Showing posts with label Spider-Man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spider-Man. Show all posts

Amy Pascal - New First look Deal with Universal

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Steve Grantz - Getty Images
When Amy Pascal stepped down as Chairperson of Sony Pictures Entertainment she set up a film Studio, Pascal Pictures, and signed a four year agreement that gave SPE first look rights to her films.   As that contract expired Pascal Pictures signed a new contract with rival Universal Studios.    

Amy Pascal and Pascal Pictures are not completely leaving the SPE fold as they will continue to produce and make Marvel Films and TV shows.   

As stated by Tom Rothman, Chairperson SPE, “Everyone at Sony Pictures, myself first among us, loves Amy. We are profoundly grateful for all her immeasurable contributions, both current and past, to our success. And the great news for us is that our partnership will continue for many years to come with her ongoing work on Spider-Man and other key titles. We are very happy for her.”  

For the moment I do not believe this will have any affect on the situation involving the Spider-Man IP rights that are currently controlled by Sony Pictures Entertainment.  However it MAY BE a precursor to the power struggle between an Activist Investor and Sony Corporation on the fate of Sony Entertainment, which includes SPE. 

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Spider-Man: Far from Home - Trailer

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Spider-Man: Homecoming - First Trailer

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The Vulture has landed

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Michael Keaton at the Birdman
So it seems that Michael Keaton only momentarily pulled his name out of the contention for the Vulture.

Several reports today suggest that Michael Keaton is in final negotiations to play the principal villain in next year's Spiderman: Homecoming.   Just under a month ago Michael Keaton and his representatives withdrew his name from consideration for the part principally over concerns on Money.   With Robert Downey Jr. also in negotiations Michael Keaton and his representatives believed it was impossible to bring both major contracts under the fold; however we have learned that creative finances have allowed the Sony / Marvel Studios film to get Robert Downey Jr. contract completed and make a reasonable offer to Michael Keaton.

The Vulture
Additional sources are suggesting The Tinkerer will be involved in the film.   While an actor has not be named according to sources the Tinkerer will be a business associate of the Vulture, who builds the Vulture's suit from stolen Chitari technology.

Tom Holland, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr, Zendaya, and Tony Revolori are all ready under contract for the Jon Watts film set to be released July 7, 2017.


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What's happening at Sony

Posted by Jeff Labels: , ,

Courtesy SPE
Last year Sony Pictures Entertainment [SPE] and Marvel Studios announced a blockbuster deal allowing Spider-Man and other characters from Spider-Verse to appear in Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as characters from the MCU to appear in SPE films and for the future live-action Spider-man films to be filmed by Marvel Studios while SPE retains distribution rights and funding the films. 

Even though that all sounds like a great deal, there are those at Sony who wonder if they gave up the house to save the car in the deal.    Here is how that argument works.

Under the terms of the IP that SPE controls there are a great number of villains (approximately 36) from Doctor Octopus, The Lizard, Electro, Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter, Rhino, the Hobgoblin and so forth.   There are some compelling secondary characters including Aunt may, Jay Jonah Jameson, Harry Osborne, Gwen Stacey, Mary-Jane Watson amongst others.  

If you look at Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, in other media, when the character is most compelling and audience friendly it usually involves Peter's interaction with another super-hero.
   The reason for this is it gives the writers a better outlet for Peter to express his problems.   Since no other super-hero has appeared in a Spider-Man film that automatically leads to the question, what other Super-Heroes does SPE control under the terms of the IP.   The answer is none.   Not Daredevil, Punisher, Ice-Man, Firestorm, Wolverine, Nova, Tigra, Power-Man, Spider-Girl, Silk or even Miles Morales.     The closest thing to a Super-Hero that SPE controls is the Black Cat.   This creates a situation where SPE's Spider-Man is virtually stuck on a hamster wheel telling variations of the same story. 


Spider-Man: Homecoming in theory allows SPE to do just that, with Robert Downey Jr reprising his role as Tony Stark/Iron Man with some sort of mentorship program between Iron Man and Spider-Man.    In that solution is the bigger problem, instead of multiple movies you still only have Spider-Man and 36 Villains.  They didn't get Miles Morales, Cindy Moon, Mayday Parker or Jessica Drew all of which are Spider-Verse characters in other media formats but not in SPE IP.  

So as these dissenting voices are suggesting, SPE has taken one step forward, but will have to take two steps back after Spider-Man: Homecoming is released as they only have one avenue, Tom Holland as Spider-Man, to release these films.

What about Venom and Sinister Six, anti-hero films that SPE has in the works.   The Sinister Six is now too late, no matter how good or bad the film could be it will always be compared to Suicide Squad and Deadpool.   Venom has possibilities but it will take real work to succeed, and with Tom Rothman in charge at SPE I doubt it will get the effort it needs (see X-Men: Last Stand).  

Courtesy SPE
From the top at SPE, Tom Rothman CEO, it may not matter, the hope is that Spider-Man: Homecoming will cost $50 to $70 M USD less than Amazing Spider-Man 2 and earn $50 to $70 M USD more domestically at the box office and $50 to $100 M USD more at the international box-office.   In essence earn $100 M USD more and cost $50 M USD less means $150 M USD more in their pockets.  So the question for this blog to answer, can it Spider-Man; Homecoming do that?

Costing less money is the easier part of the question, Marvel Studios and Disney have a solid recent history of doing just that, getting a better band for your buck than other studios. 

