If you’re a horror movie fan or follow the constant tsuris of Hollywood, you may have read the news that Universal’s remake of The Wolf Man lost its director, Mark Romanek last week. The timing was unfortunate in that the movie was weeks away from shooting in England, but right as I was finishing up this blog, a new director was announced out of a number of great names, and one wholly inappropriate name, that were thrown around.

I’ve been interested in this project for a number of reasons. First of all, it’s been a long time since we’ve had a good werewolf movie. I’m also interested in this film because of the talent involved. The Wolf Man has been Benico Del Toro’s pet project, and the script was written by one of my all-time favorite screenwriters, Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en).

Above: Will the new Wolf Man make Lon proud?

When Mark Romanek was announced as the director, I knew this was moving in the right direction. I was very impressed with his film One Hour Photo, and along with David Fincher, I feel he’s one of the only video directors who can actually make a good movie (Romanek directed the videos for Nine Inch Nails’ Closer, and Fiona Apple’s Criminal, among many others). Then Anthony Hopkins joined the cast as Lawrence Talbot’s father, and probably the best news of all, Rick Baker is onboard for the special effects make-up. With those players, you’re already batting 1.000.

Having read a draft of the script, I can say it’s damn good, in the vein of Walker’s Sleepy Hollow, a period horror film, but infinitely better, and Universal wants to make a real, hard R horror film. The script has reportedly been rewritten, but Romanek did a good job with his script for One Hour Photo, and with him at the helm I was still willing to bet the film would turn out pretty good.

Above: Benico Del Toro and Rick Baker

But once he left the project, reportedly because of “creative differences” and budget concerns, every geek boy’s heart leaped in terror at the unthinkable. Brett Ratner’s being considered to take over?! Even though I tried to sustain hope that 8mm with Joel Schumacher directing would somehow still turn out okay, and Halloween remade by Rob Zombie could somehow still be okay, I just shuddered at another mistake of that magnitude being made with this one. Even if you like his movies, he’s just not the right director for this, period.

Whether Universal was paying attention to the geek sites or not, suddenly the news read much different. Ratner was being considered, but so were others. Frank Darabont? Big step back in the right direction. Martin Campbell was also in the running. Yeah, his output’s been spotty, but he hit one out of the park with Casino Royale and proved all the naysayers wrong. Neil Marshall, director of the acclaimed The Descent, another interesting choice, and my favorite choice out of the names I read was Bill Condon. You may only know him as the guy who finally brought Dreamgirls to the big screen, but the man knows his horror, and The Wolf Man would make a perfect companion piece to his Gods and Monsters.

Now it’s been announced the fur’s gonna fly with Joe Johnson. If you’re a Star Wars fan, his name should definitely ring a bell. He was an effects illustrator and designer on the first Star Wars, as well as the original Battlestar Galactica, and was also the art director of visual effects on Empire, Jedi, and Radiers. As a director, his output’s a little more hit and miss with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, Jumanji, October Sky, Jurassic Park III, and the critically acclaimed Hidalgo.

Of course, keep in mind that no matter who directs, there’s no guarantees. United Artists thought they made the deal of the century signing up Michael Cimino before The Deer Hunter was released to critical acclaim, and won Best Picture. It turned into a deal with the devil when his next movie, Heaven’s Gate, put the studio out of business. Steven Spielberg wants to make a comedy about World War II with John Belushi with a script from Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale? How can you lose? See 1941 for the answer to that.

Studios often love hack directors because they get the job done on time, they consistently make middle of the road movies with no point of view that make a lot of money, and they will implicate whatever stupid ideas an executive with too much free time on their hands wants in the film. But if you want a good movie, and the fans on your side opening day, which is crucial for a genre film, forget it. Johnson has geek cred because of his effects work, and he may not be an auteur, but if he tries hard enough, he could raise this one above regular journeyman director status. We’ll find out how he fares about a year from now, when The Wolf Man is scheduled for a February 13, 2009 release.

Above: Rick Baker working on An American Werewolf In London