Spider-Man 2.0 discussion...

[nickoslo]

just watched jimmy fallon now, and at the last segment they are playing new call of duty with simon pegg, jimmy shoots someone with the black hat and shotgun and says:
''hey wait thats the edge from u2, what he doing?
i don't want shoot the edge, i love him!''

didn't kow where to write this so i wrote it here beacuse bone and edge are now very mentioned guys on tv beacuse of spiderman

 

[Catman]

Ha! Thanks for that, nick

 

[breathe]

Bono & Edge could walk away in shame if they didn't do what they were expected. But they contributed a great piece of music and presumably brought some 'show-man' sensibilities to Broadway. BTW, the press will push many a U2 fan to Broadway.

Broadway people can learn from them and vice versa. Their other job is playing in front of stadiums. So WTF?

They do this type of name branding in Golf all the time. Get a high profile person to be a front for a course. And it works!

I agree, I did not care about broadway AT ALL! But I went to New York to see Spider-Man And it was amazing as a U2 and Spider-Man Fan! So it opened me up to Broadway! I am looking forward to a "Achtung Baby The Musical"

 

[sue4u2]

FYI!! in about 25 minutes here in the central time zone.

Email received from @u2.com

Bono & Edge will also be on NBC Nightly News on Tuesday. Anchorman Brian Williams visited the Foxwoods Theatre today to tape interviews with them and the cast.

Twitpic - Share photos and videos on Twitter

The New York Times also has a lengthy and interesting interview with Bono and Edge about the production and its struggles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/theater/bono-and-the-edge-explain-spider-man-back-story. html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1308007470-JRD+KQSpLo3wBh3c6uu&# 43;Mw

 

[breathe]

I cant wait! 10 more min

 

[sue4u2]

Brian Williams: and later, Two guys from Ireland, 70 million dollars and a spider.. what could go wrong?"

 

[Steved1998]

I love me some Larry. He totally said that.

I imagined it to be like his U2.com reaction from a few years ago.. Only angrier.. Hulk Larry.

 

[Steved1998]

They were just on ABC news too.

They admitted they were way out of their depth and had a lot to learn. Bono admitted Taymor had to go. Revamp show got a standing ovation.

 

[redhill]

YouTube - ‪Spider Man Jokes on the 2011 Tony Awards‬‏

Thanks!

 

[doctorwho]

normally, in theatre world, the tinkering takes place at the writing and rehearsal stages... the final product should be signed, sealed and in the bag at the tech and dress rehearsals, before preview... previews are just to iron out any unforeseen kinks that may crop up in the running of things and to make the final product nice and slick for opening night, but content, no, that should have been sorted long long ago... so yeah, Spidey has broken just about every rule in the book lol

she was indeed, though not helped by the fact that Bono and Edge were total Broadway novices obviously and were out of their depth, and the weak producers (probably the root of the problems in my opinion, like i've said before) - they should never have let Taymor have free rein with the whole thing, script, visuals and direction - visuals, ok, but she certainly is no writer... and her recent directing work has become increasingly shaky... Lion King only worked because producers kept her on a tight leash and the story was already set in stone...

Having not seen the production, it will be difficult to tell if this was truly Taymor's fault.

However, you are right with both, IMO. Typically previews are to work out kinks. The director will warn the audience that he/she may stop the production if something isn't working (this could even be in the actor's direction or where people stand). Given that this is a new show, it may be expected to have a few more kinks than normal, so I accept that. But the amount of kinks they experienced suggests it just wasn't working. For Taymor to be adamant that all is fine, despite the injuries, despite the negative press, despite the inability for her to actually finally open the show, suggests that her career on Broadway may now be sidelined for a while. This would be especially true if the revamped production becomes a hit and receives decent praise from everyone.

Bono and Edge, IMO, did a good job of NOT getting involved in the production. They used their fame to generate funding, which is good. Then they wrote the songs. That is their job. They let the producers, writers and Taymor do the rest. B&E apparently had to step up their involvement when it became clear things weren't working. I'm sure Taymor had a great vision - it's just that reality vs. dreams don't always work. She refused to compromise due to any limitations and the production suffered. Basically, she let her ego get in the way. One can have a big ego like but it has to work. Given U2's success over three decades, Bono deserves to strut.

 

[one4u2]

'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark': Track by Track | Billboard.com

 

[trojanchick99]

Here's the NBC News article.

msnbc.com Video Player

 

[kellyahern]

the sesame street thing is all sorts of awesome.