Box Office wise can a stand alone Spider-Man movie, with a young director, unknown cast, hit $325M USD domestically and $500M USD internationally?    

My answer today is no.   That doesn't mean it won't or that the things stacked up against it today won't change, but today's road makes that very tough to do.

The first problem is rating.   The Amazing Spider-Man and the Sequel were both rated PG-13, a very mild PG-13, but still PG-13.  SPE attempted to market both films as being family friendly, that marketing didn't work.   So the question becomes how far away from family friendly is SPE and Marvel Studios willing to take a movie about your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.   It is a quandary I am sure that Amy Pascale and Kevin Feige are still talking about.   Tom Rothman and other leadership at SPE would love to see the film rated PG not PG-13 and that really effects what you can and cannot do in the film.   It is the compromise that hurt the story telling in the latest two movies, besides obvious story issues.   

The next problem is competition, Tentpole films usually have a week or two to lead the way, not the case for this release schedule.   Despicable Me 3 is released the week before and War for the Planet of the Apes the following week.   I got to believe the date is going to change for this film.    There are better more solid dates where the competition is not so fierce.  

Courtesy Marvel Studios
The final question is whether or not the audience is comfortable with a THIRD Peter Parker in 10 years.   I know I am not, I think there were far better ways SPE and Marvel Studios could of handled the situation.

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RDJ to appear in Spider-Man: Homecoming

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Well update later when off Mobile.

Robert Downey Jr, will reprise his role as Tony Stark / Iron Man in the Sony / Marvel production of Spiderman: Homecoming.

As an aside not I guess that kills the fan theory of Tony Stark dying at the end of Captain America: Civil War.

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Spider-Man Cast - Director Named

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http://marvel.com/news/movies/24758/sony_pictures_and_marvel_studios_find_their_spider-man_star_and_director

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios Find Their 'Spider-Man' Star and Director
Tom Holland Cast as the Web-Slinger, Jon Watts to Direct the Next Spider-Man Adventure.

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that after a full worldwide casting search, Tom Holland will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next Spider-Man film, in theaters in IMAX and 3D on July 28, 2017.  The film will be directed by Jon Watts, director of "Cop Car," the upcoming thriller that made its debut earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Marvel and Sony Pictures, and producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal conducted an extensive search for both the actor and the director.  The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in "The Impossible," “Wolf Hall,” and the upcoming "In the Heart of the Sea," and by a series of complex screen tests.  Following Marvel’s tradition of working with the brightest next wave of directors, Watts also went through multiple meetings with Feige, Pascal, and the studio, before winning the job.

Commenting on the announcement, Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman, said, “It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job.  The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding.  I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception.  I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent.  For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special.   All in all, we are off to a roaring start.”

Feige commented, “As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life.  We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”

Pascal added, “Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world.  With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

Sony Pictures will finance and release worldwide the next installment of the $4 billion Spider-Man franchise on July 28, 2017, in a film co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the Web-Slinger.

Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/.

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy-five years.  Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing, including licensing the Spider-Man universe to Sony Pictures.  For more information visit marvel.com. © 2015 MARVEL

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Asa Butterfield as Spidey

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Multiple Social media reports suggest that Asa Butterfield is in final negotiations to play Peter Parker/Spider-Man.


More to come

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Supposed short list for Spider-Man director's chair

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In a story on Deadline, Jonathan Levine (Warm Bodies), Ted Melfi (St. Vincent), Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect), Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) and John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein (Vacation) are on the very short list for directing the next Spider-Man live action film, with a decision set to be announced by the end of next week.

I have to be brutally honest, at first I thought it was a joke, I mean Drew Goddard was supposedly directing the film already, but I guess with a new notoriously tight wad sherriff in town at SPE, Tom Rothman, maybe...   So I thought about it some more, threw up a little bit in my mouth, and then wondered how bad is the next live action Spider-Man movie going to be.

Let me take a step back, I have long advocated that Andrew Garfield reprise his role as Spider-Man in the Avengers film, and I still do, and than have SPE back fill Miles Morales and Cindy Moon or Mayday Parker into standalone Spider-Man films, I still think that is the way to go there.   

With a list of five actors I don't think could act their way out of wet paper bag (which may or may not be there fault by the way as they have not had the greatest material to work with); Nat Wolff (The Fault in Our Stars), Asa Butterfield (Ender’s Game), Tom Holland (In The Heart of The Sea), Timothee Chalamet (Interstellar) and Liam James (The Killing), were proposed on the short list and then we add this list of directors, I really feel no one at SPE or Marvel has a clue at this point. 

How do you feel?

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Spider-Man Cameo - Faked?

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There is a purported cameo at the end of the Avengers: Age of Ultron involving a window washer and your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.   The scene has long been rumored to exist and we have footage.
 

The problem is every one involved in the film has categorically denied that it is real and is a "fake".   Josh Whedon, Director of Avengers Age of Ultron, recently spoke with Flicks and the City and attempted to clear it up.

"We wanted to be clear that there was no tag scene at the very, very end of the film. Because after sitting through 40 minutes of credits and not seeing anything, we thought people would become irate. [Laughs] So no, I don't know where that started."
So if it is a fake, its a pretty good fake, which leads to the question what is it?

