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Visionary film director Guillermo del Toro has teamed up with The Jim Henson Company to begin work on a new live action film adaptation of the classic story of Pinocchio. Based on the picture book authored by Carlo Collodi and illustrated by Gris Grimly, del Toro‘s vision of Pinocchio looks to put a dark spin on the classic tale … which, if you’re a fan of del Toro‘s amazing films, should come as no surprise at all. Click below to check out a photo of what Guillermo del Toro‘s Pinocchio will look like in this new film.

Film director, new TV producer and author Guillermo Del Toro — who released his second novel The Fall: Book Two of The Strain Trilogy last week — made an in-person appearance at the Barnes & Noble store at The Grove here in LA last night to discuss and then sign copies of his book. In his discussion of the second book of his trilogy with co-author Chuck Hogan, Del Toro maintained that he is focusing on completing the book trilogy before he starts thinking about the film adaptations:

Guillermo del Toro [was] at The Grove in Los Angeles [last night] for a few hours that began at 7 PM to sign copies of The Fall, the second installment of The Strain vampire trilogy novel that he wrote with Chuck Hogan (whose book Prince of Thieves was turned into The Town by Ben Affleck). Published last week, the book has already hit No. 8 on The New York Times bestseller list. That’s a slot higher on the list than his first book, The Strain … He said that while fans are most curious about his plans to direct an adaptation of HP Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness with James Cameron for Universal, many implore him to make one more installment of Hellboy. “I tell them that convincing Ron Perlman is the difficult first step, because he just doesn’t have the same patience as he did when he was younger to sit through 7 hours of makeup, and to pump up like crazy and sprout horns.” … The question Hollywood is asking is when del Toro and Hogan will take their vampire series out for a film or miniseries deal. Del Toro said they are sticking to their plan of completing the final book before entertaining offers. “If I made a deal, I’d be thinking about an ending that would be a cinematic climax, one that adhered to MPAA standards and practices. And the most enjoyable part of writing this with Chuck has been not having any form of self-censorship, or any cap that you have when you’re writing a script.” When will they be done? “We finished the big outline six months ago. “We are both writing chapters. Chuck has 100 pages so far. I’ve done 70. But I’m not halfway through my process and I won’t be done with my side until the week before we start At the Mountains of Madness. I’m still hoping to shoot in June. We still have a big budget presentation for Universal, but I’m really hopeful. The stuff looks just great.”

Usually when one person takes on so many projects (especially of such diverse types), one or more of those projects end up sucking (as in the old adage, Jack of all trades – Master of none) … but that is SO not the case where Del Toro is concerned. His films are consistently stunning and his storytelling is really unmatched. I’m almost finished reading The Fall (I should have it read by tonight) and I can’t get enough. I was so impressed with the first book, The Strain, and this second book has just taken things further and into more exciting territory. To be honest, I had planned on attending last night’s booksigning but — and I’m not even kidding — I lost track of time because I was bizzy reading the book. If you are looking for a fantastic new spin on the vampire myth that is actually an excellent and quick read, you MUST read The Strain (book one) and The Fall (book two). I promise, you will love them!

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Great news Disney and horror film fans (two groups that do NOT normally go hand in hand)! The hugely talented and extremely visionary director Guillermo del Toro has signed on to direct the big screen adaptation of The Haunted Mansion … a film based on the famed ride at Disneyland. Now, some of you may remember a particularly shitty film called The Haunted Mansion which was released a few years ago and starred Eddie Murphy, yeah, this movie will be NOTHING like that one. Considering del Toro‘s track record with film making (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army), I think it’s safe to say that this new version of The Haunted Mansion will be quite a sight to see:

Remember that Haunted Mansion movie? The one with Eddie Murphy? If you’re one of the few who saw it—forget it. Because Guillermo del Toro took the stage near the end of the Tron: Legacy panel at the San Diego Comic-Con to announce that he’d be co-writing and producing (and possibly directing!) a NEW Haunted Mansion film based on the Disney theme-park attraction. For the director, who first experienced the ride when he was 3 years old, it’s not just a ride: It’s emotionally therapeutic. In an interview with Heat Vision, he said, “When I’m depressed or when I have a problem, I ride the Haunted Mansion ride to clear my head.” And he’s no passing fan, either. Del Toro has an entire room in his house devoted to Haunted Mansion memorabilia, containing secret bookcases, wallpaper from the original ride and original art. In late May, Del Toro passed on directing The Hobbit due to ongoing production delays. When asked why, he said, “Part of the reason I had to get back is that I had projects pending. There were other obligations that were clashing.” But why Disney, traditionally the home of princesses and fairies? “[Walt] Disney is one of the creators of some of the scariest images in my childhood. People forget that he not only made sweet images but also images of nightmare. We need to honor that side of the legacy,” said del Toro … “It’s going to be a thrill ride for the whole family but it’s definitely going to be scary,” said del Toro. We just hope the ghosts and spectres are as horrible (in a good way!) and awesome as those he dreamed up for Pan’s Labyrinth.

This is really great news, I think. If a Disneyland theme park ride like Pirates of the Caribbean can be turned into a multi-million dollar movie franchise than so, too, can The Haunted Mansion. After the jump, get your first look at the new concept art released for The Haunted Mansion which made its debut at 2010 San Diego Comic-Con this week …

As part of the 2008 Film Independant’s Los Angeles Film Festival, Hellboy II: The Golden Army (which was directed by movie genius Guillermo del Toro) had its Hollywood premiere at the Mann Village Westwood theater in Westwood, CA yesterday afternoon. Here are a few pics of the principal stars along with their amazing director on the red carpet at yesterday’s premiere:

I think it’s very safe to say that Guillermo del Toro is prolly one of, if not the, most talented and inventive movie directors on the scene right now (tho, Russian director Timur Bekmambetov who made the phenomenal movies Night Watch, Day Watch and the new Angelina Jolie movie Wanted [which opened in theaters this weekend] has to be high on that list as well) and has proven himself so fully to me that I will absolutely make time to see every movie he directs. I was very impressed with his direction in Hellboy but it was his Spanish-language film Pan’s Labyrinth that really sold me. To me, he is the Neil Gaiman (author of Neverwhere, Stardust, American Gods and more) of movie-making … and by that I mean, an insanely talented artist who has yet to break into the mainstream (I’m not even saying that it is necessary that either of them break into the mainstream, I’m just saying that they are so good at what they do that I truly feel that once people catch wind of their talent they may blow up big time). I’m not a huge Hellboy fan but I just love seeing del Toro‘s imagination come alive on the big screen (and from what I’ve seen in the promos for Hellboy II, some of the influence of Pan’s Labyrinth looks like it made its way into the film). According to IMDB, he has also signed on to direct The Hobbit, which just thrills me to no end. Hellboy II doesn’t open in theaters until July 11 (the eve of my birthday) but I’m telling you … make plans to check it out. I’m sure it’ll be visually phenomenal … I’m totally willing to bank on that.

[Photo credit: Splash News, Bauer-Griffin]