On the morning of Jan. 23, all of Hollywood rose early to await the announcements that can jumpstart new careers, revitalize old ones and shoot up-and-coming talent to new levels of notoriety: the Academy Award nominations. While hearing their name called is cause enough for celebration for many, three important directors, each having a potentially career-defining year, had extra cause for excitement. That morning when Salma Hayek and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced this year’s nominated films and performances, close friends and acclaimed directors Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth), Alfonso Cuar?n (Y tu mamá tambi?n, Children of Men) and Alejandro González I?árritu (21 Grams, Babel) all awoke to discover that their films, and the films of their friends, had been nominated for multiple Oscars. This is del Toro’s first Academy Award nomination and, while I?árritu and Cuar?n have been nominated before, this is the first time all three have been nominated in the same year.
I?árritu’s Babel, nominated in the categories of best picture and best director, tells the stories of interconnected characters in different countries and languages, and it features a cast comprised of seasoned professionals, relative newcomers and non-actors. It is considered one of the front-runners in the best picture race in this admittedly unpredictable year.
Guillermo del Toro’s imaginative Pan’s Labyrinth, nominated most notably for Best Foreign Language film as Mexico’s official entry for the category, tells the story of a young girl living with her mother and new husband in 1944, post-Civil War Spain. She retreats into her own nightmarish fantasy world in order to escape the devastating reality surrounding her. The unique nature of this film made it difficult to secure financing. Not at all fazed, del Toro sunk $100,000 into it himself.
“The movie that needs you is the one you need to do,” he said.
As a reflection of his close friendship with del Toro, Alfonso Cuar?n put up half of that $100,000 necessary to start production.
“At Cannes, when Guillermo received a 22-minute ovation, that was the happiest film-related moment I’ve ever had,” said Cuar?n.
Of course, Cuar?n has his own cause for happiness this year. His film, the dystopian Children of Men, is nominated for its revolutionary cinematography and for the screenplay, on which Cuar?n collaborated. The plot, loosely adapted from the P.D. James novel of the same name, tells of an increasingly fascist future where women are infertile and chaos and suspicion reign supreme. Badly mismanaged by its studio, Children of Men has become a moderate hit due in no small part to word of mouth.
These movies, each set in different places, times and languages nevertheless reflect the camaraderie between the three Mexican-born filmmakers.
“They are such completely different films, and yet they are similar,” Inarritu said in a recent interview. “They deal with common themes-hope, communication and the need for understanding.”
According to Cuar?n, The reason for this apparent similarity of themes and point of view is that the filmmakers “tend to stick [their] forks in each other’s salads.”
Or, as I?árritu explains, “We all share in the development of our scripts, invite each other to the editing room. We have a very rigorous relationship as friends and creators.”
This collaborative streak can be traced back to the very first meetings of these three acclaimed filmmakers. In 1987, Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuar?n met in the waiting room of the offices of a television show they would both work on together. Del Toro, who had seen a past episode of the show directed by Cuar?n, proceeded to tell him all that was wrong with that episode.
“And he was right,” Cuar?n said. With that, a mutual respect emerged.
Later on, during the preparation for Cuar?n’s 1998 movie Great Expectations, I?árritu visited the set and introduced himself. Cuar?n welcomed and mentored him.
Said I?árritu, “He helped me to develop a self-confidence to make my first feature film.” That film, Amores Perros, was also partially edited by del Toro after being shown to him by Cuar?n. Upon release, the film garnered world-wide acclaim and earned an Academy Award nomination.
Soon after, all three of their careers took off. Cuar?n’s Y tu mamá tambi?n earned him an Academy Award nomination for screenplay in 2001. Del Toro became the go-to director for both low-budget and Hollywood-style fantasy in films as varied as The Devil’s Backbone and Blade 2. I?árritu’s follow up, 21 Grams, garnered two more Academy Award nominations.
Despite all the success, these three are not the type to let personal achievement or jealousy get in the way of their art and, more importantly, their friendship.
“Admiration is the amazing healer of envy,” said Cuar?n, and this admiration always comes through loud and clear.
Constantly working to publicize and support each others’ films, each of these three Mexican-born directors has learned to place competition aside. Recently, prompted by the badly managed distribution and marketing of Children of Men, I?árritu and del Toro held a special screening of the film to give Academy voters an opportunity to see it in its full glory. They did this despite the fact that more screenings of Children of Men meant potentially more competition for their own films.
Making films is a process, a process that Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuar?n, and Alejandro González I?árritu have continued to work within and experiment with while involving each other. In this circle of friends, in the words of Cuar?n, “the core of that process is friendship.”
