Things keep getting weirder and weirder with the casting of Marc Webb’s upcoming Spider-Man reboot, referred to around the Flickcast offices as (500) Days of Spider-Man. A few weeks back, we brought you some interesting news as Martin Sheen was cast as Peter Parker’s uncle, Ben Parker. Then news came through that Sally Field was in talks to play Aunt May. Weird enough news on it’s own.

Now, word is coming through from Heat Vision that famed comedian and bad ass fictional firefighter Denis Leary is in negotiations to play George Stacy, father of Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy.

In comic lore, New York City Police Captain Stacy perishes in a fight with Spidey and Doctor Octopus, which forces Gwen to hate Spider-Man. Since Gewn is the main love interest of the film, this will more than likely become the conflict in the middle.

The rest of the cast is filled out with Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Rhys Ifans as The Lizard. Spider-Man is set to start shooting beginning next year.

As of last week, we officially have our Director (500 Days Of Summer’s Marc Webb), our Gwen Stacy (Zombieland’s Emma Stone), and our Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Social Network’s Andrew Garfield) locked in for the upcoming untitled Spider-Man reboot from Sony Pictures. Now, word is coming in that Welsh actor Rhys Ifans has been cast as the film’s unnamed villain.

It’s been said that Ifans’ most popular role was alongside Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in 1999′s Notting Hill, but fans of cheesy genre comedies remember him from such fare as Little Nicky, The Replacements, and Pirate Radio. Now Ifans is taking on more of a colorful role as he battles with Garfield’s Spider-Man in the upcoming reboot.

The film is said to have little-to-no correlation with the previous Sam Raimi trilogy and will reboot the entire franchise for a whole new audience. As we said, Ifans may be locked into the film, but Sony is keeping a pretty tight lid on which exact villain we can see him as.

Who would you cast Rhys Ifans as? Could he out-goblin Willem Defoe’s Green Goblin? Or is it time that Electro finally makes it to the silver screen?

Sound off and let us know what you think. Spectacular Spider-Man (tentative title) is currently slated for a July 3rd release date in 2012.

Coming directly from the “that didn’t take long” department comes word that Sony has already confirmed a new director for its next Spider-Man film and that person is (500) Days of Summer helmer Marc Webb. Representatives of Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios made a joint announcement today regarding the decision.

In a joint statement by Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, the studio highlighted what went into the decision: “At its core, Spider-Man is a small, intimate human story about an everyday teenager that takes place in an epic super-human world. The key for us as we sought a new director was to identify filmmakers who could give sharp focus to Peter Parker’s life.”

“We wanted someone who could capture the awe of being in Peter’s shoes so the audience could experience his sense of discovery while giving real heart to the emotion, anxiety, and recklessness of that age and coupling all of that with the adrenaline of Spider-Man’s adventure,” continued the statement. “We believe Marc Webb is the perfect choice to bring us on that journey.”

Let’s hope so.

As hard as it may be to believe sometimes, someone (or someones) actually sits down and writes a movie or TV show before you end up seeing it at your local multiplex or on your favorite TV network. The people who do the sitting and the writing are, surprisingly, called writers and, like the Directors, the Golden Globes and the Oscars, they have their own awards show.

This week, the Writers Guild of America, which is the trade group and advocate for writers, announced its nominations for outstanding achievement in feature film and television, radio, news, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2009 season to be honored at the upcoming 2010 Writers Guild Awards on February 20, 2010, in Los Angeles and New York.

We realize that these nominations may not be as glamorous as the Golden Globes or the Oscars, but we kinda like writers around here and think they do a pretty important job. So, with that in mind, here’s a complete list of nominees.

Check out these names, these people are pretty important. Without them you wouldn’t get to enjoy your favorite TV show, movie or pretty much any other form of entertainment. The 2010 Writers Guild Awards will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2010, simultaneously at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles and the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.

FILM NOMINEES

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) Days of Summer, Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber

Avatar, Written by James Cameron

The Hangover, Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore

The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal

A Serious Man, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Crazy Heart, Screenplay by Scott Cooper

Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb

Julie & Julia, Screenplay by Nora Ephron Based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme

Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher Based on the novel Push by Sapphire

Star Trek, Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry

Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon TurnerBased upon the novel by Walter Kirn

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Rather than tell you what I think I should, I decided to come clean on this list. For instance, I am aware that A Serious Man might technically and artistically be a cut above some of these, but I just didn’t enjoy it as much. I’ll also preface this by saying since I was covering most of the main-stream movies this year, there were a lot of independent movies I didn’t see, so they may not appear on the list. The film title links to a review when applicable.

Up In The Air – Buoyed by a trio of fantastic actors, I found this movie to be utterly charming. Directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking, Juno), the movie is touching, prescient, original, and funny. Vera Farmiga, George Clooney and Anna Kendrick all received Golden Globe acting nominations.  George Clooney’s depiction of a traveling man who keeps any type of human interaction at arm’s length is effortless, and is a joy to watch.

A Single Man – This film is still in limited release, so many people have not seen it, but I was absolutely blown away by designer Tom Ford’s directorial debut. He brings an artistic eye to the story of a gay man in 1962 who has recently lost a live-in companion. Heavy stuff, and Colin Firth gives a truly amazing performance that will break your heart.

Julianne is a stunning aging beauty who longs to have a relationship with the emotionally unavailable George. Universally relatable to anyone who has ever been in love, or experienced unrequited love. Seamlessly shifting from sepia, black and white, and color, the film is gorgeous. Beautifully scored by Abel Korzeniowsky as well.

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With Christmas less than 72 hours away, it looks like the studios are putting out quite a few last-minute gift ideas for you to snatch just in time to throw under the tree. This week’s big releases include District 9, (500) Days of Summer, and the second Family Guy Star Wars Special: Something Something Something Dark Side.

Of these releases, we are all pretty excited about the new Family Guy DVD this week. It’s the sequel to 2007′s Blue Harvest Star Wars special. This time, Seth McFarlane and his team spoof the events of The Empire Strikes Back. This special is never-before-seen, and won’t get airtime until mid-March.

Check out this week’s releases:

Movies

District 9 ~ Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope (DVD and Blu-ray)

(500) Days of Summer ~ Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (DVD and Blu-ray)

All About Steve ~ Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, Thomas Haden Church (DVD and Blu-ray)

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The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HAFTA) announced its 2009 nominees for the Golden Globes this morning. The Golden Globes are considered a harbinger of the Oscar season, even though they  generally throw a few wacky choices into their slate.

For those keeping track, Up in the Air nabbed six nominations, followed by Avatar with four.  Sandra Bullock continues to enjoy a stellar year, as she was nominated for The Blind Side as well as The Proposal. Other double nominees include Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia, It’s Complicated), and Matt Damon (Invictus, The Informant!).  Directors Quentin Tarantino and Jason Reitman each got a nod for directing and screenplay as well.

The Golden Globes ceremony will take place on January 17th, 2010, and will air on NBC.

Here is a list of the nominees in major film categories:

Best Picture, Drama

Avatar

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious

Up in the Air

Best Picture, Musical/Comedy

500 Days of Summer

The Hangover

It’s Complicated

Julie and Julia

Nine

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