Guillermo del Tor recalls unpleasant experience with Weinsteins

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro says he felt his creative freedom was threatened while working with Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob.

He had unhappy experiences with the Weinsteins while working on Miramax-backed sci-fi movie "Mimic", starring Mira Sorvino and Jeremy Northam.

"The only time I have experienced bad behaviour, and it remains one of the worst experiences of my life, was in 1997, when I did 'Mimic' for Miramax," independent.co.uk <http://independent.co.uk/> quoted Del Toro as saying.

"It was a horrible, horrible, horrible experience."

Del Toro has a very strong personal vision - and that is why it was such a struggle working with the Weinsteins on the 1997 film.

"I was interfered with in plot, in casting, in the type of action. They second-guessed all the time. I never had a single day that was pleasant."

Del Toro added that this was not Harvey's doing but that of his brother, Bob, who oversaw Miramax's genre label, Dimension, reports independent.co.uk <http://independent.co.uk/>.

In response to the gruelling experiences he endured on "Mimic", Del Toro learned to shoot in a style that defies cutting and front-office interference.

"I learned to make my camera more fluid, more a storytelling character; it really helped me develop the language that now I practice on 'The Shape Of Water'.

"It taught me to edit every day because I was always expecting to be fired. I'll have a cut of the movie six days after wrap. I think adversity is good... that is very Catholic of me."

"The Shape of Water" is leading the 90th Academy Awards' nomination pack with nods in a maximum of 13 categories.

To be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the 90th Oscars will be held on March 4 at the Dolby Theatre here. It will be aired in India live on Star Movies and Star Movies Select on March 5.

--IANS

sug/rb