the early-evening news

Wolflike Director Quits Werewolf Movie

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Romanek Out of Wolf Man: Director Mark Romanek pulled out of the Benicio Del Toro–starring Wolf Man late last night, reportedly because of issues with the film’s budget. Apparently $100 million was not enough to pay for CGI that would make Del Toro look like a human in the non-werewolf scenes. [Deadline Hollywood Daily]

Cloverfield Down at Box Office: After making $41 million in its first three days of release, Cloverfield’s box-office receipts dropped 68 percent this past weekend, probably because everyone who saw it on opening night was too busy throwing up from motion sickness to recommend it to their friends. [Variety]

Is Once Getting Screwed? In its unending quest to make Phil Collins’s Oscar seemed deserved by comparison, the AMPAS is considering barring Once’s already-nominated “Falling Slowly,” by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, from this year’s Best Original Song category. [Carpetbagger/NYT]

Can CGI Save a Heath-less Parnassus? Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger’s co-star in Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, says Gilliam is trying to salvage the film with CGI. “Fortunately, because the film deals with magic,” he says, “there is a way, perhaps, of turning Heath into other people.” [People]

Yacht Rock Returns! There’s a new episode of Yacht Rock, the Internet’s most intentionally funny video series. In this one, Hollywood Steve tells the story of how Kenny Loggins’s Footloose came to be. Needless to say, it’s fantastic. [YouTube]

Wolflike Director Quits Werewolf Movie