Spider-Man 3

Started by MacGuffin, March 22, 2005, 12:43:47 AM

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MacGuffin

"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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McfLy

Thats brilliant. All I have to look forward to now is Venom, and laughing at the new Green Goblin costume.

MacGuffin

"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Simmons on Spider-Man 3 & More Sequels

J.K. Simmons talked to TV Guide about returning as J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man 3 and possibly making more sequels. Simmons says he wrapped filming two or three weeks ago.

TVGuide.com: What's your feeling on 3? Judging by the trailers, it looks darker.
Simmons: I think it pulls in a lot of interesting directions. Of course we're a long ways from seeing a final version of it, but my stuff, we had a lot of fun doing. I probably had not as much to do as I did in the second one and maybe a little more than I had in the first one, but from what I saw the new bad-guy stuff is once again going to top its predecessor.

TVGuide.com: In 2, we met Jonah's son, who in Spider-Man lore evolves into a villain. But they're not playing that card yet?
Simmons: Not yet. Hopefully there are plenty of cards to play for [Parts] 4, 5, 6.... I'll do a Spider-Man for every two or three years for the next couple decades if they want. That'd be all right!

TVGuide.com: Was there any talk of Spider-Man 4 on the set?
Simmons: Yeah, it got mentioned. In fact, the last couple of days I shot was at the very end of the schedule — we were doing some night-action scenes in New York — and [director] Sam [Raimi] was talking about it. It's not a done deal because everybody's deals, including Sam Raimi's and all the actors', was for three pictures. But he's certainly open to doing more.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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modage



A final spin for 'Spider-Man'?
Source: USA TODAY

As the superhero franchise, which has taken in more than $1.6 billion worldwide, returns to Comic-Con to promote next year's Spider-Man 3, some are wondering whether the series is making its final bow.

Including star Tobey Maguire.

"We've done an amazing job at keeping things fresh," Maguire tells USA TODAY. But, he adds, "it's hard to imagine continuously coming up with stories that deserve to be told. I'm not sure if there are more stories for this character that are interesting enough to be excited about doing more."

Sony Pictures, the distributor for the films, isn't saying either way. And superhero franchises, such as the Hulk, have been pronounced dead, only to resurface under a new director or production company.

But Spider-Man producers concede they haven't looked beyond this installment of the series, which they always viewed as a trilogy.

"We don't have a book we're adapting, like a Lord of the Rings," says Spider-Man producer Laura Ziskin. "It's open-ended. But this could be the last. We've never started on the next movie while we were working on the current one."

More than a dozen big-studio movies will be featured at the nation's largest comic-book convention this weekend, but none come shouldering more excitement or expectations than Spider-Man. It's due in theaters May 4.

Producers — and perhaps, they say, a star from the movie — will unveil some hastily gathered footage from the film Saturday as a goodwill gesture to the convention, which has been a taproot of the franchise's loyal following.

"This is a going-home kind of thing," producer Avi Arad says. "We brought the first one here and the fans have supported us and (director) Sam Raimi from the start. We wanted to say thank you."

Filmmakers are closely guarding plot points to the film, though it will feature a new villain, Sandman, played by Thomas Haden Church.

And Ziskin promises one foe will be Spidey himself.

"He'll have to battle villains within," she says. "I love what we've done with this character."

So does Maguire.

"This one, to me, has more interesting twists and turns" than the first two, he says. "It's been a fun ride."
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

modage

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

McfLy

The audience in the Spidey 3 pannel at the CON got to see a shot of Venom from the film. Hoper some amateur footage shows up online. 

MacGuffin

Spider-Man 3 Footage at Comic-Con Panel!

The entire cast of Spider-Man 3 appeared at the San Diego Comic-Con to present some new footage and answer questions from a very excited, jampacked crowd.

First, they introduced director Sam Raimi and producer Laura Ziskin who were a bit uncertain whether to show some new footage, since a lot of it was unfinished, but the crowd quickly convinced them to do so, and they ran an exclusive extended teaser.

