#FridayReads: Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities

If you want to see me squeak and squeal, geek out and get flustered and/or start hyperventilating, talk to me about the Guillermo del Toro Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsessions
by Guillermo Del Toro, Marc Zicree. It’s funny back in early 2012, I wrote about how awesome it would be to be able to take a peek at what inspired Del Toro and apparently the internet gods answered.

I think this would make an excellent gift and if you’re really fancy, there’s a limited edition that retails for half a grand, no joke:

Over the last two decades, writer-director Guillermo del Toro has mapped out a territory in the popular imagination that is uniquely his own, astonishing audiences with Cronos, Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, and a host of other films and creative endeavors. Now, for the first time, del Toro reveals the inspirations behind his signature artistic motifs, sharing the contents of his personal notebooks, collections, and other obsessions. 


An intimate look into one of the most imaginative minds of this century, Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities reproduces the notes, the drawings, the untold creatures, and ideas of things to come that fill del Toro’s fabled illustrated notebooks



This book will be a visual treasure trove for del Toro fans, as readers get a look at reproductions of his actual journal pages, filled with his handwriting, illustrations, notes in Spanish and English, as well as new annotations that add context and clarity.

The result is a startling, intimate glimpse into the life and mind of one of the world’s most creative visionaries. Complete with running commentary, interview text, and annotations that contextualize the ample visual material, this deluxe compendium is every bit as inspired as del Toro is himself.


Contains a foreword by James Cameron, an afterword by Tom Cruise, and contributions from other luminaries, including Neil Gaiman and John Landis, among others.


This book includes diary entries and illustrations for the following del Toro movies, both green lit and not: 

  • Cronos
  • At the Mountains of Madness (as yet unmade)
  • The Count of Monte Cristo
  • Mephisto’s Bridge
  • Mimic
  • The Devil’s Backbone
  • Don’t be Afraid of the Dark
  • Blade 2
  • Hellboy
  • Pan’s Labryrinth
  • Hellboy 2
  • Pacific Rim

Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Guillermo del Toro is the director of the films Cronos, Mimic, The Devil’s Backbone, Blade II, Hellboy I, Hellboy II, and Pan’s Labyrinth, which garnered enormous critical praise worldwide and won three Academy Awards.

Marc Scott Zicree has created classic episodes of “Star Trek-The Next Generation,” “Deep Space Nine,” “Babylon Five,” “Sliders” and many more. He has appeared as a media expert on hundreds of radio and TV shows and is the author of the bestselling Twilight Zone Companion. He lives in West Hollywood with his wonderful wife, vile little dog, and affable big dog.


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