1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,001 s 2 00:00:10,010 --> 00:00:12,429 During the comic book boom of the 1960s, 3 00:00:12,471 --> 00:00:16,642 when it came to superheroes, the bigger, the better. 4 00:00:16,683 --> 00:00:19,686 So how did the story of an awkward high school student... 5 00:00:19,728 --> 00:00:21,355 Hey, tell 'em to to stop! 6 00:00:21,396 --> 00:00:22,773 It was just this kid. 7 00:00:22,814 --> 00:00:25,108 People didn't like him, and he was a bit of a nerd. 8 00:00:26,777 --> 00:00:28,403 ...that no one wanted to publish... 9 00:00:28,445 --> 00:00:30,489 Part spider. People will hate that. 10 00:00:30,531 --> 00:00:34,534 ...become one of the most beloved superheroes of all time? 11 00:00:34,576 --> 00:00:36,703 Spider-Man resonated with people. 12 00:00:36,745 --> 00:00:38,580 Born of two creators, 13 00:00:38,622 --> 00:00:39,873 Spider-Man. 14 00:00:39,915 --> 00:00:41,625 ...from groovy beginnings... 15 00:00:41,667 --> 00:00:43,460 - ♪ Spider-Man - ♪ Spider-Man 16 00:00:43,502 --> 00:00:46,129 ♪ Does whatever a spider can ♪ 17 00:00:46,171 --> 00:00:47,631 ...to breathtaking artistry. 18 00:00:48,257 --> 00:00:49,299 Wow, that's magic! 19 00:00:49,341 --> 00:00:51,051 Spider-Man, The Movie. 20 00:00:51,093 --> 00:00:53,220 It's a story of financial ruin... 21 00:00:53,262 --> 00:00:55,472 And they really wanted to make this movie on the cheap. 22 00:00:55,514 --> 00:00:58,267 - Marvel Comics went into bankruptcy. - ...takeovers... 23 00:00:58,308 --> 00:00:59,476 He fired everybody. 24 00:00:59,518 --> 00:01:01,186 ...and studio battles. 25 00:01:01,228 --> 00:01:02,938 It was just a mess. 26 00:01:02,980 --> 00:01:04,022 I'm Peter Parker. 27 00:01:04,063 --> 00:01:05,357 Three heroes... 28 00:01:05,399 --> 00:01:07,191 You're Spider-Man. 29 00:01:07,234 --> 00:01:08,610 Obviously, he brought his A game, 30 00:01:08,652 --> 00:01:10,404 ...and three visionaries. 31 00:01:10,444 --> 00:01:11,530 Nobody wanted him to do it. 32 00:01:11,572 --> 00:01:13,447 Talk about an outside-the-box choice. 33 00:01:13,490 --> 00:01:15,158 A skeptical studio. 34 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:17,119 Sony was so upset. 35 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:19,746 They didn't even understand how all the pieces were going to fit together. 36 00:01:19,788 --> 00:01:21,290 Missed opportunities. 37 00:01:21,331 --> 00:01:23,208 I told them they were fucking idiots. 38 00:01:23,250 --> 00:01:24,793 Sometimes it just doesn't come together. 39 00:01:24,834 --> 00:01:26,378 Bad decisions. 40 00:01:26,420 --> 00:01:29,047 You put an actor who's claustrophobic in a suit like that... 41 00:01:29,089 --> 00:01:32,426 They said anyone involved with the Green Goblin costume should be shot. 42 00:01:33,510 --> 00:01:35,679 Oh, it's giving me PTSD. 43 00:01:35,721 --> 00:01:36,972 It's a rollercoaster ride. 44 00:01:37,014 --> 00:01:38,974 They were so mad at me, my God. 45 00:01:39,016 --> 00:01:41,435 Unprecedented failures... 46 00:01:41,476 --> 00:01:43,395 - The fans hated it. - It was terrible. 47 00:01:43,437 --> 00:01:45,563 ...and spectacular achievements. 48 00:01:45,606 --> 00:01:47,274 We all knew we had something really special. 49 00:01:47,316 --> 00:01:49,651 Probably one of the most iconic scenes in any movie. 50 00:01:49,693 --> 00:01:51,945 You are amazing. 51 00:01:51,987 --> 00:01:53,739 It's a tale of love. 52 00:01:53,780 --> 00:01:57,242 There was a sex scene on the Brooklyn Bridge. 53 00:01:57,284 --> 00:01:58,619 Violence... 54 00:01:58,660 --> 00:02:00,370 She threw a sandwich at him. 55 00:02:00,412 --> 00:02:02,915 If you have a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail. 56 00:02:02,956 --> 00:02:03,999 ...and heartbreak. 57 00:02:04,041 --> 00:02:05,626 It's just a bad time. 58 00:02:05,667 --> 00:02:07,085 We pivoted immediately. 59 00:02:07,127 --> 00:02:09,254 That little scenario screwed up my entire life. 60 00:02:09,296 --> 00:02:11,256 I didn't re-watch the film for 20 years. 61 00:02:11,298 --> 00:02:13,133 Oh, my gosh, we have to do it all again? 62 00:02:13,175 --> 00:02:15,636 - No way. - Cheaper and better. 63 00:02:15,677 --> 00:02:16,929 Don't screw it up. 64 00:02:16,970 --> 00:02:18,555 It's the amazing story... 65 00:02:18,597 --> 00:02:20,264 It was the most expensive movie ever made. 66 00:02:20,306 --> 00:02:22,476 - Oh, my fucking God. - Fans lost their minds. 67 00:02:22,518 --> 00:02:23,769 That's Hollywood. 68 00:02:23,810 --> 00:02:25,729 ...of Spider-Man. 69 00:02:25,770 --> 00:02:28,857 Spider-Man's just cool. Come on. End of story. 70 00:03:00,264 --> 00:03:05,018 For decades, the heroes of DC have dominated the comic book landscape. 71 00:03:05,060 --> 00:03:08,939 But in the early '60s, they were finally challenged by a worthy competitor. 72 00:03:08,981 --> 00:03:11,900 The newly rebranded Marvel Comics. 73 00:03:11,942 --> 00:03:15,404 Marvel Comics was founded by Martin Goodman. 74 00:03:15,445 --> 00:03:18,156 And it was basically a new, fledgling company, 75 00:03:18,198 --> 00:03:20,242 so they had to roll out new characters. 76 00:03:20,284 --> 00:03:22,661 Stan Lee was the writer almost all the books. 77 00:03:22,703 --> 00:03:26,331 And Stan Lee was off to a fantastic start. 78 00:03:26,373 --> 00:03:28,792 Fantastic Four, first one to come out of the gate. 79 00:03:28,834 --> 00:03:32,004 Stan was hard at work putting Marvel on the map. 80 00:03:32,044 --> 00:03:33,839 And if anyone understands the importance 81 00:03:33,881 --> 00:03:35,757 of Stan's legacy, it's his heir. 82 00:03:35,799 --> 00:03:40,179 My name is Shirrel Rhoades, and I was handpicked by Stan Lee 83 00:03:40,220 --> 00:03:42,514 to succeed him as publisher of Marvel. 84 00:03:42,556 --> 00:03:46,310 But in 1961, Stan reported to Martin Goodman, 85 00:03:46,351 --> 00:03:48,270 a notorious traditionalist. 86 00:03:48,312 --> 00:03:50,480 Goodman basically followed the trend. 87 00:03:50,522 --> 00:03:53,192 If Westerns were popular, he did Western comics. 88 00:03:53,233 --> 00:03:55,903 If romance was popular, he did romance comics. 89 00:03:55,944 --> 00:04:00,240 But with Marvel, Stan Lee's innovative work was reinventing the genre. 90 00:04:00,282 --> 00:04:02,826 He said, "All I was doing was trying to keep my job 91 00:04:02,868 --> 00:04:05,120 "by cranking out a lot of comics. They had to keep coming." 92 00:04:05,162 --> 00:04:07,956 And so, he was cranking out these comic books. 93 00:04:07,998 --> 00:04:10,751 And I saw a fly crawling on the wall. 94 00:04:10,792 --> 00:04:14,087 And I said to myself, "Wow, what if I had a superhero 95 00:04:14,129 --> 00:04:18,050 "who could crawl on walls or stick to a ceiling like an insect?" 96 00:04:18,091 --> 00:04:19,468 And I needed a name. 97 00:04:19,510 --> 00:04:22,846 And I went down the list and I got to "Spider-Man", 98 00:04:22,888 --> 00:04:25,474 I said, "That's what I'll call him." 99 00:04:25,516 --> 00:04:29,228 He brought it together with this idea of this teenager 100 00:04:29,269 --> 00:04:31,605 who got bitten by a radioactive spider. 101 00:04:33,857 --> 00:04:35,943 He was just this kid who lived in Queens. 102 00:04:35,984 --> 00:04:39,071 He lived with his aunt and he wanted to meet girls. 103 00:04:39,112 --> 00:04:41,949 He's a teenager with problems in the real world. 104 00:04:41,990 --> 00:04:44,535 People didn't like him and he was a bit of a nerd. 105 00:04:44,576 --> 00:04:46,411 [Mark Millar] Peter Parker is the complete opposite 106 00:04:46,452 --> 00:04:48,872 of what had traditionally worked as secret identities. 107 00:04:48,914 --> 00:04:50,415 He wasn't from another planet. 108 00:04:50,457 --> 00:04:52,000 Another galaxy, as a matter of fact. 109 00:04:52,041 --> 00:04:53,418 He's not a billionaire playboy. 110 00:04:53,460 --> 00:04:55,879 Hi, Bruce Wayne. 111 00:04:55,921 --> 00:04:59,341 Stan thought that the character should be more of a normal person. 112 00:04:59,383 --> 00:05:01,885 And he took the idea to Martin Goodman. 113 00:05:01,927 --> 00:05:04,763 Having been pitched the greatest comic book of all time, 114 00:05:04,805 --> 00:05:07,432 Martin Goodman enthusiastically responded. 115 00:05:07,474 --> 00:05:08,684 And Martin turned him down. 116 00:05:08,725 --> 00:05:10,310 And said, "Stan, what are you thinking of? 117 00:05:10,351 --> 00:05:12,479 "I mean, that's crazy." 118 00:05:12,521 --> 00:05:14,940 "First of all, superheroes aren't teenagers. 119 00:05:14,982 --> 00:05:16,859 "Teenagers are sidekicks. 120 00:05:16,900 --> 00:05:18,694 "Also, part spider. 121 00:05:18,735 --> 00:05:20,445 "Nobody likes spiders. 122 00:05:21,697 --> 00:05:22,781 "People will hate that." 123 00:05:22,823 --> 00:05:24,575 Stan's spider hero comic book 124 00:05:24,616 --> 00:05:26,785 had been rejected as a series, 125 00:05:26,827 --> 00:05:29,621 but Goodman didn't say anything about a one-shot. 126 00:05:29,663 --> 00:05:33,208 [McFarlane] Marvel Comics had a book called Amazing Fantasy. 127 00:05:33,250 --> 00:05:35,836 It was a book that they rotated characters. 128 00:05:35,878 --> 00:05:37,754 [Rhoades] It was about to be killed, 129 00:05:37,796 --> 00:05:40,089 and nobody cares what goes in the last issue. 130 00:05:40,132 --> 00:05:43,468 So Stan threw the Spider-Man character into the last issue. 131 00:05:43,510 --> 00:05:45,012 But Stan couldn't do it alone. 132 00:05:45,053 --> 00:05:47,764 He worked with Jack Kirby to create the costume. 