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[kforab]

seen at http://www.syfyportal.com/news425485.html :

At one point the prospect of more Spider-Man antics left Sam Raimi slightly dissatisfied and unenthusiastic. Now, however, the producer is not only eagerly awaiting more web slinging adventures, he is hoping to direct them.
"I'm really excited about Spider-Man, and I'm hoping to direct it," he told MTV News. "I don't have a script yet, but production would start probably by March of 2010, I'm guessing."

Why the long wait for the latest sequel? Well, for starters he is keen on convincing Kirsten Dunst to reprise her role as Mary Jane Watson and ensuring that in no way, shape or form is the project rushed into pre-production

"I hope she'll be written into it,? he said. ?I couldn't imagine making one without her, and I think she's an important part of the movies."

There also has been talk that Raimi could be behind two additional movies for the existing trilogy and that these could be produced back-to-back ?Lord of the Rings? style, however according to Raimi that is a decision for Sony chief Amy Pascal to make.

"If Tobey [Maguire] and me, and all the producers, like the story for two pictures and Amy wanted to do it, then we would do it,? he said. ?It just hasn't been written yet."

[gkfi]

Pulitzer pen crafts "Spidey 4"

By Borys Kit

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire got out of a rabbit hole, only to be ensnared by a spider's web.

Lindsay-Abaire, who won a Pulitzer in 2007 for his drama "Rabbit Hole," is in final negotiations to write "Spider-Man 4" for Columbia.

Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are back as director and star, respectively. Kirsten Dunst also is expected to return for the latest movie featuring the Marvel Comics character.

Plot details are under lock and key. Producer Laura Ziskin had said she would like to aim for a May 2011 release for "Spider-Man 4," nine years after the original movie's debut.

Columbia always has gone off the beaten path during the development process when hiring writers for the "Spider-Man" movies. Alvin Sargent, a veteran scribe best known for 1973's "Paper Moon" and 1980's "Ordinary People," served as a writer on the second and third films. Michael Chabon, another Pulitzer winner, also worked on "Spider-Man 2."

James Vanderbilt previously wrote a draft of "Spider-Man 4."

Lindsay-Abaire's "Rabbit Hole," which starred Cynthia Nixon and Tyne Daly, hit the Broadway stage in 2006 and won four Tonys, including best play. The writer also is known for the play "Fuddy Meers."

Lindsay-Abaire has said in interviews that his plays tend to be "peopled with outsiders in search of clarity," which would put his work on sympathetic terms with Peter Parker, who in his classic incarnation is the perpetual outsider.

The choice of scribe also signals that that filmmakers are intent to focus on character, something that critics said got lost in the third instalment.

Lindsay-Abaire, now writing the book and lyrics for the Broadway musical adaptation of "Shrek," has dipped his toe in Tinseltown before, with his adaptation of "Inkheart" due in January. He is also adapting "Rabbit" for 20th Century Fox and Nicole Kidman.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

[kforab]

Raimi Suggests Spidey 4 Villain?

seen at http://movies.ign.com/articles/944/944404p1.html:
UK, January 13, 2009 - Sam Raimi told Empire magazine that he already has an idea for the villain in Spider-Man 4.

He said: "I like it in the Marvel comics when Spider-Man fights Morbius... He's really cool. A vampire! I like that combination of superhero plus supernatural."

In the comics, Morbius wasn't actually a vampire in the supernatural sense; instead he was a Nobel-prize winning biochemist who (unwisely) attempted to cure his rare blood disease with a combination of vampire bats and electroshock therapy - giving him 'vampiric' characteristics. The character became an important part of the Marvel universe, doing battle with Spidey, the Human Torch and the X-Men.


Is Morbius the next Spider-Man villain?
The film is currently at the script-writing stage, with the last news on the project being that Pulitzer-prize winning author David Lindsey-Abaire had been signed on to co-write the sequel.

Raimi said way back in October that filming would possibly get under way in 2010, with the director currently putting the finishing touches to horror Drag me to Hell.

[kforab]

seen at http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/01/spidey-4-circle-the-date.php

Looks like Spider-Man 4 will reach the big screen in May, 2011.

