Lead Villain Exits SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK

Julie Taymor's Broadway golden touch is well and truly gone. With it's massively ballooning budget, string of delays and multiple injuries to cast, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark is now well and truly a debacle. When the news that one of your cast is still able to walk following back surgery is considered a positive ... well, you know.

And now the production is suffering another loss with word that actress Natalie Mendoza is walking. Permanently. After one of the first on-set accidents left her with a concussion - Mendoza was struck in the head by rigging holding equipment - she attempted to return only to be plagued by ongoing headaches and nausea, the principle symptoms of post-concussion syndrome. And now she's exiting the production for good, leaving the production down one actress to fill the role of principal villain Arachne.

The amazing thing to me here is that she's the first to go. And I have to wonder whether this is just the tip of the iceberg and more defections are coming soon. With the production's horrible safety record I certainly wouldn't want to be strapped into one of those rigs, contract or no contract.