133 00:05:47,806 --> 00:05:50,309 But he didn't like Jack's take on Spider-Man, 134 00:05:50,350 --> 00:05:52,769 so he threw it over to Steve Ditko. 135 00:05:52,811 --> 00:05:55,355 Steve Ditko kind of came in and breathed life to it. 136 00:05:55,397 --> 00:05:58,317 [McFarlane] He had this funky, quirky style. 137 00:05:58,358 --> 00:06:00,569 Steve Ditko's work took advantage 138 00:06:00,611 --> 00:06:02,362 of comic book medium. 139 00:06:02,404 --> 00:06:06,408 Where a lot of stuff is kind of spindly and exaggerated and surreal, 140 00:06:06,450 --> 00:06:10,996 and with Ditko's work, you really see the spider in Spider-Man, you know. 141 00:06:11,038 --> 00:06:13,457 Steve Ditko also came up with this. 142 00:06:14,583 --> 00:06:16,043 The... 143 00:06:16,084 --> 00:06:17,628 [Sean O'Connell] It's kind of remarkable 144 00:06:17,669 --> 00:06:19,796 that Spider-Man was in a book that was going to be buried. 145 00:06:19,838 --> 00:06:21,882 It essentially was going to be forgotten. 146 00:06:21,924 --> 00:06:25,093 Marvel, they just wanted to let Stan get it out of his system. 147 00:06:25,135 --> 00:06:27,596 And on August 1st, 1962, 148 00:06:27,638 --> 00:06:29,932 Amazing Fantasy's final issue, 149 00:06:29,973 --> 00:06:31,308 without fanfare, 150 00:06:31,350 --> 00:06:32,642 rolled off the presses. 151 00:06:32,684 --> 00:06:34,144 - And it was a hit. - Sales rocketed. 152 00:06:34,186 --> 00:06:35,395 You know, it sold out. 153 00:06:35,437 --> 00:06:36,897 So they said, "Let's give him his own book." 154 00:06:36,939 --> 00:06:39,942 Amazing Spider-Man 1 is born. 155 00:06:39,983 --> 00:06:41,026 And it clicked. 156 00:06:41,068 --> 00:06:42,819 It's Spider-Man! 157 00:06:42,861 --> 00:06:44,154 I adored Stan. 158 00:06:44,196 --> 00:06:46,532 But this is the only bone of contention we ever had 159 00:06:46,573 --> 00:06:48,367 where we actually were in disagreement. 160 00:06:48,408 --> 00:06:51,620 The charm and the success of Spider-Man, Peter Parker, 161 00:06:51,662 --> 00:06:53,914 was that because he's the everyday guy. 162 00:06:53,956 --> 00:06:58,794 I think that Spider-Man works on a lot of levels for kids because he's so damn cool. 163 00:06:58,836 --> 00:07:02,214 You can stick to walls and you can hang upside down 164 00:07:02,255 --> 00:07:04,842 and you can shoot webs and you can swing around. 165 00:07:04,883 --> 00:07:07,928 That's the appeal, to me, of Spider-Man. 166 00:07:07,970 --> 00:07:09,388 Marvel was more than happy 167 00:07:09,428 --> 00:07:12,349 to cash in on the friendly neighborhood phenomenon. 168 00:07:12,391 --> 00:07:17,145 [McFarlane] By the mid '60s, there's already pajamas, hats, toys. 169 00:07:17,187 --> 00:07:19,064 I mean, Spider-Man was a thing. 170 00:07:19,106 --> 00:07:20,357 [O'Connell] And throughout this time, 171 00:07:20,399 --> 00:07:22,568 Stan Lee was constantly shipping the rights 172 00:07:22,609 --> 00:07:24,736 to Spider-Man around to anybody who would listen. 173 00:07:24,778 --> 00:07:26,613 Spider-Man was big. 174 00:07:26,655 --> 00:07:29,908 And the only thing bigger than comics for kids in the '60s... 175 00:07:29,950 --> 00:07:32,870 Like many people, I grew up on the Saturday morning cartoons. 176 00:07:32,911 --> 00:07:35,873 Here comes your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. 177 00:07:35,914 --> 00:07:37,749 [Murray] The Spider-Man cartoon, 178 00:07:37,791 --> 00:07:40,544 I wanted to watch it, like, religiously. 179 00:07:40,586 --> 00:07:42,796 [Lanning] I would sit on the floor, 180 00:07:42,838 --> 00:07:45,674 watching Spider-Man cartoon with Spider-Man comics out. 181 00:07:45,716 --> 00:07:49,219 And then my mum would come in and turn the telly off and say, "Go outside. 182 00:07:49,261 --> 00:07:50,721 "You need to get sunlight." 183 00:07:50,762 --> 00:07:52,973 ♪ Spider-Man, Spider-Man 184 00:07:53,015 --> 00:07:55,058 ♪ Does whatever a spider can ♪ 185 00:07:55,100 --> 00:07:57,311 We all remember that theme song. 186 00:07:57,352 --> 00:07:59,521 ♪ There goes the Spider-Man ♪ 187 00:07:59,563 --> 00:08:01,315 And that stuck in our heads forever. 188 00:08:01,356 --> 00:08:04,193 [Spider-Man] Music may have charm, but this is too much. 189 00:08:04,234 --> 00:08:06,612 And Marvel could produce Spider-Man cheaply, 190 00:08:06,653 --> 00:08:08,780 thanks to tricks like recycled animation, 191 00:08:08,822 --> 00:08:13,035 which leaned heavily into Spidey swinging across the New York skyline. 192 00:08:13,076 --> 00:08:16,580 The animated series,Spider-Man just kind of lends itself to that. 193 00:08:16,622 --> 00:08:18,665 My spider senses are starting to tingle. 194 00:08:18,707 --> 00:08:20,876 There's a certain kind of charm to it, you know. 195 00:08:20,918 --> 00:08:24,296 Marvel looked to bring Spidey to young and old alike. 196 00:08:24,338 --> 00:08:26,215 Spider-Man! 197 00:08:26,256 --> 00:08:28,217 The the first live action Spider-Man 198 00:08:28,258 --> 00:08:31,136 landed on the children's show, The Electric Company. 199 00:08:31,178 --> 00:08:33,514 Well, if it isn't the wall-crawling creep. 200 00:08:33,554 --> 00:08:35,557 While the kids' segment was a hit, 201 00:08:35,599 --> 00:08:40,102 adults wouldn't get to see Spider-Man hit anything for another three years, 202 00:08:40,145 --> 00:08:43,732 when Nicholas Hammond would play the wall-crawler in primetime. 203 00:08:43,774 --> 00:08:46,652 Hey, look! It's that Spider-Man. 204 00:08:46,693 --> 00:08:50,239 But Marvel would soon learn television had its limitations. 205 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:54,076 The budget on the TV series wasn't particularly high. 206 00:08:57,203 --> 00:09:00,624 While the budget didn't allow for many of Spider-Man's classic moves, 207 00:09:00,666 --> 00:09:04,253 it did allow for shots of Spider-Man looking around. 208 00:09:04,294 --> 00:09:08,298 Lots and lots of shots of Spider-Man looking around. 209 00:09:08,340 --> 00:09:11,009 [O'Connell] They also didn't have the budget to necessarily do 210 00:09:11,051 --> 00:09:14,136 all of the really popular Marvel villains that fans wanted to see. 211 00:09:14,179 --> 00:09:17,766 As a result, Spider-Man's rogues gallery was replaced by... 212 00:09:18,851 --> 00:09:19,934 Ninjas. 213 00:09:19,977 --> 00:09:21,102 Where are the supervillains? 214 00:09:21,144 --> 00:09:22,479 - Lots... - Kill him. 215 00:09:22,521 --> 00:09:24,523 ...and lots of ninjas. 216 00:09:24,565 --> 00:09:26,607 Yah! Yah! Yah! 217 00:09:26,650 --> 00:09:28,527 And while zipping across the skyline 218 00:09:28,569 --> 00:09:29,778 would prove challenging, 219 00:09:29,820 --> 00:09:31,947 TV Spider-Man found a way. 220 00:09:31,989 --> 00:09:33,365 [Spider-Man] Can you get me a little closer? 221 00:09:33,407 --> 00:09:34,867 The special effects, 222 00:09:34,908 --> 00:09:37,035 I mean, you know, it was cheap television. 223 00:09:37,077 --> 00:09:39,955 And he'd go and do his thing with the webbing. 224 00:09:39,997 --> 00:09:42,165 And then offstage, a couple of prop people 225 00:09:42,207 --> 00:09:44,543 threw, like, a fishing net over the bad guy. 226 00:09:44,585 --> 00:09:47,462 And then the bad guy would go like that and go, "Oh, man, look at that." 227 00:09:47,504 --> 00:09:50,674 - Okay. You call the police and tell them about the bomb. - Right. 228 00:09:50,716 --> 00:09:52,968 It was really crude and really silly. 229 00:09:53,010 --> 00:09:55,596 You couldn't really make them crawl up walls. 230 00:09:55,636 --> 00:09:59,641 Spider-Man lasted one year, and that's all, I think, people could take. 231 00:09:59,683 --> 00:10:04,021 Needless to say, the show fell short of fans' expectations. 232 00:10:04,062 --> 00:10:06,023 [Rhoades] I wasn't crazy about it. 233 00:10:06,064 --> 00:10:10,152 I didn't think it captured this superhero genre well enough. 234 00:10:10,194 --> 00:10:13,238 Despite its reception, Stan had succeeded 235 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:15,782 in bringing Spider-Man to a larger audience. 236 00:10:15,824 --> 00:10:18,368 [Busch] Whether it was low budget, high budget, animated, 237 00:10:18,410 --> 00:10:21,705 Stan, he just cared that this thing that he made 238 00:10:21,747 --> 00:10:24,333 was being loved by even more people. 239 00:10:24,374 --> 00:10:27,127 Stan was determined to spread the gospel of Spidey. 240 00:10:27,169 --> 00:10:29,963 He believed that a Spider-Man film would be a great way 241 00:10:30,005 --> 00:10:31,965 to help market the comic books. 242 00:10:32,006 --> 00:10:35,636 Door after door was closed in smiling Stan's face, 243 00:10:35,677 --> 00:10:36,761 until one day... 244 00:10:36,803 --> 00:10:38,889 [Drummond] Cannon films got the rights. 245 00:10:38,931 --> 00:10:40,849 Cannon was the low budget place. 246 00:10:40,891 --> 00:10:43,352 But Stan knew it wasn't about perfection. 247 00:10:43,393 --> 00:10:45,102 It was about promotion. 248 00:10:45,145 --> 00:10:48,315 And Cannon were willing to bring Spider-Man to the cinema. 249 00:10:48,357 --> 00:10:50,817 [Busch] They've got a certain amount of time to make movies, 250 00:10:50,859 --> 00:10:52,444 and if they don't, the rights go back. 251 00:10:52,486 --> 00:10:54,488 They're independent film producers. 252 00:10:54,530 --> 00:10:56,615 They really wanted to make this movie on the cheap. 253 00:10:56,657 --> 00:10:58,742 Spider-Man, the movie. 254 00:10:58,784 --> 00:11:00,535 A live action spectacular. 