It officially debuts online and in theatres tomorrow, but Bloody Disgusting has got an early scoop on the official theatrical trailer for The Wolfman. This trailer leaves little to the imagination– werewolf attacks, multiple transformations, and a handful of scenes that I can’t wait to watch play out in their entirety. Personally, I’m stoked. Without further ado, here you go: The Wolfman trailer, courtesy of Bloody Disgusting! Watch it and post your comments– what do you think?
Category: Film, Television & Music
Believe it or not, there are werewolf movies other than “An American Werewolf in London”.
Life-Size Lycan Display by Tom Spina
Tom Spina spends a lot of time around werewolves. Last year he did some major restoration on “Oscar” from An American Werewolf in London, and now he’s just completed a custom mannequin to display an original Underworld: Rise of the Lycans werewolf costume (scroll down a bit for the link) for a private collector. Tom contacted me to let me know about this project, thinking that readers of Werewolf News might find it interesting, and he also kindly took the time to answer a few questions I had for him about the project.
Werewolf News: In what condition was the costume when you first received it from the client? Had it seen production use, and been banged up at all?
Tom Spina: The costume saw extensive use in the film (and we verified that with someone on-set who could ID this particular costume) and the condition was actually very good.
Beneath the fur, there’s a lot of skin exposed, and not a lot of places to hide seams. How many pieces did the costume break down to, and did you have to do anything out of the ordinary to create such a seamless result?
Some minor cracks and rubs but still supple and flexible. It breaks down into 4 pieces: The bodysuit with attached arms, the stilt feet (seem hidden by fur) and the head. Our responsibility was to find a means of displaying an otherwise awkward and difficult costume to display. The nature of the costume required some careful planning when creating the support structure, as a “normal” mannequin would never be able to navigate its way inside the bodysuit.
What level of creative freedom did you have when it came to determining the pose and the details of the base? Were there any other aspects of the project that allowed you to add some creative, personal touches?
As always, we worked closely with the client to determine the pose. That process is always a balance between the look desired and the needs of the wardrobe. In this case, dealing with foam and such, you don’t want anything overly extreme, as you can cause unnatural wrinkles in the suit. We settled on something with “quiet menace” rather than dynamic action. There’s a bit of attitude in the torso and some more in the head positioning, with the legs and arms at interesting angles, but relatively neutral to keep the costume’s skin properly aligned and supported. The base was the client’s idea and something we actually consider temporary. Eventually, we’ll likely do a dark stone block look for the base.
Is it tough to say goodbye to a piece when it’s finished and the client ships it out?
YES, it’s always tough to say goodbye to these pieces!
As always, incredible work, Tom! Thanks for sharing your time and work with us werewolf fans.
Lesbian Werewolf Love Story “Jack and Diane” Recast, Set to Resume Production
In June 2008 the production of lesbian werewolf horror/romance film “Jack and Diane” was left in limbo when Ellen Page decided to ditch her starring role as Diane because “there’s just too much focus on her and her career for her to be able to go off and do some super-experimental flick.” Now, over a year later, the film is back on track with Alison Pill as Diane, and a new web site that reveals more of the film’s story and visuals. In a statement on the web site, director Bradley Gray explains why Diane’s infatuation with Jack results in a lycanthropic transformaton:
When Diane first discovers love she is desperate to find out if her feelings are being returned. Only, she can’t find the words to explain how she feels. Her head gets fuzzy, she gets scared, she panics, and she transforms into a horrifically violent creature. This creature, though grotesque, becomes Diane’s way of saying, “I love you so much I want to eat you and put you inside me forever.”
An unconventional metaphor for a feeling many of us have experienced (it’s okay, you can admit it). Gabe Bartalos‘s werewolf’s design is also rather unconventional as well. Wishing to evoke Diane’s sexual frustration through a unique creature design, Bartalos is basing the werewolf’s design on a skinned polar bear (!). The film will also include animated sequences by the Brothers Quay that reveal the interior of Diane’s body: “a world of blood, hair and teeth.”
Unconventional indeed! The filmmakers have a clear vision for this movie. Here’s hoping that vision makes it to the screen effectively.
Like Steak For Your Mind: Recent Werewolf News Tidbits
I’m still getting caught up on all of the cool werewolf stuff that’s gone down over the past two weeks. Here’s a few bones for you lycanthrope fans to chew on until tomorrow!
- Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company Appian Way has obtained the rights to a “gothic reimagining” of Little Red Riding Hood by Orphan screenwriter David Leslie Johnson. No further details yet, other than the fact that DiCaprio probably won’t be starring.
- ShockTilYouDrop.com’s sources indicate that Underworld 4 may be the first film of a new Underworld trilogy that continues the modern-day story of Selene, the vampire played by Kate Beckinsale in the first two Underworld films.
- Game developer Destineer announces “Alien Monster Bowling League” for the Wii, out this fall. “Take to the lanes against various aliens and legendary monsters like werewolves, vampires, zombies and more!” Sounds like bowling with a Mutant League Football twist, which means I’ll be buying it the minute it’s out.
- There are some new production stills from the oft-delayed Wolfman movie, starring Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. No werewolf (sorry, wolfman) content other than a menacing silhouette in one of the photos, but it’s nice to see some movement where this film is concerned. Visit the official Wolfman move site to check out the photos.
