The Amazing Spider-Man

[James]

Italian Spiderman or no deal-



James

[Advocate]

JK Simmons has something to say.

. Jonah Jameson himself, J.K. Simmons, talks about the future of the Spider-Man franchise, will Tobey and Sam come back?

A few days ago, during a set visit for Dreamworks' comedy starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel I Love You Man, the IESB along with a handful of online journalists had the chance to talk to actor J.K. Simmons. After a few questions regarding his current production, the IESB made sure to ask him the question on the minds of comic book fans everywhere, what is going on with the Spider-Man franchise?

To our surprise, J.K. had plenty to say including talking about a conversation he recently had with Tobey Maguire about future films.

IESB: So we know that James Vanderbilt just turned in a script for Spiderman 4 have they reached out to you yet or anything?

JK: We, sort of, check in once in a while, they say, y’know, we want JK to do it. We don’t know where. We don’t know when. We don’t know who. We don’t know anything, y’know? They signed all of us for the first three films. Sam, Tobey, all the way down the line to me and, we’ll see where it goes. I also, I mean, it's all conjecture and you guys probably know more than I do at this point. There was talk of doing four and five concurrently and I don’t know if they’re still considering that or not and, y’know, I spoke to Tobey in, I guess it was February…sort of awards season time and, y’know, he’s certainly amenable to doing some more and hopefully we’ll be able to get everybody back and make another good one.

IESB: Or a couple of them?

JK: Couple, three, four, five! Whatever, you know, I could buy a bigger house.

IESB: What if Sam decides not to come back as a director but stays as a producer, would you guys still be-

JK: Well-

IESB: Would you and the rest of the gang still come back.

JK: Well, I can only speak for myself, but, if Sam were not the director but was, still had a hand in it then I would certainly have a reasonable amount of faith in it. You know? Obviously if he’s the director I’m there a 100%. If he’s not involved at all, which I think is VERY unlikely, then it would be a situation that I would have to think about. But if he’s involved, hopefully directing or at least as a producer then I’m pretty confident that it would be something that I want to do. Plus they pay money.

[Dolemite]

J.K. Simmons is fucking awesome.

[Razor Ramon]

He's raped before, he'll do it again.

[Dolemite]

In Spiderman 4 I hope he makes Peter Parker his prag and burns a swastika into his ass.

[Nash]

I think Jim Sturgess (21 and Across the Universe) would make a good Peter Parker.

[BerringerX]

Venom, the movie?

With Heath Ledger's villainous Joker drawing attention and boxoffice dollars, Sony is moving forward with "Venom," a potential "Spider-Man" spinoff based on a bad guy.

The studio is developing the project, based on the gooey nemesis who appeared in "Spider-Man 3" and is hoping the character could serve as an antidote to the aging "Spider-Man" franchise in the way that Fox has used Wolverine to add longevity to its "X-Men" franchise.

But getting any spinoff off the ground, let alone one centered on a villain, can be tricky.

The studio had commissioned a draft of the script from Jacob Estes, a writer of the specialty film "Mean Creek," released several years ago by Paramount Classics. He's also attached to the Plan B drama "The Gifted."

But the studio is considering going in a different direction from Estes' script and is seeking writers for a new draft.

Casting also is no simple matter. Topher Grace played the character in the film, but agents have been eyeing the role for their clients, as Sony is not yet convinced the actor can carry a tentpole picture.

Neither Sony nor Marvel would comment for this story.

In "Spider-Man 3," Venom is essentially a parasite that attaches itself to a host via a sticky substance that then gives the host special powers. The fact that it is a substance rather than a character could give Sony leeway to cast a new actor.

"Venom" came about as part of the licensing deal between Marvel and Sony for the Spider-Man movies, which contained provisions allowing for the use of spinoffs based on other Spider-Man characters.

The project is part of a larger feeding frenzy for superhero projects, scores of which have been signed up in the last few months while movies such as "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight" light up the boxoffice.

Sony is developing a fourth "Spider-Man" film for 2011, but that picture would come out nine years after the original movie debuted, adding to the studio's desire to see new Marvel characters.

Huh. Isn't movie Venom quite dead?

[YellerDog]

Fuck, I hope so. He sucked ass in that movie.

[Port]

Spiderman 3 itself was a mess. Venom was just the worst out of the bunch. I'm sure, if they choose to acknowledge the third movie, the symbiote will just regrow Topher Grace, hilarity ensues, etc.

[Gonzo]

I'm sure they'd find a way to do this, honestly. You could go a couple of routes, the first easily being the origins but that might be rather boring. A more interesting way would be, now forgive me as it's been a while since I've seen SM3, but during the fight w/Spidey (which could be shown briefly in the beginning of Venom) some of the gooey substance drips off of Venom and lands below and either slithers along the ground and attaches to an unsuspecting victim or actually lands on someone taking over their body just as the other Venom dies above. The rest of the film could center on this character and their dealing w/this new found power. The problem lies in the fact that there would be no protagonist since it's not a Spidey film he couldn't be an option. I don't read comics but is there another protagonist in that universe that could fight Venom?