"The Wolf Man": Ratner Joins Director Fray
The search for a new director for Universal’s “The Wolf Man” is in full swing, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Just weeks before the period horror movie was to begin shooting, director Mark Romanek exited the project over money issues. He asked for a bigger budget, and the studio wouldn’t move from its $100 million range, especially since the project is being eyed as an R-rated horror film, usually not blockbuster fare.
Brett Ratner (pictured), Frank Darabont, James Mangold and Joe Johnston have either met with the studio and producers or are expected to do so in the coming days. Bill Condon is also a contender.
But there’s a few issues at hand.
More after the jump…
Because of the writer’s strike, the studio is unable to work on a script, which means the new director coming on board takes on a locked script, overseen by Romanek over several years.
Another potential wrinkle is star Benicio Del Toro, typically choosy with parts and directors. He might have a say in the process.
Ratner is emerging as the strongest contender, because he faced a similar situation with “X-Men: The Last Stand,” taking over after Bryan Singer left to direct “Superman Returns.”
Scheduled for a 2009 release, “The Wolf Man” follows the story of an American man (Del Toro) who returns to his ancestral homeland and is bitten, and subsequently cursed by, a werewolf.
And here’s the thing about Ratner that gets me (in a good way). He’s only 38 years old, and he’s already conquered both movie and television, helming such projects as “Prison Break” and the “Rush Hour” franchise. Not only that, he has at least 11 projects coming out in the next few years.
And here’s little piece of trivia I bet you didn’t know: In 1983’s “Scarface,” Ratner had an uncredited part as “boy lying on raft in pool.” How do you go from that to being a mega-producer-director in Hollywood?
Brett Ratner (Getty Images photo)
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