Guillermo del toro has been trying to make H.P. Lovecraft’s
At the Mountains of Madness for quite some time. The story is about an Antarctic expedition that uncovers ruins of an ancient city and the remains of strange creatures. Just last year Universal pulled the plug when the director wouldn't back down from an R rating. With a budget hovering around $150 million it didn't seem feasible to Universal to greenlight an R rated big budget film even if Tom Cruise was attached to star, and James Cameron was to be an executive producer and 3D consultant.
Even after all that Guillermo did not give up hope and was said to be shopping around his vision to other studios. Now it seems that all hope is lost as Guillermo has written a message on his official fan site that describes how
Prometheus is too similar to
At the Mountains of Madness.
Same premise. Scenes that would be almost identical. Both movies seem to share identical set pieces and the exact same BIG REVELATION (twist) at the end. I won't spoil it.
I have been interviewed about this lately and wanted to post my two cents about this:
Prometheus started filming a while ago- right at the time we were in pre-production on PACIFIC RIM. The title itself gave me pause- knowing that ALIEN was heavily influenced by Lovecraft and his novella.
This time, decades later with the budget and place Ridley Scott occupied, I assumed the greek metaphor alluded at the creation aspects of the HPL book. I believe I am right and if so, as a fan, I am delighted to see a new RS science fiction film, but this will probably mark a long pause -if not the demise- of ATMOM.
The sad part is- I have been pursuing ATMOM for over a decade now- and, well, after Hellboy II two projects I dearly loved were not brought to fruition for me.
The good part is: One project did... And I am loving it and grateful for the blessings I have received.
It's not all bad news as Guillermo also revealed some new information for his robots versus monsters film. He says he will be at the San Diego Comic Con, and that he wants either a downloadable tie-in game, or "a GREAT game with 3 years leeway to develop."
And what about those giant robots, did he use motion capture technology for them?
No motion capture. All Key Frame. The cadence and gait of something 250 feet tall cannot be exactly human EVEN if its human operated.
There are Iconic moments in the film but we are trying to focus on CREATING moments rather than making an homage.
Pacific Rim is scheduled for release on July 12, 2013. The cast includes Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Rinko Kikuchi, Max Martini, Rob Kazinsky, Clifton Collins Jr. and Diego Klattenhoff.
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