The Elder Things are ready for their close up.
Michael Fleming of Deadline New York is reporting that Guillermo del Toro's next film will be his long-awaited adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" - with James Cameron joining Don Murphy and Susan Montford as producers. And it's going to be shot in 3-D. I first heard this was a possibility last week at Comic Con, but when del Toro's DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK panel came and went without an announcement, I figured there was still work to be done with regards to securing the necessary financing from Universal.
Interestingly, Fleming's article avoids any mention of budget or rating, both of which are integral to properly transferring Lovecraft's short story to the big screen. My understanding is that the film will be big (probably with a budget in the neighborhood of $100 million), but I've got nothing reliable as to whether it will be an R or PG-13 rating. I know Guillermo has always dreamed about doing AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS as an R-rated tentpole horror film in the tradition of THE THING or THE EXORCIST; it's my hope that Cameron's involvement will persuade Universal to give del Toro free, terrifying rein on a movie I believe he was born to make. Please don't hold this guy back.
Now that the cat's out of the bag (perhaps prematurely), I hope to hear more from del Toro, Murphy and Montford on how they plan to realize Lovecraft's horrifying vision. If done right, this could be one of the scariest movies ever made.