Well I have it on good authority that is leaked test footage of Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel) from his trial as the Spider-Man.    
I'm told that Freddie Highmore was an early candidate to replace Andrew Garfield; however Marvel executives were worried about his age (23 at the time) being to old to tell a young teenagers story.

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Has Spider-Man been cast?

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Rumor mill will be heating up in the next 48 to 96 hours I understand.  

With Captain America: Civil War to begin shooting in 13 days Marvel may not be able to keep this a secret for long.   I am assuming that Marvel wants to keep Avengers: Age of Ultron front and center in the media tour as the films release approaches however the cat may be out of the bag.

Another rumor suggests Marvel may have a "Short" list they are working on and may give Actor Jake Short a screen test some time this week. 

 

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Speculation - Captain Marvel, Mystique and Spider-Man

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Today in a little flourish I blogged about three casting stories, Captain Marvel, Mystique and Spider-Man; I received an E-Mail asking what I thought about these three stories.  So here is some speculation on my part.
 
Gigi Edgley as Captain Marvel, the likelihood of this being true is not very high.   I like Gigi as an actress, I think she has the right personality and attitude to make it work, she looks the part and no one is going to be comparing it to her previous role.   Yet with Katheryn Winnick offering to duel Katee Sackhoff for the role and nearly every other blonde in Hollywood suggested as a potential its hard to see Gigi getting the part.  With all that said it is still odd the Gigi is suddenly making the rounds to increase her name recognition.
As an aside Jim Hensen Studios is in the scripting stage of a Farscape Movie and the leads from the TV show have been turning up more frequently, are they pulling a Ryan Reynolds and attempting to get a film made?
 
Jennifer Lawrence announced she is hanging up the body paint after X-Men: Apocalypse and leaving Mystique behind.  What about the announced Mystique standalone film, what about the next X-Men film...
Jennifer Lawrence is not the first actor to announce they are leaving an iconic role, Hugh Jackman, Robert Downey Jr, Harrison Ford, George Clooney, William Shatner and a whole long list have been there done that.   Yet most actors in Iconic roles re-sign with a big pay raise.   
Lets be honest Jennifer Lawrence can now command $10 a film easily, she was paid $250,000 for X-Men: First Class, $500,000 for X-Men: Days of Future Past and $750,000 for X-Men: Apocalypse (not including bonuses), with her initial contract done suggesting she wants out puts her in the driver seat.  There is a catch though Jennifer Lawrence is actually the second actor to play the part, Rebecca Romijn has also played the part and with dozens of other under 30 year old actresses looking for an iconic role, Jennifer Lawrence doesn't have as much leverage as RDJ does.
The other side of the coin is also very true, how many actors have to spend 10 hours a day in a makeup chair getting body paint applied or removed.   Coupled with this are a number of horror stories from X-Men: First Class in which to add insult to injury not only did she spend 10 hours in a make chair they didn't actually use her in the days filming.   One of many reasons Matthew Vaughn was disliked.  
My take, I have hard time imagining that with the right incentive, dollar figure, Jennifer Lawrence would turn down the part, I am reminded of the words of Alan Rickman "You don't make these movies because they are Shakespeare, you make these movies so you can [afford to] make Shakespeare."   I am probably paraphrasing a little, but it gets the point across.  
 
Final some thought on the young 16 year-old Mateus Ward in having multiple auditions for the part of Peter Parker.   Here is a rumor I hope is not true, Mateus Ward just doesn't fit my perception of Peter Parker, he looks two damn young. In all honesty my 10 year-old son looks older than he does in many of his "recent" photo ops.   That's a problem.    I also think it is a problem for Sony, who rumor has it would prefer to go with Miles Morales.  
The latest round of rumors suggest that Marvel has meet with several actors in the 16-17 year old range.   I would believe that short list includes Zackary Gordon (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Chandler Riggs (The Walking dead) and... well the other actor that the right age is Jaden Smith. 
The casting of Peter Parker (assuming they go that way) will tell us a lot about who is in charge of the Sony Marvel Collaboration.  

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Spider-Man casting Rumor

Posted by Jeff Labels: , , ,

Over the weekend Marvel's Joe Quesada let slip that getting the casting right for Peter Parker was the most important aspect of the Spider-Man reboot. 

Today several sources are indicating that Mateus Ward has been given multiple auditions for the part of Peter Parker.    The young actor has appeared as a reoccurring character on Disney's Lab Rats, CBS' Hostages and just signed on for TNT's Murder in the First. 

With Captain America: Civil War filming scheduled to begin filming in under a month if the character is scheduled to appear in the film the casting decision could come very soon.

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Spider-Man Rumor - Number 121

Posted by Jeff Labels: ,

My fellow Spider-Man fanatics, allow me to share with you the latest rumors to gain traction on the InterWeb. Wow, I just upgraded myself to Fanboi, let me think about that for a moment.

There is a rumor making the rounds that I wanna say makes sense (more sense than a Aunt May Spy Film at least) and I want to acknowledge it publically.

Andrew Garfield is going to appear (or at least his voice talents) in Avengers: Age of Ultron as the costumed Spider-Man and he will have a scene with Tony Stark/Iron Man.   

Miles Morales than interacts with Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in CA3: Civil War.   The young man cannot decide whether he wants to be a hero or not and if should announce to the world his powers.   Someone from SHIELD (Nick Fury) gives Miles a Spider-Man Suit and he decides to be a hero.

