In Contention

Tag: The Wolf Man

  • FRIDAY FORECAST: ‘Valentine’s Day’ love fest

    Benicio Del Toro in The Wolfman*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Sorry this is late folks. I can remember all the words to “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus without hearing it for five years but I can’t seem to remember to write this column every week.

    Anyway, it’s a big weekend. President’s Day means it’s a four-day tally and Sunday being Valentine’s Day means certain titles have a leg up. One such title is “Valentine’s Day,” starring at least one person you, your sister, your mother and your grandmother really like. The 75-year-old man who directed “Pretty Woman” is putting it all together and there’s really no stopping it.

    “50 First Dates” managed $55 million from the four-day weekend in 2004 and I’d say only the overachieving debut of “Dear John” will keep this lower. Give it $50 million for four days and $43 million for the three days.

    “The Wolfman” once seemed like a hot commodity. Mark Romanek was an inspired directing choice and Benicio Del Toro’s casting saved the production millions in makeup costs. But Romanek got replaced with Joe Johnston, the release date got delayed a couple times and the whole thing now looks like a giant turd. Still, enough people may be interested in some cheap thrills to get it to $27 million for the three days and $33 million for the long weekend.

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  • 2/12 Oscarweb Round-up

    Rick Baker• Steve Weintraub sits down with likely the only major Oscar play for forthcoming flop “The Wolfman,” Rick Baker. [Collider]

    • Guy Adams on “Crazy Heart”‘s crazy trip to the screen. [The Independent]

    • Harvey Weinstein is pretty damn sure “Inglourious Basterds” is winning Best Picture. [Notes on a Season]

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  • 8/24 Web Round-up

    Carey Mulligan in An Education• Carey Mulligan praises “An Education” writer Nick Hornby for being objective with her character. [New York Magazine]

    • Gene Simmons tapped to vocalize Del Toro’s “Wolf Man.” [Contact Music]

    • Fear not, there’s hope for more “Beavis and Butt-Head” on the horizon. [Collider]

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  • ‘The Wolf Man’: the OTHER trailer premiere of the day

    I must say, as cheesy as it appears (I’m getting a “Van Helsing” vibe), I was totally bummed when Universal’s “The Wolf Man” was pushed to 2010.  The techs look great all around, especially Shelly Johnson’s cinematography.  (If I’m being honest, Allen Daviau’s work behind the camera on “Van Helsing” was, frankly, some of the best of 2004.)

    Anyway, have a look:

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Festivals, foxes and funny people

    Adam Sandler in Funny People• In the week’s most dramatic news, Universal rather cleared its awards slate by bumping both “The Wolf Man” and Paul Greengrass’s “Green Zone” to 2010.

    • Against expectations, we were won over by Meryl Streep’s latest bid for that elusive third Oscar, “Julie & Julia.”

    • The Venice Film Festival unveiled a typically well-planned lineup, with “The Road” and Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” leading the American charge.

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  • ‘The Wolf Man’ moves to 2010

    Benicio Del Toro in The Wolf ManThis is kind of a bummer.  I was actually really looking forward to “The Wolf Man,” starring Benicio Del Toro in the classic monster role and sure to be a showcase for makeup artist Rick Baker (not to mention design heads Rick Heinrichs and Milena Canonero.

    Today we get this, courtesy of ShockTillYouDrop.com:

    You’ll have to wait a bit longer to see Benicio Del Toro howl at the moon as The Wolfman.

    Universal Pictures is pushing the film out of its November 6th slot and placing it on February 12, 2010. That’s one week after the release of the creature feature The Cabin in the Woods by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon.

    We can’t tell you exactly why Universal has made the shift. It could be due to the additional shooting that occurred earlier this year that reportedly involved FX artist Rick Baker. The radical release date bumps (original from April to November now next year) don’t bode well buzz-wise. Here’s hoping for the best!

    Ah well. Update your predictions, I guess, but it’s a shame this couldn’t be positioned as a Halloween event.

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Sound Editing — Volume I

    Transformers: Revenge of the FallenZoom. Smash. Bang. Grunt. Zap. Splash. Screech.

