Sorry, I lied just to catch your eye. The truth is that The Orphanage was only produced by the man behind Cronos (and Mimic), The Devil's Backbone (and Blade 2) and Pan's Labyrinth (and Hellboy) -- but he didn't direct it. Or write it. But if you think Guillermo del Toro would just slap his name "sight unseen" on to some new horror flick without knowing the filmmakers, overseeing the production, and approving the final cut, I think you might be crazy. (Or at least I hope you are.) The chiller actually hails from a pair of first-timers (director Juan Bayona and screenwriter Sergio Sanchez), so let's give it up for Del Toro giving some young guys a shot while delivering another spooky flick to those of us who can't get enough of 'em.

Anyway, the Picturehouse release is scheduled to hit theaters on December 28, but Bloody-Disgusting.com has a brand-new peek at the new trailer, so click here to check that out. (And here's the official site, en espanol solamente.) In the film, Belen Rueda plays a single mother who returns to her childhood home and (unwisely) decides to convert it into an "orfanato." Unfortunately her son just acquired one of those pesky "imaginary" friends that aren't always so imaginary in movies like this. Early festival buzz on the flick has been very positive -- which makes me even more geeked to see it. Dang, even Time Magazine called it "superb." (Hey, maybe it'll play Fantastic Fest!) For a whole lot more on this suddenly-anticipated-by-me movie, check out the Twitch coverage.

It always amazes me how far in advance a studio can plan its release schedule. I understand that really, really big tentpole blockbusters need to reserve certain dates, as Paramount just did with its fourth installment of Indiana Jones. Some weekends, particularly those in the summertime, are very desirable. But considering that most of the films Universal has just penciled in for 2008 haven't even begun shooting yet, it seems a bit silly to think about when to expect to see them in theaters. Nevertheless...

Here the studio's list of announced release dates for 2008:

• March 28: Wanted - Chris first told us about this comic book adaptation, the Hollywood debut of Russian director Timur Bekmambetov starring Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy, back in November. As far as I know, it hasn't begun filming yet.
  
• June 13: The Incredible Hulk - They're still casting for this comic book reboot. So far we only know that Dominic Purcell is not playing the lead. Chris already mentioned this was set for June 27, but Universal has moved it up to avoid competition with Disney/Pixar's Wall-E.
  
• July 11: The Mummy 3 - Jessica just told us that the cast is still negotiating this one. Erik spoke directly to Brendan Fraser, who didn't seem to know exactly what was going on yet. It may begin production this summer.
  
• July 18: Mamma Mia! - Erik gave us the news a month ago that the Broadway hit will be adapted to film. A day later he added that Meryl Streep would star. Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight is also scheduled for this date, so while Mom and Sis are enjoying all the ABBA music, you and Dad can be next door watching Batman.
  
• August 1: Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - We've been hearing about this sequel for years, and for awhile Mark was issuing updates around the clock. Now it looks like Del Toro will begin shooting this Spring.
  
• November 14: The Wolf Man - Now that Scott has pointed out it has a director, another of Universal's monster movie reboots is good to go.
  

According to Sci Fi Wire, Guillermo del Toro's next project after the completion of Hellboy 2 next year may be an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness. The story deals with an Antarctic expedition from Miskatonic University (a school that appears in much of Lovecraft's work) that discovers remains of utterly alien creatures that pre-date humanity's time on earth. When members of the expedition are slaughtered, the survivors deduce that it is the work of "shoggoths," shape-shifting servants of the creatures they have discovered. Del Toro has been working on the adaptation of the 1931 novella since 2003.

"The whole idea of Lovecraft's position towards the universe, he's very much like an Albert Camus position," says del Toro, referring to the French novelist and philosopher. "He's an existentialist. He says the cosmos is indifferent to man. At the very best is indifferent. And [it] just sees us as fleas, or ... are hostile to us."

I find the idea of del Toro doing a Lovecraft film quite exciting, and it's not like it's a huge leap for him. Remember those enormous tentacled creatures descending from space to destroy humanity in Hellboy? Pure Lovecraft. Lovecraft's fiction does not adapt easily to film, though many have tried, most notably Stuart Gordon who directed Re-animator, From Beyond and Dagon. The latter captured Lovecraft's style better than most, but was hampered by an inadequate lead actor. The other two, while highly entertaining, are very free adaptations of the source material.

The writer/director says he is unsure whether his next project will be At the Mountains of Madness, or Montecristo -- an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's novel that moves the action from France in the 1830s to Mexico in the 1870s. His adaptation of Tarzan, which Christopher Campbell discussed here just a few days ago, would come some time later. Del Toro's latest film, Pan's Labyrinth goes into limited release on December 29, with a wider release to come in January.

In a move that sent hearts atwitter in the fanboy community, director Guillermo del Toro spoke about the anticipated Hellboy sequel while in Manhattan promoting his latest film (Pan's Labyrinth). The long awaited sequel to 2004's Hellboy has been wasting away in development -- well, hell. Universal Studios has now come to the rescue and is going to be the new home of Mike Mignola's stubby horned anti-hero.

Now you would think that would be enough to get everyone's attention, but del Toro wasn't done. The director went on to drop a few bombs about what he had in mind for the sequel "My hope is that if everything goes well and we continue [the franchise], Hellboy can start fighting the Universal monsters! I would love to see that." -- why am I getting flashbacks to The Monster Squad? del Toro is quick to point out that he wants to use the classic Universal monsters and is not interested in "modernizing" them.

So before we all start arguing over who's going to win in a fight between Hellboy and Dracula, its probably best to take this news lightly. Guillermo del Toro isn't committing to anything yet -- "We talked briefly about this because I think it is such a great possibility for the future, to do that either in the animated universe or in another universe we create just for that. ..." Man, what a tease.

[via IGN]