Spider-Man musical to open on time

September 13th, 2009 LONDON - Abba's Benny Andersson has said that even if there is a sequel to the hit movie musical 'Mama Mia,' it won't feature the band's music. The co-writer of the group's hits said the band wouldn't be doing another musical.

September 3rd, 2009 LONDON - U2 frontman Bono has reportedly made arrangements to help finance the Spider-Man musical which could have been scrapped due to financial problems. Apparently, the Irish rocker has convinced his wealthy friends to invest in the show.

August 23rd, 2009 LONDON - British stars Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta-Jones have teamed up to play mother and daughter on Broadway in a bid to revive Stephen Sondheim's musical "A Little Night Music". Imdb.com reports that Lansbury only agreed to sign up for the musical, which will open in December, if producers lined up a big star to play her daughter in the show.

August 22nd, 2009 LON - Spider-Man creator Stan Lee will come up with an animated comic book, which will be available online and on mobile phones. His company Purveyors Of Wonder has linked up with Disney to produce Time Jumper, which he says is "a comic, but it has sound, it has music, it has some motion, although it isn't fully-animated." Lee has further plans to turn the comic into a film if it does well.

August 20th, 2009 LONDON - Evan Rachel Wood has assured that she is ready to star in the upcoming Spider-Man musical, even though recent rumours claim she quit the production after it was hit by financial crunch. Representative for the actress said that she is "100 per cent committed - she didn't pull out," reports the Daily Star.

August 15th, 2009 LONDON - American actress Evan Rachel Wood's agents are said to be desperate to win back a number of film roles she had turned down to work on stalled Broadway musical 'Spider-Man'. Wood, 21, had been due to take part in the new production early next year, but rumours rife that the stage show is in trouble, and that work has been suspended as producers at Hello Entertainment battle financial problems.

August 12th, 2009 LONDON - A musical on the life of British singer Amy Winehouse may soon be in the offering, her brother Alex has said. Alex feels it would be the perfect way for the Back to Black singer to celebrate her comeback on the charts.

August 4th, 2009 LONDON - Michael Jackson wanted to act in Spider-Man movies, the creator of the superhero has revealed. Stan Lee, former president and chairman of Marvel Comics, disclosed that MJ had plans to produce the movie.

July 23rd, 2009 Sam Raimi to direct 'World of Warcraft' film LOS ANGELES — The director of the "Spider-Man" film franchise is set to transform "World of Warcraft" into a movie. Blizzard Entertainment Inc.

July 15th, 2009 NEW YORK - TV host Larry King's wife Shawn is one of the two finalists being selected for Bono's Broadway musical 'Spider-Man'. The former western-country singer is being considered to play role of Arachne in the much-anticipated and hugely expensive musical, set to debut on Broadway in February, reports New York Post.

July 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Spider-Man has found life outside of comic-book pages, says an associate humanities librarian for Texas Tech University Libraries. In an article published in the International Journal of Comic Art, pop-culture guru Rob Weiner basically says that Spider-Man and his costumed peers have entered mankind's collective consciousness, filling a shared need for heroes.

June 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming will be performing in the new Broadway musical "Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark," it has been confirmed. Both the stars, who were anticipated to be cast in the show for sometime now, finally signed up earlier this week, Variety magazine reports.

June 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Actress Evan Rachel Wood has been roped in to star as Mary Jane Watson in the Spider-Man stage musical. Earlier show's director Julie Taymor had denied that Wood would play the superhero's love interest.

June 10th, 2009 LONDON - Spider-Man director Sam Raimi has been successful in persuading Kirsten Dunst to sign up for the fourth installment of the superhero franchise, it has emerged. Rumors were abuzz that Dunst's return to the role of Mary Jane-Watson won't happen after Raimi told reporters the actress was still pondering whether to rejoin the cast, reports the Daily Express.

June 4th, 2009 LONDON - American television and radio host Larry King's wife Shawn Southwick is in negotiations to secure a role in the new Spider-Man musical on Broadway. Contactmusic.com reports that the broadcast interviewers' wife was due to work for vocal impressionist Danny Gans at a Las Vegas show this summer but the entertainer's tragic death last month left her out of work.