Hoping to become more of a superhero power player in Hollywood, Warner Bros. has been quietly reorganizing its comic arm, DC Comics, to focus its energies on blockbuster hits. They claim they've been working on this for months, but Disney's announcement that it was buying Marvel accelerated things a bit.

Warner had intended to announce details about its plans for DC Comics in January, as it begins a 75th anniversary celebration of the DC brand, Barry Meyer, chairman and chief executive of Warner, said in an interview.

But the Disney announcement resulted in so many questions about the possibly heightened competition "that it would have been disingenuous for us to suggest that we had not been thinking about it." He added that the Marvel-Disney announcement "reconfirmed in us our strong belief in how valuable DC really is."

That remains to be seen. While, yes, DC has the strong Batman franchise and, to a far lesser degree, a burgeoning Superman series, it's also unleashed a slew of stinkers, like Catwoman and Watchmen, which failed to live up to its potential. Marvel, meanwhile, had the X-Men trilogy, keeps rolling out Spider-Man flicks, made three Blade movies, Iron Man and will no doubt make a splash with the forthcoming Thor, Avengers and Wolverine 2 big screen adventures.

DC will have to look mighty hard for characters who can stand up to Marvel's icons. Our suggestion? Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Why, oh why, has that not been adapted?

Image via Madolan's flickr.

More important than printing comics (which, they actually still do!), Marvel is valuable for the merchandising and movie rights to all its characters—over 5,000—many of which have become the massive film franchises that are the lifeblood of the movie studios. The only two studios that aren't dependent on Marvel for summer tentpoles are Disney and Warner Bros. (which bought out DC Comics and its stable of characters including Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman). Paramount has Iron Man, Sony's long been living off Spider-Man, 20th Century Fox lives and dies by how many X-Men,Wolverine, or Fantastic Four films it can spin out and Universal would like you to like The Hulk.

All of a sudden, those studios have just discovered that Disney may be in control of their summer fates. Welcome to your new groveling life, studio executives.

So who will be her PETER PARKER? Will it be Jim Sturgess, her Across the Universe co-star who has been long rumored (and the perfect fit)?

Wood said they are, "still trying to convince him."

They have their work cut out for them, as it will take a lot more than a midnight call from Bono pleading, "Yo Jim. Look, I don't know much. I'm just an Irish rock star frontin' the Biggest Band in the World, but believe me when I tell you brotha, when I wrote 'Spidey, Webby Spidey,' I only had your voice in mind. If you don't want to do it for me, do it for Africa" to do the trick.

• IESB Exclusive: Evan Rachel Wood Confirms Role of Mary Jane in SPIDER-MAN MUSICAL Plus Start Date! [iesb.net]

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Sporting her finest cut-offs, Spider Man trilogy star Kirsten Dunst stopped off at a Early Voting facility. After she walked out of the voting booth, Dunst did her best Palin Dance to celebrate her decision to rock the vote. Dunst quickly added, “I may be doing the Dance, but it doesn’t mean that I voted for her. Although, I would love to see Tina Fey have all that work.”

[Photo Credit: X17]

*A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

More partying photos after the junst!

[Photo credit: X17agency.com]

• Bleary-eyed Kirsten Dunst parties hard in Hollywood... just months after leaving rehab [Daily Mail]

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While the US economy remains in an explosive state, some Americans — like Kirsten Dunst— have begun to look for a second job to supplement their lifestyle. The How to Lose Friends & Alienate People star recently apply for a position as a greeter at a local Wal Mart Super Center. Dunst felt like she’d be perfect for the position because she’s a total people person and enjoys making people feel at home. Dunst even practiced greeting people at the premiere for Hound Dog. Dunst said, “It’s not a life or death situation that I get a second job. I would like a second job and I want to fully prepare for my interview. I can actually say that I have greeting experience instead of lying about it on my resume.”

[Photo Credit: Splash Pics]

*A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

Maguire was willing to shoot Spider-Man 4 and 5 back-to-back over six months next year but insisted he should take early mornings and evenings off so he could play with his “favourite blonde”, Ruby Sweetheart, who is 22 months old.

The 33-year-old actor is expected to earn a record $50m salary and profit shares from the two films, substantially more than Keanu Reeves earned when he shot the last two Matrix films back-to-back. Reeves complained that it left him exhausted.

