I saw the movie with my local buds Leo & Russell. It was non-stop excitement & comedy. The interaction between him & Liz was great. They gave new meaning to the term Hot Romance. The visual effects were spectacular, the CGIs were amazing, the fight scenes were awesome, and the interaction between Hellboy & the others was excellent. David Hyde Pierce is the Voice of HB's Merman brother/teammate Abe Sapien who has psychic powers and is a speed reader. I recommend this to any & all comic book fans who haven't heard of Hellboy.

Sounds interesting. I might check this movie out for myself. :ph43r:

Hellboy's a Comic Book Superhero!!! I have an issue where he & Abe battle Orchestra Zombies.

I show gotta see that movie.

He uses an Angle Grinder to keep his horns flat.

DVD Review


The DVDs are loaded with awesome features such as introductions starring the director & Selma Blair. Disc One has DVD comics that explain stuff in the Hellboy universe such as Karl Kroenen's origin & how Abe Sapien was found. The second DVD has three deleted scenes, previews, filmographies & character bios, etc. Check it out.

Cool bobby that DVD sounds worth it.

Definitely is.

But I mit wait til Blockbuster sell it previewed before i get.

Okay. But you're missing out.

i heard rumors of a hellboy anime series. did anyone else heard about it. i know lady death is american comic book which was turn into anime show.it would be cool if they did a hellboy anime series i just hope hbo doesn't get the rights since most of their shows are mature rating.i only saw one episode of hbo's spawn.
-Joe:)

I haven't heard anything.

Jones, Del Toro Reteam For Pan

Doug Jones, who played aquatic B.P.R.D. agent Abe Sapien in Hellboy, announced on his official Web site that he will reunite with Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro for the upcoming independent Spanish-language horror film Pan's Labyrinth.
Jones will play Pan in the film, a sequel to the Mexican director's 2001 cult horror film The Devil's Backbone. Del Toro has described the film, which is set against the fascist regime in Spain, as a "full-on fairy tale gone wrong."

Perlman Preps For Hellboy 2
Ron Perlman, who again plays the red-skinned title demon in Hellboy 2, told SCI FI Wire that the sequel will probably begin production in January 2006 under director Guillermo del Toro. "The Hellboy 2 script was turned in this month, but they do everything in their power to keep me as much in the dark as possible," Perlman said in an interview at the Saturn Awards in Los Angeles. "It was an amazing genesis of how that movie got made, and how the fans embraced it," he added, referring to last year's hit adaptation of Mike Mignola's comic series.
Perlman added that he'll need to get back into his Hellboy shape. "I'm going to definitely take off all the weight I've put on in between," he said. "I went back to being a character actor. I'll be thinner."
As for the sequel's story, Perlman said: "I know that they were looking to get more into the folklore of the character, you know, and less into the pyrotechnics. ... I guess I'll read it when I'm invited to. ... I couldn't even dream beyond what already has been a reality. I mean, you know, everything that's transpired with regard to the depiction, Guillermo's distillation of turning a two-dimensional guy into a three-dimensional guy was far beyond anything I could have dreamed possible. So I'll just defer to him. Happily."
Meanwhile, Perlman said he's excited about directing a family drama about two brothers who switch places, and he said he's going to really surprise his SF fans by starring in a musical he has conceived, which is being scripted by Bad Boys screenwriter George Gallo. "It's a musical road movie, a kind of homage to Frank Sinatra, something no one has ever seen me do before," he said. "I'm very excited about it."

Blair: Hellboy 2 Starting 2007

Selma Blair, co-star of the upcoming sequel to Hellboy, told SCI FI Wire that production on the film has been tentatively scheduled to begin at the beginning of 2007. "I just did The Fog with Revolution, and I was trying to pick their brains for when Hellboy will go," Blair said in an interview. "Apparently [director] Guillermo [del Toro]'s supposed to hand in a script any minute. I know there will probably be a long preproduction, so we'll probably start maybe January 2007."
In the original Hellboy, Blair played Liz Sherman, Hellboy's companion and sometime girlfriend, who possesses the power to start fires with her mind. Blair said she hopes her character will be stronger in the sequel. "I hope that Liz and Hellboy will be more of a team, or at least Liz will be really strong," she said. "The first one was kind of a girl recovering and learning to grow up."
Blair acknowledged that Hellboy 2 will have to focus on Ron Perlman's title character. But she said that she looks forward to tapping into her inner superhero. "The movie's a much larger thing than just me playing Liz Sherman, but from my point of view, if you're going to get to play a superhero, come on! Let's bring it on! Let's play a superhero now!" she said. "You know, that was kind of her ... evolution."

Mignola: Hellboy 2 Is Mythic
Mike Mignola, creator of the Hellboy comic franchise, told SCI FI Wire that the upcoming sequel to last year's Hellboy movie will deal with folklore and mythology, a counterbalance to the first film's focus on Nazis and monsters. "Wherein the first film was sort of the H.P. Lovecraft kind of monsters and the Nazis and the mad-scientist stuff, this one is geared much more toward the folklore element of the Hellboy [comics], with the kind of fairies and the Old-World stuff," Mignola said in an interview at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
Mignola, who worked with Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro to develop the sequel's story, added: "That really is a big element of the Hellboy stories, and that element was completely not in the first film. So the idea of the second film would be sort of the other half of the Hellboy world." Mignola's comics often reference Russian, Irish and Japanese folklore, among other things. For the film, he said, "I don't know that Russian [mythology will figure in] so much, but certainly that idea of these ancient creatures that have been kind of shoved out of the mainstream and are living underground [will]. It's about that kind of stuff." Also look for the appearance of some characters familiar from the comics, such as the B.P.R.D.'s Johann. But not Roger the Homunculus: "We had tried to work it out, because Guillermo loves that character," Mignola said. "We tried to work out a storyline about Roger, and it just didn't work. So we opted to go the folklore route instead."