Love it. And it that Frank Oz's voice for Grover? I thought he didn't do any of the voices anymore.

 

[powerhour24]

Rolling Stone's review of the album had an interesting bent, comparing this with U2's past of attempting crazy things with abandon, and says while not everything works (and some of that is due to the odd production on the CD), they didn't find it a disaster and the reviewer as a fan says that he believes this kind of thing is part of what makes us love the band. I know this isn't the whole band, and we haven't seen that kind of behavior much when it comes to U2's studio output since Pop, but I liked that attitude.

 

[Irvine511]

the album is downloading right now.

 

[Utoo]

Here's the NBC News article.

msnbc.com Video Player

Funny how Edge mentions toward the end that "it's like a U2 album," they're aaaaaallllllllllmost ready to totally sign off on it...

 

[Jeannieco]

One can have a big ego like but it has to work. Given U2's success over three decades, Bono deserves to strut.

Forgive me, this is a peeve of mine, but I think Bono leaves his ego on the stage.
He has a totally different persona when he is not performing wouldn't you say?
Like he says, " I pretend to be a rock star".
Plus, being proud of your work is not an ego trip necessarily IMO. There's bragging and then there's being quietly proud and confident without boasting. I don't think he is in the least bit obnoxious. But what do I know.

 

[Jeannieco]

Funny how Edge mentions toward the end that "it's like a U2 album," they're aaaaaallllllllllmost ready to totally sign off on it...

Ya, just like they said the other day, they are still tweeking the 360 show. That is funny. This is the secret I think of their success. It must be a way to keep them motivated and to keep it fresh, and it does makes sense.
When you stop learning and evolving you stop growing.

 

[breathe]

'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark': Track by Track | Billboard.com

What "Bouncing of the walls" sounds like october? Thats bull!

 

[Gilead12]

What "Bouncing of the walls" sounds like october? Thats bull!

I was taking the review seriously and worrying about U2's reputation until that line...



The sad thing is there's such an obvious direction to go with that one. "Vertigo's ugly twin... here U2 outdoes itself in the category of mindless cock rock"

All the possible criticisms and he reaches for... October?

 

[mobvok]

Julie Taymor appeared (and went onstage at the end), it looks like....there's no public hard feelings, at least.

Oooh yeah

 

[mama cass]

Having not seen the production, it will be difficult to tell if this was truly Taymor's fault.

i meant the fact that the production wasn't stage-ready - logistics, deadlines etc, i.e. not having a finished product ready for previews... Taymor's visuals still look to be successful key features in the show - it was the practical logistics and story that went off-kilter really... but like i said, a lot of that still comes down to the producers...

 

[mama cass]

Julie Taymor appeared (and went onstage at the end), it looks like....there's no public hard feelings, at least.

Oooh yeah

nice to see they're being grown up about it...

Julie Taymor must be an incredibly forgiving person... or was that photo taken seconds before she kneed him in the balls?

 

[Earnie Shavers]

So the reviews appear to be flat out terrible.

Medley and the 'Experienced Broadway Critics Hate Creativity' conspiracy due in 5,4,3,2...

 

[mama cass]

i just read one positive review, but the writer spelled "curtains" "curtians" and "jugular" "juggler" so it doesn't count

 

[Irvine511]

So the reviews appear to be flat out terrible.

really? i had the distinct impression that the conventional wisdom is that it's gone from "shocking disaster" to "mildly entertaining mediocrity."

going through the soundtrack now.

i like it ... but anyone who thinks that Adam and Larry suck should be beaten.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

it sounds like we're looking at SpiderCats

which is still an infinitely better than the garbage that was version 1.0

 

[Earnie Shavers]

really? i had the distinct impression that the conventional wisdom is that it's gone from "shocking disaster" to "mildly entertaining mediocrity."

going through the soundtrack now.

i like it ... but anyone who thinks that Adam and Larry suck should be beaten.

Well, being called a 'mediocrity' is certainly an improvement on 'one of the worst musicals ever,' but I'd still say it's a terrible review to get. I'm sure they're not too chuffed with these reviews. The music is getting singled out in a lot of them as well, which must sting quite a bit.

 

[mama cass]

i guess the songs might stand up on their own re. the soundtrack, but whether they would work or not in an action/theatre context is another matter altogether... i wish i could see it for myself, even just to put it to rest in my own mind lol...

 

[Irvine511]

i think my biggest question is why/who?

as in, why a Spiderman musical? who thought this was a good idea? why would Spiderman have anything to actually sing about?