Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Anne Hathaway To Edit, Romance Tobey Maguire in Tokyo Suckerpunch
Posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
Tobey Maguire is producing and will star in an adaptation of Isaac Adamson’s novel Tokyo Suckerpunch. Gary Ross, who worked with Maguire on Seabiscuit and Pleasantville, is set to direct. According to screenwriter Ed Solomon, who was speaking to Sci-Fi Wire, Maguire’s love interest is going to be played by Anne Hathaway. Tobey’s character is a graphic novelist who gets caught up in noir-tinted misadventure in Japan, while unexpectedly romancing his editor and learning some tough life lessons. More details in the full quote after the break.
Iron Man 2: Eliza Dushku Wants to Be The Black Widow
Posted on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Eliza Dushku appeared on the Howard Stern Show on Sirius/XM Radio this morning to promote her new television show Dollhouse. Things got interesting when the topic of conversation went to Robert Downey Jr and Iron Man. Dushku explained that she would love to play The Black Widow in Iron Man 2.
“They’re doing Iron Man 2, and I’m so perfect for the Black Widow character, that they just need to get into it. They need to understand… I just learned Russian because I had to play a Russian girl in Dollhouse.”
I get the impression from the way she just brought it up that she’s already either put her name in for the part or possibly even auditioned for the role. Emily Blunt was awarded the role but 20th Century Fox has an option on the actress and the studio wants her to play the romantic lead in Gulliver’s Travels. Last we heard the two production schedules were conflicting and Blunt might be forced to give up the role. And if that happens, Marvel will need a new Black Widow. Eliza went to give a plea to the audience to convince Marvel Studios to give her a chance.
Pulitzer Prize-Winner David Lindsay-Abaire to Write Spider-Man 4
Posted on Thursday, October 30th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Sony is in final talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire to write Spider-Man 4. It’s unclear if Lindsay is doing an entirely new take on the material, or if he’s rewriting James Vanderbilt’s recent draft. THR claims that director Sam Raimi and stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst are all expected the return for the fourth film. As expected, plot details are non existent at this point.
Most of Lindsay-Abaire’s plays center around “outsiders in search of clarity”, a view of life which no doubt formed while being a lower-class student in the prestigious boarding school. Lindsay-Abaire is known for his character work, which might mean that Sony is trying to address the problems of the third film.
The bad news is that Lindsay-Abaire has writing credits on two screenplays, Robots and Inkheart, neither of which would be considered great scripts. Lindsay-Abaire’s 2006 Broadway stage production of Rabbit Hole starred Cynthia Nixon and Tyne Daly. David also recently wrote the lyrics for Shrek The Musical. The hire of a pulitzer prize-winning writer is nothing new for the Spdier-Man series, as one of the writers on Spider-Man 2 was Michael Chabon, another Pulitzer winner.
Steven Spielberg’s Five Friends
The Pitch: What if I told you that Steven Spielberg just directed a project featuring Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Justin Timberlake, Tobey Maguire, Scarlett Johannson, Julia Roberts, Ben Stiller, Ryan Reynolds, Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf (of course), Cameron Diaz, Snoop Dog, Zach Braff, Ellen DeGeneres, Leonardo DiCaprio, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, and even Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat. This is of course, the follow-up to the popular “Five Friends” viral video that we previously featured. The end result might actually be the least entertaining thing Spielberg has ever directed. But hey, it’s a 5-minute short film directed by Spielberg, so we gotta post it. And, hey, its a good message.
Video of the Day is a daily feature of /Film showcasing geekarific video creations. Have a video we should be feature on VOTD? E-Mail us at orfilms@gmail.com.
Spider-Man 4 Trailer
The Pitch: College Humor created a trailer for Spider-Man 4 by mashing clips from the Spider-Man trilogy with Seabiscuit.
Video of the Day is a daily feature of /Film showcasing geekarific video creations. Have a video we should be feature on VOTD? E-Mail us at orfilms@gmail.com.