Del Toro Halo Rumor Confirmed
Empire Online has confirmed rumors that Peter Jackson has approached Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro to helm the eagerly awaited adaptation of the best-selling video game Halo.
But del Toro, who's in Madrid finishing up the Spanish-language fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth, may have a conflict: He told the site that he is also considering directing Hellboy 2, the sequel to his 2004 hit.
"It's going really good," del Toro told the site about the sequel, for which he has completed a script. "It's about the fairy world and the mythical creatures all rebelling against humanity and saying it's the end of mankind and it's the season for the sons of the Earth. And basically Hellboy has to try to repress or suppress that rebellion."
Hellboy star Ron Perlman is coming back, as are the rest of the original cast, including Selma Blair, Doug Jones, David Hyde-Pierce and Rupert Evans, the site reported. Mike Mignola, who created the Hellboy comic series on which the films are based, is also on board. "He should be reading the screenplay right now," del Toro told the site.
As for Halo, based on the Microsoft alien-invasion game? "Well, Halo is very much an interesting project, because it's so full of monsters," del Toro said. "It's a big temptation. I'm in talks with them [Universal Pictures and Bungie Films] and Peter, but it's not true that it's on and Hellboy's off. Hellboy's on. If everything goes as planned, Hellboy will go." Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.

Dark Horse Comics announced that Hellboy creator Mike Mignola will write the monthly Conan series, including an adaptation of Robert E. Howard's The Hall of the Dead, after which Timothy Truman will take over as the regular writer on the series, starting with issue number 33.

The French Excessif.com Web site has posted a teaser trailer for Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro's next movie, the supernatural fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth.
http://www.excessif.com/news.php?13865&detailsvotes=0

Hellboy 2 Is Golden Army
Ron Perlman told SCI FI Wire that the Hellboy sequel has a working title, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, and he's hopeful it will go into production later this year. The actor starred in the 2004 original, playing the title red demon who fights for good.
"I think that that's an invention based on a number of different things that have appeared in other comic books," Perlman said of the title in an interview while promoting the upcoming television miniseries Stephen King's Desperation.""But basically the idea for [Hellboy 2] was something that was hatched by [Hellboy comic-book creator] Mike Mignola, with [Hellboy writer-director] Guillermo [del Toro] sitting alongside of him. And then Guillermo, of course, did all of the writing. But, you know, the story was Mignola."
Perlman added: "It's a compendium of a lot of elements that they were not able to address in the first one, because the first one was kind of a slave to the backstory and who Hellboy is, how we come to find him, etc., etc. Now they can kind of branch out a little bit and get funky with it and hit some of the other colors that existed in some of the other comic books."

Siege's Perlman Defends Boll
Ron Perlman, who appears in Uwe Boll's upcoming In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, defended the much-maligned director in an interview with SCI FI Wire. Based on House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark and BloodRayne, Boll has developed a reputation as a good guy who makes video-game-based movies that are savaged by critics, moviegoers and gamers alike.
"I'm in the category of liking working with him," Perlman (Hellboy) said. "He's a really nice man. He's trying hard to do decent work. I liked the [In the Name of the King] script a lot. I loved the cast. The experience of shooting it was great. I have no idea what it's going to end up looking like. I hope this is the one that kind of turns around his reputation."
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is an adventure-fantasy set in an ancient land. Jason Statham plays Farmer, a man seeking to save his kidnapped wife and avenge the death of their young son. "[It's] a big, epic film with a wonderful cast," Perlman said. "Tony Ching, who did Hero and House of Flying Daggers, did all the fight choreography. So it's got that going for it. It's got some wonderful actors: Jason Statham, John Rhys-Davies, Leelee Sobieski, Ray Liotta, Burt Reynolds. I play the best friend to Jason Statham, which is a role I love to play because I don't have any of the heat if the picture sucks. You can't blame it on me. ... Jason is a really, really good man, and we had a great time." In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale will be released in 2007.

Del Toro Updates Hellboy II
Guillermo del Toro, writer and director of the upcoming Hellboy II: The Golden Army, told fans that he and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola will write an original screen story for the sequel, not one based on previous material. Del Toro made the comments on the DelToroFilms.com bulletin board on March 13 in response to Hellboy star Ron Perlman's interview with SCI FI Wire last week, suggesting that the sequel would be based in part on elements from Mignola's comics.
"Ron took a few liberties with the facts concerning the project," del Toro wrote. "Mike and I wrote the screen story together, and I wrote the script. But it is NOT based on anything yet published, but Mike felt it had a lot of elements he has been keen to explore in the future of HB."
Del Toro added that the sequel would have a pivotal role for Abe Sapien, the amphibious character played in the first movie by Doug Jones and voiced by David Hyde Pierce. "One bit of good news or all Abe fans," del Toro said. "Abe has a really dramatic role in this new story."
As for the timing of the film, del Toro said: "HBII: The Golden Army is currently being 'put together' financially by [producer] Larry Gordon, et al. HBII is still my number-one priority, and no one is contemplating my 'stepping down' just yet. It is highly unlikely-albeit possible-that it would happen, but that would require a series of unfortunate financial, logistic, personal events that seem remote at best. More likely than not, if the project were to stall, I would still be attached as writer/director. The timing for HBII seems right, what with the anime, game, comic-book series, toys, etc. I believe that HB and the BPRD [Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense] are more than ever in the public's mind."
http://www.deltorofilms.com/forum/viewtopi...p?t=234&start=0 http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=34921

One of the most intriguing directors working today is Guillermo del Toro, whose rare mastery of fantasy and horror made 2001's "The Devil's Backbone" an under-seen masterpiece. Now, the Mexican filmmaker — who is garnering more buzz for next month's "Pan's Labyrinth" — is developing "3993," the final chapter in an unofficial "Spanish Civil War trilogy" that will link the three films. "It's a war that is crucial to the world, and some people think it is confined only to Spain or only to dates in the encyclopedia," the "Hellboy" director explained. "I think it's far richer than that and far more relevant to the essence of pain and war." Like the other two films, the flick will tell a ghost story with connections to the ravages of war — but this time, it will link 1990's Spain with forgotten hostages from 1939. "I read it and fell in love with it," he said of an original script by acclaimed filmmaker Sergio Sanchez. "It was very different when I read it, but we're developing and redeveloping it for me." Del Toro hopes to begin filming the flick after his cameras finish rolling on "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army." ...

