-
When Access Hollywood reported that Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief star Logan Lerman was in talks for the lead role of Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, in the rebooted franchise, the news spread like wildfire.
The very next day, Lerman backpedaled on his previous comments about "looking into" the role and having "a few discussions" with the producers for the part, saying that he was just "hoping to be considered" along with "millions of actors out there." Sony, which owns the rights to the Spider-Man franchise, jumped into action almost immediately, issuing a statement that called into question nearly everything Lerman told Access Hollywood.
No offers have been made, nor have any business discussions been made with Lerman.
If Lerman's Spider-Man statements irked Sony, it's hard to tell from their very matter-of-fact statement, but they couldn't have been made at a worse time for 20th Century Fox. Lerman was in the midst of doing press for Fox's Percy Jackson when the rumor blew up, and the 18-year-old actor ended up fielding questions about Spider-Man in nearly every subsequent Percy Jackson interview.
Now, the "Lerman is Spider-Man" rumors are starting up all over again. In what is dubbed "exlusive news," Dan Deevy of TheCinemaSource claims that "inside sources" have confirmed to him that Lerman was actually in talks for the role of Spider-Man and that he will be the next Spider-Man.
One of the obvious obstacles to Lerman's participation in the Spider-Man reboot is the fact that he is already signed on to star in more Percy Jackson movies. The amount of time and energy needed to shoot and promote one franchise, let alone two, is considerable, which would seem to preclude Lerman as a choice for Spider-Man. However, given the lackluster box-office numbers of The Lightning Thief, Lerman may have some free time on his hands in the near future, opening the door for Spider-Man.
Posted 02.24.10 by BrentJS -
ReelzChannel is putting the spotlight on kids books that have made the leap from the page to the big screen. Tune in Friday, February 19, at 6PM ET/ 3PM PT to see how some of today's most beloved book series have been transformed into hit movies.
ReelzChannel is on DirecTV (channel 238) and DISH Network (channel 299), as well as on your cable system. From A to Z, here's the full list of books we'll be taking a look at:
– Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
– The Apple Dumpling Gang by Jack Bickham (1971)
– Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964)
– Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (1952)
– Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett (1978)
– Coraline by Neil Gaiman (2002)
– Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (series debuted in 2007)
– Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl (1970)
– Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (series debuted in 1997)
– How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell (2003)
– James and The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (1961)
– The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (1950)
– A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1904)
– Mary Poppins by PL Travers (1934)
– Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988)
– The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (1979)
– Old Yeller by Fred Gibson (1956)
– Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan (series debuted in 2005)
– Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie (1911)
– Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter (1913)
– The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911)
– Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss (1812)
– Where the Wild Thing Are by Maurice Sendak (1963)
– The Witches by Roald Dahl (1983)
Posted 02.18.10 by reelz -
Lots of fans of the Percy Jackson book series are hopeful it makes a successful transition to the big screen. So far, eh.
"...gets so many things right that when it goes astray (which happens with more and more frequency as it goes along) that you kind of wish it hadn't tried in the first place."
— Bill Gibron, filmcritic.com
"...yet another kidlit adaptation hoping to steal some of Harry Potter's thunder."
— Peter Debruge, Variety
"...a kids'-book adaptation that follows the J.K. Rowling formula closely enough to ease the pangs of forlorn Harry Potter fans in general."
— Tasha Robinson, Onion A.V. Club
"...a wannabe-franchise jumpstarter directed by Chris Columbus with the same flat, crane-shot-obsessed aesthetic blandness that he brought to his first two Potter movie adaptations."
— Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
Posted 02.11.10 by reelz -
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 -
The floodgates really have opened for the son of Poseidon. Just yesterday, we got a batch of video profiles for several characters in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Now we have eight new clips.
Some of the footage here has popped up elsewhere before, but a surprising amount of it is new. Even with scenes like Mrs. Dodds morphing into a swooping Fury or the Hydra attack, which had been fairly extensively previewed before, there is more context. And some of the sequences are completely new. The opening clip, for example, which shows Percy (Logan Lerman) in a confrontation on top of a building, is a nice showcase for the more liquid special effects in the movie.
A signature still from this sequence is also included in a new set of high-res pictures from the movie.
Posted 02.05.10 by reelz -
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 -
Promos for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief are popping up all over the place today. The most interesting of the lot are a series of character profiles that offer quite a bit of additional footage and more than a few spoilers.
