Spider-Man Joins Marvel Cinematic Universe
In a surprising statement Sony and Disney have confirmed that after years of fan speculation and studio negotiations Spider-Man will finally join the Marvel cinematic universe. Marvel Studios will produce the next Spider-Man movie now set for a 28th July 2017 release date, although Sony will continue to finance, distribute and own the franchise. Before that, the ‘new Spider-man’ will appear first in another of Marvels forthcoming releases. This reference to a ‘new’ Spidey has lead many to assume this will prove to be yet another big screen reboot for the franchise, with Andrew Garfield being replaced as Peter Parker. Although not yet officially confirmed this does seem likely, with strong indications that Garfield has indeed worn his spadex Spidey suit for the last time.
The new deal will also at least delay the release of Sony’s planned Spider-Man spin offs like Siniser Six and Venom. As the new deal significantly gives Sony the opportunity to involve characters from the wider Marvel universe in future Spider-Man films, it seems very likely that they may entirely rethink their plans for the franchise, given the obvious wealth of new material and ideas at their disposal.
Full official Press statement below:
SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT BRINGS MARVEL STUDIOS INTO THE AMAZING WORLD OF SPIDER-MAN
New Spider-Man Will Appear First in an Upcoming Marvel Film Within Marvel’s Cinematic Universe
Marvel’s Kevin Feige to Produce Next Installment of the Spider-Man Franchise with Amy Pascal
(Culver City, California, and Burbank, California February 09, 2015) – Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios announced today that Sony is bringing Marvel into the amazing world of Spider-Man.
Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sony Pictures will thereafter release the next installment of its $4 billion Spider-Man franchise, on July 28, 2017, in a film that will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger. Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.
Marvel and Sony Pictures are also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films.
The new relationship follows a decade of speculation among fans about whether Spider-Man – who has always been an integral and important part of the larger Marvel Universe in the comic books – could become part of the Marvel Universe on the big screen. Spider-Man has more than 50 years of history in Marvel’s world, and with this deal, fans will be able to experience Spider-Man taking his rightful place among other Super Heroes in the MCU.
Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company said: “Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s great characters, beloved around the world. We’re thrilled to work with Sony Pictures to bring the iconic web-slinger into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which opens up fantastic new opportunities for storytelling and franchise building.”
“We always want to collaborate with the best and most successful filmmakers to grow our franchises and develop our characters. Marvel, Kevin Feige and Amy, who helped orchestrate this deal, are the perfect team to help produce the next chapter of Spider-Man,” said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. “This is the right decision for the franchise, for our business, for Marvel, and for the fans.”
“Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios share a love for the characters in the Spider-Man universe and have a long, successful history of working together. This new level of collaboration is the perfect way to take Peter Parker’s story into the future,” added Doug Belgrad, president, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.
“I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Amy Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie,” said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. “Amy has been deeply involved in the realization on film of one of the world’s most beloved characters. Marvel’s involvement will hopefully deliver the creative continuity and authenticity that fans demand from the MCU. I am equally excited for the opportunity to have Spider-Man appear in the MCU, something which both we at Marvel, and fans alike, have been looking forward to for years.”
Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.
BAFTA Film Awards 2015 Winners List
Here is the full list of winners for the Bafta Film Awards 2015 as announced at the star studded ceremony last night at the royal opera house in London. Eddie Redmayne, Julianne Moore, JK Simmons and Patricia Arquette took home top acting honors. Richard Linklater indie hit Boyhood won best film and director in addition to best supporting actress. While Whiplash, The Theory of everything and The Grand Budapest hotel largely divided up the other categories. The Lego Movie also picked up the best animated BAFTA in consolation for the film’s inexplicable snub by the American Academy for the animated Oscar nods. Finally Mike Leigh received the BAFTA fellowship in recognition of his lengthy and often praiseworthy career.
Best Film: boyhood
Outstanding British film: The Theory of Everything
Actor: Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Actress: Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Supporting actor: JK Simmons – Whiplash
Supporting actress: Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Director: Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Adapted screenplay: The Theory of Everything – Anthony McCarten
Original screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson
Animated film: The Lego Movie
Documentary: Citizenfour
Foreign film: Ida
Cinematography: Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki
Costume design: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Editing: Whiplash – Tom Cross
Make-up and hair: The Grand Budapest Hotel – Frances Hannon
Music: The Grand Budapest Hotel – Alexandre Desplat
Production design: The Grand Budapest Hotel – Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock
Sound: Whiplash – Thomas Curley, Ben Wilkins, Craig Mann
Visual effects: Interstellar – Paul Franklin, Scott Fisher, Andrew Lockley
British short animation: The Bigger Picture – Chris Hees, Daisy Jacobs, Jennifer Majka
British short film: Boogaloo and Graham – Brian J Falconer, Michael Lennox, Ronan Blaney
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer: Stephen Beresford, David Livingstone (writer and producer Pride)
Rising Star award: Jack O’Connell
Chris Pratt Is Hasty Pudding Man of The Year
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States, celebrated Chris Pratt as the recipient of its 2015 Man of the Year Award. The Pudding is excited to honor a performer who became a bona fide Hollywood heavyweight in the past year. Pratt joined his Parks & Recreation co-star Amy Poehler, who was feted on January 29 as the Hasty Pudding’s 2015 Woman of the Year.