Guillermo del Toro's Spanish-language fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth has been nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards, in the categories of best feature and best cinematography. The 2007 awards will be presented in Santa Monica, Calif., on Feb. 24, the day before the Oscars.

Del Toro's Deadman Hires Scribe
Warner Brothers has hired writer Gary Dauberman to work with director-producer Guillermo del Toro on the script for the movie adaptation of DC Comics' Deadman, Variety reported.
The movie is a potential directing vehicle for del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth), who is producing with Angry Films' Don Murphy and Murphy's partner, Susan Montford.
Deadman is the ghost of a murdered circus acrobat who has the power to possess the living in order to seek out his killer, as well as to help the innocent.
Dauberman impressed Deadman producers with a spec script he had written for a western zombie film. Pan's Labyrinth opens Dec. 29.

Del Toro Swings To Tarzan?
Warner Brothers is in negotiations with director Guillermo del Toro to helm a new take on Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic Tarzan character for the big screen, Variety reported. Jerry Weintraub will produce the movie, and John Collee (Master and Commander: Far Side of the World, Happy Feet) is negotiating to write the screenplay. Weintraub will produce through his Jerry Weintraub Productions banner.
Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy) grew up reading Spanish-language translations of Burroghs' books and feels that the classic themes are still compelling, the trade paper reported. Del Toro also sees that there is new ground to cover in the Tarzan mythology by turning back to the original Burroughs prose.
In the years since Burroughs first introduced the loincloth-clad character in book form in 1914, Tarzan has headlined live-action and animated films, as well as radio and TV shows.
Pan's Labyrinth opens Dec. 29. Del Toro is in preproduction on Hellboy 2.

Cuarón Praises Del Toro's Pan
Alfonso Cuarón, who produced the upcoming fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth for his friend and colleague Guillermo del Toro, told SCI FI Wire that he's not surprised by the universal critical acclaim the film has been receiving. Written and directed by del Toro, Pan's Labyrinth tells the story of Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a young girl whose fantasy world allows her to cope with the harsh realities of post-civil-war Spain.
"It's such a great, great, great film," Cuarón said in an interview while promoting his own upcoming film, the SF drama Children of Men. "Probably the most beautiful moment that I have ever had in my film life has been to witness the, I think it was, 22 or 24 minutes of standing ovation [Pan's Labyrinth received] at Cannes. It was the longest standing ovation since 1968, and to see Guillermo just swimming in that ocean of applause and to see how he went from laughing to crying to dancing and to trying to strip his clothes and get naked was amazing."
Del Toro has said in interviews that Cuarón, director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, made major contributions by visiting the Pan's Labyrinth set a few times during the shoot and later by joining him in the editing room several times and making scene sequencing suggestions during the post-production phase. Cuarón downplayed his own involvement, but in doing so shared a remarkable story about del Toro's passion for the project.
"At the end, everything is Guillermo in this film, and it's so obvious," he said. "It's such a Guillermo film. My contribution, I think it goes way, way back to when we were doing this [Mexican] TV series, some sort of Twilight Zone [-like] show [called Hora Marcada]. We had the chance of doing this show that was different short stories. One day he told me, 'I have this story I really want to do one day, but at this point I think you would do it better service than me.' It was a story about ogres, and in a way it was the same story as Pan's Labyrinth. He wrote the screenplay, and I directed that one, and he played the ogre. Instead of the Pan there was an ogre."
Cuarón recalled that a couple of years ago he and del Toro sat down for dinner at Cuarón's home, and del Toro told him, in full detail, his story for Pan's Labyrinth. "What you saw in the film is exactly what he told me at dinner, and he said, 'Let's do it together,'" Cuarón said. "I said, 'OK, let's do it together.' And then we decided we were officially in preproduction. 'We don't have a screenplay, but we're in preproduction.' So we decided we were going to put our money just to start preproduction, and it was one of those things where we said, 'We don't care. We're going to keep on spending our money until this happens.' For me it was a no-brainer. Come on, it's a Guillermo del Toro film, and it's a brilliant concept."
Cuarón added: "I was doing Children of Men when he was doing Pan's Labyrinth, so, yeah, I'd see dailies. And what can I tell you? I saw dailies and said, 'This is absolutely brilliant.' And then, yes, I saw one of his cuts [and made suggestions], but other people were bigger influences in the editing process. But in a more deeper way, [Cuarón's contribution] was how we love to stick our forks in each other's salads." Pan's Labyrinth opens on Dec. 29.

The original "Hellboy" movie developed a small but loyal following when it brought the comic book of the same name to the big screen in 2004, and series director Guillermo del Toro promises bigger things that'll appeal to a wider crowd with the sequel. "It's a story about how the world is eroding fantasy, how magical creatures and magical beings have been pushed to the side by society," del Toro said of his script for "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army." "[Such fantastical creatures] say, 'Why should we fade quietly? Why don't we take over and kill the humans?' — and they're right," he laughed. Promising "everyone that didn't die in the first movie is back," del Toro regretfully added that he can't begin filming until a final budget is approved. "[My] movies look huge, but the budgets are pretty conservative," he said. " 'Hellboy' was done for $60 million. The new one is twice as big, three times as big. We're trying to adjust the budget, to have the freedom to do the movie the way it needs to be done." The "Pan's Labyrinth" filmmaker added that he hopes to get the greenlight sometime in 2007. ...

