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Only one day after Logan Lerman, the star of the upcoming movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, told Billy Bush of Access Hollywood that he was in talks for the lead role of Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, in the rebooted franchise, the 18-year-old actor appears to be going back on his words. Or, perhaps, his earlier statements were true, but he's been asked to "zip it" by Sony's reps.
Either way, his latest comments to MTV about the subject make the news of his involvement with the movie far less intriguing. In the previous interview, he spoke of having a "few discussions" with the studio about playing the role, now he simply says that he is "hoping to be considered" along with "millions of actors out there." And, his comment about wanting to "focus on the human element a little bit more," has been replaced with the very bland statement, "I'm just a huge fan, that's all I can say."
Can say? Does that mean that Lerman actually does knows more than he's telling, but the studio execs have put the clamp down on him? Watch the video below and decide for yourself.
Posted 02.06.10 by BrentJS -
Who will wear the mask?
The January 11th news that Sony was scrapping Spider-Man 4 and rebooting the franchise following the departure of director Sam Raimi took nearly everyone by surprise. Even the title star of all three movies, Tobey Maguire, had updated the status of Spider-Man 4 only a few days before saying, "It's all happening right now. It's all sort of coming together."
In the wake of the news, numerous casting rumors have come bubbling up from the depths of the Internet. So far, none of them have proven to be credible. The latest news, coming out of an interview Billy Bush conducted with Logan Lerman for Access Hollywood, has the star of the upcoming movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief in talks for the lead role of Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, in the rebooted franchise.
There have been a few discussions, it's definitely something I'm looking into.
It's just, you know, conversations are starting. It's a long process with the studio and the producers and everything. But it's definitely a project that I'm really interested in, of course. I'd love to focus on the human element a little bit more. It'd be such a fun experience.
Casting the 18-year-old in the lead seems to fit with Sony's decision to take the franchise back to Spider-Man's origin as a geeky high school student who initially abuses his new powers. However, no sooner had the Lerman story broke than popular comic book movie blog HeatVision attempted to debunk the news.
While a "wide net" is being cast, according to a studio spokesman, "No offers have been made, nor have any business discussions been made with Lerman."
The actor's camp also confirms no business discussions are being held at this time.
Admittedly, it does seem unlikely that the star of one burgeoning franchise would be offered the lead role in another. Then again, if it works for Ryan Reynolds with his Deadpool and Green Lantern roles, perhaps Lerman could do the same with Percy Jackson and Spider-Man.
Posted 02.05.10 by BrentJS -
The recent news that the release of Spider-Man 4 might be pushed back or even cancelled because of problems with the script generated a plethora of forum posts and blogs speculating about the problems in question. It also prompted Marvel Studios and Disney to move up the releases of Thor and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, respectively, to take advantage of the plum early summer slot.
If a recent MovieLine article can be believed, the problems with the Spider-Man 4 script are numerous. The article purports to contain excerpts of a leaked email sent by Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal to director Sam Raimi, in which she shreds the script apart, especially some of the racier elements.
pg. 25. Have we not explored "accidental web-slinging as obvious premature ejac" metaphor enough in three movies? Feeling a bit hack now. Esp when Aunt May walks in on him watching the YouTube clip of the Vulture attack. We get it, web = semen. Wrists = penises. Aunt = Oedipal mother figure. Ick. Not even sexy.
pg. 37. PG-13! PG-13! No nudity! Where is this coming from? And full-frontal? Maguire has total nevernude rider, he's not even working out this time (he's really porked up since starving himself for Brothers), we're CGI on everything below first chin. Definitely definitely no d*ck. CAA will f'cking kill me if they even ever see this page. TEAR OUT AND BURN.
In another, Pascal warns against using plot devices that are too similar to those inJames Cameron's Avatar.
pg. 56. OK. I KNOW we all had a conf call about how important Avatar is to our business. I GET it. But we're gonna get KILLED on the blogs with this Vulture nonsense. [John] Malkovich can't — CAN NOT — lie down in a pod, have his brain shoot thru a psychedelic tunnel, and then FLY out of his lair in the ten-foot-tall body of a blue vulture. NO. First of all, Isn't Vulture color scheme usually green? Second of all, NO. DERIVATIVE. Still think Iron Man-style armor with wings is way to go. Or Goblin gliders strapped to arms. Either/or. Both art concepts were solid.
If the email turns out to be true, then the script problems may prove insurmountable, no matter how many writers are brought in to tinker with it.
Posted 01.08.10 by BrentJS -
It was revealed in October that plans for a Venom movie spinning off of the Marvel Comics villain featured in Spider-Man 3 were moving forward, with Spider-Man 4 screenwriter Gary Ross doing rewrites and possibly directing the picture. Apparently, the spin-off will not involve the only actor to ever portray the popular comic book villain on the big screen, Topher Grace.
