Spider-Man musical stuck in a web of troubles

NEW YORK: The bugs apparently still need to be worked out on Broadway’s version of Spider-Man.
Producers of ”Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark” have been forced to delay by three weeks the official opening of the costly and complicated show, and it will only open its doors for previews after the busy Thanksgiving holiday.
”Shows like ours, that embrace the challenge of opening on Broadway without an out-of-town tryout, often need to adjust their schedules along the way,” lead producer Michael Cohl said in a statement released Friday, citing an ”unprecedented level of technical artistry.”
Originally scheduled to begin previews on Nov. 14 with an opening four days before Christmas, the show will now begin previews on Nov. 28 and finally open on Jan. 11, a less-than-ideal timetable for luring the crowds that descend on Broadway over the holidays.
”That’s usually a sign that there’s trouble in River City,” says Robert Westenberg, a Tony Award-nominated actor whose Broadway credits include ”Les Miserables,” ”Zorba” and the original 1987 run of ”Into the Woods,” which he recalls was delayed for several weeks while Stephen Sondheim tinkered with the musical before it finally opened. When it did, it ran for two years.
Westenberg, who now teaches theater at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, says many reasons can delay a show’s opening, including weak stories or songs, unfinished costumes, not-ready-for-prime-time production values and unready stars.
”They have to do this cost-benefit analysis in terms of how many weeks is it going to take to hammer it into the kind of shape where it’s going to be critic-proof, and how many weeks can they afford to do that without anybody coming in to put money in the coffers,” he says. ”It’s a tough call.”
The reported $60 million musical is, by any measure, a huge undertaking. It will have a 41-member cast, 18 orchestra members and aerial stunts designed by a longtime Cirque du Soleil alum that will shoot actors up to 40 mph through the air and over the audience. Its promotional material promises ”a thrilling experience in ways never-before-dreamed-possible in live theater.”
The delay is just the latest blow for a musical that has been in the works for more than six years. Producers have come and gone, and so have cast members: Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming were once cast as Mary-Jane and the Green Goblin. At one point, the musical was supposed to open in February 2010.
Besides timing troubles, two on-set accidents have injured actors, including one who had both his wrists broken when he practiced an aerial stunt. And inspectors from the New York State Department of Labor, which must approve all stunts that go over an audience, were unable to complete a recent safety review; producers said they were unprepared to show all the stunts in one day.
”I’m not surprised that ‘Spider-Man’ is delayed,” said a longtime theater producer not connected to the comic book musical, who asked that his name not be used so he would not damage his relations in the Broadway community. ”They are building a musical that costs three times as much as the biggest musical we’ve seen previously.”
Until now, ”Shrek the Musical,” which opened in 2008, is believed to be Broadway’s costliest show with a price tag reported to have been $25 million and it failed to make its investors money. By comparison, ”The Phantom of the Opera” cost about $12 million in 1988 _ around $22 million in today’s dollars _ and ”Wicked” cost $14 million to mount in 2003 and both are still chugging along on Broadway and are two of the most successful shows ever.
The Spider-Man musical will star relative unknowns _ Reeve Carney as Peter Parker, Jennifer Damiano as Mary Jane Watson and Patrick Page as the Green Goblin _ in the story by Glen Berger and Julie Taymor, who is also directing. The music is by U2′s Bono and The Edge, and features moody guitar-heavy arena rock, including the song ”Boy Falls From the Sky,” which U2 has been playing on tour.
During a set visit in early October, Taymor, who won a Tony Award for directing ”The Lion King,” was firmly in charge and the technical run-through seemed relaxed. Cohl said things were on track, both financially and in terms of schedule. He would not comment to The Associated Press on Friday.
Other shows this month have had complications. The opening of a musical based on Pedro Almodovar’s ”Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” which, like ”Spider-Man” originated on Broadway without benefit of a practice run elsewhere, was also delayed and opened to mostly negative reviews, citing an unfocused production. And the upcoming Broadway opening of ”The Merchant of Venice” has been delayed after actress Lily Rabe pulled out for several preview performances citing family reasons. – AP

Russian investors soon to visit Karachi, Islamabad

KARACHI: A Russian investment delegation will soon visit Karachi and Islamabad to review and explore investment opportunities in Pakistan.
This was stated here by Chief Executive Officer of Russian National Investment Agency, Mr Oleg Gorbulin, during a meeting with the officials of Sindh Board of Investment (SBI).
According to a statement of SBI issued on Sunday, the meeting was held at the Board’s office on Saturday afternoon and was chaired by Advisor to Sindh Chief Minister on Investment, Zubair Motiwala.
The Russian delegates expressed its interest to explore opportunities of investment, particularly in Sindh, in various sectors including gas mining, agriculture, livestock, engineering, and medicine.
They also sought special block for Russian investors in the Exclusive Economic Zones set up by the government in various parts of the country which provide special incentives to the investors.
Advisor Motiwala said that the provincial government could send a representative of SBI on temporary basis to Russia to give guidelines to the Russian investors about the investment opportunities in Pakistan.
In addition, he said that the office of SBI in Karachi could also play a good role to liaison with the Russians businessmen.
On the occasion, a brief documentary was also shown to the Russian team about prospectus of investment in various sectors of economy.

