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Today’s Strangest SPIDER-MAN Story! Details Leaked On The Julie Taymor/U2 Musical!
Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I am profoundly weirded out by this. I love U2. I’m intrigued by Julie Taymor. And SPIDER-MAN’s pretty much a given in my household.
But this is just sounding wackadoo to an alarming degree.
We had about six people send us this all at once, so I assume it just went live on PLAYBILL’s website. Here’s my favorite passage from the casting breakdowns:
The character breakdowns provide some insight to plot points as the character Arachne ("female, 20-35 years old, any ethnicity") is described as "a beautiful, boastful young woman turned into a spider for her hubris and lack of respect for the gods. She subsequently appears to Peter Parker and the audience as in turn a powerful spider-woman who comes from another time to inspire Peter; an otherworldly lover; a bride; a terrifying (and sexy) dark goddess of vengeance; a dance partner in a charged and violent spiders dance of death; and, finally, a lonely, fragile young woman." Casting is seeking a "strong Celtic, Balkan style, e.g., Sinead O'Connor," noting, "outside the box ideas are welcomed. Could be someone from the music industry."
Ummmm... yeah. Right.
Anybody know what she’s talking about?
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
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Oh yeah!!!
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STRAIGHT FROM THE PAGES OF MARVLEL!
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Anything this bizarre deserves my money.
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I am proud. Plus, I agree that U2 rocks.
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...and Marvel.
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As long as he doesn't have flames, nipples, or jumps sharks.
PS: The station I work at plays U2...I hate them with a passion at this point. OVEREXPOSURE! -
Someone had to do it.
Seriously though, if she's as whacked out as recent events suggest, this could be one of the most interesting train wrecks in a long time. -
in my country opens 3 days earlier than the US!!
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And what's a Julie Taymor?
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away from spiderman 4
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nah, that's not it either..
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i'm excited by new U2 music. bono is my hero.
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this is awesome. it's madness. it's so weird that i can't help but be very excited.
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Perhaps I've been out of the loop for a while, but what the fuck have U2 been doing since 'Everything You Can't Leave Behind'? I love their early stuff ('Boy', 'October', 'War') and to some extent their '90s misadventures, but lately I feel like a once-great stadium band comparable to the epicness of Led Zeppelin has been arsing around like the Pope's bitch and supporting undeniably worthwhile causes yet neglecting the true rock staples of drug-induced self-destruction and wrecking of hotel rooms. With age comes grace? Tell that to Richard Harris, who told Bruce Willis to fuck off.That said, Irish punk still stirs my blood and this Taymor woman is a demented genius.Slightly off-topic but because I mentioned the sadly-deceased demigod, let's everyone raise a glass to Richard Harris, who maintained and emboldened the spirit of rock until his demise. Well done, sir.
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Taymor is talented, but she's also profoundly pretentious and she probably should not be in charge of a Spider-Man musical, which is a a bad idea in the first place. She will NOT be satisfied with Spider-Man's pulp roots; she will want to justify doing a musical based on a comic book character in as intellectual a way as possible. This is why A) I believe this story and B) why, if we have to have a Spidey musical, that Taymor should not, ultimately, be in charge; she's still afraid about what "intellectuals" will say about her. Get Andrew Lloyd Webber; not only is he immune to criticism, his name lends itself to the bad puns a Spidey musical demands.
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it's a freaking spiderman musical directed by julie taymor with music written by bono and the edge. of course it's not going to be like the comic. it's gonna be awesome!
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they did an okay album called 'how to disassemble an atomic bomb'. my favorite song on it is 'original of the species'.
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HA! "Bug.." How fitting!
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that U2 churned out a song for Batman Forever that was infinitely better than the film. I don't give a fuck about Spider-Man but new music by U2 and more madness by Julie Taymor has me intrigued. She can be as pretentious as she likes: she made a version of Titus that was better than the fucking play.By the way, Pound Sand... thanks for making me laugh! Nicely done, sir.
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Does April Fools Day fall on the 16th this year? They're kidding... right?
