Werewolf links, news, and reviews
Before he passed away, Michael Jackson was getting ready for “This Is It”, a 50-show residency at London’s O2 Arena. Now that Michael’s gone, refunds are being issued for tickets, but the official Michael Jackson tour web shop is still selling This Is It merchandise, including this “Cartoon Thriller video Michael Jackson Werewolf shirt“. Questions of taste and decorum aside, I want this shirt.
While searching for an image to accompany a post about the inclusion of Michael Jackson’s Thriller werewolf costume in a stage performance he was working on, I found this fantastic illustration by storyboard artist Shane Lewis. From the oh-so-80’s jacket to his tremendous mane, Shane totally nailed Michael’s werewolf look from the epic music video. Truly, werewolf Michael Jackson is not like other guys. For starters, no other guy would wear loafers like that. Shane posted this around Halloween 2007, back when the Internet only had miserable things to say about Jackson, so he earns quadruple karma points for being a kick-ass artist and a nice guy. Check out Shane’s blog for more awesome art (and to learn about his apparent fear of being eaten by sharks and / or bears).
Say what you will about Michael Jackson… Thriller was an amazing video when it first came out in 1983, and it’s still pretty awesome today. Jimi Cuell feels the same way, and last October, he and his dedicated crew of dancers / zombies / 80’s fashion victims / filmmakers collaborated to create an homage that is both hilarious and impressive.
Tony Slotslider’s Book of Terror is an eight-minute short film that Cuell & friends wrote, shot and edited, all within 48 hours. Madness, you say? Nay, friends, it’s the Bloodshots 48-Hour Horror Filmmaking Contest. Cuell’s group was required to create a film in the werewolf genere, and they had a few other guidlines as well– they had to include an occult book as a prop, and use the line “this picture looks familiar” as part of the dialog. “We came up with the idea in something like 10 minutes,” Cuell told The Vancouver Courier. “And then we went straight home and started working on the song and that took three hours or so. We wrote the lyrics accordingly and went and grabbed a werewolf mask and just went from there.” See the results for yourself!
Tony Slotslider’s Book of Terror is being screened at Vancouver’s Roundhouse Community Centre on Friday the 27th (tomorrow!) at 9:30 AM, as part of the Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth. Jimi Cuell will be in attendance, so be sure to impress him with your dance moves.
This is not new (it’s actually from October 2007), but I only just stumbled across it the other day, and with Hanukkah starting in less than a week, it’s marginally relevant. Wait, why am I rationalizing the fact that I’m posting this? It’s a novelty 1980’s-style hip hop song about Jewish werewolves, it’s from 30 Rock and the whole song is available as a free download from NBC. There is not a single thing about this situation that requires defending– just listen to it, and when you find yourself still singing the chorus under your breath eight hours later, you can thank (or curse) me.