Sony is really going all out on this one. They've hired a third screenwriter to rewrite Spider-Man 4 once again. Back in 2007 it was announced that James Vanderbilt (The Rundown, Zodiac) was the very first writer to work on this script. Then it was announced last year that Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (Robots, Inkheart) would work on it. Now it's Oscar nominated screenwriter Gary Ross responsible for Big, Pleasantville, Seabiscuit, and The Tale of Despereaux. He's a good writer and has a long-standing relationship with Tobey Maguire, which is a good thing, but will that work wonders here?
This could be taken as bad news, but I'm trying to look on the bright side. Sony is just making sure they're getting a damn good script. They've got to recover from the bad taste that Spider-Man 3 left in everyone's mouth and they've got boatloads of cash to spend to make sure it's perfect. So why not go through as many big name writers as possible until they find the right one? Most tentpole movies usually do this anyway, we just don't hear about each new one when they're hired. And then there's the concern that maybe there's just too many cooks in the kitchen. Who knows what's really going on, it's far too early to tell. Thoughts? (www.firstshowing.net)
