Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Hiring, Firing and Re-Hiring of Spider-Man

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the doing-the-things-that-a-spiderman-can dept.

Obiwan Kenobi writes "Remember that rumor that Tobey McGuire was fired and Jake Gyllenhaal was going to be Spider-Man? Well, it's true. According to the LA Times, McGuire's unwillingness to reveal the extent of his back injuries from his last project (Seabiscuit) resulted in a huge power struggle that incurred the wrath of Universal president Ron Meyer (whose daughter is 'coincidentally' dating McGuire), a pissed off Sam Raimi, and a now-fired agent. Interesting read about the politics of making a big budget blockbuster." Really just a gossipy story frankly, but McGuire seems to be in for the sequel despite the back problems.

11 of 278 comments (clear)

  1. Can he stay awake by Ironpoint · · Score: 2, Interesting


    Can Tobey MCGuire even stay awake long enough for another movie? I remember watching spiderman and thinking it was some sort of joke or something. I always thought of spiderman as hyper-energetic and outgoing, but I guess a lethargic spiderman was kind of interesting.

  2. Jake Gyllenhaal would do a better job by aSiTiC · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Never been a huge fan of McGuire. Jake Gyllenhaal is a much superior actor and also a little darker and more interesting. I'm probably in the minority and Jake doesn't fit with pop culture like McGuire does but it would have been cool.

    Anyone ever see Donnie Darko??? That's about all you need to say about Jake Gyllenhaal.

    Besides the fact that it runs in the family Maggie Gyllenhaal was amazing in Secretary.

    --

    Where the Music Matters

    1. Re:Jake Gyllenhaal would do a better job by RestiffBard · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I've seen Darko, own it on DVD. He is good. But, like you said he's darker. Spiderman isn't dark. Either way I would have been OK with Gyllenhaal but it makes me nuts when sequels change around actors. The schizophrenia of Batman made me... well, batty.

      --
      - /* dead coders leave no comments */
  3. D'oh! by Obiwan+Kenobi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    In the classic Posting Of Stories With Blatant Spelling Mistakes tradition, I hereby apologize for mispelling Tobey Maguire three times in a row.

    Yes, I too was in the running for a slashdot editor. (/joke)

  4. Re:what kind of director by Mr.Phil · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "... or the entire cast of MASH the TV show being better than the entire cast of MASH the movie."

    Except for Gary Burghoff, who played Radar O'Reilly in both the movie and the TV series.

  5. Not worth it to change actors by Joe+the+Lesser · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I don't think spiderman would survive if they changed actors, regardless of who could do it better.

    Why is it more like Batman than Bond? Because Spiderman is a hero, and Bond is a secret agent.

    But then we'll never know...

    --
    "I only speak the truth"
    Karma: null(Mostly affected by an unassigned variable)
    1. Re:Not worth it to change actors by default+luser · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Bond is replaceable because Bond is not the man. Bond is the style. We see the face all the time, and yet all we remember are the well-tailored grey suits, sporty cars and Walther PPK. All you need is a suave man to wear that suit, drive that car and fire that weapon.

      Batman is not replaceable because Batman ( as portrayed in the 80s/90s ) is the man behind the mask. This is why it was so important to have someone who could actually act, and why people really missed Michael Keaton in III and IV. He was fairly good at the role, and people became attached to his personal emotional stigma.

      You'll find the same thing has happened with Spiderman. The geek-out-of-water persona really gave Peter Parker as a person a lot more depth than people were expecting. But that depth is forever attached to Tobey, it will be lost if you switch actors.

      --

      Man is the animal that laughs.
      And occasionally whores for Karma.

  6. Re:Interesting Article. by jedidiah · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This has nothing to do with having a big head. He was working 80 hours a week for another employer when Rami and company started to get their panties in a bunch.

    Let's see you bow and scrape to your next contract when you're trying to "give 100%" to your current one.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  7. Re:McGuire's in... by Admiral1973 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Not only have I seen Spiderman 2 filming in NYC, I've seen Maguire on the set. They shot a scene in a pizza place in Greenwich Village, down the block from my apartment. I watched with about 20 other people as Maguire traded places with his stunt double and later as two production assistants escorted him to and from his trailer, parked down the street. So he's most definitely in this movie.

    --
    Lousy minor setbacks! This world sucks! -- Homer Simpson
  8. Re:McGuire's in... by Mindwarp · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Not to mention the fact that they filmed a lot of the 'web-swinging' shots outside my office building in Chicago a few months ago.

    A very tall crane, and a very complex gyro-stabilized computer controlled camera mount, if you're interested.

    --
    The gift of death metal does not smile on the good looking.
  9. Not Nice, No Sense of Humor by Cpt_Kirks · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I saw him on Letterman when Spidey 1 was about to come out. Dave was goofing on him, with footage from an ancient black and white spider horror flick.

    McGuire *WAS NOT* amused. He looked royally pissed.

    I though to myself, "Self, that guy's a dick!". Looks like we were right...