Despite his rabid fanbase, Guillermo del Toro has never been the most financially successful filmmaker in terms of box office. The "Pacific Rim" sequel is still waiting to be approved by the folks at Universal, who aren’t quite ready to flip the switch, as his latest, "Crimson Peak," only took in a mere $30.8 million domestically in the month since its release. However, as the man himself says in a new interview with Piers Handling, the director has never been one to create art for anyone but himself, admitting “I make the movies because I want them.”
Conducted during the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year, Handling and del Toro track the Mexican writer-director’s creative journey and entertainment consumption from the age of four up until his current age of fifty-one. The half-hour discussion covers everything from macabre fairy tales and radionovelas, to cinema clubs and Virgin Mary Society meetings in the catacombs of a gothic church.
As always, del Toro is an engaging, funny, and charming interview subject who, unlike some of his filmmaking colleagues, doesn’t fear the inevitable declining importance of the theatrical experience even as he decries Hollywood’s ever-increasing use of “pipeline” and “content” when discussing movies. Set aside thirty minutes of your day and spend some time with the great del Toro. Watch the interview below.