Larry Ratliff

'Spidey 4' caught up in a tangled script web

(Courtesy:  Columbia Pictures)

If you've already marked May 11, 2011 on your calendar to catch the fourth big-screen "Spider-Man" extravaganza, you may have to look for something else to occupy your time that day.

According to an article posted on the Hollywood Reporter Web site and other sources, "Sony and director Sam Raimi are at loggerheads over which direction to go with the villains."

It sounds very much like an impasse that could delay this spring's production launch and, of course, the May 2011 release date.  The good news, anxious Spidey fans, is that you have a little time to pencil something else in for May 11 next year.

According to the Hollywood Reporter article, Raimi, who has been in the director's chair for all three previous Spidey adventures, wants the Vulture as the primary antagonist for the third sequel.

The movie studio is said to be pushing for another villain and a romantic sub-plot involving a burglar dubbed the Black Cat.

'Scuse me, but I have a question.  Is a third sequel really necessary?

Yes and no.  No from an artistic viewpoint, especially since the franchise's visionary leader can't see eye-to-eye with studio suits over Spider-Man's rival and a sub-plot or two.

But yes, oh YES, when it comes to bottom-line Hollywood economics.  The Spidey franchise is a runaway money-making machine.

Methinks if Raimi rages against the machine too much, even the creative genius behind the comic book-to-big screen transformation could become a victim himself going up against the multi-billion dollar revenue machine.

'Thor' goes Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman as Alice in Mike Nichols' "Closer."  (Sony Pictures)

What?  You're a movie actor and you haven't appeared in a comic book transformation yet?

Who's your agent?  What's the matter with him/her?

That's no longer a problem for Natalie Portman.  The co-star of "The Other Boleyn Girl" and "My Blueberry Nights" will co-star opposite Chris Hemsworth and serve as the title character's love interest, according to an item posted on the Variety Web site.

"In the pic, the actions of Thor, an arrogant Norse warrior, reignites an ancient war, and as a result, he's cast down to Earth, where he is forced to live among humans as punishment. Once there, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth," the article says.  (Click here to read it in its entirety).

Portman, one of the big screen's more versatile actresses, has been plenty busy lately.  According to the Variety article, she's currently shooting Universal's comedy "Your Highness," which is being directed by former Texas resident David Gordon Green and will also star in Darren Aronofsky's supernatural-thriller "Black Swan," just to name a couple of her current projects. 

Screen life beyond 'X-Men' Reynolds wrap

Good news, "X-Men" fans, a "Deadpool" spin-off for Ryan Reynolds appears to be in the works.

According to an item posted on the Hollywood Reporter Web site, Reynolds is attached to reprise the wise-cracking mercenary proficient in swordplay he performed in "X-Men Origins:  Wolverine."

"Deadpool is known as 'the merc with a mouth,' a character that under Reynolds lived up to his billing in 'Wolverine' until the end, when the movie deviated from the comic book persona, imbuing him with several superpowers and sewing his mouth shut," says the Hollywood Reporter article.

Before all that, though, look for Reynolds opposite Sandra Bullock in "The Proposal," a romantic-comedy opening June 19.

(Photo:  Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool in "X-Men Origins:  Wolverine."/Twentieth Century Fox.)