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Apr 20, 2020

Guillermo Del Toro Got A Gang Of Filmmakers Together For A Fascinating Twitter Convo

With the Hollywood on a temporary pause, entertainment industry types find themselves at a loss and looking for ways to fill the creative void. That’s everyone from the newest grip on a crew to A-list filmmakers. Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro decided to help some of his colleagues out and invited Hollywood filmmakers to take part in an epic Twitter conversation. Filmmakers shared what’s been keeping them sane during shelter-at-home, any projects they’re working on, and their recommendations for movies, TV shows and books.

Ever the movie lover and perpetual enthusiasm machine, del Toro kicked things off:

And he explained a little bit more about why he wanted to start this conversation on Twitter amongst his filmmaker friends, namely that he wanted to find some meaning in all of this and do something, however small, to make all the social distancing worthwhile.

Then he shared some of his favorite films he’s been rewatching, and other movies that have deeply influenced him that he’s wanted to revisit. Naturally, del Toro couldn’t help but throw in some film analysis when sharing what he’s been watching lately.

He’s also started his kids early on a film education, including plenty of the classics.

And, ever the student of filmmaking no matter the format, he gave some love to the TV shows he’s been appreciating, as well.

Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse director, Peter Ramsey, agreed with del Toro’s choice of Better Call Saul, giving actress Rhea Seehorn some love.

Other filmmakers soon jumped in with the TV shows they’ve been binge-watching lately and the movies that have been giving them inspiration and comfort in trying times.

Midsommar‘s Ari Aster and Issa López, director of the heartbreakingly beautiful Tigers Are Not Afraid, geeked out over Andrew Haigh’s 2015 movie 45 Years. The story chronicles the unraveling of the 45-year-long marriage of Kate and Geoff, a lifetime relationship that starts to fall apart when the body of Geoff’s first love, who disappeared fifty years ago in the Alps, is found in a melted glacier.

The best exchanges, though, were the ones in which directors gushed over each other’s work. Like this delightful moment with Aster when he and Logan’s James Mangold “met” and introduced themselves.

Or this one, with Taika Waititi and Armando Iannucci, both masters of modern satire, loving on each other’s movies.

So pure.

Plenty of filmmakers have also been diving into finally watching movies they’ve been meaning to get around to watching but somehow never have. It’s nice to know that even A-list directors and award-winning filmmakers have blind spots. For example, Edgar Wright shared some recommendations for war movies he’s been watching with Scott Derrickson.

Or actor and director Sarah Polley discovering Sidney Lumet for the first time.

Or Rian Johnson finally getting into Robert Altman – and admitting his preconceived notions had been wrong, so wrong.

Unsurprisingly, books have also been a big source of comfort and inspiration for filmmakers while they can’t have film shoots or meetings right now. Most great filmmakers are also avid readers; understanding the narrative of literature helps make them better screenwriters and directors.

If you’re an aspiring filmmaker or screenwriter, you could do worse than to check out some of the recommendations above. It’s a crash course on what to watch to level up your film education. And even if you’re not, there’s something fascinating about knowing what works out there are influencing our current filmmakers and wondering when you might see that influence pop up in future movies.

What about you? What have you been watching lately?

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