Pan Wooed, Won King
Pan's Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro told SCI FI Wire that he hand-carried a copy of his movie to the Maine home of horrormeister Stephen King to screen it personally for the author—who returned the favor by naming it his favorite film of 2006. "Even now, when you say it, I get chills," del Toro said in an interview this week in Beverly Hills, Calif. "I do. I mean, ... Stephen King has been a huge influence."
In the Dec. 22 issue of Entertainment Weekly, King said that he was "seduced by [Pan's Labyrinth's] beauty and emotional ferocity. ... I think this extraordinary R-rated fairy tale for adults is the best fantasy film since The Wizard of Oz."
Behind King's review is a story of how del Toro, "like a Muslim going to Mecca," hand-toted two enormous film cans containing a print of his movie through three airports from Los Angeles to King's hometown in Maine. "And then I arrived to a theater that, technically, was very hard for me to go, 'Oh, this is the optimal screening,'" del Toro said. "And yet, to this day, it remains the best screening of my entire life. Because I was sitting next to Stephen King, and he was squirming during the impalement sequence, and I was like, 'It doesn't get better than this.'"
Del Toro added: "And then we went and had Indian food, and there's the receipt." He pointed to the restaurant receipt, pasted into the leather-bound sketchbook he carries with him at all times. "I had lamb curry. It was 08-05-'06. ... I feel like Forrest Gump." Pan's Labyrinth opens Dec. 29.

Jones Encased In Full Pan
Doug Jones, who plays the title creature in Guillermo del Toro's upcoming dark fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth, told SCI FI Wire that it took five hours a day to get into his elaborate makeup and costume and two hours to get out of it. Transforming the tall, wiry actor into the giant blue faun involved putting on a full-body disguise.
"Well, here's the deal," Jones said in an interview in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Dec. 18. "When you're in a makeup that extensive that involves mechanics and being inside a head with eyes that are out here, and all I could look through were the tear ducts—I couldn't see well. I could not hear well. I had servos [makes a whirring sound] in my head. And I had teeth in that were to make them more gangly-looking. And I had, you know, gloves on, and I couldn't walk very well. I became a nursing-home patient. That's what happens. I had to have an assistant everywhere I went."
Jones also had to learn a bit of Spanish for the character in the Spanish-language film, which was a co-production of Spain and Mexico. "I spoke Spanish for the film, because if you saw, my lips were moving right," Jones said. "But they did have a voice-over actor, like this [speaking with a husky voice]. I could have affected this sound. He was very down here and very earthy and breathy, and [back to normal voice] I could have done that. I didn't know I could have done that, though. At the beginning of this film, when Guillermo told me, 'I need you to play Pan; nobody else can,' ... he said that it's in Spanish. And that's when I went, 'No! No! It can't be! I don't speak [Spanish].' ... And so I was terrified. Hours of makeup and physical tomfoolery, great, bring it on. I've done that before. Spanish scared me to death. So I kept telling him, 'Guillermo, I don't think I can.' [He said,] 'No one else can play this but you.' [I said,] 'No, I think there are better people for this one. I do.' And he was like, 'No.' So he told me, he assured me, ... he said, 'Don't worry. We'll get someone to voice-over you, if that's your worry.' I'm like, 'Oh, God.' So that's a relief to me. For this one instant, that was a relief. But, as it turns out, I learned the Spanish word for word."
Jones also plays a second fantastical creature: the Pale Man, who has a blind face and eyes in the palms of his hands. He said it also took five hours to get that costume on. Pan's Labyrinth opens Dec. 29 in New York and Los Angeles before going wide in January.

Pan Wins International Award
Pan's Labyrinth won the award for best animated or mixed-media motion picture at the International Press Academy awards ceremony on Dec. 17, beating out Cars, Happy Feet, Flushed Away and Ice Age: The Meltdown.
"This completely blows me away. It's a very tough competition," production designer Eugenio Caballero, accepting the award for director Guillermo del Toro, told the audience. "Guillermo will be thrilled." Caballero was also up for best art direction, but lost to Flags of Our Fathers.
X-Men: The Last Stand won for film editing, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest won for best visual effects in the awards show, which honors TV, film, games and Internet entertainment, picked by 150 international and domestic film critics and entertainment journalists. The International Press Academy is a spinoff group from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which sponsors the Golden Globes.
"I just want to thank Bill Nighy for bringing a wild Davy Jones to life," said John Knoll, accepting the award for best visual effects. Nighy won at the show for best actor in a miniseries for BBC's Gideon's Daughter.
Kingdom Hearts II won outstanding game based on a previous medium. New Super Mario Brothers won outstanding action/adventure game, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion won outstanding role-playing game.
Best youth DVD went to The Little Mermaid. Best TV show DVD went to The Simpsons: Season Eight. DVD extras went to Mission: Impossible III, and best overall DVD went to the Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition.
Martin Landau (Ed Wood) was given the Mary Pickford Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to the Entertainment Industry, and Richard Donner (Superman) won the Tesla Award for visionary filmmaking.

Pan Star Digs Fairy Tales
Ivana Baquero, the 12-year-old Spanish star of Guillermo del Toro's upcoming fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth, told SCI FI Wire that the director acted as a mentor and introduced her to the darker elements of fairy tales. "Before I started the movie, I did read fairy tales, but it was more when I finished the movie that Guillermo pushed me to continue reading [them]," the Barcelona native said in an interview in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Dec. 18. "In fact, he still sends me fairy tales and lots of comics. So I have to read them, and then after I read all of his books, I started getting, ... not addicted, but I started loving them, so I went to shops and started buying fairy tales and comics."
Baquero plays Ofelia, a lonely girl in post-civil-war Spain, who finds escape from the brutality around her in a world of fairies and otherworldly creatures. Del Toro, who wrote the film and is also an avid collector of fairy tales himself, shared his passion with Baquero.
"One of the things that Guillermo really taught me about the fairy stories is that, before they were written [as] beautiful, cute fairy stories, they were actually really nasty," Baquero said in perfectly accented American English, which she has studied since age 3. "For example, Hansel and Gretel, ... their parents left them in the forest to die of hunger. ... It was the reason why I pushed myself, and Guillermo pushed me, to continue reading fairy tales, because I wanted to see where they really came from."
Baquero added: "I like Peter Pan a lot and comics. There's one that he sent me that's named Nausicaa [of the Valley of the Wind, by Japanese illustrator and animator Hayao Miyazaki]. And I really love that. He gave me, like, the 20 volumes." Pan's Labyrinth opens Dec. 29 in New York and Los Angeles before going wide in January.

