UGO.com is giving away 5 “Wolfman” prize packs today

I’ll keep this short because you need to get over to ugo.com and see how the giveaway works. You’ll need a Twitter account and a fast finger on your browser’s refresh button. You’ll also need to be a resident of the United States. Here’s what you could win:

  • A limited edition Basil Gogos lithograph signed by the artist and by Benicio Del Toro (yes, it’s the lithograph I posted about in January).
  • The Wolfman Blu-ray 2-Disc edition featuring an unrated director’s cut, digital copy and the old black & white version for good measure.
  • A fang key chain.
  • A glow in the dark cup.

I’m a Canadian so I’m not eligible to participate. If you win, tell me about it so I can experience the triumph vicariously!

Jun. 1st 2010

“It’s in the room!” A new trailer for 13HRS

“13HRS” cinematographer Jordan Cushing emailed me yesterday with news that a new trailer for the film is available on Facebook. You’ll have to log in to see it, but if you want to see a quick glimpse of a transformation scene and a split-second shot of the werewolf (or is it one of several werewolves?), it’s a small hoop to jump through.

My favourite part? One of the handsome male leads saying “Look, we’re going to stay here and wait for help,” and in the next scene another character is searching the house, by himself, using only a lighter for illumination. Classic. This movie looks like a lot of fun.

Jun. 1st 2010

Lou Romano’s “Monster Squad” Remake, in Art Format

Lou Romano is a guy whose creativity you can trust. The Incredibles? The Iron Giant? Monsters, Inc.? Yeah, he was production designer for those. He’s had his art in New York’s Museum of Modern Art and on the cover of The New Yorker, and he’s done voice acting in a number of Pixar films. He can also fly, and has a car that shoots lasers from its headlights [citation needed].

Lou’s work is presently part of the Cuter Than Stranger exhibit at Gallery 1988 in San Francisco. The reason you should know about this is the five 6″ x 6″ acrylic paintings he did of the monsters from The Monster Squad. These paintings are terrific, and they are for sale. Yes, even The Wolfman.

May. 28th 2010

MTV Orders 12 Episodes of the New “Teen Wolf” Series, Which Might Not be Terrible

According to Deadline’s TV Editor Nellie Andreeva, MTV has officially ordered Teen Wolf to series. Word is that MTV asked for 12 episodes, which is a pretty confident move on their part. Get ready for the wacky hijinks of high school dork Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) as he recovers from a wolf attack and learns about his amazing new powers, which include the ability to… “attract girls”? Oh for fuck’s sake. I need to stop kidding myself. This is going to be “Big Wolf on Campus” but with designer clothes and product placement, isn’t it.

May. 28th 2010

Blizzard Reveals WoW: Cataclysm’s Female Worgen

When Blizzard announced that their upcoming World of Warcraft expansion Cataclysm would feature a werewolf-like race called the Worgen, I got excited, and I don’t even play WoW. It was weird, though, that all of the concept art and screenshots were of male Worgen. “Where,” the Internet groaned, “are the lady-wolfs“? Oh, wait, here they are.

As reported by The Escapist and several other sources, Blizzard recently released these “work in progress” images to show the character models and the way they’ll look in the different armour types (probably, that is– these are subject to change). Click on any of the images below for a (much) bigger version.

Cloth Armour

Leather Armour

Chain Armour

Plate Armour

May. 27th 2010

The Teen Werewolves of San Antonio

Some of you have emailed or tweeted me about this, and I had to think a while about how I was going to post it here. I’ve decided to link to the original article, embed a Youtube mirror of the broadcast, and leave it at that (for now). If I try to summarize this thing I’m going to get my editorial slant all over it, and for once I’d rather not do that. I’ll ask a question instead: would you have been a part of this group in high school?

Here you go: “Teen wolves descend upon San Antonio high schools“, courtesy of KENS 5-TV.

May. 27th 2010

Cast Your Vote for a Feature Length “Werewolf Women of the SS”!

ArcLight just checked in with this burning missive: “Rob Zombie’s asking for votes concerning what his next film project should be. ‘Werewolf Women of the SS’ is running a strong second right now. Only three days left to vote!”

“The Devil’s Rejects Pt. 2” is currently in first place with 1,542 votes, and “Werewolf Women of the SS” has got 1,433 votes. You know what to do! Get over there and vote! The poll is on the right side of the page, roughly halfway down.


May. 26th 2010

Penny Arcade’s Wolfman & Dracula T-Shirt

I need this. Read the comic it’s based on, and then you will understand that you need it too. Don’t argue.

May. 25th 2010

Composite Effects Releases Another Insanely Realistic Mask: Lupus the Wolf


Composite Effects makes some of the most amazingly life-like monster masks and gloves I’ve ever seen (check out the videos on the product pages to see what I mean). They’ve just released a mask that’s got me checking the balance in my savings account: Lupus the Wolf is “perfect for howling at the full moon. A wolfman in the most animalistic form, the mask will turn you into a savage beast even on a moonless night.” I like the design, particularly the ears and the creases around the muzzle, although seeing a hairless werewolf is a little strange at first. I can understand not wanting to include hair or fur as a built-in part of a silicone mask, though. A shaggy wig would work well, and maybe it’s just me, but Lupus looks like he needs to be rocking some big muttonchop sideburns.

The mask is available in hand-painted brown or gray, and costs $500 US. If you think that’s steep, you didn’t look at any of the videos yet, did you. Did you. Composite Effects guys: if you make werewolf gloves to go with this mask, I’ll have no recourse. Hat tip: David Peters.

UPDATE: Wes from CFX emailed me with word that while they haven’t made gloves specifically to go with the Lupus mask, they can do an alternate paint job on the Orlock gloves that will match the werewolf mask. Yellow nails? Friends, I am sold.

May. 14th 2010

A Brief History of Werewolves in Plastic

Here’s a run-down on werewolf toys and figures on “Idle Hands”, the awesome toy blog of Paul Nomad (who also writes for Dread Central.com). Paul showcases 11 werewolf figures, including Vereticus from Stan Winston’s “Blood Wolves” line, one of the nightmare wolves from “An American Werewolf in London”, and Yellow Submarine’s Howling Wolfinica, which I may or may not have owned in 2002. It’s interesting to see how many different ways the werewolf has been interpreted in plastic (although I think McFarlane should have dialed back the “grotesque” a bit). Check it out!

May. 13th 2010