spider-man Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Above: Mickey Rourke visited a Russian prison to prepare for his role in Iron Man 2

In an new and fascinating interview with Mickey Rourke over at The Guardian, the actor touches upon everything from his days living in a $600-a-month apartment to his comeback role in The Wrestler to losing his entire family to the preparations he had to make for his part in Iron Man 2 to how he really feels about all these superhero movies. One part you Iron Man fans might find interesting was when Rourke talks about having to learn Russian for his role as Tony Stark's nemesis Ivan (aka Whiplash). According to Rourke, he'll be speaking Russian for most of the film.

He says, "I decided to do half my role in Russian, and that's hard because the Russian language doesn't roll off the English-speaking tongue very easily. I spent three hours a day with a teacher, and after two weeks I know four sentences! Let me see, it's sort of like... 'Yezzamee menya... Yezzamee manya obott... Er, nemaboootty menya...'" He later adds the translation: "If someone kills me, don't wake me up, because I'd rather be dead than live in your world." But even though he's co-starring in what is perhaps next year's biggest superhero film, Rourke still isn't too keen on those types of movies. He notes, "I'm not gonna rush out and see the next Batman, I'm not big on formula movies. I don't like all that Spider-Man shit."

On his future projects, Rourke briefly talks about his upcoming role in The Expendables ("Stallone, when I was flat broke and I could hardly pay for a bowl of spaghetti in a restaurant, gave me a couple of weeks on Get Carter, and that paid my f**kin' rent for eight months"), and says he'd like to get Mick Jagger to star opposite him in Larry Clark's Mona Lisa. Check out the entire interview over at The Guardian - it's a fun read.

Not long ago we brought you two great photography projects: The Secret Life of Stormtroopers and The Real Lives of Superheroes -- and now Toronto based photographer Ian Pool has arrived with another fantastic superhero-related photo spread that shows what some of our favorite heroes and villains are up to on their days off. I chose to feature the Darth Vader image (see above), only because it cracked me up to see a little flowery decorative sign hanging outside his bathroom that reads, "May the dark side of the force be with you."

But to tell you the truth, I really love both the Batman and Spider-Man images most (though the Wonder Woman one is kinda hot), because they both give off this deep, depressing loneliness vibe. I imagine the Batman photo being taken at 3am on a random Wednesday while the streets of Gotham City are silent and asleep next to their loved ones. The Spider-Man image, which shows the superhero urinating on a wall late at night, is funny and sad at the same time -- after all, where else is the guy supposed to go to the bathroom while he's out keeping the streets safe? Meanwhile, the Doc Oc one is just ... well, see for yourself.

Check out a few of the images below, and head on over to Ian Pool's site for more.



[via io9]

As encouraging as it must be for a filmmaker to be recognized or associated with just one iconic film or franchise, Sam Raimi is the creative force behind two of them. He launched his eclectic career almost 30 years ago with the original Evil Dead, a horror classic that spawned two sequels and countless imitators, and then established himself as an A-list adaptor of comic book material with Spider-Man, which also begat sequels, and perhaps more importantly, several billion dollars or so in worldwide grosses. His latest film, Drag Me to Hell, is a return to the genre material that helped make a name for himself, albeit with the sensibility of a guy who survived one of Hollywood's biggest franchises, and took a few lessons away from the experience to boot.

Cinematical recently sat down with Raimi to discuss his new film, and the director demonstrated that in addition to being a hit machine with the mind of a born moviemaker, he's also a smart, generous, and remarkably humble fellow. While discussing his work on the film, he took time to respond, and kindly, to folks who both love and hate his legacy, before deconstructing his acrobatic cinematic style, and finally, digging deep to find a few films that meant something special to him as a young cineaste. And while he managed to pick consummate summer movie experiences that, quite frankly, didn't actually happen during the summer, the convenience of a Google search and the forgiveness of a grateful nation lying in wait for his films more than makes up for his lack of seasonal accuracy.

Alright, let's get the Twilight out of the way first. Entertainment Weekly has a couple of new images from the set of New Moon, and if anything, I suppose it's small solace that director Chris Weitz looks like he has this shoot on schedule for a November 20th release. For those of us who didn't know, this sequel concerns Bella (Kristen Stewart) and her divided love for both vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson - SQUEE!) and werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner). Maybe Kate Beckinsale should give her some advice on how to handle this...

Now, in somewhat related news, the rumor du jour as to which villain will play a part in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 has turned to Morbius, the well-meaning scientist (natch) who unwittingly transforms himself into a psuedo-vampire (no, thank you, Wikipedia!). The notorious showman plays coy when asked in this FearNET interview (that's hosted on... CHUD?), but then goes on about the appeal of vampires in a way that doesn't rule the possibility out...

Spider-Man 4 is scheduled for a 2011 bow, so let me use this as yet another opportunity to nudge you to support Raimi's very fun Drag Me to Hell this weekend.

Sam Raimi is currently gearing up for the release of Drag Me to Hell, his long-awaited, and (sorry, Kevin Kelly), brilliant return to Evil Dead-style horror filmmaking. Predictably – meaning we were instructed to ask on your behalf – discussion of Spider-Man 4 came up during Cinematical's recent chat with the director, and he talked about what his goals are in returning to the franchise for one more installment. Check back in the coming weeks for the rest of our Raimi interview, but here's what the filmmaker said about making a fourth movie in the multimillion dollar series.

