I have said no to many, many Day of the Dead projects in the past, about 10 or 15, because every time I heard a take it was from someone who didn't know the celebration.
Interpretation
Respecting cultural traditions is crucial when representing them in art.
Guillermo Del Toro emphasizes the importance of authentic representation in artistic projects, specifically highlighting that he has declined numerous opportunities related to the Day of the Dead because the proposed interpretations lacked a genuine understanding of the celebration's cultural significance. This statement underscores his dedication to preserving the integrity of cultural traditions in art, ensuring that any portrayal is both accurate and respectful.
In practice
During a panel discussion about cultural representation in film.
I don't try to sanction other people's joy in monsters. I mean, I think the fact is, humor, fantasy - you know, like fear, desire or laughter - create genres of their own: comedy, melodrama, or erotic films or horror films... The boundaries cannot be defined. It's to each his own.
As a director, I design every movie to be true to itself, and damn it if they like it, and damn it if they don't.
If you ask me, I alternate between truly bizarre, what you would call 'Hollywood' movies and truly bizarre, what you would call 'arthouse' movies.
But I think we are seeing a resurgence of the graphic ghost story like The Others, Devil's Backbone and The Sixth Sense. It is a return to more gothic atmospheric ghost storytelling.
The saddest journey in the world is the one that follows a precise itinerary. Then you're not a traveler. You're a f@@king tourist.
When you start with Super 8, you are everything. You're the DP, the sound man, the effects guy. And what I started understanding, by working for other people, is that the best type of director is someone who rose through the ranks.
For me, the importance in learning about the dance is using it as a voice. It's not about a step, it's about a way to express oneself.
My father was a painter and he taught art. He once said to me, 'I never knew an Indian child who could not draw.'
Photos are profound because they have such short lives. They are more like fingerprints, dead leaves, rain puddles, or the corpses of flies.
Avant-garde is French for bullshit
The writer's duty is to keep on writing.
I do not over-intellectualize the production process. I try to keep it simple: Tell the damned story.
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