The Appropriately Titled Book 'Guillermo Del Toro: The Iconic Filmmaker And His Work' Will Hit Shelves This October
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Ian Nathan, the UK-based author of The Alien Vault, The Terminator Vault and Anything You Can Imagine: Peter Jackson and the Making of Middle-Earth is back once more with a deep (if unauthorized) dive into the incomparable Guillermo del Toro.Guillermo del Toro: the Iconic Filmmaker and his Work will hit shelves October 19th and promises to "analyze the processes, themes and narratives" of all of del Toro's films, from Cronos all the way through his Best Picture-winning The Shape of Water.
Chapter titles suggest the book follows in the footsteps that most biographies do, starting with del Toro's childhood in Mexico and hitting all his career highlights along the way, including Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Pacific Rim, The Devil's Backbone, Pan's Labyrinth and even covers some fresh ground with del Toro's upcoming Nightmare Alley and Pinocchio.
There are already a few books on the market about the making of del Toro's movies, and the director himself published a fantastic look inside his twisted mind called Cabinet of Curiosities. If you have never read that, I can't recommend it enough. Del Toro opens up his heart and his notebooks, which are filled with his fantastically macabre sketches and notes as he worked through the ideas that would become some of his most iconic movies.
Authorized vs. Unauthorized Biographies
Unauthorized books can walk on a knife's edge. Sometimes that means the book can't quite reach the level of depth and detail as one with the subject being involved. Sometimes it can find the truth more easily without the subject wanting to paint their process in a happier, less contentious light.
Now, Ian Nathan is a well-respected writer in this field and I have no doubt that this book will be well-researched and the analysis of del Toro's work be thorough and considerate. Both authorized and unauthorized books serve a purpose and with Nathan involved you know you're going to get something well done.
I'm particularly curious what his angle is on the upcoming del Toro projects. Without del Toro's direct involvement I have no idea how Nathan will approach these things nobody has seen anything from yet.
I guess we'll see once October 19th rolls around.
You can pre-order a copy of Guillermo del Toro: The Iconic Filmmaker and his Work from Amazon. And while you're there, why not also pick get your hands on del Toro's own book, Cabinet of Curiosities, and really get into the Halloween mood!