Cinematical

John Landis may or may not belong in "director jail," as Ryan Stewart wrote about yesterday, but he won't be directing the upcoming big-budget remake The Wolf Man. Instead, Variety is reporting that Joe Johnston has been signed by Universal Pictures to fill the director's chair recently vacated by Mark Romanek due to "creative differences."

Johnston's directorial career began nearly 20 years ago with the earnestly entertaining Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and The Rocketeer. He got bogged down with The Pagemaster and Jumanji before delivering the appealing drama October Sky, my fave of his films. He returned to big budget studio projects with Jurassic Park III and Hidalgo.

Is he the right director for The Wolf Man? Based on a script by Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven), the new film is set to star Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt. Reportedly, Romanek worked for about a year on the film, and del Toro has long been attached to star, but the two producers that Variety says were "integral in keeping the project on track" -- Scott Stuber and Mary Parent -- have a mixed record.

Obviously, Universal is delighted to keep The Wolf Man on schedule to make its February '09 release date, and Johnston is experienced in dealing with big budget productions and special effects; reportedly, The Wolf Man will cost $100 million. Forget about the money, though -- will he give the film the edge it needs?

You could perhaps make the argument that the lawnmower scene in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and portions of Jurassic Park III were horrifying and/or thrilling, yet Johnston's specialty appears to be "broadly pleasant entertainment." Nothing wrong with that in its place -- I've enjoyed most of what Johnston has done in the past -- but I'm dialing down the expectations I had for this remake.