    A single sound effect can capture a character, emotion or setting. And creating such sounds is no easy task, requiring creativity, ingenuity and constant communication with the other filmmakers to best capture the feel of a film.

    The manifestation of these aural components — as well as their integration into the overall soundtrack of the film — is recognized by the Academy with the award for Best Sound Editing.

    I suspect we’ve seen at least two – very possibly three or even four – of this category’s eventual 2009 nominees already. (At this point last year, we had seen four of five!)  Blockbuster entertainment tends to rule the day.  Let’s take a look.

    Though I doubt it will be able to win, given the failure of its predecessor to do so, I am pretty confident that massive box office, not the complex mechanics involved, will manage to bring “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” into the final five. Michael Bay’s films do well with the sound branch.

    Also from the summer, another film I strongly expect to enter the fray is “Star Trek.” Against all odds, the film managed to be a very successful reboot to this franchise and sound effects were pivotal to its success. While the series has only been embraced by the category intermittently, if there is one category where I expect this film to score, this is it. The sound effects were impressive and with a wide range.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Kicking the tires on a new season

    Daniel Day-Lewis in NineToday marks the beginning of a fourth year of Tech Support here at In Contention. Over the past four years, we’ve sought to bring the otherwise under-reported crafts categories and crafts artists the attention they seldom receive, despite their enormous contributions to the art of cinema.

    This year, we plan on looking at nine of the categories – Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Makeup, Original Score, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects – twice thoroughly between now and the morning the nominations are announced. Best Original Song will be previewed once, when we have a better idea of eligible contenders.

    I will be offering the analysis of these categories but Kris will also be joining me for the first time this year with Tech Support features and interview pieces throughout.

    Last year, a contemporary film – “Slumdog Millionaire” – managed to triumph in five of the 10 categories, a truly remarkable achievement, while “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” unsurprisingly took three others.  (Meanwhile, the year’s blockbuster “The Dark Knight” managed one.)  It will be interesting to see whether this year will be seen as having tech sweepers like “Millionaire” and “Button” or a greater spreading of the wealth, as we saw in 2007, when eight different films shared the 10 crafts awards!

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  • Year-in-advance winner predictions

    Yes, I’m insane, but before I leave off this year’s year-in-advance week, by request, I thought I’d throw up a random set of winner predictions and see if I was close to the target next February.  Last year I managed three correct guesses (four if you count Winslet for the wrong movie), two of them in the tech categories, so maybe I can at least up that tally.  I really want to predict Clint’s movie for Best Picture, but I have some weird sense of irritation at predicting an untitled movie.  Oh well, who cares?

    Best Picture: “Nine”
    Best Director: Rob Marshall, “Nine”
    Best Actor: Morgan Freeman, “Untitlted Nelson Mandela Project”
    Best Actress: Michelle Pfeiffer, “Chéri”
    Best Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, “Untitlted Nelson Mandela Project”
    Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, “Precious”
    Best Adapted Screenplay: “Nine”
    Best Original Screenplay: “Up”
    Best Art Direction: “Amelia”
    Best Cinematography: “Nine”
    Best Costume Design: “Chéri”
    Best Film Editing: “Nine”
    Best Makeup: “The Wolf Man”
    Best Music (Original Score): “Broken Embraces”
    Best Music (Original Song): “Nine”
    Best Sound Editing: “Green Zone”
    Best Sound Mixing: “Nine”
    Best Visual Effects: “Avatar”
    Best Animated Feature Film: “Up”

    Those will all be wrong.  Each and every one of them.

    (And in case you missed it: OFF THE CARPET: Handicapping 2009 a year in advance!?)

  • Perennial Oscar snubee Danny Elfman gets another shot at missing the list with ‘Wolf Man’

    Danny ElfmanIt really is a shame that Danny Elfman hasn’t received the proper amount of recognition for the consistently screwed-up music branch of the Academy.  Well over two decades of quality work and three measly nods…neither of them for his top tier efforts.

