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Thursday, Sept. 14, 2000

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE ON MAY 3, 2002

Marvel's Avi Arad called the move of the release of the Spider-Man live-action movie to May 3, 2002 "the right decision."

Sony announced the move of the movie, originally targeted for November 2001, on late Wednesday afternoon.

"We decided that we are much better off with a movie in the summer, especially after X-Men," Arad, executive producer on Spider-Man, told The Continuum's Rob Allstetter. "We'll be starting the summer like Gladiator. I like summer movies.

"What it does for us, it's the first movie of the summer, it starts the whole business. It also makes it a summer movie in Europe. X-Men, as you know, just started its international run and we are already up to $90 million. The numbers are so much bigger and you have a longer run, and May, obviously, is bigger than July, because you have a whole summer to go.

"Just bigger numbers. It was a courageous decision, but the right one. There's just too much money to be left on the table going in Christmas."

Sony's press release said that "the start date makes possible a production and post-production schedule that will enable the film's creators to realize their ambitious vision for Spider-Man and bring Marvel's worldwide comic book icon to life."

Arad said it wasn't totally a case where Spider-Man could not have been made by next November.

"It's just the right decision," Arad said. "We get out May 3, and I think we are going to have an incredible run. Christmas would have been good, but it's not summer. I can tell you we are going to do $160, or just north of $160 million, on X-Men and that was July. So you can imagine what the potential is for us here with May 3."

Arad also said that the film's villain will only be the Green Goblin, and Doctor Octopus will not be featured. "He's gone," Arad said.

Arad admitted to mixed feelings about Doc Ock's removal.

"I would have liked him, but it just became very difficult to have two major villains in this movie," Arad said. "There was so much to tell in the origin - there's Peter, there's Spider-Man, Norman and Harry, the Goblin and Aunt May and MJ. It wouldn't have done justice to him. So I like the fact that they decided they not to do a throwaway out of such an important character as Doc Ock.

"But I would have loved it."

Arad said that Doc Ock is possible for a sequel. Another possible villain down the road is Venom; that character's film rights no longer belong to New Line Cinema.

So will Venom be in a Spider-Man movie and not in his own?

"I don't want to say never. I can never say never in this world," Arad said of a Venom film. "I think maybe Spider-Man 3 â¤| who knows, maybe Spider-Man 2? You can never tell. You'll see in movie one, you'll get some clues about where we are going with the sequel, just like there were clues in X-Men where X-Men 2 was going."

Toby Maguire is starring as Peter Parker and Spider-Man in the film, which will now begin production under the director of Sam Raimi in January.

"Tobey's great," Arad said. "He's cut. He's in training and getting even more cut. If you look at this month's edition of InStyle magazine, there's a great picture of Tobey Maguire and you can see how perfectly he fits the film."

Arad confirmed that John Malkovich has been in talks for the role of the Green Goblin and that Kate Hudson, who is currently starring in Almost Famous, is a possible Mary Jane.

Although he noted that neither has signed, Arad said he would like both in Spider-Man. "She's going to be a big star, this kid," he said of Hudson.

For more on Spider-Man and Arad, check out Allstetter's Show Biz column at www.marvel.com.

Below are Alex Ross' designs for the movie, which ultimately were not used, but he is now sharing them with various web sites, including The Continuum.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

THOR, MUTANT X TELEVISION SHOWS

Live-action television shows based on Marvel Comics' Thor and Mutant X are both in development.

"We are interviewing show-runners and we are working on Thor," Marvel's Avi Arad said. "We are also working very hard on Mutant X."

Thor is part of Marvel's 15-character agreement with Artisan Entertainment. Already, both Tyler Mane, who played Sabretooth in X-Men, and Dolph Lundgren, who starred in The Punisher, have expressed interest in playing Thor.

"It's all rumors. We are not at the casting stage," Arad said. "I'm not being cagey. It's just too early. All tall, good-looking actors should be interested in this one."

Mutant X will be made in conjunction with Tribune Entertainment. "It will be syndicated, with probably a cable run first," Arad said.

Details of the show are still very sketchy.

"It's a whole new generation, you'll see," Arad said. "It's something very unique in live-action."

CLAREMONT UPDATE/QUESADA CHAT

Marvel Comics has yet to issue its release on Chris Claremont's future with the company, but editor-in-chief Joe Quesada briefly addressed the issue during an online chat on Wednesday.

"All I can say for tonight is this," Quesada said. "We fully expect to be entering a new contract with Chris and hopefully a new era for Marvel possibly by tomorrow. We are in negotiations and everything looks great."

Check back with The Continuum for more developments on this story.

Also in the chat, staged by Fandom.com, Quesada touched briefly on some other topics:

  • On a new Epic line: "We're looking into it and hope to have some sort of outlet for our talent that want to dabble with special projects. What I don't know is if we're even going to call it Epic."

  • On drawing Daredevil: "There is no way I'll be able to continue on any sort of schedule on DD. I have someone in mind (as his replacement), but everyone will hear that name in time."

  • On who will be the new editor of Marvel Knights: "Someone will be there in October."

  • On a new Ghost Rider book: "It will be happening at Marvel Knights." He did not reveal creators.

    KILLRAVEN IN DECEMBER

    Killraven, a one-shot by Joseph Michael Linsner, will ship in December as part of the Marvel Knights imprint.

    Here's how Marvel describes the book:

    "Jonathan Raven was raised with blood on his hands and rebellion in his heart. For his was an Earth conquered by an unstoppable army from Mars. And his 'home' was the gladiatorial pits the alien invaders used for their entertainment. It was there he was honed into a deadly fighter and was forced to murder his friends. But it was also there that he was renamed 'Killraven,' and began his crusade to overthrow the monsters that had enslaved his people. Journey to that dangerous future as the sword-swinging rebel discovers a stranger on this strange world-and must decide if ignorance is bliss... or death."

