Spider-Man is back on screen, but this time he’s black and Latino
For what seems like the umpteenth time, SpiderMan is back on the big screen. But this year, when Hollywood is under the microscope on the hot-button issue of diversity, the superhero is halfblack and half-Latino. Step aside, Peter Parker. There’s a new Spidey in town. Hello, Miles Morales. Miles as Spidey is not new to comic book enthusiasts, but he is new to theater-goers, who earlier this year embraced the long-awaited arrival of the Marvel universe’s first black hero, Black Panther, on the silver screen. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which hits US theaters on December 14, is a free-wheeling animated look at the multiple Spideys in parallel dimensions, including Spider-Ham (yes, a pig) and two women.
This time, an older Parker is a mentor to Miles, who is voiced by 23-year-old Shameik Moore, an Atlanta-born actor and singer with Jamaican roots. Long before Moore landed the major role, he hoped he would get the chance to play Miles, he told AFP in an interview. He had even written about it in a journal given to him by a friend. “One of the things I wrote in there very early on was, ‘I am Spider-Man. I am Miles Morales,’” he said.
Moore first drew notice in the well-received indie film “Dope” in 2015. He says being chosen to play Morales is as rare as... being bitten by a radioactive spider. “That spider chose him. However, many thousands of people live in Brooklyn... Sony chose me to play Miles Morales out of the hundreds of thousands of people that auditioned,” he recounted.
Stan Lee’s posthumous cameo
The film recalls the visual style of the original comic books, with less refined art and speech balloons that appear on screen. Its release comes one month after the death at age 95 of the character’s creator, Marvel legend Stan Lee. But the man behind a stable of heroes, from The Hulk to the X-Men, is still present-he is listed as an executive producer and, as is customary for Marvel films, Lee has a cameo appearance-in animated form.
The cast features Oscar winners Mahershala Ali (Miles’s uncle) and Nicolas Cage (Spider-Man Noir), and Oscar nominees Hailee Steinfeld (Spidey’s love interest Gwen Stacy) and Lily Tomlin (Parker’s Aunt May). The film is generating major buzz, and currently has a 100 percent “fresh rating” on Rotten Tomatoes, which aggregates reviews from critics.—AFP
Three years after shutting down its iconic Big Apple venue, toy store FAO Schwarz has been reborn, offering a nostalgic holiday-time fix to native New Yorkers and tourists alike. “I went to the original, it was magical,” said Anna, a teenager from New York on a chilly late-November morning. “But this one is as magical too.” The store is only about one-third the size of its former incarnation at the foot of Central Park opposite the Plaza Hotel, made famous in the hit Tom Hanks comedy “Big” and other movies.
But the new venue boasts a festive address of its own just a stone’s throw away from the giant Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center and its skating rink below. The store revives the old FAO Schwarz’ red and black color scheme with gold lettering even as its new owners, ThreeSixty Group, reposition the brand after prohibitive rental costs doomed the old store. Besides New York, ThreeSixty plans to open an FAO Schwarz in Beijing. The brand, which was founded in 1862 by a German immigrant, is also opening pop-up stores at department stores elsewhere in the United States and overseas.
ThreeSixty, which has been backed by private equity firm AEA Investors, has adopted a meticulous approach to details in the store since the store was opened November 16. The venture has been launched as retailers know they must give consumers a reason to show up in person at a time when e-commerce sales are rising. It arrives in the first holiday season since the demise of the once-grand retail chain Toys “R” Us. “The key to this store is experience,” Chief Merchandising Officer David Niggli said of the ambition to leave children wild-eyed and probably exhausted.
Instagram-friendly
Highlights include magic tricks, certificates to “adopt” a doll and a “Build-a-Bear” workshop where visitors can design their own plush models. “It’s not only a place where I like to buy things,” said Claudia, who was visiting the store from Argentina with her son, Juan Ignacio. “It’s also a cozy and a charming place where I enjoy to walk and spend time.” Shoppers can wander around and compare different Barbie options, Ravensburger puzzles and myriad stuffed animal creations.
“You don’t have the same feeling when you are seated at home online,” Niggli said. “You don’t get to interact with a sales staff that applied for their job going on stage, you don’t have costume characters, you are not interviewed to see if you can adopt a baby doll,” he added. “All of those things are unique.” The store also aims to take advantage of new digital tools to build interest with a new generation of shoppers.
Potential “Instagrammables” for customers include the “dance-on piano,” where visitors can take a cue from Hanks in “Big” and take a twirl. The company also enlisted model Gigi Hadid, who has some 45 million Instagram followers, to design its toy soldiers outfits, including the first-ever version with female soldiers. Sandy, a mother from Connecticut, said the store “has very special toys and very special arrangements,” even if it’s a splurge. “It seems magical...and expensive,” she added. “But it’s in New York, it’s fancy.” — AFP