James Franco Finally Shares His Thoughts On The Amazing Spider-Man!

James Franco Finally Shares His Thoughts On The Amazing Spider-Man!

While the Rise of the Planet of the Apes star admits that his role as Harry Osborn "was not my favourite", he finally gives his take on the upcoming reboot as well as what he thinks it will mean for the Raimi trilogy...

News
By JoshWilding - Aug 04, 2011 02:08 AM EST
Filed Under: Spider-Man
Source: Digital Spy

"I guess there's the tradition of the theatre where everybody would do their version of Hamlet and everybody would do their King Lear and that kind of thing," the actor who played Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy said when asked to share his thoughts on the upcoming reboot.

"It's a little different with movies because people like to think that films last forever, but within just 10 years you already have a new Spider-Man franchise. It's weird what that might do to the original Spider-Man films... I had a great time on the Spider-Man films and Tobey, Kirsten [Dunst] and Sam Raimi have all become lifelong friends."

"My role in those films was not my favourite but I'm okay with the new one," he added. "The thing is, the technology is advancing so fast that often the new renditions sell themselves as having the cutting-edge technology. What early versions couldn't do even five or 10 years ago, these ones can - whether that's exciting new effects or whatever."

While he doesn't seem too worried about their being a whole new franchise, Franco does seem hopeful that people won't forget the original trilogy altogether: "Sometimes it's about the new actors, but if you think about the first Batman films, those performances are great. You'll always remember Jack Nicholson as The Joker regardless of what new technology comes along."

What do you guys think of the actors comments? Be sure to share your thoughts in the usual place!


STARRING:

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy
Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors/The Lizard
Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben
Sally Fields as Aunt May
Denis Leary as George Stacy

RELEASE DATE: July 3rd, 2012.




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CherryBomb
CherryBomb - 8/4/2011, 2:56 AM
Awwh, James is such a sweetie, I'll miss him. <3
he was great, his character .. not so much though.
Berger45
Berger45 - 8/4/2011, 2:59 AM
Jack Nicholson is the greatest Joker!
nikgrid
nikgrid - 8/4/2011, 3:04 AM
Jack Nicholson Sucked as the Joker....great as Jack Nicholson. Franco was good as Harry. Marvel and the producers [frick]ed Spider-man by strong-arming Raimi into doing god-damn venom.
KungFuKoala
KungFuKoala - 8/4/2011, 3:04 AM
He makes a great point re: Batman. We'll always fondly remember Burton's Batman, and we'll always love Nolan's.

I think CBM's are their own entity and we are finally entering an era when each character will have their different "runs" and we'll all be able to argue about which of these particular runs was the best. I'm sure this all happened the first time with comic books - when a new run of Spiderman started. We have it now with the Ultimates. That mentality is just translating to films too now. It's up to the audience to accept it and get used to it. and I'm sure we'll all be discussing years from now if we preferred Maguire's or Garfield's Spiderman.
DrStrange
DrStrange - 8/4/2011, 3:18 AM
I think James Franco was one of the few good actors in the Spiderman movies, although his character was different from the Harry Osbourne in the comicbooks.
By the way; Nickelson as the Joker was a bad example. Heath Ledger's Joker was briljant!
Oxion
Oxion - 8/4/2011, 3:43 AM
......I hate Jack/Joker haters. It was a different movie from a different time with a different atmosphere. Just because something is aged don't mean the new is better. Jack did his job and Heath did his job, end of story.
ROMACK
ROMACK - 8/4/2011, 3:57 AM
He was great in "Pineapple Express" and "Your Highness". Those were two of his greatest roles.
KungFuKoala
KungFuKoala - 8/4/2011, 4:05 AM
Jack's Joker had just as much impact as Heath's. I would also argue that Heath's Joker wouldn't have had as much of an impact had he not died shortly before it's release. Don't get me wrong, he was awesome. But I think many people went to that movie in order to see his last complete performance and therefore, that's what they took away from the movie.

Jack was just plain awesome. This was before all CBMs became gritty and dark. The only previous incarnation of The Joker was of a very camp and clowny villain. Jack replaced the camp with his own charisma and humour (remember, Joker by name, Joker by nature) whilst keeping the villain grounded in Burton's uniquely dark Gotham environment. It could have all gone so horribly wrong, but Jack made it work.
VictorHugo
VictorHugo - 8/4/2011, 4:08 AM
NextHero08: "Just because something is aged don't mean the new is better."

So true, this happens in videogames all the time also, i´m sick of 1990´s and 2000´s born complaining about "old stuff". gosh, they said that 2005´s things are "old", that´s nauseating.
TheGlove
TheGlove - 8/4/2011, 4:13 AM
If they are good, they are Good. In the end that's all that matters and Those films will stand the test of time.Raimi never makes bad films.
Tim Burton's first 2 Batman Films are still great movies regardless of Nolan's films.
mickbhoy
mickbhoy - 8/4/2011, 4:58 AM
shouldnt you mention where the articles quotes come from in a news peice like this? I read this whole interview on the way home on the train last night in a free mag that they hand out at stations accross the UK.
Ryden
Ryden - 8/4/2011, 5:07 AM
Why does everyone call Jack a bad Joker? He was amazing, just because Heath was great doesn't mean anyone who came before automatically sucked, grow up people.
nikgrid
nikgrid - 8/4/2011, 5:07 AM
@NextHero08
The fact Batman was made in '89, doesn't mean anything to me. It's my opinion that Jack Nicholson played Jack Nicholson and not the Joker. Interestingly I am not a Ledger fan, and I was dubious about him playing the Joker, however when I saw that first trailer I saw The Joker and not Ledger, whereas with Batman '89 all I see is Jack.

I think it is unfair to say that the success of The Dark Knight falls to Ledger overdosing, it was just a damn good movie. Like Superman in '78 The Dark Knight changed the way we (Comic Fans) and more importantly the general public look at CBMS, Nolan did not make a just a Batman film he made an intriguing crime film, and that's why it did amazing boxoffice.
Bigbywolf
Bigbywolf - 8/4/2011, 5:20 AM
I think James Franco could have made an excellant Peter Parker. It is a shame he wasn't cast instead of Toby. I like Andrew Garfield as well and I hope the new one does well.
BackwardGalaxy
BackwardGalaxy - 8/4/2011, 5:21 AM
Jack played his Joker as totally unhinged. While I see where people get this idea that it was just "Jack being Jack" in the scenes where he was the gangster, or where he wore his "skin toned makeup", there were a great many moments where he just went batnuts insane, playing up the finer craziness of the Joker - which is a mix of dangerousness and fun. I find the argument that he was just playing Jack completely baseless. It's just people who can't see passed the star.
DrStrange
DrStrange - 8/4/2011, 5:23 AM
I certainly think Nickolson is (ofcourse!) a great actor and he was a great Joker. I was just refering to what James said; "You'll always remember Jack Nicholson as The Joker". Fact that Ledger was phenomenal (too) wasn't because of new technologies or FX's
KungFuKoala
KungFuKoala - 8/4/2011, 5:30 AM
@nikgrid - Jack wasn't just Jack in Burton's Batman. He would have been if it was the only Nicholson movie you'd ever seen (I tend to think this may be the case with most posters who argue this), but watch all his great movies Cuckoo's Nest, Easy Rider, Chinatown, The Departed, and there's not one ounce of The Joker in any of those roles.

I would also argue that TDK is not a crime film. There's no crime to solve - everyone knows who the bad guy is from the start and all he does is play games with everyone. It's a CBM heavily grounded in reality is how I see it.

BTW, TDK is in my top 5 favourite all time movies, let alone CBM's. Still think people tend to jump on the Ledger bandwagon, like I explained above.
BIGBMH
BIGBMH - 8/4/2011, 6:07 AM
I've never really been impressed with Jack's Joker, even before I saw Heath's Joker. It's nothing to do with age. It just doesn't do it for me.
AlternateNo4
AlternateNo4 - 8/4/2011, 6:14 AM
some of us hated nicholson's joker from the start... it has nothing to do with a comparison to ledger. i'm 42 and i hated him 25 years before i ever saw heath.

i was a huge fan of the 1989 film but thought nicholson was a bad choice even before it hit theaters, and my fears were confirmed. i don't need every character to be ripped from the pages of the comics... i liked penguin and catwoman despite their alterations. but i find it hard to imagine anyone that feels the essence of the joker to be captured by a fat, sluggish, pensive, balding 51 year old.

his intensity was fine, and his unhinged-vs.-intellectual angle was terrific, because he is a reasonably good actor. but you can't be a maniac without being maniacal, and that means expending at least a minimal amount of kinetic energy occasionally, not just moseying around and drawling all your lines.
alphamale80
alphamale80 - 8/4/2011, 6:14 AM
@Kung[frick]oala you hit it on the head with that one if he didn't die I don't think that movie would have been such a big deal he was decent as the but nothing special! Also nolan is a hack
Shaman
Shaman - 8/4/2011, 6:23 AM
No matter how far that stick goes up your asses, Jack will ALWAYS be remembered as being a great Joker. You can kick, scream and cry all you want, it's a fact, no matter how great Heath was in the role. BOTH performances stand on their own, side by side. And i for one amongst many, couldn't agree more with what Franco said.
Shaman
Shaman - 8/4/2011, 6:24 AM
Jesus, he didn't say "You'll always remember Jack as being a better Joker than Heath". So just STFU.
AlternateNo4
AlternateNo4 - 8/4/2011, 6:36 AM
@shaman - yes, he will ALWAYS be remembered as a great joker... and forrest gump will ALWAYS be remembered as a great movie, and ronald reagan will ALWAYS be remembered as a great US president.

