Spider Pause: Rehearsals for Julie Taymor’s Spider-Man musical have been pushed back from this spring to the fall, with an opening now slated for the Hilton Theatre in early 2010. Apparently the push-back has nothing to do with any newfound budget consciousness — the play’s currently at a cost of $31 million, the most expensive Broadway show ever &— but has “still-unresolved creative decisions.†Which is why we’re going to call this schedule shuffle the “holy shit, we just realized we’re making a musical out of Spider-Man†delay. [Bloomberg via Playbill]
Dennehy Does O’Neill Again: In less insane Broadway news, the Chicago production of Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms — starring Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino, and Pablo “Nicky Sobotka†Schreiber — is coming to the St. James Theatre in April. Dennehy plays Ephraim Cabot, whose new wife (Gugino) has an affair with his son (Schreiber). Although knowing the work of these fine thespians, we wouldn’t be surprised if they were rotating the roles by the end of previews. [Variety]
Morgan Gets Animated: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays the Comedian in Watchmen, is set to star in another comic-book adaptation, DC-Vertigo’s The Losers. The plot revolves around a team of black-ops commandos who seek vengeance after barely escaping a death trap set by their own government. The movie will be directed by Sylvain White of Stomp the Yard — so is it too much to ask for a spinning-on-heads-centric, dance-off, commando-evil-government showdown? [Variety]
Girls on TV: Casting-of-female-leads-in-pilots news! Jenna Elfman will star in CBS’ Accidentally on Purpose, about a San Francisco film critic who gets pregnant as a result of a fling with a younger man, while Amy Smart is set for ABC’s See Cate Run, about a young lawyer who will one day be a top contender for president. In related news, Varsity Blues was on TBS again last night — does Smart really ever have to work again? [HR]
Spy Games: Stephen Gaghan will adapt Jon Stock’s espionage novel Dead Spy Running for Warner Bros., with McG attached to direct. No highfalutin metaphor in that title — apparently the book is called that because it starts off during the London Marathon, where some dude is running while strapped with explosives. Promising! Also, apparently Gaghan doesn’t get to direct anymore after Syriana, probably because studios like movies that make sense. [HR]
Combs to Croon?: Uh-oh: Sean “Diddy†Combs has a new album — called Last Train to Paris, a self-proclaimed combination of electronic, hip-hop, soul, and funk — coming out in September. Diddy says: “I’m ushering in a new movement called ‘train music.’ I am going to show the world a new refreshing side of me. [The album] is deeper than any other stuff I have ever made. It’s a profound love story.†Yeah, we’re pretty sure that means he’ll be singing. Damn you, Kanye! [Billboard]