Israel presses US on ‘credible’ military threat against Iran

NEW ORLEANS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Vice President Joe Biden Sunday that only a “credible” threat of military action will ensure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons, a senior Israeli official said.
Netanyahu met with Biden in New Orleans shortly after arriving there for a summit of Jewish organizations.
The senior official, who asked not to be named, quoted Netayahu as telling Biden: “The only way to ensure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons is by creating a credible threat of military action against it if it does not halt its race to acquire a nuclear bomb.”
President Barack Obama’s administration, while not ruling out a military option against Iran, has so far stressed sanctions and diplomacy as its preferred course with dealing with Iran’s nuclear program.
Biden’s discussions with Netanyahu come as world powers are positioning for a resumption of talks with Iran about its nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at developing a nuclear weapons capability.
And it comes on the heels of US mid-term elections that left Obama in a weakened position with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives and the Democrats clinging to a slender majority in the Senate.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham set a tough tone on Iran on Saturday at a security conference in Ottawa when he said conservatives want “bold” action on Iran.
If Obama “decides to be tough with Iran beyond sanctions, I think he is going to feel a lot of Republican support for the idea that we cannot let Iran develop a nuclear weapon,” Graham told the Halifax International Security Forum.
“The last thing America wants is another military conflict, but the last thing the world needs is a nuclear-armed Iran. Containment is off the table.”
Mark Regev, Netanyahu’s spokesman, said the Israeli prime minister expressed support for continued sanctions on Iran in his talks with Biden but suggested that more pressure was needed.
“Sanctions are important. They are increasing pressure on Iran. But so far there has not been any change in the behavior of Iran and upgrading of international pressure is necessary,” he quoted Netanyahu as tell Biden.
The impasse over Iran’s nuclear program has already led to fresh UN and EU sanctions against Iran, which were followed by several other unilateral punitive measures by the United States and the EU.
Sanctions notably ban investments in oil, gas and petrochemicals while also targeting banks, insurance, financial transactions and shipping — which Tehran has brushed off as having no impact.
But Iran has said it is prepared to resume talks from November 10 and proposed that they be held in Turkey rather than in Vienna, the site proposed by the EU’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
The talks, which include Britain, China, France, Russia, Germany and the United States, have been deadlocked since October 2009 when the two sides met in Geneva.
The New York Times reported last month that the Obama administration and its European allies were preparing a new, more onerous offer for Iran than the one rejected by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last year.
The offer would require Iran to send more than 4,400 pounds of low-enriched uranium out of the country, an increase of more than two-thirds from the amount required under a deal struck in Vienna.

Pakistani soil not to be used by terrorists, says Zardari

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari Sunday reiterated that Pakistan will never allow a handful of terrorists and extremists to impose their extremist ideological agenda on the people through force and said that we will not let Pakistani soil to be used by the terrorists against any country.
He said that blame game will not serve the cause of the war against militancy and emphasized that the international community should also understand and appreciate our determination to fight militancy.
The President made these remarks while addressing the fourth national conference of SAFMA (South Asia Free Media Association) titled “Setting a National Agenda on Media, Democracy and Good Governance” here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Sunday night.The President said that Pakistan stands for peace in the region and the world and wanted early resumption of the composite dialogue process with India.
According to the prepared text of the speech, the President said “The democratic civil government went out of the way in our peace overtures towards India. It would have been most helpful if our initiatives had been welcomed and responded to in a positive manner. Mumbai attack has undermined efforts for peace. Pakistan is cooperating in unearthing and bringing to justice the perpetrators of militant acts.”
The President said that “we want to implement Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s vision of a peaceful South Asia through economic integration adding we are for strengthening SAARC and are ready to relax tariff and non-tariff barriers on a reciprocal basis”.
The President while appreciating the stand taken by SAFMA and Citizens for Democracy to oppose any undemocratic and unconstitutional change reiterated commitment of the PPP to a progressive, democratic and liberal Polity that empowers the working people and the poor of the country.
“Reconciliation is a cornerstone of the policy of the present government. We believe in reconciliation because the issues facing the country are so great and complex that no one party or institution can solve them.” The President said.
The President said that “we have seen the negative consequences of politics of confrontation”, adding that the nation can ill afford confrontational politics.
The setting up of coalition governments, both at the center and in the provinces, is a measure of our policy of reconciliation, the President said and added that “we therefore welcome when SAFMA also seeks national consensus on major national policy issues”.
The President mentioned the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the NFC Award, the Aghazi Huqooqi Balochistan, the holding of free and fair bye-elections in many constituencies and the political ownership to the fight against militancy as some of the dividends of the policy of reconciliation.
The President while welcoming SAFMA’s efforts to evolve a national consensus on the major challenges facing the country congratulated SAFMA for holding its 4th National Conference in Islamabad and also welcomed SAFMA proposal to hold 3rd Indo-Pak Parliamentary Conference in Islamabad in the near future.
The President said that the government is vigorously working to address the issue of poverty through Benazir Income support Program which is not merely a poverty alleviation program but also a women emancipation and empowerment program.
The President while referring to the history’s worst floods said that the watan card has proved to be a very successful instrument to rehabilitate the flood victims as everyone has appreciated it.
The President said, “I should also like to say that our well to do people will also have to come forward and make contributions through one time flood surcharge. We cannot go to the international community and ask for help without showing that we too are doing our best”.
The President while commenting on Pakistan’s fight against militancy said that from the very outset we faced the challenge of militancy but we came out in the open against militants and took them head on.
The undeclared policy of running with the hare and hunting with the hound was abandoned, the President said.
The President said that the PPP led democratic Government fully believes in freedom of the media and wholeheartedly welcomes constructive and positive criticism as it helps fine-tuning the policies of any government.
He said that free and fair media is essence of any democratic society and safeguards the sacred principles of democracy for which PPP has offered its blood throughout our history. He said that we have upheld the freedoms of the media and refused to be provoked.
The President noted the points rose by SAFMA’s conference on the need for a National Agenda for strengthening democracy and said that the government and the Party will respond to any constructive suggestion to strengthen economy, improve law and order, and enhance security to uphold democratic system. – APP

