In the latest of a string of rants pertaining to Sony's treatment of the Spider-Man franchise, I discussed the news that James Cameron has been brought in to give some pointers to newly-appointed Spider-Man director Marc Webb. While there's nothing wrong with that in and of itself, it seems to be yet another sign of Sony's hedging in trying to get a big-name film out quickly and with relatively little expense. Furthermore, there was the danger that Cameron's own draft for a Spider-Man screenplay (developed in the early 'nineties and never used) could leak into the process, even though his counseling is apparently related only to the film's 3-D elements.

So, it comes as good news to hear that Cameron is saying that his heaviest advice is coming in the form of what not to do, as opposed to him providing blockbuster ideas which would detract from Webb's creative control of the project. Moreover, he hasn't even spoken with Webb directly (though he's open to doing so). In an interview with MTV's Splash Page, Cameron said:

I didn't talk to him directly. I mean, I'm more than happy to. I'm more than happy to talk to any filmmaker that wants to author their picture in 3-D. ... It's not like I want to tell them how to do it, because everybody's going to come up with their own aesthetic. It's more like, "Just don't make the same dumbass mistakes we made for ten years. Save yourself that." [Full video embedded below]

(On a side note, he goes on to use the Christopher Nolan's Batman films as the right way to reboot a franchise. That's good at least.)

All of this comes as a mild relief. It still seems that Sony doesn't care a whole lot about how aesthetically good Spider-Man is going to be, but at least Webb's getting the right kind of help.