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As a long-time U2 fan, this story has a bit of deja vu. Back in 1991 Bono and Edge composed and recorded a piece for a London stage adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, and it's one of the strangest (and coolest) things I've heard them do. If you can hunt down the CD single for The Fly off Achtung Baby you'll find it as a b-side, with the title "Alex Descends into Hell For a Bottle of Milk/Korova 1". Worth looking for. U2 aren't quite that creative or daring any more, but you never know what these guys might come up with outside the auspices of the band proper. Taymor is pretty brilliant herself, so despite how awful this sounds on paper my interest is definitely piqued.
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Yeah, no shit.
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see above.
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Seriously. This is a musical, it's about big gestures. Arachne certainly fits both the comic book and the musical world. Okay, U2 is a little strange, and Julie Taymor is perhaps too much style, not enough story for this kind of thing.
But Glen Berger? Seriously? Underneath The Lintel Glen Berger. THAT'S bizarre. -
can be found on itunes.
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Apr 16, 2007 11:03:19 PM CDT
If you are planning on buying a ticket to this musical-
by wyld stallyns rules
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Seriously now.
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from some kind of grand female archtype? Sounds like she took some women's studies class, did some drugs, and watched Spider-Man 1, in that order!
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to 3rd world debt relief, so Bono said he would write the music.
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Perhaps someone could actually explain what the article is talking about? Nothing in this post makes sense.
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You know they want one
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Arachne was in the comics. It's not that amazing or weird.
You can see the character profile on Marvel.com
Or just wiki Julia Carpenter (comics).
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Seriously, they are.
"Also, a'Geek Chorus' consisting of 'three teenage boys and one girl' are described to 'meet to ritualistically retell the greatest Spider-Man stories.'"
Uh-huh. Sounds like "Spider-Rent". -
I mean it sounds ridiculous but it can't be worse than the movies as far as I'm concerned. As I was reading the article it didn't seem so bad actually. And besides I liked Titus and Frida and was impressed with the Across the Universe trailer. Hmm... I'm interested to see what happens with this.
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http://www.evildeadthemusical.com/Me thinks NOT!
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I remeber some bizarre ass character from the cartoon named madame web, she was kinda like spidey's watcher. It was weird, but in the world of Taymor, if it's this kind of character, it'll work
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Did Will Ferrell and Rachel Dratch write a spidey script in the hot tub? My other worldly lover?
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Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote a short short story called "The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" which feturw a girl tuened into a spidewr for not obeying her parents.? Maybe related. Great Short Story
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Dont flame me my keyboard is black and my light is dim.
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and it still has nothing to do with Spider-Man's origin story, and she's not a mystical character. It sounds like the Lion King mixed with Bat Boy.
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It is about a woman who weaves beautiful cloths. She defies the gods by saying her weavings are more beautiful than Athena's. Athena challenges her to a weaving competition, and when Arachne wins, Athena goes ballistic. She turns arachne into the first spider as punishment. Arachne is turned into an ugly and dreaded insect that weaves beautiful webs. Her name became the basis for the work Arachnid.
You can read more about her here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachne -
Apr 17, 2007 12:59:08 AM CDT
Here's a cautionary tale about superhero musicals....
by cokemachineglow
Remember the aborted Batman musical? - http://tinyurl.com/3asvco.
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so it'll piss off the fanboys. big deal. it's not like they have good taste anyway -- if it's a comic book, they'll see it with very few exceptions. very few. ghost rider for instance. so this movie might exist, it's a fantastic idea and if you don't like the idea of it, don't see it. it's not like the idea of a musical spider-man was high on most of your radars anway.
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its a musical.
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so why not spider man....:-P
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The legend of Arachne will be told, probably as a prologue to the play, then the same actress will appear as different characters representing Arachne to Peter Parker throughout the play...the final character she appears as will be the only real person she plays...a fragile young woman who Peter saves.
The Greek Chorus will be used to talk about all the Superhero battles that Spider-man has fought, in order to keep the budget down and focus on the human problems (Is he cursed by the gods to become a spider? Is he blessed?) that Peter faces.