Kirsten Dunst Says She’s “In” For Spider-Man 4
Posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
When MTV asked Kirsten Dunst if she would be returning for Spider-Man 4, the actress responded “I’m in.” Which sounds like a done deal if you ask me. But when pressed if she officially signed on to return, the actress changed her tone, “I’m not saying anything, I know there’s rumors…”
This is certainly a change in tone from last year when Dunst was expressing disinterest in returning for more sequels, insisting she wouldn’t even consider the possibility if Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire weren’t involved. “Audiences aren’t stupid. It’d be a big flop without me, Tobey, or Sam,” Dunst told EW. But I guess its now sounding more and more like both Tobey and Sam will also return, and that two sequels will be shot back to back. If I were Raimi, I would kill Mary Jane off in a Empire Strikes Back type cliffhanger.
Tobey Maguire is that much closer to signing a deal for the next two Spider-Man films. According to The Times Online, Maguire is willing to shoot Spider-Man 4 and Spider-Man 5 back-to-back over six months next year for a record $50 million in salary and profit shares.
The story makes a big deal of a supposed clause in the contract which would give Maguire unprecedented early mornings and evenings off for “family time”. The idea is that shooting two films back to back is an exhausting task, and the clause would build in time off for Maguire to spend time with his 22 month old daughter. As CinemaBlend puts it, “Tobey Maguire is being paid $50 million to put in half-days at work.” But the gossipy details don’t mean much to me. Pay Maguire $100 million for all I care. As long as he’s back and there is a good screenplay and director behind the production, I will be happy.
Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire Will Return For Spider-Man 4. Sony Wants Spider-Man 5 Shot Back-to-Back. Venom Spin-Off News.
Posted on Friday, September 5th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
Nikki Finke reports that Sony has locked in both Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire for Spider-Man 4. Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane character is said to be included in the sequel(s), so the actress is rumored to be returning as well. And in the execs’ best case scenario, Raimi and Maguire would shoot Spider-Man 5 back-to-back. This would confirm what we reported this May: Screenwriter James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, The Rundown) turned in a script for the third sequel that, much to Sony’s liking, segued smoothly into an arc for a fifth film. Specific details on what it took to bring back the original star and director are not yet available. Spider-Man 4 remains set for a May 2011 release.
Per villains for a fourth film, Finke’s source hints, “once you find out who the villain is, you’ll know who’s playing it,” leading everyone to speculate that actor Dylan Baker, who played Dr. Curt Connors in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, will fight Spidey as The Lizard. Last year, Slashfilm gave 95% odds that The Lizard would be the main villain in the third sequel. Next time, call your bookie and send us 20% of the Euros.
Our reasoning was the dynamic relationship involved a la Harry Osbourne’s Goblin: “Connors developed an experimental serum taken from reptilian DNA, which he tested on himself and was subsequently transformed into a reptilian humanoid monster. Peter Parker worked as a teaching assistant to Dr. Connors at Empire State University, although Connors had no idea that Peter was actually Spider-Man.”
Included in Finke’s report is an update on the status of the Venom spin-off, a project that has divided fans and our readers, just like the jock-like character, for years. In what would be Marvel’s first feature headlined by a villain, Finke’s sources say that Topher Grace, who played the character in the much maligned Spider-Man 3, is still the front-runner due to, and I paraphrase, a sympathetic boy-next-door appearance. ;)
Discuss: Good news? Personally, I think Spider-Man should fight a new villain made out of hundred dollar bills. Do you think speculation about The Lizard is correct? Venom or bust? Where does this leave Raimi’s Evil Dead sequel and Maguire’s RoboTech?
Wow, Calm Down, Ha: Early word is that they are not going in a “gloomy Dark Knight direction.”