255 00:11:00,577 --> 00:11:04,289 The director of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre... 256 00:11:04,331 --> 00:11:06,875 ...was the first director who was going to tackle this, 257 00:11:06,917 --> 00:11:10,337 And when it came to casting, no one was off the table. 258 00:11:10,379 --> 00:11:12,923 Tom Cruise was even looked at for Peter Parker. 259 00:11:12,965 --> 00:11:15,300 There is no substitute. 260 00:11:15,342 --> 00:11:18,053 And this was Tom Cruise right before Top Gun. 261 00:11:18,095 --> 00:11:19,554 I'm Maverick. 262 00:11:19,596 --> 00:11:23,100 But I would have probably, at that time, said, "Tom Cruise? 263 00:11:23,141 --> 00:11:24,518 "What? What are you talking about?" 264 00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:27,187 Well, it was Cannon who were all talk 265 00:11:27,229 --> 00:11:29,940 as plans to begin filming fizzled. 266 00:11:29,982 --> 00:11:31,650 [O'Connell] They could never really get filmmakers 267 00:11:31,692 --> 00:11:33,652 who wanted to collaborate on their vision 268 00:11:33,694 --> 00:11:35,946 because of the way that they wanted to nickel and dime the whole production. 269 00:11:35,988 --> 00:11:38,407 As it turns out, Hollywood had a preview 270 00:11:38,448 --> 00:11:40,742 of what a low budget Spider-Man looked like. 271 00:11:40,784 --> 00:11:42,703 And it was not good. 272 00:11:42,744 --> 00:11:46,582 [O'Connell] Cannon Films recognized how valuable that IP was, 273 00:11:46,623 --> 00:11:49,083 and they knew that no matter how long they strung it along, 274 00:11:49,126 --> 00:11:51,461 they would figure out some way to make it profitable. 275 00:11:51,503 --> 00:11:54,798 While the film failed to get off the ground at Cannon, 276 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:56,758 Spider-Man's hype man never stopped 277 00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,178 trying to bring Spidey to the big screen. 278 00:11:59,219 --> 00:12:01,138 [O'Connell] Stan Lee met with James Cameron. 279 00:12:01,179 --> 00:12:02,890 Stan mentioned to him, 280 00:12:02,931 --> 00:12:04,933 "I hear you're a Spider-Man fan," and that really put a lightbulb 281 00:12:04,975 --> 00:12:06,518 on over James Cameron's head, 282 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:08,395 and he thought, "Maybe I could pursue this." 283 00:12:08,437 --> 00:12:10,314 For the first time, 284 00:12:10,355 --> 00:12:14,151 an A-list director was prepared to bring Spider-Man to the big screen. 285 00:12:14,193 --> 00:12:17,905 James Cameron wrote a great script for Spider-Man. 286 00:12:17,946 --> 00:12:20,908 And this is where things get complicated. 287 00:12:20,949 --> 00:12:23,910 Who has the rights to what? It's all very complicated. 288 00:12:27,623 --> 00:12:31,919 In 1989, after Cannon films failed to produce a Spider-Man film, 289 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,797 the rights were splintered and sold to the highest bidder. 290 00:12:35,839 --> 00:12:36,924 The rights were a mess. 291 00:12:36,965 --> 00:12:38,717 Sony buys their home video rights. 292 00:12:38,759 --> 00:12:41,094 Viacom buys their broadcast rights. 293 00:12:41,136 --> 00:12:44,973 But it was theatrical rights James Cameron had his eye on. 294 00:12:45,015 --> 00:12:49,352 James Cameron became interested in Spider-Man as a property that he wanted to pursue. 295 00:12:49,394 --> 00:12:53,106 This was right after Terminator and before he was taking on Titanic. 296 00:12:53,148 --> 00:12:56,527 Soon after, James Cameron's longtime collaborators, 297 00:12:56,568 --> 00:12:59,238 Carolco began to pursue the rights. 298 00:12:59,279 --> 00:13:02,991 [O'Connell] So Carolco did. They bought the rights to Spider-Man for $5 million. 299 00:13:03,033 --> 00:13:04,535 And with the rights in hand, 300 00:13:04,576 --> 00:13:07,703 James Cameron began to adapt Spider-Man. 301 00:13:07,746 --> 00:13:09,831 Cameron wrote a very extensive treatment. 302 00:13:09,873 --> 00:13:11,583 A 28-page treatment. 303 00:13:11,625 --> 00:13:13,710 [Edlitz] It was an origin story. 304 00:13:13,752 --> 00:13:17,047 His villains were Electro and Sandman. 305 00:13:17,089 --> 00:13:19,508 [Sneider] With Cameron's Aliens guys 306 00:13:19,550 --> 00:13:22,010 Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen, 307 00:13:22,052 --> 00:13:23,846 who were being eyed to play those characters. 308 00:13:23,886 --> 00:13:27,766 He was thinking about having Leonardo DiCaprio play Spider-Man. 309 00:13:27,808 --> 00:13:29,268 Hold on to the railing. 310 00:13:29,309 --> 00:13:30,727 Keep your eyes closed. Don't peek. 311 00:13:30,769 --> 00:13:32,938 James Cameron's take on Spider-Man 312 00:13:32,980 --> 00:13:34,565 was distinctly mature, 313 00:13:34,606 --> 00:13:37,651 at times bordering on erotic. 314 00:13:37,693 --> 00:13:40,696 There was a sex scene on the Brooklyn Bridge. 315 00:13:40,737 --> 00:13:44,324 People wanted to see Spider-Man in action on the big screen. 316 00:13:44,366 --> 00:13:46,869 [Busch] If Spider-Man gets laid, that's great for Spider-Man, 317 00:13:46,910 --> 00:13:51,290 but it doesn't make sense for the Spider-Man that we had seen so far. 318 00:13:51,331 --> 00:13:53,583 But before James Cameron ruined the childhood 319 00:13:53,625 --> 00:13:55,085 of multiple generations, 320 00:13:55,127 --> 00:13:58,046 news broke that would change everything. 321 00:13:58,088 --> 00:13:59,506 Carolco went bankrupt, 322 00:13:59,548 --> 00:14:02,551 thanks to a really overproduced movie 323 00:14:02,593 --> 00:14:04,178 called Cutthroat Island. 324 00:14:04,219 --> 00:14:07,306 Cutthroat Islandhad sunk the Carolco ship 325 00:14:07,347 --> 00:14:09,766 and was poised to take Spider-Man down with it. 326 00:14:09,808 --> 00:14:14,688 The rights to their library, both produced and unproduced, became available. 327 00:14:14,730 --> 00:14:17,774 And MGM/UA acquired the rights to Spider-Man, 328 00:14:17,816 --> 00:14:21,069 and very specifically, the James Cameron version. 329 00:14:21,111 --> 00:14:24,448 I was slated to be the executive who would oversee the movie. 330 00:14:24,489 --> 00:14:27,492 I'm a comic book fan, I was a Spider-Man fan. 331 00:14:27,534 --> 00:14:29,536 Yeah, I was a James Cameron fan. 332 00:14:29,578 --> 00:14:32,873 It was an amazing opportunity to not only get to work 333 00:14:32,915 --> 00:14:34,249 with James Cameron, 334 00:14:34,291 --> 00:14:36,960 but to get to work with this character, Spider-Man. 335 00:14:37,002 --> 00:14:38,670 It was such a world of possibilities. 336 00:14:38,712 --> 00:14:40,047 I was thrilled. 337 00:14:40,088 --> 00:14:42,799 News of an MGM produced Spider-Man film 338 00:14:42,841 --> 00:14:45,511 resulted in more than a few raised eyebrows. 339 00:14:45,552 --> 00:14:48,889 [Busch] The studio, they've got a certain amount of time to make movies, 340 00:14:48,931 --> 00:14:50,933 and if they don't, the rights go back. 341 00:14:50,974 --> 00:14:55,562 And with still no Spider-Man film, Marvel believed time was up. 342 00:14:55,604 --> 00:14:57,773 The rights of the character returned to Marvel. 343 00:14:57,814 --> 00:15:00,651 But at the moment, Marvel was more concerned 344 00:15:00,692 --> 00:15:04,154 with paying the bills than cinematic aspirations. 345 00:15:04,196 --> 00:15:06,865 Since the 1960s, when Marvel first came out, 346 00:15:06,907 --> 00:15:08,909 comic readers, they've watched Marvel go 347 00:15:08,951 --> 00:15:11,119 from being the dominant leader in the comic world, 348 00:15:11,161 --> 00:15:13,330 carrying more than two-thirds of the market, 349 00:15:13,372 --> 00:15:15,832 down to a dwindling one-third. 350 00:15:15,874 --> 00:15:18,377 [McFarlane] It seems inconceivable today, 351 00:15:18,418 --> 00:15:20,629 but Marvel Comics went into bankruptcy. 352 00:15:20,671 --> 00:15:23,215 [Rhoades] The whole comic book industry was losing money. 353 00:15:23,257 --> 00:15:26,802 And so we were now owned by the bankruptcy courts. 354 00:15:26,844 --> 00:15:28,679 And reporting to a judge. 355 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:31,723 Sony saw Marvel's bankruptcy as an opportunity. 356 00:15:31,765 --> 00:15:33,517 My name is Yair Landau. 357 00:15:33,559 --> 00:15:35,477 Well, I was EVP of corporate development. 358 00:15:35,519 --> 00:15:38,272 You know, Sony had acquired Columbia Pictures, 359 00:15:38,313 --> 00:15:42,401 but was starved for large, relatable properties. 360 00:15:42,442 --> 00:15:45,529 So I put together a deal to 361 00:15:45,571 --> 00:15:48,490 buy Marvel out of bankruptcy for $500 million. 362 00:15:48,532 --> 00:15:50,284 But it wouldn't be that easy, 363 00:15:50,325 --> 00:15:52,953 as Sony wasn't the only interested party. 364 00:15:52,995 --> 00:15:55,497 If you have come here uninvited and unannounced... 365 00:15:55,539 --> 00:15:58,417 I do know that Michael Jackson wanted to buy Marvel. 366 00:15:58,458 --> 00:16:02,296 Michael Jackson wanted to mount films and wanted to be in films. 367 00:16:02,337 --> 00:16:04,173 He lobbied. 368 00:16:04,214 --> 00:16:06,633 But I don't think it ever was going to work. 369 00:16:06,675 --> 00:16:09,595 But Sony Acquiring Marvel wasn't a foregone conclusion, 370 00:16:09,636 --> 00:16:11,847 - as Toy Biz... - Marvel Superheroes! 371 00:16:11,889 --> 00:16:14,016 ...who held the license to make Marvel toys... 372 00:16:14,057 --> 00:16:15,893 Spider-Man! 373 00:16:15,934 --> 00:16:19,021 ...stepped up to the plate with a rival bid to buy the publisher. 