The actors vying to play Spider-Man continues to grow...

...with two excellent new options being added, according to The Los Angeles Times:

Since it was announced back in the winter, some have hoped/worried that Marc Webb's Spider-Man reboot will go in a "Kick-Ass" direction, a not unreasonable thought given multiple parallels between the two stories as well as the warm reception (if not exactly hot box office) that greeted "Kick-Ass."

Could it now go that way literally?

You can add two names to the growing list of (very early) candidates for the young Peter Parker, and one of them is Aaron Johnson, who played the titular nerd-hero in "Kick-Ass," sources say.

Johnson, who for months has been the subject of relentless online speculation about his suitability for the part, would indeed in many ways make an appropriate choice. His role in "Kick-Ass" saw him as a seemingly ordinary teenager transformed into a superhero, much in the way of Parker's Spider-Man. Of course, the analogy is also off in several key ways: Johnson was a fake superhero, not a real one, and his star in the film was eclipsed by Chloe Moretz's Hit-Girl.

The second actor to make his way on to the shortlist of the Sony film, according to sources, is Anton Yelchin, who has been coming on strong since his 2009 double-whammy of "Star Trek" and "Terminator Salvation".

Yelchin would have his champions too. His supporting role as Chekov in "Star Trek" didn't leave a deep impression, but he did steal the show as Kyle Reese in "Terminator Salvation."

Both of the new names are a bit more prominent than the actors who have previously surfaced. That list includes "Billy Elliot" star Jamie Bell, "Harry Potter" actor Frank Dillane, "The Kids Are All Right" costar Josh Hutcherson and up-and-comers Alden Ehrenreich and Andrew Garfield.

Of course, just the fact that these actors are being considered means little in practice. Over the last few months, director Marc Webb has canvassed a wide group of young actors with the aim of seeing which one he and and the studio should anoint to take the role previously filled by Tobey Maguire. Screen testing is expected to start shortly. And the hue and cry over whether the right choice was made will follow shortly after that.

-I'm a big Yelchin fan, but Johnson would be a very solid pick too...thoughts?

Has Jamie Bell landed the role of Spider-Man?

Well, that seems to be the hot rumor (though there's a competing rumor that it's Josh Hutcherson with the inside track to the gig), according to Cinematical:

There's been a lot of heated discussion lately as to who should don the webby red and blue. Not surprisingly, Sony wasn't really paying attention to any of it, and stuck with their final five candidates. While Drew McWeeny at HitFix heard Josh Hutcherson was very, very close to becoming the new Peter Parker, Bleeding Cool reports that Sony and Marc Webb have settled on Jamie Bell. We're trying to get an official confirmation from Sony, so stay tuned.

I think Bell is a surprising choice. He's certainly the biggest name of the bunch, and a very good actor, but his performances tend to lean towards the intense and angry. Even when he's playing a quiet secondary character, Bell is just burning up with something. It's his gift as an actor. Perhaps that's the right attitude for great power and responsibility, but Parker is supposed to be awkward, nerdy, and an unlikely hero.

It's also strange to see Sony go for one of their older picks. Remember, this Spider-Man is supposed to be set entirely in high school, and Bell is 24. He certainly looks young for his age now, but so did Tobey Maguire (who still doesn't look his age.) If Sony is aiming for another trilogy, won't they run into the same problem they did with Maguire, and have an actor who is far too mature to be believable as a teenager? He's likely to be 30 by the end of the story, or close to it.

As I said, without official confirmation all protests feel a bit too much. But what do you think of Bell as Spider-Man? Are you up in arms he's not even American? (That's sarcasm.)

UPDATE: Sony has told us that they are officially not commenting on this, which means they did not deny it, so ...

-Between Hutcherson and Bell, who would you choose?

Here are two character Posters for 'Predators'!

Thoughts?

Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes to produce a live action TMNT reboot?

That seems to be the plan, according to Collider:

Every once in awhile you hear news that in your wildest dreams you would have never predicted. Today is one of those days.

Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes (Brad Fuller and Andrew Form) are going to produce the live-action reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon! Yes, Platinum Dunes. The guys who make hard R horror movies. Their most recent movie is A Nightmare on Elm Street!

According to Deadline’s story, the producers are meeting with writers in the near future. Which means the project is still in the very early stages.

What is not in the story is what kind of tone they’re going for. Since TMNT is clearly aimed at kids and selling toys, if this is still the plan for the property, this will mark a huge departure for Platinum Dunes.