Jones Speaks In Hellboy 2
Creature actor Doug Jones told SCI FI Wire that he reprises the role of the amphibious Abe Sapien in Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, but this time with his own voice. Jones played the same character in Guillermo del Toro's first Hellboy movie and performed his own dialogue, but had his voice dubbed in later by an uncredited David Hyde Pierce.
This time around, Jones said, it will be all him. "Yes," Jones said in an interview in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Dec. 18 to promote his next film, del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, in which Jones plays the title character. "I've been fortunate enough to voice Abe Sapien for the animated features. Just finished my second one in Vancouver. While I was there [shooting Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer], they did a little satellite setup. And then I'm also going to be voicing Abe for the video game coming out soon. So that kind of helped establish that I'll just go ahead and do the voice in [Hellboy 2] as well, which I'm very happy about."
In the second movie based on Mike Mignola's comic series, Jones' character will have a bigger role. "I don't want to give too much away, but I haven't seen a script yet," he said. "I have a script waiting for me at my manager's office right now. ... I'm dying to read this. Because Guillermo told me ... before Universal Pictures picked it up, he told me he didn't want me to read the script, because if I do read it, and we don't get to make it, it will be the biggest disappointment of my life. That's what he told me. So that means there's a lot of Abe. And ... he did tell me that Abe Sapien is on an equal playing level, more so, with Hellboy this time. Much more storyline. Some hands-on with bad guys. Maybe a love interest? I'm not saying. I'm not saying. Who knows?" he added, with a big smile.
As for getting to do his own voice, Jones said: "I adore David Hyde Pierce. He's a great actor, and he did a great job. But, you know, I just wanted the integrity of my performance to stay intact. And the fact that that will happen—I get to do that this time—I'm very, very, very happy about [it]." Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is slated to begin shooting next spring, with an eye to a summer 2008 release.

Hellboy 2 To Cast In Jan.
Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro told SCI FI Wire that he's gearing up for the sequel, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, and will begin casting in January. Del Toro—speaking in an interview in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Dec. 18 while promoting his upcoming Pan's Labyrinth—said he was in "preproduction. Budgeting. Fighting for the budget. Casting starts in January."
Del Toro added that the film will likely shoot in May or June in Hungary, or "where the exchange rate takes us." The film, like its predecessor, is based on Mike Mignola's comic-book series.
Del Toro, who never travels without his leather-bound sketchbook of ideas, offered SCI FI Wire a brief look at some of his notes for Hellboy 2. "It's only ideas for visual gags so far," he said as he leafed through pages covered with precise script and drawings of Hellboy characters. "You know, some of the fights. A physical gag I'm going to try." He pointed to one drawing: a glass bubble helmet with a mouthpiece. It's Johann Kraus, the ectoplasmic agent from the comics, who is a disembodied spirit with psychic abilities who maintains form by wearing a containment suit. "The guy in the suit. And little sculptural pieces. An idea I have for a blue screen trick. An Elemental. Wardrobe. A helmet idea for Johann."

Del Toro Mounts Madness Next?
Writer/director Guillermo del Toro told SCI FI Wire that he'd like to direct a faithful film version of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness as one of the projects he'd like to do next, right after he completes Hellboy 2 next year. "The whole idea of Lovecraft's position towards the universe, he's very much like an Albert Camus position," del Toro said in an interview, referring to the French novelist and philosopher, while promoting his next film, Pan's Labyrinth, in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Dec. 18. "He's an existentialist. He says the cosmos is indifferent to man. At the very best is indifferent. And [it] just [sees] us as fleas, or ... [is] hostile to us."
Del Toro, director of Hellboy and Blade II, has been developing a film version of Madness since at least 2003. Based on Lovecraft's 1931 novella, the story is written from the perspective of Professor William Dyer, a geologist from Miskatonic University, and takes place in Antarctica, where an expedition uncovers the remains of ancient creatures and evidence that they predate humans. When many members of the expedition are slaughtered, Dyer begins to realize that the creatures may have been destroyed by their servants, shapeshifting beings called "shoggoths," which may have survived. The novella is considered one of the key works in Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.
"So this sea of almost ... empty spaces is very hard to portray in film," del Toro said. "It's very hard to portray the fact that you are ... an ant in a picnic, and yet you have delusions of grandeur. That's what Lovecraft was saying. Our race as a whole are just arrogant little ants in a picnic. That's what Mountains of Madness are."
Del Toro would also like to shoot Montecristo, as well as a new version of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic hero Tarzan, a project that was recently announced. "Tarzan I take on because I really think in a feverish state I do believe that there is a Tarzan to be made that is more fantastic and darker and different than the ones that have been made," he said. "So maybe I'm right, maybe I’m wrong; it's where we are."
Then there's Silver, which he would return to his native Mexico to film, he said. "I've been 13 years writing a screenplay called Silver," he said. "It's about wrestlers and vampires. But it's completely straight."
Del Toro added: "Look, if I had my choice, I would choose that after Hellboy [2], I could do Montecristo or Mountains of Madness right away. Those are my two." Pan's Labyrinth opens Dec. 29 in limited release before going wide in January.