It opens with Tobey Maguire looking into a mirror and opening his shirt to reveal a black costume, with a voice over from Aunt May, "Uncle Ben wouldn't want us living with revenge in our hearts, just like voices that take you over and turn us into something ugly." The daunting title card comes on saying "All Will Be Lost," and then the next scene shows Topher Grace as Eddie Brock walking through a church with a voice over of him asking someone "to do one thing for me. I want you to kill Peter Parker." (The movie sounds like it may be very dark, doesn't it?)

The rest of the teaser footage went by way too fast to describe in detail, but we did see Peter Parker in a black ninja-like suit, apparently carrying a sword (!), and there were extensive fight scenes between Spider-Man and Sandman, which weren't even close to being finished, but looked quite fantastic. There was also a little more footage of the new Harry Osborn/Goblin character, which Raimi explained later wouldn't be called either the "Green Goblin" or the "Hobgoblin," but it is Harry using his father's Goblin equipment to get revenge on Peter Parker. (So that's two people who don't like Peter Parker... not to mention the Sandman!)

The footage ended with Topher's Eddie Brock feeling something black and gooey hit his hand--obviously the symbiote--and it cuts to the very first image of the computerized Venom, who looks exactly like he does in the comic book if rendered in 3D, looking straight into the camera with his jaws wide open and drooling. If you're a fan of Venom, you're not likely to be disappointed.

Director Sam Raimi then introduced the entire cast of the movie, who showed up in San Diego unannounced in the program (though you read about it right here on ComingSoon.net/SuperheroHype.com). Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane Watson), Bryce Dallas Howard (Gwen Stacy), Thomas Haden Church (Sandman), Topher Grace (Eddie Brock/Venom) and Tobey Maguire (duh) all came out to the type of rapturous applause reception that the Rolling Stones must experience at every show.

They immediately went to questions from the audience, with a lot of it focusing on Grace, who admitted to being a fan of the comics, particularly the Todd McFarlane ones, and he liked being able to play a darker version of the Peter Parker character.

Everyone on stage seemed to be having fun, Raimi and Tobey doing a bit of a schtick about how Tobey lied to Raimi about being a big fan of Spider-Man before getting the part, and one poor fan wearing a large "S" on his shirt was heckled a bit, before Raimi quipped that he liked the "new Spider-Man logo."

Before the end of the panel, they showed a few new images of all the characters new and old. Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane was surrounded by what looked like black webbing (though it could have been strands of the symbiote), Bryce Dallas Howard was simply sitting in a chair, Tobey Maguire had a very Superman-like pose with him ripping open the shirt to show the black costume. The two new villain shots were the most interesting, as Thomas Haden Church's Sandman had his back towards the camera with a small child holding a teddy bear standing behind him (which will probably be a big part of his story) and Topher Grace was in profile with the symbiote covering the back of his head and starting to spread over his face. (These pictures should be available soon to those who couldn't make it to the Comic-Con.)

"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Comic-Con 2006: Spider-Man 3 Interviews
Sam Raimi and the cast on making the film.

IGN FilmForce attended a roundtable interview Saturday at Comic-Con International in San Diego with Spider-Man 3 director Sam Raimi and cast members Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard and Thomas Haden Church.

The interviews took place prior to Sony's presentation of exclusive new footage from the highly anticipated film. Here's what Raimi and his stars had to say about Spider-Man 3 and their characters.

Q: Are you making an announcement today?

Sam Raimi: I'm having a baby. [laughter] The big villain that we have been expecting will be my mother-in-law. [laughter]. It will be Venom. He'c coming to star across from Tobey in the picture, along with Thomas Haden Church, who plays The Sandman.

Kirsten Dunst: You guys are like, "We already knew that." ... I thought I let that out of the bag awhile ago?

Q: We've always heard you were more interested in the classic villains. What made you bring Venom into this movie?

