How dead is Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark today? Maybe even deader than it was on Wednesday! Earlier this week, Michael Riedel reported that Julie Taymor’s troubled, over-budget, on-hiatus musical had released its actors — including Evan Rachel Wood (Mary Jane) and Alan Cumming (the Green Goblin) — from their contracts. In today’s Post, Riedel says that Wood’s agents are scrambling to get her back into movies she turned down to do Spider-Man. “As far as they’re concerned, it’s over … She’s available for other work,†claims a source.
According to David Garfinkle, the show’s blundering (reportedly!) producer, Spider-Man is still aiming to begin previews on February 25 — production has simply been “suspended†and will resume again when “cash flow issues have been resolved.†If it does, though, he may not be a part of it. Director Taymor and scorers Bono and the Edge are allegedly “steaming†and “embarrassed†over Spider-Man’s money problems, and Riedel says Chicago producers Fran and Barry Weissler have been asked to step in, though it seems like anyone smart enough to rescue this thing is smart enough not to get involved. But at least that Whatever Works sequel is back on the table!