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Spider-Man: Your Friendly Neighborhood Sissy?
David Horowitz's NewsReal Blog ^ | January 14, 2011 | Walter Hudson

Posted on 01/16/2011 1:49:43 AM PST by Walter Scott Hudson

There are many who bemoan Hollywood's tendency to cannibalize itself with endless sequels, prequels, and reboots. I am not one of them.

Film is a child of theater. Part of the pleasure in attending a new production of a play you have seen before is considering the take of a fresh group of artists on the same old material. We wouldn't fault a theater troupe for yet another production of Romeo & Juliet. So why fault filmmakers for remaking an old film? Quality is certainly affected by source material, but not determined by it.

What annoys me isn't the preponderance of rehashed properties in Hollywood, but the poor execution of so many of them. For every Batman Begins, it seems there are a dozen Superman Returns.

It's only been four years since Spider-Man 3 hit theaters, and less than 10 years since the original. Yet we're already about to see a reboot. Unfortunately, the more we learn of the forthcoming Spider-Man film, the less likely it seems to become that rare derivative which will transcend its predecessor.

(Excerpt) Read more at newsrealblog.com ...


TOPICS: Society; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: andrewgarfield; feminism; spiderman

1 posted on 01/16/2011 1:49:46 AM PST by Walter Scott Hudson
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To: Walter Scott Hudson

Need more ass-kicker movies.


2 posted on 01/16/2011 1:56:36 AM PST by Tainan (Cogito, ergo conservatus - Domari Nolo)
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To: Tainan
Putting aside movies like Ghost World and American Splendor-which are spectacular films in their own right-the only really good adaptations of comics by Hollywood are Ang Lee's version of The Hulk and the first two Batman films.

Not the ones directed by Christopher Nolan, but the films directed by Tim Burton.

The first two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies are also pretty good, from what I recall.

3 posted on 01/16/2011 2:31:23 AM PST by OddLane
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To: Walter Scott Hudson

I’m as surprised as anyone that there’s a Spidey reboot immediately after Spiderman 3. Some Sony exec probably hated all those subtle multiple American flags on almost every scene in Spiderman 2 and 3. Garfield, the new Spidey has such a thick British accent that one has to question how he’s supposed to rid of it, and how he actually got the role.


4 posted on 01/16/2011 2:36:27 AM PST by max americana
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To: Walter Scott Hudson
Was Superman Returns really that bad? I thought it was refreshing to see a portrayal of Superman that wasn't so overtly campy.

But anyway, it was too bad that Spider-Man 3 was such an atrociously bad movie... how many times did Green Goblin Jr. have to "die?" And why keep the Venom character in this movie? He could have been saved for a future movie.

5 posted on 01/16/2011 2:45:18 AM PST by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: Walter Scott Hudson

I see it now....a Spider Man who is touch with his feelings...who lets the inner child out to play.....the angst riven hero who asks, “Don’t bad guys have rights too?”

The new and improved Spider Person!


6 posted on 01/16/2011 4:34:02 AM PST by count-your-change (You don't have be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: max americana
I’m as surprised as anyone that there’s a Spidey reboot immediately after Spiderman 3. Some Sony exec probably hated all those subtle multiple American flags on almost every scene in Spiderman 2 and 3. Garfield, the new Spidey has such a thick British accent that one has to question how he’s supposed to rid of it, and how he actually got the role.

As I understand it, Marvel wanted to end it's association with Sony, but they couldn't do that and keep the continuity of the first three films. By doing a reboot they can have full control.

7 posted on 01/16/2011 5:56:02 AM PST by GreenLanternCorps ("Barack Obama" is Swahili for "Jimmy Carter".)
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To: pnh102; GreenLanternCorps
Story I heard was that Sam Raimi and Sony were fighting over creative control. Raimi wanted the "classic" Spider-man with villains like Doc Ock, the Goblin and Sandman. Sony wanted the new school characters like Venom. Supposedly, Venom was forced on Raimi in 3, and for 4 he wanted to use the Lizard and the Vulture, while Sony was pushing for another of the new school villains, Carnage. Raimi gave the reason for pulling out as not being able to meet Sony's deadline to finish the movie. Another rumor was that Sony didn't want the Lizard because they wanted a villain with a human face, although the Lizard appears to be the villain in the reboot. That's one problem with a lot of comic book heros and villains. Because their faces are covered by masks, they become difficult to portray in movies. That's the reason Spider-man always gets part of his mask blown off in fight scenes.

The Venom and Carnage characters are both Symbiotes, opportunistic parasites that take over other people. The Carnage character is particularly disturbing, as his comic backstory has him killing his grandmother, torturing dogs and a bunch of other stuff. After the Watchmen, many comics became dark, dark, dark. I think Raimi preferred the simpler, less nihilistic premises of the earlier comics, while Sony wanted to try and grab younger audiences with the newer characters.

Supposedly in the reboot, they're taking Peter Parker back to high school. In the comics, Parker was uber-nerd. Flash Thompson wasn't a thug, he was the school jock, but still tormented Parker, who after he became Spidey, only pretended to be afraid of him.

8 posted on 01/16/2011 7:05:56 AM PST by Richard Kimball (We're all criminals. They just haven't figured out what some of us have done yet.)
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To: Walter Scott Hudson

Hollwood needs to change it’s name to Scrapwood.


9 posted on 01/16/2011 7:59:01 AM PST by Vaduz
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To: GreenLanternCorps

I’ll ask an acquaintance of mine here in Hollywood who works for the investment company associated with Marvel in Century City. I learn more from him in 15 minutes than subscribing to the Hollywood Reporter for 6 months.


10 posted on 01/16/2011 10:27:47 AM PST by max americana
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