The first pictures of Emma Stone and Shailene Woodley filming a scene together for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 have surfaced online. Stone portrayed Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker’s main love interest in the first The Amazing Spider-Man, and Woodley was recently added to play Parker’s iconic longtime love, Mary Jane Watson. While it has been said that Woodley’s role will not be as prominent in this film, if the film follows accurately with Spider-Man mythology, Woodley could become Parker’s romantic frontrunner in the planned third film. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 also stars Andrew Garfield, Sally Field, Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Dane DeHaan, Felicity Jones, and Paul Giamatti, with Marc Webb returning as director.

Hit the jump for some speculation about the possible Gwen-MJ dynamic as well as photos of Stone and Woodley on set.

With director Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 currently filming on the streets of New York City, over the past week we’ve posted a ton of set photos.  However, if you’ve been wondering why most of the set photos only feature Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, it’s because a lot of the cast hasn’t started filming.  But according to Dane Dehaan, who I spoke to earlier today for Derek Cianfrance’s fantastic movie The Place Beyond the Pines, that’s about to change because he starts filming “super soon.”  As most of you know, in the Spider-Man sequel, Dehaan plays Harry Osborn and Chris Cooper will be playing his father, Norman Osborn.  As a big fan of both actors, I think they’re going to nail the roles.  In addition to revealing his first day on set is coming up, I was also able to ask Dehaan what he thought about the script.  He told me:

“It’s awesome.  It really is.  It’s human and it’s deep and it’s also epic and still a huge superhero movie.  But it all makes sense and it all comes from very human elements and I think people are really going to love it.”

Hit the jump to see Dehaan talk about Spider-Man 2.

Another batch of pics, plus a brief video of a car stunt, have leaked from the NYC set of Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. This is the fifth (yes, fifth!) batch  of set photos to have surfaced online in the past week. This morning, we got a glimpse of Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker and Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy taking a stroll in Chinatown, and now we have Shailene Woodley popping up as Mary Jane, who in this version of the Spidey-verse is a waitress — a mighty concerned waitress if these pics have anything to show.

Also starring Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Paul Giamatti, Felicity Jones, Chris Cooper, Sally Field, and Martin Sheen,  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in 3D on May 2, 2014.  Hit the jump to check out the pics and the vid.

New photos have leaked from the set of Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  This is the fourth batch of set photos to hit the Internet in less than a week, and I’m sure we can expect plenty more as the production continues its outdoor filming in the weeks and months ahead.  These new photos show Peter (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen (Emma Stone) strolling around Chinatown, and that’s about all you’re going to get from these images.  We’ll let you know if Gwen Stacy is spotted on top of a bridge.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  The film also stars Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Shaileen Woodley, Paul Giamatti, Felicity Jones, Chris Cooper, Sally Field, and Martin Sheen.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in 3D on May 2, 2014.

Every once in a while I use this space to tout a recently released Blu-ray/DVD that I missed in theaters but, via the magic of home video, was finally able to check out from the comfort of my couch (click here to see me gush about The Perks of Being a Wallflower). Today I’ll do the same by encouraging you to check out co-writer/director Scott Derrickson‘s horror pic Sinister. There’s nothing spectacular going on here, it’s just an effective movie with several scenes that I found genuinely frightening/disturbing. Moreover, it’s probably the last widely-released horror entry since Insidious that left me turning some of the lights on in the house shortly after it ended.

With my “Super Cool Blu-ray Pick of the Week” out of the way, this week’s Top 5 includes interviews from the set of The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, some drama-inducing first set images from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, a set visit recap and interviews for Park Chan-wook‘s Stoker, Jack the Giant Slayer interviews, and the first trailer and poster for director James Wan‘s The Conjuring. As you may expect, a brief recap and link to each of these can be found completely free of charge after the jump.

Director Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 continues production apparently unconcerned about the number of set photos making their way around the web.  We recently brought you the first set images to crop up, followed shortly the first look at Shailene Woodley, presumably before her make-up transformation.  Today brings more set images of Sally Field as Aunt May and Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man/Peter Parker.

Also starring Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Paul Giamatti, Felicity Jones, Chris Cooper and Martin Sheen.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in 3D on May 2, 2014.  Hit the jump to see the new images.

Though production is already underway in New York City, a last-minute casting addition is being made to director Marc Webb’s upcoming sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Word comes that Chris Cooper has signed on to join the impressive ensemble cast for the pic, and he’s set to play the shady Norman Osborn.  The character was famously inhabited by Willem Dafoe in Sam Raimi’s Spidey trilogy, and in comics lore he becomes the villain Green Goblin.  Will Cooper be tackling the villain role as well?  Hit the jump to find out.

Yesterday, we showed you the new costume and first set photos from Marc Webb‘s The Amazing Spider-Man. Today, set photos have leaked of Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson. It’s strange to see how they’ve made her up (assume she’s in makeup) since the Spider-Man reboot claims to be a more realistic retelling of the character, but Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are the kind of absolutely gorgeous high school “outcasts” that don’t really exist. Meanwhile, you have Woodley looking like an actual teenager (which is part of her charm in The Spectacular Now), and I have a feeling that Dane DeHaan (who plays Harry Osborne) will have the same look. I’m curious to see how this is all going, or if perhaps these set photos don’t convey the kind of lighting and camera work that will turn Woodley from a good-looking person into a total knock-out.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos. The film also stars Jamie Foxx, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Felicity Jones, and Martin Sheen. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in 3D on May 2, 2014. [Update: Some new set photos have surfaced featuring Andrew Garfield and Woodley sharing a scene together, and they're now included after the jump.]

