Acclaimed Director Guillermo del Toro backs singer Taylor Swift’s goal to turn director. Taylor was later criticized on social media after it was announced she would participate in a directors panel interview with filmmaker Martin McDonagh.
Guillermo del Toro came to the defense of Taylor Swift amidst current online criticism of the singer grabbing a place in the Hollywood trade magazine Variety’s Director on Director string with Martin McDonagh. Taylor, who has only directed and produced a short film based on her song All Too Well, also disclosed her untitled directorial debut soon thereafter. Guillermo disclosed that the two had chitchatted lately and he had great affection for the singer-songwriter.
Upset Twitter users had herded to the Variety announcement sharing their dissatisfaction with Taylor’s choosing. One Twitter user said, “Taylor swift directed 1 (one) short film in the same lineup as Ryan Coogler and Rian Johnson.” Another tweet read, “What is this BS?????? yt (sic) mediocrity really be prevailing but what do you expect from Hollywood.” Several ‘Swifties’ also supported the singer, making her choice on the panel a divisive topic.
Speaking to W magazine, the Mexican filmmaker said, “She’s a very accomplished director, she’s exceptionally articulate and deep about what she’s endeavoring to do—and what she will do. I have the greatest admiration for her; we had one of the most invigorating and satisfying conversations.”
The unlikely pair also clicked over their passion for books. Guillermo said additionally, “We have numerous, numerous common interests. And her curiosity in folklore and myth and the origins of fairy tales is fairly deep. I gave her a few books that I thought would be intriguing for her—among them, very significantly, a book that was helpful for me in creating Pan’s Labyrinth called The Science of Fairy Tales, which codifies and articulates fairy tale lore.”
Last week, the Oscar-winning filmmaker observed a museum event in New York City to publicize his new stop-motion animated film Pinocchio which is out now on Netflix. There he spoke about his discussion with Taylor and their mutual affection for one another. They had met up later to talk in person. Taylor had earlier disclosed in another interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she would like to exchange places with him for one day. She counted that she was floored by his “inventiveness, visual vocabulary and that stunning body of work.”
