"The Amazing Spider-Man" Will Be Amazing

Look, I love Tobey Maguire. I love Sam Raimi. But lets all be honest for a moment. Those "Spider-Man" films really weren't that great. Too much CGI, too much metallic costumes (Green Goblin anyone?) and I really never could get over how egregious of a change Peter Parker's web shooters were in those films.

But they were still pretty decent, some of the first "big" super-hero movies we see today. But now, now we have a Peter Parker we can really believe in.

Andrew Garfield is far and away one of Hollywood's best young actors. He was robbed of an Oscar nomination for "The Social Network" and his work in "Boy A" as well as Mark Romanek's "Never Let Me Go" was just stunning and amazing. And now, to Peter.

This is the Peter we've always wanted. A teenager, a kid with some angst and inexperience. I look at these pictures and I just feel like this is right. Marc Webb is the man for the job, I mean just look at that name! This film is going to be "Amazing" and apart from "The Dark Knight Rises," this is the film I am dying for.

Vanderbilt Penning "Amazing Spider-Man 2"

Even though the upcoming reboot "The Amazing Spider-Man" is still filming and hasn't even showed off any official footage yet, production is already beginning on a sequel.

According to The Hollywood Reporter James Vanderbilt, who penned the script for the upcoming "The Amazing Spider-Man" at Sony Pictures, has already begun work on the sequel.

Vanderbilt had a meeting with the filmmakers and studio yesterday to talk about his take. He scored the go-ahead and will now begin writing, even though the first film is still shooting and won't wrap until mid-April.

Vanderbilt has been involved with the franchise for quite a while now, so it's not surprising that the studio would want to keep him involved. Vanderbilt first worked on "Spider-Man 4" for Columbia back when Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire were sill involved in the series. At the time, he was chosen for his character-driven approach to the story rather than a focus on special effects and worked on an outline for a trio of films.

Alvin Sargent did a polish of Vanderbilt's newer script for the first film, but as of yet there's no word if he'll do the same for the second. Before working on "Spider-Man," Vanderbilt wrote "Zodiac," David Fincher’s serial killer tale starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr.

Of all the projects in Hollywood right now, I'm more excited for "The Amazing Spider-Man" than any of them. I think Andrew Garfield is the perfect choice to play Peter Parker, and Vanderbilt's character and emotional-driven script will be something director Marc Webb can handle beautifully.

Avi Arad, Laura Ziskin and Matt Tolmach are producing both "The Amazing Spider-Man" and its potential sequel.

Arterton, Garfield Team For Mann's Next

Over the years Michael Mann has proven himself to be one of the most capable and skilled director's in Hollywood. Whether it's a literary drama adaptation, such as "The Last of the Mohicans," or a modern-day heist film like "Heat," Mann never misses a beat no matter the genre or story.

That's just one reason why it's welcome news that the director is preparing for work on his next film--the other reason is because of its fantastic leading cast. According to Total Film, rising acting stars Gemma Arterton and Andrew Garfield are teaming for Mann's next film, which is a biopic about combat photographer Robert Capa.

Based on Susana Fortes' award-winning novel, "Waiting for Robert Capa," the story follows a romance between war photographers Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, who met in Paris in 1935. Both exiled Jewish photographers, they decide to change their names to sell their works and head to Spain to capture images of the Civil War.

Her real name, Gerta Pohorylle, became Taro as nod to the Japanese artist Taro Okamoto. Endre Friedmann chose Robert Capa as a mix of actor Robert Taylor and film director Frank Capra, so he would appear to be American.

While the plot may not yell 'blockbuster smash,' this is exactly the type of smart, intellectual film that Mann knows how to work with. On top of that, both Garfield and Arterton are considered to be rising stars in the acting game and I think they both fit in perfectly with the roles.

Garfield has had a huge year, starring in both "The Social Network" and "Never Let Me Go," while also beginning work on the upcoming "Spider-Man" reboot. I'm thrilled to see Garfield and Mann team up, because Garfield has quickly become one of my favorite actors to watch and with Mann's direction, this could end up being an award contender once it wraps.

While no shooting dates have been set yet, Mann has stated that he wants the film to be a gritty, real world look at the story.

"Social Network" Dominates NBR Awards

Back when I first heard about "The Social Network" I admit I was fairly skeptical with the idea of a film about Facebook.

But then David Fincher joined on as director and Aaron Sorkin as the writer, and I began to get extremely intrigued about what it could be. After the cast came together with one of my favorite actors (Jesse Eisenberg) as the lead, I truly thought the film would be something special.

After seeing it in theaters it did not disappoint me one bit, and the National Board of Review seems to agree. Yes folks, it's true, awards season is upon us. The critics award race got started off last week as "The Social Network" pretty much dominated The Nation Board of Review awards, taking in four of the main categories.

