ROTTEN TOMATOES: Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer Comments

Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer

by | July 09, 2009

Summary

Gary Ross has been hired to rewrite the script for "Spider-Man 4," coming aboard after drafts by James Vanderbilt and David Lindsay-Abaire. Back to Article

(1-20 of 30 posts) | Reply

rle4lunch writes:
on Jul 09 2009 04:49 AM

this guy has good writing credits, on dramas, not actioners... i'm not concerned though, as my reasoning would lead me to believe that the other scrip was all explosions and stupid sh.it like that, trying to make up for the mediocre and slow moving Spidey 3. we shall see...

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De4ective Detectiv3 writes:
on Jul 09 2009 05:42 AM

It's always a bad sign when they have to keep hiring multiple writers...oh well, I don't think anyone will right a better script than the one Michael Chabon wrote for Spiderman2, which they didn't use!

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Anthony S. writes:
on Jul 09 2009 05:50 AM

We'll have to wait and see. Spiderman 3 broke my heart, and im sure Raimi knows that. I know for a fact he wont mess this one up. Also, he stated that with movies like iron man and the dark knight doing so well, he needs to up the ante for the spiderman movies so they can compete. I trust him.

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BUCK69 writes:
on Jul 09 2009 06:05 AM

This is not good news, by any stretch. A good movie starts with a good idea or angle. If you need three people to come-up with that beginning, it makes it difficult to end-up with a good end product. Positive results that come out of a committee are rare [look at Congress]. In spite of that, I'll try to remain cautiously optimistic that Raimi and crew can fix the total mess that was Spiderman 3.

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jacog writes:
on Jul 09 2009 06:24 AM

Funny thing about good writers -

Superman: The Movie and Superman II had scripts written by Mario Puzo, who is best known for The Godfather. But while those were the two most decent Supes movies to date, they did suffer a little from things like the writer inventing superpowers that Superman never had, like him replicating himself - inconsitencies with the source material that might not really fly with today's hardcore fanboys.

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Evan_H writes:
on Jul 09 2009 06:30 AM

Let's face it, the Spiderman movie series just needs to end. There's no recovering after the damage already done. Maybe reboot it in a few years.

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DullMentalRacket writes:
on Jul 09 2009 06:41 AM

The writer of the article sounds like such a fan-boy douche.

"Waaah, no carnage."

I'm looking forward to this, rewrites aren't necessarily a bad thing. Quite a few movies out there that could have used one that didn't. I'm optimistic about this flick. Bring on the classic villains. Lizard and kraven.

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martinscorsese25 writes:
on Jul 09 2009 07:01 AM

Spider-man 4 is the new Shrek 3. pretty soon there'll be 10 writers on its credit

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bamb0o-stick writes:
on Jul 09 2009 07:56 AM

Terminator Salvation must have had about 3-4 writers passing the script around for that movie at the time. In the end, I realized that no matter how many writers you have, you can't shine a turd.

I read in the comments section of this article that apparently the reason Spider-Man 3 is terrible was because the studio didn't give Raimi full creative freedom on the movie. It was rushed as well so it was just a huge mess. Can anybody support this or have some articles relating to this subject?

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Ultimale069 writes:
on Jul 09 2009 08:13 AM

God you Raimi apologists piss me off! Yes, it was his fault all the Spider-man movies sucked. The studio probably never forced him to write crappy characters, or put in stupid dance sequences, or be cheesy as hell. If your biggest problem with the Spiderman movies was there wasn't enough Venom- that's not your biggest problem.

Cause your an idiot.

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Cole_Cash writes:
on Jul 09 2009 08:16 AM

Bamboo, Raimi was forced to include Venom in the third Spiderman. He was also forced into a speedy release. After Drag Me To Hell I think it's safe to say that Rami is still an excellent director. I blame Spidey 3 entirely on Sony. They pulled a "20th century Fox" and interfered with a directors work. What's worse was the casting choice for Venom. I love 70s show, I enjoy Tophers cameos in the Oceans movies but my gawd he was an awful choice for Venom.