Raimi: Well, Avi Arad – who really has the pulse of the Marvel fans, better than the head of any corporation has understood those people interested in the corporation's product – really knows what those kids want. And he said, you've had two Spider-Man pictures and there's so many kids, so many fans of Spider-Man, want to see Venom. Even though you didn't grow up with him, they want to see him. You've got the Sandman, he's one of your favorite villains, so why don't you bring Venom in also and make those kids, fans of Venom, happy. So I thought that's what we should do.

Q: But do you like him now?

Raimi: Now that I've seen Topher Grace perform him, and saw what Alvin Sargent did with the script – he created a great character, really filled out Eddie Brock into a very meaningful character. Ad Tobey has a great energy with him in the few scenes they play together as competitors and I really like him now.

Q: So which version of Venom will yours be based on?

Raimi: We studied all the different looks. So many different artists ... created different looks of Venom and we tried to take the ones that worked best for us but also the ones Avi felt were the most classic elements and base it on that. There's a lot of fantastic elements about Venom that you could say are in conflict with the realism that we wanted to have in the picture. But we just said to ourselves, 'Kirsten and Tobey, you'll just have to do the heavy-lifting here to bring it back down to earth because there's thid wild goof from outer space and you'll just have to connect us to the characters." [laughter]

Q: So Venom is from outer space?

Raimi: I never said that, sir. I don't know what you're talking about.

Q: How do you deal with juggling so many characters?

Raimi: Well, Spider-Man comic books had all these characters and successfully interwove their stories. A lot of what we're doing is not introducing elements, like if Harry Osborn does decide to seek vengeance upon Peter Parker for the death of his father, it's certainly something that's been set up in the first and then second picture. This is more the conclusion of that. So we have less work to do in that sense of not just introducing all of these new people. One of the other villains we've tried to weave the story into Peter Parker's personal life in as important of a way we could, in a way that will hopefully make more of the first two pictures [ad] give us insights into what we've seen before. Probably only with the Brock character is there a complete new introductions of elements into Peter's life. But that's okay because he can meet new people, too.

Q: So what's new for your characters this time? How have they grown?

Dunst: Well, for Mary Jane ... Basically, she's still an actress and you could see were it was heading towards in the last film with Peter. Emotionally it's much more adult, mature. There's a lot more at stake because of their relationship. They're together. Emotionally, there's a lot more at stake for all the characters, and I think that we've gone more into their relationship because their older and it's become more complicated. Emotionally, it's a much heavier film to me.

Q: And Tobey?

Tobey Maguire: Obviously, there's a continuity of character that we have to keep up. Peter Parker is Peter Parker so it's important to not just try to create new things for Peter just for the sake of that but I don't necessarily want to see the same scenes played out and see Peter go through the same kinds of things that he's gone through. So I think that Alvin and the other people who had input into Peter's story and what Peter's going through in this movie did a fantastic job because as an actor for me there was noting stale about it. I got to approach it and got to do brand new, really fun, interesting things for myself. And in terms of what the specifics of that are, you'll see when you check out the movie.

Q: Tobey, you seem to delve into the darker aspects of Peter Parker, at least judging by the trailer. Was it more rewarding for you as an actor to sink your teeth into the dark side of who this guy is or who he could become?

Maguire: We've gone into some new and different areas, it was fun for me without losing touch with who Peter is and so I really enjoyed the things I got to do in the movie.

Q: Whether there's another movie or not, does this movie bring the whole story to some closure?

Dunst: This is definitely a culmination but you'd have to have seen the first and second movies. This definitely ties up some storylines but if there are more stories to tell, if things are unresolved, then we will tell them. But I think it depends on if everyone's game and there's a story to tell. Because if there's a good story, I'll be there.

Q: What about the casting of Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy?

