Guillermo del Toro has attached himself to a new film project called Crimson Peak. Apparently it will be the next movie he directs as soon has he's done with his incredible looking film, Pacific Rim. The movie is an original ghost story that he wrote with collaborator Matthew Robbins. He'll be developing it alongside Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros who have been working with him on Pacific Rim.
Del Toro has said that the film is “a very set-oriented, classical but at the same time modern take on the ghost story. It will allow me to play with the conventions of the genre I know and love, and at the same time subvert the old rules.”
I've always enjoyed Del Toro's filmmaking style and I couldn't be more excited about him making another ghost story! According to Deadline he has a very particular vision for the film, and Legendary will give him what he needs to bring it to honor what he calls the “grand dames” of the haunted house genre.
To me that is Robert Wise’s The Haunting, which was a big movie, beautifully directed, with the house built magnificently. And the other grand daddy is Jack Clayton’s The Innocents. I’ve always tried to make big-sized horror movies like the ones I grew up watching. Films like The Omen, The Exorcist and The Shining, the latter of which is another Mount Everest of the haunted house movie. I loved the way that Kubrick had such control over the big sets he used, and how much big production value there was. I think people are getting used to horror subjects done as found footage or B-value budgets. I wanted this to feel like a throwback.
Damn this sounds awesome! He goes on to talk about how the project came about,
It was the first one I wrote after Pan’s Labyrinth, and I sold it to Donna Langley at Universal. She loved it, I was going to direct it, and then Hellboy II happened, and then I was off to New Zealand for The Hobbit. Donna suggested I move aside and produce it. It went out to directors, but I didn’t quite like anyone for it. Finally I went through the experience of Pacific Rim with Warner Bros and Legendary, and it was the best experience I have ever had making a movie, period. I had a really good working relationship with Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni, and they asked what I wanted to do next. I sent them At The Mountains Of Madness, I sent them [The Count Of] Monte Cristo, another project I’ve tried to do for 20 years. I also sent Crimson Peak, but didn’t expect a reaction because it’s not a typical Legendary movie. Much to my surprise, Thomas Tull called 9:30 at night on the day I sent it and said, ‘I don’t know how it ends, but I am on page 45 and I love it.’ Next day, Jon Jashni called and said we think it’s the best project for us, just the right size.
Just going off of his and everyone else's enthusiasm for this film project gets me excited about it! Del Toro is an awesome director and storyteller, and I can't wait to see what he's planning for us! As for his long awaited At the Mountains of Maddness, he's not going to let it die just yet...
They love it, but we just finished Pacific Rim. They want to let that film happen and then my hope is, down the line we can do it. People ask how do i choose projects. All the projects in my roster are there because I love them, but the financing process is serendipity. And often, the ones I think will happen don’t, and the ones I think won’t happen, do.