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Emma Stone: A superhero movie is only one of many genres for the star

Stone's appearance in 'The Amazing Spider-Man' checks superheroes off her list. Anything left?

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Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
Emma Stone stars in the new movie 'The Amazing Spider-Man' as Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker's high school girlfriend.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

Try to find a genre Emma Stone hasn’t tackled.

It’ll be a tough hunt. Stone is taking on the superhero movie for the first time this week with the opening of the new film “The Amazing Spider-Man,” in which she stars as Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s high school love interest Gwen Stacy (and many critics are saying their relationship is one of the best things about the film, with Monitor critic Peter Rainer writing that Garfield’s sulkiness “contrasts smartly with his high school sweetie Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), who is all smiles and wiles. Director Marc Webb… wisely keeps this duo front and center.”)

So this is the first time she’s shown up in a superpowered summer tentpole. But this past Oscar season, she garnered awards buzz when she appeared in the film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s juggernaut novel “The Help” as crusading writer Skeeter Phelan, for which she snagged an Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture nomination at the Image Awards and a Choice Movie Actress nomination at the Teen Choice Awards. The film earned a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars and a Best Motion Picture – Drama nomination at the Golden Globes.

While it’s a funnier take on the genre than most, Stone took on apocalyptic drama in the 2009 movie “Zombieland,” where she starred with Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin as one half of a duplicitous sister duo trying to survive in a zombie-ridden US.

Romantic comedies? Check. Stone starred in last summer’s “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” as Hannah, a law student who’s the one girl smooth Ryan Gosling can’t win over.

For high school comedies, somewhat of a subgenre, there was “Easy A,” a 2011 “Scarlet Letter” update in which Stone played Olive, a high school student who’s the victim of a misplaced rumor. The movie won acclaim for its smart script and Stone’s performance. And her first major role was in 2008’s “Superbad” as Jules, the girl of high school senior Jonah Hill’s dreams and one of the reasons Hill and fellow senior Michael Cera embark on a series of misadventures one summer night.

If you thought of animation, the 2010 Owen Wilson film “Marmaduke,” about a mischievious Great Dane, wasn’t exactly a critical smash, but Stone lent her voice to pup Mazie, who develops feelings for Wilson’s troublemaker.

She technically hasn’t been in a musical, but Stone can get a half-point for the first listing on her imdb resume: the TV remake “The New Partridge Family,” on which she played Laurie. Only the show’s pilot aired, but Stone won the role after appearing, and singing, on the VH1 TV competition “In Search of The Partridge Family.”

(Oh, darn it, we just thought of horror. Okay, there's one.)

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