‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ to possibly cast Michael Barbieri, plus more movie news
Michael Barbieri is in talks to join the cast of the upcoming "Spider-Man" film. Credit: Invision/AP / Arthur Mola
WHO Michael Barbieri
THE MOVIE “Spider-Man: Homecoming”
THE DEAL The teenage actor is having a busy year. Already tapped to star alongside Idris Elba in an adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower,” Barbieri is now in talks to join the cast of the upcoming “Spider-Man” film, TheWrap reports. What role he might play has not been revealed. Barbieri is also set to film a coming-of-age drama on Long Island next month directed by North Shore native John J. Budion.
THE MOVIE “God’s Not Dead”
THE DEAL Pure Flix, the studio behind the 2014 faith-based film, has been drawn into a $100-million lawsuit over copyright infringement, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Screenwriter Kelly Kullberg and family-friendly film producer Michael Landon Jr. say in their lawsuit that their unrealized project, “Rise,” bears numerous similarities to the Pure Flix film, including “a young college student who has to confront a popular and charming atheist professor in three debates” and such supporting characters as “an unmarried local pastor, a rural married couple, the atheist professor’s wife who is also the professor’s former student (a lapsed Christian who questions her own beliefs and observances) and an international student ally.” The suit also names producer David A.R. White as a co-defendant.
THE EVENT Stony Brook Film Festival
THE DEAL The full lineup of the 21st edition of the festival has been announced. Titles include “Love and Taxes,” a romance from comedic monologuist Josh Kornbluth; “Ma Ma,” starring Penélope Cruz as a single mother diagnosed with breast cancer; and “Screenagers,” a documentary about the relatively new parental concern over screen time for children. The festival runs July 21-30 at Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University. Call 631-632-2787 or go to stonybrookfilmfestival.com
