Tentative Spider-Man 4 Release Date!
Spider-Man 4 has a new tentative release date, but don’t expect it anytime soon. According to Spider-Man executive producer Laura Ziskin, the web-slinger should be back in theaters in May… of 2011.
In remarks Thursday to theater owners from California and Nevada, Ziskin said there was no finished screenplay, but that she and Sony Pictures were hopeful “Spider-Man 4” could be ready in three years’ time.
The first three movies comprise one of the most successful franchises in modern Hollywood history, grossing a combined $2.5 billion worldwide. Neither star Tobey Maguire nor director Sam Raimi is yet committed to work on the next installment. But Sony has paid Marvel to renew its rights.
Hopefully, the extra time to think and plot will help make a better movie that SM3!
Spider-Man 4 in May 2011
Spider-Man producer Laura Ziskin told theater owners on Thursday that Spider-Man 4 is tentatively being scheduled for a May 2011 release. She also confirmed that screenwriter James Vanderbilt has yet to turn in a final screenplay, but she insisted that Sony Pictures is very hopeful that they will be on track for 2011.
Director Sam Raimi has yet to commit to the project, and told press earlier this month that he is “excited to read” the screenplay, and is “hoping it’s as great as our discussions were about it and hoping it feels right”. No stars are signed on to the project, however Sony has publicly insisted that they want to bring Tobey Maguire back for the fourth film. I still wonder if the script and money will be enough to bring the original team back to the fold. JK Simmons has said that the studio has recently checked in with his agents to say they want him back for a sequel, and he’s ready to return if Raimi is still involved.
source: LATimes
Sam Raimi And J.K. Simmons Talk Spider-Man 4
Spider-man trilogy director Sam Raimi spoke to SHH about Spider-Man 4. Would come back to direct? Has he read the script? And how does he feel about recasting?
“James Vanderbilt is writing the script and I’m excited to read it. I think it’s going to be done in a few months,” Raimi told us, adding, “I’m hoping it’s as great as our discussions were about it and I’m hoping it feels right for me because I love Spider-Man. I’m hoping I’m well rested enough to embrace it and I’m hoping Sony wants me to do it. If all of those things come together, I would love to do it. There are a lot of unknowns about the future.”
And how does he feel about re-casting key players if needed? “I’d hate to re-cast anybody in the future, I can’t imagine that.”
In other Spidey news J.K. Simmons who plays J. Jonah Jameson, editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, spoke to IESB about the fourth Spider-Man movie.
“I spoke to Tobey in, I guess it was February… sort of awards season time,” said Simmons. “and, y’know, he’s certainly amenable to doing some more and hopefully we’ll be able to get everybody back and make another good one.”
…if Sam were not the director but was, still had a hand in it then I would certainly have a reasonable amount of faith in it. You know? Obviously if he’s the director I’m there a 100%. If he’s not involved at all, which I think is VERY unlikely, then it would be a situation that I would have to think about. But if he’s involved, hopefully directing or at least as a producer then I’m pretty confident that it would be something that I want to do. Plus they pay money.
Alison Lohman to Replace Ellen Page in Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell
Blonds tells fewer blog jokes, it’s a fact, so maybe director Sam Raimi is onto something by casting actress Alison Lohman (Beowulf, Flicka) in the lead role formerly occupied by Ellen Page (Juno) in his upcoming horror thriller Drag Me to Hell.
Oscar nominee Page aborted the project days ago amid rumors that she was unhappy with the script by Raimi and his brother Ivan Raimi. There was also the trusty rumor that Page forever hisses at her agent anytime she hears the words “how about a horror movie, Ellen” post-Academy Awards. As our pub brothers at FirstShowing have pointed out, Variety reported on Sunday that the real reason might have been, yep, “scheduling differences” after all…
“We were racing to start production so that we could accommodate Ellen’s schedule,” Ghost House and Mandate said in a joint statement. “But like so many other productions trying to start before the potential SAG strike date, this one needed more time, and we had to push back the start of production.”
Indeed, the SAG strike is fast becoming the new “forgot my homework,” or, sure, WGA strike. Lohman, who is almost 30 but looks teenish, is of Irish descent, an environmentalist and I’m sure she can belt out a scream with the best of them. But I dunno, does she have the spark, that hamburger phone aura, that Page has?
Discuss: Page versus Loh(m)an. What difference does this play in your anticipation of Drag Me to Hell?