Spider-Man

[kg redhead]

A rather odd thing has just just occurred in the life of nerdy high school student Peter Parker; after being bitten by a radioactive spider, his body chemistry is mutagenically altered in that he can scale walls and ceilings, and he develops a "spider-sense" that warns him of approaching danger. Adopting the name "Spider-Man", Peter first uses his newfound powers to make money, but after his uncle is murdered at the hands of a criminal Peter failed to stop, he swears to use his powers to fight the evil that killed his uncle. At the same time, scientist and businessman Norman Osborn, after exposure to an experimental nerve gas, develops an alternate personality himself; the super-strong, psychotic Green Goblin! Peter Parker must now juggle three things in his life; his new job at the local newspaper under a perpetually on-edge employer, his battle against the evil Green Goblin, and his fight to win the affections of beautiful classmate Mary Jane Watson, against none other than his best friend Harry Osborn, son of Norman Osborn! Is this challenge too much for even the amazing Spider-Man to handle?

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Before Willem Dafoe received the role of the Green Goblin, both Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich were offered the role. Malkovich and Dafoe starred together in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), which was produced by Nicolas Cage.

James Franco auditioned to play Peter Parker, but was cast as Harry Osborn instead.

In addition to both Peter Parker and Norman Osborn wear their enemy's costume colors during the Thanksgiving dinner scene, Harry Osborn is seen wearing all of the colors. He's wearing a green shirt, red tie and blue coat.

Freddie Prinze Jr. and Leonardo DiCaprio were both considered for the role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

Sam Raimi was not Sony's first choice as director. Others considered were Jan de Bont, James Cameron, Ang Lee and David Fincher.

Alicia Witt was considered for the role of Mary-Jane Watson.

Elisha Cuthbert auditioned for the role of Mary-Jane Watson.

Pre-production planning for Spider-Man actually began in 1986 by Cannon Films. Later, Cannon sold the production rights to Carolco Pictures. Carolco would later sell the production rights to Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Sony and Marvel produced the Spider-Man film we see today, released through Sony's Columbia Pictures division.

James Cameron wrote a treatment for this film, over the years, as the rights to the character jumped between companies, nearly all his ideas were scrapped except for the biological web-shooters.

USA Today had expected its logo to appear in Spider-Man, replacing one on a billboard in Times Square. "But a legal web proved to be a snag," it said, after Sherwood 48 Associates, the owner of the billboard sued the studio. (The USA Today logo was seen on the billboard in the trailers and commercials for the movie.)

The writers Alvin Sargent & Scott Rosenberg contribute to the last uncredited re-write on the shooting script.

In preparation for his role, Tobey Maguire trained for a short while before the screen test and after he got the role, went on a strict exercise regime and specific diet for five months.

The scene at Columbia University was filmed on an unseasonably warm spring day, however, the costume department had provided the high school extras with cold-weather clothing. The real Columbia University students can be seen in the background wearing shorts and t-shirts by contrast.

A welder building sets for the movie was killed 6 March 2001, when a crane toppled onto a construction basket in which he was riding and struck him in the head.

Zach Hudson , the stunt double for Tobey Maguire, fractured his leg after a stunt went wrong and he slammed in to a brick wall.

Several Spider-Man costumes were created at a cost of up to $100,000 each. Four were stolen from the set in early April of 2001 and Columbia Pictures posted a $25,000 reward for their return. The costumes were not returned.

The genetically modified spider that bit Peter Parker was not a black widow spider, but a Steatoda spider, which was chosen by Steven R. Kutcher and painted red and blue by Jens Schnabel, while the spider was anaesthetized.

The sketches Peter Parker does of his costume were actually done by Phil Jimenez, an artist on Wonder Woman comics.

The original trailer for the movie depicted a theft of a bank, with the robbers making a getaway in a helicopter. A close-up of the helicopter was shown, until the helicopter stopped, apparently caught in mid-air. As the camera zoomed out, it was shown that the helicopter was caught in a spider web, suspended between the two towers of the World Trade Center. After the attacks on the towers 11 September 2001, however, the trailer was changed.

