Although not many details emerged from  the LEGENDARY PICTURES panel at SDCC on PACIFIC RIM, we still got to see the cast together for the first time.  Plus our faithful correspondent Gary grabbed some pictures for us.  Read on, faithful readers:

• First glimpse at some art from PACIFIC RIM appeared – looks like a  military shield of some sort - no doubt it is the insignia of the humans trained to fight in giant robot suits (picture above).
• Like Babe Ruth calling his shot out of the park, GDT stepped up at the LEGENDARY PICTURES panel and made a promise to fans: ”It is my duty to film the finest f*****g monsters ever committed to the screen. And the greatest f*****g robots ever committed to screen.”  More quotes below:

“There’s much more to it than the giant monsters and giant robots,” he said. “We want to make it a big what if: what would happen in the real world if a twenty-five story thing came out of the sea and started destroying cities? How would the world change? What weapons do we need to develop to fight a thing like that? It’s not a fantastic distant future to which we have no relationship. We wanted to make it in the now.”

“Everything as geeks and fans we ask ourselves about giant monsters and kaiju I wanted to answer in the movie. We created a whole world around that one giant variable. This will not be a movie that has only spectacle and scope.”

• PACIFIC RIM’s screenplay author Travis Beacham posted a nice picture of the cast, GDT and himself behind the scenes on his twitter page (@travisbeacham).

• Finally, head over to the Deltorofilms.com Facebook page to view pictures from the whole weekend!

More news from  the San Diego Comic Con today, as Guillermo continues to make the rounds…

Film District Panel

Guillermo attended the Film District panel to promote DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK.  Also in attendance was DARK director Troy Nixey and Guy Pearce, plus Nicolas Winding Refn to promote DRIVE. Here are some noteworthy quotes, thanks to LatinoReview.com:

• Del Toro says Guy Pearce is “the f*****g man.” 
• Troy Nixey was determined to keep the creatures small, the studio wanted to make them bigger. “… those f*****s don’t give the f**k up.”
• “It was an interesting step to take, the first film of this genre that I’ve delved into.  The thing that drew me to it was that he was so cynical and disbelieving of his daughter, which is representative of what a bad father he is.  A very domestic drama of a girl that has all sorts of issues, and my being all tied up with what I’m tied up with…it’s an element of frustation for the audience.” — Guy Pearce on being the unbelieving character of DBOTD
• GDT, as per character, peppered his talk with his trademark salty language:

             Guy Pearce: “I just noticed that it said ‘be aware your audience members may be under 18′”
             Del Toro: “They didn’t know what the f**k they were getting into!

Also at the Film District panel was Ron Perlman, who is starring in DRIVE.  Naturally, the topic of HELLBOY 3 came up.  The Playlist snagged a quote:

“‘Hellboy 2′ was tough. Both of us walked away from that a little bit, ‘Do I ever want to revisit this?’ But then with the luxury of time and looking at it in an objectified way…We were beat up at the end of it,” Perlman said. “He always looked at it as a trilogy and there were things that were unresolved. So for us to not make it would be letting down people who invested in the first two. It’s epic what he wants to do, but it would be cinematic and well worth doing.”

And Del Toro echoes the sentiments of the franchise star. “Each of those moves has been an incredible ordeal to make. The third one is the hardest one because it’s the darkest one…And if it’s not Ron, I don’t want to make it. The third one is epic, it’s gigantic.”

The Visionary Panel, with GDT and Jon Favreau

Entertainment Weekly has the scoop on the Visionary Panel, where two great filmmakers discuss genre filmmaking in Hollywood.  Some GDT quotes:

On their admiration for one another: “Often directors don’t hang together because we’re jealous a–holes,” Del Toro noted. But the two spoke of their friendship that has developed over the last several years, with Favreau calling Del Toro “an inspiration and a mentor and someone to commiserate with.”

