In a shocking development, Variety is reporting that director Mark Romanek has left production of THE WOLF MAN just three weeks before filming was scheduled to begin. Citing "creative differences," Romanek informed Universal of his decision late Monday night. The studio is convinced the project is ready to go and will try to move quickly to secure a director that will keep the cast (Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt) and start date intact. The move will likely come as a blow to Del Toro who is one of the movie's producers and had been working with Romanek on the film for about two years. I was lucky enough to read the script about a year ago and thought it was a sharp and polished retelling of the classic tale. I didn't think much needed work on the page but perhaps there were problems with the visual design of the beast? Or the budget was getting out of control? As Variety notes, this is the second time in recent months Universal has been put in the position of trying to salvage a film in the face of a high-profile departure. Brad Pitt dropped out of STATE OF PLAY in late-November causing a scramble (Russell Crowe was quickly signed to replace Pitt). Stay tuned for more as this interesting situation develops...
Extra Tidbit:
The insanely talented Romanek hasn't directed a feature film since 2002's ONE HOUR PHOTO.
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8:36PM on 01/29/2008