The World Trade Center Towers can be seen in the background of some scenes and once in the reflection of Spider-Man's eye. The makers of the film chose not to remove them digitally.

The owners of the billboards on Times Square attempted to sue Sony and those involved with the production of Spider-Man "for digitally superimposing advertisements for other companies over their billboard space in the film". The suit was thrown out by a federal judge in New York.

Bleu's song "Somebody Else" was originally written to be the theme for a different superhero, Superman for the TV series "Smallville" (2001).

In the comics, Peter Parker designed and made Spider-Man's synthetic spider web and the mechanical wrist guns that fire it. In the movie he shoots the web from his own body. Director Sam Raimi answered the protests of comic book fans saying that it was more credible to have Peter shoot web this way than for a high school boy to be able to produce a wonder adhesive in his spare time that 3M could not make.

Tobey Maguire said he had never read a Spider-Man comic book but took the role because he liked the script.

Willem Dafoe was never an intended choice to play the Green Goblin. After the script fell into his possession, he began lobbying for the role and met with Sam Raimi. Sometime later, while filming a movie in Spain, Dafoe was approached and shot some test footage inside the hotel room he was staying. It led to his being cast. Once he received the role, Dafoe asked that he be allowed to perform his own stunts so that the character and movements would feel authentic, or else the audience would notice the difference. He performed about 95% of his own stunts, and unlike many of the stunt crew, learned how to handle the Goblin Glider after just 15 minutes. Having such a great time during filming, he offered to return for the sequel and asked if they could write him in somewhere. Sam Raimi took him up on the offer and both of them set aside a specific day of filming on Spider-Man 2 for Dafoe to shoot Norman Osborn's cameo sequence.

Ivan Raimi did some uncredited script doctoring on this film.

When used in the trailer, the shot of Peter doing a long backflip onto a car hood was digitally altered to put him in his Spider-Man outfit, instead of his wrestling outfit.

Cameo: Stan Lee the creator of Spider-Man appears in the scene where the Green Goblin attacks the balcony at the World Unity Festival.

Cameo: Nicholas Hammond the former "Spider-Man" actor ("The Amazing Spider-Man" (1978)) is also at the World Unity Festival.

Cameo: Lucy Lawless as a punk girl (director Sam Raimi was an executive producer of "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995)).

The film contains multiple references to future Spider-Man villains: Doctor Curtis Connors (Lizard), Eddie Brock (Venom), Harry Osborn (Green Goblin No. 2), Mendel Stromm (Robot Master).

The sequence of Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) talking to his board members begins with the same shot (a steady pull back along a table framed symmetrically) and dialogue "Costs are down, revenues are up, and our stock has never been higher" as a scene in The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), in which Sam Raimi was co-writer and 2nd unit director. Both films also have a fast-talking newspaper chief.

Also, in the scene where The Green Goblin attempts to form an alliance with Spider-Man, the Goblin confuses the words "fail" and "fall". This is a direct reference to a similar scene between Tim Robbins and Charles Durning in The Hudsucker Proxy (1994).

A sign in front of Peter Parker and Harry Osborne's apartment building: Webstring Platform.

During the World Unity parade, a billboard for Terminix can be seen, one of many insect-related inside jokes.

Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom, appears in a non-speaking cameo as a board member of Oscorp, Norman Osborne's company.

When Spider-Man fights with his uncle's killer, he smashes a couple of glass panes with his head. In Sam Raimi's Darkman (1990), his first superhero film, the thugs attack Liam Neeson the same way in his lab. At the end of the film, Spider-Man walks away from his beloved, saying, "I'm Spider-Man." This is also identical with the ending sequence of "Darkman". with the exception of the hero's name, of course.

