Hold on to your spidey senses, kids! Sam Raimi, the director of the hit films Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, recently revealed the identity of the villain in the upcoming Spider-Man 3. Thomas Haden Church, who received an Academy Award nomination for his role in the critically acclaimed film Sideways, will take on the role of the villain in the third installment in the Spider-Man franchise. Raimi and the rest of the Spider-Man crew have yet to reveal the villain, but perhaps as production on Spider-Man 3 draws closer, more details will be revealed.
In other superhero film news, the cast for the upcoming film Superman Returns has been finalized. On the roster are actors Brandon Routh as Superman, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane, Academy Award-winner Eva Marie Saint as Martha Kent, and Academy Award-winner Kevin Spacey will take on the infamous villain Lex Luthor. Superman Returns is currently in production in Australia, and will fly faster than a speeding bullet into theaters in 2006.
Back in New York City, raptress Lil’ Kim was convicted of perjury last Thursday and could face up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced on June 24. Lil’ Kim, whose real name is Kimberly Jones, was tried by a federal grand jury and found guilty of perjury and conspiracy to commit perjury in a case stemming from a shooting incident in 2001.
In happier news, actress Edie Falco, star of the hit HBO series The Sopranos, has adopted a healthy baby boy. Falco adopted the baby in December, but asked friends and family not to share the news with the media until now. She has named the boy Anderson, after her mother’s maiden name.
Of course, no edition of Hollywood Hot Topic would be complete without a mention of the ever-exciting Michael Jackson molestation trial. Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville, the judge presiding over the case, denied a motion by Jackson’s legal team asking for a mistrial. In the meantime, defendant Michael Jackson has been late to his trial proceedings twice in the past two weeks. In both instances, Jackson and his public relations reps claimed ill health was to blame.
Yesterday, comedian Louise Palanker claimed that the adolescent victim’s father continuously asked her for money, and was abusive and controlling towards his family and other individuals. She also testified that she received a “disturbing” phone call from the mother of the accuser in February 2003, shortly after the airing of the documentary Living with Michael Jackson. The accuser’s mother sounded upset and afraid, and warned that her call was being monitored.
Who knows what the coming weeks will bring in this whirlwind case?
Marta Rusek can be reached at mrusek@temple.edu.
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