Like many I grew up reading Venom and it's very sad we will never see that story line with carnage get fleshed out. Eddie Brock (Venom) could have been a great character for the series.

The lizard could make for a strong story and could be dark and gritty which is sorely missing from the first three entries.

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Cole_Cash writes:
on Jul 09 2009 08:23 AM

Sounds like Ultimale doesn't like the Spiderman movies because there wasn't enough action. I'm guessing he loves Michael Bay movies and thinks the latest Terminator was perfect. Plot development is for pu$$ies.

Spidey 2 is one of the best comic book movies made so far. It's not perfect but it's still damned good cinema. Wake up you baboon!

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BrugesBalls writes:
on Jul 09 2009 08:40 AM

Cole_Cash, totally agree with everying u said about topher...great actor, just not right for brock.

Anyone who actually fully engaged with the 1st 2 spidey movies will admit it was obvious Raimi loved the characters and world, and was well read on spidey lore and hell, even parts of 3 screamed "spidey fanboy!!". But when a studio butts in it must be difficult to argue with them, considering they represent the people funding your freakin movie, and so we ended up with a fan heartbreaking, crappy version of venom.

I'm holding out hope for 4, i like Tobey Maguire, i think he brings just enough geeky everyman to make the whole thing believable, and as long as they dont have MJ kidnapped again (i swear to god the last half hour of 3 was just screaming at different pitches) i'll be happy. Raimi knows his stuff, the guy writing the article clearly hasn't got over the venom issue and we can only hope he sees somone professionally about that. We've all moved on, theres so many more villains to be done. Besides, the green goblin is spideys nemesis and the explanation for his resurrection in the comics, the goblin formulas ability to advance the healing process, is pretty sound in film terms. hell we've witnessed worse...

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Magic is Might writes:
on Jul 09 2009 08:42 AM

what was the script that they did not use for Spiderman 2? Same plot?

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The Great One writes:
on Jul 09 2009 09:01 AM

The way I see it, the more good writers the better...just keep Ivan away!

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dj Mark writes:
on Jul 09 2009 09:46 AM

I have a hard time not laying most of the blame for Spidey 3 at Raimi's feet. You can't convince me that the director of a film franchise as financially successful as Spiderman was "forced" into anything creatively by the studio. That's just creative buck passing on Raimi's part. He should take a page out of Schumacher's book and just apologize for the embarrassment.

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BUCK69 writes:
on Jul 09 2009 10:12 AM

Although I think the studio pushed Rami, I agree that some of the blame lies at his feet. That whole, embarrassing dance scene was pure Rami. Most of it is attributable to flat-out lazy writing. Sand Man was Uncle Ben's REAL killer; out of all of the churches in New York, Eddie Brock just happens to walk in to the same church at the precise moment that Parker is exercising the symbiot. Parker is in the same class as the Police Chief's daughter and she just happens to be in wrong place at the wrong time so Spiderman can save her. I could go on and on. And people complain that Kirk found Spock on that little planet!

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Lanca R. writes:
on Jul 09 2009 10:56 AM

"Gary Ross has been hired to rewrite the script for "Spider-Man 3," If only, shouldn't that be Spiderman 4 like the title of the article? Annoying corrective internet guy out.

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samthemanB3 writes:
on Jul 09 2009 11:57 AM

No Kraven please!! I don't see what there is to that guy..

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frogboy writes:
on Jul 09 2009 03:38 PM

It seems that Raimi is trying to come up with a good Spidey that doesn't repeat the mistakes of Spider-Man 3. It's clear that he's unhappy with the script so far and reportedly wants a good story drawn from the classic comics.

The last film had grand set pieces and great scenes that were sloppily stitched together without a single cohesive vision. The dance gag didn't bother me so much, but it was a self indulgent moment that wasn't deserved. The whole film was like one big loose end connecting to another, and another.

Sure, it's the director's work and he has to stand behind it. However, it ultimately wasn't his call. I have a feeling he salvaged as much as he could from the merchandising minds at Marvel and Sony. Would another made-to-follow-orders director (like Wolverine's) been able to step in and do a better job if Raimi had been pulled out for insubordination?

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