Remember Joe Johnston’s The Wolfman with Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins? You do? I’m sorry. Universal’s sorry too, and they’re hoping to make it up to you by rebooting the movie… less than two years after their last attempt. Per Moviehole, the studio had originally planned to follow up Johnston’s film with a sequel, but once they realized what a stinking pile of dog turds the movie was the idea was scrapped. But not completely. They’ve decided to turn the sequel’s script by Michael Tabb into a fresh take on the subject with the catchy new title Werewolf. Johnston’s film had a multitude of problems both before and during production, but one of the most detrimental was the late in the game switch-up of directors from Mark Romanek to Johnston. So you know Universal’s going to be extra careful in that department this time around. Which is why they’ve reportedly hired Louis Morneau… director of Carnosaur 2, Soldier Boyz, Bats, The Hitcher II: I’ve Been Waiting For You, and Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead.

Since last summer MTV has been slowly moving their way back into scripted television, something they stepped out of right around 2000. Their first attempt came in the form of the absolutely terrible The Hard Times of RJ Berger, this was followed by a remake of the hit British series Skins. Unfortunately, while a solid (but ultimately failed) attempt at a remake, the series was met with harsh backlash against its content. The backlash combined with the show’s poor ratings ultimately led to its cancellation this past week. Now here we are, saddled with the network’s latest attempt at scripted drama, Teen Wolf. This may be a re-imagining of the Michael J. Fox film from ’85, but the differences are major. MTV’s version is more of an adaptation in name only, and while the series is fraught with problems (many, many problems), it does show, much like Skins, that MTV is willing to grow on a creative level because this is the network’s best scripted series to date.

For those of you new to this column, I’m revisiting important events in my life that made me what I am today: A Special Effects Make Up Artist looking for relevance in the 21st Century. By this time in the story, I have been at home, experimenting with foam latex, trying to make prosthetics and failing. I am seventeen years old. I had a job at a grocery store. This supplied me with money, but did nothing to fire my ambition or imagination. With the failure of my foam latex attempts, I decided that I needed to take a positive step toward my goals. I took a bunch of my pencil color renderings (I had gotten adept at copying TV Guide covers with pencil colors on colored paper) and went to see Herb Saussaye at the Vieux Carre Hair Store in the French Quarter (see: The Latex Genie in the Bottle). I showed him my sketches, and he hired me to help out in the shop on a part-time basis. I was elated. Working in Mr. Saussaye’s shop was the closest thing I had experienced to working in a magic shop. When you walked into the shop there were three glass cases that formed an upside down “U” the center of which formed a sales floor in the main room. Beyond the cases, was another room that was the workshop for the hair-tiers (that is tie-ers not tiers), who made custom wigs and hairpieces for theater, the Opera, and for [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Simon Beaufoy, the writer behind Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, is ready to change his stripes to write Sharp Teeth – based off the novel of the same name – which features a south LA gang made up of werewolves. Well, not werewolves really. They turn into giant wolves, but they can do it whenever they want (thus sidestepping the terrible curse of the moonlight and its emotional/psychological implications). Basically, these guys can’t do a drive-by without shedding on the car seats. That’s their cross to bear. Although they’ve partnered on two consecutive films, it’s unclear whether Danny Boyle will ultimately agree to adapt it, but that certainly seems to be Beaufoy’s goal. In his interview with BBC America, he claimed, “If I write it well enough, he’ll direct it.” Boyle has already done faux-zombies, so maybe faux-werewolves will be a natural next step (especially if returns to the 28 Somethings Later… franchise for one last go). At any rate, it would give audiences a pack of shape-shifting dogs of a different color than Team Jacob and Twilight. On the other hand, the idea sounds crazy – which might be another reason to love it. The best talent in the business should never be afraid to do some genre work.

To start 31 Days of Horror off with a bang, or a series of gunshots, we first look to Neil Marshall’s excellent werewolf film, Dog Soldiers.

Take a look at the often forgotten “Bad Moon,” one of the best werewolf movies in the opinion of at least one Reject.

Although news of Twilight has swept across the internet, there are many still out there who have no idea what this movie could possibly be. So, in order to get people up to speed, we here at FSR are pleased to offer an introduction to what could possibly be the next big adaptation.