374 00:16:19,062 --> 00:16:20,939 [Landau] Toy Biz had a competing offer. 375 00:16:20,981 --> 00:16:23,525 While we thought our offer was superior, 376 00:16:23,567 --> 00:16:26,653 the court decided to take the Toy Biz's offer. 377 00:16:26,695 --> 00:16:28,447 He's all yours, Spidey! 378 00:16:28,488 --> 00:16:31,241 Toy Biz was owned by Ike Perlmutter. 379 00:16:31,283 --> 00:16:34,536 [O'Connell] He specialized in properties that were suffering from bankruptcy 380 00:16:34,578 --> 00:16:36,538 and was ready to liquidate the entire company. 381 00:16:36,580 --> 00:16:40,125 Ike came in, he fired everybody. 382 00:16:40,167 --> 00:16:42,377 All the executives, including Stan Lee. 383 00:16:42,419 --> 00:16:44,463 Stan Lee and I were fired on the same day, 384 00:16:44,505 --> 00:16:46,840 For Ike to fire Stan Lee, 385 00:16:46,882 --> 00:16:49,510 he sent a shockwave through the Marvel bullpen. 386 00:16:49,551 --> 00:16:52,930 Thankfully, Ike's partner was a true believer. 387 00:16:52,971 --> 00:16:54,723 Ike had a partner named Avi Arad. 388 00:16:54,765 --> 00:16:57,142 [Rhoades] Avi was a brilliant toy designer, 389 00:16:57,184 --> 00:16:59,686 but Avi also knew comic books. 390 00:16:59,728 --> 00:17:03,857 Avi was the one who had the vision of licensing these characters. 391 00:17:03,899 --> 00:17:06,359 And so, looking to sell the filming rights, 392 00:17:06,401 --> 00:17:09,488 Marvel turned to a studio they knew would be interested. 393 00:17:09,530 --> 00:17:13,157 Avi and Ike offer Sony the entire library. 394 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,619 of Marvel characters for $25 million. 395 00:17:16,662 --> 00:17:18,539 If Yair could close a deal, 396 00:17:18,580 --> 00:17:20,666 it would be the deal of the century. 397 00:17:20,707 --> 00:17:23,627 $25 million for 25 Marvel products. 398 00:17:23,669 --> 00:17:27,422 Victorious, Yair returned to Sony with the good news. 399 00:17:27,464 --> 00:17:32,094 And they said they weren't interested in 25 Marvel properties. 400 00:17:32,135 --> 00:17:35,556 They told me to go back and only negotiate a deal for Spider-Man. 401 00:17:35,597 --> 00:17:39,852 I thought it was a mistake. I believe I told them they were fucking idiots. 402 00:17:39,893 --> 00:17:42,688 I know that Avi told us we were fucking idiots. 403 00:17:42,729 --> 00:17:45,648 Ultimately, the negotiation of that deal lasted for over a year, 404 00:17:45,691 --> 00:17:49,278 and we ended up paying $10 million for Spider-Man. 405 00:17:49,319 --> 00:17:52,196 Despite his misgivings, Yair managed to squeeze in 406 00:17:52,239 --> 00:17:54,366 one very important detail. 407 00:17:54,407 --> 00:17:56,118 As part of that deal, 408 00:17:56,159 --> 00:17:59,830 as long as Sony Pictures has a Spider-Man property in development, 409 00:17:59,872 --> 00:18:02,457 Sony Pictures retains the rights to Spider-Man. 410 00:18:02,499 --> 00:18:07,713 Sony had just paid $10 million to potentially own Spider-Man forever. 411 00:18:07,754 --> 00:18:09,089 There was just one problem. 412 00:18:09,131 --> 00:18:12,467 MGM/UA acquired the rights to Spider-Man. 413 00:18:12,509 --> 00:18:14,636 When Cannon owned the rights to Spider-Man, 414 00:18:14,678 --> 00:18:16,305 they believed they had the authority 415 00:18:16,346 --> 00:18:18,932 to sell those rights, and perhaps they did. 416 00:18:18,974 --> 00:18:23,395 It was up to the judge or, in this case, several judges. 417 00:18:23,436 --> 00:18:27,523 And it was basically the battle for ownership of Spider-Man. 418 00:18:27,566 --> 00:18:29,943 Sony didn't want to go forward with a Spider-Man movie 419 00:18:29,984 --> 00:18:34,198 if they couldn't own every facet of the character and profit 100%. 420 00:18:34,239 --> 00:18:36,282 [Edlitz] Sony had a piece of the rights. 421 00:18:36,325 --> 00:18:37,868 MGM had a piece of the rights. 422 00:18:37,910 --> 00:18:39,161 Marvel had some rights. 423 00:18:39,203 --> 00:18:41,580 Columbia believed they had some rights. 424 00:18:41,622 --> 00:18:45,417 [Kleeman] This led to MGM/UA suing Sony. 425 00:18:45,459 --> 00:18:47,544 Because MGM thinks that it has the right. 426 00:18:47,586 --> 00:18:49,004 And it was just a mess. 427 00:18:49,046 --> 00:18:52,340 It was a legal mess, a mess in terms of business, 428 00:18:52,382 --> 00:18:55,636 and it was an emotional mess, I think, for a lot of us. 429 00:18:55,677 --> 00:18:58,096 Ultimately it was settled out of court. 430 00:18:58,138 --> 00:19:00,098 And then they make, like, this great trade. 431 00:19:00,140 --> 00:19:01,558 [Bond] Can I help? 432 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:03,268 Why, Mr. Bond. 433 00:19:03,310 --> 00:19:06,772 MGM wants the rights to specific James Bond properties. 434 00:19:06,813 --> 00:19:11,109 Sony gave MGM rights to Casino Royale, 435 00:19:11,151 --> 00:19:13,278 and in return, amongst other things, 436 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:16,198 MGM gave Sony the rights to Spider-Man. 437 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,452 It took a decade, but the rights to Spider-Manhad finally been unified. 438 00:19:20,494 --> 00:19:22,788 There was just one loose end. 439 00:19:22,829 --> 00:19:24,289 [Rhoades] Stan, his original contract, 440 00:19:24,330 --> 00:19:26,792 that Marvel said he was publisher for life, 441 00:19:26,834 --> 00:19:28,669 and it certainly looked like 442 00:19:28,710 --> 00:19:31,505 it was giving them a license to use his characters. 443 00:19:31,547 --> 00:19:34,424 When they fired him, it became questionable 444 00:19:34,465 --> 00:19:36,260 whether they had lost their license 445 00:19:36,301 --> 00:19:39,012 for all of Stan's superhero characters. 446 00:19:39,054 --> 00:19:42,140 Marvel, realizing what a mistake that they had made, 447 00:19:42,182 --> 00:19:43,976 well, they had to hire Stan back. 448 00:19:44,017 --> 00:19:48,188 And give him a new contract which gave him ten percent of everything. 449 00:19:48,230 --> 00:19:49,898 And then they had the rights. 450 00:19:49,940 --> 00:19:53,193 Stan was back, this time with ten percent. 451 00:19:53,234 --> 00:19:55,362 And the rights were finally secured. 452 00:19:55,404 --> 00:19:57,614 - Which meant... - [Peter Parker] Go, web, go! 453 00:19:57,656 --> 00:20:00,284 ...a Spider-Man movie was finally going to happen. 454 00:20:04,121 --> 00:20:08,000 The scattered filming rights to Spider-Manhad been reunified at Sony, 455 00:20:08,041 --> 00:20:10,586 who were fully committed and ready to go. 456 00:20:10,627 --> 00:20:12,004 [Bottegoni] There was a lot of money at stake, 457 00:20:12,045 --> 00:20:15,465 140-ish million-dollar movie was kind of unheard of. 458 00:20:15,507 --> 00:20:18,927 The Amazing Spider-Man! 459 00:20:18,969 --> 00:20:20,554 [O'Connell] This movie had to work. 460 00:20:20,596 --> 00:20:22,388 Sony worked really hard to get the rights. 461 00:20:22,431 --> 00:20:25,642 Luckily, Sony's chairperson knew how to get things done. 462 00:20:25,684 --> 00:20:27,227 [Dana precious] Amy Pascal. 463 00:20:27,269 --> 00:20:30,772 It wasn't common to have, at that point, a female chairman. 464 00:20:30,814 --> 00:20:33,817 She's a force of nature, and she will not take no. 465 00:20:33,859 --> 00:20:39,448 You're talking one of the Hollywood powerhouses that knows how to make movies. 466 00:20:39,489 --> 00:20:40,949 And she has great instincts. 467 00:20:40,991 --> 00:20:42,534 And her instincts told her 468 00:20:42,576 --> 00:20:44,578 to go all in on Spider-Man. 469 00:20:44,619 --> 00:20:49,249 There was so much pressure to make this something unbelievable. 470 00:20:49,291 --> 00:20:52,085 Sony needed a point person who understood production, 471 00:20:52,127 --> 00:20:54,338 but could also shepherd creative. 472 00:20:54,379 --> 00:20:56,423 Laura Ziskin. 473 00:20:56,465 --> 00:20:58,926 ...who had a long history in bringing A-list films to the big screen. 474 00:20:58,967 --> 00:21:01,803 She was a real character-driven producer, 475 00:21:01,845 --> 00:21:04,473 and she and Amy had a very long-standing relationship. 476 00:21:04,515 --> 00:21:07,601 And as for the filmmaker attached to Spider-Man, 477 00:21:07,643 --> 00:21:10,061 well, that was a short-lived relationship. 478 00:21:10,103 --> 00:21:12,814 Because bankruptcy and corporate acquisitions 479 00:21:12,856 --> 00:21:14,733 became too much for James Cameron, 480 00:21:14,775 --> 00:21:18,195 who left Spider-Manand his treatment behind him. 481 00:21:18,237 --> 00:21:20,989 - Ziskin opted out of using the script. - Go, web. 482 00:21:21,031 --> 00:21:23,282 But there was one Cameron contribution... 483 00:21:23,325 --> 00:21:25,160 - Fly!-...that survived. 484 00:21:25,202 --> 00:21:27,871 In the comics,Spider-Man has mechanical web shooters. 485 00:21:27,913 --> 00:21:30,707 Simple doohickey and zowie. 486 00:21:30,749 --> 00:21:32,792 The organic web shooter notion... 487 00:21:32,835 --> 00:21:34,169 Up, up and away, web. 488 00:21:34,211 --> 00:21:36,421 ...that was Jim's idea that it was a mutation 489 00:21:36,463 --> 00:21:40,759 that allowed him to shoot webbing from his wrists. 490 00:21:40,801 --> 00:21:44,054 There was one more moment from James Cameron's treatment 491 00:21:44,096 --> 00:21:47,558 that would make it into Oscar montages for years to come. 492 00:21:47,599 --> 00:21:50,269 Only it wouldn't be in a Spider-Man film. 493 00:21:50,310 --> 00:21:54,690 [Landau] There is a scene with Peter and Mary Jane on the top of the Brooklyn Bridge, 494 00:21:54,731 --> 00:21:59,361 where he basically holds her in the web and she leans out over the water. 