When Peter Parker is testing out his webbing for the first time, he makes several classic comic book catch-phrases, most notably "Up, Up and Away Web!" (Superman) and "Shazam!" (Captain Marvel). Tobey Maguire ad-libbed these lines, which were not in the original script.

When Peter Parker tests out his webbing for the first time, among the notable catch phrases he says, he also uses the same gesture (middle and third fingers folded into the palm, the rest extended outward) he typically uses in the comic books to fire his mechanical webbing wrist guns.

During the ending credits, the theme of the original Spider-Man animated series is played.

During the World Unity Fair fight scene, in the background one of the signs on the buildings shows a police officer and behind him read the words "Protecting, Serving, Blah Blah Blah."

One of Peter's sketches for his costume is of Marvel Comics superhero Stingray.

One of Peter's sketches for possible costume ideas is nearly identical to the black-and-white suit Spider-Man wore in the comics during the early-to-mid-80's (which would eventually become the costume for Venom), except that the spider insignia is red, not white. Peter's note on this sketch: "Needs more color."

When Peter Parker browses through several newspapers looking for a used car, one of the ads shown is for an Alfa Romeo convertible: that model was marketed in Italy under the name "Spider".

When Uncle Ben's killer crashes the car into the gate after Spider-Man leaps off, the police car that pulls into frame on the right side has a very obvious license plate with "1927" being the only markings. This 1927 is to honor John Buscema, a legendary comic artist who was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 11, 1927. He sadly passed away on January 10, 2002. Buscema was a great friend of 'Stan Lee' 's and worked for both Marvel and DC Comics.

Actor/stuntman Scott Leva was considered for the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man when the film project was first proposed in the mid-1980s.

Marion Ross was considered for the role of Aunt Mae.

Among the "page two" headlines advertised on the front page of the Daily Bugle: "Public clamors for pest control" and "New York fears the bug - 20 victims to date".

Mary Jane's red hair in this movie is a wig; however, Kirsten Dunst liked the look so much, she has said she will dye her hair for the sequels.

The camera that Peter Parker uses is a Canon "New F-1" SLR, with the Canon logo blacked out. This camera was marketed in 1981.

James Cameron was originally to write and direct the movie in 1994, with Michael Biehn starring as Spider-Man/Peter Parker. The film was deemed too technically challenging at the time, and Cameron opted to make True Lies (1994) instead.

When James Cameron was going to direct, Arnold Schwarzenegger was going to be Dock Ock.

The scene in which Peter Parker catches Mary Jane's lunch on the tray involved no CGI. With the help of a sticky substance to keep the tray planted on his hand, Tobey Maguire eventually (after many takes) performed the stunt exactly as seen.

The "jumping spider" that Peter attempts to take a picture of is an Avondale Spider, the same type used in Arachnophobia (1990).

The smoke in the lab during Osborn's transformation scene was originally white but was then digitally altered to green. Director Raimi wanted to use real green smoke, but went with the CG effect when prop designers could not create a colored smoke that was not toxic.

Scenes of New Yorkers throwing trash at the Green Goblin and Spider-Man perched alongside the American flag were added after 11 September 2001 to reflect the city's sense of unity and patriotism.

When Uncle Ben drops Peter off to "go to the library", a bus can be seen driving by with a promotional advertisement that reads: THE PRODUCERS a Mel Brooks musical. Brooks later sued Sony for unwanted advertisement in motion picture space.

The last few shots of the spider dream sequence were taken from the Lucio Fulci film E tu vivrai nel terrore - L'aldilà (1981).

The movie passed the $100 million mark faster than any other movie, in just three days.

Doctor Octopus was in the early draft of the script to appear as the second bad guy. Later on in pre-production it was decided that he be saved for the second movie.

During the fight between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man near the end of the movie, Willem DaFoe accidentally clipped Tobey Maguire on the chin with one blow.

The Daily Bugle newspaper building is actually the Flatiron building, which is a famous Manhattan landmark that was built in 1902.

