cover | story - The Spin on Spidey
Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco get caught up in the third Spider-Man movie, and contemplate whether they’ll stick around for a fourth
By Earl Dittman
You’ve heard of method acting — an actor goes through intense preparation to virtually become the character he or she portrays. But is it possible that there’s a form of method directing as well? If so, Sam Raimi may be a follower. Having helmed all three Spider-Man movies, as well as contributing to their stories, Raimi is the one man who may be closer to Spidey than actor Tobey Maguire himself.
“I know him like a good friend,” Raimi says of the Marvel Comics superhero during an interview in L.A., “or maybe closer than a good friend, since I’ve spent so much time getting into his head, wondering how I might react here and there, pretending to be Peter Parker [Spidey’s photojournalist alter ego].”
For a long time the 47-year-old director was best known as the mind behind the two Evil Dead movies, the 1981 cult-classic zombie flick and its 1987 sequel. But since the 2002 release of Spider-Man, there’s been a new star of his filmography. That film broke a record by earning $114-million (U.S.) in its opening weekend, and its successor, 2004’s Spider-Man 2, kept pace by earning $115-million in its first few days. But never mind the money, not all films that break box-office records are good. These two, however, earned critical acclaim to match their earnings.
Raimi’s happy the third movie got the green light not only because of such crass incentives as money and acclaim, but because that’s the only way he’d know the fate of his pal Peter. “After finishing the second one,” says Raimi, “the question that kept popping up in my mind was, ‘What will happen to Peter next?’”
Yes, what will happen to Peter next?
It seems Peter’s problems (and arch-enemies) start popping up like weeds. After Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), who killed Peter’s Uncle Ben, gets out of prison, an industrial accident transforms him into Sandman, a shape-shifting sand creature. But while at the site of that accident, Peter comes into contact with a mysterious black substance that turns his suit black, enhancing Spidey’s powers, but also bringing out a darker side of his personality. This drastic mood change makes Peter ignore those closest to him, a group that now includes Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard), the police chief’s beautiful daughter who falls for Peter, understandably annoying Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst).
Then the black substance transfers itself from Spider-Man to Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), an investigative reporter hired by Peter’s editor, J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), to dig up dirt on Peter after Mary Jane dumps Jameson’s son to date him. Once Eddie’s infected he transforms into the supervillain Venom.
And what of Peter’s old friend Harry Osborn (James Franco), son of the now-deceased Green Goblin? Having vowed to kill Spider-Man at the end of the first movie, it looks as if Harry may finally take up his father’s mantle, adding another complication to Parker’s muddled life.
That’s a lot of information — but it took a long time to be revealed, especially for fans who’d been waiting for the new villains to be announced since Spider-Man 2 was in theatres.
Co-star Dunst even got in some trouble for unintentionally jumping the gun last year and confirming internet rumours that Sandman and Venom would be Spidey’s new foes. “I never know what to say and what not to say when they ask me about a Spider-Man that I’m making,” the 25-year-old Dunst admits while doing an interview for Marie Antoinette last year. “I was in a room with a bunch of journalists, and they mentioned who was playing certain villains, and I had seen it on the Internet Movie Database. I asked my publicist if it was out and he said it was….
“It turned out to be a big deal, but they should’ve [explained] what they wanted to be kept secret,” argues Dunst. “No one communicated to us about that. I mean, to me, I thought that it was out. It kind of was, but I guess that it just hadn’t been directly confirmed by anyone.”
But enough about the villains, ultimately it’s Spider-Man we care about. So what’s Maguire’s take on his less-kind, less-gentle superhero this time around?
“Peter Parker is in a different place in his life. It was wearing on him being Spider-Man and not having a life of his own,” says Maguire during an L.A. interview. Maguire’s own life now includes being a dad to five-month-old Ruby, his daughter with girlfriend Jennifer Meyer.
“I always thought that it was peculiar that he couldn’t see how he could just have a little balance in his life and things would be a little better for him, but there are complications for that which I can understand. But he now feels some balance in his life, but he also has these gifts and wants to use them responsibly.”
Which gets harder to do when a mysterious black entity puts you in a really bad mood. Maguire says it was important to keep that character-shift in check, and not play it too over-the-top. “We had to keep the essence of who Peter Parker is in the character, because he’s still Peter,” Maguire explains. “However, we see him behave different and go into different areas of himself, and it was something that we had to work out. Sam and I, in particular, were trying to find the right balance.”
One more thing we can assume about this movie is that — one way or another — Spidey will still be standing at the end. After all, talk of a fourth installment has already begun.
Since many of the principal players were only contracted for three films, several have doubts about whether they’ll return for a fourth.
“I’ve had a great time with Sam, and there is part of me that would miss working with him and Tobey, but I think it’s time for me to move on,” Franco admits during an interview at a tony hotel in L.A.’s Westwood neighbourhood. “You know, it is funny, because when we both signed on to do the first one, Tobey and I had done great projects but we were both still kind of new to the stardom thing. We’ve gone through a lot together, and I will miss him, but I think I’m ready to try something different.”
As for Raimi, he’s much less committal: “I can’t imagine that I’d have the strength to direct another one after this third one. My job is done, but you never say never. Maybe it’s time to give another director a try or just let it live on as a trilogy.”
And if Raimi doesn’t return, don’t expect to see Dunst either. “I wouldn’t do another one without Sam because he’s the heart of the films. No way,” she says.
However, Maguire — the most important piece of the puzzle — has said conflicting things in the media about whether or not he’ll be back. When we spoke, it sounded as if he hadn’t closed the door on Spider-Man 4 just yet.
“I think that with this film we’ve done a pretty good job, or at least from my perspective, I felt like we’ve had really interesting stories to tell, new and fresh stories while keeping the continuity of the characters,” Maguire says. “In this movie we will be tying up some storylines that have been open for the first couple of movies. So there will be some conclusions, but I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily the end. I think that we’re going to leave it open-ended and say that we’re not quite sure what’s going to happen. If there are stories worth telling, then we will tell them.”
Earl Dittman is an entertainment writer based in Houston, Texas.
Spot Raimi’s Trademarks
Sam Raimi is a creature of habit. The director of all three Spider-Man movies is known for his cinematic trademarks; little things he includes in his films that, if you watch closely, you should be able to spot. Here are some of his trademarks used in the first two Spider-Man flicks that may very well show up in Spider-Man 3.
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Spider-Man 3 director Sam Raimi
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•His Car: Raimi owns a 1973 yellow Oldsmobile Delta 88, which he’s nicknamed “The Classic,” and which he’s included in all of his films except The Quick and the Dead. It’s used as Uncle Ben’s car in Spider-Man, and in the second film it’s seen sitting in Aunt May’s driveway.
•His Brother: Actor Ted Raimi is Sam’s younger brother, and he pops up in most of his movies. In the Spider-Man series he plays Hoffman, J. Jonah Jameson’s beleaguered sidekick.
•His Drink: There’s often a bottle of Maker’s Mark Whiskey lying about.
•His Shot: Raimi loves to include a shot taken from the point of a view of a fast-moving object. In Spider-Man the camera rides alongside whizzing projectiles fired by the Green Goblin toward Spidey, and in Spider-Man 2 there’s a shot from the point of view of Doc Ock’s tentacles as they reach out toward doctors operating on him. Raimi dubbed the shot “Octovision.”
•His Prop: Look for mirrors that capture the duality of a character, as seen in Spider-Man when Norman Osborn looks into a mirror and sees both himself and his alter ego, The Green Goblin. Since Spider-Man 3 focuses on Peter Parker dealing with his dark side mirrors will surely be present. —IR
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