Hopkins Shows His Claws, Goes A Little Psycho

By Katey Rich

Lon Chaney, Jr. as the original Wolf Man

In an interview last week about his independently-produced Slipstream, Anthony Hopkins brushed off a suggestion that he saw a lack of originality in Hollywood productions these days. "No, no. Some are not that good, but no. I get a bit tired of the same old formula, you know, but some wonderful actors are doing that."

Perhaps we should have seen it as a hint. MTV News confirmed yesterday that Hopkins will be joining the cast of one of the most anticipated big-budget projects in the works, a remake of the 1941 horror classic Wolf-Man. Hopkins will star as Sir John Talbot, the father of Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro), a man bitten by and transformed into a werewolf.

Hopkins' role was originated by Claude Rains, with Lon Chaney, Jr. (not to be confused with his more famous father) playing Del Toro's Wolf-Man. It's tempting to decry this as another example of Hollywood relying on old ideas to make new films, but isn't it kind of refreshing to see something sci-fi that isn't a comic book adaptation? Hopkins and Del Toro obviously bring some class to the proceedings (not to say either of them hasn't been responsible for some stinkers), and if this one is a hit, might we see Tom Hanks as the Creature from the Black Lagoon? Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Blob? The possibilities are endless!

MTV had a big scoop day with Hopkins, it seems, since he also confirmed his participation in a project tentatively titled Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Hopkins will, of course, play the titular director, in the film which documents Hitch's process of making Psycho. There's not too many details yet for the Ryan Murphy (Running With Scissors) project, but Hopkins did a great Hitchcock impression that seems promising for the movie to come.