really don’t belong here.” That is the question this time. And if there ever is a third movie, it will be the final question: “Will you destroy the world?”
There are so many mythological, historical and legendary underpinnings in the “Hellboy” comic books, which give them a really extraordinary texture. How do you work that material in without stopping the movie dead in its tracks?
Del Toro: You cannot do those underpinnings with the precision that Mike does. If you read the screenplay of either “Hellboy” movie, but especially the first one, there’s a lot of really, really creamy, rich exposition [laughs]. The speech that Professor Bruttenholm (John Hurt) gives about how the Bureau was formed in 19-whatever under the auspices of President so-and-so is so beautiful and so on the money of how the comics are. But when you put it in a film as dialogue, it’s “blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda.” People just let it go by. So it’s very difficult to do that.
What I tried to do on this film, which is what I also tried to do on “Pan’s Labyrinth,” is different. I tried to give through film — through appearance, texture, color, and movement — the illusion of a well-worn, legendary fairy tale. You create this feel that these things must be real because they look timeworn, they look raggedy, and they look edgy. That is more valuable than just putting exposition out there.
Is “The Golden Army” an original story or based on anything from the comics?
Del Toro: No, it’s an original story, but by coincidence, it goes in a direction that Mike has been taking with the comics. And that happens to be a direction I am most interested in, which deals with the death of fantasy. Hellboy essentially steps into a dying world. He comes in to hunt the last white rhino. He gets completely confused by this. At the end of the day, he’s thinking, what are humans going to do with the life he gives them? They’re gonna make more parking lots, more shopping malls, more corrupt politicians. And then on the other hand this other world is so precious … that has something to do with “Pan’s Labyrinth” too: the balance of reality and fantasy.
You two have done four films together. What keeps you coming back to each other?
Del Toro: I love that guy.
Perlman: It’s a mutual kind of … the moment we met, he was getting ready to do his first film, “Cronos,” and because he’s fascinated by monsters, he ultimately had to do a major exploration of special effects makeup in order to serve his own imagination and the things he wanted to put on-screen. So I guess in his research period, he stumbled upon my work and ended up writing me this beautiful letter, asking me if I’d consider being part of his first film. He sent me the script and we finally met in Los Angeles at this Indian restaurant. His first statement to me was, “I’d like to start with dessert, how about you?” From that point on, I knew we were gonna be brothers.
Del Toro: We actually started with two desserts!
Perlman: Yeah, once he realized I was game, it became two desserts. That was the beginning, as they say, of a beautiful friendship — two guys who are truly hedonistic and truly driven by an impulse to never grow up, which is probably where our ideas about storytelling meet. Without movies, I’d be homeless. Without the acting profession, I’d be homeless. There’s no other thing I could do or care to do.
Del Toro: With it, we barely manage! [Both laugh.]
Perlman: But first and foremost, it’s this relationship, which is as close to being brothers without having blood ties as I’ve ever experienced.
Del Toro: And we fight, don’t get me wrong.
Perlman: But we fight like brothers.
Del Toro: We fight like brothers — actually better, because my real brother used to beat the s— out of me. We have the tough talk when it’s needed, we don’t dote on each other, we do the work, we demand from both sides that the work gets done properly. We don’t have a loose attitude with each other. But the love is the first thing.
Perlman: But to be the muse that is the recipient of the guy he would play if he was an actor …
Del Toro: That is absolutely true.
Perlman: … I understand and appreciate that. To be charged with playing Hellboy, which, if Guillermo was being truthful and honest, he would play it himself … he wouldn’t have any damn actors, he wants to play Hellboy. But I, unfortunately for him, am the guy that gets to have all the fun, which sometimes pisses him off [laughs] because he wishes it was him doing it.
When the first film came out, there was a lot written about the fact that you had to fight to get Ron the role and you had to cut the budget as a result …
Perlman: I remember thinking that the fans were probably like, “We finally get a movie of our favorite comic book and the best you can come up with is this guy?”
Del Toro: Rick Baker said, “We’re gonna have to put very little makeup on him,” but we did, we put a lot of makeup on him. But Ron’s bone structure and his eyes and the way he talks and the way his mouth is shaped, it’s all so very much like Hellboy — the leonine shape of his head. That was all perfect, and so was the energy. I think Ron is very, very Hellboy-ish, in the sense that he either moves in for the kill or not at all.
