Dear Gossips,
Pacific Rim is now in theatres. I encourage you to see it this weekend. Click here to read my review from earlier this week. But then again, I might be biased. Because I have great affection for Guillermo del Toro.
Two weeks ago, I was in San Francisco, covering the Pacific Rim junket for etalk. In addition to the screening, the programme included a tour of Industrial Light & Magic, where the special effects for the movie were produced, a demonstration by some of the lead animators on how the “jaegers” and the “kaiju” came together, and finally, at the end of the day, just before our screening, a private session presentation by del Toro himself, who took us through certain scenes, frame by frame, explaining the process involved in bringing the robots and monsters to life onscreen. That was followed by a Q&A.
Del Toro was so passionate and enthusiastic about his work, and so generous with his time, that we were almost late...to see HIS FILM. And remember, we still had interview time with him the following day. This was ON TOP of what was already expected of him in the standard junket. Few directors are so willing to spend time with media. Few of them go beyond that to bother letting you see the heart of their projects. Del Toro, however, as he describes it, is a “f-cking geek” first, beyond anything else. And in being a “f-cking geek” first, he understands that the relationship between the filmmaker and press, who is also the audience, and even the fan, is not only reciprocal but equal. I’ve interviewed del Toro twice now and it’s always the same. This is a guy who just wants to be given the opportunity to make you love his work as much as he does. And steps up to it every time. You see that in the movie. It might not be your thing – watching all that CGI etc – but you can feel the dedication and the devotion there. That entire team set out to please you, and not just themselves. This is not always the case in Hollywood.
Which brings us to Grown Ups 2, currently receiving dismal reviews. It’s currently sitting at 8% on Rotten Tomatoes, an improvement over the 0% it was getting yesterday. Do we begrudge Adam Sandler the opportunity to work with his friends, all the time, have a great time, and get paid a lot of money doing so? No. Of course not. But…it would be nice if WE had a great time while they were having a great time too, non?
Many of you have requested Duana’s comments on Busy Phillips’s Cricket Pearl. That’s coming today and more. Oh and Henry Cavill? Get your sh-t together.
Have a great weekend!
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