Raimi: We just cast the best actress for the part. Tobey, our producer Laura Ziskin, myself, Grant Curtis. We just wanted to find the best actress for the role. Not someone who looked like Gwen Stacy of the comics, although once the actress would have been cast that would have been our immediate job. How do we make her look like the image that the kids have grown up with? But nevertheless in casting, we're just trying to find the right person who can make it real, who can take the dialogue and bring it to life. Read it in the most unexpected way, bring some life to it. Make it interesting, exciting for me who is watching it, for Tobey who is acting it, for Laura who was watching it with us. That's really what the casting is about. The moment came when Bryce read the scene, one particular scene, and it came to life for us suddenly, and we all looked to each other and felt energized. It was a different thing than with Kirsten and Tobey because we were after a different relationship there. But here we were looking for a great actress and that's what seemed to jump out at us.

Dunst: So you weren't looking for a great actress when you cast me? [laughter]

Q: Sam, can you talk about filming in L.A. and Cleveland? Was that just fir economics or does Spidey have to save Cleveland?

Raimi: Cleveland was wonderful to us. They really put the red carpet out for us and allowed us to do a tremendous amount of shooting there so we're very thankful to that city. What happened was that the soundstages were in Los Angeles ... all the stage work was done there or 90% of it. And New York has always been the city of Spider-Man so we went to New York to shoot all the location photography. There is a car action sequence but Manhattan couldn't give us ten straight blocks of city dedicated to our car chase but Cleveland could. So we sent a second unit there, under the direction of Dan Bradley, a great stunt coordinator and second unit director I've worked with before, to shoot these car action stunts there. So for ten days we were able to monopolize these streets so that's why we shot in Cleveland.

Q: What's the status of the Evil Dead remake?

Raimi: I've been so busy on Spider-Man that I haven't had time to think about it lately. But what we want to do with this company [Ghost House Pictures] is find the right director who can really reinvigorate that story and really spook the heck out of the audience. That's what we're waiting for.

Q: Is Bruce Campbell in Spider-Man 3?

Raimi: He plays a cameo, yeah. He's got a new character.

Q: The rumor is it's Mysterio.

Raimi: We can't say. [laughter]

Q: Can you talk about the special effects process this time?

Raimi: Well, what I think is different this time is there's new challenges. We had to bring about the Sandman and we've got a great special effects designer in Scott Stokdyk who did the first two Spider-Man pictures along with John Dykstra. Now he's got the job alone. We've got a lot of the same animators, we've replaced a lot of them. Others have moved on but the core team is there and we've tried to build upon it. So we've become better at working with animation. I've learned a lot over the last five years. ... But as far as the technical aspects and what the new hurdles are, it's really about bringing about the Sandman to the screen. How can we make it believable t the audience? Not just fantastic but believable that this fella could turn into sand and become this substance and still be a human being without feeling the hand of manipulation of the artist all the time. But just getting into the dream f it, getting sucked up in the story. ... We still aren't sure we can do it actually.

Q: What about Venom?

Raimi: Venom is less of a technical challenge and more of an artistic challenge in trying to capture the spirit of this very powerful, somewhat spider-ized, graceful but animal not Spider-Man style of movement. That's more of capturing a dance form on screen.

Q: Will this film use Danny Elfman's themes?

Raimi: I haven't yet spoken with Danny but I'm hoping that it will be Danny Elfman working in conjunction with Chris Young.

Q: Sam, you're bringing Gwen Stacy into this movie and she's a character famous for being killed. So are you killing her in this movie?

Raimi: I wouldn't dream of it, sir. The villains may have something else in mind, though.

Q: Are we ever going to see The Lizard as one of the villains?

Raimi: I'm not at liberty to say, sir.

Q: How faithful are you to the comics in terms of the visuals?

Raimi: In this story we're less specific but we did try and stay very true to the Venom comic books when they describe his birth. The creation of Venom. We did try and stay true to the writers and artists' ideas about how that happened.

[Raimi, Maguire and Dunst exit the interview, making way for cast members Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard and Thomas Haden Church.]

Q: Topher, what's it like playing Venom?

Grace: He's a great character to play. Unlike most bad guys, he truly loves being evil. He really comes to grips with it and enjoys it so it was fun to play someone who finds their way to that place. It's a fun thing to play as an actor.