Now that the precedent has been set, this arrangement could become a widely sought after deal-point in all movie star negotiations—though we doubt Jack Nicholson's insistence that he too enjoys spoon-feeding pureed foods to a very young, blonde companion he calls "Sweetheart" will be enough to convince studio heads that he qualifies for the Maguire Family-Time Schedule Special.

• Spider-Man Tobey Maguire spins deal for fatherhood [Times Online]

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A medical professional must have been on hand at the Chateau Marmont to keep popular silver screen star Kirsten Dunst from busting a gut. The Spider Man star was laughing uncontrollably at the antics of Mac pitchman and ex-flame of Drew Barrymore, Justin Long. Dunst was thoroughly impressed by Long's comedic culinary consumption antics, even going as far as to say that Long is way funnier than "that Charlie Chaplin dude." Long reveled in the attention, even going as far as to moonwalk a piece of chicken into his mouth.

[Photo Credit: X17]

*A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

We're pretty sure the inclusion of Powers in their list of 14 franchises to kill was a serendipitous fluke (it's actually pegged to The Mummy 3 and includes Indiana Jones and Friday the 13th as well), but Wednesday's revival news nevertheless reinforced the urgency of euthanizing bad ideas before they can strike again. And why stop at 14? As long as we have the ax out, we might as well finish the job with another half-dozen after the jump.

·Beverly Hills Cop: Sure, we summoned a bit of cautious optimism when we first heard about BHC 4. But word that franchise heir Brett Ratner wants a PG-13 and Eddie Murphy's continued commitment to mediocrity has us second-guessing. Kill it.

·Star Wars: Nothing short of George Lucas encased in carbonite will likely stop his molesty corruption of a galaxy far, far away. But a blog can dream. Kill it.

· Transformers: Wait — never mind! Thanks, Shia.

· Spider-Man: Heresy? Maybe. But if Sam Raimi is more preoccupied with spinoffs and Jack Ryan than Sony's multi-billion empire, just accept the sign. Kill it first, before Joel Schumacher hijacks it.

· Hostel: How much would it cost us to have the pleasure of snuffing this ourselves in a dank Eastern European abattoir? We'll get the money, like, yesterday. Kill it — slowly.

· The Lost Boys: Not a franchise so much as a misbegotten, Haim-wounding attempt at brand-milking, bound to get worse before it gets better. Kill it.

• Running on Empty: 14 Movie Franchises We Think Should Stop [EW]

OPEN SINGERS/ACTORS CALL FOR SPIDER-MAN A NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL Directed by Julie Taymor, Music and Lyrics by Bono and The Edge of U2

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR: Peter Parker: male, 16-20's, great Rock voice, can be nerdy with understated sex appeal, good sense of humor Mary Jane: female, 16-20's, beautiful girl next door, strong pop/rock singing voice Principal Woman: female, 25-35 years old, Amazing Rock vocals, think Sinead O'Connor with a Middle Eastern /Bulgarian/Greek/ twist. Foreign, world music types are great, foreign accents are great! All ethnicities.

JULY 28, 2008 10:00am-5pm THE KNITTING FACTORY NYC

Please prepare 16 bars of a pop/rock song that shows range. Please bring sheet music. Also a photo/resume stapled together, IF YOU HAVE ONE. IT'S COOL IF YOU DON'T! spidermancasting@gmail.com

We take their lax headshot requirements to mean that they are fully prepared to pluck a spider-in-the-rough from obscurity if they feel he's the right Peter Parker for the part. That said, there's no shortage of nerdy, understatedly sexy young men currently vying for roles on the Great White Way. Rather, it's the Bulgarian Women's Choir defectee they're hoping will fill the "Principal Woman" slot that might prove to be the bigger casting challenge. Once Bono gets a look at the available talent pool, he might ultimately have to settle for a Bashkortostanian throat singer to play villainous voodoo priestess Calypso instead.

• Previously: Spider-Man: The Musical! [Defamer]

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Spider Man star Tobey Maguire showed the paparazzi that they wouldn't like him when he's angry while attempting to leave Madeo in West Hollywood. The persistent flash from the cavalcade of paps enraged Maguire, but it was their relentless begging for Maguire's leftovers that really set him off.