Peter Parker than is "apparently" killed in the opening sequence of Spider-Man next movie (Spectacular Spider-Man) by Kraven the Hunter.   It is this sacrifice that pushes Miles Morales into truly being the next Spider-Man.   Kraven will not be the ultimate bad guy however in the movie, that's Kingpin.    We are introduced to Eddie Brock and the Venom Symbiote.   An agent from SHIELD is assigned to watch Miles Morales and look for others with the same (similar) powers.

In Venom Eddie Brock determines that it isn't really Peter Parker isn't buried in his grave.   The movie is about the Venom Symbiote taking over Eddie Brock.  

We also get the female lead Spider-Verse movie, named after the lead character Silk, which will center on Cindy Moon a young woman hiding her powers be living in a bunker away from the world.    She finds a master in .... Peter Parker who trains her to be Silk.

The conclusion of the Story is the Sinister Six which in the end has Miles, Cindy and Peter teaming up.



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The Avengers: Featuring Spider-Man

Posted by Jeff Labels: ,

A rumor this morning suggested that Andrew Garfield had agreed to reprise his role as Spider-Man for an extended cameo in The Avengers: Age of Ultron which was filmed last month at Pinewood Studios just outside of London.  The source wrote "Andrew Garfield leant his voice" which I my book suggests that an actor in costume was on set and that Andrew Garfield is just using his voice.
 
I don't necessarily believe that rumor to be true, as much as I would approve of it, however for your viewing enjoyment, from Screen Crush: 

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Sony Marvel Spider-Man a few details

Posted by Jeff Labels:

Andrew Garfield is out as Peter Parker / Spider-Man.  
It should be noted that as of last week (and potentially even today) there were still ongoing talks between the joint Sony/Marvel team and Andrew Garfield about him reprising his role ultimately it came down to decision on the script setting of Midtown High or Empire State University.   When the final decision was made to set the movie in Midtown High was made, it aged Andrew Garfield out of the role.  
A follow up note suggests that if Sony/Marvel decide to go with Miles Morales (a black/latino teenager) than it is entirely possible for Andrew Garfield to resurface as Peter Parker in a later movie. 

A short list from a Marvel insider has suggested that Dylan O'Brien and Logan Lerman are the current finalists.   The third name on the short list is Daniel Radcliffe, yes Harry Potter himself, I wonder if Emma Watson would be up for Mary Jane. 
Please note that the same insider suggests that setting will be Midtown High School and Miles Morales will be Spider-Man.   Call it a hunch but I am not sure either Dylan O'Brien, Logan Lerman or Daniel Radcliffe can pull of a scrawny black latino teenager.    A Name to watch for is Tyrel James Williams if Miles Morales is the way it goes. 

Spider-Man will first appear in at least 1 MCU before his stand-alone movie in 2017.   That leaves Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange and Guardian of the Galaxy 2 as possibilities.   There has long been rumors that Spider-Man would make a cameo in Avengers: Age of Ultron but with principal filming done hard to see him making more than a quick appearance.   Same issue with Ant-Man.  Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 aren't really good fits for Spider-Man, so that leaves the very obvious Captain America: Civil War.

Work on The Amazing Spider-Man 3 has been indefinitely suspend and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 has been cancelled. 
No one expects that Sony would return to the TASM storyline; however the new deal is for one movie plus appearances in the MCU, so it is highly unlikely that they would return to that story arc, but not impossible.

The untitled Spider-Man film is scheduled for release July 2017.
The short list for directors include Drew Goddard and Andrew McKay.   McKay who has earned praise and admiration from Marvel Studios for his work with Ant-Man Script probably has the upper hand at the moment.   A name that has been linked in the past is Joss Whedon, and I am sure that if he wants to direct this movie he will be given the keys, however his life has been MCU for the past six years and he has indicated he wants to take some time off.
Brian Michael Bendis, principal writer of the Ultimate Spider-Man has been linked to a screen play.
Filming is scheduled later this year, late fall(?), in Atlanta Georgia, which makes me believe a number of decisions have already been made but not announced.

The Sinister Six has been delayed.
Drew Goddard is still in the director's chair, however it appears that Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach will be elevated to Executive Producer and replaced by other producers.
No word has been given on the other actors who have been slated for the film, including Chris Cooper, Paul Gaimatti, Felicity Jones, Sally Field, Dane DeHaan).

Work on Venom and Female Lead set in the Spider-Man Universe continues but no release dates have been set for either project.
Alex Kurtzman is still slated to direct and Ed Solomon is still working on a script for Venom.
Writing the Female Lead Spider-Man story is Lisa Joy Nolan (whose name should sound familiar).

Permission has been granted for Sony to use/explore characters from the Marvel Universe within all three movies.

All four Sony films will linked to the MCU with only the Spider-Man film truly being canon. 

There has been a rumor that Sony wanted to make multiple Spider-Man stories at the same time, The Ultimate Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man, amongst other options.
A rumor that has picked up a little steam in the wake of the Marvel Sony partnership is that Sony may make a Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends film.  The short lived TV Cartoon series saw Peter Parker (Spider-Man), Angelica Jones (Firestar), and Bobby Drake (Ice-Man) as college roommates and fighting crime.  What is interesting about this rumor is that Firestar and Ice-Man are Mutants controlled by X-Men IP at 20th Century Fox, for this rumor to have any validity it means an agreement between Sony and 20th Century Fox needs to be reached; however there is history here as 20th Century Fox's Daredevil (starring Ben Affleck) had Kingpin from the Spider-Man IP.   