- According to Cinematical, House of the Wolf Man, which made a tremendous impression at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, is getting a limited theatrical release on October 1st. I don’t see any mention of this on the film’s MySpace or Facebook pages, but I hope it’s true!
Get ready for more Lycans: Underworld 4 is happening
According to the consistently reliable ShockTilYouDrop.com, Sony’s Screen Gems is moving ahead with a fourth film in the “Underworld” franchise and is targeting a January 2011 release. Word is that the film will be shot in 3D, but it’s not clear whether the film will be another prequel, like this year’s successful Rise of the Lycans, or a continuation of the present-day story that left off with Underworld: Evolution. I’ll post more information as it becomes available!
Craig & The Werewolf: 5 Episodes of Werewolf Win
Okay, you’ve got to check out Absolute Disaster‘s five-episode web series “Craig & The Werewolf“. As this Tubefilter article puts it, the bite-sized series is about two “seemingly normal twentysomething roommates [who] are getting along fine until one of them gets outed as a flesh-eating werewolf.” Watch the first episode below, then visit Absolute Disaster’s blip.tv page to see the rest.
A Remastered Werewolf in London
In a little over a month (September 15, to be precise), Universal Home Entertainment will release the remastered, bonus-feature-loaded “Full Moon” edition of An American Werewolf in London. Lovingly crafted for your Blu-Ray player, the Full Moon edition comes with these bonus features:
- Beware the Moon: (mentioned on Werewolf News last year) In this feature-length documentary, filmmaker Paul Davis guides us through a never-before-seen, in-depth look at the Making of An American Werewolf in London, with the help of director John Landis and make-up artist Rick Baker.
- I Walked with a Werewolf: Make-up effects artist Rick Baker tells of his life-long love of the Wolfman, how he would go on to create the creature in An American Werewolf in London, and how he was able to pour his passion into the upcoming Wolfman feature.
- Making An American Werewolf in London, An Original Featurette
- An Interview with John Landis
- Make-up Artist Rick Baker on An American Werewolf in London
- Casting of the Hand
- Outtakes
- Storyboards
- Photograph Montage
- Feature Commentary with Cast Members David Naughton and Griffin Dunne
This might be enough to make me finally by a Blu-Ray player. If you’re impatient, forgetful or can’t go out in public without biting people, you can pre-order An American Werewolf in London: Full Moon edition on Amazo
The Werewolves In Twilight Aren’t Real Werewolves
Okay, I’ve had enough. Every time I pick up a paper or a magazine, browse through blogs or read a news web site, someone is going on about the “werewolves” in Twilight. Aside from being boring, clichéd, visually uninteresting and a misappropriation of Native American culture, the werewolves in Twilight aren’t real werewolves. This fact is even printed in Breaking Dawn, the last book of the series (chapter 37, look it up). I was willing to let this go, but it’s getting so I can’t even walk down the street without hearing someone sighing dreamily over “those hot Quileute werewolves”. People are making their own Twilight-inspired werewolf stuff out of craft supplies and selling them to each other online. There are dozens of Twilight-based “OMG R U A WEREWOLF OR A VAMPIRE??” online quizzes designed to fill up your sister’s MySpace page and destroy the signal-to-noise ratio on Twitter. Don’t even get me started on the blog discussions.
So what can I do? Well, as an Internet-savvy werewolf fan, I can try to enlist your help in making a number get bigger:
http://werewolf-news.com/twilight/
It’s not much, but it’s something. If you feel the same way I do about this crazy business, please share the URL. Post it on your blog, spread it around on Twitter, and participate in the grim satisfaction of having complained about something on the Internet. You might feel a little bit better– I did.
More Wolfman Rumours: Baker Brought Back On to Save Transformation Scenes?
This morning at ShockTilYouDrop.com, Ryan Rotten shares some inside information he’s received about the oft-delayed Wolfman remake.
One tipster says Universal has sunk nearly $10-30 million into re-shoots in England. Much of the scenes had to do with the full Wolfman makeup because it wasn’t “working out” and “was too much like the original” Chaney makeup. Another writer tells me Rick Baker was brought back in to direct practical transformation work because the CGI, again, wasn’t working.
Ryan stresses that these tidbits should be treated as rumours, but that he’ll try to get corroborating statements from official sources. It’s a shame about the makeup being redone, as I rather liked the official publicity photos that have been floating around since March 2008. I certainly hope the part about Baker being brought back on for the transformation scenes is true, though– around this time last year, he was unhappy at being excluded the first time round, and as we all know from An American Werewolf in London and The Howling, Rick Baker knows how to turn a person into a werewolf properly: physical makeup and effects, rather than CG.
The Wolfman Delayed Yet Again
Okay, now I’m concerned. According to numerous sources, including the official web site, Universal has bumped the release date of The Wolfman again, this time pushing it all the way back to February 12, 2010. That’s a three month move from its previous release date of November 6 2009, and nearly 10 months off its original release date of April 9, 2009. Producer Scott Stuber says it’s strictly a marketing decision, but couple these delays with the hints of a werewolf re-design and the film’s conspicuous absense from the San Diego Comic Con and you’ve got signs of a troubled production. Not all of the new is bad, though. Word is that the first official trailer for The Wolfman will debut August 21st, with the release of Quentin Tarintino’s Inglourious Basterds.