Never Doubt the Power of Spider-Man!

[enyawd72]

Despite all the delays, bad press, negative reviews, etc, the Spider-Man musical just set a box office record.
Broadway's 'Spider-Man' musical earns new record - MSN Music News


The Amazing Spider-Man film will do just fine...they could use the Geico lizard!

[MIB41]

Never doubt the boneheads at Sony either. I don't believe 'Amazing' will do anywhere near what it's predecessors have made. I think it will do standard hero money. Probably $160 to $180 million. Fine for smaller ventures, but a bomb for the Spider-man franchise since that won't even recoup it's budget. With regards to the musical, at least they got his costume right.

[enyawd72]

Never doubt the boneheads at Sony either. I don't believe 'Amazing' will do anywhere near what it's predecessors have made. I think it will do standard hero money. Probably $160 to $180 million. Fine for smaller ventures, but a bomb for the Spider-man franchise since that won't even recoup it's budget. With regards to the musical, at least they got his costume right.

I think you're way off...Amazing is closer to Ultimate Spider-Man which will be more attractive to the younger audience I think. The costume has really grown on me, and as far as the Lizard, his design is still way better than that crappy Green Goblin from Raimi's movie.

I'm betting more in the $250-275M range. We'll just have to wait and see.

[Figuremod73]

Im hoping someday the musical is filmed, lol. (I wonder if bootlegs are ever made of musicals?)

I think the film will be fine. Like any other film those that see it on opening night/first week will be the real judge on it. If it stinks they will try a friend and on and on...If its at least as good as spiderman 3 (a poor film,lmo) it probably will be close to the the 200M range.

Im thinking theres alot riding against the film right now; with having a new director, crew, etc. Its a wait and see for me.

[samurainoir]

A friend of mine was in New York before the holidays and the musical was the hottest ticket in town. No discounts/day of show and you had to had had tickets way in advance. I only regret that the car crash first incarnation will never again see the light of day.

Given the mad bank that Harry Potter and Twilight make, I don't blame the suits at all for going younger. The forty year old fan men already have our Spidey films, I say leave it for the kids. It's the way things will always be. Who knows, maybe this new film will be a pleasant surprise. I thought the POV scene from the trailer was something neat that we haven't quite seen before, and should be really neat on the big screen.

[UnderdogDJLSW]

I thought the POV scene from the trailer was something neat that we haven't quite seen before,

Not quite the same way as the trailer's continuous shot version, but they used to do POV cut-aways on the Nicolas Hammond 70s version. I am in wait-and-see mode about the movie. I do like that the web shooters are back so I'll give it that plus.

[emeraldknight47]

I think you're way off...Amazing is closer to Ultimate Spider-Man which will be more attractive to the younger audience I think. The costume has really grown on me, and as far as the Lizard, his design is still way better than that crappy Green Goblin from Raimi's movie.

I'm betting more in the $250-275M range. We'll just have to wait and see.

I'm afraid I'm gonna have to side with MIB on this one, enyawd; I think this new version of Spider-Man WILL appeal to the folks who've enjoyed Ultimate Spider-Man and the younger crowds, but it's going to be salt in the wound to those of us who have grown up with the good old-fashioned Spider-Man and wanted to see Raimi and Co. have their shot at The Lizard. I'm predicting that AS-M will likely have a good, not great, opening weekend, and will probably wind up with THOR or CAPTAIN AMERICA numbers, which are waaaay smaller that what SONY is used to coming from SPIDER-MAN.

And, while The Power-Ranger Green Goblin is still a wretched excuse for the character it's supposed to be, this incarnation of The Lizard doesn't really look any better at all; in fact, he kinda looks like whoever designed him kinda stole ideas from The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Killer Croc and maybe his pet Gecko at home. Not impressed at all...

[MIB41]

I think this reboot is far more of a gamble than what some like to believe. Yes, occasionally heroes get new actors through the course of reboots. But typically that's due to lackluster business and a consensus it's time for a new cast. Years pass and the bad taste of an old series is allowed to wear off (like Batman & Robin). People would LIKE to argue the Hulk did this without a meaningful gap in years and found success. I would argue it actually performed worse. Check the budgets and the final gross if your in doubt.

Spider-man 3 was a weak installment because there were too many story lines Rami had to manage. Having to follow an exceptional entry like Spider-man 2, was going to be tough even with a good story in place. So it was not surprising that the third act was met with disappointment since it could not reach the stellar heights of it's predecessor. But even though reviews were mixed, this film still made MORE money worldwide than the previous two attempts. So let's be honest here. Sony panicked because the reviews were mixed and made a knee jerk decision to remove Rami from the next installment. There was no "reboot" on the horizon here. What they didn't count on was Tobey leaving with Rami. This placed them in a position where they had no choice other than to scrap the entire series and reboot. So "Amazing" is the end result of poor management and subsequent poor decision making within Sony's ranks. The end product MAY win over kiddos who know something of the Ultimate universe. But to the mainstream audience which creates blockbuster films, this Spider-man is at best a confusing mess.

This entry not only has to pay for the disappointment people had with the last story, but also pay the ultimate price by not having a cast everyone still very much liked in the series. Sony is in complete denial. They're placing this film in a busy Summer schedule like it's another Rami film. They will soon realize what many of us already know - Bringing Spider-man to the big screen was a miraculous achievement. And it happened because a very talented director and cast captured the essence of what Spider-man meant. Enyawd72 you call yourself a Spider-man fan. If that is the case, you should realize the ultimate disrespect Sony is serving your hero. Sony is treating Spider-man like a television hero, where anyone can wear the costume. The attitude is obvious. Throw up the tent and the kids will come to see the clown show. Well Spider-man is no clown in my book. And that's what Amazing is looking to be. Spider-man's legacy in film is built on the work of Rami and company. Amazing will get served notice to that fact. You can count on it. Enjoy the kiddy show...