495 00:21:59,403 --> 00:22:01,363 Hold on. Keep your eyes closed. 496 00:22:02,573 --> 00:22:03,615 Do you trust me? 497 00:22:03,657 --> 00:22:06,243 Just like Leo and Kate in Titanic. 498 00:22:06,285 --> 00:22:09,413 Cameron had envisioned that for Peter and Mary Jane, 499 00:22:09,454 --> 00:22:12,082 and then later realized it in Titanic. 500 00:22:12,708 --> 00:22:14,667 I'm flying. 501 00:22:14,710 --> 00:22:17,754 Veteran action writer David Koepp began work on a new script. 502 00:22:17,796 --> 00:22:20,965 - Stop him, he's got my money! - Thanks. 503 00:22:21,008 --> 00:22:23,468 He wanted to focus on the criminal that kills Uncle Ben. 504 00:22:23,510 --> 00:22:25,137 Carjacker. He's been shot 505 00:22:25,179 --> 00:22:26,513 But to bring Spider-Man 506 00:22:26,555 --> 00:22:28,682 to a wider audience, they would need a director 507 00:22:28,724 --> 00:22:31,602 who could bring the web-slinging action fans wanted 508 00:22:31,643 --> 00:22:34,980 as well as heart to Peter Parker's underdog story. 509 00:22:35,022 --> 00:22:36,648 They were considering everybody. 510 00:22:36,690 --> 00:22:38,150 David Fincher. 511 00:22:38,192 --> 00:22:39,401 Tim Burton came in, 512 00:22:39,443 --> 00:22:41,862 but essentially admitted he was more of a DC guy. 513 00:22:41,904 --> 00:22:44,865 But a promising candidate began to emerge. 514 00:22:44,907 --> 00:22:46,325 [Michael Barnathan] Chris Columbus, when he was a kid, 515 00:22:46,366 --> 00:22:47,826 he wanted to be a comic book artist 516 00:22:47,868 --> 00:22:49,619 before he wanted to be a filmmaker. 517 00:22:49,661 --> 00:22:51,914 Sony. They were very interested in him. 518 00:22:51,955 --> 00:22:56,627 But Columbus found himself at the starting gate of not one, but two franchises. 519 00:22:56,667 --> 00:22:58,378 [Barnathan] Harry Potterneeded another director. 520 00:22:58,420 --> 00:23:02,424 Suddenly Chris was like, "That kind of changes everything." 521 00:23:02,465 --> 00:23:05,719 Columbus's exodus had knocked Sony back to square one. 522 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,392 Desperate, they began meeting with even the most unlikely directors. 523 00:23:12,434 --> 00:23:13,685 Groovy. 524 00:23:13,727 --> 00:23:17,397 Sam Raimi comes to pitch himself for the film. 525 00:23:17,439 --> 00:23:18,690 [Henderson] He came from outside the system. 526 00:23:18,732 --> 00:23:20,400 He wasn't some film school kid. 527 00:23:20,442 --> 00:23:22,402 I mean, he used his dad's credit cards 528 00:23:22,444 --> 00:23:23,946 to pay for his first movie, 529 00:23:23,987 --> 00:23:25,364 and he used his friends to do it. 530 00:23:25,405 --> 00:23:28,867 You're not gonna leave me, are you? Are you, Ash? 531 00:23:30,911 --> 00:23:33,372 [O'Connell] He had directed a few other films since then, 532 00:23:33,413 --> 00:23:35,332 some of them a little bit more mainstream. 533 00:23:35,374 --> 00:23:38,167 But he never worked on a movie with this kind of budget or at this level before. 534 00:23:38,210 --> 00:23:40,003 Nobody wanted him to do it 535 00:23:40,045 --> 00:23:43,382 because he had done horror movies and stuff like that. 536 00:23:43,423 --> 00:23:46,176 But it turned out that Sam Raimi was a comic book geek. 537 00:23:46,218 --> 00:23:47,970 Sam loved Spider-Man, 538 00:23:48,011 --> 00:23:50,263 and he loved Steve Ditko's Spider-Man. 539 00:23:50,305 --> 00:23:53,517 He really associated with the fact that this was a loner kid, 540 00:23:53,559 --> 00:23:55,102 who struggled to fit in. 541 00:23:55,143 --> 00:23:58,105 He really wanted to do justice to the character. 542 00:23:58,146 --> 00:24:01,275 As a filmmaker, Sam's dynamic visual style 543 00:24:01,316 --> 00:24:05,237 would be the a complement for Spider-Man'soff the wall action. 544 00:24:06,613 --> 00:24:08,782 Dolly angles. And, like, Dutch stuff. 545 00:24:10,157 --> 00:24:12,035 He created his own visual language. 546 00:24:16,164 --> 00:24:20,042 He understood the visual vocabulary of comic books. 547 00:24:20,085 --> 00:24:23,630 Amy liked to say, and I think we all agreed, Sam was Peter Parker. 548 00:24:23,672 --> 00:24:26,425 What sets Spider-Man apart is his humanity. 549 00:24:26,465 --> 00:24:29,720 Luckily, Laura Ziskin had a writer on retainer. 550 00:24:29,761 --> 00:24:33,098 Her husband, legendary screenwriter Alvin Sargent. 551 00:24:33,140 --> 00:24:36,185 Very much considered among the cream of the crop. 552 00:24:36,226 --> 00:24:40,314 Alvin's script focused on Peter's personal journey to make a choice. 553 00:24:40,355 --> 00:24:44,067 With great power comes great responsibility. 554 00:24:44,109 --> 00:24:47,321 Which made the Green Goblin the perfect antagonist. 555 00:24:47,362 --> 00:24:49,031 Peter's one-time father figure... 556 00:24:49,071 --> 00:24:50,657 That makes you family. 557 00:24:50,699 --> 00:24:52,826 ...turned Spider-Man's archenemy. 558 00:24:52,868 --> 00:24:55,704 Alvin shaped it and gave it its heart. 559 00:24:55,746 --> 00:24:59,625 [Peter] This, like any story worth telling, is all about a girl. 560 00:24:59,666 --> 00:25:02,044 To pull it off, Sam Raimi began to build 561 00:25:02,085 --> 00:25:04,213 a team of filmmakers and effects artists. 562 00:25:04,254 --> 00:25:07,215 My name is Doug Lefler, one of the storyboard artists. 563 00:25:07,257 --> 00:25:08,926 My biggest contribution... 564 00:25:08,967 --> 00:25:11,094 [Spider-Man] You have a knack for getting in trouble. 565 00:25:11,136 --> 00:25:13,888 When Spider-Man and MJ were supposed to kiss for the first time, 566 00:25:13,931 --> 00:25:16,558 I did the drawing of Spider-Man hanging upside down. 567 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:18,769 When I showed it to Sam and when I showed it to Laura, 568 00:25:18,810 --> 00:25:20,938 they both embraced it immediately. 569 00:25:20,979 --> 00:25:23,065 Amazing. 570 00:25:23,106 --> 00:25:26,151 Excitement over Doug Lefler's storyboards meant the pressure was on 571 00:25:26,193 --> 00:25:29,196 to find a cinematographer that could do them justice. 572 00:25:29,238 --> 00:25:31,448 My name is Forrest. Forrest Gump. 573 00:25:31,490 --> 00:25:34,243 My name is Don Burgess. I'm a director of photography. 574 00:25:34,284 --> 00:25:35,619 My agent, he said, 575 00:25:35,661 --> 00:25:37,913 "I'm sending you a script for Spider-Man," 576 00:25:37,955 --> 00:25:39,330 and I'm thinking, "Hmm." 577 00:25:39,373 --> 00:25:42,251 I was never much of a comic book reader as a kid. 578 00:25:42,292 --> 00:25:43,627 The first comic book 579 00:25:43,669 --> 00:25:46,380 that I actually read was a Spider-Man comic book 580 00:25:46,421 --> 00:25:48,131 in the waiting room to see Sam Raimi. 581 00:25:48,173 --> 00:25:50,551 But I think Sam sold me on the spot. 582 00:25:50,592 --> 00:25:52,845 You know, I jumped on board. 583 00:25:52,886 --> 00:25:55,430 When it came to actually shooting Spider-Man in action, 584 00:25:55,472 --> 00:25:57,558 Sam and Don had a lot to figure out. 585 00:25:57,599 --> 00:26:01,186 Luckily, they found a patient stunt coordinator in Jeff Habberstad. 586 00:26:01,228 --> 00:26:04,356 So the stunt work was very substantial. 587 00:26:04,398 --> 00:26:08,402 And I'm always nervous about not making it the coolest it can be. 588 00:26:08,443 --> 00:26:10,946 Practical stunt work and practical effects 589 00:26:10,988 --> 00:26:13,407 would be at the center of Sam Raimi's approach, 590 00:26:13,448 --> 00:26:15,701 while digital artists waited on the bench, 591 00:26:15,742 --> 00:26:18,453 as practical effects could only do so much. 592 00:26:19,746 --> 00:26:22,875 Especially given what had happened in the past, 593 00:26:22,916 --> 00:26:25,294 Spider-Manhad to be convincing. 594 00:26:25,335 --> 00:26:26,795 [Steve Saeta] I was fascinated 595 00:26:26,837 --> 00:26:29,214 with everything that the script asked for. 596 00:26:29,256 --> 00:26:31,842 But I don't know how the hell we're gonna make it. 597 00:26:31,884 --> 00:26:35,470 I mean, how do you get a dude swinging around New York City at 70 miles an hour? 598 00:26:35,512 --> 00:26:37,222 How do you make that look real and authentic? 599 00:26:39,474 --> 00:26:41,185 [Scott Stokdyk] It was at this inflection point 600 00:26:41,226 --> 00:26:44,354 where computer graphics had proven themselves 601 00:26:44,396 --> 00:26:46,398 on some movies as a new tool. 602 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:47,900 But everyone was still skeptical. 603 00:26:47,941 --> 00:26:50,109 Is embarrassing. 604 00:26:50,152 --> 00:26:53,864 Every advancement in modern special effects can be traced back to one man. 605 00:26:53,906 --> 00:26:57,242 My name is John Dykstra, and I designed the visual effects 606 00:26:57,284 --> 00:26:59,953 for two of the Spider-Man movies. 607 00:26:59,994 --> 00:27:01,663 [Henderson] The problems of realizing Star Wars, 608 00:27:01,705 --> 00:27:03,999 I mean, Dykstra solved a lot of those problems. 609 00:27:04,041 --> 00:27:08,128 But despite falling out with George Lucas, John struck out on his own, 610 00:27:08,170 --> 00:27:12,257 always working to stay on the forefront of practical and digital effects... 611 00:27:12,299 --> 00:27:14,426 The Holy Grail at that time was trying to make 612 00:27:14,468 --> 00:27:16,428 a digital image look like film. 613 00:27:16,470 --> 00:27:18,347 ...making him the perfect partner 614 00:27:18,388 --> 00:27:22,434 for a director caught in between the practical and digital world. 