Oscar-winning director, screenwriter, and producer Guillermo del Toro is currently in Toronto filming his latest movie “Frankenstein”, and recently unveiled in a new interview with the Toronto Star what he loves and hates most about the city.
Calling Toronto his “second home”, del Toro has always expressed his love for the city, saying he “feels like a Torontonian filmmaker.”
While his main residence is in Los Angeles, he has shot a number of films here, calling Toronto “an incredible vital city.”
“The arts, the food, the culture, the idiosyncrasy of its shops and shop owners. I love it,” he says.
Del Toro gave a shout out to some of his favourite bookstores around town, including The Monkey’s Paw, BMV Books, The Scribe Bookstore, and Silver Snail.
He has also been spotted at celebrity hotspot Pai, and loves other restaurants like Ed’s Real Scoop, Jacob’s & Co. Steakhouse, and La Paella.
However, his least favourite thing is one we can all agree on; the traffic.
“Traffic is getting exponentially worse every year in Toronto,” he told the Star. “That’s the part that is very, very difficult.”
“In 1996, when we made ‘Mimic,’ you used to calculate 20 minutes from one end of Toronto to another, if it wasn’t rush hour. Now you have to calculate 45 minutes to an hour.”
Ranked the worst traffic in all of North America, this hardly comes as surprise.
Still, it seems like he uses his time commuting wisely, saying he is always scouting locations.
“If I’m in a car, I’m looking out the window the entire time. I see an alley or I see a corner and I take a note. I drive by and think, ‘This looks like Amsterdam’ or ‘This looks like Sweden’ or ‘This looks like Tokyo.'”
Jacob Elordi has been cast to play Frankenstein’s monster, alongside stars Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz.