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Spider-Man Does Whatever A Spider Can

Sitting in Stage 27 on the Sony lot, a webshoot away from the actors and filmmakers of the upcoming Spider-Man film, I've been continually humming to myself that jazzy song from the 1967-1970 animated TV series Spider-Man. 'Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can...'

Nearing the end of this media mayhem of indulgence, it hits me again, 'Does whatever a spider can.' I frantically wave my 'Number 9' press card like some crazy fan trying to capture the attention of some rock and roll legend. I'm picked and it's the final question. Enough of, 'Who are you playing, how do you identify with your character, are you looking forward for the film?' We can all guess those answers by now. Like standing up to sing the national anthem I bellow out, 'Dr. Craig Reid, Fandom.com. I have a PhD in entomology and somewhat of a spider expert.' The crowd murmurs with jovial anticipation.

Earlier on director Sam Raimi heartfelty shared that Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man, which will don the classic red and blue Spider-Man costume with updates to bring it into the year 2002 (hopefully not that spandex look from the awful 1978 The Amazing Spider-Man TV show starring Nicholas Hammond), would indeed be like a spider elaborating, 'Since he's been bitten by a spider (the film uses a genetically altered spider compared to the comicbook's radioactive spider, reflecting the scientific paranoia of both time periods), he'll have the powers of a spider like climbing walls, the ability to leap like some spiders, a spider's great proportionate strength. We also felt it was a logical progression to let him also spin his own web.'

In case you didn't know, spiders belong to the phylum arthropoda (the only extent of their relationship with insects), subphylum chelicerata (based on fanglike chelicerae mouthparts compared to a bug's mandible mouthparts), class arachnida (includes ticks, mites, scorpions), order araneida. They have eight 7-segmented legs, no antenna, breath through organs called book lungs and underneath at the abdomen's tip, have 6 fingerlike structures called spinnerets from which the silk emerges. The thought of Spider-Man spinning his own web like a real spider conjures up some marvelous images. The logical progression surrounding this web of circumstances is to get Tobey's perspectives on his Spider-Man.

Maguire On Webslinging

Maguire nonchalantly tells, 'I wasn't familiar with Spider-Man comics, I mean I know of the character, just haven't read the comics. But I went back and read the first three years and can relate to Peter Parker and to Spider-Man because I feel like a superhero in general in my life. (laughs) He's a great kid and one of the main features is that with great powers comes great responsibility and there's great power in being alive and being human. Everyday I wake up and feel I have a responsibility to myself and to others, to live an esteemed life and to be an example for people around me. Peter goes though a lot of common struggles that most people can relate to.

'I'm excited about this and have done lots of training for flexibility, acrobatic grace and have been pushing iron. I like structure and discipline so I've enjoyed having the workouts and eating a certain way. I've actually been eating more food in order to keep up my energy. As far as people's expectations? I'm not too concerned. I've put all that responsibility onto Sam (crowd laughs). And I've been doing a lot of wire stuff too.'

The comment about actors doing lots of wire training is becoming common as Hollywood is finally tapping into Hong Kong's sight-gag infested, action oriented visuals. Just talk to the cast of Charlie's Angels, X-Men, Matrix or Crouching Tiger. Does this mean Tobey will have to undertake extensive martial art training in order to keep up with the Hong Kong look? Maguire bluntly points out, 'No. Spider-Man is not a martial artist. He has his own style of fighting. First of all he's so strong that if he hits regular people like that he could seriously injure somebody and he's too much of a responsible man to do such a thing.'

I contemplate, 'Wouldn't it be great to create a spider fighting style?' By studying spider species in the literature, these filmmakers could be in a position to do something really cool and different. Although there's only two major fight scenes and Maguire will be performing a lot of the sequences himself, the producers are reportedly bringing in members of the Cirque de Solei to enhance the expected intricate wirework.

Prior to producers Ian Bryce explaining that the film's budget is classified information and Laura Zisken assuring the crowd that the picture will be finished before the impending SAG strike in May, special effects supervisor John Dykstra offers a few words about doing the special effects. 'The basis of this film has its feet in reality so what we're doing is extending from a real experience, a real person into a world that is hyper-real and how it effects the people involved, as opposed to just leaping into this hyper-real world. Our challenge is to make it a seamless transition, support character development and make the effects non-distracting. We've got to take the spirit of the film and the people in this environment to places we can't go to for real. Hopefully while making this film we'll create pieces that will add to the spirit of the film's characters and you wont notice. Yes, we'll break the limits but you wont be able to tell where.'

Face It, Tiger!
With an expected PG-13 rating and the now confirmed rumors that Stan Lee will have a small walk on role, I ponderingly look at Kirsten Dunst's blonde hair wondering how many fans recall the famed line from the comic when Parker meets Mary Jane Austin for the first time and she blurts at him, 'Face it tiger, you just hit the jackpot.' When someone asks her about that she coyly quips, 'I guess it's in there now. It's not the first line I say but I have the 'tiger' in there. The way the script goes, Mary Jane has had a rough childhood, her father an alcoholic puts her down and her mother a weak lady. I've never experienced this. My mom has always been supportive. But everyone can identify with her. In high school, because of my job, I've always felt a little weird and even though it's different in a way, I can still relate in that way and connect emotionally to her. And oh, don't worry, I will be a redhead.'

Willem Dafoe and James Franco add this about their on-screen ties. Dafoe immediately explains that he sees his role as Norman Osborn first, and that the Green Goblin grows out from one aspect of Norman. 'Norman is an interesting character because he's got a dark and a light positive side. He believes in science and is interested in developing the physical and mental capabilities of human beings through science and that the Green Goblin is the manifestation of that dark side. What's interesting is before I read the script, Sam talked me through the film and I loved the way he talked about it with such incredible psychological terms. I also liked the way that he talked about the relationship between Norman and his son and also with Peter. It's very rich.'

Franco interjects, 'I play Harry Osborn, Norman's son. In the film, I'm searching for love from him that he will not give and I can't satisfy his demands. And this is very pertinent to this day and age where there are problems between parents and their children and it's been determined in our film that all the parents are either absent and or abusive.'

After Raimi explains that the 'Spider-Man' comic has had a long history of using many writers, sometimes on a monthly basis, it's no longer just a one person creation, it's owned by the whole world. Raimi contends that it's fitting that many different writers have worked on this script, stating, 'It started with James Cameron's treatment, then David Koepp came aboard for many years and did the line work and turned it into a screenplay. And that's basically what we're working with, except Scott Rosenberg and Alvin Sargent have done some work for us too.'

'Does whatever a spider can,' echoes back into my mind. It's time to ask my question. 'How familiar are you with spider fighting strategies and attack behavior, and how do you plan to use that in the film? For example, the bolus spider spins a web ball, whips it into the air so the wind gives it transportation. It's called ballooning. And there are lots of other cool spider things like that, that could be in the film.'

Long cheering laughs from the audience later, Raimi jokingly and politicianly comments, 'Well, like any director directing Spider-Man, of course I've studied the spider, all different genuses. I don't want to embarrass you with my knowledge here in front of the press. I think it's safe to say that we've examined that and are thinking about it and it will be an integral part of the picture.' Loud laughs later, the crowd applauses and we all walk away from the room, unchanged.