"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.

Marc Webb Reels in Martin Sheen, Sally Field to Look After "Spider-Man"

Anyone who doubted how good the new "Spider-Man" reboot would be ought to start changing their minds. As the cast for Marc Webb's new franchise-starter grows, so does the confidence that it will be a success.

Legendary actors Martin Sheen and Sally Field are in talks to play Uncle Ben and Aunt May, respectively, in the upcoming reboot at Sony Pictures, according to Heat Vision. While Sheen is in final negotiations, Field still is in early talks for the part.

Nevertheless, I honestly can’t think of two actors who could be better than these two to play Uncle Ben and Aunt May. In the first three films, actress Rosemary Harris took on the role, and while I know she's a legend in her own right (and also looks a lot like Aunt May), I hated her. There was something that never seemed quite right to me about her in the part, so its welcoming news to see Oscar-winner Field in talks for the role.

Even better is the addition of Sheen. Uncle Ben is supposed to epitomize what Peter Parker is fighting for and I can already see him spewing the line, "With great power comes great responsibility."

The characters are, of course, the parental figures who look after Peter (Garfield)--and Ben's death has a major impact on his decision to slip on the webbed spandex.

The pair will join Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans, who have previously been announced as playing Gwen Stacey and The Lizard, respectively. As I said, this cast is starting to round out nicely.

While Garfield might not be the most recognizable name to the masses, to the better-informed, he is one of the best young actors out there right now. Have you seen "The Social Network" yet? Go, because he's one of the best in it. Have you seen "Never Let Me Go" yet? His performance is wonderful.

Shooting on the reboot kicks off next month, so keep your eyes open for more casting news and hopefully some set photos in the coming weeks.

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.

Webb The Hot Tip For "Spider-Man 4"

How fitting that one of the rumored names to take over the “Spider-Man” franchise name is Webb.

"(500) Days of Summer" director Marc Webb is still the frontrunner for the director's chair of a fourth "Spider-Man," reports Deadline Hollywood.

According to Deadline Hollywood: Marc Webb, the "(500) Days Of Summer" director, has climbed to the top of the Sony Pictures' list to rebirth the Spider-Man franchise. While the studio has a wish list of star directors like James Cameron, David Fincher and Wes Anderson, the emergence of Webb as director comes as a huge surprise.

Sources say Webb met about the Spidey reboot with the pic's producers and executives looking to get the picture into production later this year for a Summer 2012 release.

The studio reportedly wants to shoot the film in 3D.

Although he’ll fit in with a name like Webb, it’s a curious choice to helm the franchise due to the fact that he has no previous superhero experience. But at the same time, that wasn’t a problem with “Spider-man” director Sam Raimi nor Chris Nolan with the “Batman” films.

Sony must feel that Webb has the right style and mind to depict the way young people think and feel. By bringing Peter Parker back to high school the studio will want a filmmaker who can harness those ideas and bring them to an audience that will be about the same age.

I thought “(500) Days of Summer” was fantastic; Webb turned the clichés of romantic comedy films into something new and unique. It would be awesome to see what someone like James Cameron or David Fincher would do with the character but it would be even more interesting to see what Webb would do with the superhero genre.

Look for "Spider-Man 4" in 2012.