Report: Pan's Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro in talks with THQ

Writing on LA Times' Hero Complex blog, Ben Fritz reports that film director Guillermo del Toro is looking to forge a partnership with Red Faction publisher THQ. Though del Toro, who directed Pan's Labyrinth and almost directed The Hobbit, has refrained from naming the custodian of his video game vision, he recently admitted that he was in talks with a "big company" to collaborate on "technically and narratively very interesting" projects.

THQ is no stranger to films and has adopted an enthusiastic stance on their intersection with games. The publisher is currently preparing an original sci-fi (and Syfy) movie based on the Red Faction franchise, set to debut alongside the latest game in March 2011.

THQ's Core Games VP, Danny Bilson, has expressed belief in the "Hollywood model" of IP ownership, "which is that, the bigger the artist, the more important, the more successful they are, the bigger share they get." Bilson has been aggressive in acquiring high-profile talent and products for THQ (such as Devil's Third, led by Tomonobu Itagaki), and predicted that the company's lineup of partnerships would impress us over the next few months.

"Wait till you see our announcements! You're going to go, 'oh my God'."