RIEDEL: Spider-Man "The Biggest Fiasco in Broadway History" SHOW is OFF.

Link didn't work for me.

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REIDEL has 'confirmed' things that aren't true, before. He 'confirmed' that HAIR was going to play at the Neil Simon, and it ended up going to the ole Hirschy.

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"This is just how Hollywood feels about Broadway."

What??

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It could well be that by shutting down now, there's a reasonable manageable tax write-off, but continuing could be a financial disaster. Maybe Max Bialystock could explain ....

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I kind of find it hard to believe that these studios would fund all of this money and just back out.

They could if they signed up for a certain amount of money and then watched the budget surpass what they, orginally, agreed to.

Also, they know that a lot of people are waiting for them to fail. Earlier this week Howard Stern was mocking the fact that the show was coming. When you have the attention of people like Stern it might be time to think about what you're getting into.

Finally, a movie can recoup in a single weekend. By this point I doubt any of them are willing to wait for Spider-Man to recoup.

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Lets all blame Riedel for the failure of this show! Obviously the business plan was perfect.

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Now it will only exist in my heart

I wonder how many Band-Aids it will take to put the Hilton back together now...

Maybe Shrek will let them borrow all the king's horses and all the king's men

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What actors were on contract?
Did they announce a cast other than Wood and Cummings?

It would take longer than 10 years! To run the show for a year would take almost $52 million! Thats more than the initial investment they need to earn back. Even if this is a hit, it will be a feat just to get in the green.

so... how much money was already put into it?

Thank you, LJay. I don't know what AllThatJazz means by saying that Riedel is not an accurate source. He may be mean-spirited, acerbic, an egomaniac, and hateful at times but his reports are almost always true.
He first mentioned the possibility of a play starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig long before it was announced. He is the first one who said that Hope Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, James Gandolfini, and Jeff Daniels were in talks to star in the Broadway transfer of GOD OF CARNAGE (months later all four were officially announced). He first broke the news about 9 TO 5's closing. He also mentioned that YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN dropped the St.James (where everyone thought Brooks would open his new show) to get the Hilton instead. Later, he said that SPIDERMAN was set on that theatre. And even on the SPIDERMAN front, he is the one who first talked about Alan Cumming being in talks to play Green Goblin.
Of course a lot of the negotiations he reports on fall through, and I'm sure at times some of his gossip is just gossip, but to say that he has "never been an accurate source" is just not true.
Having said all that, I do not get what his vicious attacks to this show from day one have been about. I think it could have been a great theatrical experience (or not), especially with Taymor involved. Oh well.

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