The casts and crews of Crimson Peak, Krampus, and World of Warcraft invaded Hall H for the Legendary Films panel! And not to be too excitable, but I now want to see all three of these movies immediately. Check out the panel highlights below!
When Guillermo del Toro took the stage for Crimson Peak, he had a favor to ask of his audience: “Do me a favor. When Tom Hiddleston comes out, ignore him.”
del Toro decided to subvert the usual Gothic Romance, by adding some “gender liberating” twists, and “wanted to make a movie for and about strong women.” He wanted to combat a “gender war” with this story, and wanted to create a film without a “damsel in distress.” After those statements, the producers showed some footage from the film (all reports I can find describe it as “intense”) and then Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, and Tom Hiddleston came out. But, was Hiddleston ignored?
Universal Studios is going to build a Crimson Peak Experience for Halloween Horror Nights! That’s really cool! (But, um…they do realize that there is one particular experience that everyone anticipating this movie will want, right? And that it’s illegal for them to provide that in exchange for money?)
Anyway, here, Internet:
Asked about their magnificent haunted house, Hiddleston said he liked the grand hall, Del Toro loved the bathroom, Chastain liked her character’s bedroom. Wasikowski copped to being new to the Gothic genre. She was given a copy of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein by del Toro, and he acted as her guide through horror.
For the first time, del Toro felt completely free to make an “adult” movie in English. So, given his terrifying Spanish language films, I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to wait until October…
Next up, Toni Colette, Adam Scott, and director Michael Dougherty talked about their upcoming film Krampus! (For those of you who aren’t familiar with Krampus, he’s essentially a dark Santa Claus figure who punished wicked children, and yes, he does come from Germanic folklore, however did you guess?) Dougherty wanted to “make a scary Christmas movie. What if Christmas wishes turned dark because of lack of belief?” Scott said that it’s basically “like a Vacation movie” right up until the second it…isn’t.
And then it’s time for World of Warcraft! And somehow, they fit the entire cast onstage, even though approximately a quarter of the Earth’s population is in this film! Duncan Jones compared the enthusiastic WoW fans to Tolkien readers waiting for the original Lord of the Rings films.
Paula Patton said that playing a being half human/half orc is one of the greatest challenges she’s had as an actress. “There was no research to be done for that!” Ben Foster said working with Duncan Jones and getting to play a wizard was a no-brainer for him. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime.” Rob Kazinsky, a ranked WoW player, plays Ogrim, and told the crowd that he lost a girlfriend over his dedication to the game. “I lost a relationship, a really good one too…but being in this movie kinda made it okay.” Daniel Wu, on the other hand, only took his role of Guldan to get in his wife’s good graces, since she was such a huge WOW fan. And Clancy Brown (who played the Kurgan in Highlander and Sheriff Corbin on Sleepy Hollow) hasn’t left his Orc character behind him: “I look out over the crowd and all I see is fuel for the fell.”
And then the crowd was treated to some exclusive footage! Apparently, some sort of Horde invaded Azeroth? And given the responses, it sounds like the horde in Hall H approved. World of Warcraft will storm into theater next June!
