Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is riding high right now thanks to the rave reviews his latest film, The Shape of Water, is getting. The romantic horror film is currently screening at the Venice Film Festival, and according to critics in attendance, it's one of del Toro's best features. With such positive buzz, one would hope that this may finally lead to his Pinocchio movie getting off the ground. The director has been trying to make the film for a decade now, but the reason he hasn't been able to get it made is that he's having trouble finding someone to finance an anti-fascist Pinocchio movie. Del Toro explained:
I've been looking for financing for almost ten years. We have the puppets, we have the design. I always or almost always complicate my life. None of the movies I want to do are easy. And they don't belong to anything anyone wanted to do at that time. No one wanted to do superheroes when I did Hellboy, no one wanted to do monsters when I did Pacific Rim. When I announced Pinocchio I got many calls: 'Yeah but it's set during the rise of Mussolini, it's an anti-fascist Pinocchio.' [mimes they all hung up] If you have $35 million and if you want to make a Mexican happy, here I am.
Guillermo del Toro has been hoping to make a Pinocchio movie for some time now. His version would be independent of the familiar Disney version, and would instead be a darker fairy tale (you know, like a Guillermo del Toro movie) using stop-motion animation. The filmmaker is currently at the Venice Film Festival screening The Shape of Water, and he told a group of journalists (via Indiewire) that he had the designs and puppets ready and waiting to go. The only problem is finding someone who wants to pay $35 million for an unconventional take on a fairy tale.
It sounds like an interesting project, and here's hoping that Guillermo del Toro can get it made. The director is looking at some increased clout thanks to The Shape of Water, which is already beginning to drum up Oscar buzz. Should this movie really take off, it could be the extra push to make Hollywood realize that they should just let del Toro make whatever movie he wants. While some of his work can be divisive (hey there Crimson Peak), there's no question that his sensibilities and style are top-notch. However, considering that del Toro is also primed to develop the Fantastic Voyage remake, perhaps we'll still have to wait a while for Pinocchio to get off the ground.
The Shape of Water will be available for everyone to watch when it's released in theaters on December 8. For more movies hitting theaters over the next couple of months, make sure to check out our 2017 movie release schedule.
