Earlier this month in Japan a press conference was held on the upcoming Sony release swinging into theaters around the globe this summer. From the Japanese press conference followed our first official synopsis from Sony:
"The Amazing Spider-Man" is the story of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.
Sorry, but that doesn't really sound like the "untold story" of Spider-Man. What that sounds like is another spin on Peter Parker and his past. Granted Sony is going out of their way to point out that we will get new backstory on Peter's parents, but that story seems pointless. Aunt May and Uncle Ben have always been the driving parental force in Parker's life, lurking around in why Peter's parents left him could end up just as a big of a waste of time as learning why Darth Vader turned to the dark side of the force (Well, let's hope its not that extreme).
Reading this, you've probably gathered that I am not all that sold on this new spin on Spider-Man, and it seems that I'm not the only one. Sony recently unveiled a plan to screen scenes from "The Amazing Spider-Man" in select theaters around the world on February 6th to generate word of mouth and interest. Perhaps the studio is worried how well this darker, moodier, spin on Spider-Man will actually do? Are they second guessing the decision to reboot so quickly? As for the event, you can check The Untold Story Begins to see where the screenings are being held (and if any passes are still available). Most are outside of the United States. Sony has oddly only scheduled screenings in New York and Los Angeles within the U.S. and it appears that those screenings are already completely full. Perhaps Sony is really nervous about their overseas markets?
I'm pulling for this film. I want it to be great. I am a big fan of Andrew Garfield and liked Marc Webb's direction with '(500) Days' but something just hasn't grabbed me with this reboot of Spider-Man. This new marketing strategy doesn't help either. If Sony really wanted to generate a lot of interest, maybe they should take a note from Warner Brothers' book and attach a select scene ahead of another one of their films like "The Dark Knight Rises" was attached to the latest 'Mission: Impossible'. They only have TWO theaters in the U.S. showing these scene screenings which isn't much. Their are plenty of fans out across America who may not want "the untold story" and still feel the sting from 'Spider-Man 3'. Sony has "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" releasing in February and they could easily place a select scene from "The Amazing Spider-Man" ahead of 'Rider' to help pull audiences in to both see the new 'Ghost Rider' and simultaneously generate buzz for 'Spider-Man'. The decision almost seems to obviously. Will Sony do is yet to be seen and at this point seems unlikely.
Source: AICN | Coming Soon
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