Q: Did any of you have any trepidation about taking on a comic book movie and becoming part of such a phenomenon?

Church: I wouldn't say there was trepidation but you have a tradition with the comic book that you have to honor and then you look at the requisite storytelling that went on with the first two movies, I just wanted to do my part. Get in the game, be in it for minute, not fumble the ball in the endzone. I just wanted to be able to do what was asked of me. Sam is a real actor's director. I've described him as Elia Kazan trapped inside this Motor City madman action picture director body. ... He just has a great specificity and I think that's part of the allure of the movies to create people that are very accessible and to hire actors that are very accessible and identifiable to the audience.

Q: Were any of you fans of the comics?

Grace: Yeah, I got into it when Todd McFarlane was illustrating the comic in the late '80s, which fortunately was right when my character was coming into existence. ... I was such a big fan, really of Peter Parker and a lot of work McFarlane had done. So I'm probably the geekiest guy ever to be cast in a geek film. The first day I was on the set I was in the Bugle, and just as a fan of the first two movies, you know like those theme parks that are like, "We'll put you in the movie." And the guy's there with the cigar. "Parker, get in here!" It was tough because I had to be angry but I was just smiling ear to ear.

Q: Is there supposed to be a dichotomy between Eddie Brock and Peter Parker?

Grace: There is. That's what I liked about the character the most. It's kind of a case study if someone had the same job and kind of the same taste in women and got the same powers but had a really bad upbringing. I used to stay on-set to Sam, "With great power comes great fun."

Q: Bryce, can you say anything about the love triangle involving your character, or if her fate is the same as what it was in the comic?

Bryce Dallas Howard: I can't really say anything about any of that. What I can say is, and I'm sure you guys and audiences know this, but the second film was twice as big as the first film. And the third film is three times as big as the entire franchise put together, and that's a testament to how much integrity and passion that everyone who's working on this truly has. They could just sit back and be like, "We got it. We've got the people who are in the seats opening weekend." They don't do that. They work so incredibly hard and they push themselves artistically ... What Sam brings into this is how moral are we going to make this for the kids seeing this. And bringing it back to Gwen Stacy, he's very reverent to everything people would expect and yet it's surprising.

Q: Thomas, how does it feel to have to train for months when all she had to do was dye her hair?

Church: It was physically daunting to show up last year with the physique of a fishwife and, weirdly, they said this won't work for us. You've got to be more built. But actually, Topher and I both trained –

Grace: – he saw slightly better results.

Church: Once again, you just try to tow the line and do what's asked of you. It's been a great discipline. I've probably worked out for about sixteen months and it's just a good discipline to add. It was very reinvigorating to reincorporate that.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Exclusive: Enter Sandman!

Probably one of the most exciting moments from the recent San Diego Comic-Con were the presentation and interviews for what's sure to be next summer's most exciting movie, Spider-Man 3.

For ComingSoon.net's Superhero Hype!, it felt like a true rock star moment, as the dozens of other journalists rushed out of the press room to catch the presentation, and we were asked to hold back to talk to one of the cast. Since SHH! started as one of the first Spider-Man movie fansites (as Spider-Man Hype!), it made sense that we'd be given a chance to talk to some of the cast, but my first and only pick was Thomas Haden Church, who I talked to a few times two years ago while he was doing the rounds for Alexander Payne's "Sideways," which brought Church a lot of attention and awards.

Back then, no one could possibly imagine that Church would be heading into one of the biggest movies of next year, and Sam Raimi could not have picked a better actor to play the part of Flint Marko AKA The Sandman. After the interview, I was snuck down a back elevator to the main presentation hall where we got to see a bit of rough footage of Church's CGI counterpart in action, and if there's anyone who might be able to overshadow the fan favorite Venom, it's Church.

