Frankenstein director Guillermo Del Toro has described an incident where he encountered a UFO as a teenager, comparing the experience to being on magic mushrooms.
The Mexican filmmaker is known for dealing with supernatural subject matter in his movies, such as Oscar winner The Shape Of Water, drama Pan’s Labyrinth, and the Hellboy movies. In an interview with The Guardian, he said: “Anyone who knows me knows I’m a sceptic. But there are experiences that are so outsized they can dislocate your sense of self.”
He used an example of seeing a UFO at the age of 14 “I had a friend with me as a witness,” he recalled. “When these things happen, it causes a crack. You feel the mystery of the universe come rushing toward you. It’s like when you do mushrooms: the world seems a little bigger.”
Elsewhere in the interview he recalled the time he was almost fired from 1997 movie Mimic, his first American film, due to a disagreement with Bob and Harvey Weinstein. “The Weinsteins almost destroyed me,” he said of the incident. “I was on the verge of being unbankable and unhirable. But I would have died for Mimic. I have always made it a point to never make a movie I don’t absolutely adore. I’ve been offered a lot of work for hire and I’ve refused it.”
Recently, Guillermo Del Toro expressed his love for video games, in particular the epic God Of War and Red Dead Redemption titles. “I like the big, sandbox games like Red Dead Redemption,” he said on a recent podcast appearance. “Shadow Of The Colossus is a masterpiece. It’s atmospheric and poetic and tragic. And some of the God Of War games are just some of the best cinematic experiences I’ve ever had.”
“You know when he fights Odin and Odin keeps coming back and he looks like a Peaky Blinders brawler and he beats the crap out of Kratos… what a great video game” he continued. “The way they use the budget of data on the console to create atmospheric dispersion and light… it’s like a film.”