'Pan's Labyrinth': Behold A Pale Man, By Kurt Loder
Guillermo del Toro's worlds of wonder.
by Kurt Loder
Ivana Baquero and Doug Jones in "Pan's Labyrinth" (Warner Bros.)
Fanboys and -girls will already be aware that "Pan's Labyrinth" introduces one of the most nightmarish creatures in recent fantasy filmdom: the Pale Man. He's a faceless, corpse-colored, child-eating abomination with eyes in the palms of his hands,and he's a chilling reminder that one of the core elements of the fairy-tale form — usually lost in the long transition from shuddery folk yarn to cuddly animated feature — is the element of pure horror.
The Mexican writer and director, Guillermo del Toro ("Hellboy"), has structured the film as a duplex fairy tale, one part set in the real world of wartime Spain in 1944 — a place of all-too-human terrors — and the other in a fantastic underground kingdom filled with enchantments and monsters beyond the ken of humankind. Aboveground, it is five years after the end of the Spanish Civil War, and the triumphant fascist dictator, Francisco Franco, still has his troops out hunting down the remnants of the rebel forces that opposed him. As the movie opens, an 11-year-old girl named Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is being driven through the countryside with her widowed mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), to an abandoned mill that has been converted into a field headquarters for a detachment of Franco's vengeful soldiers. Carmen is pregnant, and she is on her way to be married to the company's commander, Capitán Vidal (Sergi López), who is the father of her soon-to-be-born child. Vidal, with his gleaming black boots and brilliantined hair, is a severely handsome martinet and a ruthless killer. He wants only a son to carry on his name; he has little interest in Carmen, and none at all in Ofelia.
Isolated in Vidal's dark, creaky house, with no company apart from her clutch of beloved fairy-tale books, Ofelia is drawn by a magical dragonfly into an underground labyrinth — a jewel-like realm ruled by a king who has lost his daughter, but believes her soul will one day return. Could Ofelia be this returning princess? The kingdom's goat-legged gate-keeper, a towering faun called Pan (Doug Jones), decides to find out. He sets her three dangerous tasks to be accomplished before the new moon grows full. These involve a monstrous, disgusting toad, a mysterious key, and a hair-raising encounter with the Pale Man (also played by Jones).
Meanwhile, up above, Capitán Vidal is scouring the local forests with his men, seizing the peasants' crops and provisions and brutally executing anyone he believes, mistakenly or not, to be a rebel. He keeps the plundered food in a locked storeroom, from which he doles it back out, in meagerly rationed portions, to the peasants. The lock has only one key, and when the storeroom is broken into, he begins to suspect the presence of a rebel collaborator within his household. As his suspicions grow, the situation of Carmen and Ofelia — who is also grappling with the otherworldly perils of the labyrinth — becomes increasingly precarious.
When I first saw "Pan's Labyrinth," I thought the two worlds of the story — one rooted in cinematic realism, the other in a fresh new kind of cinematic fantasy — were too jarringly different to be successfully stitched together within one movie. On second viewing, though, the boldness of Toro's conception is striking. The dream horrors of the labyrinth mirror the human horrors of the world above in the way that classic fairy tales, in their unexpurgated form, always have. The two realms are linked, not by visual style, but by a common sense of dread. And the director depicts the horrors of both worlds — whether it be Ofelia trapped in a dead-end corridor by the faceless man, or Vidal preparing to take hammer and ice pick to a helpless prisoner — with the unflinching savagery they require. (How else could they horrify us?) It's a very scary movie at some points (and it's made even more unsettling by the possibility that Ofelia's descent into the labyrinth is actually a retreat into denial, and madness). The bad news in both worlds is that happy endings aren't always possible. The good news is that they are.
Some of the animation effects still seem awkward, especially the Pan character, whose clumping gait recalls the staggery creatures of the Ray Harryhausen stop-motion epics of the 1950s. But the actors — especially Baquero and López, a matinee idol from Monster Island — carry the picture over its occasional rough spots. And the Pale Man will rule your dreams.

Hellboy Link: http://www.darkhorse.com/zones/hellboy/editor.php

F/X Challenged Pan Star
Ivana Baquero, the 12-year-old Spanish actress who stars in Pan's Labyrinth, told SCI FI Wire that she had to contend with a host of visual effects for the role, including computer-animated fairies and insects, a giant toad and an 8-foot blue faun.
"I had to imagine it, which was one of the challenges in the movie: that I had to imagine lots of stuff," the Barcelona native said in an interview in Beverly Hills, Calif. "For example, the fairies and all the little bugs crawling around me. That was one of the difficult parts of the movie. But, at the same time, I enjoyed it and it was great to learn about it."
In a key scene, Ofelia must crawl into a giant tree and confront a giant toad while huge bugs crawl all over her. Fortunately, none of the bugs were real, she said. "Some of the bugs were plastic, but others were by computer," she said.
Baquero plays a girl who escapes into a world of fantasy amid the brutality of post-civil-war Spain. One effect was very real: the blue faun played by Doug Jones in full makeup and costume. Baquero has several key scenes with him. "At the beginning, of course, I got a little bit creeped out seeing this big Pan walking towards me prepared to film, so it was kind of nasty," Baquero said. "But then I ended up getting used to it. ... I filmed two months with all these creatures. I ate with the Pan. I rehearsed with the Pan. I filmed with the Pan. So it was like acting with any other actor. I really appreciated a lot Doug's work, because all of his dialogue was in Spanish, and he doesn't know how to speak Spanish. So I think that was one of his challenges in the movie, and he did a great, great job." Pan's Labyrinth opened Dec. 29 in New York and Los Angeles before going wide in January.

Don't Talk Oscar To Pan Helmer
Guillermo del Toro, writer and director of Pan's Labyrinth, told SCI FI Wire that he's not even thinking about his chances for taking home an Oscar in February. The Spanish-language dark fantasy film is Mexico's candidate for the best foreign-language film.
"Oh, no," del Toro said in an interview. "I don't think that's an eventuality. I am prepared to buy a tuxedo, which is a huge change for me. If we get nominated, I'll dutifully buy a tuxedo."
Pan's Labyrinth tells the story of 11-year-old Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), who finds solace in a world of fairies and otherworldly creatures amid the brutality of post-civil-war Spain. The film has been earning rave reviews in preview screenings, including a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival that lasted more than 20 minutes. At one point, del Toro's producer, Alfonso Cuarón, said del Toro came close to stripping his clothes off.
Not so, del Toro said. "I did take off my necktie," he said. "Other than that, it would've been insulting to the eyes of the audience."
Del Toro added: "It's great, because Alfonso knows me well, and, you know, it's hard for me to take a compliment." As the Cannes screening ended, he said, "Somebody forgot to turn on the lights in the theater, so for nine minutes it was in darkness, and [in] those nine minutes, I was like, 'Of course, my luck.' ... A nightmare of ... Catholic guilt and self-deprecation, you know? And the nine minutes pass, and the lights come on, and I say, 'OK, stop applauding.' Five more minutes of applause, and then ... you turn into Sally Field: ' You love me! They really love me!' And then it comes to a point where you go, ... 'Just accept it.' ... And I was like, 'OK,' and I started enjoying it. But it took a long time." Pan's Labyrinth opened Dec. 29 in New York and Los Angeles before going wide in January.

