"Hey let's do less," Laura Ziskin, one of the Producers on 'Spider-Man 3' jokes when asked whether it was important to make a bigger Spider-Man movie the third time around. "We did consciously say we had to top ourselves (on both 'Spider-Man 2' and '3'). As filmmakers it's not going to be an interesting endeavor if we don't. In terms of what the audience expects...they don't expect less."
So what makes 'Spider-Man 3' bigger and better than it's predecessors? It could be the bigger budget, which helped to create the dazzling special effects. A run time of 139 minutes helped make it bigger (or just longer depending on how you look at it) Of course it could very well be the villains. In 'Spider-Man 3' there is not one, not two, not three, but four villains that everyman Peter Parker comes up against, including Peter Parker himself? "We were very interested in exploring Peter's dark side. That seemed thematically right for the story and that then led us, obviously, to the second villain being Venom," says Ziskin.
However, initially Director Sam Raimi had been resistant in adding the character of Venom. In the early stages of 'Spider-Man 3' the character of Sandman (aka Flint Marko) was being developed. "That was the character (the Sandman) we wanted to create visually and for the action fun of the movie," says Ziskin. Since everyone wanted to explore a dark side of Spider-Man both Ziskin and Producer Avi Arad really helped spearhead the addition of Venom as the development process continued. Arad says, "Initially the Eddie Brock part of the story he (Raimi) just didn't know enough about it and then he became educated about it." The villain count climbs to four with Harry Osborn, once Peter Parker's best friend and now his nemesis, returning to revenge his father's death.
The process of creating 'Spider-Man 3' was a long one for the creative team, which began right after 'Spider-Man 2' premiered. Ziskin says, "Sam and his brother started working on the bones of the story right after 'Spider-Man 2'...a first draft was written I think exactly two years ago. Then the writing continued up until two weeks ago when the movie was finished." Producer Grant Curtis continues saying, "One of the fascinating things about 'Spider-Man 3' in the story- telling process that separates itself from 1 and 2 is how much the story continued to be told to a certain degree once the cameras stopped rolling. Specifically because of Sandman and how much that character had to evolve in CGI form. Every day we had meetings with SONY Pictures Imageworks. One of the things Sam said after the cameras had stopped rolling for three months is I can't believe I am still directing this film. The story- telling process never stopped. We delivered one of the final shots of the Sandman sequence two weeks ago. Sam was working on the nuances of how Thomas' character was emoting during that performance."
Of course with 'Spider-Man 3' ready to premiere in the states the next question naturally would be what about 'Spider-Man 4', '5' and '6'? "...Because of time demands we never plotted out a series. The honest truth is and this is the first question that everyone asks us. We were in Japan, walking down the red carpet and no one had seen 'Spider-Man 3'. It was the world premiere...and all anyone wanted to know was about Spider-Man 4. We all would love to make 'Spider-Man 4', '5' and '6'." That being said, there seems to be some rumblings that some may not be so open with continuing on in the franchise. "I think there is an openness. I think we have been so focused and have been on this movie. I don't think anybody knows."
Time will tell if Peter Parker's story comes to a close with 'Spider-Man 3' and you can find out if a bigger Spider-Man movie makes for a better Spider-Man movie when 'Spider-Man 3' premieres in theaters nationwide May 4th.
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