615 00:27:22,476 --> 00:27:25,436 Departments began to game plan storyboards. 616 00:27:25,479 --> 00:27:27,606 [Stokdyk] Let's shoot everything we can practically. 617 00:27:27,648 --> 00:27:29,148 Anything we can't do practically, 618 00:27:29,191 --> 00:27:31,318 let's do with computer graphics. 619 00:27:31,359 --> 00:27:34,071 [Lisa Satriano] All the departments would go in with storyboards. 620 00:27:34,112 --> 00:27:36,823 And we would go frame by frame and say 621 00:27:36,865 --> 00:27:38,407 what department is doing what. 622 00:27:38,450 --> 00:27:41,286 And I remember there being a lot of 623 00:27:41,328 --> 00:27:43,288 you know, "Is this really a visual effects call? 624 00:27:43,330 --> 00:27:45,791 "Is this really a production design call?" 625 00:27:45,832 --> 00:27:47,459 One element Sam Raimi 626 00:27:47,501 --> 00:27:50,754 was determined to do practically was Green Goblin's mask. 627 00:27:50,796 --> 00:27:54,465 They were really gunning for having a fully animatronic head for Green Goblin. 628 00:27:54,508 --> 00:27:56,593 While Sam's team was making headway 629 00:27:56,635 --> 00:27:58,971 on Green Goblin and Spider-Man designs, 630 00:27:59,012 --> 00:28:00,638 one question remained. 631 00:28:00,681 --> 00:28:01,765 Who would wear them? 632 00:28:05,060 --> 00:28:06,728 Stan Lee and Steve Ditko 633 00:28:06,770 --> 00:28:08,188 defied the status quo, 634 00:28:08,230 --> 00:28:10,482 making their hero an awkward teen. 635 00:28:10,523 --> 00:28:13,861 But it remained to be seen if Sony would make the same gamble, 636 00:28:13,902 --> 00:28:17,030 as this wasn't the last issue of a canceled comic book, 637 00:28:17,071 --> 00:28:21,368 but rather, a massive motion picture with millions on the line. 638 00:28:21,410 --> 00:28:22,911 [JJ Jameson] Who is Spider-Man? 639 00:28:22,953 --> 00:28:26,455 There was a lot of acrimony about who would play the part. 640 00:28:26,498 --> 00:28:28,667 [O'Connell] Sony cast an extremely large net. 641 00:28:28,709 --> 00:28:31,003 Almost anybody who was viable for the part. 642 00:28:31,044 --> 00:28:32,129 Freddie Prince Jr... 643 00:28:32,171 --> 00:28:33,422 There's got to be some kind of mistake. 644 00:28:33,463 --> 00:28:34,590 ...Heath Ledger... 645 00:28:34,631 --> 00:28:36,008 Sure, Sparky. 646 00:28:36,049 --> 00:28:37,759 - Jake Gyllenhaal. - No way. 647 00:28:37,801 --> 00:28:40,095 Almost anybody who fit that age range, 648 00:28:40,137 --> 00:28:42,931 their head shot crossed the casting director's desk. 649 00:28:42,973 --> 00:28:44,725 But Sam Raimi found himself 650 00:28:44,766 --> 00:28:47,394 drawn to a far more unassuming performer. 651 00:28:47,436 --> 00:28:48,478 Hey, everyone. 652 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:51,481 Tobey Maguire was an up and comer. 653 00:28:51,523 --> 00:28:53,650 [O'Connell] He wasn't really somebody who commanded the screen. 654 00:28:53,692 --> 00:28:56,820 Tobey primarily shined in supporting roles. 655 00:28:56,862 --> 00:28:58,405 I felt like one in a dream. 656 00:28:58,447 --> 00:29:00,365 That's who Sam wanted from the get go. 657 00:29:00,407 --> 00:29:02,159 And he felt really strongly about it. 658 00:29:02,201 --> 00:29:05,120 - [Peter] Hey, stop the bus! - 659 00:29:05,162 --> 00:29:08,457 Sony were questioning if he was the right fit. 660 00:29:08,498 --> 00:29:09,875 Don't even think about it. 661 00:29:09,917 --> 00:29:11,960 [Busch] He does seem like a sidekick. 662 00:29:12,002 --> 00:29:15,172 The studio was convinced that for the franchise to succeed... 663 00:29:15,214 --> 00:29:17,090 They know it hasn't worked at a bunch of different studios. 664 00:29:17,132 --> 00:29:21,345 ...they'd need a household-name heartthrob, not Tobey Maguire. 665 00:29:21,386 --> 00:29:23,430 Tobey wasn't that well known. 666 00:29:23,472 --> 00:29:25,891 There's no featherweight division here, small fry. 667 00:29:25,933 --> 00:29:28,018 I remember, the studio really rebelled. 668 00:29:28,060 --> 00:29:30,479 They thought he didn't look handsome enough. 669 00:29:30,521 --> 00:29:32,064 Virile enough. 670 00:29:32,105 --> 00:29:34,399 They were looking for someone who just felt more macho. 671 00:29:34,441 --> 00:29:36,527 Because they didn't understand the franchise. 672 00:29:36,568 --> 00:29:39,571 Raimi knew who this character was. 673 00:29:39,613 --> 00:29:42,991 You gotta have that underdog quality for Spider-Man. 674 00:29:44,993 --> 00:29:47,996 It had become clear Tobey Maguire could play Peter Parker. 675 00:29:48,038 --> 00:29:50,249 Uh, but was he Spider-Man? 676 00:29:53,043 --> 00:29:54,461 Nobody knew. 677 00:29:54,503 --> 00:29:56,505 It was a question Sony would need answered 678 00:29:56,547 --> 00:29:58,590 before even considering Maguire. 679 00:29:58,632 --> 00:30:02,344 The physicality of Spider-Man is essentially an acrobat. 680 00:30:02,386 --> 00:30:05,264 So he has to be a strong, buff kind of guy. 681 00:30:05,305 --> 00:30:07,724 But you have this incredibly skinny kid. 682 00:30:07,766 --> 00:30:09,768 If you're putting up $150 million, 683 00:30:09,810 --> 00:30:11,854 you want to see what the guy looks like on screen. 684 00:30:11,895 --> 00:30:13,897 Which meant a screen test. 685 00:30:13,939 --> 00:30:16,775 Sam Raimi was suddenly tasked with turning the actor from Wonder Boys... 686 00:30:16,817 --> 00:30:18,485 Did I do anything bad? 687 00:30:18,527 --> 00:30:19,903 ...into Spider-Man. 688 00:30:19,945 --> 00:30:21,738 [Saeta] Tobey had to get into shape. 689 00:30:21,780 --> 00:30:24,283 To get, you know, the ripped chest and all of that good stuff. 690 00:30:24,324 --> 00:30:27,494 And he did a physical stunt test for the executives. 691 00:30:27,536 --> 00:30:31,874 So we did this scene from the movie where these three thugs mug MJ. 692 00:30:31,915 --> 00:30:35,002 Teach you little manners here. 693 00:30:35,043 --> 00:30:37,045 [Habberstad] And out of nowhere, Spider-Man had come. 694 00:30:37,087 --> 00:30:39,298 Get the out of here. 695 00:30:39,339 --> 00:30:40,299 So he did this fight scene. 696 00:30:46,638 --> 00:30:48,891 And all of a sudden they go... 697 00:30:53,395 --> 00:30:57,191 Tobey, in that scene, definitely looked like a badass superhero dude. 698 00:30:57,941 --> 00:30:59,985 Yeah, big change. 699 00:31:00,027 --> 00:31:01,570 After that, and he got the job. 700 00:31:02,863 --> 00:31:05,616 Sam Raimi was right to want Tobey Maguire 701 00:31:05,657 --> 00:31:07,576 'cause he was exactly the franchise. 702 00:31:07,618 --> 00:31:09,494 Another adaptation challenge 703 00:31:09,536 --> 00:31:13,582 was bringing Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's iconic costume to life... 704 00:31:13,624 --> 00:31:15,626 And all he has to do is turn in his little blue tights. 705 00:31:15,667 --> 00:31:19,505 ...as fans were expecting more than Nicholas Hammond's used tights. 706 00:31:19,546 --> 00:31:21,798 Spider-Man's suit is a difficult one, 707 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:24,301 [Hayden] That is a very intricate suit. 708 00:31:24,343 --> 00:31:26,428 With every little web hand-glued on. 709 00:31:26,470 --> 00:31:29,723 But there was a bigger concern looming over the costume department. 710 00:31:29,765 --> 00:31:31,350 [Satriano] It was not a comfortable suit, 711 00:31:31,391 --> 00:31:33,227 and it was very difficult to get in. 712 00:31:33,268 --> 00:31:36,271 There was only one zipper that came back here. 713 00:31:36,313 --> 00:31:38,482 He had to put the whole thing over, 714 00:31:38,524 --> 00:31:41,235 get it all on with the mask and zip it up. 715 00:31:41,276 --> 00:31:42,903 And that took about 20 minutes. 716 00:31:42,945 --> 00:31:45,489 And if you wanted to get out of it quickly, you're not going to. 717 00:31:45,531 --> 00:31:49,701 But comfort was just the beginning of Tobey's problems with the suit. 718 00:31:49,743 --> 00:31:51,370 [Saeta] He puts on the headpiece. 719 00:31:52,538 --> 00:31:55,249 And he went nuts 'cause he's claustrophobic 720 00:31:55,290 --> 00:31:57,543 and he literally tore it off. 721 00:31:57,584 --> 00:32:00,587 You put an actor who's claustrophobic in a suit like that, 722 00:32:00,629 --> 00:32:02,089 it's a big problem. 723 00:32:02,130 --> 00:32:05,050 I remember Tobey just going, "Oh, my God. 724 00:32:05,092 --> 00:32:06,969 "Can I take this thing off for a while?" 725 00:32:07,010 --> 00:32:09,179 [Saeta] You would think that the studio, they might check 726 00:32:09,221 --> 00:32:12,015 to see if the actor is claustrophobic, you know. 727 00:32:12,057 --> 00:32:15,853 Tobey may have had anxiety, but so did Peter Parker. 728 00:32:15,894 --> 00:32:19,940 Especially when in the presence of Mary Jane Watson. 729 00:32:19,982 --> 00:32:23,193 Peter was always less than in cool points than MJ was. 730 00:32:23,235 --> 00:32:26,321 Initially, Sam Raimi offered the role to Kate Hudson. 731 00:32:26,363 --> 00:32:30,325 But the actress had already been committed to star in The Four Feathers. 732 00:32:30,367 --> 00:32:33,328 You could have cast a lot of people in that role. 733 00:32:33,370 --> 00:32:35,080 And while Elizabeth Banks' audition 734 00:32:35,122 --> 00:32:36,540 didn't land her the role of MJ... 735 00:32:36,582 --> 00:32:38,125 - Hi. - Hi. 736 00:32:38,166 --> 00:32:40,961 ...it did put her in the offices of the Daily Bugle, 737 00:32:41,003 --> 00:32:44,256 as J. Jonah Jameson's assistant, Betty Brant. 