Guillermo del Toro on Writing and Directing the Oscar-Nominated ‘Frankenstein’
2/20/202636 min
For decades, the director Guillermo del Toro has built a career blending the grotesque and the beautiful in films like “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Shape of Water” and “Pinocchio.” Now he’s earned his latest Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of “Frankenstein,” Mary Shelley’s classic novel. On this week’s episode, he talks with the host Gilbert Cruz about discovering the book as a lonely child, how it shaped his worldview and why this screenplay is the one he’s proudest of.
“I always felt the creature is me,” del Toro said of the first time he read the book. “I felt so alone at age 11, and so full of love to give and so full of rage to dispose of. It was a very complicated emotional scope for somebody that young.”
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
This podcast is supported by BetterHelp. February is full of flowers and lots of relationship talk, but whether you're single, married, or dating, just remember, you're right on time. Sometimes it feels like everyone has it all together in their love lives, but the truth is, we're all still figuring it out. Therapy can help. Get some outside perspective from a professional that can lead to new understanding and a lot less pressure on yourself. And remember, you're right on time. Visit betterhelp.com/newyorktimes for ten percent off.
Gilbert Cruz· Host0:33
Did you always know that no matter how long it took, that you were gonna do your version, a version of Frankenstein?
Guillermo del Toro· Guest0:41
Not really. I have done thirteen movies, and I have- Mm-hmm ... written or co-written forty-two, so I'm very well-versed with the fact that I'm never gonna get to make the movies I could have made. So... And this was complicated, because I, I wanted, I knew I wanted to make it period. I kn- I knew I wanted to make it, uh, the 19th century, and I knew I wanted to make it [music] big and lavish and, and operatic. None of these words and none of these notions sound like a Hollywood blockbuster.
Gilbert Cruz· Host1:16
[music] I'm Gilbert Cruz. This is the Book Review from The New York Times, and on today's episode, it's Guillermo del Toro. Guillermo is a three-time Oscar-winning director, and this year, he's nominated