"Spider-Man 3" and Friedman

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Sam Raimi has told Fox 411's Roger Friedman that there will be a Spider-Man 4. As Ned Beatty's character says in the second act in Deliverance, "My God...there's no end to it." Raimi told Friedman that "it's all about getting a script." Beware of any franchise in which a supporting player confides to a columnist at a premiere party, "It turns out I may not be completely dead." Ugh!

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 1, 2007 at 2:12 PM

comment #1

Rich S. says ...

Looks like HE will have column ammo for at least another couple of years. Time to start digging to see where Raimi will be donating for '08.

Posted by Rich S. at May 1, 2007 2:27 PM

comment #2

Terry McCarty says ...

Guessing that Raimi might delegate directing duties next time around.

Posted by Terry McCarty at May 1, 2007 2:36 PM

comment #3

JD says ...

Why was Fox so quick to declare X-Men 3 the last in the series, but Sony is terrified to let this franchise die? I'm not saying this is good or bad, I'm just curious why these two studios took such radically different approaches to these fairly similar properties.

Posted by JD at May 1, 2007 2:41 PM

comment #4

Rich S. says ...

Perhaps, JD, it's because the core creative team on X-Men left after #2 and they knew they could only squeeze out one more without Singer on board. Plus, they still have Wolverine to fall back on.

Who am I kidding? It's money. When Fox needs the dough, they'll go back to the well. What's that you say? They already have a "young Magneto" project in the works. Well, okay then...

Posted by Rich S. at May 1, 2007 2:50 PM

comment #5

Noah says ...

I, for one, would like to see the Spiderman franchise continue at the helm of another director. I feel someone else could bring sosmething fresh to the series. As long as it's not Mark Steven Johnson, I think it would be interesting to see an installment of Spiderman in the hands of, say, Doug Liman. Just a thought.

Posted by Noah at May 1, 2007 2:59 PM

comment #6

Pelham123 says ...

Also, by saying it's the last in a series you get (trick?) people in expecting an ending to "the saga".

Posted by Pelham123 at May 1, 2007 3:13 PM

comment #7

jeffmcm says ...

Ugh, not Doug Liman. How is he any better than Mark Steven Johnson?

Posted by jeffmcm at May 1, 2007 3:28 PM

comment #8

Noah says ...

Mark Steven Johnson directed Simon Birch and Ghost Rider. Doug Liman directed Swingers, Go and the Bourne Identity. I think the difference in quality of those films is remarkable. If you don't, then you're insane. He was also just one example, the first that came to mind. How about a Jim Jarmusch Spiderman flick?

Posted by Noah at May 1, 2007 3:35 PM

comment #9

Roddy Reta says ...

I can't believe Friedman didn't ask about the Bush donation.

Posted by Roddy Reta at May 1, 2007 3:47 PM

comment #10

jeffmcm says ...

Add Mr. and Mrs. Smith to your list and Liman's standing takes a huge plunge, plus don't forget that most of the success of Bourne Identity should be credited to Frank Marshall and Swingers, to Jon Favreau.

Liman's a hack; just because he's marginally more competent than MSJ shouldn't matter much.

Posted by jeffmcm at May 1, 2007 4:19 PM

comment #11

Noah says ...

I don't think he's a hack at all and I think Mr. and Mrs. Smith alone is better than any of MSJ's work, whether you like it or not. You can attribute the success of Liman's films to anybody but him, but he was still the director of those films so he had a pretty large impact on the quality of those films. If you think otherwise, then you think very little of what a director's job on the set is.

Posted by Noah at May 1, 2007 4:32 PM

comment #12

Craig Kennedy says ...

Heh heh...Jim Jarmusch Presents: Spiderman. PP and MJ sit around their crummy apartment eating TV dinners and listening to Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Nothing happens.

I'd pay to see that. But then I kind of enjoyed Mr. & Mrs. Smith too.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at May 1, 2007 4:40 PM

comment #13

jeffmcm says ...

Noah, are you not aware that huge chunks of Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs. Smith were reshot without Liman's participation?

Posted by jeffmcm at May 1, 2007 5:04 PM

comment #14

le corbeau says ...

"Heh heh...Jim Jarmusch Presents: Spiderman."

You joke, but I remember reading an interview with Jarmusch where he said right after Stranger Than Paradise became an indie hit, he got a call offering him his big break: the chance to do Porky's II!

Posted by le corbeau at May 1, 2007 5:34 PM

comment #15

le corbeau says ...

Okay, don't even point out that Porky's II came out a year before Stranger Than Paradise. Interviews with directors aren't supposed to be believed.

Posted by le corbeau at May 1, 2007 5:36 PM

comment #16

Craig Kennedy says ...

Perhaps he meant Porky's Revenge from 1985. I'm guessing Jarmusch wouldn't know the difference (and neither would I)

Posted by Craig Kennedy at May 1, 2007 6:23 PM

comment #17

Noah says ...

Jeff, this is from IMDB:

"At Doug Liman's instruction, screenwriter Tony Gilroy did not read the "Bourne Identity" novel; instead, he worked solely from an outline prepared by Liman."

Whether or not you think he's a hack, that movie turned out the way it did in large part because of Liman's participation.

Posted by Noah at May 1, 2007 9:03 PM

comment #18

rgmax99 says ...

"I can't believe Friedman didn't ask about the Bush donation."

Can we please move on from the Bush donation?

Who? Cares?

There are a million and one other things we should worry about other than some comic book movie director donating to Bush. (I voted for Kerry, by the way.)

When you get right down to it, it's more appalling that we have a culture that thinks it's OK to spend $300 million on a friggin' movie when that cash could be used for more things like teacher's salaries, an efficient health care system, efforts to stop global warming, etc., etc.

Besides, Evil Dead 2 and A Simple Plan are still Raimi's best flicks.

Posted by rgmax99 at May 2, 2007 6:16 AM

comment #19

Josh Massey says ...

"When you get right down to it, it's more appalling that we have a culture that thinks it's OK to spend $300 million on a friggin' movie when that cash could be used for more things like teacher's salaries, an efficient health care system, efforts to stop global warming, etc., etc."

Ugh, really?

Why is it bad to spend $300 million on a movie when it's clearly going to make more than that?

Posted by Josh Massey at May 2, 2007 6:35 AM

comment #20

christian says ...

"At Doug Liman's instruction, screenwriter Tony Gilroy did not read the "Bourne Identity" novel; instead, he worked solely from an outline prepared by Liman."

oh thank god! because if the writer were to read the actual best-selling novel from which the movie is based, chaos!

i'd still be happy to see cameron's SPIDERMAN...

Posted by christian at May 2, 2007 9:14 AM

comment #21

alan says ...

Hey, I'm fine with it if it keeps him occupied and means that his hands will stay off of The Hobbit.

Posted by alan at May 2, 2007 9:15 AM

comment #22

christian says ...

i think raimi would be great for THE HOBBIT.

his directing style isn't that far removed from jackson's, and raimi is certainly a better choreographer of action and movement. plus, he did a good job with the medieval vibe of ARMY OF DARKNESS, easily one of raimi's best films and miles above the overrated EVIL DEAD 2.

Posted by christian at May 2, 2007 9:49 AM

comment #23