The Wolfman is an upcoming 2010 remake of the 1941 classic horror film The Wolf Man.[1] The remake is directed by Joe Johnston and stars Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving and Art Malik.[2] Although originally scheduled for a November 6, 2009 release, it has been pushed back several times and is slated to be released on February 12, 2010.
Set in the late 1880s, the film keeps the plotline of the original, with Lawrence Talbot (Benicio del Toro) reuniting with his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins) following the disappearance of his brother. Lawrence Talbot's childhood ended the night his mother died. After he left the sleepy Victorian hamlet of Blackmoore, he spent decades recovering and trying to forget. But when his brother's fiancée, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), tracks him down to help find her missing love, Talbot returns home to join the search. He learns that something with brute strength and insatiable blood lust has been killing the villagers, and that a suspicious Scotland Yard inspector named Aberline (Hugo Weaving) has come to investigate.
Production
In March 2006, Universal Pictures announced the remake of The Wolf Man with actor Benicio del Toro (a fan of the original film and collector of Wolf Man memorabilia) in the lead role. Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker was attached to the screenplay, developing the original film's story to include additional characters as well as plot points that would take advantage of modern visual effects.Del Toro also looked towards Werewolf of London and The Curse of the Werewolf for inspiration.
In February 2007, director Mark Romanek was attached to helm The Wolfman. In January 2008, Romanek left the project because of "creative differences". Brett Ratner emerged as a frontrunner to replace Romanek, but the studio also met with Frank Darabont, James Mangold and Joe Johnston. They were also interested in Bill Condon, and Martin Campbell was interested. Johnston was hired to direct on February 3, 2008, and the film's shooting schedule and budget remained as intended.Johnston hired David Self to rewrite the script.[11]
Shooting took place from March 3 to June 23, 2008, in the United Kingdom. The film was budgeted at US$85 million.They shot at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, Chatsworth, Derbyshire, and Castle Combe in Wiltshire. They transformed Chatsworth House by adding weeds, dead grass and ivy.They also shot in Lacock in Wiltshire, a village conserved by the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, for a day. Universal donated £5000 to the village, in return for filming in the tithe barn for a scene involving frozen corpses. A funeral scene was also shot beside the Temple of Ancient Virtue at Stowe House for the duration of an afternoon, with the temple coated in false ivy and copious amounts of smoke/mist floating over the setting. Pick-ups at Pinewood were conducted in May 2009