“The Amazing Spider-Man” won’t reach theaters in the United States until July 3 but that hasn’t stopped the movies team from dropping in on audiences and highlighting some of the new movies footage.

Sony Pictures this week took to 13 cities around the globe to promote the film with stops in Mexico City, Berlin, Rome, Paris and Moscow, Los Angeles, New York, Rio de Janeiro and London.

At the events visitors were first greeted with the 3-D full-length trailer for Amazing Spider-Man. In the footage Andrew Garfield is shown portraying both the bullied Peter Parker and in his familiar role as Spidey. Viewers are also greeted with their first look at the villainous Lizard.

Speaking to the audience in Los Angeles director Marc Webb revealed:

“I think there are a lot of things from the Spider-Man canon that haven’t yet been explored cinematically. This movie really starts off with Peter Parker and his parents, which is something we’ve never really seen before, and I think that was something we were all really interested in exploring as filmmakers.”

Garfield in the meantime appeared in New York City where he said that the next person to play Spider should be “half-hispanic and half-African-American” like the current reincarnation of the Spider-Man comic book character.

Here’s the trailer for Amazing Spider-Man:

Will you be running out to theaters to see what this new version of Spider-Man looks like or have you had enough of constant recreations of the same stories repeatedly by studios who lose actors mid-story?

‘Amazing Spider-Man’ Footage Teased For Audiences, Official 3D Trailer Released [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

According to a report by the Lincoln Journal Star, the collector’s edition of “Amazing Fantasy No. 15,” valued at somewhere in the ball park of $15,000, disappeared sometime between Oct. 27 and Nov. 14.

The owner told authorities that several people had been in an out of his home since he last saw the comic book, which he says he kept tucked away with several other comic books.

Earlier this year in May, a mint copy of Amazing Fantasy No. 15 (seen below) was sold to an unnamed buyer for $1.1 million.

Are you a collector of comic books or anything rare? Can you believe a single Spider-Man issue is worth $15k? Chime in with your thoughts on the matter.

via CBS
Image: Marvel Wikia

Spider-Man Comic Book Valued at $15,000 Stolen from Collector’s Neb. Home is a post from: The Inquisitr

After various on-stage and off-stage gaffs, including one incident in which a stuntman was put in the hospital after a cable snapped Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark director Julie Taymor was fired and replaced and now she’s suing the producers of the show.

According to her lawsuit Taymor feels that:

“The producers’ actions have left her no choice but to resort to legal recourse to protect her rights.”

The former director of the hugely successful Lion King show filed the suit after the show began making a profit despite injuries and bad reviews that have plagued the production. In order to make a profit the Spider-Man production needs to make $1.2 million per week, a number the show is reaching handily thanks to sold out and near sold-out shows.

Taymor’s attorney told the Associated Press:

“Producers have failed to compensate Ms. Taymor for their continued use of her work to date, despite the fact that the show has consistently played to capacity or near-capacity houses.”

The lawsuit comes just days after the Tony Awards Administration Committee ruled that only Taymor could be considered for a director award for work she performed.

The Spider-Man production cost more than $75 million to produce after Taymor’s production completely fell apart repeatedly, a fact that will likely be brought up if the court moves to trial.

Do you think Julie Taymor should be further compensated for her work despite the lack of a finished product that was going even further down hill at the time of her firing?

Original Spider-Man Broadway Director Julie Taymor Sues Producers is a post from: The Inquisitr

On Aug. 2, 2011 the new Ultimate Spider-Man was revealed and changing with the times the new Spidey character is a half-black, half-Latino kid named Miles Morales.

The move is a dramatic departure from the most popular comic book hero’s who were created during the very much segregated times of the 1930s through 1960s and therefore were white washed across the pages of Marvel and other comic book creators (minus perhaps Black Panther).

Since those times some very popular characters have been of a persuasion other than white, including Storm and Spawn, however flagship characters have remained white washed at Marvel and other comic book company’s.

Comic Riffs spoke to Axel Alonso, Marvel’s new editor in chief who said of the change:

“Having a character as iconic as Spider-Man, when he peels off that mask, having a new demographic be able to relate to him, we’re very excited about that.”