Actor J. K. Simmons -- who stars as J. Jonah Jameson, publisher of The Daily Bugle, tells MTV News from Sundance that he's been told to be ready to go next year.

Star Tobey Maguire is set to play Peter Parker and his webslinging alter-ego, and Kirsten Dunst has said she's ready to talk about re-upping as Mary Jane.

Sam Raimi will be back to direct the fourth installment. Though no villains have been announced, speculation has The Lizard as the main bad guy (his alter ego, Dr. Connors, was introduced in Spider-Man 2) with Carnage as support (think Spider-Man 3 Venom, only in red).

Simmons says he doesn't expect his role to be enlarged -- and, frankly, hopes it isn't.

"I have no desire to make Triple-J more of the focus of those movies," he said. "The amount that I did in 1, 2 and 3, is just exactly right. Like be the wolf. Come in, blow in, do a week, blow out, be the comic relief, and hit the road. And let Tobey and everybody else do the heavy lifting."

[kforab]

No news if Kirsten Dunst will play there, but some news about the location of filming:

Seen at http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00021699.html :

Director Sam Raimi has teased out a bit about one of the shooting locations for "Spider-Man 4". In an article written for The Oakland Press, the 49-year-old filmmaker revealed his hope on filming some scenes of the superhero movie in his home state of Michigan. "I'll be looking at Michigan for our second-unit photography on the new 'Spider-Man' film," he said as quoted.

Since Raimi noted that his plan is to bring the "second-unit photography" to the U.S. Midwestern state, the possible production there won't likely to bring along any of the fourth film's cast members. In the meantime, shooting second unit outside of L.A. or New York won't be the first for the "Spider-Man" franchise. Part of "Spider-Man 3" was shot in Cleveland, which doubled for parts of lower Manhattan.

The fourth installment of "Spider-Man" series, "Spider-Man 4" has been reported to be shot back-to-back with "Spider-Man 5". It teams up once again director Sam Raimi and lead actor Tobey Maguire. While it is still uncertain whether Kirsten Dunst will reprise her role as Mary Jane Watson, actor J.K. Simmons has recently hinted on his return as obnoxious Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson.

Produced by Avi Arad, Grant Curtis and Laura Ziskin, the script will be provided by David Lindsay-Abaire, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright for 2006's Broadway stage production "Rabbit Hole". The superhero movie itself is expected to begin production in 2010 with the aim of 2011 U.S. release.

[Roswell Crash Survivor]

Maybe it'll be a good thing for Kiki to move away from Spider-Man.

[kforab]

Maybe thats true, but I think she should be there in the -probably - last part of Spiderman 


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Even if the chance is only about 0.0001% I still hope to meet one day Kiki 

[John.]

Various websites are now saying that the film has been given a release date (in America) of May 6th 2011.

If that's the case then principal filming would have to start by the very beginning of next year at the latest....So it shouldn't be too long before we get some kind of confirmation re whether Kirsten, Tobey and Sam will be returning.

[kforab]

Seen at http://splashpage.mtv.com/2009/03/15/exclusive-sam-raimi-cant-imagine-doing-spider-man-4-without-kirsten-dunst-only-working-on-fourth-film/ :

EXCLUSIVE: Sam Raimi ?Can?t Imagine? Doing ?Spider-Man 4? Without Kirsten Dunst, Only Working On Fourth Film
Published by Splash Page Team on Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 10:18 pm.
Contributed by Rodrigo Perez

With the recent announcement of the ?Spider-Man 4? release date (May 6, 2011), what once just seemed to be a great pie-in-the-sky idea that might never happen is now even more a tangible reality.

Director Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are locked in, the story is being fleshed out and so fans are dying to know: where will the Peter Parker story take us next and what will be the villains that he has to face?

For those answers we?ll have to keep waiting a little while longer. Raimi is keeping it all very close to the vest, but did reveal to us that the ideas and concepts are only looking forward to the fourth ?Spider-Man? film and right now, a larger roadmap for the fifth film is not being charted out. He also said fans should expect to see the stories take place firmly within the Marvel Universe created by Stan Lee and not any inventions outside the familiar comic book storylines.