Del Toro on his dream project, At the Mountains of Madness, an adaptation of a classic H.P. Lovecraft horror tale, which recently fell apart over budget concerns: “I hope [we can still make it]. I’ve been trying to do it for so many years. We were so close, and the incarnation we were going to do is so great, I don’t want to give up. Fortunately, we control the property … so we can try to keep it alive. I hope I make it. It’s one of those movies that’s a Holy Grail for me.”

Del Toro on his reputation as a filmmaker: “I don’t think I’m a household name director. I think I’m an acquired taste. When I come here, it’s fantastic, but I don’t buy that illusion… I’m really a freak every place I go. I don’t quite fit in the independent scene, I don’t quite fit in the art scene, and I don’t fit in the Hollywood scene. I’m a weird, strange, fat motherf—er, and I plan to stay that way.”

Del Toro on his next directorial project, Pacific Rim: “It’s the most fun I’ve had on a Hollywood movie ever. It almost should be illegal. We’re designing monsters all day long. Gigantic f—ing monsters. All day long.”

Well, an interesting first day at SDCC, it appears.  Although I could not attend this year, I am able to scan the various news reports online for GDT news – and here is what I have found:

• As was reported on our forums, Guillermo Del Toro will be working with Dark Horse to release a comic book version of THE STRAIN, the trilogy of novels written by GDT and Chuck Hogan.  The comic will be written by David Lapham (Stray Bullets), with art by Mike Huddleston (MK Ultra).  Variety reports that the series is set for publication on December 14th.  Three paperback graphic novels will be released in the fall of 2012.  Each book will be 32 pages, with each novella in the trilogy getting an 8 issue series.  GDT says he will “supervise everything”, giving his opinion on the art, the covers and screenplays. (Artwork below taken from Bleeding Cool).
• Guillermo was supposed to attend the announcement of the Dark Horse STRAIN project last night, but it appears he was unable to attend because of a back injury.  I will post more information as I get it, and will find out if he will be attending his other SDCC commitments.
• DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK has a new official website at http://www.dontbeafraidofthedark.com/.  You can lookup showtimes now and order tickets through the site.  It is a pretty cool site that lets you “explore” the DARK mansion and unlock clues.

  

  

  
  

Lots of news coming our way in the world of GDT – check out the full report below:

• MIMIC is finally getting a Blu-Ray release on September 27th of this year! This HD release promises new bonus materials, including an audio commentary and introduction from GDT, plus two featurettes. The featurettes will be a “behind-the-scenes” retrospective and a special look at the insect creatures.  Also included will be deleted/alternate scenes, outtakes and storyboard animatics.  Will this also be the long-awaited “director’s cut”? No mention of a new cut in the press release, so it would be surprising if it is the anticipated director’s cut of the film.
• GDT will be at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con to promote PACIFIC RIM.  Here is when you can catch him if you are attending

Thursday, July 21, 6:00 – The Visionaries: A Discussion with Jon Favreau and Guillermo Del Toro on the Future of Pop Culture.  This will be the one you won’t want to miss, folks!!  Get in line now.

Friday, July 22nd, 12:45 – Legendary Pictures Preproduction.  GDT will be joined by the unofficial cast of PACIFIC RIM, Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day and Rinko Kikuchi

Note: Although it doesn’t say GDT will attend this panel, you might also want to check out the 2:00pm Film District panel on Thursday, since they will be celebrating the release of DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK. 

• Guillermo Del Toro has confirmed that Guillermo Navarro, his long time Director of Photography, will be the DT for PACIFIC RIM.  The official start date for shooting RIM is October 31st in Toronto at Pinewood Studios.  It is slated for  July 21, 2011 release.
• Here are some nice GDT related stories you should check out:

GDT Interview Audio: “Fantasy is Rebellion…Always” (Hollywood Outbreak)

Alchemist Guillermo Del Toro Turns Creepy, Bizarre Material into Movie Gold (Vanity Fair)

Guillermo Del Toro’s Imagination is Working Overtime (L.A. Times)

• DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK will kick off London’s Film4 FrightFest Film Festival on August 25th