Critics Name Pan Year's Best
The National Society of Film Critics on Jan. 6 named Guillermo del Toro's Spanish-language fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth the year's best picture, the Reuters news service reported. The vote of confidence, coming weeks before the announcement of the Academy Award nominees, bucks a national trend favoring nominations for more realistic fare, the wire service reported.
Pan's Labyrinth, which is Mexico's candidate for a best-foreign-language-film Oscar nomination, tells the story of Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), who is enraptured by fairy tales and magic lands and who comes to live in an enchanted forest with her mother in the era of Spanish fascism.
Oscar nominees will be named Jan. 23, and winners will be unveiled at the annual Hollywood gala on Feb. 25.
The National Society of Film Critics also gave an award to Emmanuel Lubezki for best cinematography for the SF epic Children of Men.

The SF&F movies X-Men: The Last Stand, Click, Pan's Labyrinth, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Prestige and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause are among the seven films making the shortlist for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' competition for the best makeup Oscar, Variety reported.

Pan's Labyrinth, in its second weekend of limited release, reported a per-screen average take of $16,524 and has so far taken in $1.8 million, Variety reported.

'Pan's Labyrinth' Duo Use Oscar Clout To Make 'Hellboy 2' Their Way
Director Guillermo del Toro, actor Doug Jones reveal details of fiery superhero's return.
by Larry Carroll
SANTA MONICA, California — Just three years ago, Doug Jones was a virtually invisible veteran of more than 30 movies and TV shows, Guillermo del Toro a little-known Mexican director, and the red-hued character of Hellboy stuck in a rut of C-level superhero obscurity.
Since then, things have been far from hellish.
Jones is thrilled that the success he and del Toro have enjoyed with multiple-Oscar-nominee "Pan's Labyrinth" (see "Scariest Film Of The Year? 'Pan's Labyrinth' Director Spills His Guts" and " 'Dreamgirls' Leads Oscar Noms — Without Best Picture Or Beyonce") has allowed them to start production on a "Hellboy" sequel they'll finally get to make their way.
Offering up some revealing plot points about "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army," the scarecrow-like physical presence behind "Labyrinth" characters Pan and the Pale Man — as well as the Silver Surfer in this summer's "Fantastic Four" sequel (see "Alba Breaks Car, But There's A Silver Lining On 'Fantastic' Sequel Set") — spoke about playing multiple characters, realizing del Toro's newfound creative freedom and finally getting his voice back.
"When I first took the role of Abe Sapien," Jones remembered of 2004, when his chameleon-like physicality landed him the role of Hellboy's merman-esque associate, "it was with the understanding that they might do a celebrity voiceover-type thing, because I was not a celebrity at that point."
As the tale of the Nazi-battling demon was being filmed, Jones delivered lines alongside Hollywood stars Ron Perlman, Selma Blair and John Hurt. But much like down-on-their-luck talents including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harvey Keitel, Jones would eventually find his voice being dubbed over by someone else.
"They were thinking about Kevin Spacey and Steve Buscemi and then David Hyde Pierce, who ended up doing the voice," Jones recalled, adding that he holds no ill will toward the "Frasier" co-star. "Now I am really excited to have the voice back."
Although he is seen by many as another "virtual actor" defining the CGI age, Jones considers himself and "Lord of the Rings" star Andy Serkis (see "Andy Serkis: Hollywood's Unrecognizable Blockbuster Star") as full-on actors first and foremost. As such, he's been appreciative of recent efforts by the "Hellboy" gatekeepers to make Abe Sapien his, following a stunning double-performance in "Labyrinth" (including dialogue) that put him on the map.
"When the [TV/DVD] animated features came up — 'Hellboy: Sword of Storms' and 'Hellboy: Blood and Iron' — they just came to me and offered it to me, and I was just tickled out of my mind," Jones recalled. "With 'Hellboy 2,' the live-action movie, I have been told I will be doing the voice in that as well. So it's all mine now. ... I'm glad to have the baby all back in one piece in my arms."
The film will begin shooting soon, now that red-hot "Labyrinth" director del Toro decided to revisit his '04 flick. Del Toro described his vision to MTV News as "a bigger story than the first one. It is actually a larger scope. ... Everyday reality is grinding fantasy into the ground. ... Hellboy has always fought on the side of humans, but this [destruction of fantasy] pushes his buttons to reconsider."
Die-hard fans of the original "Hellboy" will undoubtedly be excited by the next revelation Jones was eager to discuss: "I'm very excited that with Abe Sapien, you'll get to see much more of him and you'll get to know him better," he smiled. "You'll see him have more buddy time with Hellboy, you'll see him wielding a weapon, you'll see him having more hands-on time with the bad guys — and you might even see him have a love interest.
"But I'm not just playing Abe Sapien in this second film — I'm doing three other smaller characters that are otherworldly and heavily made-up beyond recognition," Jones revealed. "My favorite one is called the Angel of Death — it's another eyeless thing [like Pale Man] with huge wings, and he's got a weird little ribcage. He's beautiful. I'm going into my fittings this week."
Of another character he'll play, Jones said: "There's a befuddled wizard that I'll be playing; he's the closest to human." Explaining the character further, he moved his hands all over his lengthy face and added: "He's this old-looking, saggy-skinned, weird-eared sort of fella that I'll be showing up as. ... I'm not sure if there's dialogue for him yet. He was a recent addition.
"The other one, his name is the Chamberlain, and I don't know what his exact story line is yet, but it's another crazy suit," Jones continued, raising his hand as far over his head as he could. "His head is way up here, and he's very, very cylindrical in shape with these arms that just hang down to the side."
Jones and del Toro are fully aware that they've never had more clout in this town than they do now — and these longtime collaborators plan to finally make the "imagination unleashed" blockbuster that studios have been afraid to make. "I loved being in 'Hellboy,' " Jones said. "But let me tell you what Guillermo del Toro told me before I saw the script: He said, 'I don't want to show you the script yet. ... If I show you the script and we don't get to make it, it's gonna be the biggest disappointment of your life.' "
Universal Pictures stepped up, recognizing that del Toro, Jones and the Hellboy name were forces to be reckoned with. "True enough, after reading the script, I was like, 'I can't wait to do this movie.' It would have been horrific had we not been able to do it."
"Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" begins filming in May, and is eyeballing a summer 2008 release.
http://www.vh1.com/movies/news/articles/15...212/story.jhtml