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It is Official - Spidey to join MCU

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Marvel's Kevin Feige to Produce Next Installment of the Spider-Man Franchise with Amy Pascal

(Culver City, California, and Burbank, California February 09, 2015) – Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios announced today that Sony is bringing Marvel into the amazing world of Spider-Man.
Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel's Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sony Pictures will thereafter release the next installment of its $4 billion Spider-Man franchise, on July 28, 2017, in a film that will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger. Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.
Marvel and Sony Pictures are also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films.
The new relationship follows a decade of speculation among fans about whether Spider-Man – who has always been an integral and important part of the larger Marvel Universe in the comic books – could become part of the Marvel Universe on the big screen. Spider-Man has more than 50 years of history in Marvel's world, and with this deal, fans will be able to experience Spider-Man taking his rightful place among other Super Heroes in the MCU.
Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company said: "Spider-Man is one of Marvel's great characters, beloved around the world. We're thrilled to work with Sony Pictures to bring the iconic web-slinger into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which opens up fantastic new opportunities for storytelling and franchise building."
"We always want to collaborate with the best and most successful filmmakers to grow our franchises and develop our characters. Marvel, Kevin Feige and Amy, who helped orchestrate this deal, are the perfect team to help produce the next chapter of Spider-Man," said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. "This is the right decision for the franchise, for our business, for Marvel, and for the fans."
"Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios share a love for the characters in the Spider-Man universe and have a long, successful history of working together. This new level of collaboration is the perfect way to take Peter Parker's story into the future," added Doug Belgrad, president, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.
"I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Amy Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie," said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. "Amy has been deeply involved in the realization on film of one of the world’s most beloved characters. Marvel's involvement will hopefully deliver the creative continuity and authenticity that fans demand from the MCU. I am equally excited for the opportunity to have Spider-Man appear in the MCU, something which both we at Marvel, and fans alike, have been looking forward to for years."
Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.
                                                     
ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/.
ABOUT MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy-five years.  Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.  For more information visit marvel.com. © 2015 MARVEL

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Rumor - What would Spider-Man look like in the MCU

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Another series of internal Sony/Columbia e-mails has been "found" discussing what Marvel had envisioned for Spider-Man if he were to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The email is dated November 2, 2014 and is written by Andrew Gumpert, one of the many Presidents at Columbia Tri-Star Pictures to Amy Pascal, Co-Chair of Sony Picture Entertainment.     The email contains notes from a meeting that Andrew Gumpert had with Marvel Studios, in the end Andrew Gumpert implores Amy Pascal to accept the deal because they are not going to get a better deal from Marvel AND it is in the best interests of SPE to protect their most important asset.   
  • Peter Parker would make a Cameo appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron in which he would meet Tony Stark / Iron Man.  
  • In Captain America: Civil War Peter Parker / Spider-Man would make a series of appearances, more than a cameo but less than a full blown part.   He would meet with Tony Stark, who would provide PP/SM with an upgraded suit and gadgets.  PP/SM would later meet (fight?) with Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff in the final third of the CA:CW.
  • A stand alone Spider-Man film would be released between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1.  The stand alone film would be part of MCU canon, and suggested it not have a large focus on the relationship between Peter Parker and either Gwen or Mary Jane.  Instead the film would focus on SM dealing with a street level villain in New York after the events in CA:CW, in a universe where super-heroes are divided into two groups.
  • Spider-Man would appear in both Avengers: Infinity War films as a supporting character, not a full blown member of the Avengers but far more than a cameo. 
  • Following the Avengers: Infinity War - Part 2 another Spider-Man film would be released.
 
What's interesting about this email, from Andrew Gumpert one of several President of Columbia Tri-Star to Amy Pascal Co-Chair at Sony Picture Entertainment is it suggests that SPE produce their own Spider-Man films, not Marvel.   One can read between the lines and see that Marvel is suggesting that Sony finish the TASM story arc.   It also suggests that Marvel's stance on Andrew Garfield has softened from earlier emails. 
 
In reading the email it appears that Amy Pascal is the one standing in the way of getting a deal done; which sort of jives with previous reports is she wants to protect SM and only do this if there is nothing else that can be done. 


 

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Confirmed - Meeting between Top Sony and Marvel/Disney Executives.

Posted by Jeff Labels: ,

This January at the Pinewood Studios, just outside of London England, Senior Executives from Sony Pictures Entertainement [SPE], Sony Corporation, Marvel Studios, Marvel Entertainement, and Disney Corporation will be meeting to discuss the future of Spider-Man in film.
 
Confirmed attendees include Amy Pascal - Co-Chair SPE, Doug Belgard - Co-Chair SPE, and Kevin Feige - President Marvel Studios.   However it is the list of rumored attendees that's grabbing people attention which includes Kazou Hirau - CEO Sony Corp and Bob Iger CEO of Disney, and Isaac Perlmutter CEO Marvel Entertainment, Alan Fine - President Marvel Entertainment, Josh Whedon - Director/Producer, Joe and Anthony Russo Director/Producer and Andrew Garfield - Actor.
 
Noticeable absent from the list is Avi Arad, the long time Producer of the Spider-Man films and former President of Marvel Studios.

Why Pinewood Studios?

