Ever wanted to see Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving work with the director of Hidalgo and Jumanji?  Yeah, me neither, but fuck you, here’s some Wolf Man footage from Comic Con (opening April 2009).

I don’t get what’s up with his claws.  Wolves don’t have claws. Wolves have paws with little fingernails that at worst might scratch up your hardwood.  This looks more like a bear man than a wolf man. I saw a movie about a bear man once.  It had this really hairy gay guy doing unspeakable things to the well-hung high school quarterback.  But I have to admit, it was terrifying.

Benicio Del Toro has left the cast of Joe Johnston’s Wolf Man.  Early reports are calling it a scheduling conflict, saying the Usual Suspects actor needed more time to smoke Camels and practice squinting.   Reached for comment, Del Toro took a long drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled through his nose while nodding sagely.  Sources aren’t quite sure what the gesture indicated, but called it, "Very cinematic."

Replacing Del Toro in the film will be [Snarl] Busey, fathered by Gary Busey during an affair with a coyote six years ago during a trip to New Mexico.  This will be the first feature film for [Snarl], who last week turned 24 in dog-human hybrid years, and celebrated by lapping cocktails at Club LAX all night with pal Ashton Kutcher.

Playing the Wolf Man’s sister?  You guessed it, Lisa Rinna. 

These are the first pictures of Benicio Del Toro as the Wolf Man in director Joe Johnston’s upcoming remake, The Wolf Man.  Makeup artist Rick Baker described the three-hour process:

The part that covers his nose and his brow is what we call an appliance. It’s made up of a foam, latex piece with tissue-thin edges that covers part of Benicio’s face and blends into his own skin. Then we have a wig and dentures that change his teeth into the giant Wolfman teeth. Most of the hair on his face is what we call ”laid.” It’s actually loose hair that we apply little bits at a time with glue to his face. It’s very much the way the Wolfman was done in the [1941] original [starring Lon Chaney]. [EW]

In addition to his extensive makeup, Gary Busey was brought in as a creative consultant to teach Del Toro how to realistically devour live animals.  (I know, too easy, right?)

[Thanks to ‘RoboPanda’ for the tip]

South African/English/Australian actor Hugo Weaving (who should probably be getting royalties from Daniel Day-Lewis, who lifted Mr. Smith’s accent in There Will be Blood) has become the first new member of the Wolf Man cast since director Mark Romanek was replaced by Joe Johnston, a man responsible for Hidalgo and Jurassic Park III.

Weaving, best known for his appearances in "The Matrix" movies, will play Det. Aberline. Del Toro will play the hirsute title character and Anthony Hopkins his dad. [Emily] Blunt has been cast as the female lead in the project. [Variety]

Del Toro and Hopkins are usually really picky about their projects, so I’m a little curious as to what they think about getting stuck with this director.  Trying to picture them working with this guy is kind of like trying to imagine Marlon Brando doing a Mentos commercial.  Though Brando reportedly loved Mentos and ate them by the fist full. 

^{Disclaimer: Posts written the day after the Super Bowl may lack the joie de vivre, devil-may-care je ne sais quois, and abilty to spell with which FilmDrunk has come to be associated.  For obvious reasons.}

As I reported earlier, the studio behind Wolf Man had a few candidates in mind to replace departing director Mark Romanek.  They’ve reached a decision, and their choice is… Joe Johnston.

Who?  Exactly.  Johnston was the auteur behind such modern classics as Hidalgo, Jurassic Park III, and October Sky.  I haven’t seen any of those movies, but I’m pretty sure they suck. They’re similar to your mother in that regard.

The cast for the $100 million picture (Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt) is reportedly still in place, but who knows how that’ll turn out.  Benicio hasn’t worked with a director this shitty since the mid 90s. 

According to IMDB, Johnston got his start working as a storyboard artist for George Lucas, who later got him into USC Film School and paid his tuition. As for myself, my career hit a rough patch right around the time I got caught stirring the boss’ coffee with my dick.  It was worth it.