I saw this on the Werewolves.comTwitter feed and it wrecked my morning. Rob Zombie just talked to Screen Crush about his current film project, The Lords of Salem, and what he won’t be working on next: a feature-length version of the Grindhouse faux-trailer Werewolf Women of the S.S., which he says was
…just what it was, it was a fake trailer for a Quentin Tarantino movie. That’s all it was ever suppose to be, it was never going to be a full movie.
I guess I’m not surprised, since he’s already downplayed the concept, but after years of hopeful rumour-mongering, it’s a shame to hear the official “no”. I’m in a conference hall in Boston right now, but as soon as I get back to my hotel room I’m going to listen to Werewolf, Baby! and have a little cry.
“Feeding Ground is an intense and terrifying thriller with a subtle but pointed commentary on immigration in modern America,” said Pressman. “The graphic novel is so cinematic in nature — as soon as I read it, I knew we could make a film that would resonate with a wide audience.”
I think “cinematic” is an understatement. After reading the first issue, I wrote that the “heat, desperation and simmering violence of the Busqueda family’s world is evident” in every panel, and if it can be successfully translated to the big screen… wow. I’m very excited for the three friends who created the book – Swifty, Michael and Chris. For more on the deal, including background on the names involved (Pressman’s done some fun stuff), read the whole article on the THR site. And if you haven’t read Feeding Ground yet, the first issue is available for free on Graphicly.com, and the whole thing is on Amazon for less than $20.
I’ve always liked the Underworld werewolf aesthetic, which was originally developed and executed by Patrick Tatopoulos & crew. The Lycans are the polar opposite of the Twilight / True Blood “fluff-wolves” I detest – they’re big, hairy, and monstrous in a way that’s fantastically bestial. The task of bringing these big guys to life for Underworld: Awakening fell to the folks at MastersFX (based in the Vancouver area, which gives me fanboy “cool stuff in close proximity” paroxysms). Todd Masters and his staff had to evolve Tatopoulos’s design into something that would stand up to the unforgiving clarity of hi-def film, and if you’ve seen the film I think you’ll agree that they pulled it off with authority. If you want to get a better look at the Lycan suits used in Awakening and learn about the challenges of building, maintaining and performing in them, check out this extra from the Awakening Blu-ray release: Building A Better Lycan.
There’s so much great stuff crammed into this 10 minutes that I don’t even know where to begin. The detail on those suits are just incredible (those masks! those hands!), and it looks like the Lycan “performers” Richard Cetrone and Dan Payne had a lot of fun, despite the hardships of being stuck in skin-tight foam latex onesies for 12 hours at a time. Craig might not have been a fan of the film or the digital effects, but from the perspectives of craftsmanship and werewolf aesthetics, I think there’s a lot to like here. I’m going to pick up the Blu-ray this weekend, if only to watch Building A Better Lycan on something bigger than my Macbook. Many thanks to @Hoof_Pony for sending me the YouTube link!
Well, it was bound to happen sometime. Four movies into the Underworld series, I finally broke down and saw one of the things in theaters. It was back in February when I was joined by three other gentlemen for a 5:10 showing of the 3-D version of Underworld: Awakening (for some reason the 2-D version wasn’t showing at all in my town), and it’s pretty safe to say we all got precisely the movie we were expecting. (more…)
The original 2005 script in today’s market has some things that have now been done. (cough cough).. even though we were going to do it first. However.. the general storyline will remain, and in that I offer you the 2005 Freeborn script to read. Some folks like reading books, and then seeing a movie adaptation. Similar, only its a screenplay for an actual movie. Check it out, comment, good AND bad. The idea is to get this out , and get folks excited, and into talking about it. Believe me, we’re listening… free to comment and talk about it at thepacksden.net or at the Freeborn facebook page.
I’m not familiar with the culture over at thepacksden.net, but I’ve got a half-formed picture in my mind courtesy of comments I’ve seen here and on Twitter, and if you’ll permit me to be reductive, that picture looks a lot more like a Goldenwolf piece than something by Viergacht. If that’s not what you’re hoping to get out of Freeborn, maybe it would be a good idea to check out the script and then leave your comments for Brownrigg and company. Someone whose opinion I respect already has, and there are many more Werewolf News readers that I’m sure will want to chime in. But friends? Maybe save the snark until you’ve read the script.
As a writer myself, and the spouse of an illustrator, it’s in my nature to root for independent creative types, particularly when they’re talented, focussed and driven. Those three words form a creative version of the Project Management Triangle, and to find all three of them in effect at the same time is extremely rare. Creative people who makes smart, cohesive and well-executed stuff wants to get their stuff out there so people can see it (and buy it), but for every Miss Monster or Scott C., there’s a hundred equally-talented creators who mean well but just can’t get their shit together. Rachel Deering is in the company of those creators that have somehow achieved the mystical trifecta, and Anathema’s first issue has already proved she knows how to use that condition to produce something awesome.
$4,480 is not an insignificant amount of money, but if everyone who’s visited Werewolf News in the last month put a quarter in the jar, we’d have helped her clear the hurdle with room to spare. If you’ve been on the fence about whether to pledge or not, please, now’s the time to make a no-risk, guaranteed-to-pay-off investment in something great. Remember, you get something for your contribution, and if the project doesn’t get funded, you don’t pay anything.
