Pacific Rim

Guillermo del Toro served as a guest of honor at the fourth annual Hero Complex Film Festival this past weekend in Hollywood, appearing on stage for a Q&A between screenings of two of his most personal films, the Spanish-language movies “The Devil’s Backbone,” a 2001 gothic horror movie set during the Spanish Civil War, and “Pan’s Labyrinth,” his Academy Award-winning dark fantasy set during Francoist Spain. But the appearance also provided the writer-director with a chance to tout his latest, “Pacific Rim,” a $180-million love letter to the kaiju movies he loved growing up. Showing the latest trailer for the film, which debuted online Thursday, spurred him to discuss his love for Japanese pop culture. He talked about reading manga series like “Astro Boy,” watching films by Toho, the Japanese production company behind Godzilla, and fancifully sketching giant robots. (To […]

Spectacle, you say? The new trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim” delivers it on a massive scale, with out-of-this world creatures and towering robots duking it out on land and in the ocean, all while bathed in stunningly beautiful blue and gold light. Due in theaters July 12, the film, which Del Toro co-wrote with Travis Beacham, takes place in a near future, after a race of giant alien monsters has invaded our world via an inter-dimensional portal, prompting mankind to build equally enormous robots called Jaegers to defeat them. The hulking mechanized weapons are manned by an elite team of pilots, including Charlie Hunnam’s Raleigh Becket and Rinko Kikuchi’s Mako Mori, who represent humanity’s best line of defense against the beastly threat. The new clip explains “Pacific Rim’s” monster premise in a little more detail, but it’s the […]

Guillermo del Toro’s back in the multiplex this summer in a big way with his massive robots versus kaiju epic “Pacific Rim.” The film, due out July 12, promises to deliver “2,500 tons of awesome” with a tale set in the near future, when a race of giant alien monsters has invaded our world via an inter-dimensional portal, prompting mankind to build equally enormous robots called Jaegers to defeat them. Del Toro was on hand at WonderCon in Anaheim earlier this year to promote the project, and now, he’s shared the footage he showed to the convention audience, which explains the film’s premise in a little more detail and showcases some pretty spectacular fight sequences. Del Toro, who co-wrote the screenplay with Travis Beacham, shot “Pacific Rim” almost entirely at Pinewood Toronto Studios, where the production used the facility’s eight […]

Leave it to Guillermo del Toro to use the word “romantic” when talking about massive, towering robots. “What I wanted to do was to make gothic tech,” Del Toro said of his new film “Pacific Rim,” due out July 12. “What we went for is a very, very romantic look. I wanted to have a lot of crazy rain, wind, all the drama of an Emily Bronte movie in a high-tech movie.” To the casual observer, “Pacific Rim” might not recall 19th century British literature so much as the ultimate “Godzilla” meets “Transformers” mash-up. The story takes place in a near future, after a race of giant alien monsters has invaded our world via an inter-dimensional portal, prompting mankind to build equally enormous robots called Jaegers to defeat them. The hulking mechanized weapons are manned by an elite team of […]

After footage of “Pacific Rim” played at CinemaCon this week, the whispers were palpable. “This looks like a new ‘Transformers,’” many in the crowd of theater exhibitors could be overheard saying. Indeed, Guillermo del Toro’s July release — the first he’s directed in five years — does prominently feature hulking, mechanical robots. But the filmmaker believes “Pacific Rim” and Michael Bay’s franchise share little in common. “I think that the reference of the mechanics — the robot design — is completely different than that universe,” he said, referring to “Transformers.” “But if [moviegoers] are talking about how big the franchise is, I welcome it. If anyone says there are any visual similarities, they are design blind.” Del Toro was sitting in the basement of the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Tuesday, shortly after a new trailer for his film was […]

Director Guillermo del Toro revealed previously unseen footage from his upcoming robots vs. kaiju film “Pacific Rim” during the film’s WonderCon panel Saturday. He also unveiled the Alex Ross-created cover art for a “Pacific Rim” graphic novel. The film, slated to hit theaters July 12, is set in the near future when a race of alien kaiju threaten our world. Humans pilot 25-story-tall robots called Jaegers to fight them off. Del Toro introduced a WonderCon-exclusive trailer during the panel Saturday, held in the Anaheim Convention Center’s 9,000-seat arena. PHOTOS: WonderCon 2013 cosplay The visually rich and action-packed trailer featured plenty of combat between the massive mechanical soldiers and the enormous alien monsters, who rise from the sea to destroy human cities. In one scene, a human-piloted robot drags a steamship through wet streets with one hand, lifts it, and uses […]

Guillermo del Toro hasn’t directed a film since 2008′s “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” but he’s set to return next year in a very big way with “Pacific Rim.” The first trailer for the robots-versus-kaiju film arrived today, and it promises near non-stop spectacle, or, as Del Toro said in an interview last week, “the biggest wrestling matches on Earth.” Set in the near future, the film posits that a race of kaiju has entered our world, rising up out of the ocean, and humans, struggling to survive the onslaught, have invented 25-story tall robots called Jaegers to fight them off. Charlie Hunnam stars as the troubled Raleigh Becket, who along with Rinko Kikuchi’s Mako Mori, pilots Gipsy Danger, pictured above; the film’s cast also includes Idris Elba, Charlie Day and Del Toro regular Ron Perlman as the fabulously named, […]

The new trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming take on the kaiju genre “Pacific Rim” is set to premiere in just a couple of hours, but for those who can’t wait to see images from the film, we offer you this exclusive shot of Gipsy Danger, the imposing 25-story tall Jaeger that goes head to head against an array of alien creatures in next summer’s sci-fi tentpole. Set in the near future, the film posits that a race of kaiju have entered our world, rising up out of the ocean, and humans, struggling to survive the onslaught, have invented a battalion of Jaegers to fight them off. Charlie Hunnam stars as troubled Jaeger pilot Raleigh Becket; the film’s cast also includes Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Rinko Kikuchi and Del Toro regular Ron Perlman as the fabulously named, nattily attired black […]

Director Guillermo del Toro deliberately avoided watching classic Japanese monster films when he was making “Pacific Rim,” his upcoming robots-versus-kaiju film. Slated for a July 12, 2013, release, the film chronicles an epic battle between alien kaiju and giant robots piloted by humans. “I felt there was a chance to do something fresh, something new that at the same time was conscious of the heritage, but not a pastiche or an homage or a greatest hits of everything,” Del Toro said. “One of the first things I did is make it a point to not check any old movies or any other references. Like start from scratch.” Del Toro is the guest on the latest episode of “Hero Complex: The Show,” which you can find above or over at the Nerdist Channel on YouTube. This interview was conducted by Hero […]