Pakistan fine three cricketers on discipline violation

DUBAI: Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam on Sunday revealed three cricketers were fined for disciplinary reasons, saying there remains no tolerance on the rules implemented in the new code of conduct.
Opener Shahzaib Hasan, spinner Abdul Rehman and wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider were fined 500 dirham (136 dollars) for breaking curfew timings during the ongoing one-day series against South Africa, played in the United Arab Emirates.
“We have reminded the players that there will be no tolerance on discipline and after these three players returned late to the team hotel by five minutes they have been fined and issued show-cause notices,” team manager Intikhab Alam told reporters.
Alam said the players have been told of severe consequences if they breach the code of conduct again, with double fines and other sanctions.
Pakistan introduced a new players’ code of conduct with stricter punishments last month, following problems of discipline and corruption which rocked their cricket recently.
Three Pakistani players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) last month after allegations of spot-fixing against them.
Alam said no disciplinary problem will be tolerated.
“All the players have been told about their responsibility and that Pakistan cricket is first and foremost, so we think that stricter steps will bring good results,” said Alam, also a former Pakistan captain. – APP

Nawaz will never regain power, says Musharraf

NEW YORK: Former president Pervez Musharraf has severely criticised PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif and said he (Nawaz) will never be able to regain power and take him to court.
The retired general who had deposed Mr Sharif in October 1999 told a gathering of Pakistanis on Saturday night that “Nawaz knows that neither will he regain power nor will he be able to try me in a court of law. Therefore, he takes resort to blowing this trumpet time and again.”
Gen (retd) Musharraf said he did not regret the action taken against Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and against Lal Mosque and stressed he would not apologise for the actions, adding he would do it all over again if forced by the situation.
Continuing his attacks on Mr Sharif, he said that while he raised the slogan of ‘Jaag Punjabi Jaag’ to secure votes in Punjab, he had remained silent over the killing of Punjabis in Balochistan.
Gen (retd) Musharraf accused Mr Sharif of giving refuge in Lahore to Talal Bugti whom he termed ‘lawbreaker’.
Supporters of PML-N gathered outside the hall raised slogans against Musharraf.

VC asks govt to accept captors’ demands

PESHAWAR: A video footage of the kidnapped Vice-Chancellor of Islamia College University, Prof Ajaml Khan, surfaced here on Sunday, with him appealing to the government to accept the demands of his captors by Nov 20.
“The government should accept mujahideen’s demands, which are of trivial nature, by Nov 20, failing which I may lose my life the following day,” he said.
Prof Khan was kidnapped on Sept 7 when he was going to his office from his residence.In his first video released last month he had requested the provincial government and leaders of the Awami National Party to get him released.
The fresh video, released to some private television channels, Prof Khan who has grown a beard, calls upon teachers and students of the university and sincere workers of the ANP to call upon the government for acceptance of his captors’ demands.
Prof Khan, who is related to ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, said he had been in custody all this time and he had earlier requested the government through a video to accept his captors’ demands, but his request fell on deaf ears.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said he neither knew who had released the video nor any group had put forward any demand to the government.
In a handout issued here, the minister said that Prof Khan was respected by the government and all possible efforts would be made to get him released.
“For the sake of humanity we have always strived to get every kidnapped person released and will continue to do so,” he said. – Bureau report
Lecturers association of KP has called for a strike and demanded a quick recovery of kidnapped Professor Ajmal. They have announced to keep all universities closed from Monday until VC is released.