It seems like only yesterday comic book fans were all excited about the very first Spider-Man movie — Sam Raimi's 2002 take on the webslinging superhero, starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. With Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone stepping in to lead Marc Webb's high school-set The Amazing Spider-Man, a lot of people are wondering if the reboot is any different at all. Time will tell if fans decide Amazing is better or worse, or maybe just the same as Raimi's Spider-Man — but looking back on interviews from 2002's Spider-Man junket, it turned out some of the exact same questions were asked of both sets of directors and stars.
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Summertime is blockbuster season, and with it comes the usual onslaught of promotional tie-ins. Naturally, The Amazing Spider-Man has generated its share of interesting merchandising partners. However, with great products come great risibility, and with over ninety promotional partners it was inevitable that some of the marketing would miss the mark. From odd adult eyewear to a line of cosmetics, take your pick of the items that failed in the goal to get your spending-sense tingling.
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Rebooting the Spider-Man franchise just five years after Sam Raimi completed his own $2.4 billion trilogy was a controversial move in itself, let alone the idea of revisiting Spidey’s origin story, one of the most familiar and popular beginnings in comic book lore, yet again. But whatever qualms you might have about The Amazing Spider-Man treading familiar ground — this time with Andrew Garfield as a skate-boarding high-schooler/vigilante nursing abandonment issues — director Marc Webb himself wrestled with the very same issues from the start.
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Also in Monday morning's round up of film news, more winners from the Edinburgh International Film Festival as well as fest news from Karlovy Vary and Shanghai.AndSpider-Man opens overseas to some impressive numbers
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Andrew Garfield has passed along comments and notes from his inaugural Spider-Man stint for a while now, but he's saved his first truly in-depth press foray for a chat with the one guy on Earth who can literally relate to every word: Ex-Spider-Man franchise star Tobey Maguire.
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Because nothing says "blockbuster of the season" like angsty daddy issues -- mingled with a barrage of cool CG-tastic effects and action shots and nerd bait -- Sony's unveiled the latest official trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man, due in theaters July 3. Emphasis this time around is on what made emo-snarky Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) the super-powered jokester hero he is: Namely, losing Ma and Pa Parker as a kid.
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Look, it's Friday. We're all working for the weekend, here. And besides, superhero season is nigh upon us! Do I really need a good reason for posting a collection of YouTube Spider-Men dancing in costumes on the internet? Yeah, didn't think so. ENJOY! With great power comes great responsibility... to get down, Spidey-style.
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Forget comparisons to Twilight -- will Lionsgate's The Hunger Games hit Dark Knight-level opening weekend success? So sayeth some experts who peg the PG-13 action pic's tracking in the $85 million - $115 million range on par with Iron Man, Spider-Man, and franchise sequels usually featuring wizards or robots. What's more, The Hollywood Reporter cites "insiders" who think those figures are conservative and say the Suzanne Collins YA adaptation could even bank as much as $140 million thanks to its four-quadrant appeal, which would propel it not only ahead of all but one Twilight sequel in the record books, but into the Top 5 weekend openings of all time. [THR]
In February, a federal court threw out a suit filed by Stan Lee Media Inc. against Paradox Entertainment — a failed attempt for the plaintiff to regain the intellectual-property rights of the Conan comic character. It might seem odd enough that a company sues for a claim to the proceeds of a film that lost tens of millions of dollars last summer, but odder still is that Stan Lee himself — the comic-book mastermind responsible for The Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, and hundreds of other iconic characters — was neither the plaintiff nor the defendant in that suit.
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As previewed earlier today for select audiences around the globe, here's Sony's brand spankin' new theatrical trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man. (Find my full detailed Spider-Man preview Q&A recap, including descriptions of the sizzle reel that has not yet been released, here.) Take a look and weigh in, Spidey fans -- is this the version of the Marvel superhero we both need and deserve?
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Forget blowing a million or more on a Super Bowl ad; the day after upcoming tentpoles John Carter, Battleship, and G.I. Joe targeted football-watchers with pricey TV spots, Sony went after niche fans with an international simulcast screening of new footage and a 3-D preview of the new Amazing Spider-Man trailer set to hit tonight at midnight PT. Though it included some unfinished visual effects, the sizzle reel featuring 30-40 percent new footage (according to a rep for the studio) hinted at the scope and darkly humorous tone of the Marc Webb-directed reboot.
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Bruce Lee as Spidey? Harvey Keitel as Wolverine? Now this is fantasy superhero casting I can get behind. Check out these and more pieces of gorgeous concept art from French artist/creature designer Alexandre Tuis, who racked his pop culture-loving memory banks to envision Marvel's most famous heroes as played by a roster of legends and favorite actors. Rutger Hauer as Thor? Come on now. Perfection.
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When Rhys Ifans crosses paths with Peter Parker & Co. as the villain The Lizard in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot, his performance will partially be obscured by CG accoutrements. But one element of the baddie should be a little more recognizable, even after, as Ifans suggests, audio effects will be employed to make him sound even more otherworldly. Not that he needed much help terrifying intrepid MTV reporter Josh Horowitz, as he did when he unleashed a voice akin to Gollum on steroids. Watch and listen for yourself after the jump.
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Less than a month after a bizarre incident in which The Amazing Spider-Man actor Rhys Ifans was cited for a backstage altercation at Comic-Con, the city of San Diego has declined to press charges: "After reviewing differing witness accounts, our prosecutors concluded there was not sufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," a rep for the Attorney's Office told E! News, leaving Ifans free to pester his true nemesis: Spidey! [E! Online]
Marvel Studios founder (and former toy inventor) Avi Arad has built an empire out of the superhero business, having produced everything from the Blade films to the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, Hulk, Iron Man, and Spider-Man films and the upcoming Andrew Garfield-starring reboot, not to mention the 2012 superhero superfilm The Avengers. Needless to say, there was a ton to discuss and not nearly enough time when Movieline caught up with Arad at Comic-Con right before Sony's Hall H panel for The Amazing Spider-Man.
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