"The Social Network" won awards for Best Film, Director (David Fincher), Actor (Jesse Eisenberg) and Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin). While there were a number of excellent nominees this year, including films like "The Town" and "Inception", I can't disagree with any of the awards the film won.

I honestly felt like it was a "Best Picture" worthy movie when I saw it, mainly due to the fantastic script and excellent direction by Fincher. On top of that the entire cast was excellent alongside Eisenberg, including Andre Garfield and Justin Timberlake.

Eisenberg plays Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg in the film, which has won critical praise and earned more than $180 million worldwide at the box office. I'm really glad he picked up the award, because although I think he is worthy for an Academy Award nomination later on, I think Colin Firth will take that home for "The Kings Speech", so its good to see the young actor take home some hardware that is truly deserving.

The National Board of Review has had a decent track record the past few years in predicting the Oscar outcome. In the past three years, the National Board of Review winner has twice gone on to win best picture at the Oscars: "No Country for Old Men" in 2007 and "Slumdog Millionaire" in 2008. Last year's winner was "Up in the Air."

The awards will keep coming as the year draws to a close, but it's clear that we'll be hearing a lot more about "The Social Network" in the coming months.

Andrew Garfield Spins His Web Finally on New Role: Movie News

British actor Andrew Garfield has finally spoken about scoring the role of Peter Parker in the planned "Spider-Man" reboot for Sony Pictures. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter at the Telluride Film Festival over the weekend, the star of "Never Let Me Go" said the following:

"I have been waiting for this phone call for 24 years, for someone to call me up and say, "Hey, we want you to pretend to be a character that you’ve always wanted to be all your life and we’re going to do it with cool cameras and cool effects, and you’re going to feel like you’re swinging through New York City. Do you want to do that?

“'Let me just consult with my seven-year old self and see what he thinks...' So, my seven-year-old self started screaming in my soul and saying, This is what we’ve been waiting for. Like every young boy who feels stronger on the inside than they look on the outside, any skinny boy basically who wishes their muscles matched their sense of injustice, God, it’s just the stuff that dreams are made of, for sure.

It’s a true f*cking honor to be part of this symbol that I actually think is a very important symbol and it’s meant a great deal to me, and it continues to mean something to people. So yeah, I feel like I’ve been preparing for it for a while. Ever since Halloween, when I was four years old and I wore my first Spider-Man costume."

Garfield adds that he's begun training for the role with the focus being on flexibility. However, things are still early so he doesn't really have much to say about it. Filming on the Marc Webb-directed project kicks off in December.

It's a few quotes, but the point being is that this is an actor to watch. Just check out the trailer of the film "Boy A" from overseas. You only need to see a few minutes to see how good he is.

Or hell, even watch "The Social Network" trailer again to see how talented this kid is. Marc Webb and Garfield together is any true Spider-Man fan's best case scenario. These are two supremely talented individuals.

And please go see "Never Let Me Go," or at least read the book. The movie will be great and the book is heartbreaking and just genius. The film will be released on September 15.

There's been no official word yet on the story of the new Spider-Man flick, but I'm sure rumors will start spreading like wild fire.

Know This Man's Name: Andrew Garfield Speaks About Spider-Man

British actor Andrew Garfield has finally spoken about scoring the role of Peter Parker in the planned "Spider-Man" reboot for Sony Pictures. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter at the Telluride Film Festival over the weekend, the star of "Never Let Me Go" actor said the following statement:

"I have been waiting for this phone call for 24 years, for someone to call me up and say, "Hey, we want you to pretend to be a character that you’ve always wanted to be all your life, and we’re going to do it with cool cameras and cool effects and you’re going to feel like you’re swinging through New York City. Do you want to do that?"

“Let me just consult with my seven-year old self and see what he thinks...” So my seven-year-old self started screaming in my soul and saying, This is what we’ve been waiting for. Like every young boy who feels stronger on the inside than they look on the outside, any skinny boy basically who wishes their muscles matched their sense of injustice, God, it’s just the stuff that dreams are made of, for sure.

It’s a true f*cking honor to be part of this symbol that I actually think is a very important symbol and it’s meant a great deal to me, and it continues to mean something to people. So yeah, I feel like I’ve been preparing for it for a while. Ever since Halloween when I was four years old and I wore my first Spider-Man costume."

Garfield adds that he's begun training for the role with the focus being on flexibility, "making sure that I can be as flexible as possible." However things are still early so he doesn't really have much to say about it. Filming on the Marc Webb-directed project kicks off in December.

It's a few quotes, but the point being is that this is an actor to watch. Just check out the trailer of the film Boy A from overseas. You only need to see a few minutes to see how good he is. Or hell, even watch The Social Network trailer again to see how talented this kid is. Marc Webb and Garfield together is any true Spider-Man fan's best case scenario. These are two supremely talented individuals.

And god please go see "Never Let Me Go", or at least read the book. The movie will be great, and the book is heartbreaking and just genius. The film will be released on September 15.