Sam Raimi talks Spidey4 and Evil Dead
2:00 AM, 17-OCTOBER-07
Raimi Talks Spidey 4, Evil Dead
Filmmaker Sam Raimi told reporters that he's met with Spider-Man producers about a new direction for the series, leaving open the possibility he'll helm a fourth installment.
Although Raimi is not contracted to direct Spider-Man 4, he has been meeting with producers Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin and Sony studio head Amy Pascale about finding a new direction for the series. "Right now, Sony is meeting with different writers to try and bring a fresh, new story and approach to the Spider-Man franchise," Raimi said at a press conference on Oct. 17 to promote the upcoming horror film 30 Days of Night, which he produced under his Ghost House Pictures banner. "Different writers have been coming in and spinning different tales of where Spider-Man could go from here."
Raimi added that he would consider directing the fourth film but it would "depend on a lot of things." "Sony would have to ask me to do it, and the story would have to work," he said. "Because I don't think I just know the answer to that right now. Except it would be great—because I love Spider-Man—if we could find the right story. But whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be a great story. A lot of people are working very hard to work on a really good story right now."
Raimi also talked about some of his other high-profile projects, including a proposed Evil Dead remake. Raimi said that he is still interested in rebooting the franchise with a new director and a bigger budget than his original 1981 release.
"I know I've talked about finding a young filmmaker to reimagine and remake it at some point," Raimi said. "Because as [producing partner] Rob [Tapert] said to me, 'The movie came out in 16mm; it was a blow-up to 35. We only had 60 prints. No one ever really saw it in the theaters. Why don't we make a big-screen movie of Evil Dead in 35mm with really great actors, great director, real cameras, great soundtrack?' And I thought, 'You know, that's probably a good idea, because it was so crudely made a new filmmaker could do a good job with it.' It's just once we said that publicly, we haven't spent any time really looking for people. It's been all just talk. And it's still just talk right now. I've been so busy. We would like to do that at some point."
Also in the pipeline is the third film in the Grudge franchise, which is currently in the script stage. "There is a writer working on a Grudge 3 right now," Raimi said. "He's working on the screenplay. And he's going to be getting notes from us in about a week and going to go back to work on a second draft. We're trying to finish it before the [possible] writers' strike."
And what of the rumors that Raimi is interested in directing the Lord of the Rings prequel film, The Hobbit, should Peter Jackson be unable to work out his differences with New Line? He admitted that he is interested, but would still love to see Jackson at the helm.
"I think there's no better choice to direct The Hobbit than Peter Jackson," Raimi said. "I'm a giant fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Peter Jackson's a brilliant filmmaker. And he would be the guy I think everybody would like to see direct it. And I hear they're talking, too, from reading the trade magazines. I don't really know firsthand. But that's good. Hopefully he will direct and give us his great version of it. ... If he doesn't direct it and decides just to produce it, I'd love to be considered as the director."
If The Hobbit does come his way, it likely won't conflict with any other directing projects, as Raimi is planning to take some time off before stepping back behind the camera.
"I think it's too early for me right now," he said. "Just because I'm still busy with the producing duties on the Ghost House pictures and finishing up, believe it or not, all these DVD details. Just, like, two weeks ago did I finish up all the last of the Spider-Man 3 DVD details. Only now am I unemployed for a brief period of time. So I'm trying not to look at anything just now." —Cindy White
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