James Vanderbilt to Pen 'Spider-Man 4'


by Paul William Tenny

James Vanderbilt (who?) has been tagged by Sony to pen the script for Spider-Man 4, continuing the revovling door of scribes for the franchise which is now on its third writer in four films. Seems a little odd, with the tremendous success thus far, that they can't manage to hang on to a single writer for more then two flicks, doesn't it? And they are kind of taking a big risk handing this thing to a guy who hasn't done anything notable in his career, too. Of course I'm actually happy when that happens, since it means there's a rare opportunity to actually be surprised for once.

The trade has no information about the potential "Spider-Man 4" plot except to promise that the franchise will return to its two-villain-per-film roots, after the "Spidey 3" triple-threat was lambasted by critics. [..] Vanderbilt's take is expected to be more character-driven, in keeping with his most acclaimed credit, the fact-based thriller "Zodiac." Other credits for Vanderbilt include "Darkness Falls," "Basic" and "The Rundown."

I'm not a huge fan of these films but I saw the first two, and I don't recall either one having more than one villain. Will somebody explain that to me? Ah well, congratulations to Vanderbilt for the big score. Too bad he can't actually start working on it until the coming strike ends.
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3 Comments

ZODIAC is an effin' masterpiece that received plenty of critical accolades, and there is no doubt that you'll see it deservedly nominated for an Oscar next year. I'd say that's pretty notable.
It'll get a nod for best adapted screenplay, guaranteed. Regardless, it's one of the best scripts of the year. Vanderbilt's a damned good writer (I've read some of his unproduced work as well) and a team player, which is why he got the gig.

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