Superhero Hype!: So how has it been for you going from the world of Alexander Payne to something as enormous as "Spider-Man 3"?
Thomas Haden Church: Sam was the one who brought me in. He and I came very close to working together a number of years ago on a movie called "The Gift"... I mean, very close. Sam really wanted me to do this role, and it just didn't work out for whatever reason. Thank God he didn't forget me. Because of "Sideways," they saw me accepting an award and called the next day and said, "Would you come in and talk to us about Spider-Man 3?" They had nothing. They had no script. They just knew the guy that [he] was going to be in the movie, and that's where it started. We just started talking about it, and I'm glad they asked me to be a part of it.

SHH!: You have a background in humor and we've known you for so long for that...
Church: Yeah, I know. The last couple times out there it's fairly humorless. There's not too much comedy in this TV thing I just had come out, "Broken Trail" [on AMC] and Sandman is nowhere near a barrel of monkeys. He's not a laugh-meister.

SHH!: Were you able to bring any of that humor to this part and did Sam want you to?
Church: No, it's a very dramatic character. He's definitely not the comic relief in "Spider-Man 3."

SHH!: Sandman is not the most fleshed-out character in the comics (no pun intended), but do we get more into the back story of the character and what makes him tick?
Church: Yeah, I think so. I can't be specific about what it is, but I will say that he's definitely a guy who has a purpose in the movie, and that purpose is absolutely in conflict with Spider-Man's better intentions. I wouldn't be a villain in the movie if it were otherwise.

SHH!: So it's not the typical "Sandman robs a bank and Spider-Man stops him" type thing?
Church: No. Like I said, there are some larger life issues at play. He's really got a lot of stuff to work out and like I said, it's not in Spider-Man's best interest.

SHH!: Is this your first real experience with CGI and green screen experience?
Church: I've done other movies. It's been a number of years ago now, but "George of the Jungle," we had some extensive blue screen/green screen work, but that really is probably the only one.

SHH!: What's involved with becoming The Sandman? Did they put you in the green suit or some sort of performance capture apparatus?
Church: No, no, no. You're just super-imposed. In the old days, it was all matte photography, but now it's how they incorporate you into the CG action. No, it's usually just me however I am.

SHH!: But they didn't throw a bucket of sand on you just for effect?
Church: (laughs) No, no, it wasn't that amateurish or deliberate.

SHH!: It's odd because you don't really think about when he's just in regular form in the comics that he's still made in sand, so do you at least have sand pasted onto your face to give that effect?
Church: No, it's a little more complicated than that. "Sand pasted to my face." That's funny.

SHH!: That would be the low budget version of the movie. I haven't talked to you since before "Sideways" came out, so how has this ride been since then?
Church: It's been terrific. It's been going on for awhile now because I did "Spider-Man" and I did "Broken Trail" and been involved in some animated pictures, and now that "Spider-Man" is, for the most part done, I'm looking for whatever the next thing is going to be. But it's been great. There's definitely a before and after scenario with "Sideways" in my professional life.

SHH!: I've noticed that a lot of actors after they get nominated for Oscars, they'll follow that up with a big budget genre flick. Is it just coincidence, or are you actively looking for more Alexander Payne-type stuff?
Church: Yeah, I'm always interested in that, but honestly, I just want to play characters. I want to play interesting, well-written, provocative guys. It's not really about, "Oh, I had to be in 'Spider-Man 3,'" it was the guy. Even in the midst of "Spider-Man," I did a miniseries for AMC, but it was the guy, and it was Robert Duvall and it was a Western. But it was really the guy in that movie and being able to act opposite Robert Duvall and work with Walter Hill. I don't get hung up on, "Oh, now I need to go do a Victorian, wintry, character-driven romance." It's not about that. It's just about whatever the guy is.

SHH!: What's coming your way now? Are more people trying to write more "Sideways"-like characters or movies for you, because Jack was a one-of-a-kind character.
Church: There's no uniformity to it. There's definitely been a scattershot of opportunity, but nobody's really like, "Oh, this guy is like Jack in 'Sideways,' let's get Church," it's not like that. Because I have tried to be fairly scrutinizing with the roles that I've chosen or the roles that have chosen me. Like I said, I just want it to be good. I want to be proud of it ten years from now.