Perlman Voices Hellboy Game
Konami Digital Entertainment announced that Hellboy star Ron Perlman will provide the character's voice in its upcoming video game based on the franchise. The company is developing a Hellboy game for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PSP.
The Hellboy game will combine action and exploration elements in the console versions. Players will unleash the Right Hand of Doom in melee combat as they battle to thwart a diabolical Nazi plot. The game will have a new visual style and more contained gameplay for the PSP.
Perlman played Hellboy in the 2004 movie, which was based on Mike Mignola's comics series.

New Hellboy TV Toon Coming
A second Hellboy animated TV movie, Hellboy: Blood and Iron, will premiere March 17 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on Cartoon Network, the network announced.
In the new movie, Professor Broom discovers that someone in New York is attempting to bring back the evil female vampire Erzsebet Ondrusko, whom the professor destroyed 60 years earlier. Erzsebet was known to bathe in the blood of innocents to retain her youth. Professor Broom calls upon three of the top B.P.R.D. agents—Hellboy, Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien—to investigate.
Actors from Guillermo del Toro's 2004 Hellboy feature film will again give voice to their animated counterparts in the new film: Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Selma Blair (Liz Sherman) and Doug Jones (Abe Sapien). The animated film also features the voice-over talent of two-time Oscar nominee John Hurt as Professor Broom. Hellboy creator Mike Mignola co-wrote the movie's story. Tad Stones and Victor Cook direct the movie. Del Toro and Mignola are creative producers.
Hellboy: Blood and Iron is produced by Film Roman, a Starz Media Company, and is distributed worldwide for television and on DVD/video by Starz Media LLC.

Hellboy star Ron Perlman told Newsarama that the producers are pushing him to play the role of the Comedian in Watchmen, the proposed film version of Alan Moore's graphic novel, which Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin are producing and Zack Snyder is directing.
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=104931

Pan's On Oscar Short List
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has named Guillermo del Toro's dark fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth as one of nine hopeful Oscar nominees in the category of best foreign-language film, Variety reported. The film was chosen as the official entry from del Toro's native country, Mexico.
In the past, a Los Angeles-based committee of several hundred Academy members had picked the five finalists. This year, for the first time, the panel chose the shortlisted nine. Now a group of 30—10 members from the original committee, 10 new L.A. members and 10 New York members—will whittle the nine down to five, with the results to be unveiled with the rest of the Oscar nominations on Jan. 23.

Several SF&F movies have made the shortlist of movies contending for an Oscar nomination for makeup, including Click, Pan's Labyrinth, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Prestige, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause and X-Men: The Last Stand.

Pan Leads SF Oscar Field
Director Guillermo del Toro's Spanish-language fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth earned six Oscar nominations, the most of any SF&F movie, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Jan. 23 in Los Angeles. Pan was nominated for best foreign-language film of the year and best original screenplay, as well as for art direction, cinematography, makeup and original score.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest got four technical nominations, including best art direction, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects.
Children of Men was the only other SF movie to get a major nomination, for best adapted screenplay (based on the P.D. James novel of the same name). It will also compete for the best cinematography and film-editing Oscars.
The best animated feature film nominees were Cars, Happy Feet and Monster House.
The Prestige got two nods, for best art direction and cinematography.
The following genre films got single nominations: The Illusionist (cinematography), Superman Returns (visual effects) and Click (makeup).
The Oscars will be handed out at the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, to be broadcast live on ABC on Feb. 25 from the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Pan's Labyrinth, by Mexican-born director Guillermo del Toro, scooped seven awards at the Spanish Film Academy's awards ceremony on Jan. 29 in Madrid, including best script and best new actress for young star Ivana Baquero, the Reuters news service reported.

Pan Wins Three BAFTAs
Pan's Labyrinth took home three prizes at the Orange British Academy Film Awards in London on Feb. 11, Variety reported. Children of Men got two prizes at the BAFTA ceremony, held for the first time at London's Royal Opera House.
Guillermo del Toro's fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth won the trophy for best film not in the English language, as well as makeup and costume design.
Children of Men landed two BAFTA awards from its three nominations, for production design and cinematography.
Casino Royale came into the evening with nine nominations and high hopes, but went home only with the award for sound design. The latest Bond girl, French actress Eva Green, collected the Orange Rising Star award for emerging talent, which is decided by public vote.
Other genre winners were Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (special visual effects) and Happy Feet, in BAFTA's new animated feature category.

Pan's Labyrinth continued to roll out into more theaters on the Feb. 9 weekend and remained in eighth place in the box-office rankings for the period, Variety reported.

Pan Wins Three Oscars
Guillermo del Toro's Spanish-language fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth took home three Oscars on Feb. 25, making it the big winner among SF&F movies at the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, broadcast live on ABC from Los Angeles. Pan, which was nominated for six awards, won for art direction, makeup and cinematography, but lost in the categories of original screenplay, score and foreign-language film.
Happy Feet won the Oscar for best animated feature film, beating out Cars and Monster House.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest won the Oscar for visual effects, but got shut out in three other technical categories. Dead Man's Chest beat Superman Returns and Poseidon for the F/X Oscar.
The SF movie Children of Men lost in all three categories in which it was nominated: adapted screenplay, cinematography and film editing.