According to CHUD’s sources, screenwriting legend Lawrence Kasdan is writing the big screen live-action adaptation of Robotech. For those of you who don’t know, Kasdan is the guy who wrote Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark. What we do know for sure, Warner Bros and Maguire Entertainment are developing the project as a starring vehicle for Tobey Maguire. When the project was first announced back in September, Craig Zahler, a virtual unknown, was attached to pen the screenplay. Kasdan is an epic screenwriter for this epic sci-fi adaptation.
Robotech refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship that crashed on a South Pacific island. With this technology, Earth developed giant robotic machines or mecha (many of which were capable of transforming into vehicles) to fight three successive extraterrestrial invasions. At the time of its broadcast, Harmony Gold also launched Robotech through a popular line of comics to be followed by novels, role-playing games, video games, comic books, toys, and other consumer products.
JK Simmons Says Tobey Maguire Open to Spider-Man 4
Posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
JK Simmons, probably best known for playing J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man films, told IESB that the last time he talked to Tobey Maguire, the Spider-Man star was still open to the possibility of returning for a fourth film.
“I spoke to Tobey in, I guess it was February… sort of awards season time,” said Simmons. “and, y’know, he’s certainly amenable to doing some more and hopefully we’ll be able to get everybody back and make another good one.”
A lot of people say that they can’t imagine Spider-Man without Tobey or Kristen, but I say that’s easy. On the other hand, I’m not sure anyone could replace JK Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. The studio has supposedly checked in with Simmons to say they want him back for a sequel, but Sony still has no idea when it’s going to happen or who would be directing it. Simmons admits that if Sam Raimi weren’t involved in some capacity, he would have to reconsider his options.
“But if he’s involved, hopefully directing or at least as a producer then I’m pretty confident that it would be something that I want to do. Plus they pay money.”
In this episode of the /Filmcast, Dave, Devindra, Adam, and Peter, debate the merits of Sex and the City, lament the Universal fire, pore over the Lost finale, and discuss the nihilistic themes of Rambo. Special guest Myles McNutt joins us from Cultural Learnings and Alex Billington joins us from Firstshowing. Have any questions/comments/suggestions? Feel free to e-mail us at slashfilmcast@gmail.com.
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Sony Says Tobey Maguire is Still Spider-Man…For Now
Posted on Thursday, May 29th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
Two days ago, we delved into rumors that the next Peter Parker could be played by the Macguire-esque Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous, Wristcutters) or the younger, spunkish Michael Angarano (Sky High). Well, Sony wants to put some Internet skywriting out there and fast. Their message is: “Tobey Maguire you’re the best, you’re our Spider-Man!…right?” Sony’s head of media relations tells IESB…
“No one is being considered for the role but Tobey. Period.”
IESB adds that numerous inside sources and agencies have confirmed that no actor in Hollywood or Bollywood has been contacted for Peter Parker. Prior to this, CHUD caught word from a producer on Fugit’s latest film who said the rumor was totally bunk. Let’s all electric slide back to square one, okay?
This premature casting drama went supernova because a higher-up at Marvel speculated that Sony will have Spider-Man 4 in theaters in 2010, which supported rumors that Sony wants to shoot Spider-Man 4 and Spider-Man 5 back-to-back. Whatever Sony says, there is movement happening with the franchise, so a little interwebs madness is expected, healthier than eating bacon even.
I don’t think Fugit would be (have been) an unwise choice, he’s talented, but he shares Macguire’s sleepy, melancholy style to a fault. Peter wonders why Shia Labeouf is not in the mix—he’s probably my first choice for Parker, and I really hope they bring in a new director as well. What’s interesting is that the fan outrage at these Macguire replacement rumors is not really there, which is odd. And fanboy hindsight on Spider-Man 3 seems to grow dimmer as time passes. More on the next Spidey flick(s) as it develops.
Discuss: Will Tobey Maguire be back you think? Do you think the word is out to other actors? Ideally, what do you want to see happen?
