News from the Helpers' Network US for fans of Beauty and the Beast...

News from Nan Dibble of the Helpers' Network US for fans of Beauty and the Beast...

Updated 1:36am ET on 16-May-2002 9:00am ET, 15-May-02

Guillermo Del Toro, director of the upcoming Hellboy movie, told SCI FI Wire that the film will feature an ensemble of characters from Mike Mignola's comic book, led by Ron Perlman in the title role. "We're going to have Grigori Rasputin, like the comic books," Del Toro said in an interview. "We're going to have Abe Sapien. We're going to have Liz. We're going to have Broom, Ilsa, Cronin. I like writing more choral pieces. Devil's Backbone had 10 characters. Blade II even has a gang of about 10 characters that are interesting or important. This one will be the same. I just enjoy it."

Del Toro said the success of Spider-Man has not affected his film. "I got a green light before that, but now I wish I had got a green light after it, because we would have gotten a little more money. But, hey!" He also said that he felt no pressure to live up to Spider-Man's legacy. "They're different movies," he said. "X-Men didn't give me any pressure for Blade II. This one shouldn't give me any pressure for Hellboy." But Del Toro did say that he had to fight to get Perlman as his star. "I did five years of convincing." Hellboy is in preproduction.

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