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SPIDER-MAN News: Musical Delayed Again & First Movie Pic
Written by Scott Katz   
Friday, 14 January 2011 01:40

spiderman_new_resizeSpider-Man_musical-resizeThe Amazing Spider-Man was in the news twice recently as yet another delay was announced for the mammoth Broadway musical production, and the first picture of Andrew Garfield, the actor chosen to play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the reboot of the movie franchise, was released.

The Spider-Man film series was set to have a fourth entry debuting in 2011, but when director Sam Raimi withdrew from the project, it was decided by Columbia Pictures, the movie studio holding the film rights to the famous wallcrawler, to reboot the series instead.  The first entry in the new series, once again titled Spider-Man will swing into theaters in 3D on July 3, 2012, a scant ten years after the first film in the original series.

Besides Garfield, 27, who was seen last year in David Fincher's critcially-acclaimed The Social Network, the cast includes Emma Stone, 22, as Gwen Stacy (Peter Parker's girlfriend in the comics before he met Mary Jane), Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben Parker, Sally Field as Aunt May Parker, Denis Leary as Captain George Stacy, and Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard, who will be the villain of the piece along with Nels Van Adder (known in comics as the "Proto-Goblin"), who will be played by Irrfan Khan.  The new film will once again have Peter Parker develop his spider-powers while still a high school student as it happened in the original 1962 comic book. 

It has been widely speculated that the storyline for the new Spider-Man series of movies will use the comic book series, Ultimate Spider-Man – itself a rebooted take on the classic Spider-Man – launched by Marvel Comics in 2000, as source material.  Mark Webb, a former music video director, with only one feature film credit to his name – 2009's (500) Days of Summer, has been slated to direct from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent.  Vanderbilt had co-written the screenplay for last summer's The Losers, while Sargent has written or co-written the screenplays for all three previous Spider-Man movies.

3000 miles away from the Hollywood production of the new Spider-Man film, the Broadway version of the wall-crawling arachnid is having yet more problems.  It has just been announced that the musical production – the most expensive in Broadway history at $65 million – will once again be delayed.  Opening night for Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark has been pushed back from February 7 to March 15.  Preview performances for Tuesday January 18 and 25 have also been canceled, although it does remain in previews at Manhattan's Foxwoods Theatre otherwise.

Beyond the ever-escalating cost of the production, the show has been plagued by numerous accidents and delays.  No less than four cast members have been injured in the show including, most recently, Spider-Man stunt double, Christopher Tierney, after he fell 20 to 30 feet from the stage into the orchestra pit and suffered numerous breaks and fractures on December 20, 2010.  Prior to that, actress Natalie Mendoza, cast as Arachne, suffered a concussion during the first preview performance on November 28.  She returned on December 15, but after Tierney's accident, and citing her own injuries, announced she was leaving the show permanently.  During rehearsals, two stunt doubles were injured during the flying sequences.

Turn off the Dark was actually scheduled to open on Broadway about a year ago on February 18, 2010, but had to be delayed in order to complete fundraising for this somewhat daunting production.  Since then, four additional premiere dates have been announced: December 2010, January 2011, February 2011, and now March 2011.  In addition to the initial $65 million budget, running costs for the show have been reported to be as high as $1 million per week.  However, all of the disasters, delays, and accidents have proven to be a lightning rod for audiences as last week, it was the number one show on Broadway.

The show is described as a rock musical, and it has music and lyrics by Bono and The Edge from the group U2.  Book is by Julie Taymor, who also directs, and Glen Berger.  Taymor has a long history in theatre, and won a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – the first woman to do so – for the Broadway version of The Lion King.  This ambitious stage production of Spider-Man features more than two dozen aerial flying sequences, moving set pieces, giant screen projections, and almost twenty musical numbers.

In the comics, Peter Parker has always been characterized as being the unluckiest of all the Marvel Comics characters – the Charlie Brown of the superhero set.  Will Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark prove to be hits or will the dreaded "Parker luck" strike again?

 

Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark is now set to open on Broadway on March 15, 2010.  Spider-Man opens on movie screens on July 3, 2012 in 3D.