We previously showed you the admittedly underwhelming image of an eye-piece from Spider-Man’s new mask in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  Today, an official look at the new suit has been released, and it’s a great improvement over the costume from the first film.  While I can appreciate that the reboot wanted to create more distance from Raimi’s films by redesigning the suit, the Amazing Spider-Man 2 costume looks like it will work better by going with the traditional look to the point where this is more faithful to the comics than any of the previous Spidey outfits.

Hit the jump to check out Spidey’s new duds.  The film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Sally Field, Jamie Foxx, Shailene Woodley, Dane DeHaan, Paul Giamatti, Felicity Jones, and Martin Sheen.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in 3D on May 2, 2014.

Director Marc Webb is currently filming The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and is teasing the hell out of fans by releasing scraps of information over social media.  The above image of a part of Spidey’s mask was hidden within a video tweeted by Webb earlier today.  (Webb previously talked to Steve about fan interest and the revised Spider-Man suit in this interview.)  While it’s great that the director is attempting to keep contact with fans, we have a long way to go until the sequel’s May 2, 2014 release date.  Maybe by then we’ll have the whole costume cobbled together from images embedded in random videos (fingers crossed for the codpiece shot next!).

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jaime Foxx, Shailene Woodley, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore, Sally Field, Martin Sheen and Paul Giamatti.  Hit the jump to see the full image, a link to Webb’s video and more on the social media of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. 

We’ll dedicate more time to this topic after the jump, but in just a few sentences I want to share a quick thought I had while watching Netflix’s House of Cards last weekend. It’s not just that I think the show is great. When you involve talents like Kevin Spacey and David Fincher, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where quality work is in short supply. It’s that this level of material was birthed by and is only consumed via the Internet. I’ve been in debates where the question was whether or not the web would foster an age of amateurs. A future in which the training and dedication required to further perfect one’s craft would fall by the wayside leaving audiences with less than stellar work produced by those made lazy by the eased production and distribution technologies afforded by the Internet. While the fact that I’m writing to a considerable audience today via this site is evidence to that very argument, the overall quality of HOC is a strong rebuttal against those concerned about the quality of entertainment work in a digital age.

All thinking out loud aside, this week’s Top 5 features an editorial response to Disney’s announcement that Star Wars spinoff films are in the works, Side Effects interviews with Steven Soderbergh and more, a word about Hulk’s movie future, Matt’s editorial on Netflix and the affect time shifting has on viewing habits, and the latest news out of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 camp. As you’re probably expecting, a brief recap and link to each waits after the jump.

Earlier today, we reported that Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 began production in New York.  Now, we have the full press release that reveals the first official synopsis and the principal cast.  We knew that Paul Giamatti was in talks to join the production and can confirm that now, but his role has yet to be specified.  Another new name that joins the sequel’s cast is Colm Feore (Thor), but his role is also unspecified (Norman Osborn?).  Hit the jump to check out the synopsis and read the press release.

Spidey has returned to web-slinging.  Director Marc Webb has tweeted that production has begun on The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  Details on the film are still scarce, and likely will be for some time.  We only know the villains, but we don’t know how they’ll factor in.  There’s also a host of new characters, and we have to wait to see if this is when Gwen Stacy will have her famous fall.  Webb also tweeted that movie is anamorphic, it’s being shot on film, and included a set photo of “Phil the Camera Operator.”

Hit the jump for a brief recap of what we know so far.  The film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Sally Field, Jamie Foxx, Shailene Woodley, Dane DeHaan, Paul Giamatti, Felicity Jones, and Martin Sheen.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in 3D on May 2, 2014. [Update: we've added another set photo after the jump.]

One of my favorite movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director James Ponsoldt (Smashed) and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber’s (500 Days of Summer) coming of age drama The Spectacular Now.   Led by fantastic lead performances from Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, the film is about two High School seniors that are going in opposite directions.  Sutter Keely (Teller) is the life of the party and loves to drink, while Aimee Finicky (Woodley) is pretty, but shy and removed from the popular crowd.  When Sutter wakes up on Aimee’s lawn after being dumped by his girlfriend, what starts off as a rebound quickly turn into something more.  The film also stars Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Kyle Chandler.  For more on the film, here is Matt’s review.

The day after the world premiere I sat down with Teller and Woodley for an exclusive video interview.  We talked about being at Sundance, how they got cast, the fact that the characters in the film are real and relatable, and more.  In addition, each of them talks about their upcoming projects including The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  Hit the jump to watch.

It’s January 1, 2013, which means that 2012 is now officially in the rear-view mirror.  Quality-wise, it was a stellar year in film, and with over a month to go before the Oscars there’s still an exciting air of unpredictability surrounding the awards contenders.  2012 wasn’t so shabby box office-wise either, and we thought today would be a nice time to take a look back at the year’s highest grossing films, lowest grossing films, and everything in between.  This year saw a few comedy surprises, the highest grossing Steven Spielberg drama in a long time, a couple of superhero megahits, and the glorious disaster that was Oogieloves.  Hit the jump to take a look at 2012’s Box Office in Review.