"Amazing Spider-man 2" discussion

[Christopher]

Even when you think of our only other comics red head - Black Widow - they did integrate her more glamourous side into the character we got in the movie.

"Only other comics redhead?" What about Jean Grey or Mystique? Or Banshee or Daredevil? Or Jimmy Olsen? Not to mention the huge number of redheads who haven't been in movies yet -- Medusa, Rachel and Hope Summers, Carnage, Barbara Gordon, Lana Lang, Poison Ivy, Wally West, Batwoman, Miss Martian, Guy Gardner, Mera, Red Sonja, Caitlin Fairchild, etc.

Redheads are disproportionately common in comics, partly because of the limited color palettes of old comics, and partly because red hair is visually striking. Heck, even Lex Luthor was a redhead when he had hair.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with a non super-model MJ it's just... hey she was a model and actress in the comics for almost 30-40 years - nearly as long as she's been around. The ore "brainy" MJ is still fairly 'new' - even if it's a concept that's almost 10-13 years old at this point.

Okay, there's a certain logic flaw here. What I'm hearing is "This MJ must not be an actress or a model because she looks like Shailene Woodley." But... Shailene Woodley is an actress -- otherwise we wouldn't be talking about whether she's the right person to play a character in a movie. In fact, she's a rather successful actress who's been getting a whole bunch of awards and nominations for a few years now. And she has, in fact, been modeling since she was four years old.

 

[Nagisa Furukawa]

Not to mention the huge number of redheads who haven't been in movies yet -- Lana Lang, Poison Ivy.

Both of these characters have appeared in live action movies and both with red hair.

 

[Trekker4747]

Not to mention the huge number of redheads who haven't been in movies yet -- Lana Lang, Poison Ivy.

Both of these characters have appeared in live action movies and both with red hair.

Yeah the "Face it, Tiger..." bit is what I think of when I think of MJ where she's shown to be a stunning, red-haired, beauty.

Again, this is not to malign the looks of the young woman who got the part -she's perfectly attractive- but she's not jaw-droppingly "jackpot" gorgeous like the iconic panel from Spider-man.

Remains to be seen though, I'm not ready to write off the actress or the movie yet, it's just a little oddity in the casting is all. How it comes across on screen will matter, much, much more.

 

[Christopher]

Not to mention the huge number of redheads who haven't been in movies yet -- Lana Lang, Poison Ivy.

Both of these characters have appeared in live action movies and both with red hair.

Oops. I got so caught up in tracking down examples that I forgot what my parameters were. And admittedly, when I thought about Lana Lang, I only remembered Kristin Kreuk, even though Annette O'Toole's Lana was the best thing about Superman III.

Anyway, the point is, comics = lots o' gingers.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

Not to mention the huge number of redheads who haven't been in movies yet -- Lana Lang, Poison Ivy.

Both of these characters have appeared in live action movies and both with red hair.

Yeah the "Face it, Tiger..." bit is what I think of when I think of MJ where she's shown to be a stunning, red-haired, beauty.

But again they seem to be going for the Ultimate version of the charater, you know like they did for Bucky Barnes, Iron Man, Nick Fury, Captain America's costume, when they used to Chitauri instead of the Skrulls, and the Hulk's backstory.

 

[Thestral]

Yeah the "Face it, Tiger..." bit is what I think of when I think of MJ where she's shown to be a stunning, red-haired, beauty.

Again, this is not to malign the looks of the young woman who got the part -she's perfectly attractive- but she's not jaw-droppingly "jackpot" gorgeous like the iconic panel from Spider-man.

Remains to be seen though, I'm not ready to write off the actress or the movie yet, it's just a little oddity in the casting is all. How it comes across on screen will matter, much, much more.

This whole line of discussion =

Anyway, the point is, comics = lots o' gingers.

As it should be.