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The Broadway Directory
Written by Scott Katz   

In answer to requests for a comprehensive listing of plays and musicals currently in production on Broadway, we present the following listing.  In addition, we've gone ahead and created a second listing detailing the upcoming Broadway productions that have been announced and given their opening dates.  Keep checking back as we are in the process of compiling interviews with the casts of these hit Broadway shows!

 

 Current Broadway Productions:

Read more...
 


MORE INTERVIEWS...

  

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cast of The Apprentice 10

BATMAN film producer MICHAEL USLAN

Sherri Shepherd

Vanessa Minnillo

All My Children creator AGNES NIXON

Bronx Opera's BEN SPIERMAN

cast of Big Brother 12 BOBBY FLAY & STEVE ELLS of America's Next Great Restaurant Cast of the play Bridgeboy
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Library of American Comics' BRUCE CANWELL RYAN McPARTLIN & SARAH LANCASTER

CRYSTAL CHAPPELL

part 1: Guiding Light

part 2: Days of Our Lives

soapcentral.com founder DAN KROLL DAN PARENT of Archie Comics DAVID LYONS of The Cape DEBBIE GIBSON & TIFFANY Author DEDE EMERSON of A Different Kind of Streetwalker
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BOB DOWLING of the 3D Entertainment Summit Indie filmmaker ELIANA UJUETA of Beneath the Rock comic book artist JAMAL IGLE Genesis Repertory's JAY MICHAELS, MARY MiCARI, & actors Oscar-winning actor JEREMY IRONS

Animation historian JERRY BECK

1st interview

2nd interview

singer-songwriter JOSH GROBAN

web series producer KAI SOREMEKUN of Chick

1st interview

2nd interview

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Oscar-winning actress KATHY BATES of Harry's Law Television producer KENNETH JOHNSON of V, Bionic Woman, Incredible Hulk KYLE BORNHEIMER & HAYES MacARTHUR of Perfect Couples

Terrence Howard, René Balcer

Dick Wolf, Alfred Molina, Alana de la Garza

publisher DAN HERMAN of Hermes Press COUNTESS LuANN de LESSEPS of The Real Housewives of New York City author MAX ALLAN COLLINS of Road to Perdition WWE Champion Mike "The MIz" Mizanin
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JEFF HAYNE of Mill Creek Entertainment

1st interview

2nd interview

singer-actor NICK LACHEY supermodel NIKI TAYLOR talks The Celebrity Apprentice actor PAUL REISER of The Paul Reiser Show actor-producer RICKY GERVAIS of The Office actress-television host ROSIE O'DONNELL comic book writer STEVE NILES

Ian Anthony Dale, Nick Wauters

Jason Ritter, Sarah Roemer, Blair Underwood, Željko Ivanek

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THORE SCHÖLERMANN & JO WEIL of Verbotene Liebe Peabody & Emmy award winning journalist TOM BROKAW Emmy award winning actor TOM PELPHREY of Guiding Light actors from The Apothecary Theatre Company TORI SPELLING & DEAN McDERMOTT of sTORIbook Weddings

 

 

MORE FEATURES... 

 

Reviews & Previews:

Summer 2011 Movie Preview

Fall 2010 Television season

Fra Diavolo

Die Drei Pintos

Romeo and Juliet in Brooklyn

MPI Home Video

Timless Media Group

Boris Karloff's Thriller

Hunter: The Complete Series

Polly and Her Pals

Icons: The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee

Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman

Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern

Spider-Man musical delayed again

Frozen

Dead Space: Aftermath

Altitude

 

 

    

Events:

New York Comic Con

Apprentice 10 kickoff

Farewell to Guiding Light

Farewell to As the World Turns

The Broadway Directory

 

Award Show winners:

Academy Awards

Emmy Awards

Grammy Awards

Tony Awards

American Music Awards

Golden Globe Awards

Screen Actors Guild Awards

American Country Awards

 

    

Television blogs:

American Idol 10

American Idol 9

American Idol 8

Big Brother 12

Big Brother 11

ABC Cancels Both All My Children and One Life to Live

Guiding Light: A Look Back

 

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Brooklyn politicians Kevin Peter Carroll vs. Ralph Perfetto

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