[Photo Credit: X17]

*A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

Scott Bowles has more at USA Today (including the troubling potential for yet another Indy franchise entry), and of course we'll have our own infallible figures Friday morning in Defamer Attractions. Meanwhile, a cadre of contrarian fanboys are even rallying now to defend current Memorial Day-weekend record-holder Spider-Man from the indignity of second place: "Save Spidey! Boycott Indy!" wheezes a recent headline at Comics 2 Film. "Spidey 3 tallied up $151.1 million this time last year. However, the web-slinger did it in a traditional three-day weekend, whereas Indy IV will have a five-day stretch. Fans who want Spidey to hang on to his cred may want avoid Indy this weekend and catch up with the adventure next week." Or, more realistically, pick up another pair of Spidey jammies and/or Underoos to help prevent total brand subsumption over the holiday frame.

• 'Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' Can Possibly Deliver the All-Time Best 5-Day Opening! [Fantasy Moguls]
• 'Crystal Skull' poised to rocket to the top [USA Today]

Of course, with Raimi's horror project Drag Me to Hell also in the pipeline between now and then, the Paramount deal doesn't bode well for Raimi's involvement in the next three Spider-Man films rumored to be on Sony's production slate through 2015. That's not to say his deft touch with big-budget emo heroism is disappearing in the transition, according to Variety:

The intention is to generate several films Raimi would develop and direct, featuring Ryan at a younger, more formative point in his career than previously depicted. One invention the studio is considering is to set the film in the present, with the action triggered by a global threat.

• Raimi, Paramount Revive Jack Ryan [Variety]

On the way, she inquired of the waiter/actor/orderly piloting her wheelchair which room Eva Mendes was in. Per instruction, he explained that Eva was currently outside in a sheep-wrangling-therapy session, knowing full well that if the actress was told the truth about Mendes's whereabouts—that she had in fact checked out to attend to "some personal business in Los Angeles"—Dunst could easily buckle from the lack of accessible A-list support, leading her to commit Grand Theft Palomino as she hightailed it back to her partygirl comfort zone.

• Kirsten Dunst in Rehab [ETOnline]
• EXCLUSIVE: Eva Mendes Takes Break From Rehab [Us]

(Sadly, he wasn't one of the characters chosen for the excellent documentary Confessions of a Superhero, denying us—for now, at least—a deeper look into his wall-crawling psyche.) Though we're sure he would have had many illuminating things to say about the stalled negotiations between the writers and studios had he been pressed, we're glad the duo's conversation steered clear of strike-related matters in favor of somewhat less timely topics, like how Spidey's web-slinging magnetism turns passing tourists into arachnid-craving sexual predators.

• Previously: The Hollywood Blvd. All-Stars Review Britney Spears' 'Blackout' [Defamer]

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• Previously: They Aren't Kidding When They Say Amy Pascal Can Run A Studio Like A Man [Defamer]

• Weirdest Thing I have ever seen (WW) [Club RSX.com]

• Previously: City Bakery Likely To Be Wiped Out In L.A. Cupcake War [Defamer]

Hasbro hopes it can count on people like Juan Reynoso to make that profit a reality.

Wearing a "First National Bank of Dad" T-shirt, Reynoso ran into a Target store recently on an "emergency diaper run" only to get stuck in the toy aisle.

Reynoso's 4-year-old, Matthew, scored Chick Hicks, the only missing piece in his collection of dozens of car toys from last summer's hit, "Cars."

Reynoso said his younger boy was crazy about "Cars." He owns the DVD and has seen the movie over and over. An unemployed truck driver, Reynoso ended up buying his 7-year-old son, Gabriel, a "Spider-Man 3" Venom action figure for $15.

His older boy has seen "Spider-Man 3" and Reynoso said he was looking forward to taking Gabriel to "Transformers" after seeing the promotional trailer on the Internet.

Before leaving Target, Reynoso had promised Gabriel the Spider-Man Versus Venom figure — also $15. "We'll come back later for that," he said as he walked down the aisle with his cart full.

Don't despair, true believers, for there is a happy, Hollywood ending for this story: After a disapproving shake of the head from a Target employee wearing a Spider-Man 3 vest, the loving father not only picked up that second action figure, but realized that he had mistakenly chosen a pack of diapers with no movie co-branding. He quickly returned to the baby section to fill his shopping cart with product from Huggies' Baby Spidey line, a choice that would ensure that his youngest child wouldn't miss out on the promotional fun the rest of his family would soon enjoy.

• 'Spider-Man,' 'Transformers' and 'Pirates' toys battle for boys' attention [LAT]