This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, the editor of The New Ledger and podcast host of Coffee and Markets Ben Domenech brings his velvety voice to the show to suggest that John Lithgow play a werewolf-hunting FDR, question the Spider-Man casting, and create a list of movie characters that should run for office (we’d totally vote for Judy Dench’s M). Plus, we find time to review Megamind, Due Date, and implore you to see Four Lions. Listen Here: Download This Episode

It is a shame and guilt that will weigh on him for years. Heatvision is reporting that Martin Sheen – whose entire, storied filmography is overshadowed by his striking ability to put on a sport coat by sliding both arms in at the same time (see The West Wing for proof) – is at the one-yard negotiation line to join the rebooted Spider-Man as Peter Parker’s tragic Uncle Ben. Jokes aside, it’s difficult to see this as being anything but stellar news. Andrew Garfield is a strong acting talent, and Sheen is almost unmatched when he puts on the father figure voice. It’s just one more hit to those who don’t believe comic book movies can’t pull in profound actors (even if they are destroying the industry). Now to see if his son will play the criminal that Spider-Man refuses to catch.

You’ve stumbled upon Circle of Jerks, our sporadically published, weekly feature in which we ask the questions that really matter to our writers and readers. It’s a time to take a break from our busy lives and revel in the one thing that we all share: a deep, passionate love of movies. If you have a question you’d like answered by the FSR readers and staff, send us an email at editors@filmschoolrejects.com. What movies would you recast/recrew? My answer:  Topher Grace as Spider-man.  Tobey Maguire is humorless.  And I’d somehow keep Ryan Reynolds from being the Green Lantern so he can be The Flash instead. And I’d like to have seen Preston Sturges direct just about any romantic comedy. – Sara F.

The casting for Spider-Man keeps going strong, yet it feels like only yesterday they were announcing Willem Dafoe as the main villain for Spider-Man. Sony doesn’t want to give away who he’ll be playing, but they are willing to announce that it’ll be Rhys Ifans stepping up to the plate and battling Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker. Yes, since you were thinking it, this makes Spider-Man even more British. Ifans is a competent choice. It’s laudable that they’re choosing to cast strong acting talents, but Sony had that same game plan the first go ’round, so it’s not wholly unexpected. No word yet on which villain it’ll be, but Ifans’s physicality lends itself more to The Vulture than it does to The Rhino. What villain do you think he’ll be?

Sony’s newly rebooting Spider-Man, under the direction of Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) and lead of Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) appears to have secured a feisty red-head blonde for its Mary Jane Watson Gwen Stacy. Emma Stone, known for her roles in Superbad, Zombieland and the recently released comedy Easy A, is said to be on the cusp of being has been offered the role. Mary Jane Stacy will be a second primary love interest in this new saga, according to reports, as the film will first introduce (the currently not cast) Gwen Stacy Mary Jane Watson as Peter Parker’s secondary lady. With the casting of Stone, Sony is showing their hand in wanting to take things in a different direction. She’s sexier, sassier and plenty more dynamic and fiery than her predecessor, Kirsten Dunst Bryce Dallas Howard. To say the least, I approve. [Deadline]

He was the Jew Hunter in Inglourious Basterds; he is hunting the Green Hornet next as a diabolical gangster; and now Christoph Waltz is being rumored as the next Spider-Man villain. Is this man the ultimate villain? With only Avatar‘s Stephen Lang in close company, we’d say yes. And the thought of him squaring off with a Spider-Man played by Andrew Garfield in a movie directed by Marc Webb sounds like something with a lot of potential — the most potential since Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe joined forces back in the day.

Even though a much better actor (Andrew Garfield) has already scored the role, the name and face of Josh Hutcherson continues to pop up into the conversation around the upcoming Spider-Man reboot. The web is ablaze today with a newly leaked audition tape — more like a screen test — that shows Hutcherson doing some elaborate stunt work and some Spidey-esque ass-beating. Something about this video feels off, if you ask me. First, lets hope that this scene didn’t come directly from the script. Peter Parker in a run-of-the-mill schoolyard brawl isn’t interesting. However, I dig the fight choreographer. Word on the street is that Larnell Stovall (Undisputed III) put this sequence together. If Sony has brought him in to work on the entire project, we could be in for a treat.

Columbia Pictures has announced this evening that Andrew Garfield has been cast in the role of Peter Parker for their upcoming franchise reboot of Spider-Man, due in theaters on July 3, 2012. The film will begin production in early December directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) and a screenplay by James Vanderbilt.

Two days ago we — along with the rest of the web — reported the overwhelming non-situation of the Spider-Man casting situation. Sony is in the home stretch of picking the next Peter Parker, we know this to be true. Whether or not it will be revealed between now and Comic-Con at the end of July seems to be a point of much contention. The list of finalists has not changed since we reported it in late May. But now there are new reports that say Josh Hutcherson has accepted the role, and I hope they’re wrong.

A month ago, we reported on the short list of young talent that Sony was eying for their reboot of Spider-Man. All in all, the list was fairly average. There were no stand outs in particular, but all of them would be passable as the web-slinger. Jamie Bell, Alden Ehrenreich, Andrew Garfield, Frank Dillane, and Josh Hutcherson are basically the same actor with different haircuts. At least Sony knows what they want. The news today being passed around the horn is that…there is no news.

Thanks to the fact that Steve Jobs will clearing up all of the rumors about the new iPhone in a few moments, space has been left on the internet for another big rumor — Spider-Man casting. And while we’re working the phones and offering up back-alley handies to our friends inside the walls of Sony, we’re coming up with bupkis confirmation on this latest rumor. However, it will be a topic of conversation, so lets get on with it. Jamie Bell may be the world’s new Spider-Man.

Here’s some humorous fan activism for your Sunday afternoon. Activism that fans of both NBC’s Community and the recently released (to DVD) comedy Mystery Team will enjoy. A campaign has begun on Twitter to get Donald Glover cast as the next Spider-Man.

Apparently the short list has been whittled down. Out of these names, who should get the job as the web-slinger?

Everyday, the internet will be bringing you another name on a list of possible names that might or might not play Peter Parker. But does that really even matter?

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, Rob Hunter and I delve deep into the pressing questions facing the Catholic Church Movie-Making Industry.

Drew McWeeny over at Hit Fix broke the news today that Sony Pictures has pretty much locked in Percy Jackson star Logan Lerman as their Peter Parker in the Spider-Man reboot. It marks another step in a big change for the Spider-Man franchise. A big change that was spurred on by the failures of Sam Raimi.

Aaron Johnson is a very smart actor. He’ll be a very successful and hotly sought-after actor if Kick-Ass opens big next weekend. And while that may open the door to other big projects, don’t expect any of them to be superhero movies any time soon…

In a few weeks Kick-Ass is going to try to achieve what films like Mystery Men and Blankman could not. “Not suck,” you might say and you’d be right on that. But the latest superhero dark comedy, inspired by Mark Millar’s smashing graphic novels, will try to also break past the barrier of comic fan approval alone and burst into the hearts and wallets of the general public.

Everyone’s favorite web-slinger has found a new hope.

The Fat Guys suffer through the January Sewer, which is the weeks of the new year that hold very little hope for quality films. They haven’t seen anything this week, due to non-screenings and late screenings, so they talk about the upcoming Spider-Man reboot.