Universal’s eagerly
anticipated update of THE WOLFMAN was unleashed in cinemas everywhere
this past
Friday, and one of its stars, the MATRIX films’ Hugo Weaving, gave Fango
some
of his time to talk up the lycanthropic epic. We spoke to him while he
was in
the midst of the Melbourne (Australia) Theatre Company’s production of
the
acclaimed play GOD OF CARNAGE.
HUGO WEAVING: I like things that are
well-written. If the script
is good, then I’ll enjoy it. If the script is bad or loose or silly,
then I
can’t get into it. However, I believe genre pictures such as horror
films
should be allowed to have a sense of freedom in the writing. But sadly,
those pictures
tend to be looked down upon or overlooked as serious pieces of art. The
Western, the musical, action films, horror films, fantasy films—I mean,
they
are the founding and starting point of great American cinema, yet even
though
they’re commercially successful and often critically well-received, they
are
never given the proper respect they deserve just because they entertain.
There’s a weird resentment toward escapism in intellectual circles,
which
happens not only in film, but in theater too.
FANG: What can you tell us
about your character in THE
WOLFMAN, Scotland Yard’s Inspector Aberline?
WEAVING: Well, he’s a
no-nonsense detective who comes into
the lives of the Talbots by investigating the strange murders that are
somehow
happening around the family. He was not in the original film from the
’40s,
although after watching that film with Lon Chaney, I kind of liken him
to the
Claude Rains character. I even tried to do a Rains-style voice in
preshoot
rehearsals, but it didn’t work [laughs].
FANG: On that note, how did
the original WOLF MAN
troupe—Lon Chaney Jr., Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Maria Ouspenskaya and Ralph
Bellamy—feed the performances of your fellow cast members?
WEAVING: Everyone seemed to
bring their own interpretation
of their character to this film. It’s a far grittier movie than the 1941
film,
as you could imagine. The original is loaded with that glamour of the
Universal
horror pictures of the golden age. In this film, everything is on show,
and
that includes the blood, sweat, and tears, and that most definitely
alters the
mood and style and totally feeds the performances of the actors.
Geraldine
Chaplin, who is the legendary Charlie Chaplin’s daughter, was a hoot to
work
with and brought so much of herself to the role created by that great
character
actress Maria Ouspenskaya. But listening to her, it’s as if she had
channeled
Maria. There was something truly haunting about her performance. But I
believe
Benicio Del Toro [playing Lawrence Talbot] did the most studying of Lon
Chaney
Jr. There are points in the film where he looks remarkably like him.
FANG: He also kind of
resembles Oliver Reed in the
Hammer classic CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF. Do you have a favorite werewolf
movie?
WEAVING: I remember seeing AN
AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON
when it first came out, and that was really good. A great combination of
horror
and comedy.
FANG: What was it like
working with legendary makeup
artist Rick Baker? Were you in the chair for any prosthetic work?
WEAVING: Rick Baker was
charming, and a soft-spoken gentleman
who excelled at his craft. It is dumbfounding what that man could do
with
materials that have been with the industry forever. His work on the
werewolf
sequences was astounding. And yes, I did get to have some work done, but
I
won’t tell you too much. Let’s just say that this film has a healthy
amount of
blood and guts, so the makeups go beyond fur and fangs.
FANG: How much would you say
Lon Chaney’s Wolf Man
design was a reference point for Baker?
WEAVING: He had images galore of
those old Universal
werewolves, the one with the bad case of sideburns too…who was he again?
FANG: Henry Hull from THE
WEREWOLF OF LONDON?
WEAVING: Yeah. Rick wanted to
put his own mark on the
design but still pay homage to the Lon Chaney Wolf Man. He came out
looking amazing,
truly amazing. Rick Baker is possibly one of the most modest yet
talented
people I’ve met. He is his craft. It’s phenomenal. He is definitely the
master
of werewolf makeup artistry, and it was cool to work with the man who
originally did the FX for AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. We shared a
few
stories and I was kind of like a teenager again, asking him how he did
what he
did on that film.
FANG: Was THE WOLFMAN a fun
experience overall, and will
you return to the horror genre in the future?
