Bill Paxton at the Q&A at ACC on Saturday Morning Credit: Richard Whittaker

For those of you who think that Titanic director James Cameron should just keep his head under water without a breathing mask, think again. Cameron regular and Texas Film Hall of Fame inductee Bill Paxton had a fascinating story yesterday in a Q&A at ACC on Saturday. It seems that, in 1997, the father of Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro was kidnapped. The criminals demanded $1 million dollars: the director, virtually bankrupt and making Mimic, didn’t have a fraction of that. When Cameron found out about that, he put del Toro in his car, drove to the bank, and withdrew a million bucks of his own cash.

This article appears in March 9 • 2007.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.