 

[DigificWriter]

The point I tried to make with what I said re: MJ seems to have been missed, so here's what I was trying to get across: no-one should be dismissing an actress because she doesn't fit the 616 comics description of MJ. Just because there were some 'unflattering' images of Woodley that surfaced should mean absolutely nothing with regards to whether or not she was right for the part.

 

[Gaith]

... Again, this is not to malign the looks of the young woman who got the part -she's perfectly attractive- but she's not jaw-droppingly "jackpot" gorgeous like the iconic panel from Spider-man...

This whole line of discussion =

I couldn't agree more. So long as she never hears Spider-Man and Peter Parker use the same phrase in less than five in-movie continuity minutes and still fails to realize they're the same guy, I expect I'll be happy.

 

[Darth Duck]

"If You Think Shailene Woodley Isn't Pretty Enough For The Amazing Spider-Man 2, You Don't Deserve This Movie"

You know why she doesn't look like the character from the comics, with an exaggerated waist and enormous breasts? Because she's a fucking human being, with a bone structure and muscles and fat and all the things that allow her to move about in the world, not just to sit down and pose like a sex fantasy. The Amazing Spider-Man made a concerted effort toward making Peter Parker's world realer, making the flirtation between him and Gwen Stacy feel more authentic and even the costumes more realistic. Shailene Woodley, who showed amazing naturalism in The Descendants as well as her acclaimed Sundance film The Spectacular Now, ought to fit into that perfectly. To criticize her natural looks is to miss the entire aesthetic of the franchise as Marc Webb has re-imagined it.

I think the role of Mary-Jane is in safe hands. Ms. Woodley was fan-freaking-tastic in The Descendants.

 

[Aldo]

I knew I recognized her from somewhere. Not a bad movie, The Descendants, bit too depressing for me.

And I agree, she's a terrific actress. The role is in good hands.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

it still looks implausibly high-tech for something a high-schooler put together in his bedroom.

Yep. I've always longed for a Spidey movie in which the suit looks like cheap store-bought rubbish. Kinda like Kick-Ass.

The caption for this photo says it was from filming 'a few days ago'. However, it looks like the old suit? I'm going to assume it's bullshit reporting though as it's from The Daily Fail but you never know...

Well it wouldn't be the first super hero movie to change the suit during in the movie instead of between movies. So it could just be that he starts Amazing 2 in the old suit and at some point switches to the new one.

Also It doesn't look exactly like the Rami suit, frankly it looks a little better than it, mostly the eyes.

 

[Greg Cox]

My friends at Tor Books report that they're actually filming the movie outside the Flatiron Building today.

 

[Christopher]

I wonder if they're using it to represent the Daily Bugle again. That might be a little confusing, continuity-wise.

 

[Greg Cox]

I wonder if they're using it to represent the Daily Bugle again. That might be a little confusing, continuity-wise.

I can't remember. Did we see the Bugle in that last movie?

 

[Christopher]

I can't remember. Did we see the Bugle in that last movie?

We saw copies of the actual physical newspaper as props or set dressing, but we didn't see the Bugle's building, offices, or personnel.

 

[Thestral]

Have we heard anything about this movie having a JJJ? Raimi's version was perfect, and slightly toned down I'd love to see him in Webb's movies.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Nothing regarding Jonah so far.

 

[Christopher]

Raimi's version was a perfect Lee/Ditko Jameson, but a bit more broad and one-note than the more nuanced, often-heroic Jameson developed by later writers. Although the JJJ of the past few years' comics is broader again, more J. K. Simmons-like, unsurprisingly.

Ever since I saw him as the grouchy, acerbic CIA boss in Undercovers, I've felt that Gerald McRaney would make a fantastic Jameson. I doubt very much I'll get my wish, though.

 

[Captaindemotion]

I used to think that R. Lee Ermey from Full Metal Jacket and other movies would be a good JJJ but he'd be far too old now.

I still think that they could do a Judi Dench/ M and get JK Simmons back even in a new continuity.

 

[Gaith]

^ Agreed.