The Man and Woman of the Year Awards are presented annually to performers who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment. The Man of the Year award was established in 1963. Its past recipients include, among others, Clint Eastwood, Tom Cruise, Robert de Niro, Harrison Ford, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Bruce Willis, Justin Timberlake, James Franco, and most recently, Neil Patrick Harris.
After an early morning visit to Christopher’s Haven to make good on his Super Bowl bet with Chris Evans, Chris Pratt took a tour of the Hasty Pudding Clubhouse, had lunch at Harvest, a local restaurant, and participated in a private Q&A with the members of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. At 8:00pm the Hasty Pudding Theatricals hosted a celebratory roast for the actor, led by HPT producers Zoe Rosenthal ’16 and Josh Friedman ’16, and presented him with his Pudding Pot at Farkas Hall, the Hasty Pudding’s historic home in the heart of Harvard Square since 1888. A press conference followed the roast. Afterwards, the Pudding staged the opening night performance of its 167th production, ¡Oops!… Madrid It Again!
The Man of the Year festivities are presented by The Related Companies and Beacon Capital Partners. In addition to his Pudding Pot, Chris Pratt received gift basket including products from local businesses; T-shirts from the Hasty Pudding’s newly launched licensed apparel line (available for purchase at the Harvard COOP and at the box office of Farkas Hall until March 8th); and a one-of-a-kind, bespoke “Chris Pratt Hasty Pudding MOY” slippers by the Hasty Pudding’s footwear licensee Stubbs & Wootton.
21st Screen Actors Guild Awards Winners
Here is the full winners list and picture gallery from the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards, with Eddie Redmayne, Julianne Moore and Birdman taking home top film honours alongside TV wins for Downton Abbey, House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.
Film:
Cast: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Actor: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Actress: Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Supporting Actor: J. K. Simmons,Whiplash
Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
TV Drama:
Cast: Downton Abbey
Actor: Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Actress: Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder
TV Comedy:
Cast: Orange Is the New Black
Actor: William H. Macy,Shameless
Actress: Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black
TV Film or Miniseries:
Actor: Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart
Actress: Frances McDormand,Olive Kitteridge
London Critics’ Circle Film Awards Winners 2015
The UK’s top film critics named Boyhood as Film of the Year at their annual ceremony tonight, hosted by previous winners Alice Lowe and Steve Oram at The May Fair Hotel. In addition to Film, Boyhood also won Director for Richard Linklater and Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette.
The highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film to Miranda Richardson, handed to her by her friend and colleague Stanley Tucci.
The evening’s other big winner was Under the Skin, for which Jonathan Glazer was on hand to collect the Attenborough Award for British Film of the Year, and composer Mica Levi accepted the Technical Achievement Award for her score. Recently Oscar-nominated producers Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky were present to receive Documentary of the Year for Citizenfour. Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev accepted his Foreign-language Film by video.
Other winners in attendance included British Actor Timothy Spall (Mr Turner) and Young British Performer Alex Lawther (The Imitation Game). Special guests and nominees present included Daniel Huttlestone, Corey McKinley, Florence Pugh, Toby Sebastian, Louise Brealey, Matthew Warchus, Hossein Amini, James Kent, Elaine Constantine, Steve Jamison, Mike Brett, Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard, Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin, Andre Singer and Robin Gulch.
35th LONDON CRITICS’ CIRCLE FILM AWARDS WINNERS LIST:
FILM OF THE YEAR Boyhood (Universal)
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR Leviathan (Curzon Artificial Eye)
BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR Under the Skin (StudioCanal)
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR Citizenfour (Curzon Artificial Eye)
ACTOR OF THE YEAR Michael Keaton – Birdman (Fox)
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR Julianne Moore – Still Alice (Curzon Artificial Eye)
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR JK Simmons – Whiplash (Sony)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR Patricia Arquette – Boyhood (Universal)
BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR Timothy Spall – Mr Turner (eOne)
BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl (Fox) & What We Did on Our Holiday (Lionsgate)
YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR Alex Lawther – The Imitation Game (StudioCanal)
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR Richard Linklater – Boyhood (Universal)
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox)
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILMMAKER Yann Demange – ’71 (StudioCanal)
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Under the Skin – Mica Levi, score (StudioCanal)
DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM Miranda Richardson
TOP 10 FILMS of 2014
1. Boyhood
2. Birdman
3. Under the Skin
4. Whiplash
5. Mr Turner
6. Leviathan
7. The Grand Budapest Hotel
8. Ida
9. Nightcrawler
10. The Theory of Everything