    Said Linsner:

    "All of my life I have dreamt of drawing a Killraven comic. As a character, he brings together all of my favorite comic book elements. He's a dreamer, he's on a quest, he's fueled by a burning desire for revenge, he's tough and he's heroic. And in keeping up the tradition of the best super heroes, he's got a great outfit. I've long thought that Killraven had one of the all-time coolest comic book costumes (even though my girlfriend calls it a 'renaissance faire guy meets the Village People' kind of look).

    "I was lucky enough to read the original Killraven comics that appeared in Amazing Adventures; War of the Worlds back in the early '70s. The grim Conan meets The Planet of the Apes post-apocalyptic storyline sucked my young brain right in. Guys with swords and ray guns fighting freaky creaturesâ¤|awesomeâ¤|the best! My babysitter at the time turned me on to all the coolest comics so I was there with Killraven, right from the very beginning.

    "The brutal nihilism of the series helped shape the genre of a nightmare future, one later fleshed out by such films as Mad Max and Escape From New York. A world with the illusions of our civilized world torn away, revealing the savage side of human nature. All of the familiar symbols of our 20th century society were now in ruins: the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, everything. I was looking at my own nightmare future of at least ten more years of school. Killraven's world, filled with ruins, Martians and monsters seemed like a far brighter, far more exciting alternative. As one can imagine, I was heartbroken when the book was canceled in '76.

    "I was tickled pink when the original series writer and artist, Don McGregor and P. Craig Russell, got back together for the Killraven graphic novel in 1983. Seeing the character in action again really took me back and reminded me just how much I loved Killraven (even though I wasn't too keen on his new short haircut ). Russell was by then one of my very favorite artists and I thought that a noble goal to set for myself was to someday do a book where I could pay tribute to an artist whose work had meant so very much to me. It was then that the spark really took root inside me, and I said to myself, 'One day, I will draw a Killraven comic book.'

    "By 1994, I'd been working professionally in comics for four years. Someone invited me to stop by the Marvel offices and meet a few of the editors, to see if maybe some work would come my way. Naturally, the first thing I asked about was Killraven. I talked to the editor of Marvel Comics Presents and told him that I would kill to do an 8-page Killraven story. He kinda scratched his head and said he had no idea who I was talking about. Then his assistant editor piped up, and said, 'Oh, Killraven, they killed him off!' I jumped in, 'No, they didn't kill him off! I woulda known about that!' Things finally clicked for the editor, he figured out who I was talking about, and he said, 'Oh, the science fiction character. War of the Worlds, right? That's sci-fi. Ya have to talk to the sci-fi editor about that.' I said, 'But you guys don't have a sci-fi anthology.' All he could do was shrug and say, 'Sorry. I can't help you then.' My spirits sank and I thought all was lost.

    "Jump ahead to the summer of 1999. I get to talking to Jimmy Palmiotti at Dragon-Con in Atlanta, telling him that the Marvel Knights books are the coolest comics to come out of Marvel in years. I asked what would it take for me to be able to do Killraven through Marvel Knights. He said, 'All ya gotta do is ask.' So I asked, 'Jimmy, can I do Killraven?' He said, 'Sure, come up with a proposal.' I came up with a proposal, got the green light via a gracious e-mail from Joe Quesada, and was all ready to go. I had just started the second Dawn mini-series, and knew that I had to finish that before even entertaining the thought of an extended visit to my favorite futuristic super-hero. Dawn: The Return of the Goddess wrapped up this past June, and though I love Dawn with all my heart, she being my own creation, I was so excited to finally start work on something I have been dreaming of for so many years.

    "So far so good. I'm working away like mad on this book and I'm loving it. Working with Nanci Dakesian and Joe Quesada has truly reinvigorated the young Killraven fan in me, quite beyond my wildest dreams. So yes, Virginia, sometimes dreams do come true."

    SAM KIETH'S NEW BOOK

    DC Comics has announced a Dec 6 release date for the first issue of Zero Girl, Maxx creator Sam Kieth new's five-issue mini-series from Homage Comics.

    Here's how DC describes the book:

    "Zero Girl is the story of a high-school misfit coming of age. Young Amy Snooster - weirdness magnet that she is - never has been the most popular girl in school. She can speak to insects and believes that circles are good and squares evil. Awkward and different, she doesn't quite fit into any social circle, and she likes it that way. But strange things seem to happen when Amy is around - the spontaneous appearance of puddles of water, for instance - and it has made her the target of relentless bullies. With the aid of a sympathetic guidance counselor, Amy explores the meaning of her surreal abilities and discovers her place in the world.

    "Complementing the storyline are Kieth's inimitable illustrations. Amy's world takes on a quirky life of its own thanks to Kieth's delicately beautiful linework. Zero Girl offers a striking visual experience and poignant story that will thrill longtime fans and new readers alike."

    Zero Girl #1 will cost $2.95.





    BRIEFLY

  • Writer Fabian Nicieza on Thunderbolts #50: "Forty pages of non-stop tension, revelations, recriminations and a giant bomb dropping on everyone's head! Figuratively, not literally."

  • Rick Leonardi and Terry Austin will be the artists for the Spider-Man/Sentry book in December.

  • Gambit #25 will be 48 pages.

  • Coming Friday: Movie news, DC news - and much more!!!
    E-Mail the Continuum at roballs@aol.com



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