Exploring the Mind of del Toro and Other Contemporary Masters in FilmCraft: Directing: A Book Preview

Author: Mike Goodridge.

Film aficionados may do well by examining FilmCraft: Directing, the third book in a series that looks at what goes on behind the scenes. This collection is great for anyone looking more than just the basic background in many of today’s well-respected names in film industry, which includes horror meister Guillermo Del Toro. Within the pages of this volume are candid interviews and sidebars of useful information that also looks at the talent of Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven), Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy), Peter Weir (Dead Poet's Society), Terry Gilliam (Brazil) and Park Chan-wook (Lady Vengeance).

This book is uniquely written in a format that appeals to the film student, the industry veteran and even the non-practitioner. In the chapter that focuses in on Del Toro, he talks about his humble beginnings by taking on any challenge on a film-set, including being an illegal stunt driver, and how his first work, Cronos, evolved from concept to final product.

In this director’s own words: “My first movie Cronos is not in any way a perfect movie, but it’s a movie full of conviction. When you make your first movie, whatever mistakes you make are very glaring, but if you have conviction, and I would even say cinematic faith, this also shines through. I recently watched Cronos again and I thought, ‘I like this kid,’ he has possibilities. After your first movie, with a little bit of craft, diligence, and more importantly, experience, you learn to make virtues out of some of your defects.”

He further goes on to say, "when I make movies in Spanish, I purposefully avoid characterizing certain things in the conventional Hollywood sense, and that comes out as a blatant defect.”

The many details del Toro explores are very interesting. He later goes on to talk about
Pan's Labyrinth. The tome almost reads like a personal journal than not, and the interviews author Mike Goodridge conducted must have been very candid. That kind of thoughtfulness is prevalent throughout this volume. This author’s background as editor of the online trade journal, Screen International, and as an accomplished critic for many UK news outlets served him well.

This book will be available June 15th. Other books in this fascinating series include Filmcraft: Cinematography and Filmcraft: Editing. These books do very well in exploring the contemporary movie-making scene by making these filmmakers accessible to the public who loves their films. When meeting them is nearly impossible, reading about them is the next best thing.

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