The Wolfman Movie

Forget silver bullets, blooming wolf's bane and full-moon fever -- the real curse of "The Wolfman" was all the hard luck that the Universal Pictures release had to claw through to reach the screen Friday. The old-school monster revival, which stars Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins, arrives after enduring a late change in director, three release-date postponements and a major reworking in the edit bay. The strange thing, though, at least according to director Joe Johnston, is that somehow the film underwent a startling metamorphosis in the final cut. "I think it's turned into a film that is much, much better than the studio or probably anyone else expected," the filmmaker said while sitting down for lunch at a Beverly Hills hotel.

Forget silver bullets, blooming wolf's bane and full-moon fever -- the real curse of "The Wolfman" was all the hard luck that the Universal Pictures release had to claw through to reach the screen Friday. The old-school monster revival, which stars Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins, arrives after enduring a late change in director, three release-date postponements and a major reworking in the edit bay. The strange thing, though, at least according to director Joe Johnston, is that somehow the film underwent a startling metamorphosis in the final cut. "I think it's turned into a film that is much, much better than the studio or probably anyone else expected," the filmmaker said while sitting down for lunch at a Beverly Hills hotel.

Executives throughout Hollywood are undoubtedly breathing a sigh of relief that they have no more dramas dealing with the Iraq war in the works, as "Green Zone" this weekend became the latest film on the topic to flop at the box office. It was blown away by "Alice in Wonderland," which dropped a relatively modest 47% in the U.S. and Canada from its huge opening last week. Even more impressive was the performance of director Tim Burton's 3-D movie overseas, where it is now significantly outpacing its domestic receipts.