    This is a guy who put together probably the greatest film score of all time (and kudos to Andy Trudeau for agreeing with me).  At the very least he’s carved a spot as one of the most prolific (if at times derivative) composers in the industry, instantly recognizable and always working the thematic context of the films he scores.

    Anyway, I just stumbled across the news that Elfman will be scoring Joe Johnston’s “The Wolf Man” (via /Film).  Personally I think it’s an awesome choice and a natural fit for Elfman.  I don’t know what sort of quality we can expect from the film, though.  Johnston took up the reins on the flick after Mark Romanek walked and makeup artist Rick Baker has already done his share of bitching about the on-set experience.  But I thnk we can all agree Elfman will elevate the atmosphere with his generally epic and creative work.

    Before “The Wolf Man,” by the way, will be  Gus Van Sant’s “Milk.”  Elfman was nominated in 1997 for Van Sant’s “Good Will Hunting,” so maybe lighting will strike again.  Maybe.

  • Rick Baker talks ‘Wolf Man’

    Benicio Del Toro in The WolfmanCapone of Ain’t It Cool News cornered makeup effects artist Rick Baker at Comic-Con yesterday to discuss the upcoming Benicio Del Toro starrer “The Wolf Man.” It’s a dream project for the prosthetics wizard behind films such as “The Nutty Professor,” “Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Planet of the Apes” and Capone got some solid quotes out of the guy.

    Like this bit about how Baker seems to have felt somewhat slighted on the set by those who, in a nutshell, don’t understand that he’s the shit:

    …it was sometimes strange how I was treated…sometimes they would shoot scenes using my work when I wasn’t even there…Other times when I was there if I try to look at the monitor, someone would literally stand in my way and block it. On other films, I’m usually right there side by side with the director at the monitor. It was strange…Maybe I’m just getting too old to do this anymore. I mean, I love making these movies, but if it’s going to be like this from now on…

    And this aside regarding the return of practical effects as a staple for filmmakers shunning the abuse of CGI:

    I think CGI absolutely has a place in filmmaking. I dabble in it myself; I like creating shit. But when I sought out this job, I actually did a makeup test on myself, just put the applications on my face and videotaped it and sent it in… It certainly easier to get better performances from the actors using more practical effects. If they’re supposed to be looking at some awesome landscape or some other kind of environment, and all they’re seeing is green screen, you notice the change in the acting, like with the last three STAR WARS films.

    It’s a solid interview well worth the read.  This is, after all, the guy who put the Best Makeup Oscar on the map when the award was created specially for his work in “An American Werewolf in London.”  Personally, seven years later, I’m still shocked he was snubbed for his work in “Planet of the Apes.”

    And if “The Wolf Man” is a dream job for him, you better believe it’ll be a dream movie for fans of his handiwork.  Suffice it to say, 2009 has a bona fide contender for Best Makeup waiting in the wings.

  • Comic-Con round-up

    San Diego Comic-Con InternationalI’m heading out the door to hit the Wrath of the Con party tonight, but before I go, I thought I’d link out to the news items worth reading from Comic-Con this weekend.

    At Cinematical, Elisabeth Rappe writes up the “Wolf Man” panel, which included the revelation of the film’s first trailer.  She also calls Marvel’s new animated film “Wolverine vs. Hulk” a “blast.”

    At The Movie Blog, John Campea kicks back with the ladies of “Bitch Slap” (who’ve certainly made the rounds) for an interview at the Marriott.  There’s also some nice video of Entertainment Weekly’s Visionaries panel including Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Zack Snyder and Judd Apatow.  Strange collective.

    At io9, Charlie Anders writes up the footage-less “Lost” panel with some video tossed in for good measure.

    At Screen Rant, Vic Holtreman live blogs the “Terminator Salvation” panel.

    At /Film, Peter Sciretta passes on Zack Snyder’s revelation during the “Watchmen” panel that the director would be interested in a “Dark Knight Returns” movie.  Who wouldn’t?  There is also the exciting news that Jonathan Nolan was confirmed as the lead writer on “Terminator Salvation” by McG himself.

    That should be plenty to chew on.  I’m outta here.