There seems to be something of a trend at the moment for directors making films about other directors. Not only has Susan Lacy directed a movie called ‘Spielberg’ about the life and work of Stephen Spielberg, there was also ‘De Palma’ directed by Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow. Now there is news of another documentary film about a director in the works.
Thierry Fremaux, the Cannes chief, was presenting a new director’s cut of ‘Heat’ recently at the Lumiere Film Festival. While doing so, he took the opportunity to announce that Guillermo del Toro is currently working on a documentary about Michael Mann.
Michael Mann is a film director, screenwriter, and producer who was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 5, 1943. He began his career in the film industry in 1968.During the 1970s, he predominantly worked as a screenwriter. He made his feature film directorial debut in 1981 with ‘Thief’.
Since then, he has gone on to establish a successful career in both the film and television industries. Some of his best-known films include ‘Manhunter’, ‘The Last of the Mohicans’, ‘The Insider’, ‘Collateral’, and ‘Public Enemies’. He was also a screenwriter for the television series ‘Starsky and Hutch’ and created the series ‘Vega$’. With credits like these, it is little wonder that Del Toro is interested in making a documentary about this legend.
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, screenwriter, novelist, and film producer. Making a documentary about Mann is taking a step out of his comfort zones as he is typically associated with the horror and action genres. Many of his films are in Spanish, such as ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ and ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. Other films for which he is well-known include ‘Hellboy’, ‘Blade II’, and ‘Pacific Rim’.
Del Toro’s most recent film is ‘The Shape of Water’ which is set for release on December 8, 2017. He both wrote and directed this romantic fantasy horror film. When it premiered at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, it was awarded the Golden Lion. This is an award given to the best film shown at the festival. Starring in this move is Sally Hawkins, Michal Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins, and Doug Jones.
In the past, Del Toro has spoken of his respect for Michael Mann and has even praised his work on social media. He took to Twitter to post complimentary comments about the film ‘Heat’ which was directed by Mann. He referred to it as a stark Western that is in the setting of Los Angeles while also describing it as ‘a film that is part of the lexicon of the medium.
As yet, there are no further details about this project so no one is sure how certain the plans are, when production will begin, or when the documentary film is planned for release. For this reason, fans of Del Toro’s work may be sat wondering if the project will even happen at all as he has a past history of pursuing a wide variety of projects and then leaving many of his projects unrealized.
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