Latest U2 News / Sightings

U2 stars climbing the walls ahead of €45m Spider-Man

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Bono co-wrote 'Spider Man ?Turn Off The Dark'. Photo: AP


By Jason O'Brien

Thursday November 25 2010

BONO has blamed the soaring €45m costs of his 'Spider-Man' production on the numerous delays in bringing it to the Broadway stage.

And the U2 singer has admitted having major doubts over whether the show would ultimately be considered a success, given the huge amount of money that has been spent.

The mega-musical, with a score written by Bono and bandmate The Edge, will finally preview on Broadway in New York this weekend -- more than nine years after they first started work on it.

The production had been "easier than we could ever have imagined. Harder than we ever thought", Bono told entertainment magazine 'Billboard' yesterday.

"I mean, easier in the sense that the music came to us effortlessly. Dreaming up the show, the scale of it, the flying sequence, the pop-art opera that it is -- that was all pure joy.

"What we didn't realise was how difficult it is to stage this stuff, both technically and financially."

'Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark' will feature a 41-member cast, 18 orchestra members and aerial stunts designed by a Cirque du Soleil star that will shoot actors through the air and over the audience at 60kmh.

However, the production has been dogged by delays, and has received major adverse publicity for the huge costs incurred and the number of producers and stars -- including Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming -- who signed up and then left.

Cancellations

Bono admitted there was a level of trepidation ahead of its opening, which was scheduled for earlier this month and earlier this year before the latest delays. If technical difficulties persist, he is concerned the audience will stay away.

"Is there jeopardy?" Bono asked. "Yes. Because it's technically very difficult. It has never been achieved before -- the kind of scale of what we're looking for. There may be very good reasons. We're going to find out. The expense of it? A lot of it was the delays."

The Edge said: "As much as we've used our experiences with U2 to inform the way that we approach writing for this, we think that the opposite will happen, and when we come back to U2 Land, it'll be with a certain knowledge and sense of new thoughts and new ideas."

The show will preview this Sunday at Foxwoods Theatre on 42nd Street, before the official premiere on January 11.

"I think even though it looks like there's a lot of ill will against us, I think it'll turn around," Bono said.

"If it's just spectacle, we will have failed. But if you can be moved, and if you believe these characters, and. . . you really buy into the myth, it's a great American story."

- Jason O'Brien

Irish Independent

Originally posted by drewhiggins:http://www.atu2.com/news/u2-working-on-new-album.html

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Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:I very much doubt he means hits like GOYB. GOYB wasn't a hit for them, and I think they know it. I think he means songs like Every Breaking Wave, which to me should be a BIG hit. Live I've always said, U2 should go half hardcore, like do something new yet traditional, something their more hardcore fans would respect, and half commerical. A blend of the two would be perfect.

Plenty of good food on Bono's plate

HE might be a rock superstar, but U2 front man Bono could easily turn his hand to being a restaurant critic.

Bono has been Sir Lunch-a-lot since arriving in Sydney at the weekend, chowing down at some of the Harbour City's best known dining establishments. Yesterday, the singer and a mate enjoyed a relaxing afternoon bite to eat at The Pier restaurant in Rose Bay. The casually dressed star - sporting his trademark specs and khaki cap - acknowledged a group of diehard fans who waited out the front of the restaurant to shake hands with the Irish rocker as he departed.

On Sunday, Bono and guitarist The Edge lunched at Rose Bay nosherie Catalina, while on Saturday night he had a late dinner at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar in Bondi. U2 is Down Under for its 360 Degrees tour, which begins in Melbourne at Etihad Stadium tomorrow night.

Before they get down to the business of rock and roll, Bono will today flick the switch in Sydney to turn the Opera House and part of the Harbour Bridge red to celebrate World AIDS Day, which is tomorrow.

Bono sneaks into town for a feed

KING of the disappearing act, U2 frontman Bono, secretly slipped into Sydney on Saturday - as he has done many times before - and wasted no time heading out to some of his favourite watering holes. The renowned Irish rock institution, who spent two weeks at Bungan Beach with his family in 2006 completely undetected, casually strolled into Rose Bay nosherie Catalina yesterday for a seafood feed with guitarist The Edge (aka David Evans) and the eatery's owner, Michael McMahon.

Earlier in the day he had met with Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd to discuss poverty and aid. On Saturday night, the sunnies-obsessed singer arrived unannounced at Icebergs Dining Room. And, like all diners, he had to wait for a table at the "no bookings" restaurant.

"Bono was having a red cocktail but didn't get to finish it because a table then became available," said an onlooker.Bono has been travelling with an entourage of five, including a burly Irish security guy. While he will turn the Opera House and Harbour Bridge red tomorrow, the U2 360 tour actually will kick off in Melbourne on Wednesday night.