andPOP » spider man

James Franco’s Past Comes Back to Haunt Him

Elisheva Baer — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:24:28 +0000

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As if he hasn’t gotten enough heat recently, James Franco’s ghosts of geeks past come back to haunt him!

According to Perez Hilton, the cast of Freaks and Geeks got together last weekend at the Paley Centre for Media’s annual Paley Fest…all but Franco, that is. And there was definitely no love in the air for the missing actor.

When the series’ creator Paul Feig stated that “there were no drama queens on the show”, Judd Apatow responded, “…Except for Franco.” Ouch.

Fellow freak-and-geeker Busy Phillipps, who’s character Kim Kelly was Franco’s on-screen girlfriend, said Franco once “threw her to the ground, even though the script didn’t call for the action.”

“Apparently, Franco decided that his character had “maybe been abused by his father,” but he never announced this to Philipps, and then during one scene when she lightly slapped him across the face, he freaked out and shouted “Don’t you ever [expletive] touch me again!” and then he threw her to the ground, which caused her to run to her trailer in tears.” Watch out world, we might have another Chris Brown on our hands!

It’s saddening to see such a notable actor going so downhill. We loved you in Spider Man and Pineapple Express, and we even loved you in 127 Hours. But after the Oscars, we lost most of our respect for you, and now this? Way to disappoint!

Zooey Deschanel in the Running for Spider-Man Reboot

Lauren Treihaft — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:21:15 +0000

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Perezhilton.com reports that indie darling Zooey Deschanel may be in the running for a supporting role in Marc Webb’s Spider-Man reboot. Webb apparently approached Deschanel to play the role of Betty Brant, J.J. Jameson, the secretary at the Daily Bugle newspaper. The role was formerly played by Elizabeth Banks in the Sam Raimi films.

If the film doesn’t have buzz enough, certainly adding Deschanel to the cast would up the popularity of the film. Deschanel seems like a good fit for the role and for the movie in general. Webb has casted indie favorites Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield so another loved zany star would work perfectly in the mix. Plus Deschanel is one of the most loved actresses right now. She hasn’t done much since (500) Days of Summer, but that film did extremely well.

Let’s hope she takes the role!

Spider-Man ‘Reboot’ Villain Announced

Lauren Treihaft — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:10:29 +0000

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Marc Webb, director of (500) Days of Summer, is currently in production on the “Reboot” of the Spider-Man series. The film stars Emma Stone (Superbad) as Gwen Stacy and Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) as Peter Parker. Since the beginning of the project rumors have been circling on who the villain might be. Could it be Venom? The Rhino? The Scorpian? TheWrap.com reports that the new villain will be The Lizard formerly played by Dylan Baker in the Sam Raimi Spider-man films.

Welsh Actor, Rhys Ifans (Hannibal Rising) will play The Lizard, also known as Dr. Curtis Connors. Connors was a scientist who lost his arm in the war and became obsessed with reptilian limb regeneration. After the war he began tests on animals to regenerate limbs and decided to test the formula on himself. In result he accidentally gave himself superhuman powers due to exposing himself to mutagenic chemicals.

It will be interesting to see another directors take on Spider-man. It seems that Webb may try to follow the comics more so than his predecessor, Raimi. The film will be in theaters in 3-D on July 3, 2012.

Andrew Garfield Cast as the New Spider-Man

Jacob Morris — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:18:24 +0000

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After much speculation of who the next Spider-Man will be, the billion-dollar franchise finally has a new lead. Andrew Garfield has been cast in the role of Peter Parker, and the studios are very confident that this guy has got what it takes.

Amy Pascal, co-chairmen of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Matt Tolmach, President of Columbia Pictures, commented, “You need someone who can magically transform himself from Peter Parker into Spider-Man,” continuing, “we have found that actor in Andrew Garfield. From the first time we saw him in the upcoming film The Social Network, to his glorious screen test, which floored all of us, we knew that we had found our new Peter Parker.”

Though he’s a relatively new actor on the scene, his credits speak for themselves. The young actor has had roles in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and Lions For Lambs, and his most significant part hasn’t even hit the theatres yet. Garfield stars in David Fincher’s new much anticipated movie about Facebook titled The Social Network opposite Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake.

As the young actor has already worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, it should be taken as a true testament that Garfield has some real talent. He’s starred alongside names like Heath Ledger, Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, and worked with greatly respected directors such as Spike Jonze.

