I can fully understand the thinking behind Sony's 'unconfirmed' chasing of the great
Phillip Seymour Hoffman to play a major villain in their new '
Spider-Man' reboot. He is, after all, a God amognst his peers. His intensity in that famous opening scene of 'Mission Impossible III' made a successful tentpole in just a few short minutes of screentime. If a hero is only as a good as the villain, they you try and hire Hoffman to play the bad guys, always. No matter the genre. What I can't understand and I've been trying to get my head around it since
Mike Fleming broke the story a few hours ago, is why he is being sought to play Eddie Brock, aka Venom? I almost had to read the sentence three times to believe it. Surely someone got their wires crossed in communication on that one, and he's actually being sought to play another villain? Hoffman is way to old to play Brock, he's physically the opposite of every incarnation of the character I've ever seen, and haven't Sony learned their lesson from the last movie? I understand Venom is the marquee Spider-Man villain for this generation of video game/comic book nerds but really, we don't need to go there again. Trust me. I love Hoffman, one of my favourite working actors. Just today I watched his slimy, sweety, unnerving turn in 'Doubt' - captivated by an actor at the very top of his game. He would make a great Kingpin, Doc. Ock or The Lizard. But not Venom, surely? And isn't this an 'origin do-over' for Spider-Man, it doesn't make a cent of sense to include Venom in such a story. Just bizarre and if it was a story that had broke at any other source, I simply wouldn't have bothered typing it up.
Deadline also give us the latest update on the rather boring saga of who is circling the female leads of this 'love triangle' movie as Peter Parker flirts between the two loves of his early life; Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy. 'Glee's'
Dianna Agron (nope... don't know her) and Indie actress
Georgina Haig (don't know her either) have joined the chase. Agron (left, above) actually screentested for the movie last night, though her 'Glee' contract might prove problematic if Sony pushed for her. They join the remaining contenders who are said to be
Emma Stone (gorgeous girl out of 'Zombieland' and 'Easy A', who feels so far above her 21 years of age that I fear she might not be able to dumb herself down for this),
Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and
Dominique McElligott (she played Sam Rockwell's Earth-bound wife in 'Moon' last year).
Less than thrilling choices, eh, for either parts - but it seems Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy could come from that pool.