Mary Jane Watson-Parker Appreciation 2020

[Frontier]

I doubt a Feige produced Spider-Man show would have Peter hero-worshipping Iron Man. I think the big issue with MCU Spider-Man is the Webb/Garfield movies, which were criticized for being too similar to the Raimi movies (and too soon after the Raimi movies).

Yeah, I guess it's hard to discern what creative decisions are Feige, Watts, or Sony. I recall Holland wasn't even Feige's pick.

https://popculthq.com/2020/03/13/pre...g-mary-jane-6/

oh carlos gomez i will miss you

The next artist will have big, high-heeled, shoes to fill. MJ has never looked more gorgeous .

So...MJ is on some weird game show and witness oni mask guy committing a murder?

[Jman27]

Question about Mary Jane acting career how good is she really? Like who would be compared to in terms of actresses today?

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Question about Mary Jane acting career how good is she really?

It's impossible to say. The answer is that it depends on the writer. It's quite hard to portray skill and talent, especially wrt acting on-page, that also applies to characters who are "good writers" or "good painters". Like Neil Gaiman's THE SANDMAN makes a big fuss about an in-universe novel called "Here comes the candle" being good, but it mostly sounds pretty bad from what we read.

Spencer makes the case that MJ is a good actress, and in AMJ she comes across as a competent professional (tbh, she's a great producer specifically). JMS had MJ shift from cinema to theater and find happiness and validation on stage.

Like who would be compared to in terms of actresses today?

Kind of hard to say. Mary Jane is intended to be a struggling young actress. She is forever on the cusp of her really big break.

A bit like Margot Robbie before she appeared in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street which made her a really big star and made her today, one of the most sought after young actresses around. Before that movie, Robbie appeared in TV in shows back home in Australia and some failed American stuff, like Pan Am. But then she appeared in a movie with the biggest movie star in the planet and worked with the greatest director in the world, and suddenly all doors open to her. I think MJ would be like Robbie, have a flair for comedy and drama as well as genuine charisma and sexiness.

In general actresses tend not to have big careers as leads, because the sexist/patriarchal/agist industry is always looking for the next young thing or so on. Robert Downey Jr. had a strong early career, a wayward middle career, and then a comeback. But you can look forever and not find a single actress who has had that trajectory because RDJ simply always had opportunities to make a return that are never available to young actors.

Like Meryl Streep is maybe the only actress who was able to grow old and maintain a long active career. That hasn't happened to actresses who came on to the scene later like Michelle Pfeiffer (who went from young sexy star to obscurity to now belated roles as aging grandmas), Julia Roberts (one time among the biggest movie stars, now she's a whatsername).

[Jman27]

It's impossible to say. The answer is that it depends on the writer. It's quite hard to portray skill and talent, especially wrt acting on-page, that also applies to characters who are "good writers" or "good painters". Like Neil Gaiman's THE SANDMAN makes a big fuss about an in-universe novel called "Here comes the candle" being good, but it mostly sounds pretty bad from what we read.

Spencer makes the case that MJ is a good actress, and in AMJ she comes across as a competent professional (tbh, she's a great producer specifically). JMS had MJ shift from cinema to theater and find happiness and validation on stage.



Kind of hard to say. Mary Jane is intended to be a struggling young actress. She is forever on the cusp of her really big break.

A bit like Margot Robbie before she appeared in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street which made her a really big star and made her today, one of the most sought after young actresses around. Before that movie, Robbie appeared in TV in shows back home in Australia and some failed American stuff, like Pan Am. But then she appeared in a movie with the biggest movie star in the planet and worked with the greatest director in the world, and suddenly all doors open to her. I think MJ would be like Robbie, have a flair for comedy and drama as well as genuine charisma and sexiness.

In general actresses tend not to have big careers as leads, because the sexist/patriarchal/agist industry is always looking for the next young thing or so on. Robert Downey Jr. had a strong early career, a wayward middle career, and then a comeback. But you can look forever and not find a single actress who has had that trajectory because RDJ simply always had opportunities to make a return that are never available to young actors.

Like Meryl Streep is maybe the only actress who was able to grow old and maintain a long active career. That hasn't happened to actresses who came on to the scene later like Michelle Pfeiffer (who went from young sexy star to obscurity to now belated roles as aging grandmas), Julia Roberts (one time among the biggest movie stars, now she's a whatsername).

Yo thanks I think Margot Robbie is a good comparison for Mj now she just didnt have her breakout movie yet basically. And yeah actresses have it rough but what about Scarlett Jo will she eventually fade away too?

[Revolutionary_Jack]

And yeah actresses have it rough but what about Scarlett Jo will she eventually fade away too?

Johannsen's had better luck than most, yeah.

[Spider-Tiger]

After the first Marc Webb film, I remember thinking that Margot Robbie would be a great cast for MJ. Then she was cast as Harley Quinn, the Spider-Man franchise was rebooted a second time, and the rest is history. (She does make a phenomenal Harley though.)

[Frontier]

Margot Robbie with red hair...hmm.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Margot Robbie with red hair...hmm.

She has dyed her hair brown for certain parts. And she played the red-haired Queen Elizabeth in that Queen of Scots movie.

[Spider-Tiger]

Although the Elizabeth role probably isn't the most flattering portrayal of a redheaded Margot.

