Wait for Raimi Commentary Until 'Spider-Man 2.5'
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - The "Spider-Man 2" DVD is scheduled to be released Nov. 30 with more than 10 hours of bonus materials and commentaries but director Sam Raimi ("A Simple Plan") tells Zap2it.com that his contribution to the "Spider-Man 2.5" DVD won't be ready until much later.
"I know I won't be done with my part of it," says Raimi who is working on new effect shots, editing, and storyboarding new scenes for the "Spider-Man 2.5" DVD. "I don't think I can be done until January at least, maybe February."
"Spider-Man 2.5" will be an extended cut of "Spider-Man 2." Raimi says that he will complete scenes that he didn't have the cash to finish when he did Spidey 2.
"I board-out with my artists a lot of the sequences in the Spider-Man movies that I eventually cut down for pacing sake, most often times for money sake -- we can't afford them," explains the director while out doing press for the Sarah Michelle Gellar horror flick "The Grudge."
Raimi says that the additional scenes are short but take a lot of time to create.
"It may not seem like a lot to you but it's a lot to me. It's like six seconds new of the train, there's going to be like eight seconds new of some water fight you never saw, there's like 12 seconds new on this battle building," Raimi explains. "For me though 12 seconds is six shots that all have to be figured out, and within thattwo2 seconds the amount of animation for each of those tentacles and how Spidey's going to move and it's very complicated for me."
In epic films like Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings," extra footage released on DVD is often provided by scenes cut from the film and story left out of the novels. However, Raimi says that's not the case for "Spider-Man 2.5."
"We have to work the other way: what won't they [the audience] mind that we could put in?" he says.
Raimi says that releasing 2.5 as well as "Spider-Man 2" is simply a financial decision by the Sony. "They know that people who like the second movie would want to own it as it is on DVD. And then it's just a gamble. 'Oh if we spend another four million dollars can we make another $10 million?' I think that's how it works," he explains.
"It's not really that I had some scenes to put in. The movie really was the best I could make it. It's not like I could see how you make it better. But I said, 'Okay, if you want to spend money and really give the kids a few more action scenes in there, that's fine it's [the] kids choice if they want to spend that money,' but then I think it's fair."
"Spider-Man 2" is scheduled to be released Nov. 30. "Spider-Man 2.5" as yet has no scheduled release date.
Raimi Spills About 'Spidey 3'
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - The villains featured in the next "Spider-Man" movie have yet to be unmasked, but writer/director Sam Raimi says they'll be chosen after they pick apart Peter Parker's angst.
While doing press for the horror film "The Grudge," which he produced, Raimi tells Zap2it.com that they're making progress on "Spider-Man 3" and he reveals that it's probably the final film in the blockbuster franchise for the high-flying superhero.
At the moment the identities of the villains remain a mystery even to Raimi himself. "I'm not supposed to tell you, and in fact I can't tell you -- because I'm still figuring that out with my brother," says Raimi, adding that he and his brother Ivan ("Army of Darkness") don't plan on writing "Spider-Man 3" all on their own. "[We're] bringing in the really good writers like Alvin Sargent, ("Spider-Man 2") and maybe Michael Chabon ("Spider-Man 2") if I can get him - yeah the best in the business."
However, the Raimi brothers have already kick started the process by posing a number of questions for Parker, Spidey's alter-ego.
"We're writing the story right now and we're starting by determining what Peter Parker's journey is as a human being," says Raimi. "What deficits does he have? Where was he at the end of the last film and what is it that he still has to learn? How will this relationship with the woman he loves evolve from this point forward and what will be their new obstacles? Will it come from outside sources or will it be something from within that destroys their love? These are the questions were asking."
Raimi helmed the first two films that star Tobey Maguire ("Seabiscuit") and Kirsten Dunst ("Wimbledon.")
Raimi says that once he and his brother know what the characters want, where they're headed, and what it is they have to learn, they will then try to find a villain who best represents those conflicts. "So it's maybe kind of a backwards way to chose a villain. That's why I can't quite say yet. I haven't quite figured it out yet," admits the director.
Principal photography for "Spider-Man 3" is scheduled to commence in January 2006 and the director confesses that he would love to make a fourth film. But he says, "I know how quickly things turn in Hollywood, so I know after this third one that will be it."
And besides, Raimi admits that he is afraid to ask Sony chairman Amy Pascal about continuing the franchise.
"I never have asked her but I have the feeling that she just wants this one to be the final one. She's very emotionally attached to them and wants us to have a sense of completion to it for the audience," Raimi says. "[She feels] that they probably would like to see a 'Spider-Man 3,' but not any more. So she wants to make it complete and final without setting up new things at the end, like the end of the second one."
This year "Spider-Man 2" has grossed over $371 million at the box office, second only to "Shrek 2" that grossed more than $436 million.
Sarah McLachlan uses music video to raise funds for charity
VANCOUVER (CP) - Sarah McLachlan asked what her $150,000 music video budget could buy, and found the answer in the Third World.
The singer, video director Sophie Muller and the production crew donated their services to make the short film for World On Fire, which is currently on heavy rotation on MuchMoreMusic.
