Category: Film, Television & Music

Believe it or not, there are werewolf movies other than “An American Werewolf in London”.

Holiday Recap

Hey, everyone. Hope you all had a great holiday. I know December was kind of a spotty month at Werewolf News, with fairly sporadic posts, but as the new year approaches it’s time to get things back on track. I have a couple of new features planned for the site, which I aim to have set up by mid-January (real-life work permitting), so check back in the next two weeks for a Werewolf Event Calendar and… well, let me get things working first and then you can check ’em out.

Here are some recent news tidbits that I haven’t had a chance to write up.

  • Fox is moving ahead with the Michael Dougherty drama/comedy “Bitches”, about four female werewolves living in New York City.
  • A third poster for Underworld: Rise of the Lycans has been released, this one featuring Lucian… in human form, alas.
  • Image’s new comic imprint Man of Action is launching Bad Dog, a title about a hard-drinking Texas bounty hunter who’s also a werewolf who refuses to return to human form. 2009 is looking like a good year for werewolf comics!
  • You know Proposition 8, that unfortunate law that robbed same-sex couples in California of certain basic rights? According to The Onion, there was a typographical error in the paperwork that actually means Proposition 8 is good news for same-sex werewolf couples. Hooray for gay (werewolf) rights!

That’s it for now!

Dec. 26th 2008

Fangs and Fur

Fangs and Fur is a new documentary by Italian filmmaker and wildlife photographer Michele Cogliati. In the 10-minute made-for-web film, Cogliati discusses the historical link between wolves, werewolves, human serial killers and cannibalism.

“The wolf is a pack hunter and a daylight predator,” Cogliati explains. “The werewolf is a lone hunter and often depicted as a night stalker. I have a few answers to justify these remarkable differencies that I’d like to share.”

The entire documentary is available for free at www.fangsandfur.com, as either streaming video or just the narration audio. I found it an interesting listen– what did you think?

Dec. 15th 2008

“The Slaughtered Lamb” T-Shirt

Last Exit to Nowhere is a UK-based t-shirt company that specializes in designs “which are inspired and pay homage to some of the most memorable places, corporations and companies in 20th century fiction.” They’ve got some pretty incredible shirt designs, including one that fans of An American Werewolf in London will recognize:


The holiday shipping deadline for North America has already passed, but if you’re in the UK (or anywhere else and don’t mind waiting), you can snag one of these shirts for £17.50. Alternatively, if you’ve got a great idea for a shirt Last Exit to Nowhere ought to create, let MovieMaker Magazine know and you could win a shirt for free.

Dec. 12th 2008

The Wimp Whose Woman Was a Werewolf

When the city comes under attack by a mysterious creature on the night of the full moon, the town is thrown into chaos. Jack (the wimp) follows the trail of death and destruction left behind by his girlfriend Cheyenne (the werewolf) and worries what might become of her when she’s finally stopped.

I’m a sucker for short films and alliteration, what can I say? Brothers Larry and Aaron Longstreth are premiering their short film “The Wimp Whose Woman Was a Werewolf” at The Kent Stage in Kent, Ohio tomorrow night. You can check out a trailer for “The Wimp…” on YouTube, and there’s a preview (including some decent shots of the werewolf suit/makeup) on Dailymotion. If you’re in the Kent area, get out and support your local filmmakers (and werewolves)!

Dec. 12th 2008

Michael Sheen Defends Werewolf Role

Frank Lovece of Newsday.com recently conducted a brief interview with Underworld: Rise of the Lycans star Michael Sheen. Sheen, who recently played David Frost in Frost/Nixon and who has also been tapped to play the Cheshire Cat in Tim Burton’s upcoming vision of Alice in Wonderland, has appeared in each of the three Underworld films as Lucian, embattled leader of the Lycans. In his interview, Lovece is mystified as to why Sheen is willing to reprise his werewolf role:

Lovece: After all these rich roles in prestige movies and a storied career on the stage, you’re reprising your role as the werewolf Lucian in “Underworld 3: The Rise of the Lycans.” Umm … why?

Sheen: Wow. (Taken aback) That’s a (chuckles) – now, there’s a huge amount of snobbishness about a film, isn’t there? What’s so awful about those films? The only thing that matters is whether [a character] connects to people, whether it speaks to them about something that has to do with their experience of what it’s like to be a human being. Y’know, there is an audience that these stories speak to, and for one person to say that what speaks to one person is less valid that what speaks to them is the height of ignorance and snobbishness and arrogance, I suppose.

If I’m playing a werewolf and I play it in such a way that it has resonance and it has richness and complexity, then it has as much validity as playing [British ex-Prime Minister Tony] Blair or whomever.

Now, I don’t think anyone’s suggesting that the Underworld films are high cinema, but I admire Sheen’s tact and evident pride in the role of Lucian.

Dec. 10th 2008

“The Wolfman” Officially Delayed

The rumours have been confirmed – the release of the increasingly-anticipated werewolf film remake “The Wolfman” has been delayed. Originally slated for an April 3 2009 release, we’ll now have to wait until November 6 2009 to watch Benicio del Toro wolf out. Variety says the delay “gives the film more of a high-profile release, as well as ample time for post-production”, which is certainly a positive outlook. It’s certainly a more appropriate time of the year for a horror / monster movie, but an extra seven months is a long time to dedicate to post-production.

Dec. 10th 2008

“The Wolfman” Delayed Until Fall 2009?

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.

Nov. 23rd 2008

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.

Nov. 20th 2008

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.

Nov. 12th 2008

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans – Trailer

If you haven’t already seen it, there’s an official trailer out for Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. There’s a lot of blue filters, eye makeup, improbable armour and clumsy sword-ballet… but there’s also an army of werewolves and a particularly vicious-looking Bill Nighy. Take a look for yourself.

Of additional interest is this review (yes, a trailer review) by Jason Roestel of Movie Examiner. Among other things, Roestel opines that “the werewolves in costume… look so 1955.” While you can kind of tell they don’t have as big a budget as the previous two films, I thought the werewolves looked great. What do you think?

Nov. 10th 2008