?The writers, producers and I are working out what the story will be, but we haven?t been talking in terms of Part 4 and 5.? Raimi told MTV News. ?I?ve read that [about 'Spider-Man 5?] also, but right now we?re just working on the story for ?Spider-Man 4,? just that one film.

?We?re definitely talking about working from all the material in the comic books and nothing [invented] outside of that, ?Raimi continued. ?All the characters or villains or villains, whatever we decide to do will be from Stan Lee?s creations or those that came after him.?

Note that twice in our interview Raimi said ?villain or villains? plural and said, ?I do have a pretty good idea, but I?m just not a liberty to say yet,? adding that Sony wants to carefully plan out when they announce the antagonist or antagonists to the fans.

While both Raimi and Kirsten Dunst have both expressed interest in her returning as Peter Parker?s unattainable girlfriend Mary Jane Watson, the filmmaker says he?s currently unsure of her participation status and he?s not privy to those negotiations.

Asked whether the story could be written for another love interest in the ?Spider-Man? comics if Dunst didn?t sign for whatever reason, Raimi seemed to be dismayed at the very notion.

?I can?t imagine making a ?Spider-Man? movie without Kirsten,? 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.?

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Even if the chance is only about 0.0001% I still hope to meet one day Kiki   

[gkfi]

 Spider-Man 4 Script Due this Summer

Sam Raimi, who will direct Spider-Man 4, told SCI FI Wire that the film's script, by David Lindsay-Abaire (Inkheart), should be ready by summer. "Right now, David Lindsay-Abaire is working on a draft of the new picture," Raimi said in an exclusive telephone interview on Monday. "And he's hard at work, and hopefully we'll see something in about three months."

Raimi said that the film has to make its previously announced May 6, 2011, release date. "We have to make the release date, and on all of these pictures, the Spider-Man films?and I'm sure it's the same as with many of the other bigger-budgeted films?they have release dates far in advance of a screenplay," he said. "So it's about getting it ready the best you can in time for the first day of production. That's what we've always done, and that's what we'll try to do again."

Tobey Maguire has reportedly signed on to reprise the title role. Raimi added that it's a bit early to discuss other casting, though he does plan to reassemble the core cast, which includes Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane. "At this point I do, but it's really ... all going to be dependent upon the script, and I'll just have to wait and see," Raimi said. "I don't want to put the cart before the horse, but hopefully we can service the story in the screenplay, and whatever it demands, hopefully we'll be its eager servants."

Raimi also declined to discuss possible villains for the fourth installment in the Marvel Comics franchise, though early speculation has centered on everyone from Dylan Baker's Curt Connors/Lizard to Carnage and Electro and other bad guys drawn from Stan Lee's original comics.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss the villains yet," Raimi said. "I think I have to wait till the finished screenplay, and then it'd really be up to Sony Pictures and the producers to determine when they want to release that information. To them, it's usually a big, a big, big thing, a big moment where they want to present the villain with the proper respect or fear that he or she deserves."

Source: SCI FI Wire

[kforab]

So..... I suppose that the script will be changed if Kirsten decides to be in or not.... 
But til now... nothing is clear about her role.... lets see what she will decide. I would love to see her again in Spiderman 4, but most important is what is the best for her.....


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Even if the chance is only about 0.0001% I still hope to meet one day Kiki   

[gkfi]

Sam Raimi to meet with Kirsten Dunst about Spider-Man 4


Spider-Man director Sam Raimi told reporters that he will meet with Kirsten Dunst soon to talk about her reprising the role of Mary Jane Watson in the upcoming fourth installment of the superhero franchise.

"I'm hoping that she is going to come aboard, and I've got a meeting coming up with her," Raimi said in a group interview last week in Beverly Hills, Calif., where he was promoting his upcoming horror film Drag Me to Hell. "I think she would like to. But I don't want to speak on behalf of her."

With the advent of The Dark Knight and Watchmen, do you expect that Spider-Man 4 will be a little darker and edgier, too?

Raimi: Whatever it is, I think will be a direct result of the best style to bring about our writer's screenplay. And as soon as I read that, I will know what that is. Edgy could be a direction, but I don't think it will be applied without really understanding the character's journey from the inside out first and then figuring out the best way to bring that about.

