Taymor Says Working on Changes; Never Heard of 'New' Bookwriter

It's Roger Friedman at Showbiz411 vs. Michael Riedel at the New York Post today.

Friedman writes that "I spoke to Julie Taymor this morning. She was working on some changes with her own co-writer, Glenn Berger. She told me she's had lots of input about changes from friends and colleagues. "No one has been hired or is being hired," Taymor said. "The director they mentioned is a friend of Michael Cohl's. I'm sure he asked his opinion. When a show's in previews, everyone gives their opinion. Try this, that. And the other guy, I've never even heard of him.""

Michael Riedel reported yesterday in the New York Post that SPIDER-MAN producers had reached out to Philip Wm. McKinley to potentially join the production as co-director along with Julie Taymor.

In response, a production spokesperson for SPIDER-MAN has issued a statement that "There is no truth to the rumor of a co-director. The production has not brought anyone on and the original creative team remains firmly in place, with Julie Taymor at the helm."

This new rumor of a co-director, comes on the heals of a report last week that the production had also reached out for help on the book to Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Both the book and the direction were amongst the show's heaviest criticism in reviews earlier this month. There is no official word on what changes might be coming to the show, though reports from audience members have only talked about minor visible changes to date.

Word leaked out last week that producers of SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK have asked Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to rewrite the book to the show. The original book was a collaboration between Julie Taymor and Glen Berger. This time around, the show will be reworked by a Spidey expert, as Aguirra-Sacasa has written Spider-Man comics for Marvel in the past. Additionally, he penned the book for Dallas Theatre Center's IT'S A PLANE, IT'S SUPERMAN! 

Featuring direction by Tony® Award-winner Julie Taymor(The Tempest, Across The Universe, The Lion King), music and lyrics by 22-time Grammy® Award-winners Bono and The Edge, a book co-written by Taymor and Glen Berger (Underneath The Lintel) and one of the most iconic title characters of all time, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark is the most ambitious production ever undertaken on Broadway and certainly the most expensive and most heavily watched productions in Broadway history. 

Photo by Walter McBride / Retna Ltd / WM Photos