[Inversed]

After the first Marc Webb film, I remember thinking that Margot Robbie would be a great cast for MJ. Then she was cast as Harley Quinn, the Spider-Man franchise was rebooted a second time, and the rest is history. (She does make a phenomenal Harley though.)

I don't really see Robbie as fitting MJ as well, she does capture the "larger than life" party girl persona in many of her projects, but I don't really think of her fitting the more down-to-earth/sensitive side MJ bounces back and forth with. Harley, especially in Birds Of Prey, ended up proving to be the absolute perfect choice for her.

I was actually pretty on board with Shailene Woodley in the Amazing films, especially at the time she was a good choice and would've liked to see how her take would've been.

[Spider-Tiger]

I don't really see Robbie as fitting MJ as well, she does capture the "larger than life" party girl persona in many of her projects, but I don't really think of her fitting the more down-to-earth/sensitive side MJ bounces back and forth with. Harley, especially in Birds Of Prey, ended up proving to be the absolute perfect choice for her.

I was actually pretty on board with Shailene Woodley in the Amazing films, especially at the time she was a good choice and would've liked to see how her take would've been.

I think Margot can play down to earth just fine. That's why I liked her. I think she's one of the few actresses out there now that could play both sides of the character well. After Dunst's more serious/somber MJ, I also wanted an MJ with a little more life and humor to her, and Margot handles comedy very well.

I got more of a Ultimate Mary Jane vibe from Woodley, but she's a great actress nonetheless, and I was looking forward to what she would offer.

But all of this is moot anyway. Now we have Zendaya's MJ (who I also happen to think is a great choice...just not a fan of the direction they've taken with her.)

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I don't really see Robbie as fitting MJ as well, she does capture the "larger than life" party girl persona in many of her projects, but I don't really think of her fitting the more down-to-earth/sensitive side MJ bounces back and forth with.

Have you seen her play Sharon Tate in OUTIH, she definitely does show a down-to-earth/sensitive side there, especially that bit where she as Sharon goes to one of her own movies and talks politely to the usher who has no idea that she's actually starring in the movie that's screening there? That sense of insecurity and good humor, which Sharon had, i.e. an actress known for her looks not being taken seriously, and otherwise just seen and dismissed as a peace of arm candy in movies that sell on sex, is very close to MJ. Robbie is unusual among young actresses for also having great comic timing and potential, which she shows in a number of films and also as Harley. And that will allow her to bring out the comic side of MJ which is often neglected in many works.

I was actually pretty on board with Shailene Woodley in the Amazing films, especially at the time she was a good choice and would've liked to see how her take would've been.

Considering the s--t show of the Marc Webb movies, it's good that she didn't show up. Because that way, Gwen Stacy gets to own those movies, good and bad (mostly bad), completely on her own. The way those movies bought in totally to the Gwen Stacy cult meant that any version of MJ they introduced would have been totally upstaged in a way the character from the comics never was.

Ultimately, in any of these superhero movies, characters come down to casting. When you cast Emma Stone, a really big young actress as your female lead in two movies, the prospect of having another actress come in and steal the show and spotlight from under her is really hard to impossible to do. And that's what you need to do, to do justice to the Gwen-MJ rivalry. In the comics it works because of the art and writing, and a mix of accident and poor execution. But in the movie you really need to "rig the game" as it is. You need to cast an actress as Gwen who's beautiful but maybe not so openly charismatic. And then as MJ you need to cast a real star, and the way it happens is that you end up liking MJ's actress more than Gwen's. An actress of Emma Stone's fame (at the time of ASM) would never allow that to happen, or rather her agents wouldn't allow it. It would be different if it was Mean Girls where Rachel McAdams was the villain and Lindsay Lohan was the "good girl" where there's a narrative reason for McAdams to lose to Lohan, but it's not the same if you are doing the story where all along the movie is telling you that one character is more interesting than the other. This doesn't apply just to love interests mind you. It applies also to heroes and villains. It matters in Batman movies that villains are usually played by name actors who play leads in other movies. It reflects the stature that Batman's rogues have.

[WebLurker]

Like Meryl Streep is maybe the only actress who was able to grow old and maintain a long active career. That hasn't happened to actresses who came on to the scene later like Michelle Pfeiffer (who went from young sexy star to obscurity to now belated roles as aging grandmas), Julia Roberts (one time among the biggest movie stars, now she's a whatsername).

Emma Thompson still seems to be doing well.

[Ursalink]

I just thought about something funny. You know "Symbiote Spider-Man: ALien Reality", right? Here we had a redhaired Black Cat. I thought she was Mary Jane, but it turned to be Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. (Honestly who was the fool who had such idea?). Anyway, when this arc is over, I can't avoid to think the "ironic ending" scene where Peter will find Mary Jane dressed like the Black Cat; maybe for a costume party.

By the way, in the nightmare we saw in the last issue, I didn't find any funny in what they did with Mary Jane.

[Huntsman Spider]

I just thought about something funny. You know "Symbiote Spider-Man: ALien Reality", right? Here we had a redhaired Black Cat. I thought she was Mary Jane, but it turned to be Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. (Honestly who was the fool who had such idea?). Anyway, when this arc is over, I can't avoid to think the "ironic ending" scene where Peter will find Mary Jane dressed like the Black Cat; maybe for a costume party.

By the way, in the nightmare we saw in the last issue, I didn't find any funny in what they did with Mary Jane.

I don't think it was supposed to be funny. It was supposed to be an expression of Peter's darkest fears and doubts drawn out by Nightmare.