In a recent interview with MovieWeb, Grace seemed unsure of how to answer questions about the Venom movie. When asked if he was interested in returning to the role (even though his character apparently died at the end of Spider-Man 3), Grace said, "You know, I guess." He went on to say that he hadn't "heard anything" from Sony about the project. When asked to clarify whether or not he had any current plans to appear in a Venom spin-off, Grace conceded, "No, I don't think so."
Posted 12.21.09 by BrentJS -
Appearing on the final day of the 37th annual UBS Global Media & Communications Conference, Disney Co. president and CEO Bob Iger confidently defended Disney's recent acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel. While he admitted that the movie business "is more challenging" than it has been "in a long time," Iger cited Jon Favreau's success with the little-known character of Iron Man as an example of one of the "potential surprises" awaiting Disney in Marvel's huge collection of characters.
Iger said that Disney will be able to test market the appeal of characters through its Disney XD channel before committing vast amounts of money to the development of its next potential franchise. Iger also said that Disney is"just fine" with allowing Sony to keep the rights to produce Spider-Man movies, even though the character is Marvel's premiere superhero, citing Marvel's right to handle the licensing of the films.
Spider-Man 4 is currently slated to begin shooting in March. Director Sam Raimi is back at the helm, with Tobey Maguire reprising the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
Posted 12.12.09 by BrentJS -
Back in October, director Sam Raimi hinted that one of the next villains to face down Peter Parker in Spider-Man 4 might be Dr. Curt Connors, AKA "The Lizard." In response to an MTV fan poll that picked The Lizard, Raimi said:
I love the Lizard. There's a great story there in the Marvel comic books about Dr. Connors.
While Raimi's comments may not be an indication that The Lizard will feature prominently in Spider-Man 4, recent comments Tobey Maguire has made to MTV lend more weight to that possibility.
I'm more familiar with Lizard and Mysterio, and I don't know — I like them as villains. I think they're great, and Lizard obviously has a really personal relationship with Peter Parker, so we often will go towards that kind of stuff.
Production on Spider-Man 4 is slated to begin in March.
Posted 11.24.09 by BrentJS -
It's not quite the announcement fans were waiting for, but actor Michael Papajohn, who played the criminal with a fatal need for Uncle Ben's car in Spider-Man, announced at a Philadelphia comic book convention that he will be reprising his role in Spider-Man 4. Papajohn gave no other information, saying that he could not reveal what his role entailed or he would have to kill everyone in the audience.
Fans are still anxiously waiting to find out who the villains will be in Spider-Man 4, so Papajohn's news will have to suffice in the meantime. Director Sam Raimi has said that Sony will reveal the villains when they receive the script from screenwriter David Lindsay-Abaire at the end of the summer.
Posted 06.22.09 by Ryan -
With the triumphant (and incredibly campy) opening line, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, wow,” the Japanese Spider-Man TV series bursts upon an unsuspecting American audience, courtesy of Marvel Comics.
Motorcycle chases, ninjas, flying robots, cyborgs… the Japanese Spider-Man TV series has got everything we love about Japanese cinema!
Episode 3
"Mysterious Thief 001 vs. Spider-Man"
In this episode, the Iron Cross Army abducts well-know burglar, Phantom Thief 001, in hopes of grooming him into another Spider-Man! Can the true web slinger stop the impostor before he wreaks havoc on the innocent?
Posted 04.14.09 by BrentJS -
With the triumphant (and incredibly campy) opening line, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, wow,” the Japanese Spider-Man TV series bursts upon an unsuspecting American audience, courtesy of Marvel Comics.
Motorcycle chases, ninjas, flying robots, cyborgs… the Japanese Spider-Man TV series has got everything we love about Japanese cinema!
Episode 2
"Mysterious World! The Man Lives to Fate."
Last episode, Takuya Yamashiro gained the powers of the Spider-Man and, with the help of Marveller, transformed into Leopardon to defeat Professor Monster and the Iron Cross Army. In this episode, a train suspiciously overturns and Takuya believes Professor Monster and the Iron Cross Army are responsible. Plus, flashbacks reveal the tragic details surrounding Garia's arrival on Earth and the transfer of power to Takuya.
Posted 04.07.09 by BrentJS -
With the triumphant (and incredibly campy) opening line, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, wow,” the Japanese Spider-Man TV series bursts upon an unsuspecting American audience, courtesy of Marvel Comics.
Motorcycle chases, ninjas, flying robots… the Japanese Spider-Man TV series has got everything we love about Japanese cinema!
Episode 1
"The Time of Revenge Has Come! Beat Down Iron Cross Group!"
In this episode, motorcycle racer Takuya Yamashiro gains the powers of Spider-Man! With his new powers and the help of Marveller, he transforms into Leopardon in order to defeat Professor Monster and his evil Iron Cross Army.
Posted 04.02.09 by BrentJS