This is an interesting location for a number of reasons.  
1) The location is roughly equal distance from Los Angeles and Tokyo.
2) Marvel Studios already has large sections of the Studio booked for filming reshoots of Avengers: Age of Ultron in January.
 
If this was a meeting between Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal a location in LA would make more sense as both individuals work primarily in the LA metropolitan area, going to a more neutral location 5500 miles from LA suggests that the rumors of CEO of both Disney and Sony are involved in these discussion validity.
 
If an agreement between the two companies can be meet insertion of Spider-Man in at least a Cameo role into Avengers: Age of Ultron seems likely.

How Likely is an Agreement?

Within SPE and Sony Corp there are number of high level executives who do not like the idea of a deal with a rival studio; adamantly opposed.  It appears that these individuals were called out on the carpet as it were in middle of November.  In an email from Amy Pascal, paraphrased, she said "you have told me not to move forward with Marvel but have yet to present any potential other solutions.  I am getting backed into a corner and a decision has to be made."
 
Jeff Robinov, a high level at Executive at SPE, who during his time at Warner Bros green lighted the Dark Knight Trilogy, is one of the loudest voices in opposition of the deal.   He presented an 8 page white paper on potential ideas, however in my reading of that White Paper it basically said pick a director and let them have full control to come up with everything.
 
IMHO it appears that no one as of November 15th was able to present any workable ideas that had much traction.  

What does Marvel want?  

Avi Arad out of the picture, Creative Control, and the ability to use Spider-Man characters in the MCU.
 
Marvel has told Sony that it would not ever accept a deal that kept Avi Arad involved in any capacity with Spider-Man and MCU; he would not even be allowed to be an over-night Janitor.   That's not unexpected considering Marvel Corporate view on Arad, but it may be a legal stumbling block for SPE.   
 
Creative Control is a huge issue for many of the executives at Sony, but I personally struggle to understand what motivates this fear. To work with in the MCU you stories have to integrate into the canon already created, as weird as that is TASM and TASM2 were written to be in that canon already.   Let me reiterate that fact the latest two movies were conceived to be apart of the MCU even though Spider-Man was not a part of the MCU.  
 
Of course the whole purpose of these discussions is to include Spider-Man in MCU canon and movies.

What does SPE want?

Financial success and protections against various issues.
 
We know that TASM made after expenses $300 Million in profit, TASM2 will make slightly less than that.   That profit funds a lot of smaller scale pictures for SPE, a loss of say $50 million might stop production of 3 or 4 low budget films.    That's a big deal to Sony.
Sony has also invested large amounts of money to bring VX work in house so to speak.  A new state of the art VX studio was opened earlier this year and Sony needs to make sure that it has these big budget films to support that studio.
Sony also believes it will have a legal bill coming for Avi Arad and his studio if their contract is broken that it will have to pay.
 
Amy Pascal has made it clear she wants to protect the people she feels have done nothing or little wrong in the process.   She clearly thinks that Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Shailene Woodley and even to some extent Marc Webb are more victims of circumstance than actual problems.   Many critics have praised both Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield performance in both movies. 

Is Andrew Garfield out?

If this deals falls apart I think it will be because Amy Pascal is defending "her people".  
That being said there are a lot of bridges between Garfield and Sony that may be on fire.    Andrew Garfield did not attend as required by his contract a couple of Sony Corporate Events and he also talked publically and disparagingly about TASM2.  With that said it appears that Matthew Tolmach (producer of TASM and TASM2) maybe more a fault in these situations than Andrew Garfield is, as rumor has it Tolmach informed Garfield about pending removal from the role right before two of these events occurred.  
 
 
 

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Speculation - Sony's Spider-man Universe

Posted by Jeff Labels: , ,

Spider-Man 3 Movie Artwork
Speculation is a art in assembling a puzzle with a number of key pieces missing.  We don't know what we don't know; great saying when we start speculating on topics like this.   While we know a lot there is something we don't know that would greatly illuminate our understanding of this topic in particular.

This post turned out to be a heck of a lot longer than I originally anticipated when I started looking at 85 or so Spider-Man Cinematic Universe rumors.    It may need some editing but hopefully I got it pretty clear.

Spiderman 3 and the Reboot

Spider-Man 3 is still technically the most expensive film ever made Columbia Pictures at $258 Million dollars budget, and a similar budget was planned for Spider-Man 4. 
 
Columbia Pictures President Amy Pascale, at least according to Sam Raimi director of the Spider-Man Trilogy, wanted to reboot the Spider-Man Universe prior to the release of Spiderman 3 in 2007.  This is a somewhat surprising revelation considering the first Spiderman film and the sequel earned a combined total of  $1.6 Billion dollars in the Box Office (slightly more then $2 Billion if adjusted for inflation).  
 
I am not aware of any official and or verified comments from Sam Raimi or the others involved; however in reading numerous interviews and articles:
  • Sony / Columbia Pictures executives were shocked at the commercial success of Spider-Man 2, after seeing the film and looking at other sequels from the era significantly less, around 1/2 of what it did.
  • Sony / Columbia Pictures executives saw "darker and more gritty" superhero films as the future.   Amy Pascale seems to have predicted the success of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. 
  • Sony executives were very interested in using 3-D cameras and filming techniques on their tent-pole franchise.   Spider-Man 4 was to be filmed in native 3-D becoming one of the first modern films filmed in 3-D.
  • Sony was very worried that the cost of continuing with the same cast would sky rocket.  
  • Even viewed in 2006 the first Spider-Man movie special effects looked outdated and ancient in comparison to techniques and CGI in use just a half-decade later.
In contrast to what was happening at Sony and Columbia Pictures Spider-Man 3 was indeed made and released on May 4th, 2007.   On RottenTomatoes.com the consensus of the reviews is: Though there are more characters and plotlines, and the action sequences still dazzle, Spider-Man 3 nonetheless isn't quite as refined as the first two.
 
