Guillermo Del Toro has won the Oscar for Best Picture, and despite the quality of his film, it seems he can’t believe it.
The director of The Shape Of Water took to the stage to receive his award, but before he allowed himself the chance to celebrate, he double-checked the envelope to see whether his film was written on the card.
This is a cheeky little joke about the infamous slip-up at last year’s Academy Awards, when Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway accidentally announced that La La Land had won Best Picture, when in fact Moonlight had taken the gong.
What followed from that moment was in equal parts captivating and excruciating to watch as the crew from La La Land passed over their statuettes to the crew of Moonlight.
No doubt the Academy went to incredible lengths to ensure that the same mistake happened again, but to be honest you can’t blame Guillermo for double checking.
Just last month, The Shape of Water recieved the BAFTA for Best Direction amid a similarly high calibre of films, though undoubtedly the lingering emotional clout helped the film stand out above the rest.
The film was no doubt bolstered by a timely message about acceptance of The Other in the face of political uncertainty, and the acceptance of people despite their differences.
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Speaking tonight, Guillermo said:
I am an immigrant… The best thing our industry does is to help erase the lines in the sand when the world tries to make them deeper.
Del Toro was born in Guadelajara in 1964, and has a long-standing history in both mainstream Hollywood cinema and obscure Spanish horror flicks.
Del Toro was nominated for two Oscars in 2007 for Pans Labyrinth, though failed to take home the statues in either of his categories.
Speaking to Collider about the The Shape of Water, Del Toro had this to say:
We’re told constantly to fear the other. I tried to say, can we embrace the other? It’s in youth that we draw lines in the sand, and as you age, you want to erase them. We realise that it’s only us. Really, there’s nobody else.
I’ve always believed that by creating visuals and ideas, you can take what is fantasy and make it truth. You can make movies that are truthful and that deal with the fantastic as a parable. I’ve done it in Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devil’s Backbone, The Shape of Water, and many others, in different ways.
Many of the greatest filmmakers have given us eternal images in the genre of the fantastic, and it’s time that we are part of the conversation, in some way.
Well it’s safe to say he has placed himself in the mix with those great filmmakers, and he double checked the envelope – it’s legit!