738 00:32:44,298 --> 00:32:46,425 Welcome to the Daily Bugle. 739 00:32:46,466 --> 00:32:49,511 The coveted role of MJ would go to Kirsten Dunst, 740 00:32:49,553 --> 00:32:52,556 hot on the heels of playing another high school it girl 741 00:32:52,598 --> 00:32:54,558 in the runaway hit Bring It On. 742 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:57,686 This is not a democracy, it's a cheer-ocracy. 743 00:32:57,728 --> 00:32:59,563 For the role of Peter's best friend, 744 00:32:59,605 --> 00:33:02,274 Sony turned to the cast of Freaks and Geeks, 745 00:33:02,316 --> 00:33:06,195 snagging up and coming actor James Franco to play Harry Osborn. 746 00:33:06,236 --> 00:33:07,779 - Leave him alone. - Or what? 747 00:33:07,821 --> 00:33:09,823 Or his father will fire your father. 748 00:33:11,700 --> 00:33:14,995 But casting Harry's father, also known as the Green Goblin, 749 00:33:15,037 --> 00:33:16,955 would prove much more difficult. 750 00:33:16,997 --> 00:33:19,750 Sony wanted to cast Nick Cage as the Green Goblin. 751 00:33:19,791 --> 00:33:21,460 You make me sick. 752 00:33:21,502 --> 00:33:24,379 Nick Cage really wanted to be part of the comic book movie world. 753 00:33:24,421 --> 00:33:28,217 Yeah, I mean, you were saying it'll feel a little looser the more I wear it. 754 00:33:28,258 --> 00:33:31,553 Nicolas Cage was the first choice for the Green Goblin, 755 00:33:31,595 --> 00:33:33,972 but instead, Cage opted to make Adaptation 756 00:33:34,014 --> 00:33:36,642 while holding out hope for a Superman film. 757 00:33:36,683 --> 00:33:38,727 John Malkovich was offered the part. 758 00:33:38,769 --> 00:33:42,731 But just before signing the dotted line, Malkovich backed out. 759 00:33:42,773 --> 00:33:44,441 Sometimes it just doesn't come together. 760 00:33:44,483 --> 00:33:46,193 You know, sending Sony back to the drawing board. 761 00:33:46,235 --> 00:33:49,571 While Sam Raimi struggled to find his Green Goblin, 762 00:33:49,613 --> 00:33:52,908 the effects team struggled with the goblin's animatronic mask. 763 00:33:52,950 --> 00:33:57,412 There's whole archives of, like, iterations of the Goblin mask. 764 00:33:57,454 --> 00:33:59,039 They had this puppeteer one. 765 00:33:59,081 --> 00:34:02,751 His eyebrows articulated and his lips snarled and everything. 766 00:34:02,793 --> 00:34:04,670 That's a fine line to walk 767 00:34:04,711 --> 00:34:07,756 because you're in a live-action environment 768 00:34:07,798 --> 00:34:10,092 and you don't want it to look cartoon-like. 769 00:34:10,133 --> 00:34:13,344 [Hayden] I think at the end of the day, it was hard to sell the notion 770 00:34:13,387 --> 00:34:16,849 that he put on a mask and that it came to life like that. 771 00:34:16,890 --> 00:34:18,600 [Green Goblin] Here's the real truth. 772 00:34:18,642 --> 00:34:20,811 And just nothing would work. 773 00:34:20,853 --> 00:34:22,855 After trying the animatronic head, 774 00:34:22,896 --> 00:34:26,149 they went in this sort of battle mask look 775 00:34:26,190 --> 00:34:27,401 that wasn't as cool. 776 00:34:27,442 --> 00:34:29,777 But the Green Goblin helmet, as it stood, 777 00:34:29,820 --> 00:34:32,781 it did work as something that he put on and became a character. 778 00:34:32,823 --> 00:34:34,867 The Green Goblin's mask had been completed 779 00:34:34,908 --> 00:34:36,994 long before the role had been cast. 780 00:34:37,077 --> 00:34:42,123 And Sony grew desperate to find an actor worthy of playing Spider-Man's great foe. 781 00:34:46,545 --> 00:34:48,589 Sony was on the hunt for a mad man, 782 00:34:48,630 --> 00:34:51,133 and after a few close calls in casting, 783 00:34:51,175 --> 00:34:54,219 Sony finally found their unhinged man. 784 00:34:54,261 --> 00:34:55,469 Me. 785 00:34:55,512 --> 00:34:59,099 The Green Goblin is a little crazy. 786 00:34:59,141 --> 00:35:01,476 Willem Dafoe does crazy pretty good. 787 00:35:01,518 --> 00:35:03,770 ...we got nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Fuck! 788 00:35:03,812 --> 00:35:07,357 Willem Dafoe played Green Goblin as an absolute madman. 789 00:35:07,983 --> 00:35:09,401 We killed them. 790 00:35:10,277 --> 00:35:12,487 - We? - Remember? 791 00:35:12,529 --> 00:35:15,199 Even when he's not trying, I don't know what he's capable of. 792 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:17,576 Willem Dafoe scares me. 793 00:35:17,618 --> 00:35:19,661 You know how much I sacrificed? 794 00:35:19,703 --> 00:35:21,538 I'd watch that guy read Chinese menus, 795 00:35:23,290 --> 00:35:24,833 He's terrifying. 796 00:35:24,875 --> 00:35:27,210 You know, just stop, Willem Dafoe. You're drunk. Go home. 797 00:35:27,252 --> 00:35:30,714 [Green Goblin] I could squash you like a bug. 798 00:35:30,756 --> 00:35:35,802 The mask, Willem Dafoe said, it made him feel safe 799 00:35:35,844 --> 00:35:38,096 in going really big. 800 00:35:38,138 --> 00:35:40,224 [Green Goblin] Impressive! 801 00:35:40,265 --> 00:35:41,517 As production began, 802 00:35:41,558 --> 00:35:44,268 Sony had over a decade invested in the film. 803 00:35:44,311 --> 00:35:46,897 The troubled studio needed the film to work. 804 00:35:46,939 --> 00:35:50,359 Which resulted in Sony questioning Sam Raimi's decisions 805 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:52,361 every step along the way. 806 00:35:52,402 --> 00:35:53,820 He wanted to do a bright film. 807 00:35:53,862 --> 00:35:56,989 He didn't want to do something cynical and dark 808 00:35:57,032 --> 00:35:58,867 But cynical and dark was in. 809 00:35:58,909 --> 00:36:01,119 I'm through doing Hell's dirty work. 810 00:36:01,161 --> 00:36:03,121 Macabre comic book adaptations 811 00:36:03,163 --> 00:36:05,123 had proven to be a successful formula. 812 00:36:05,165 --> 00:36:07,960 But Raimi chose to swim against the stream. 813 00:36:08,001 --> 00:36:10,420 It was just a really fun kind of playful tone. 814 00:36:10,462 --> 00:36:12,297 - Bye, guys. - [May] You haven't eaten anything. 815 00:36:12,339 --> 00:36:13,966 - Have you got your lunch money? - [Peter] Yeah, I got it. 816 00:36:14,007 --> 00:36:16,802 The mood of the film, it was kind of trying to keep it 817 00:36:16,844 --> 00:36:19,847 as natural and as simple as possible at the beginning. 818 00:36:19,888 --> 00:36:21,348 Peter Parker at home. 819 00:36:21,390 --> 00:36:22,724 Teenagers. 820 00:36:22,766 --> 00:36:24,643 It was enough to make Sony question 821 00:36:24,685 --> 00:36:27,896 if Sam Raimi was even trying to make a superhero film. 822 00:36:27,938 --> 00:36:29,064 What's your name, kid? 823 00:36:29,106 --> 00:36:30,482 [Peter] The Human Spider. 824 00:36:30,524 --> 00:36:32,234 First day of shooting, we did the fight scene. 825 00:36:34,319 --> 00:36:37,614 We spent a substantial amount of rigging prep and rehearsed 826 00:36:37,656 --> 00:36:40,158 to get that dialed in just right. 827 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:41,493 1,200 extras. 828 00:36:41,535 --> 00:36:42,995 What are you doing up there? 829 00:36:43,036 --> 00:36:45,080 Sam Raimi filmed the entire match 830 00:36:45,122 --> 00:36:47,498 using practical effects. 831 00:36:47,541 --> 00:36:51,003 I mean, so much of it was just so perfectly achieved. 832 00:36:53,380 --> 00:36:54,882 As production pushed onward, 833 00:36:54,922 --> 00:36:58,802 Sam Raimi had every department asking themselves one question. 834 00:36:58,844 --> 00:37:00,429 "How can this be shot?" 835 00:37:00,469 --> 00:37:01,513 - Practical. - Practical. 836 00:37:01,555 --> 00:37:02,764 - Practical. - Practical. 837 00:37:02,806 --> 00:37:03,891 - Practical. - Practical. 838 00:37:03,931 --> 00:37:07,728 Three, two, one, go. 839 00:37:07,768 --> 00:37:10,606 We did a lot of things in camera that were a lot of fun. 840 00:37:10,647 --> 00:37:12,774 But the director's hesitation to take advantage 841 00:37:12,815 --> 00:37:16,361 of the latest digital advances became a concern for the studio. 842 00:37:16,402 --> 00:37:18,488 I don't think the studio agreed with it. 843 00:37:18,530 --> 00:37:21,533 So how did they make the wall-crawler crawl up a wall? 844 00:37:21,575 --> 00:37:25,454 We did not put Tobey Maguire or stuntman on the side of a building. 845 00:37:27,915 --> 00:37:31,126 Fans had already seen how well that turned out. 846 00:37:31,168 --> 00:37:34,505 [Saeta] So what we did was they built the wall flat, 847 00:37:34,546 --> 00:37:39,009 and the camera was turned sideways so that it looked like he was going up. 848 00:37:39,051 --> 00:37:42,137 It was almost embarrassing of how simple it was. 849 00:37:42,179 --> 00:37:44,473 But a sideways camera can only do so much 850 00:37:44,515 --> 00:37:47,017 as the shots became more and more difficult, 851 00:37:47,059 --> 00:37:48,643 especially for Tobey. 852 00:37:48,685 --> 00:37:50,854 [Burgess] Tobey had to do a lot of physical things 853 00:37:50,896 --> 00:37:55,025 where he literally had to be cabled to ceilings. 854 00:37:55,067 --> 00:37:56,527 Willem Dafoe comes over. 855 00:37:56,568 --> 00:37:58,862 Now, where is Peter? 856 00:37:58,904 --> 00:38:01,031 [Burgess] He senses something's not right. 857 00:38:01,073 --> 00:38:05,410 And the camera reveals that Tobey is literally stuck to the ceiling 858 00:38:05,452 --> 00:38:07,036 in a very uncomfortable position, 859 00:38:07,079 --> 00:38:09,248 and acting, and playing the part. 860 00:38:09,289 --> 00:38:11,959 While some practical effects relied on old tricks... 