As was to be expected, some fans are now claiming that they will no longer read the comic book series because of the change in skin color, however a more accepting generation will likely step up to embrace the new character and a new demographic may soon be discovered.

Questions do remain about the new Spider-Man, for example will he be able to speak Spanish given his biracial appeal? How will people of New York accept him and his heritage. Also what nationality is Spider-Man? Is he Dominican? Cuban? or a different nationality that may nor may not be revealed.

Regardless of the answers which Marvel may one-day reveal, it will be interesting to see how the public reacts to Spider-Man as a biracial superhero, especially given his long history as a white hero. I’m definitely willing to give Miles Morales a shot, after all at the heart of the comic book is still the struggle of a boy coming to grips with his new found superhero powers.

Here’s a funny first look at Miles Morales as Spider-Man (not Marvel endorsed):

Miles Morales Is The New Biracial Spider-Man [Pic and Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

I have to hand it to the Spider-Man Broadway team, they sure have managed to spend a whole lot of money for a show we could have done without.

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark Gets Broken Down Cost-By-Cost [$75 Million Spent] is a post from: The Inquisitr

When Bono and “The Edge” decided to make a Broadway musical surrounding Spider-Man there was some excitement and a lot of scepticism surrounding the show, especially by millions of comic fans. Fast forward several years later and the show has cost $70 million and is currently on hiatus after various actor injuries and production problems have occurred.

Now Dick Wolf, the creator of the Law & Order franchise has decided to take a jab at the musical creating an episode that will surround a “high-flying, fast-crashing show called Icarus,” in which an actor is killed during the production and the director is “a high-strung born-again drunk and the composer is a bisexual rock star.

The Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark inspired episode will air on May 12, one month before the show’s expected and oft-delayed June 14th Broadway premier.

Law & Order: CI To Air “Spider-Man” Broadway Inspired Episode is a post from: The Inquisitr

Dear Movie Industry,

We love you – just to clarify, “we” is most of America and large portions of the world-at-large.  But you’re quickly becoming prey to your own scheming and need to be saved before you collapse from the weight of your own self-indulgence.

We’re here for you.

Over your history, you’ve produced alot of good, quality movies of all types, genres, and styles.  Recently, however, you’ve become more interested in print-to-film adaptations, sequels, and reboots than true originality or creativity – just look at the recent list of sequels announced: Boondock Saints II, Spider-Man 4, Transformers 3, and Indiana Jones 5.  This may ultimately be your downfall.

Don’t get us wrong, we love some of your sequels.  And we love the movies you’re making sequels of – Transformers 2 may not have had the approval of the critics, but us fans seemed to love it.  The problem is when you assume that the financial success of certain types of movies (like action, scifi, or thrillers) means there not only should be a sequel, but that we somehow demand one and will support it through the end.

This inevitably results in disasters like Spider-Man 3, where the series concept takes a turn for the worse and throws dirt on its own good name.  The “they just don’t live up to their predecessors or expectations” label can applied to many sequels, like The Matrix movies – although they were still pretty awesome.

Between your sequel-happy trigger-fingers and the fact that only a few months can go by before yet another comicbook is announced as being adapted into a film, it would seem that you have lost your stride.  Yes, District 9 came out recently, but guess what?  You didn’t support the script, and Peter Jackson had to step in to help raise independent financing – good move.  Gamer was an original script, sure, but it also wasn’t the best movie you’ve ever produced.  Going down the release roster for the last few years doesn’t produce too many original or creative gems of genius either.

It’s time for you to bring back the creativity.  The Matrix, Star Wars, The Boondock Saints, and the rest of your biggest successes (both financially and those with cult status) have typically been original works of creation, not adaptations – The Dark Knight is an outlier, as The Watchmen so deftly proved.  Choosing a screenplay for production, or even an idea, should be based on its actual strengths and weaknesses, rather than whether it’s associated with previously successful movies, toy franchises, or highly successful graphic novels.

Don’t stop the sequels and adaptations, though – just make sure they’re warranted.

Kyle Brady is a contributing columnist for the Inquisitr, an entrepreneur, and has a future in science fiction.  He can be found at his blog, via email, or on Twitter.

An Open Letter to the Movie Industry is a post from: The Inquisitr