Guillermo del Toro is known for films like Blade 2, Pan’s Labyrinth and the Hellboy series, bringing a specific brand of horror to his works, but it’s his passion for the nerd culture and a love for games that has guided him to where he is today.
For this Halloween installment of Irrational Interviews, Creative Director Ken Levine had a chance to sit down with this master of horror to talk about how to tell a frightening story, and how to create a character that is a monster to better suit the narrative at hand. Levine and del Toro also chat about the concept of passion, passion for what they do, and how that kind of enthusiasm helps on each project they work on.
“Films are fantastic – they are one of the peaks of human narrative. But I’m sorry to break the news to the movie industry: So is a video game.” – Guillermo del Toro
Share your thoughts about this podcast in the comments below, or head over to the forums for a more in-depth discussion.
- Produced by James Bonney & Chris Remo
- Editing by Ant Bear Audio
- Music courtesy of The Happy Hollows
1019ice | October 31, 2011 11:12 am
Is it possible to O.D. on awesome?
konst | October 31, 2011 11:48 am
Bringing together two great creative minds like Ken + Guillermo can only produce something mind blowing.
zer0hvk | October 31, 2011 11:55 am
I’d say “you guys should work together on ANYTHING!” but I hope you don’t. Earth would implode in awesomeness.
xander | October 31, 2011 1:14 pm
I was just at an “In Conversation With” where Del Toro was being interviewed (in Toronto, last Thursday). It was quite an awesome interview that was interwoven with clips from his films.
During the question period I tired to ask him about video games, but wasn’t chosen to ask. Good to know Irrational can take over this task.
Great interview so far!
georgeblott | October 31, 2011 1:34 pm
And just like that Halloween gets EVEN BETTER.
japester | October 31, 2011 2:15 pm
Irrational just keeps on surprising me. Levine and del Toro in one podcast. Wow.
akia | October 31, 2011 2:41 pm
Why the change from Chris Remo to Julian Murdoch?
julianmurdoch | November 1, 2011 8:27 am
I think the team’s getting pretty busy with this “videogame” thing they keep yapping about. I just offered to help out.
boltonhawser | October 31, 2011 4:06 pm
I vote you give this man your script, Levine. His movies are pretty stellar. I could see him and you producing a high quality Bioshock film.
billiamb | October 31, 2011 4:44 pm
Great interview! Why can’t we have Del Toro directing a Bioshock flick?
elliskim | October 31, 2011 4:56 pm
This was absolutely brilliant to listen to! Such juicy talk of narrative design and monster character conception. Absolutely brilliant.
borrego | October 31, 2011 6:42 pm
So stoked to check this out while I work tomorrow. This is going to be one awesome podcast. Guillermo Del Toro is one of the classiest directors in history. I’m excited to hear if he has any news about his game project. Squee? SQUEE.
icegrove | October 31, 2011 6:45 pm
Happy Bioween!
amplifier | November 1, 2011 12:50 pm
Wow! So densely packed with ideas. So fluently articulated. Aspiring storytellers in film/gaming need to get up in this. (It’s a verbal plasmid.)
can’t wait for part 2.
quancro | November 1, 2011 5:06 pm
great interview
albto | November 2, 2011 5:26 pm
TOO AWESOME!
borrego | November 2, 2011 6:53 pm
Such an inspiring podcast. Ever since Pan’s Labyrinth I’ve been sold on Guillermo Del Toro for how well he executes a brilliantly creative idea. Same reason I’m such an Irrational fan. Can’t wait for Part 2! I could listen to these guys go for hours!
marksmith | December 1, 2011 4:03 am
I feel genuinely enlightened. Seriously, I feel as though I´ve been equipped with a new lens through which to view Ken and Guillermo´s respective fields and the stories that they have created. Though they have both always possessed this elegant perspective on narrative, as is evident in their works, their experience combined is equal to more than the sum of its parts. Keep on genius-ing guys!
marksmith | December 1, 2011 4:16 am
I´m also very curious to see how Guillermo handles the transition from film to games, there´s a reason that film scripts rarely work in games. If at all.
Not that I doubt his abilities, of course.
magicmaker | January 2, 2012 8:55 am
He definitely knows how to convey an atmosphere visually.
warsmith13 | January 30, 2012 7:16 pm
Guillermo Del Toro AND Ken Levine? how is this not more popular!?
gllamphar | January 21, 2013 2:37 am
The entire conversation (more than an interview) is just GREAT. Hering them talking just makes me wonder how the video game industry is going to develop in time and I couln’t agree more with the position both have about cinematics and story telling trough video games.
Congratulations. 😀