Spider-Man 3 comes out on May 4, 2007...in case you didn't know.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Tangled Web: 'Spider-Man 3' Re-Shoots Planned, James Franco Reveals
Director Sam Raimi has put out call for 'more action,' actor says.
Source: MTV

LOS ANGELES — There are certain things that every good geek knows to be true, like the fact that Spider-Man's secret identity is Peter Parker, or that the "Spider-Man" movies have pulled in more dough than an army of overworked pizza makers, or that "Spider-Man 3" recently completed filming and is due to swing into theaters next summer.

Uh ... strike that last one.

"The next thing I'm shooting?" series star James Franco said over the weekend. "Re-shoots on 'Spider-Man.' "

Revealing that director Sam Raimi has put out the call for "more action," Franco said he's being called back to the set of the blockbuster. "Probably next month," he added.

Members of the flick's cast, including Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, along with franchise newcomers Thomas Haden Church (as beach-bashing baddie the Sandman), Topher Grace (as alien threat Venom) and Bryce Dallas Howard (as Parker paramour Gwen Stacy), recently arrived triumphant at San Diego's Comic-Con to screen footage for fans. Franco said he regretted being unable to make the trip along with his co-stars, and seemed shocked by much of what was revealed there.

Despite the widely downloaded teaser trailer that shows a black-and-green-suited Franco riding a glider, and Raimi's own admission that Franco's Harry Osbourn will be "somewhere between" the comic book characters of Green Goblin and Hobgoblin, the tight-lipped actor refused to admit that Harry's long-simmering angst turns him into a villain. "You saw me in a suit?" Franco asked, feigning incredulity. "I don't think that was me."

Franco also seemed surprised by Raimi's assertions that Harry's story line will conclude with the third film (the actor's contract expires after "Spider-Man 3"). "It's really news to me. It's actually breaking my heart to hear that my character is being rounded up in this movie," the 28-year-old Franco said, half-kidding. "God, I think I'm going to cry."

Insisting that Church and Grace "bring amazing acting and great talent" to the third installment of the franchise, Franco insisted that he's eager to see the finished product. "The journey is much different than the final product. So when we actually see the movies, it's so much different than how it felt making it. I'm sure I'll be very happy."

Revealing that he expects a new trailer to be on the way soon, Franco said the new flick will offer fans plenty of action, as well as an opportunity to see the young thespians stretch out their acting muscles. "It's not that there's less acting in [a 'Spider-Man'] movie. I mean, it has the same number of acting scenes as any other movie," Franco said. "It's just that the action takes so much longer, so it feels like it's all action. Really, in a way, it's two months worth of regular scenes, which is what a typical movie has, and then we had to do four months of action."

Now, like a superhero's tights after an all-you-can-eat buffet, it seems that Sam Raimi is going to stretch those four months into just a little more.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Deeper Details Of That Spider-Man 3 And Mysterio Story
Source: Film Ick

*READ AT OWN RISK*

Apparently, I'm now told by my very dependable source, the appearance of Bruce Campbell as Quentin Beck in Spider-Man 3 is to play out something a little like this:

Peter Parker finds out about a Spider-Man movie being made and goes to the set to check it out. Avi Arad and Sam Raimi have cameos as the producer and director. Quentin Beck is the movie's special FX guy. The fact that Peter and MJ are both in the public eye - though one can never reveal that he is - is milked for a little bit of fun too.

This brief cameo appearance by Beck is just about the full the breadth and depth of the "4th villain" mystery. That makes this a genuine spoiler, I suppose.

We saw all the pics of the Spideyfest and all of the merchandise and kids in Spidey costumes - and I presume this movie ties in with all of that Spidey-Mania.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

McfLy

The word is that this is from Sony Image Works, the people doing the cgi for the movie. If not, then its probably for the Spider-Man 3 game on PS3.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=P40U07CM2VY

MacGuffin

Post waster to put the new trailer at the top of the next page.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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