Mama – Production Notes - I Watch Mike

Dr. Dreyfuss (DANIEL KASH) analyzes Victoria.he doesn’t get nervous, and he doesn’t pretend to knoweverything. He’s happy to ask an opinion.”Del Toro met with the Muschiettis to develop thescreenplay completely from scratch, using the short filmas atmosphere and expanding upon its characters. TheMuschiettis wrote the first draft, then del Toro “took astab at it…added a couple of scares,” but they all agreedthey needed a further polish of the screenplay.That work came from Neil Cross, whom del Torodescribes as “a screenwriter I admire and respect, andwhose draft jelled everything into the movie we’reproducing today.” As the screenplay came together, delToro grew to appreciate just the hold that the Mamacreature had on these two desperate little girls—and theprimal need that mothers have to protect their young.Indeed, she mothers them the only way she knows how,and she will kill to protect her new daughters.The producer—who openly believes in ghosts—admittedly devours stories in which the ghost isimbued with very human traits. He reflects: “I lovedthe idea of two girls lost in the woods, adopted andsustained for years by a deranged ghost consumedwith possessive, asphyxiating motherly love. It’s whenthe girls are rescued and brought to the city that thereal problems begin.”Naturally, the feature version of Mama is anextended technical, visual and narrative form ofthe short. To lengthen the project would be no smallfeat. Del Toro, Dale and the Muschiettiscollaborated at every stage of development,casting and filming. Though known for hisown terror-inducing films, del Toro is clearthat “Mama is Andy’s movie, and he’s doingit in a style all of his own. I think it’s reallyquite a fantastic piece, and it doesn’t need toresemble anything I’ve done.”Although he is a veteran commercialdirector who has mastered the art of storytellingin as little as 30 seconds, Muschiettiappreciates the confidence and support ofhis film’s executive producer: “Guillermo has been likea godfather to us on this movie. From the beginning, itwas clear that he wanted us to do our best. He’s beengenerous with his time and incredible knowledge,demanding in all the right ways, enthusiastic and, aboveall, shown us that he believes in trusting instinct.”The director reflects: “There were a few momentswhen we were developing the story, where we haddifferent ideas about things, and more often than not hewould remind us that it was our movie, our instinct, andwe should follow it. You just couldn’t ask for a bettermentor than Guillermo has been to us.”Returns del Toro: “I think Andy has a great careerahead of him. He is supernaturally calm, very sureof himself, and I admire the fact that he fights for hisideas—even with me!”Lost Children andNew Parents:Casting theSupernatural ThrillerWhen selecting the actors to portray the key rolesin Mama, it was crucial to find the correct performers,regardless of their star power at the time. The key partsthat the filmmakers needed to fill were those of the newfamily cobbled together after Victoria and Lilly are– 14 –