[samurainoir]

You could realLy tell that Raimi just wasn't into Venom at all and it's well documented how that character was thrust upon him by the Marvel Toy Dept. The comedy injected into all that seems to be all he could do to maintain interest. Meanwhile poor Dillon Baker sitting in the wings waiting for his shot at what I would have presumably imagined to be a classic lizard.

With all that said, the worldwide box office really is a huge game changer if you look a last year's list of domestic vs international box office.

Amazing Spider-man will be the kind of movie that transports well overseas... As most comic book movies are proving in the action genre.

I recently witnessed midnight shows of Harry Potter and Twilight selling out in a half dozen screens at midnight shows at the theatre across the street from me. Meanwhile Captain America could barely fill one with a primarily male audience (females were there with their male partners). Thor didn't even get a midnight show.

As sad as it is for me personally given my tastes in movies, forty plus year old men are increasingly irrelevant when it comes to Domestic Hollywood, and Teen Girls are how they make the real money. expect Amazing Spiderman to be much or about hair and the romance angle pumped up (think Romita era over Ditko's pining loner).

[samurainoir]

Just to swing us back on topic, it's funny how these kind of mainstream reports of success sway a non comics reading public.

The wife came home last night after hearing how favorably Spiderman has been doing on broadway and immediately started looking up flights for a weekend getaway in New York. This is after a year of me telling her how awesomely terrible the reviews for the initial Taymore version were, and how much I wanted to see that train wreck.

As much as I wanted to see Spiderman in that incarnation, I think these days my tastes would swing towards Book of Mormon by the South Park guys.

[MIB41]

If Sony is only thinking about one demographic when it comes to story, then they are cutting off a huge segment of the consumer that buys not only tickets but plenty of higher end merchandise the kiddies can't afford. As with any business, if you remove a segment of your consumer base, that's a hit to your bottom line. Batman doesn't have this problem. Director Christopher Nolan writes a very mature and grounded screenplay for his hero. I don't see kids picketing the theaters over that. And Dark Knight is still selling figures from that film. At the end of the day, it has to be about story. If the director suddenly feels more inclined to focus on hair styles and what kind of blue jeans the characters are wearing, then the train has already left the tracks. That speaks to the commercialization of the license solely to sell product without any regard for the film itself. 'Amazing' reeks of this. But I have to tell you, I don't feel any need to hang my head because I'm over 40 and believe asking for a good story is part of a generational gap. There are too many films of this genre that please audiences of all ages. If Spider-man gets reduced down to formula where all you need is the hottest teen pin up wearing the costume, then your talking about reduced demand and thus reduced interest in this genre. Nobody wants that. And that is at the heart of my concern for this film. Spider-man is the flagship of Marvel comics. If he sinks, others will follow.

[samurainoir]

^^^
Unless you've read the screenplay for the new film, there isn't much point commenting on the story at this point is there? None of us have seen this film. Maybe we'll all be pleasantly surprised. or it could be a car wreck.

All we've seen so far is some photos and brief clips. Aesthetics aside, it does look like it's based on an old school Spiderman storyline and characters... The Lizard and Captain Stacey are classic era, and Dennis Leary is pretty good casting for the role.


For me it's like the Star Wars films... I loved the old ones, and I gave Uncle George my money to see the new ones, but when I see a new generation of kids that love the prequels and clone wars as much as I enjoyed the originals at that age, I really can't get my nose bent too far out of joint about Jar Jar, Mini Fett, Darth Emo, Roger Roger Battle Droids etc.

The original films still (more or less) exist. Doesn't take anything away from the original Spidey comics either. All that stuff still brings me joy. Heck even the "bad" Spider-man stuff admittedly brings me joy... Nicholas Hammond Spidey? Sure. It's awful, but I've got a nostalgic kick out of seeing it again. Ninjas, the cheesy wall walking effects. Everything. (Except maybe the glacial pacing, but that's what the fast-forward button is for).

[samurainoir]

Interesting fact about the story pedigree on Amazing Spider-man. SAME screenwriter as Spider-man 2 and 3. Lends some credence to the theory that this might not have originally been a reboot script to begin with. Particularly with the Lizard, Captain Stacey and Gwen Stacey set up in 3. Sans origin, you could very well have a Toby Maguire Spiderman script underneath that big pile of pouting hair gel.
Alvin Sargent - IMDb

Although some of that Harry Potter magic is in the mix as well...
Steve Kloves - IMDb
This dude also wrote Wonder Boys for Toby Maguire.

I bet the sixty year old Spiderman fans are really hacked off that James Cromwell got the boot in favor of that fast talkin' whipper snapper Leary! (wait.. Isn't Dennis Leary approaching sixty?)

[Figuremod73]

Its wait and see but I dont think it will be to bad (it might even be suprisingly good). Lets not judge a book by its cover, if the stories there and its not rushed (or has a bunch of mess crammed in) it might be a great new (or classic) story in the life of our friendly neighborhood spiderman.

[PNGwynne]

Just how reworked is the musical? I remember reading that it was, at least initially, staggeringly awful.