Perlman: That is so true. I’ve never been able to truly decide whether I’m the laziest guy I’ve ever known. It’s all or nothing at all.
Del Toro: But the beauty of the character is that he does what he does because he has to. For the fanboys who like their superheroes perfect, this movie is not for them. This was written from the start by Mike Mignola as a much more quirky creation, with a lot of sardonic humor. You need far more than three movies to capture the breadth of Mignola’s imagination, because the comic embodies so much.
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21 | Starring Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, and Kate Bosworth
Posted on March 30, 2008 in the Movie Reviews, Movies Still Out and Still Good, Movies You Should See category
The Movie “21″ based on the book “Bringing Down the House” was very funny, exciting, and entertaining. The ending had a nice twist and I loved the way the story was told. Jim Sturgess plays the math whiz kid who decides to join a blackjack team in order to pay for medical school. Kate Bosworth plays the sexed-up, smart, love interest also on his blackjack squad. Finally, Kevin Spacey plays the Teacher who heads up the squad and turns out to be a little different than anticipated. The movie plot is very intriguing and flows quite well. The movie is interesting and keeps the viewer on edge wanting to know what is going to happen next. Nicely inserted were some well timed jokes and the ending has a twist that is unexpected and very satisfying. Overall I give the movie an A- and I would go and see it for sure. This is the type of movie you can take your father, mother, boyfriend, girlfriend, or best friend to and I highly recommend it.
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Jumper starring Hayden Christensen | Samuel L Jackson | Rachel Bilson
Posted on February 18, 2008 in the Movie Reviews, Movies You Should See, Top Three Must See Movies category
Jumper starring Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson is an action packed thriller filled with suspense and sex appeal. For only being a pg 13 movie I was surprisingly engaged. I thought the plot moved along very well and the characters themselves were engaging and interesting. The idea of being able to teleport anywhere at anytime was intriguing and effective. I loved the visuals the movie had and the way the director decided to present them. Samuel L Jackson was the villain and he did a very good job because I definitely hated him. Jumper was an action movie with great visuals (Including Rachel Bilson if your a guy and Hayden Christensen if your a girl) and good suspense. The ending was decent but it really left it open for a sequel. I liked it though. I would go and see this movie for sure. I give it an A-.
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Top 3 upcoming Hero Movies | The Dark Knight | Indiana Jones 4 | Iron Man
Posted on February 13, 2008 in the Highly Anticipated, Movie Reviews, Movies You Should See category
Number 3: This is number three on my list because it has the thrill, the characters, and the comic book plot. This is one of my favorites and I have always loved the comics. Playing Tony Stark will be Robert Downey Jr. I think he fits the description of the character and he will do a good job of not over acting. The rest of the cast is no slouch either featuring Terrence Howard as Lt. Colonel James Rhodes, Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Monger/Iron Monger, and the stunning Gwyneth Paltrow as Virgina “Pepper” Potts. The cast will be lead by the direction of Jon Favreau and with his lead and the plot from the comics this will be a killer movie. Not to mention great special affects. Click here for Iron Man trailer. 
Number 2: Harrison Ford, Shia Lebeouf, Kate Blanchett, and of course Stephen Spielberg enough said! Actually I will add a little more. This movie is featuring the historically successful franchise of “Indiana Jones” and being the fourth installment don’t think it will disappoint. The cast will be outstanding, and the anticipation of this film alone will make it successful. It will be action packed, funny, and suspenseful. This is definitely a highly anticipated upcoming film. Click here for Indiana Jones 4 Trailer.
Reason 1: The Dark Knight is the most anticipated upcoming film. The first one Batman Begins resurrected the series with its realistic approach. The cast starring Christian Bale, Michael Cane, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Heath Ledger is one of the best casts to date. The characters are casts perfectly and every fits in harmony. The action scenes are exciting and still realistic. The suspense created by the joker is genuine and realistic. The overall appearance and direction of The Dark Knight is perfect. Thats why its my number most anticipated Hero movie. This is also why I believe this will be the best Batman film to date. Click here for The Dark Knight trailer.
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Indiana Jones 4 Preview
Posted on February 13, 2008 in the Highly Anticipated, Movie Reviews, Movies You Should See category
Indiana Jones 4 Preview. Starring Harrison Ford, Kate Blanchett, and Shia Lebeouf
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