Fangoria is reporting a rumour that The Wolfman’s release date is getting pushed from April 3rd 2009 to “sometime next fall”. No further details are given. Given that the film was already delayed after the departure of its original director, Mark Romanek, there might be something to this. If it’s true, it’s not great news, but if an extra six or seven months it what it takes to make this film shine, I’m willing to wait.
Author: Angela Quinton
Angela Quinton is a writer, designer and web developer from Canada. She's also a colossal werewolf nerd who wrote her first werewolf story on her mom's typewriter at age 11. When not writing code or geeking out over werewolf stuff, Angela runs trails, spots trains, and throws rocks at the Pacific Ocean. She lives near Vancouver, Canada, with their lovely and tolerant wife, three feline malcontents and an increasingly terrible dachshund.
“Untitled (Dark)” by David Altmejd
David Altmejd’s sculptures are some of the freakiest, most mesmerizing examples of art I’ve ever seen. The piece shown above, “Untitled (Dark)”, is part of Altmejd’s exhibit at the Andrea Rosen Gallery in New York.
He doesn’t have an official web site other than the Andrea Rosen Gallery page, so I’m reduced to quoting from his Wikipedia entry:
Altmejd’s sculptures mix seemingly random objects such as decapitated werewolf heads with graffiti-style Stars of David, stained Calvin Klein underwear, towers made of mirrors, plastic flowers and faux jewelry, to create sculptural systems loaded with what he calls “symbolic potential” and open ended narratives.
And yet behind the crystals and matted hair is a guy who loves werewolves!
Werewolf heads have appeared so frequently in his work that in the contemporary art world, they are widely recognized as being closely affiliated with this artist.
Altmejd’s work is turning heads in the world of modern art, and it pleases me to no end that he’s doing it (in part) with werewolves.
Werewolves Are The New Vampires
If you’re familiar with internet memes, you’ve probably seen barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com— the super-minimal site that displays a new feel-good thing that Barack Obama has done for you (but not really) every time you reload the page. Why do I bring it up? Well, after reading this NY Mag article that asks “Are Werewolves the New Vampires?” (by correlating the forthcoming werewolf movies with a possible resurgence in werewolf popularity), I felt compelled to assert my own thoughts on what werewolves might be, do or think. Behold:
Werewolves Are The New Vampires
Yes, this will be a permanent feature. Yes, there are a lot of entries, and yes, I will be adding more. If anyone wants to contact me about the possibility of publishing a book based on this, like what happened to Mathew Honan
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans Poster
ShockTillYouDrop.com has got some exclusive new images from the forthcoming Underworld movie, including a rather imposing poster / onesheet of Viktor (Bill Nighy). Nothing featuring a werewolf yet, but if you’re a fan of Rhona Mitra in tight black clothing, you’ll want to visit the gallery.
A Cure for Congenital Hypertrichosis?
The Telegraph is running an article about an 11-year-old boy with hypertrichosis, and the efforts of New York’s Columbia University to find an effective method of treatment for his ailment. Prithviraj Patil is one of an estimated 50 people in the world who have congenital hypertrichosis, or “werewolf syndrome”– a condition that causes heavy hair growth on the face and upper body, and results in a werewolf-like appearance. Despite his condition, Pirthviraj is “healthy, sporty and popular at school”– a regular kid, in other words. Alas, the world being full of judgemental dicks as it is, Pirthviraj suffers at the hands of others for his appearance, and he and his family have tried everything from homeopathy to laser surgery in an effort to make his apperance more conventional.
Enter Doctor Angela Christiano, an associate professor of molecular dermatology and genetics at Columbia University. Doctor Christiano her laboratory focus on the genetics and biology of hair loss. Their recent study of cases like Prithviraj’s have lead them to the first step in an effective treatment for hypertrichosis: injections of testosterone.
If you’re interested in learning more about Pirthviraj and other “wolf children”, check out the unfortunately-titled Discovery Channel documentary “My Shocking Story: Real Wolf Kids“.
“High Moon” Transforming Into a Printed Title
ArcLight sent in a heads-up that Zuda Comics‘ Civil War / Old West werewolf comic High Moon will be available in print format in October 2009. According to this post on Zuda Comics’ blog, it sounds like the entire run of the comic will be collected in a book, rather than released as a monthly title. I’ve mentioned High Moon before on Werewolf News, and while I’m not caught up on the latest few issues (posts? releases?), I strongly recommend it!
Just So We’re Clear
While on the prowl for werewolf news, I find that lately, every second article, post, photo or link has something to do with the Twilight phenomenon. With a film on the way and more to come, the deluge of tween-dreamy vampire pap is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, so I want to be upfront about a few things:
- There are no actual werewolves in the Twilight series.
- Werewolf-News.com will not be providing coverage of any Twilight-related news (see Point 1).
- Remus Lupin could kick Jacob Black’s ass with both hands tied behind his back.
- Vampires are not cool.
That is all.
“Sin The Wolf” by Shoksyu
A month is a lot longer than a week, I know. That’s how long it’s been since the last Weekly Werewolf Art, and I hope you’ll accept my apology in the form of this latest entry, Sin The Wolf by Shoksyu. This smooth, powerful image was provided by Roukas, so I’ll let him provide the commentary, too:
I often find that a sane, cool-headed werewolf is more pleasing than the typical, snarling, feral type. This gentleman wolf is a perfect example, with his tailored, cool blue coat and his tactician’s scowl. Plus, his human-like hair (head-fur?) gives him an interesting, recently-changed feel.
If you’re a fan of Sin, be sure to check out Shoksyu’s FurAffinity page (danger, there’s some definite NSFW content there).
Studying Werewolves
Derek Newman-Stille, a senior tutor at Ontario’s Trent University and M.A. graduate in Anthropology, has made monsters and werewolves the subject of his academic research for the past three years. “Studying something like this reveals a lot about how people of the past define themselves because monsters embody everything that is not human,” he said in a recent interview with the Peterborough Examiner. In an article posted on Trent University’s web site, he goes on to explain that people are simultaneously fascinated and repulsed by the idea of the werewolf (and not just its fearsome appearance) because the creature is a mixture of human and animal: “Werewolves are the perfect symbol for liminality – occupying a transitory state and not fixed as either human or wolf but able to fluctuate between the two states.”
I find it extremely encouraging that the pursuit of this sort of research is gaining credibility in the acedemic world. A subject as deeply woven into history and psychology as this ought not to be dismissed simply because it’s fantastic… or frightening.
“When people see monsters we are both repulsed by it and we find it really fascinating,” Newman-Stille tells the Examiner. “The fear response is the same as a pleasure response. People really like things that scare them.”
Music, Morricone, and Jack Nicholson’s Voice
Lesley Chow has written an eloquent and evocative essay about the music, moods and textures of 1994’s werewolf film Wolf. In it she discusses the ways in which director Mike Nichols, cinemetographer Giuseppe Rotunno, actor Jack Nicholson and musician Ennio Morricone use their respective crafts to create a “masochistically elegant” motion picture rife with winter colours, erotic textures and slow, melancholy power. Read it at Bright Lights Film Journal— it’s well worth your time, and it may give you a new respect for one of the oddest werewolf films of the 1990s.