All of these featurettes have at least a little something new to offer, but the portrait of Hades (Steve Coogan), the overlord of the Underworld, has the most new stuff. He has not been featured in the trailers so far, so this really is a first look at him, in human … and not-so-human form. We get a good taste of his personality as well. "I have one pleasure in my life: human suffering," he informs Percy at one point, before going on to lay out his plans for taking over, well, everything.
Although we have been able to sneak a few peeks at Medusa (Uma Thurman) before, her profile here is more extensive and contains the most spoilers. She's definitely got great hair. And, as we can see more clearly in a separately released publicity still, one really seductive accessory.
The footage released in the rest of the character profiles — Percy, Annabeth, Grover — looks to be a windup for the new international trailer, which incorporates some of their highlights, and adds pretty interesting additional bits as well, including a first look at Percy's father Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). However, it currently seems to be available only in a French-dubbed version. Worth watching, nonetheless, and the French makes everything sound even more dramatic.
Posted 02.04.10 by reelz -
Last Friday, the cast of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief made an appearance in Athens near the Acropolis to answer questions posed by fans online. Among the topics discussed were the amusing challenges Brandon Jackson (who plays Percy's satyr friend Grover Underwood) faced working his goaty legs.
In conjunction with the chat, a new clip from the movie was released as well. Here we get an extended look at how Percy (Logan Lerman) puts some of his new-found powers to work fighting off the many-headed fire-breathing Hydra. When the monster first appears, it does so in human form as a line of rather odd-looking security guards. The transformation comes as a bit of a surprise for Percy and his companions, and they have to really scramble to mount an effective response. It's in situations like this that Percy discovers how good it really is to be the son of Poseidon.
Posted 02.01.10 by reelz -
If you really want to be a goddess, persistence pays off. At least, that's what Erica Cerra found out in multiple auditions for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Enthusiasm, flexibility, and a wry sense of humor turned out to be a big help as well, as she explains in an interview with Hero Complex.
Well, unfortunately, [Percy Jackson director] Chris Columbus was not banging down my door, and I had to go in and audition. I initially went in for Medusa and Persephone. Shocking that I didn't beat out Uma Thurman or Rosario Dawson, I know. But, he brought me back a couple of times and I auditioned for another character. Then I came back again for another character and ultimately got the part of Hera. Even before that, though, I ran out to the library and got all of the books. I love fantasy. If I could have, at the time when I was 12, been on Harry Potter, then I would have ... I was like, Percy Jackson and the Olympians! Cool!
Turns out all that research wasn't entirely in vain either. Responding to concerns that the movie might try to make the gods too contemporary, she acknowledges that filmmakers did alter the movie to make it more tempting for an older audience, but insists that they didn't mess with the goddesses too much.
I think they made a really good choice. I think you can see with Persephone in the trailer, he just goes sort of classic and beautiful. I think that they'll, well, I don't think, I know, but I just don't want to tell you too much! Some of the gods are a little bit edgier, but, at least for the goddesses, they're mostly classic.
And classic for Hera means that she is a bit of a mother figure, the mother figure actually, which perhaps isn't the best fit for Cerra, given her looks. But the actress says she took the part head on, attitudes and all.
Well, the story of Hera is that she is a bit of a prude. She is the goddess of marriage so she has a bit of a tough time with what goes on with the gods, their fraternization with the humans and having babies and such. Hera basically dislikes everyone, even her own husband and brother cause he's had a million affairs There is an element of bitterness towards her, and from her a bit towards Percy and Annabeth cause there's the possibility of something maybe happening between the two of them. She just feels that there should be a bit more loyalty.
Outside of the role though, Cerra is a bit more understanding about all the illicit goings-on.
These gods and goddesses hang out for a millennia or more, for thousands of years together ... they get bored.
Find out more about the rest of the pantheon Columbus cast in Meet the Greek Gods and Goddesses in Percy Jackson.
Posted 01.31.10 by reelz -
Would you believe it was Jim Carrey? The two worked together on 2007's The Number 23. We've got the details in our exclusive interview with Logan Lerman, tomorrow on Hollywood Dailies.
Lerman also highlights the coolest parts about playing the half-blood son of Poseiden, which include Percy's ever-trusty Riptide, learning to scuba dive, and working with a star-studded cast.
The interview premieres tomorrow at 7 PM ET. Find out where you can watch ReelzChannel TV in your area.
Posted 01.25.10 by reelz