The more you think about it--this is kind of a cool take on it--to make it Mythological. And as composers, Bono and The Edge rarely disappoint--my only regret is that U2 isn't performing this as they still KICK ASS as a live show.
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I have no doubt this will be imaginative and have moments of great beauty. Taymor bringing her puppeteering and visual styles to the mix will make this as interesting a reinvention as The Lion King. I have no doubt Marvel will keep a close eye on the material, same as Disney did, so that'll be, you know, whatever. The exciting thing will be how Taymor brings the web-slinging and swinging to the stage. I have no doubt that she will, and that it'll be visually unique and interesting.
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Just saying.
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It sounds like Madame Webb from the comics, only as a hottie. And I always felt bad for Arachne because of how Athena screwed her over in the story. Athena screwed a lot of women over...
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Arachne pissed off Athena (I believe) and Athena turned her into a spider. But, I'm pretty sure that the greeks never mentioned Peter Parker in the original story.
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fall? They had a trailer for it in front of MEET THE ROBINSONS... and as a fan (who didn't care for most of their 90's output post-Achtung Baby) it looks and sounds AMAZING!
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"What the FUCK?!?"
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I aint got time to bleed!
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if you know what I mean (or rather hope)
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Off-topic, but wouldn't it be interesting if in Raimi's Spiderman movies Parker starts to lose his organic web-shoting powers and has to use his scientific genius to re-place them with mechanical ones? I thought this is what Raimi might have been leading up to when Parker/Spiderman started to lose his powers in Spiderman 2. Maybe Parker will just have a natural decline in his powers, and then he could put together the classic comic-book mechanical web-shooters. That all said, I have little interest in a Julie Taymor Spiderman musical. Just seems odd.
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Tina Turner as Arachne...Nathan Lane as Blaster...And bungee fighting inside a geodesic dome Jungle Gym! "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls...dancin' time's here!"
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October, War, Boy, Wide Awake in America, Under a Blood Red Sky, The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree & Rattle & Hum are just hardcore kick-ass stuff. Everything else is just window dressing.
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It seems they are trying to incorporate an element of classic Greek drama into the story with this mysterious character who "comes from another time to inspire Peter." Much like a Muse or the role of the Greek Chorus. And perhaps Madame Web and/or Spider-Woman 3 (Mattie Franklin) were part of the inspiration. I hope it does well. It would be nice to see a popular marvel hero like Spider-Man in a unique medium.
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sounds stupid
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...has really already been laid.Spider Man: Rock Reflections of a Superhero was something of a rock opera released back in 1975 (on LP). It was in my older brother's collection and I listened to it pretty endlessly as a kid. The music wasn't half bad, either.They should go ahead and wirte a semi-campy musical around those tunes and leave the high art concept to the high folks.
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U2's record label sued the band without U2's knowledge. If I'm not mistaken, U2 attempted to either lend financial assistance for the legal troubles, or at least convinced their own side to back off. There's actually a recording of the guys from Negativland surprising Edge on a radio talk show, not knowing they were going to be on the air. An intelligent discussion about fair use ensued, and I think anyone who listened that broadcast would say that Edge was honestly sympathetic. Also, Edge has been very vocal about being favor of downloading and music sharing, though I imagine with the amount of money he has at this point it's not a tough stance for him to take. The only thing U2 is guilty of is being a a popular band on a major label (this combined with their media saturation makes them an easy target), and I assure you they've taken more chances with their sound and fans over the years than any other you might try to name. While many only seem to like the 80's, self-righteous version of the band, they explored much more sonic and thematic territory in the 90's than they are given credit for, much of it ahead of its time in pop music. The recent "back to basics" incarnation of the band does seem slightly watered down, but they're a hell of a lot more vital 25+ years into their career than the Rolling Stones were at the same time. And as noted by others, they still KILL live. The 3-D film is going to sway a lot of non-believers.
