Not everyday does the director of Mimic, Blade II and Hellboy see love from the Academy, but there Guillermo Del Toro was, eagerly awaiting an Oscar for Best Foreign Language film for his dark fairy tale Pan's Labyrinth. He was a sure bet - with a distinct visual palette and heartwrenching tale of a parentless child, Del Toro was hitting emotional chords from the minute the film was released to Oscar night. It was his to lose.
And he did, to the German spy film The Lives of Others. The Academy isn't known for its love of fantasy, so it may be a long time before we see Del Toro return to the Oscars. You can imagine he was cursing director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck that night (if he could actually pronounce his name).