And then, as far as the other influences, making it different from the other films, ... I hope we don't react to these very good and sometimes bad superhero movies around us. I hope that we just [look] ever deeper into the truth of who Peter Parker really is—as a human being and the unique character, and that we celebrate that, which is a lot of the reason I want to make this next picture. I still believe I have an understanding of Peter Parker as the character that I have not quite put onto the screen yet.

I'm not talking about Tobey Maguire's performance, which I very much love; I'm talking about my understanding of the character. I feel like sometimes a kid at the piano recital. And I know this piece really well. I know it by heart. And I sometimes get it right, and sometimes I don't. But I want a chance to really play it the way I feel it. So I'm hoping it's a really good screenplay and I can express the character through that. I've got a really good writer [David Lindsay-Abaire]. ...

I heard that you wrote Drag Me to Hell [with brother Ivan Raimi] a long time ago, as a Bruce Campbell vehicle. ... If you ever make another Evil Dead movie with Bruce, will you keep it low-budget like those original films? And what would the story be?

Raimi: We wrote part one thinking that that was the end, I guess, kind of like that. I think this is the end where it was over, and because we couldn't get any other job in Hollywood, somehow, Bruce Campbell survived into the next Evil Dead 2. So we made Evil Dead 2, and that one was written with the knowledge that we would want to make a third one. So, I'm sorry, what was it that you are asking?

I was just wondering, what would be your storyline for the fourth one? Do you know what that is yet?

Raimi: I don't have that. I don't have just some ideas written down, but I said that last month, and there was a very negative reaction from the fans: "Why does he keep talking about that movie? Where is that movie?" It's just because people ask me, but I don't really have anything at all worked out right now.

What about the idea of limiting yourself to a lower budget for an Evil Dead movie, like on Drag Me to Hell, where you didn't have a lot of cranes, wires, CG and so on?

Raimi: It is it's much more viscerally exciting as a director to work on the lower-budget picture like this. This one particularly. I mean, everyone came at it with so much love and attention to detail, versus a much more professional, top-of-the-line, big-game approach. Which is great, because it's like conducting a big orchestra. On the Spider-Man pictures [we have] the best orchestra in the world, and this is like playing in a jazz band. Each has their own rewards.

Source: http://scifiwire.com/2009/04/sam-raimi-to-meet-with-ki.php

[kforab]

More news seen at http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/joshw24/news/?a=7115 :

A UK newspaper reports that both Dunst and director Raimi are uncertain over MJ's future in the Spider-Man franchise...
UK newspaper, The Daily Express reports that the 26-year old, who has played love interest Mary Jane Watson in all three previous movies, is said to have stalled on agreeing to appear in the fourth, which will again star Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

A Hollywood insider told the paper, "It had been presumed that Kirsten would sign up for the fourth but she's still not agreed. She needs to be assured that the story is going to be a strong one, in terms of her character. The films clearly wouldnt be the same without her."

Spider-Man director Sam Raimi is due to hold a private meeting with Dunst in a last ditch attempt to persuade her to rejoin the cast. "I'm hoping that she is going to come on board and I've got a meeting coming up with her," he confirmed whilst promoting his current film Drag Me To Hell, "I think she would like to but I dont want to speak on her behalf."
 

[gkfi]

My guess is that's exactly why Sam Raimi would have a meeting coming up with Kirsten - to convince her that the fourth installment will be a stronger one in terms of her character and the movie itself.

[gkfi]

Sam Raimi Reveals ‘Spider-Man 4’ Script Plans, Kirsten Dunst Uncertainty

As Raimi and the returning Tobey Maguire look to take everyone’s favorite neighborhood webslinger into a fourth and possibly fifth movie, one major question looms unanswered: Will Kirsten Dunst return as Mary Jane Watson?

“Kirsten? I have talked with her, and she’s very excited about the possibility of it,” Raimi revealed, insisting that although Dunst is willing, it will be the director’s call to make after he reads the script by Lindsay-Abaire. “I think I’m going to have to read the screenplay and make sure everything we’ve talked about is working, before I could honestly tell you absolutely how [Dunst’s possible return] would go.”

Source: http://splashpage.mtv.com/2009/05/19/exclusive-sam-raimi-reveals-spider-man-4-script-plans-kirsten-dunst-uncertainty/