861 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,169 Stale is a better adjective, Robin. 862 00:38:14,210 --> 00:38:16,880 ...some techniques required innovation. 863 00:38:16,922 --> 00:38:19,424 [Saeta] The scene where his eyesight comes back. 864 00:38:19,466 --> 00:38:21,093 He has his glasses on. 865 00:38:21,134 --> 00:38:23,303 He takes them off. He puts them back on. 866 00:38:23,344 --> 00:38:25,639 We created the illusion that you're looking in the mirror 867 00:38:25,681 --> 00:38:27,599 and he's taking his glasses on and off. 868 00:38:27,641 --> 00:38:30,018 So I had extra large glasses made 869 00:38:30,060 --> 00:38:31,812 and I put them over the lens of the camera 870 00:38:31,854 --> 00:38:33,438 and so I would hold the glasses 871 00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:36,065 and I would match Tobey with the glasses, like this. 872 00:38:36,108 --> 00:38:37,943 And he's looking in the mirror and he's seeing the reflection. 873 00:38:37,985 --> 00:38:40,404 But he's really looking at the camera and he's going like this. 874 00:38:40,445 --> 00:38:41,905 Weird. 875 00:38:41,947 --> 00:38:44,658 But practical didn't always mean simple. 876 00:38:44,700 --> 00:38:47,327 One of the producers asked me to rework a sequence. 877 00:38:47,369 --> 00:38:51,290 Sam had MJ slipping and going up in the air, 878 00:38:51,331 --> 00:38:52,875 and Spider-Man was gonna catch her. 879 00:38:52,916 --> 00:38:55,460 I didn't really love that idea because what were we saying? 880 00:38:55,502 --> 00:38:57,546 That MJ was klutzy? 881 00:38:57,588 --> 00:39:00,507 So I had come up with this idea that some kids roughhousing at one of the tables 882 00:39:00,549 --> 00:39:03,343 bump her and send her tray flying into the air. 883 00:39:03,385 --> 00:39:05,596 And then Peter would spin around and catch the tray. 884 00:39:05,637 --> 00:39:08,806 And then we would have all of the items go boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. 885 00:39:08,849 --> 00:39:12,018 And that was something that would be a lot quicker to film 886 00:39:12,060 --> 00:39:14,521 than putting your lead actress in a stunt harness. 887 00:39:14,563 --> 00:39:17,649 But Sam Raimi wasn't interested in a simple plan. 888 00:39:17,690 --> 00:39:22,321 Sam absolutely loved that idea, and he said, "This is great. We'll do that, too." 889 00:39:22,362 --> 00:39:26,116 And with that, Doug Lefler's genius became his undoing. 890 00:39:26,158 --> 00:39:30,370 Instead of making the scene something that could be shot within the time allotted, 891 00:39:30,411 --> 00:39:33,873 I guaranteed that it would never be shot within the time allotted. 892 00:39:33,916 --> 00:39:35,501 The pressure for Doug Lefler 893 00:39:35,542 --> 00:39:38,170 to pull off the cafeteria stunt was doubled, 894 00:39:38,212 --> 00:39:41,256 thanks to a growing number of lurking Sony executives 895 00:39:41,297 --> 00:39:44,009 looking to build a case for firing Sam Raimi. 896 00:39:48,555 --> 00:39:51,183 After creating Spider-Man's iconic kiss, 897 00:39:51,225 --> 00:39:54,268 Doug Lefler had pitched another trailer-worthy moment. 898 00:39:57,189 --> 00:40:01,193 Spider-Man, you know, gallantly slides over, catches the girl, 899 00:40:01,235 --> 00:40:03,654 grabs the tray, and catches all the food on the tray. 900 00:40:03,695 --> 00:40:05,739 Only one question remained. 901 00:40:05,781 --> 00:40:07,074 [Burgess] How are we gonna do it? 902 00:40:07,114 --> 00:40:10,744 We ended up putting a magnet in the tray itself 903 00:40:10,786 --> 00:40:15,916 and then all the food items, so they would stick to the tray. 904 00:40:15,958 --> 00:40:18,585 When she slipped, I under cranked the camera 905 00:40:18,627 --> 00:40:23,006 so that everything was in sped up motion, then the catch 906 00:40:23,047 --> 00:40:26,009 with the effects man just out of frame dropping food onto the tray. 907 00:40:26,051 --> 00:40:27,719 Bup, bup, bup, bup. And there he is. 908 00:40:27,761 --> 00:40:30,305 You know, he's got the girl and the tray and all of that. 909 00:40:30,347 --> 00:40:31,556 Great reflexes. 910 00:40:31,598 --> 00:40:33,851 And then crank the camera back up to 24 frames 911 00:40:33,892 --> 00:40:35,686 for the dialogue to finish the scene. 912 00:40:35,727 --> 00:40:37,855 It took all day to pull that shot off. 913 00:40:37,896 --> 00:40:42,776 And by "a day", Don means 156 takes. 914 00:40:45,070 --> 00:40:46,280 Wow. 915 00:40:46,321 --> 00:40:48,073 And the shot, I think, holds up to this day. 916 00:40:48,114 --> 00:40:49,366 I think it still works pretty well. 917 00:40:49,408 --> 00:40:51,034 - Thanks. - No problem. 918 00:40:51,076 --> 00:40:54,036 The scene was a triumph for the film and Doug, 919 00:40:54,079 --> 00:40:57,082 who Sam would begin to rely more and more on. 920 00:40:57,123 --> 00:40:59,126 [Satriano] Doug Lefler was very involved 921 00:40:59,168 --> 00:41:02,171 in designing the sequences with Sam and drawing them. 922 00:41:02,212 --> 00:41:05,799 So Sam then wanted to give him an opportunity to direct. 923 00:41:05,841 --> 00:41:08,886 A lot of the stuff that I ended up directing 924 00:41:08,927 --> 00:41:12,764 was the montage of Spider-Man first discovering his powers. 925 00:41:12,806 --> 00:41:14,933 The robbery at the Korean deli. 926 00:41:17,102 --> 00:41:18,520 There's a few muggings in there. 927 00:41:21,231 --> 00:41:22,733 The armored car break in. 928 00:41:23,859 --> 00:41:25,569 For the armored car robbery, 929 00:41:25,611 --> 00:41:27,905 Doug knew practical effects wouldn't be enough... 930 00:41:27,946 --> 00:41:29,156 Watch the street. 931 00:41:29,198 --> 00:41:31,575 ...and it was time to take Spidey digital. 932 00:41:31,617 --> 00:41:34,244 [Lefler] We have one shot where Spider-Man takes out 933 00:41:34,286 --> 00:41:36,788 four or five guys in the single shot. 934 00:41:36,830 --> 00:41:38,540 Except Spider-Man is not actually in that shot 935 00:41:38,582 --> 00:41:40,042 or he wasn't in that shot when we filmed it. 936 00:41:40,083 --> 00:41:42,085 The plan was to use real actors, 937 00:41:42,127 --> 00:41:45,047 then add a computer-generated Spidey in post. 938 00:41:45,088 --> 00:41:49,968 Given that you had to break the reality of the rules of physics, 939 00:41:50,010 --> 00:41:56,058 he needed a certain level of technology to be able to pull this off. 940 00:41:56,099 --> 00:41:59,102 [Bottegoni] Creating a digital double for Spider-Man 941 00:41:59,143 --> 00:42:01,647 was actually not a small feat at that point in time. 942 00:42:01,688 --> 00:42:03,940 [Lefler] We had to work at every bit of action, 943 00:42:03,982 --> 00:42:06,193 and they timed it with all the stunt guys on wires, 944 00:42:06,235 --> 00:42:08,027 getting knocked left and right and pulled, 945 00:42:08,070 --> 00:42:10,197 and they had to all, you know, react. 946 00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:13,242 But it was a very difficult thing to coordinate. 947 00:42:13,283 --> 00:42:15,536 Unfortunately, not every executive 948 00:42:15,577 --> 00:42:17,955 could wrap their head around the emerging technology. 949 00:42:17,996 --> 00:42:21,375 Executives at the studio were really upset when they saw it, 950 00:42:21,416 --> 00:42:24,002 because they couldn't figure out why all these stuntmen 951 00:42:24,044 --> 00:42:26,213 were just standing there and then getting flung around. 952 00:42:26,255 --> 00:42:27,840 And there was no Spider-Man in the shot. 953 00:42:28,382 --> 00:42:30,133 They fired me. 954 00:42:30,175 --> 00:42:31,718 They said they needed to get somebody 955 00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:33,971 that understood how to do action. 956 00:42:34,012 --> 00:42:37,975 I got a call from Laura Ziskin saying, "This isn't about you. 957 00:42:38,016 --> 00:42:40,727 "The studio is trying to control Sam. They can't fire Sam. 958 00:42:40,768 --> 00:42:43,063 "So they shot the person standing next to him." 959 00:42:43,105 --> 00:42:45,815 With shots fired, along with Doug, 960 00:42:45,858 --> 00:42:48,485 Sony had sent Sam Raimi a message. 961 00:42:48,527 --> 00:42:51,780 [Lefler] A lot of times when people got hired to make comic book movies, 962 00:42:51,822 --> 00:42:54,324 they were trying to figure out how to make a comic book film 963 00:42:54,366 --> 00:42:56,535 that really wasn't a comic book film. 964 00:42:56,577 --> 00:42:58,453 Sam wanted to make a comic book film. 965 00:42:58,495 --> 00:43:03,166 He really did want to do something that was bright and colorful. 966 00:43:03,208 --> 00:43:05,460 Sam may have seen the film as bright and colorful, 967 00:43:05,502 --> 00:43:08,338 but Sony had a different interpretation. 968 00:43:08,380 --> 00:43:11,341 The studio was worried that it would look too much like a cartoon. 969 00:43:11,383 --> 00:43:14,844 And Sony's fears were about to be confirmed. 970 00:43:14,887 --> 00:43:18,223 An image of Willem Dafoe from a battle scene 971 00:43:18,265 --> 00:43:20,809 with the balloons, leaked onto the Internet. 972 00:43:20,851 --> 00:43:22,477 The leak turned the Internet 973 00:43:22,518 --> 00:43:25,355 into an unintentional focus group for Sony 974 00:43:25,397 --> 00:43:27,940 as fans took to MySpace, message boards, 975 00:43:27,983 --> 00:43:31,236 and comments sections to share their thoughts. 976 00:43:31,277 --> 00:43:34,614 People were saying, "Anyone involved with the Green Goblin costume should be shot."