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With the most recognizable figures of each pop culture institution departing, what does the future hold for Spidey and America's most popular talent show/karaoke contest? CASE NO. 1: "AMERICAN IDOL" Whether you love him or hate him, Simon Cowell is one of the main reasons most people watch the show in the first place.
Some of the entertainment industry's most popular and profitable franchises stayed that way because their original DNA remained intact through the years. But last week, it was announced that not one, but two, major moneymakers would be getting a permanent makeover.
On the television side of things, America's favorite mean judge, Simon Cowell, says he's leaving "American Idol" after the current season so he can develop another singing talent show, "The X Factor," for FOX in fall 2011. And lovers of the "Spider-Man" movies were left in dismay when news broke that stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst and director Sam Raimi would not return for "Spider-Man 4" and that the franchise would reboot to focus on Peter Parker's high school years.
With the most recognizable figures of each pop culture institution departing, what does the future hold for Spidey and America's most popular talent show/karaoke contest?
CASE NO. 1: "AMERICAN IDOL"
Whether you love him or hate him, Simon Cowell is one of the main reasons most people watch the show in the first place. He's rude, incredibly crass, hard to impress and more than 99 percent of the time, he happens to be right. You can see it in the contestants' faces. Randy's frequent "pitchy" criticisms and Kara's words of advice practically ring on deaf ears until they get to Simon, whose criticism they'll actually heed.
Some people think that when he leaves, the show will lose a lot of its spark and that he'll take a good chunk of the "Idol" audience with him when he launches "The X Factor." As much as we love what Simon says, "Idol" won't become any less popular when Simon goes.
"American Idol" has already undergone a number of changes since 2002. They went from two hosts to one (remember Brian Dunkleman?), got a fourth judge last year and sent Paula Abdul packing in 2009 only to replace her with Ellen DeGeneres for the current season. And guess what? When "Idol" debuted last week, 30 million people still tuned in. The brand already has been established. Plus, since "The X Factor" will be airing at a different time of year than "Idol," I bet the viewing public will think that two singing competitions are better than one.
VERDICT: STILL SUCCESSFUL
CASE NO. 2: "SPIDER-MAN"
This is a much tougher sell to me. "Idol" has had the luxury of being a yearly television staple for most of the last decade. On the other hand, there's been three "Spider-Man" movies in the same time span.
Now, Sam Raimi and Kirsten Dunst leaving doesn't concern me. Different directors and damsels in distress/love interests have come and gone through movie franchises with little effect to the box-office bucks. But losing Tobey Maguire, arguably the best superhero casting ever, might be hard for a lot of fans to swallow.
Rightfully, they've decided to do a reboot of the franchise to focus on a different aspect of Peter Parker's life as a young web-slinger. But here's the thing with reboots: They don't always work. History has shown the best time to do a reboot is when there's a serious drop in popularity (see the "Batman" movies) or a significant amount of time between sequels where the cast has aged and a fresh start is needed to re-energize the series.
But neither has happened to the "Spider-Man" series. "Spider-Man 3" opened to more than $151 million -- at the time, the highest-grossing box office opening ever (until "The Dark Knight" topped it). When "Spider-Man 4" comes to theaters in 2012 with fresh faces and a new man behind the camera, I think people will be longing for Tobey to return no matter who they get to replace him -- and it'll show in the receipts.
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