If you’ve already pledged something, consider following David Fuller’s example and boost your pledge amount a little bit. In fact, I’m going to go do that right now. Boosting my pledge from $75 to $85 means I get to buy two less coffees this month, and it gets me a tiny bit closer to enjoying a lesbian werewolf comic series created by someone who’s really good at it.
The fact that I’m even posting about Cabin in the Woods is a spoiler in itself, but the fact that I’ve said “spoiler” three times already and you’re still reading means you’ve already seen it, you haven’t seen it and don’t care, or you have poor reading comprehension skills. In any event, Werewolf News reader Nyetwerke sent in a link to an Ain’t It Cool News interview with CITW director Drew Goddard, and there are some photos in there that I was excited to see. Because you and I are friends, I thought you might like to see them, too. (more…)
2012-04-20: I’ve edited this post way down at the request of the production company involved. Apparently I said was more than I was supposed to. Here’s what I’ve been told it’s okay to share:
A television production company in Los Angeles is currently trying to cast for a show dealing with Werewolves in the U.S. They are looking for an “ultimate werewolf fan”, at least 20 years old or older, that is a fanatic of werewolves movies, games, etc. The selected werewolf fanatic will be paid on a per-episode basis. Anybody interested may email their name, age, gender, location, short bio and a photo to werewolfaudition@gmail.com
So, there you go. It’s a shame I can’t say more, but I understand that TV production is a super competitive business, and it’s not a good idea to say too much about a show you’re trying to cast, lest other companies poach your ideas.
Hey, what do you know, it’s Werewolf Wednesday again! Put on your special bib and suck the marrow out of these bloody tidbits.
A week or two ago, I was asked to provide a Twitter signal boost for a search being undertaken to identify this handsome devil. A number of people came to our collective rescue and identified the creature as a were-hyena (or werewolf) created by Spectral Motion for an ultimately deleted scene from Blade: Trinity. Not content to leave it there, reader Nyetwerke sent in this video of Spectral staff building the suit. Fascinating stuff!
My cause of the month is coming along nicely! The Anathema Kickstarter is $6k-and-change away from its $20k goal, with a week and a half to go. I’ve pledged more money to it than I’ve spent on Werewolf News in the last year; if you haven’t pledged anything, I want you to feel bad about yourself for five seconds and then please, go chip in five or ten bucks. Remember, if the fundraising goal isn’t met, you don’t get charged.
Subterranean Press has just published a very bestial 5,600-word short story by Locus-nominated author and charming geek-dandy Hal Duncan. The title of the story is Sic Him, Hellhound! Kill! Kill! I made that link open in a new window so you can go read the story when you’re done here. Read it. It’s filthy in all the right ways.
My Werewolf Wednesday cohort David Fuller is in search of the best tune to wolf out to. Today he looks at 11 werewolf-related songs spanning a variety of genres (including a selection by yours truly), and asks you to vote for your favourite (or suggest your own). Have a listen!
Here’s some follow-up! As mentioned in the previous Werewolf Wednesday, Simon Sanchez wrote in to tell me about his comic Nazi Werewolves from Outer Space, but he neglected to provide a link. He’s now provided a link to the comic’s Facebook page, which contains purchase information and some delightfully campy samples.
And that concludes this Werewolf Wednesday! Thanks for reading!
I have been stuck on the new Chronicles of Riddick movie doing insane hours for the last few months… I finished Riddick last Saturday morning and I wanted to relax from all of the madness by spending a few days in my shop and working on a personal project for once. So I took out the molds [from a previous werewolf project] and casted new skins from them which I assembled on a foam mannequin. I seamed and painted the whole thing and did the hair work (which is still not completely done). I took a few pictures last night to see how it was looking on camera and thought that you might enjoy the results.
Did you enjoy those results? I sure as hell did! When I saw the photos I got all giddy, especially at the one Adrien’s in, which gives a marvellous sense of scale. That’s a big, bad-ass werewolf! This design is pretty much the best execution of the “lupine head on a human body”-style werewolf I’ve seen. I love the detail on the muzzle and jaws (those teeth!), I dig those ears, and I think Adrien found the perfect balance between fur and visible skin – being able to see the definition of the muscles really adds to the “this was once a human” effect.
I asked Adrien if he would be continuing work on this guy… maybe giving him a body, perhaps? Hopefully? Please?
*laughs* No, I will not be making the rest of the body as I do not have enough free space around the shop for such a large display piece. The only thing left for me to do on this piece is to punch in a bit more fine hair on the nose and brows, and punch up the facial colors. I will also add up a bit of subtle details such as veins in the ears.
If and when he shares photos of the final results, you’ll see them here! Many thanks to Adrien for his generosity. If you have any comments about this piece, leave ’em below!
I saw this on the Werewolves.com Twitter feed and it wrecked my morning. Rob Zombie just talked to Screen Crush about his current film project, The Lords of Salem, and what he won’t be working on next: a feature-length version of the Grindhouse faux-trailer Werewolf Women of the S.S., which he says was