Sam Raimi was very displeased with the end result of Spider-Man 3.   In his opinion too much stuff just didn't work.   Sam spent the next 3 years working on Spider-Man 4 in an effort to correct the errors of the third movie.    Finally accord to Sam Raimi he told Amy Pascale "I don’t want to make a movie that is less than great, so I think we shouldn’t make this picture. Go ahead with your reboot, which you’ve been planning anyway.” Officially the movie was cancelled on January 11, 2010.
 

Twentieth Century Fox

In 2005 Twentieth Century Fox released the Fantastic Four and for all its problems I would like to bring attention to one aspect.   Fox had the Daredevil, X-Men and Fantastic Four film rights, a conscience decision was made to make the tone of these films greatly different.  Daredevil would be a hard-core PG-13, almost Rated R film.  X-Men would be aimed at the older teen audience with a solid PG-13 rating.  Fantastic Four would be aimed for the younger teen audience, due to the comic book violence it would be a PG-13 but the rest was supposed to very PGish.   This decision was constantly in the cross hairs as Daredevil never had a hard enough edge and Fantastic Four was too campy. 

The Amazing Spider-Man films

I don't want to spend too much time discussing the recent films.
 
Even though Sony and Columbia have talked about making Spider-Man films darker and more gritty, lets use the word realistic, that wasn't the case with either TASM film.   Both films were clearly marketed towards the family or younger audience, I am not necessarily saying that's a bad plan in today's Superhero Market, rather it is not a plan that has worked well.  With the success of the Darker DC films and the hard core PG-13 ratings on the other Marvel movies it had to be a conscience decision to be more lighter and airier.  Just like the Fantastic Four and numerous DC properties that were aimed for a younger audience these films have not attracted a hard core following.
 
Beyond the obvious plot holes, which are large enough to drive a Armored Division through and no one would notice, there are several issues with the The Amazing Spider-Man films.
  • Radical changes in the origin story
  • Both films felt as if two directors were fighting for control
  • Poor editing
  • Soundtrack, background music, was way to loud and failed to create mood.
  • You never truly felt immersed into the films. 

Sony and the Spider-Man 2014

Sony Corporation is clearly a company that believes in reboots, hard reboots  
 
What do we know as of November 6th 2014.
  • TASM 3 has been delayed until 2018
  • Venom and The Sinister Six were green lighted as stand alone projects
  • Lisa Joy Nolan has been hired to develop a script for a female lead (ensemble) cast - The project is currently being referred to as the Glass Ceiling
  • Marvel Comics has announced Silk (aka Spider-Girl) will be getting her own comic in early 2015
  • TASM 4 has been delayed indefinitely
  • Andrew Garfield is under contract for TASM3 and potentially TASM4
  • Andrew Garfield is engaged to Emma Stone who portrayed Gwen Stacy
  • Shailene Woodley filmed multiple scenes for TASM2 and is under contract for TASM3
  • Dane Dehaan is under contract for TASM3 
  • High Level executives from Sony and Columbia Pictures has meet with Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Studios
  • A number of new photos show Andrew with his Peter Parker high style and shaved off his beard he has been sporting most of the past year.  

Some Rumors that seem to have a ring of truth

  • Rumor - Andrew Garfield contract calls for him to appear in movies like Venom and the Sinister Six.
  • Emma Stone is in negotiations discussions to return as the Clone of Gwen Stacy in TASM3
  • Andrew Garfield has hinted that "Miles Morales was a huge moment in this character's comic book life. And I do believe that we can do that. It's something I'm really interested in figuring out; an eloquent way of coexisting, or passing on the torch," said Garfield in an interview with Comic Book Resources.
  • As an aside while we talk about Miles Morales, the character (along with Silk and Spider-Woman) are not a part of the Spider-Man film IP that is controlled by Columbia Pictures.   To use these characters would require an new/separate agreement between Columbia and Marvel Entertainment.
  • Glass Ceiling rumors indicate a team including Black Cat, Firestar (Mutant whose rights are controlled by 20th Century Fox), Spider-Woman and or Silk. 

My Take on the whole fiasco as it now stands

Sony loves reboots and retooling, I think in an effort to control the costs of already high production costs.  There have been 15 reboots under the Sony/Columbia Pictures banner since 2010, more than the other 5 major studios combined.  That is not counting the other half-dozen or so reboots that Sony/Columbia Pictures have in the works for the next three years.   I am sure they have more than one internal discussion on rebooting Spider-Man again, however it appears that some has explained that rebooting right now is not good for business and that philosophy is now on hold.
Even though TASM and TASM have under performed in comparison to the MCU characters and the movies are on par with the X-Men Universe by Fox this is not a "good thing" for Sony.   Reboots right now in todays market are generating 50% less revenue than 5 years ago according to Box Office Mojo when you look at the increase in ticket revenue 5 years ago compared to the lesser ticket revenue or decrease in sales currently happening. 
 