The video explains how the money will be used. For example, instead of spending $5,000 on hair and makeup, 145 Afghan girls will be schooled for one year. Other items include spending $7,500 on medicine for 5,000 people for six months in Nairobi, Kenya or $500 on nuts and bolts to secure houses of monsoon victims.
"The song is about trying not to feel paralysed when we see all that is wrong with the world, and remembering that even the smallest gesture can make a difference - corny but true," McLachlan said in a statement.
"I wanted a video that wasn't about me and wasn't preachy, but one that would help shine a light on the tragedy and turmoil in the world and also show the beauty and strength of the human spirit."
In addition to graphics illustrating the donated items, the four-minute, 19-second-long video shows footage from the affected villages.
The $150,000 was divided between 11 charities including Action Aid, War Child and Care Usa.
Classmates Sue Over 'Dazed and Confused'
SANTA FE, N.M. - Three former high school classmates of "Dazed and Confused" director Richard Linklater have filed a lawsuit claiming they have suffered embarrassment and ridicule because of characters based on them in the movie.
The men — Bobby Wooderson, Andy Slater and Richard "Pink" Floyd — say Linklater did not get their permission before creating three characters in the 1993 cult classic sharing their surnames and likenesses. The suit was filed Thursday in Santa Fe against Universal Studios, which released the film.
The movie follows the drug- and alcohol-fueled hijinks of teenagers on the last day of school in May 1976. The men said the negative characterizations in the film have made their lives miserable and caused their neighbors to think poorly of them.
"We had fun in high school, but there is nothing true about that movie. Yet, I am having to deal with it all the time," said Floyd, who works at a car dealership in Huntsville, Texas, where the men went to high school.
Ernest Freeman, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, said Slater has also had problems because people make assumptions that he takes illegal drugs.
Slater runs a construction and remodeling company and Wooderson works in the technology sector. Both men also still live in Huntsville.
Linklater's agent did not immediately return a message Saturday seeking comment.
The suit was filed in New Mexico because it has a longer statute of limitations than other states for claims of defamation and false light, attorneys said.
'Shark Tale' Nets Second No. 1 Weekend
LOS ANGELES - "Shark Tale" remained the big fish at the box office, with the animated comedy taking in $31.7 million to hold the No. 1 spot for a second straight weekend.
Billy Bob Thornton's "Friday Night Lights," based on the real-life fervor for high school football in small-town Odessa, Texas, debuted in second place with $20.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Another holdover, the firefighting drama "Ladder 49," came in third with $13.3 million, while the Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon action comedy "Taxi" had a so-so opening weekend of $12.05 million to place fourth.
The weekend's other new wide release, Hilary Duff's teen tale "Raise Your Voice," debuted at a weak No. 6 with $4.6 million.
Expanding to wider release after two weeks in a limited run, "The Motorcycle Diaries" broke into the top 10, grossing $1.4 million for ninth place. The film chronicles a road trip taken by the young Ernesto "Che" Guevara and a pal across South America.
The overall box office was virtually unchanged compared to the same weekend last year, with the top 12 movies taking in $98.3 million.
With the family audience almost to itself, "Shark Tale" held up especially well, its haul down just 33 percent from opening weekend. The movie lifted its 10-day total to $87.7 million.
"Ladder 49," starring John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix, also had a solid hold, its gross down 40 percent from its first weekend to raise its total to $42.2 million.
Based on H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger's 1990 best seller, "Friday Night Lights" stars Thornton as Permian High School football coach Gary Gaines as he steers his team toward a championship run.
The movie had been aimed largely at young males, but it captured a fairly wide audience, with 54 percent of viewers older than 25 and women making up 44 percent of the crowds, according to distributor Universal Studios.
"I think it's the fact that it's a true story, and the fact that is has a lot of heart, which bodes well even for females," said Nikki Rocco, Universal head of distribution. "I loved it because it really delves into the feeling of what it's like to be so committed to something."
Among the new movies, "Friday Night Lights" earned high marks from critics, while reviewers generally trashed "Taxi" and "Raise Your Voice."
"You can really attribute the gross on `Friday Night Lights' to the strong reviews," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "It's a football movie and has appeal to a lot of high schoolers at this time of year, but much of the audience for a movie like that decides to see a movie based on reviews."
In limited release, Billy Crudup and Claire Danes' Restoration-era theater drama "Stage Beauty" did solid business, opening with $39,000 in three theaters.
The techno-thriller "Primer," the top dramatic prize winner at last winter's Sundance Film Festival, also debuted in three theaters and pulled in $30,360.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Shark Tale," $31.7 million.
2. "Friday Night Lights," $20.6 million.
3. "Ladder 49," $13.3 million.
4. "Taxi," $12.05 million.
5. "The Forgotten," $7.5 million.
6. "Raise Your Voice," $4.6 million.
7. "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," $2.3 million.
8. "Shaun of the Dead," $1.6 million.
9. "The Motorcycle Diaries," $1.4 million.
10. "Resident Evil: Apocalypse," $1.25 million.