Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with today’s Behind the Scenes Pic!
You don’t need me to heap praise on An American Werewolf In London. I’ve done it before, people way, way, way smarter and funnier and in every way better than me have done it before and it’s kinda like saying “Gee, you know what’s great? Breathing.”
An American Werewolf In London has never been equaled, though many have tried. Nobody, and I repeat NOBODY, has ever nailed that specific balance of the truly funny, truly touching and truly horrifying that John Landis hit. Nobody. Some have made really funny movies set in a horror world (Shaun of the Dead springs to mind), some have made some really scary movies with a goodly amount of humor (thinking something like Silence of the Lambs), but nobody has hit that sweet spot, which makes Landis' film unique. In this genre that's an amazing feat.
In truth, most great horror movies have bits of levity, a general release valve for the audience, but Rick Baker’s werewolf is my personal favorite werewolf design ever. It’s evil, not just a big dog, but you can see the wolf in there. And that amazing howling sound, which I was told by producer George Folsey Jr. was the sound of an elephant trunk blast played in reverse… mixed other natural animal sounds.
It all mixes together to make a genre classic. Such a classic, in fact, that behind me as I type this I have three framed movie posters: Iron Giant, The Empire Strikes Back and An American Werewolf in London.
We’ve gone behind the scenes with this one before, focusing on Griffin Dunne’s doomed Jack (aka Meatloaf). Today we’re going to let David (David Naughton) get a little limelight as he prepares for what looks to be a moment from the transformation scene with the great (and newly re-Oscared) Rick Baker. I love seeing Landis grinning like a madman in the background! Also I added an extra bonus make-up image at no extra charge!
Hope you guys enjoy and click for a slightly bigger version!
Tomorrow’s Behind the Scenes Pic plugs it up!
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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