Guillermo del Toro Says Working With Weinstein Brothers Was Worse Than Having Father Taken Hostage; Filmmaker Accepts Inaugural Contenders Hall Of Fame Award

1997 was a memorable year for Guillermo del Toro for two reasons: His father was kidnapped in Guadalajara, Mexico, and, after a turbulent experience with Bob and Harvey Weinstein on his sophomore feature Mimic, the film was released.

But which was worse to deal with — the kidnapping or the Weinsteins?

“The Weinsteins, hands down,” del Toro told Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. in an appearance at Contenders Film: Los Angeles on Saturday. “Because on the other thing, you knew what they wanted. The Weinsteins, who the f*ck knew what they wanted?”

Sharing that “there’s images” and “moments” in Mimic “that come from that ordeal,” del Toro noted that his Weinstein brothers debacle unfortunately “lasted more than 72 days” and was far more unpredictable of a scenario to grapple with than what he had while teaming with Avatar helmer James Cameron to get his father back, in an experience he said…