'Pan's Labyrinth' director Guillermo del Toro opens up about facing rejections

During an informal conversation with curator Amy Dotson, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro openly opined on various topics, including the challenges of getting personal passion projects approved, his dedication to animation, and the looming threat of artificial intelligence within the creative community.

The director, known for films such as "The Shape of Water" and "Pan's Labyrinth," expressed his unwavering commitment to pursuing his childhood dreams of creating monsters and stop-motion animation.

Del Toro revealed that despite facing recent rejections of five of his projects by studios, he remains undeterred.

Recounting his experiences during the development of "Pinocchio," he emphasized the persistence required to turn a "no" into a "yes."

"But we keep going. With ShadowMachine, Mark, everybody, when we were involved with ‘Pinocchio,’ you have no idea how we were involved in meeting after meeting after meeting, and hearing no … if you have the conviction that it must be made, ‘no’ is a ‘yes’ waiting to happen, and you just have to say, alright, your loss. You literally have to believe that. You should not question your material. You should not say, ‘What am I doing wrong?’ The last time somebody passed on ‘The Buried Giant,’ I wrote an email, and I said, it’s easier for me to do it than to argue with you. I’ll just show it to you. And you’ll see I was right. Or not. There’s a lot of things to do, but it’s very important to have that certainty.”

Continuing to draw inspiration, del Toro admitted to watching three movies a day, often revisiting films to discover new perspectives. He highlighted the transformative power of age and personal growth, explaining how the same movie can be perceived differently at different stages of life.

Del Toro expressed his admiration for fearless individuals who embrace the challenges of the present and dismissed the fear of artificial intelligence, instead highlighting his concern about natural stupidity.

“When I see people who are fearless, I get inspired and I like it, and I like the possibilities when people talk about now, and how it’s all dire, and [how] people are afraid of artificial intelligence… I don’t fear artificial intelligence, I fear natural stupidity. Any intelligence in this world is artificial. When I look at the people coming into the art scene and how they are in spite of all the things that are hardships and all the things weighing against it, they love art, and that’s what makes my spirit sing.”