Great news about the remake of The Wolfman: producer Scott Stuber assures us that the film will be filled with as much practical effects work as possible.
Stuber tells Empire Online: We really want to stick to the physical stuff. So much of what we’re
trying to accomplish is that when Benicio is the wolf, you really know
it’s Benicio Del Toro and you have the eyes and the emotion of what he
is. That way you don’t disassociate your emotion and you realise that
the person, Lawrence Talbot, who you’ve got to know in the daytime is
still Lawrence Talbot at night. That way you’re empathetic towards him,
you’re angry towards him, you feel for him. You wouldn’t get that with
a completely CG creature who you disassociate from Benicio Del Toro.
There will inevitably be some CG work to help with some of the
transformation, but it’s a Rick Baker-centric film and that’s what we
wanted from the get-go.
Stuber also talked to the magazine about the story, which will follow the original but is going to be more ‘complex,’ and will include some scenes in London, unlike the original film’s limited setting. He also confirmed that the movie is set at the end of the 19th century, and isn’t a modern day retelling.
There’s a lot more – head to Empire to read it all – but what’s interesting is that at the end Stuber says that Universal is still talking about attempts to revive the classic monsters. I’d love to see more filmmakers come along and, unlike Steven Sommers, realize these characters don’t need to be reinvented. There’s a reason they worked in the first place.