In the latest Total Film issue, director Guillermo del Toro discusses his giant-mecha vs kaiju film, Pacific Rim. Here's a bit of that discussion.
On where he's at with the VFX and 3D conversion of Pacific Rim.
del Toro: We're 30 to 40 percent into the 3D conversion and that's going really good. We've done 99 percent of all the animation of Industrial Light & Magic, and we have rendered and finished about 33 percent of the shots. So the big animation haul is basically over. We have about a dozen shots left to animate."
How was his director's cut received?
del Toro: "I did my director's cut and showed it to the studio. It got a great reaction." [Note: You can read a few of those reactions HERE.]
On the importance of casting Idris Elba.
del Toro: "Idris could be just standing there saying 'whatever' and he has a magnetic center. I needed him to root the whole adventure, morally and ethically."
And how would del Toro have reacted if something like Pacific Rim had screened in his local theater while he was growing up?
del Toro: "I tell you, I'd have exploded in a ball of blood, guts and shit! I would have exploded like that guy in Scanners! And basically I did that every day on the set."
There's more in the article from Total Film including a more in-depth discussion about the decision to convert Pacific Rim to 3D in post as well his deal with WB where he maintained complete creative freedom under the one stipulation that he doesn't go over budget. There's also an interesting reveal that at one time, Tom Cruise was attached to the role that went to Idris Elba.
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When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.
Running Time: Unknown
Release Date: July 12th, 2013 (USA)
MPAA Rating:Charlie Hunan, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Written by: Travis Beacham