"I learn lessons on every single picture I make," he said. "I learned a lot on [Drag Me To Hell], about timing, and that you don't have to give up any character at the expense of horror. It's just an excuse that maybe I've used in the past. As far as Spider-Man, I've learned a lot of lessons about what people didn't like and missteps that I'd made. But I learned those lessons on the previous two, I was just a little quieter about them. I made a lot of mistakes, and it's part of the reason I so want to make this next story of Peter Parker."

Have you ever listened to a director talk about one of their stars and wonder where the love and dedication came from? There's something refreshing in the loyalty that inspires it, in a business that's so often fickle -- but nevertheless, it sometimes boggles the mind.

The most recent manifestation of this is Sam Raimi. He's gearing up for the next installation of Spider-Man, and unsurprisingly, the subject of Mary Jane came up when he was talking about the film with MTV: "'I can't imagine making a Spider-Man movie without Kirsten [Dunst],' he said, seemingly contemplating the idea in his head with a long pause. 'Of course it can be done because Spider Man has existed without the character of Mary-Jane, but she's one of my favorite parts and it would be a shame not to have her in the picture. I'm hoping she'll be in it and I'm planning on having a story with her in it.'"

Evil Dead without Bruce Campbell, that would be unimaginable. But I'm sure there are many fans out there who could very easily imagine a Kirsten-free Spider-Man, whether that meant recasting Mary Jane or letting Peter Parker fight bad guys without the distraction of drama-filled love. For some of us, that absence is not only imaginable -- it's desired. There's little more aggravating than a supposedly epic love that doesn't contain enough on-screen chemistry to contain it. But the directorial love lives on.

Has there ever been a moment when a director gushes over an actor that you couldn't comprehend?

Our friends over at Worth1000 are always coming up with the strangest photoshop contests, and two of their latest asked readers to have some fun with old, classic paintings. One contest required folks to incorporate their favorite superhero into any piece of fine art (that didn't include Mona Lisa or Norman Rockwell). The other contest, however, was called Modern Renaissance, and it asked users to "put any modern celebrity, actor or popular culture figure as a substitute for the model of a painting or other form of artwork." The image above comes from the superhero photoshop contest, and it shows off Spider-Man in one of Salvador Dali's paintings. Check out a comparison below ...


What you don't see in the new painting is the Spidey villain Doc Ock hanging out in the lower left corner, but luckily we've pieced together a group of our favorites from each contest and have them for you in the galleries below. Let us know which painting(s) you'd happily throw up on your wall.

Don't worry hardcore Spidey fans, Evan Rachel Wood is not replacing Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane, Peter Parker's girlfriend. However, according to the actress herself, she's signed on to play Mary Jane in Spider-Man: The Musical, which begins rehearsals in June, 2009, and will most likely arrive on Broadway before the next big-screen sequel in early 2010.

We've known for awhile now that the musical's director, Julie Taymor, has been championing her Across the Universe stars for the lead roles in the musical. Now that Wood has nabbed the co-lead, will Jim Sturgess play Spidey? According to Wood, who spoke with IESB at a press junket for The Wrestler, they're "still trying to convince him." It's important to note that both Wood and Sturgess have workshopped the musical with Taymor recently, so chances are good both will open the show in New York. Remember, music and lyrics have been provided by U2's Bono and The Edge -- and with two pretty movie stars in the starring roles, this thing could take off. Whaddya think? Will Spidey ruin his superheroic kickass appeal by deciding to belt out a tune or three on Broadway?

Earlier this year, I alerted you to a bloody ear cake, Blue Velvet-style. But now the blood ante has been upped -- just in time for the spooky, Halloween-themed month of October. Forget just one lone, severed body part, and go for a whole bunch -- feet, hands, and more floating in the crisp blue sea! The above is just part of an excellent shark attack cupcake display made by Moogieland.

Now, it isn't specifically Jaws inspired, but man, these would be great for any Jaws-themed night or movie-themed costume party. Best of all, anyone can make them. The more cake-skilled can whip it all up from scratch, while the cake newbies can grab toy sharks and doll parts.

But, if you like to keep your severed parts away from your food (boo), you can always check out Spider-Man, sock monkey style.

Earlier today, Paramount and Marvel Studios announced an agreement for the former to distribute (worldwide) Marvel's next five self-produced flicks. In addition to this news, tentative release dates were given for Iron Man 2 (moved to May 7, 2010), Thor (moved to July 16, 2010), The First Avenger: Captain America (May 6, 2011) and The Avengers (July 15, 2011). The agreement is said to also cover Iron Man 3. All I'm gonna say is what the hell will we do in 2009 without Superman, Batman, Spider-Man ... or any of these new Marvel films? Perhaps we should create Government Bailout Man and ask Oliver Stone to whip up the flick in about three months or so .... (not funny Davis).

But back to Marvel. It was announced earlier today that Kenneth Branagh is in talks to direct Thor (a ballsy move, but certainly one that comes with a lot of promise) while word is still out on filmmakers for The Avengers and Captain America ... and what's up with Ant-Man? Obviously folks are really looking forward to seeing what Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. do with Iron Man 2, but ... honestly ... Thor just shot up past Iron Man 2 on my must-see list. C'mon ... we're looking at a three-hour Shakespearean epic -- one that must include Jeremy Irons playing someone we immediately hate. What's not to look forward to?

But seriously, which upcoming Marvel film is at the top of your must-see list ... and why?