Avi Arad
Where is Avi Arad and his faithful sidekick Matthew Tolmach?  Avi's ego dwarfs that of a small black hole, and that's tough to do, he has made hundreds of comments but about four months ago he dropped off the planet.   In the previous decade the longest time frame I could find without at least one Avi Arad quote is about 3 to 4 weeks, not even a month.   Four months is an eternity for Avi Arad.
When Andrew Garfield and Brian Michael Bendis spoke up about Miles Morales in April it took Avi Arad under 24 hours to respond.   Considering Marvel Entertainment Special on its 75th anniversary just aired and not a single mention of Avi Arad was made I figured we were good for at least two pages of commentary in response.  As of writing this post nada from either of them.

Sony and Marvel have meet and it certainly appears that Marvel has given something to Sony, a bone as it were.  I am not sure exactly what it is, but something has been agreed upon.
One potential area of discussion is the possibility of using a Spider-Man action figure in the upcoming Toy-Story 4 movie.  While that might be good for Spider-Man it really doesn't help Sony / Columbia.  
 
Miles Morales as Spider-Man
Right now Marvel controls the rights to Miles Morales (Ultimate Universe - Spider-Man), Silk, Spider-Woman, Spider-Girl and others.   Many rumors are suggesting that Sony may be looking at these characters, without an agreement from Marvel even sketching up a treatment with these films would create a situation where Sony would be in violation of copy right law and the potential they could be stripped of the Spider-Man IP.   So if these rumors are true than an agreement must have been reached. 
These rumors also suggest that Firestar, a mutant whose rights are controlled by 20th Century Fox is involved in the screenplays would suggest that an agreement with 20th Century Fox has also been agreed to.
The other option is these rumors are completely false and made up in someone's basement as he waits for his mother to call him up for supper. 
The kicker to me is that Andrew Garfield  has said something on the record about it.   It's possible he does not know, but he would have been instructed, contractually obligated to keep his mouth shut, especially after the public reprimand from Avi Arad back in April.   Not that stopped Idris Elbe last week.
Silk
If Lisa Joy Nolan is working on a female or ensemble female film for the Spider-Man Cinematic Universe, with what we know for sure today, it has to be a Black Cat centered film.  Sony cannot legally use the other characters.  HOWEVER, if Sony and Marvel  have or were to come to an agreement the logical choice is Silk / Spider-Girl / Cindy Moon, a classmate of Peter Parker who was bitten by the same radioactive spider.
Obviously there are some issues with this version of story in the Spider-Man Cinematic Universe, but nothing that cannot be overcome.
 
Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are a couple, you can either have them together or you can have Andrew Garfield (he is under contract).   I highly doubt you could have Emma Stone without Andrew Garfield, wouldn't be a happy home.
 
Andrew Garfield - Nov 4
What's up with the radical change in appearance for Andrew Garfield.   His next film project is the 17th Century set piece Silence directed my Martin Scorsese.   While filming is set to get underway shortly he is expected to appear with a beard and flyaway hair that he has been sporting.  On November 4th Andrew Garfield was spotted with a Clean Cut and the Peter Parker haircut.
 
Andrew Garfield has been making the rounds for interviews and improved his visibility in the past two weeks.   With Emma Stone performing on Broadway right now it is hard to be hidden but for six months he has kept himself out of the publics eye, two weeks ago that changed.  
Why?
Is he over the negative publicity that the poor performance of TASM2 or is he making himself more visible for other reasons.  With a new film about to begin filming in Japan it seems odd that he is filming stuff in New York, commercial(s) maybe.

One rumor I have yet to hear but seems to be bubbling towards the surface is that Andrew Garfield's version of Spider-Man / Peter Parker will make a cameo or minor appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron. To me this is not out of the realm of possibilities, albeit it is somewhat of a HUGE longshot of happening.  

Multiple rumors have suggested that the stand alone movies Venom and the Sinister Six are on hold.  There are enough of these rumors suggesting their is some validity to them.  While Disney's Maleficent was a success at the Box office it wasn't a run-away success that many predicted.   Was the domestic viewing audience not ready for an anti-hero superhero?  
The Challenge for Sony is the order that these two films are going to made in.  From a business perspective I have a hard time believing Sinister Six will be successful enough to justify moving forward with Venom.  If Venom was first, as a more noted fan favorite and well known name, from a business perspective I think it would be more successful.
My believe is that at least one of these films have been cancelled, most likely Venom for all the wrong reasons.
If Sony is moving ahead with a female lead/ensemble cast such as Silk or Black Cat film Venom would be a great villain to bring immediate notoriety to this film.

In the end there is the White Elephant in the room, the downward trend of the Amazing Spider-Man Films.
There is no way around the problem facing Sony at the moment, the MCU is the biggest thing in multiple markets and the obvious way to move forward is align themselves with Marvel.  I see no way around doing that.  
The Avengers bump was worth $250 Million for Iron-Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier EACH, or what Sony earned on TASM2.   The Avengers: Age of Ultron is already being looked at as the next potential $2 Billion dollar movie. 
Ensemble films are currently working better than single villain vs. single villain films.   Hence Captain America: Civil War has both Iron-Man and Captain America (plus others). 
I wouldn't be shocked to see The Amazing Spider-Man 3 reworked into that model.   Two heroes in major roles as opposed to two villains. 

What do you think?
I would love to hear from people on this topic.

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