By Derrik J. Lang, Entertainment Writer
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (AP) --Sam Raimi, the director of the original "Spider-Man" movie trilogy, is giving a passing grade to Marvel and Sony for sending the next cinematic rendition of the web-slinger back to high school.
"It's cool that we'll get to see another incarnation," Raimi said in an interview Saturday at Comic-Con. "I think it's a good choice for Marvel to go with high school Peter Parker. It's really interesting. That's where I loved it the most, when he's in high school, struggling to keep his grades up and being bullied by Flash Thompson. It's filled with angst."
Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures announced last month that 19-year-old actor Tom Holland would be taking over the role of Peter Parker in the next Spidey film, set to be directed by Jon Watts and hit theaters July 28, 2017.
Raimi is attending Comic-Con to hype "Ash vs. Evil Dead," an upcoming Starz series starring Bruce Campbell. The campy horror show, which premieres Oct. 31, is set after Raimi's original "Evil Dead" movie trilogy and features Campbell's chainsaw-wielding, trash-talking Ash battling bloody things that go bump in the night.
The "Evil Dead" writer-director, who is serving as executive producer on the 10-part series and is directing the first episode, is pumped for fans of the cult classic to witness Ash's return.
"The situation with this character is so interesting and different," said Raimi. "It's 30 years later. He's not in the cabin anymore. He's not back in time. He's in 2015. Ash is now a middle-aged man who has to fight the Evil Dead."
Besides showing off the latest chapter of the "Evil Dead" series, the Comic-Con veteran is most excited about the rise of attendees sporting costumes at this year's four-day celebration of pop culture.
"I love these people who are really into their makeup and wardrobe," he said. "All they want to do is pose for a picture in character. They're like the best actors in the world. All they really want is the true art of becoming a character. It's not for money or recognition. They just love the art. I love them."
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults — two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
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