For the past several months, folks have been questioning The Incredible Hulk and whether Edward Norton's extremely "hands on" involvement hurt or helped the finished product. It took a very long time for any images from the film to hit, and even longer for an initial trailer. Some have claimed that part of the hold-up had to do with a dispute between Norton, director John Louis Leterrier and Marvel -- with the latter wanting a more commercial cut of the film and the former, according to Entertainment Weekly, wanting a "more meditative cut of the film that ran about two hours and 15 minutes." From what I've heard, Norton is notoriously hard to work with -- so much so that everyone around him must refer to the guy as Edward, not Ed or Nort or Dude from Fight Club. I imagine folks just go along with it so they don't have to see him angry. In case you didn't know, you don't want to see Edward Norton when he's angry.

After trying for more than a month to interview the guy, EW has just published a 257-word statement (approved in advance by Universal and Marvel) from Norton. In it, he briefly addresses some of these accusations in saying, "Every good movie gets forged through collaboration, and different ideas among people who are all committed and respect the validity of each other's opinions is the heart of filmmaking. Regrettably, our healthy process, which is and should be a private matter, was misrepresented publicly as a 'dispute,' seized on by people looking for a good story, and has been distorted to such a degree that it risks distracting from the film itself, which Marvel, Universal and I refuse to let happen.''

I'm sure we won't hear the real story until well after the film is out in theaters (if there even is a real story), but we'd like you to chime in here: Should this sort of off-screen dispute worry fans of the film? And would you rather see a more commercial or meditative cut of The Incredible Hulk (which, mind you, hits theaters on June 13)?

Check out Norton's full statement to EW after the jump ...

• One of my favorite issues of the year: "The Must List." (Though I think this was once called "The It List?") It's what's hot right now for the summer (though much of this stuff, like movies and CDs, isn't coming out 'til fall).
• Some film-related people and things on the list this year: Jessica Alba, Peter Jackson's King Kong, Lynda Carter, Thomas Haden Church, Mos Def, Lee Taylor Pucci, Brandon Routh (the new Superman - he's on the cover), Jodie Foster, Uma Thurman, John Gulager, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, and Hoop Dreams.
• Some film-related people and things not on the list this year: Pauly Shore.
• And here's the history of Batman, from comic books to Christian Bale.