When we last reported on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the plan was for Paramount to release the movie in 2011 and they were planning on using men in suits like the previous films. Also, the production was thinking about using the same face replacement technology that helped make that Where the Wild Things Are look so damned fabulous. Perhaps they still will.

The other thing to know is Viacom (which owns Paramount and Nickelodeon paid $60 million for the rights to TMNT, which means they are going to get this film made no matter what. More as we hear it.

So what do you all think about the news? Can you imagine Michael Bay’s name in front of TMNT!?

-I'm not sure if I like this, but it could be worse, I guess...thoughts?

Has the list of actors in line to play Spider-Man thinned?

Indeed it has, and The Hollywood Reporter has the list of the finalists Marc Webb is choosing from:

Even as Alvin Sargent rewrites the script for Columbia’s rebooted “Spider-Man,” director Marc Webb has been ensnaring actors in his web(b) in his search for the new Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man.

Webb has been meeting and reading actors quietly for several months, but the list has narrowed in the past week or two. No screen tests have been conducted at this early stage (though it will be a requirement), and insiders point out that the director and studio are still on the lookout.

The candidates for the web-slinger include:

-- Jamie Bell: The 24-year-old English actor, repped by WME and Artists Independent Management, who made his film debut playing the title character in “Billy Elliot,” has been doing the proper British actor thing in period movies such as “Nicholas Nickleby” and “Jane Eyre” (he’s also appeared in Hollywood movies such as Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” and Ed Zwick’s “Defiance”). More important, he’s already stepped into the comics world by portraying Tintin in Jackson and Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin” movie, which won’t hit screens until December 2011.

-- Alden Ehrenreich: The Los Angeles-born 20-year-old has a juicy backstory, having been “discovered” by Spielberg, who saw a comedy video starring Ehrenreich at a bat mitzvah of his daughter’s friend. A couple of TV appearances followed, but the actor’s next big leap came when he was cast by Francis Ford Coppola in 2009’s “Tetro.” He is repped by WME.

-- Frank Dillane: The 19-year-old Brit’s main credit is last year’s “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” where he played a young Tom Riddle. Is a minor role in a “Potter” film a good springboard for a mega-franchise? It worked for Robert Pattinson.

-- Andrew Garfield: The L.A.-born actor had a short stint on a BBC TV series called “Sugar Rush” but gained notices for playing a young reporter in a gritty British TV movie trilogy titled “Red Riding.” The 27-year-old appeared in “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” and will be seen in David Fincher’s movie about Facebook, “The Social Network.” He is repped by CAA and the Collective.

-- Josh Hutcherson: The youngest actor of the bunch -- he turns 18 this year -- is also the one with the most experience. The past six years alone have seen the Kentucky-born kid rack up credits with key roles in Jon Favreau’s “Zathura,” drama “Bridge to Terabithia” and the upcoming “Red Dawn” remake. He appears in the Sundance hit “The Kids Are All Right,” which insider buzz suggests could be an Oscar contender, and starred with Brendan Fraser in “Journey to the Center of the Earth.”

Hutcherson, repped by ICM and Beddingfield, just signed on to star in the “Journey” sequel, and that movie could prove a fly in the ointment if the actor’s schedule collides with “Spider-Man.” (Though you can bet every effort would be made to make it work.)

The group of actors seems to fall in line with what Webb has been looking to do with his take on Spider-Man, which is to cast relative unknowns in a story that roots Parker back in high school. The movie will be an angst-ridden tale of a teen dealing with the knowledge that his uncle died even though he had the power to stop it.

Columbia wants to begin production by year’s end, but Webb and the studio are taking their time choosing the actor while Sargent gets the script in spider-shape.

A Columbia spokesperson did not comment on the casting process, saying “There have been a number of names floated online and almost every week, someone calls with a new rumor. We are not commenting on the casting process or rumors such as these.”

-I lean towards Hutcherson or Garfield...who do you prefer?

If it's not going to be Matthew Vaughn directing X-Men: First Class, then who?

Well, there's a list of 8 directors in the running, according to Cinematical:

After Bryan Singer dropped out of X-Men: First Class, I expected the rumor machine to kick into high, high gear. But things have remained relatively quiet until today, when Deadline Hollywood Daily and Entertainment Weekly reported that Matthew Vaughn had been offered the director's chair. As geeks remember, Vaughn was once offered X3: The Last Stand, and once held Thor in the palm of his hand. Losing the latter was a huge reason as to why he chose to do Kick-Ass.

