UPDATE: Hellboy 3 and 'Pacific Rim', With Guillermo del Toro

With the numerous projects that Guillermo del Toro attaches himself to, it comes as a surprise to no one that he can't get to do all the things he wants. Luckily, what del Toro does do we know will be brilliant or at least fascinating to watch. With the rapidly approaching premiere date for Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (del Toro is a writer and producer on the film), the managing editor Ryan Turek at Shock Till You Drop got a chance to speak with the busy director on what's happening with Pacific Rim and Hellboy 3. As imagined, there's the good and bad news.

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Del Toro Wants to Direct 'Hellboy 3'...Eventually

“We’re three, four years away from anything happening—so I don’t think anyone is, you know, in a big hurry,” said Guillermo Del Toro when asked about a possible Hellboy 3. It's an interesting response, because it sounds like discussions have already taken place, if only to make clear that Del Toro wants to return to the comic book franchise once he's done shooting The Hobbit series.

The director tells Splashpage that he hopes Universal waits for him before they start making plans to complete the trilogy, although that may not happen. "I would beg them and amputate myself in order for them to wait for me, but I don't control it," explained Del Toro. But I just can't imagine the series surviving without Del Toro or Ron Perlman.

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Oscar Visual Effects Candidates Narrowed to Seven

The first Oscar short list for the highly competitive visual effects award has been whittled from fifteen films to seven, and the three most likely winners, at least in my opinion, are still in the running. This award is quickly becoming one of the biggest Oscars handed out every year. It's not in the Big Five - picture, actor, actress, director, screenply - but it has probably become the most coveted technical award every year. That prominence should only grow as visual effects become a more integral part of what we wouldn't traditionally think of as "effects" movies. For example, I think Benjamin Button is the runaway choice this year. Last year, David Fincher's Zodiac was loaded with them, but you'd never notice. And because he's using effects to create more commonplace things, the challenge is much greater than making an army of skeletons. Here are the seven potential nominees, and remember that this list will eventually be cut to three: Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Iron Man
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Voters of the Academy's Visual Effects branch will see 15 minutes of each film on Thursday, January 15th, after which, they'll nominate the three finalists. Those movies will be revealed the following Thursday when all the Academy Award nominations are announced.

Bonus Features from the 'Hellboy II' DVD

On Tuesday, Hellboy II: The Golden Army will be released on DVD. We'll have a few copies to give away, as well, so make sure you check back on Tuesday to get the skinny on our latest contest.

Through no fault of its own, really, the Guillermo del Toro sequel was stopped dead in its tracks in just its second week in theaters. Blame Batman for that. It did OK worldwide and I suspect that the DVD sales will be brisk, too, especially because del Toro has loaded it up with special features.On the three-disc set, you'll get the director's notebook, a look inside the puppet theater, a tour of the Troll Market with your helpful guide Mr. del Toro, plus over two hours covering the creation of the sequel called Hellboy: In Service of the Demon.That's where you'll find these next clips, an in-depth exploration of the CG used in the film and a couple minutes about the very strange tooth fairies featured in a pivotal scene in the film.
The CG in Hellboy

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Guillermo Del Toro Sinks His Teeth Into Vampire Books

We told you earlier this month how remarkably busy Guillermo del Toro will be for the next nine years; he's got a new deal with Universal keeping him occupied post-Hobbit with everything from Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde to Slaughterhouse-Five. Oh, and Frankenstein. Beyond that, though, del Toro is about to become an author. The Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth director has a trilogy of vampire stories in the works, and the first installment (called The Strain) will be released next summer. The trilogy is a collaboration between del Toro and crime writer Chuck Hogan, who, as we all know, is one of the best WWE champions of all time. Del Toro says the novels are "epic in scope. The trilogy advances in unexpected ways and each book contains unique and surprising revelations about the history, physiology and lore of the vampiric race, tracing its roots all the way back to its Old Testament origins." Sounds like a pretty dense read, actually, and I really wouldn't expect less from a guy who pursues the mythology of everything in his work. I think it's safe to say we'll never see him directing a sequel to Beverly Hills Chihuahua. I genuinely admire del Toro more for not veering into a lot of new territory when he became an A-list director. I think it's very cool that he's still obsessed with exploring things that go bump in the night. And he'll be doing it for at least the next decade.