Guillermo del Toro has revealed that his good friend James Cameron was not only his housemate for a "long time", but also a fellow anime lover who introduced him to an all-time gem.
The legendary filmmaker, who just released Frankenstein on Netflix, visited the famous Video Club video store in Paris to film France’s version of the Criterion Closet, created by French media outlet Konbini Video, and it only took him five minutes to spot the DVD of Cameron's Avatar. Recalling their first meeting over 30 years ago, Del Toro said: "Instantly we liked each other. I don't know why he liked me. I know why I liked him, because he is a genius."
"I lived in his house for a long time," he continued. "We would watch anime together. He introduced me to Patlabor, I introduced him to Battle Angel."
Cameron was so blown away by Battle Angel that he spent twenty years trying to create a live-action adaptation in Hollywood, with his dream finally coming true in 2019 with the long-awaited release of Alita: Battle Angel, directed by Robert Rodriguez.
In exchange, the filmmaker introduced Del Toro to the iconic Patlabor, also known as Mobile Police Patlabor, which was a major manga and anime series in the late 80s and early 90s with Masami Yūki as manga creator and Ghost in the Shell's Mamoru Oshii as director. The plot follows the Tokyo Metropolitan Police's Special Vehicles Section 2, Division 2, who use giant robots called Labors to combat crime.
During the interview, Del Toro also revealed that Cameron has been dreaming about Avatar since they first met, and that he's watched the upcoming threequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash, set to hit theaters next month.
"I’ve seen the three Avatars. They are absolute masterpieces. I know where it’s going and I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people," he said. "I can't say anything about [the third], but I can say there are very few Americans who have created an entire mythology. You have [George] Lucas. You have the entire Wizard of Oz mythology with Frank Baum. Jim is creating that with Avatar, and he's going to take you places."
Avatar: Fire and Ash releases this December 19. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the most exciting upcoming movies of the year to fill out your watchlist.
