My friend just sent me a pic of Guillermo Del Toro from last spring. It was taken at the New York Comic Con, just after the Hellboy II: The Golden Army panel. What is not apparent from the shot is what a monumental ( or so I had hoped) moment it was for me. You see, a few years prior my brother phoned me out of the blue and said”Guess who I am standing next to…” I replied…”Uhh…the Pope? ” I said sarcastically. He explained that in actuality, it was even better than the supposed emissary of God, it was someone I personally consider a God among men…none other than GDT himself. This was just after the North American Premiere ( held in Toronto) of PAN’S LABYRINTH, which, as you may know went on to win three oscars. My brother said ” Do you want me to see if I can get him to talk to you?”. Well, when one has an opportunity to speak to a God among men you must take it, whether prepared or not. I pulled over to the side of the road and the phone rang back. I answered, expecting to hear my brother, but instead heard ” Hey, Jason! It’s Guillermo!”…and it really was. I tried to remember to breathe, my name, and more importantly what I wanted so desperately to talk to him about…MONSTERWOOD. I gave him the basic rub and told him that in my dream land…he was somehow involved. He told me to contact him through his manager when I was ready and we would talk again. He could not have been kinder or more genuine. I was truly touched by his generosity of time and spirit. Time went by. Perhaps too much time. Flash forward to Comic Con 2008. I was ready now. I knew he would be there. We sat through endless panels waiting for him. Finally, It was time. The panel was everything I had waited for and more. Some of the Characters from the film appeared on stage after the sizzle reel was shown. Then it was Q and A time. I tried desperately to reach the mic, but to no avail. I could not fail the mission. This was the reason I came to the Con. It took some persuading of security,but I managed to get to the stage just as the panel broke. I held up my pitch pack and made eye contact. El Gordo walked from behind the panel table and started to walk toward me just as the wave of photographers washed over me and against the stage all calling his name frantically to procure a better shot. He lost focus on me and started looking around and shaking hands as he began to move away from me.oh noo… I thought! I figured this was my last chance and against my better judgment yelled “GUILLERMO!” He looked back in my direction as I held up my pitch pack. He walked toward me again. I held it out. We shook hands and I frantically said We spoke on the phone after the Pan premiere! “YES!” he said and his eyes got big at the remembering. “This is what I was telling you about!…I would love to talk to you about it…when your not so busy!” He laughed and took the pitch pack. He took a step back, opened it, read a quick personal note I had wrote just in case any of this actually happened and instead of throwing it on the table with a pile of other material, tucked it under his arm. I couldn’t wait to tell Brendan Deneen, my manager. I thought for sure there would be some sort of contact after all that. Four days later, the deal for Guillermo to direct THE HOBBIT was officially announced. Brendan contacted GDT’s manager but we never heard back. This past week Guillermo was all over the internet doing interviews about HB2 DVD/bluray and HOBBIT teases. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t be more excited for THE HOBBIT, and could not be more in love with the man himself, but I couldn’t help but be a little sad and wonder whatever happened to my fanboy moment. I’m still waiting Guillermo… and I haven’t given up!
It's the black folder he is holding.
Here are a few work-in-progress shots of the JERRY CRABTREE maquette. JERRY, Jovis’s mentor is one of my favorite MONSTERWOOD characters. He is a curmudgeonly, old grandfather type…a lovable worry-wart charged with the challenge of raising JOVIS into a responsible member of Monsterwood while also preparing him for the secret challenges that lie ahead.
