Del Toro participates in first-ever BD Live chat

400 people log in for talk with Hellboy director

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 11/25/2008

NOV. 25 | When director Guillermo del Toro sat down Nov. 23 for the first-ever BD Live chat in real time with a major filmmaker, 400 people lobbed questions at him. Universal Studios Home Entertainment calls that a success, and a sign that there is a hearty appetite for high-definition interactivity.

To support the Nov. 11 Blu-ray Disc/DVD launch of his Hellboy II: The Golden Army, del Toro agreed to answer fan questions live during a two-hour text chat held exclusively for BD Live users. About 400 people submitted questions during the chat, in which del Toro revealed filmmaking insight on Hellboy II as well as info about his next high-profile project, The Hobbit.

In order to experience del Toro live, people first needed to register an account at www.universalhidef.com and then watch the chat unfold through their Web-enabled Blu-ray players. Immediately following the chat, Universal made a transcript available on the site for registered users.

“The broad pre-awareness generated by the industry’s first-ever BD Live chat worked to effectively augment national marketing efforts for the release,” Universal spokeswoman Lea Porteneuve said. “As a result, Blu-ray sales for Hellboy II continue to exceed industry expectations.”

The Hobbit, a prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, was on top of mind for many chatting fans. Speaking from New Zealand, the filming location for Hobbit and LOTR, del Toro said he expects Hobbit shooting to get completely underway in 2010.

Regarding Hobbit versus Hellboy creatures, del Toro said, “Many, many more [in the Hobbit], and we will be pushing the goblin kingdom. We will be pushing Smaug, the Spiders of Mirkwood. We will be pushing them to the edge of technology, where we will fuse animatronics and CGI into a seamless new art form in creating creatures.”

He also served as a strong advocate for Blu-ray, describing it “as a FANTASTIC format and the best we are bound to see for a long time.”

In other tidbits, del Toro said he is working on a Blu-ray version of 2001 Spanish-language film El Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil’s Backbone). He also has ideas up his sleeve for a third Hellboy, which is centered around “the end of days, and HB [a.k.a Hellboy] is VERY involved in bringing down the firestorm.”

Del Toro seems intent to continue to cultivate fans through home entertainment.

“I try to make my DVDs and Blu-rays an all-access educational glimpse into our filmmaking process,” he said. “We try to keep it very candid and educational. Not just ‘Everything worked out,’ and ‘We are all great,’ but we allow you to glimpse our tribulations, the way decisions are affected by budget or an FX that doesn’t work, etc.”