You Don't Say

On today's menu of Cinema Stew:

A fond farewell to an unsung hero of film; A controversy surrounding Blood Diamond; News of 2 more trailers for Spider-Man 3; The Superman Returns sequel is confirmed again...and you'll also get to see an awards show calendar for dessert

Quint of Aint It Cool News starts us off with some sad news:

I may never have known the name Tommy Johnson, but I have heard him at least 400-500 times in my life... if not more when you factor in the spoof-usage of his work. He was the tuba player in John Williams' orchestra when recording the soundtrack for my favorite movie of all time, JAWS. That famous duh-duh duh-duh shark theme started as breath in his lungs.

Mr. Johnson died in Los Angeles at the age of 71 from cancer and kidney failure. Like most of these thankless talents in the business, when you do a little digging you find that they wove in and out of some amazing projects, lending their talent as invisible contributors to some of the greatest works of all time.

Mr. Johnson not only played music for JAWS, he also recorded for Coppola's THE GODFATHER, the STAR TREK films and Cameron's TITANIC. He performed regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and even the Academy Awards Orchestra.

I couldn't have paid tribute to Mr. Johnson any better.... except by adding: Thanks for all of your fine work over the years.

From Studio Briefing:

Did 'Blood Diamond' Producers Back Out of Deal With Amputees?

The producers of the upcoming Blood Diamond have denied reports that they had reneged on an agreement to provide prosthetic limbs to amputees used as extras in the film.

The New York Post quoted one amputee, Nkululo Mnisi, as saying that Warner Bros. had promised to buy him and 27 other extras the prosthetic devices.

But producer Ed Zwick, in an interview with L.A. Weekly columnist Nikki Finke, said that such reports are "the work of someone who clearly bears the film ill will." Zwick claimed that those involved in making the movie set up a fund to aid the villagers who appeared in it. He said that the fund is being used for everything from classroom repair to road repair to prosthetics.

Zwick added, "People are still continuing contributing to the fund months since production ended. They were really trying to affect positive change. The fund has gotten to a number of things on the list, but there's more to go. And in the list of things to do, prosthetics are part of that list

Sony Pictures confirmed that the second trailer for "Spider-Man 3" will be attached to Casino Royale on November 17th, and the third trailer will debut on February 16th with Ghost Rider .

The studio wanted to ensure people would go see Nicolas Cage in "Rider"---that's probably why Spidey's tagging along.

IESB/The Movie Reporter tells us that director Bryan Singer has finalized a deal to helm the Supes sequel with a smaller budget at his disposal, this time 'round

Here's The Report.... This story was all over the place a few days ago...I let you decide if you think it's news-worthy--considering what we've known for months...

And finally Variety has published an award season calendar