However, DHD and THR's Heat Vision are already saying Vaughn has passed. Reportedly, Fox is now looking at Louis Leterrier (who could use it to nurse his wounds over not getting The Avengers), Jonathan Mostow, Daniel Espinosa, and Rupert Sanders. Timur Bekmambetov, David Slade, and Carl Erick Rinsch are also in consideration. Perhaps it might be easier to make a list who isn't up for the job!

The decision will reportedly be made next week, as Fox wants to get X-Men: First Class enrolled by the summer or fall. Personally, I'm hoping for Espinosa or Sanders. (Once upon a Night Watch, I might have rooted for Bekmambetov, but I've cooled on his style since then.) I'd like to see someone fresh come in, and get to make their mark. I still think this is a silly way to return to the X-Men franchise, and giving it to a Hollywood newcomer feels like a good justification for its existence.

-Personally, I'd like to see Rinsch or Slade get the shot, though none of them are particularly great or terrible choices...thoughts?

Is Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn going to helm X-Men: First Class?

Possibly, according to this in Entertainment Weekly:

In a move that may tilt the axis of fanboys worldwide, Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn is in talks to direct X-Men: First Class for Twentieth Century Fox. Why is this so bizarre? Because Vaughn is the very director who turned down directing X-Men: The Last Stand back in 2005 after he had already negotiated his deal with the studio. (Fox later hired Brett Ratner to helm the most successful of all X-Men films.) Vaughn went on to direct the disappointing Stardust for Paramount and, just two weeks ago, released the well-reviewed R-rated Kick-Ass.

Of course, considering Vaughn’s history with the X-Men franchise, he could very well turn down the First Class offer, as well (sources say the studio is also speaking with other possible directors). Should a deal come together, however, Vaughn would be helming an origin story of the X-Men crew, one that tells the story of Cyclops, Jean Grey, and the other X-Men in their younger years, played by younger actors. (No word yet on whether Hugh Jackman would reprise his role as Wolverine since his character doesn’t age as the others do.) The script comes from Jamie Moss based on Bryan Singer’s treatment. Though the studio had wanted Singer to direct once again, the director is only signed on to produce, since he’s preoccupied with directing Jack the Giant Killer for Warner Bros.

-I think it'd be a good mix of material and talent, but that's just me...thoughts?

Does the American Pie franchise really need a reboot?

Apparently so...here's the piece in the LA Times that spells out the situation:

Break out the webcams and apple pie: The antics of Chuck, Stifler and the rest of the "American Pie" crew could be coming back to theaters.

Universal, which made and distributed the pop-phenomenon original, is developing a new version with an eye toward resetting the property as a theatrical franchise.

The studio is poised to bring on "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg to script a new take on the franchise, which is being described in the development community as "American Pie 4." The movie would come on the heels of the third theatrical movie in the franchise, "American Wedding," which came out in 2003, and a slew of lucrative DVD titles that followed.

The original "American Pie" was released in 1999 and became a cultural and commercial phenomenon, grossing more than $200 million worldwide and spawning a booming market for R-rated summer comedies. "American Pie 2" and "American Wedding" followed at two-year intervals.

A host of direct-to-DVD titles then followed "Wedding" under the banner of "American Pie Presents," including "Band Camp," "The Naked Mile," "Beta House" and, this past December, "The Book of Love." But the studio, sources say, hopes that the franchise could be ripe for a new theatrical run.Universal declined comment on the new project.

At least some of the original cast is interested in coming back for the new picture, though sources emphasized that development is early and there are no actor deals in place.

Seann William Scott, Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth and Alyson Hannigan were among the young comedic actors who got their break in the first film, which explored a group of high school seniors trying to lose their virginity before they left their adolescence behind.

How the characters would be worked into a new script remains a question; many, after all, are now in their late 20s and early 30s, and the original picture was set in high school. Writers would also need to contend with a world in which the novelty of the raunchy comedy, which was a relatively new form more than a decade ago, may have worn off with the success of movies like "The Hangover" and a spate of Judd Apatow films.

But the studio is clearly hoping that the awareness and fondness for the comedy brand could help support a new installment. Franchise reboots have become the latest vogue in Hollywood, even and especially for properties that haven't been away that long: Sony is rebooting "Spider-Man" just a few years after the webbed one last appeared on the big screen.

-I loved the 3 theatrical films, but even I'm not sure this is necessary...thoughts?