Andrew Garfield is your friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man! And much more…

ANDREW GARFIELD IS SPIDER-MAN!

Sony Pictures has officially announced that Andrew Garfield has landed the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in director Marc Webb’s Untitled Spider-Man Film! The film focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises. The action adventure will open in 3D and 2D theaters on July 3, 2012.

Here’s the official press release followed by an announcement photo:

After a comprehensive worldwide casting search, Andrew Garfield has been chosen to portray Peter Parker when Spider-Man swings back onto the screen in 3D on July 3, 2012. The new film will begin production in early December directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt. Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad will produce the film from Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios… On selecting Garfield, director Marc Webb said, “Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker”… Garfield most recently worked with director David Fincher on the upcoming film The Social Network. He previously starred for Spike Jonze on his robot love story I’m Here, which premiered at Sundance this year. He plays the lead male opposite Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan in Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, due for release later this year. Other notable screen credits include Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus playing opposite Christopher Plummer, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law and the late Heath Ledger, Robert Redford’s Lions For Lambs, where he starred alongside Redford, Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep; Revolution Films’ “Red Riding Trilogy – 1974″ directed by Julian Jarrold, where he lead a stellar cast including Rebecca Hall and David Morrissey, and his unforgettable portrayal of a young ex-con in John Crowley’s “Boy A,” for which he earned the best actor BAFTA in 2008…

UPCOMING FILM PROJECTS

Judd Apatow will be producing a new PEE-WEE HERMAN film, reports Variety. The script, currently in development, is being written by Paul Reubens (who plays Pee-wee) and fellow actor/writer Paul Rust. No director is currently named, but it is suggested that the job will not go to Apatow himself…

Heat Vision is reporting that Warner Bros. Pictures has hired “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” helmers Phil Lord and Chris Miller to write and direct the LEGO movie. Based on the popular building blocks, the movie will mix live action and animation. The studio is keeping the plot tightly under wraps, but it’s described as an action adventure set in a LEGO world. Lord and Miller are currently developing the 21 JUMP STREET movie and plan on doing LEGO after that…

CASTING NEWS

Meryl Streep is being eyed for the in the lead role of THE IRON LADY, a biopic about the life of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, says The Hollywood Reporter. The film would reunite Streep with director Phyllida Lloyd, who previously directed Streep in 2008’s Mamma Mia! The article also notes that Jim Broadbent is likely to play the role of Thatcher’s husband, Denis. The film would examine the life of the prominent political figure over a brief period of time, in this case the 17 days in 1982 leading to the Falklands War when conflict broke out between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the island chain…

Virginia Madsen has joined the cast of Warner Bros.’ RED RIDING HOOD as the mother of Amanda Seyfried’s character, reports Variety. She joins a cast that includes Shiloh Fernandez, Max Irons, Julie Christie, Gary Oldman and Lukas Haas. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight), the movie is scheduled for a March 11, 2011 release. The film is a gothic horror re-imagining of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. Seyfried will play a woman in a medieval village being terrorized by a werewolf…

FILM BIZ NEWS

Netflix, Inc. and Relativity Media, LLC announced a long term agreement through which major theatrically released films owned by Relativity will be licensed directly and exclusively to Netflix for streaming to its subscribers during the “pay TV window.” Traditionally, these films have flowed through Relativity’s studio releasing partners to output deals with premium TV channels. Under the agreement, an increasing amount of popular contemporary movies previously encumbered by pay TV agreements with premium channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz will become available to be streamed from Netflix months – and not years – after their release on DVD. It will be the first time that studio quality theatrical feature films will be streamed via subscription by Netflix instead of being broadcast by the traditional pay providers, and it opens up a new revenue stream for such movies…

Earlier this year, James Cameron mentioned that they were targeting a spring 2012 release for the 3D version of Titanic. Now we have a more specific month. It looks like Cameron talked about the 3D release at the 100th birthday party for Gloria Stuart, who played the older Rose in the film. While it’s not a direct quote, the Los Angeles Times article said: …said the director, who’s converting the blockbuster into 3-D for re-release in April 2012, the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking. The date makes sense as the RMS Titanic set off on April 10, 1912 and struck an iceberg and sank on April 14…

YouTube is joining world famous filmmakers Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald in asking people around to world to create the first user-generated feature-length documentary film shot on a single day – July 24, 2010. LIFE IN A DAY is a historic global film experiment that enlists the global community to capture a moment of their lives on Saturday, July 24 and to upload that footage to YouTube.com/LifeinaDay. Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (State of Play, Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void) will direct, bringing together the most compelling footage into a feature-length documentary film. The project will be executive produced by Ridley Scott (Robin Hood, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down) and produced by his company Scott Free Productions. Individuals whose footage makes it into the finished film will be credited as co-directors and 20 of these contributors will be flown to the 2011 Sundance Film Festival for the film’s world premiere…

FILM TRAILER NEWS!

The trailer for LET ME IN, the American remake of the fantastic Swedish vampire film “Let the Right One In,” has hit the Internet. Directed by Matt Reeves (“Cloverfield”), the film stars Chloe Moretz (“Kick-Ass”) as a bloodsucker. There is no way it will be as good as the original:

AT THE MULTIPLEX

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE is breaking all kinds of box-office records, and with good reason: it’s arguably the most entertaining live action Hollywood film this summer. With its slick camerawork from an edgier director (David Slade of “Hard Candy” fame), robust character development and tongue-in-cheek attitude, it’s the best “Twilight” film to date and a fun way to spend two hours in an air-conditioned room…

…Until next week!

Tags: andrew garfield, Blog, let me in, marlow stern