Spider-Man Musical probably not going to crawl up the drain.
As reported last week, the company behind the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was looking for a new producer. Today, Michael Riedel of the New York Post reports that U2′s musical may be on the verge of death as actors are being released from their contracts, and ticket agents are refunding people for early previews. Says Reidel in his column:
“Spider-Man” has been in trouble from the beginning, done in by the inexperience of its producers — Sony, Marvel Comics and David Garfinkle, a Chicago lawyer who, sources say, had almost no Broadway experience.
“He was in over his head,” a source says.
Taymor, the director of “The Lion King,” conceived of “Spider-Man” as an “installation show,” something big and bold and full of special effects. Something, in other words, like Cirque du Soleil.
That’s fine if you’re going to put the damn thing up in Las Vegas, where “installation shows” run several times a day and are funded in large part by hotels and casinos.
Reidel reports that Julie Taymor’s really crazy spending spree would count up to a nearly impossible price tag for the theater to break even. At 45 million, the theater would have to play five years straight of sold out shows to pay back their investment. I’m sorry to say, but it looks like this spider has been flushed down the drain for good.
(I’ll stop now with the puns, sorry, I can’t help myself).
Charles Burns’ Best American Comics Lineup.
Woo, this is a doozy. The last one I bought was Harvey Pekar’s edition, but I’m going to have to dive into this version. Check out this lineup, reported by the Comics Reporter:
* “Shh!” Tim Hensley, MOME
* “Justin M. Damiano,” Daniel Clowes, The Book Of Other People
* “Artist Vs. Artisan,” Peter Bagge, Apocalypse Nerd
* Various Strips, Kaz, Underworld
* “Hillbillys ‘R’ Dumb,” Doug Allen, Hotwire
* “Why I Only Write About Myself,” Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Comic Art
* “Our Beloved Tape Dispenser,” Robert Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb, The New Yorker
* “Indian Spirit Twain & Einstein,” Michael Kupperman, Tales Designed To Thrizzle
* “Spirit Duplicator,” Dan Zettwoch, Comic Art
* “The Company,” Matt Broersma, excerpted from Insomnia
* “Shortcomings,” Adrian Tomine, excerpted from Shortcomings
* “Over Easy,” Mimi Pond, excerpted from www.mimipond.com
* “Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@#*!!,” Art Spiegelman, Virginia Quarterly Review
* “Cruddy,” Ron Rege Jr., Against Pain
* “When I Was Eleven,” Gabrielle Bell, Lucky
* “Gropius in ‘Ring Tones’,” Tim Hensley, MOME
* “Dal Tokyo,” Gary Panter, Riddim
* Various Shorts, Ben Katchor, Metropolis
* Various Shorts, Jerry Moriarty, Comic Art
* “Mosfet Warlock and the Mechlin Men,” CF, Powr Mastrs
* Various Shorts, David Sandlin, Hotwire
* “The Galactic Funnels,” Dash Shaw, MOME
* “Berlin,” Jason Lutes, excerpted from Berlin
* Various Strips, Tony Millionaire, Maakies With The Wrinkled Knees
* “Black Death,” Sammy Harkham, Crickets
* “Jordan W. Lint,” Chris Ware, Virginia Quarterly Review
* “Fuzz & Pluck In Splitsville,” Ted Stearn, excerpted from Fuzz & Pluck in Splitsville
* “Freaks,” Laura Park, Superior Showcase
* “Skim,” Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, excerpted from Skim
* “Antoinette,” Koren Shadmi, Blurred Vision
* “Glenn Ganges In Pulverize,” Kevin Huizenga, Ganges
* “Jillian In The Argument,” Tim Hensley, MOME
* “5:45 AM,” Al Columbia, MOME
* “Papa,” Gilbert Hernandez, Love and Rockets
* excerpt from “The Hand That Feeds,” Anders Nilsen, Big Questions
* “Hope Gropius,” Tim Hensley, MOME
Happy to see Michael Kupperman in there amongst the rest of the MOME people. Regardless, this is looking good. For other editions of Best American Comics click here.
“Walking Dead” being brought to AMC.
Looks like Robert Kirkman’s critically acclaimed series “Walking Dead” will be getting the pilot treatment from Frank Darabont and will hopefully air on AMC. According to Variety, the “Green Mile” writer/director is very close to a deal to adapt this series for AMC:
Joel Stillerman, AMC’s senior veep of programming, production and original content, said the project appealed to the cabler because of “the quality of the storytelling” in Kirkman’s work. The series will stay faithful to the tone of the original novels, he said.
“This is not about zombies popping out of closets,” Stillerman said. “This is a story about survival, and the dynamics of what happens when a group is forced to survive under these circumstances. The world (in ‘Walking Dead’) is portrayed in a smart, sophisticated way.”
Good to hear, people keep on recommending me this book, but I could never get into it. Considering Darabont is handling it and he also handled another prison movie, “The Shawshank Redemption” I can’t figure how this won’t come out gangbusters with him at the helm.
Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Prisoner, and now this? Very forward thinking, AMC. You’re quickly becoming my favorite channel.