The director of the new Spider-Man movie, Marc Webb, had nothing but good things to say about Garfield, commenting “Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.”

The next instalment of the Spider-Man series is scheduled to begin production in early December and will hit theatres in 3D on July 3, 2011.

Walt Disney and Marvel Get Hitched

Emma Renda — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:09:57 +0000

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Marvel Entertainment Inc., home of famed comic book characters such as Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Incredible Hulk and Fantastic Four, was purchased by Walt Disney Co. today.

The deal did not come cheap – Walt Disney Studios shelled out $4 billion in cash and stock to own the comic book catalogue consisting of more than 5,000 characters, some of which were created by legendary Stan Lee.

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters . . . with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company in a press release.

The full press release – and all the boggling stock statistics – is available online.

But it’s what this deal means to the comic franchise’s loyal fans that is concerning bloggers everywhere today.

The New York Daily News’ David Hinckley makes a valid point that this isn’t one rival company buying out another (think Coke buying out Pepsi). Marvel and Disney have never exactly been adversaries – rather, Disney has been at odds with Warner Bros. since the early 1900s, whereas Marvel has warred it out with DC Comics. However, DC Comics, home of Batman and Superman, is owned by Time-Warner and has admittedly been gloriously profitable since the Batman film franchise obliterated the dividing line between counter- and pop-culture.

The worry remains, as noted by The Wall Street Journal’s Steven Kurutz, of the unsettling offspring that could result from the close proximity of Marvel and Disney’s main characters.

“How about an American Idol-esque mall tour featuring pop songs by Ernst, a teenage girl suffering from the aging disease progeria, who first appeared in issue #135 of New X-Men?” Kurutz writes.

It’s a chilling thought, but Disney isn’t all bad. Sure, their reputation recently consists of little more than the photographic fare littering a teen girls bedroom walls (including Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.) But that’s because they use subdivisions of the company to release their edgier films, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean series, rather than taming the content for family audiences.

But as everyone knows, there’s nothing better for business than a little competition.

With Marvel/Disney now fiscally and commercially poised to take on DC/Time-Warner, audiences worldwide can expect even more enhancements in the comic adaptation frenzy that erupted this decade.

Of course it’s hard to imagine improving 2008′s Iron Man, and even more difficult to imagine what kind of competition would have encouraged a stronger product than The Dark Knight. But I can’t say I’m not curious.

Spider-Man 3 ‘Full Of Mistakes’

andPOP Staff — Wed, 23 May 2007 00:16:17 +0000

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Superhero blockbuster SPIDER-MAN 3 has been named the most mistake-filled movie of 2007.

Eagle-eyed fans posting on MovieMistakes.com have spied 16 inaccuracies in the third installment of the superhero’s big-screen outing, including continuity issues with Tobey Maguire’s hairstyle, his costume and ever-changing weather conditions.

Jon Sandys, of MovieMistakes.com, says, “I expect every movie to have a few mistakes, as it’s something a lot of film fans enjoy keeping an eye out for, but what’s been spotted so far are far more blatant than I’d think a film of this budget would suffer from.”

Studio Signs For Three More Spider-Man Movies

andPOP Staff — Fri, 11 May 2007 13:22:45 +0000

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Webbed superhero SPIDER-MAN will appear in at least three more movies, Sony Pictures have confirmed.

The studio’s chief executive Michael Lynton said after the box office success of the latest release Spider-Man 3, there is a huge audience waiting to see the story continue.

Lynton tells BBC News, “Everybody has every intention of making a fourth, a fifth and a sixth and on and on.

“(We’ll make) as many as we can make good stories for.”

Spider-Man 3 entered the record books as the most successful new release ever after taking $148 million in its opening weekend.

Lynton enthuses, “I think it had a lot to do with timing – the fact we were the first out in the summer.

“I think it had to do with the fact that the movie had a universal appeal, it had a broader appeal than the second movie, it attracted a family audience and brought the family audience back.

“There were many factors that contributed to it, and there’s a part that you just put down to ‘I don’t know’.”

Lynton did not confirm whether director Sam Raimi or Tobey Maguire would be coming back for the fourth installment and beyond.

Shooting On G-Unit Set

andPOP Staff — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 22:50:38 +0000

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Rapper SPIDER LOC was forced to dive for safety when gunfire interrupted filming for his new single.

The G-UNIT associate was shooting the music video for the track Blutiful in Compton, California, when 12-rounds shots were fired.

The incident was caught on tape with a behind the scenes camera. No one was
hurt.