it doesn't make any of those things true; it just means that most people in the world are stupid.
KungFuKoala
KungFuKoala - 8/4/2011, 6:42 AM
Haha, I was always love how if anyone mentions my username it gets censored!
Shaman
Shaman - 8/4/2011, 6:45 AM
AlternateNo4- It's not about YOUR opinion, it's about HIS statement. And what those facts you listed actually do is PROVE his statement to be true. MY point was that people should stop being all offended because they think he said Jack's Joker was better than Heath's. It always has to be a competition with people on here. If someone enjoys a Marvel film, they're automatically branded a DC hater without even mentionning DC to begin with. Same goes with Burton vs Nolan and Heath vs Jack. It's retarded.
Shaman
Shaman - 8/4/2011, 6:49 AM
Wait until he actually states that Jack was better than Heath before putting your helmets on and sharpening your pitchforks.
AlternateNo4
AlternateNo4 - 8/4/2011, 6:50 AM
@shaman - agreed, of course. this has nothing to do with a comparison, and i didn't really think you were talking to me anyway because i was careful to point out that i WASN'T comparing. i just got my briefs in a bunch because you said to stfu.

and i stand by my statements. ;)
KungFuKoala
KungFuKoala - 8/4/2011, 7:27 AM
@Splenda - what we need is a CBM neuralizer! So we can erase Spiderman 3, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Batman & Robin, Men in Black 2 (except for the scene with Michael Jackson, that's quite funny).

Any more suggestions for the CBM neuralizer pile?
AlternateNo4
AlternateNo4 - 8/4/2011, 7:32 AM
can we neuralize away green lantern? i don't think it was as bad as most people do, but it was bad enough that it's worth a do-over.
Shaman
Shaman - 8/4/2011, 7:33 AM
AlternateNo4- I actually appreciate your statement and your opinion, even if a disagree with some of it ;)

KungFuKoala
KungFuKoala - 8/4/2011, 7:40 AM
I'm waiting for the blu-ray before watching Green Lantern - I was going to add it to the list based on the majority of others' opinions, but I thought I'd look a bit of an idiot doing so when I haven't even seen it myself.

I'd would personally love to neuralize away Wolverine and First Class. Yes, First Class. I thought it was a hideous film. Poorly written, poorly acted, pretentious, smarmy and self-righteous, and unintentionally funny (in a bad way - Beast looking as scary as Teen Wolf for starters!). The only good thing about the film was the FX.
Zarog
Zarog - 8/4/2011, 7:47 AM
The first two movies were good, but the last movie, Sony took all the creative control away from Sam Raimi and made ever part of the movie so forced and bland that it kind of ruined the trilogy for me. I loved Spider-Man and now whenever I see the movie all I can think of is Spider-Man 3 and how they ruined the series.
nuck82
nuck82 - 8/4/2011, 7:57 AM
i dont know why he keeps doing all these stupid ass movies, hes a great drama actor, the best thing he ever did was that made for tv movie when he played james dean back in 2000-2001, very good movie
SpiderBat209
SpiderBat209 - 8/4/2011, 8:39 AM
Raimi screwed up by bringing in Sandman, and Sony screwed up by bringing in Venom. The Ideal and BEST follow up to Spider-Man 2 would have been a triple threat fight between Spidey, Green Goblin, and Hobgoblin in Spider-Man 3! Then Lizard & Kraven for Spidey 4. Venom for Spidey 5, and then Sinister Six. (Return of Dock Ock.) Alas, this never happened.

I'm iffy on this reboot, cuz you aren't going to find any other actors to fill the shoes of Willem DeFoe, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Elizabeth Banks, or J.K.Simmons. Franco is right to have reluctance about this new franchise but technology isn't a factor; it's what the actors have brought to the original franchise and whether or not the new cast can match, if not surpass, Raimi's Casts past performances. I'm not impressed with Andrew Garfield. Emma Stone is a Babe, but is yet to play as someone other than herself, and so forth. Guess we'll just wait and see. :P
superbatspiderman
superbatspiderman - 8/4/2011, 8:43 AM
I liked Franco in the Spider-Man films and that was his breakout role because after those movies he became a big star. I don't think this new movie will be bad or anything but I just don't see it being great. The original Spider-Man film is still one of my favorite movies ever.

Nicholson was great as the Joker in the 1989 film but the Joker of our generation is Heath Ledger he might not have looked like the Joker but he became the Joker.
CRleo1995
CRleo1995 - 8/4/2011, 8:45 AM
First off I think Jack Nicholsons version of the Joker was chubby, goofy, and definitly not intimidating but Heath Ledgers joker was legendary and almost reminisent of Malcolm McDowells, Alex deLarge and I'm not saying that cause the man is dead but it was strange, creepy and almost phycologically disturbing. But to compare a new generation of cinematic characters to being references to their original is absurd and say this because I feel that as time goes on there will, always be different interpertations of popular comicbook characters because in time they will grow old and many directors will have to refresh the franchise to give to something new to the youthful audiences. So in time Nolans batman will fade away just like Raimi's spiderman but it always be are Batman but in the future it shouldnt be seen as a technical advancement of its time but a visually presentable and almost classic film franchise of its time .
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