Eliza Dushku had auditioned for the role of Mary Jane Watson. In Tobey Maguire's screen test (as seen on the DVD), the actress playing Mary Jane was Eliza Dushku.

When Peter is making his way to the wrestling ring there is a wounded wrestler screaming in pain, his voice is overdubbed by Bruce Campbell. This technique was also used in Darkman (1990).

The first Marvel movie to showcase the flipping pages Marvel logo.

Entered into "The Guinness Book of World Records" as having the "Highest Box Office Gross in a Single Day", taking in $43.6 million on it's second day of release.

Bonesaw, the wrestler Spider Man fights for money, is played by real life wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Early in his career, Savage wrestled under the name, "The Spider".

Sam Raimi wanted Bill Pope to be the film's cinematographer, but Pope was busy working on The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003). Raimi's second choice was Peter Deming, but he was working on Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002).

The balloons at the Unity Festival were made by Aerostar International, Inc., in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

After the terrorist attacks on the USA of 11 September 2001, Sony recalled teaser posters which showed a close-up of Spiderman's face with the New York skyline (including, prominently, the World Trade Center towers) reflected in his eyes. Not all the posters were recovered, however, and the ones still at large are now highly prized collector's items.

When Jameson's subordinates are trying to tell him about Spider-Man, one of them says, "Eddie's been trying to get a picture of him for weeks." This is a reference to Eddie Brock, who in the comics is a rival photographer to Peter Parker and ultimately becomes the villain named Venom.

When James Cameron was developing Spider-Man in the early-'90s, Charlie Sheen actively campaigned for the role, apparently to Cameron's disinterest. After Titanic (1997), Cameron said his only choice was 'Leonardo Dicaprio' before he eventually passed onto other projects.

The diner that MJ worked at is the same diner (at least the exterior) where Monica worked in the early seasons of "Friends" (1994).

At the beginning of the movie when we first see Mary Jane on the school bus, she is dressed in the Green Goblin's (from the comic book, anyways) colours. Her top is purple and her coat is green.

The line Peter uses during his first experience swinging is "Tally ho!" This is the same line used in Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness (1993), when Ash ('Bruce Campbell' ) swings on a rope during a fight sequence in the battle at the castle.

The Thanksgiving scene when Aunt May puts the turkey in front of Norman is a reference to the Norman Rockwell painting "Freedom From Want".

In the scene where Peter Parker is on his ceiling hiding from Mr. Osbourne, a green sweatshirt with a beaver insignia can be seen on the ground. This is a sweatshirt from Sam Raimi's childhood camp, Tamakwa.

Both Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe incorporated a Yoga technique called Ashtanga into their training regimens for this film. "Ashtanga" translates into English as "Eight Legged".

The Moondance Diner where MJ works is the same that Rent creator Jonathan Larson worked in prior to quitting to pursue his play writing...

[kg redhead]

Trailer released in the summer of 2001 included a specially-shot sequence showing Spider-Man chasing down a group of bank robbers, ultimately catching their getaway helicopter in a giant web strung between the two towers of the World Trade Center. After the Sept. 2001 attack, the trailer was removed from theaters.

A part in the trailer, where Mary Jane says 'Wow' just after Spider-Man left her from saving her for the first time, is not in the movie.

The trailer features the fully costumed Spider-Man pursuing the car-jacker. The movie features Peter doing this in his wrestling "spider-sweats". The scene of Spider-Man jumping onto the carjacker's car in his costume rather than the wrestling "spider-sweats" seen in the film also appears in the promotional music videos from the film... Sum 41's "What We're All About" and Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott's "Hero"

In the trailer, when Norman is testing the performance enhancer on himself, the gas is white. In the movie, it is green (like his alter ego).

A scene that was cut from the movie was a large chunk of Stan Lee's cameo, as said in the video "Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters, and Marvels." The scene was that Stan Lee was selling sunglasses and looks over to Peter Parker and says: "These are the same glasses that the X-Men wore," or somewhere along those lines.