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Combining Greek mythology with the origin of Spider-Man actually elevates the comic character to the level of modern mythos as part of our shared cultural consciousness, not 'just' a comic book character known only to comics fans. *** On the other hand, for those comics fans, the idea of the cliche of a super-hero origin being related to Greek Mythology (Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman) for a character who exists in a universe with mythological entities such as Thor, Hercules, Ares and Toomazooma seems... well, no, that's perfectly acceptable. But ret-con altering Spidey's origin at this point is like adding Mopee to the origin of The Flash (Or Krypto to Superman). So this may be intrusive for comics geeks, but for the mainstream majority using the iconic Spider-Man as a character in a play not directly inspired by the Steve Ditko/Stan Lee comics is not that much weirder than "Jesus Christ, Superstar" or "Springtime For Hitler". (Or the use of such non-canon, non-Ditko-created villains as "New Goblin/Black Goblin" and "Veman" in the as yet unnamed third entry of the Spider-Man film franchise.)
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..is fucked up. Oh, well. It might be awesome!
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Thank you Lazarus for someone who knows the story behind Negativland. They were sued by their own record company after Island records, U2's label, sued the label that released their single.
They wnet on a radio show disguised as journalists and then confronted The Edge about it. He was cool about it all and expressed sympathy towards the band........who btw re-released the single again.
Go to their website and it's there. -
and this still sounds completely retarded.
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...for the most part. I couldn't imagine a straightforward version of the movie with your simple-minded Rodgers & Hammerstein-style songs inserted in. I would want a stage musical based on a comic book to be pretty out there. Otherwise it would be pretty hokey, since a story in the tradition of Spider-Man's origin, which is basic good-evil fight, would just come off as Oklahoma! with webslinging. Even though I've only seen her two movies, I believe that Taymor is a very gifted artist, on her way to genius, so I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt, at least until we've heard more.
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I was going to go into a nice little diatribe about all that myself... but you covered that ground quite well. And to the previous U2-basher... what the fuck does it have to do with ANYTHING that they are christian? They're Irish for fuck's sake. It's not like they're running around preaching like Underoath or Creed (were) or a zillion other shit bands.
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Apr 17, 2007 6:15:08 PM CDT
The web of the spider woman... With her velvet cape...
by flim springfield
You can run, you can scream, you can hide... But you cannot escape!
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First she screws with The Beatles, now this.
That's it.
I'm calling FATWA on Taymor. -
Lame. Bono is actually going to play the lead, running around in blue and red tights with his "fly" shades.
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They have a unique sound, love them or hate them.
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seriously, whom else could it possibly be.
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if this is true, then we are in for a treat. i know everyone will think not, but watch TITUS. i also saw Lion King on broadway, make fun of me all you want, but the production designs were mind blowing. i cannot wait, if this is true.
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If you'd like to check out the Wikipedia page about the incident (created I'm sure by one of Negativland's fans, as it's part of their entry)you'll see that I'm right about The Edge's reaction and the band's actions following the surprise discussion. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negativland#The_U2_record_incident] The only thing that you have right is that it was for Mondo 2000. You clearly have a long-standing dislike of U2, which is fine, as I understand that their desire to be a huge populist band doesn't appeal to a lot of people. But there's no excuse for using that personal bias to distort the reality of that controversy just to justify the feelings you have about the band. As for The Beatles, I'm a huge fan of them as well, and while they certainly pioneered a lot of things in pop music, including backwards instruments, samples, sound collages, etc., I feel that what U2 explored on Zooropa and Pop specifically are even far more removed from their classic sound than The Beatles's GRADUAL move toward psychedelia over the course of Rubber Soul through Magical Mystery Tour. The fact that U2 lost legions of old fans isn't proof that the albums themselves sucked (as they were both critically acclaimed and went multiplatinum in sales in the U.S. and abroad), but that many weren't ready or opened-minded enough to follow them into these experimental territories. U2 doesn't need your appreciation, though. The list of artists they've worked with from Johnny Cash to Underworld to Bob Dylan to Trent Reznor, not to mention non-musicians like William Gibson, Roy Lichtenstein, Allen Ginsburg, William Burroughs, Wim Wenders are far better credentials than your approval.
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