VZSciFi DataFile: The Amazing Spider-Man

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Live action adventure based on the Marvel Comics super hero.

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Current Status: Now in production after a protracted legal case over who exactly had the rights to make a Spider-Man movie, casting and other pre-production workwork is now in progress.
Spider-Man, the creation of veteran comic book writer Stan Lee, first appeared in comic books in 1962. The story centres on student Peter Parker who, after being bitten by a radioactive spider, gains superhuman strength and the spider-like ability to cling to any surface. Peter first uses his powers to make money, but when his beloved Uncle Ben is killed by thieves after Peter chooses not to get involved, he vows to dedicate his life to fighting crime.

15 October 2000: Director Sam Raimi has confirmed that John Malkovich will portray the Green Goblin.
Sources: E! Online/Popcorn via ComicBookNet

10 October 2000: Director Sam Raimi recently spoke to the Popcorn website about the progress on his next project, the big-screen adaptation of Spider-Man. Raimi remarked that he and the Spider-Man crew are "working in every phase of production you can imagine." This includes finalizing script revisions, casting, scouting locations in Los Angeles and New York and setting up sound stages and sets.
According to Raimi, Tobey Maguire is undergoing a great physical transformation to portray Peter Parker and his super-heroic counterpart. Raimi says that a climbing expert, a physical trainer, and a martial arts expert are helping the young Cider House Rules star to perfect his "spider-type moves." Raimi praises Maguire, saying that he "has a good heart and when you look into Tobey's eyes, he's really true. The thing that made [Peter Parker] so popular is that Peter Parker is a good person and Tobey is a good person, so I think it's going to work."
VZSciFi Link: Straczynski to write SpiderMan comic: Go

Spider-Man Delayed
There's some nice new artwork for the upcoming Spiderman movie out at the Cinescape web site. Unfortunately, the projected opening date for the movie has been moved from November 2001 to May 2002.

Who's Going to be Who?
• Spider-Man Cast: Columbia Pictures has confirmed that Tobey Maguire (The Cider House Rules, Pleasantville) is set to star as cub photographer Peter Parker, who is turned into a crime-fighting wall-crawling superhero after being bitten by a radioactive arachnid.
• The Green Golin:
• Doctor Octopus: Corona Coming Attractions recently ran a rumour that Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Magnolia, Flawless) is in talks to play Doctor Octopus.
• Mary Jane Watson: Kate Hudson was rumoured to be in talks to play Mary Jane, Peter Parker's girlfriend. In early October Raimi told E!Online that while casting for Spidey's girlfriend Mary Jane Watson was still underway, he is "thinking hard" about offering the role to Alicia (Urban Legend) Witt, because he "really liked how she tested."
• Harry Osborn: James Franco is purportedly a frontrunner to play the Green Goblin's son, Harry Osborn. Franco had been in the running to play Spider-Man.

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Confirmed Cast:
• Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. Columbia Pictures has confirmed that Maguire (The Cider House Rules, Pleasantville) is set to star as cub photographer Peter Parker. The 25-year-old actor most recently earned acclaim for his roles in Curtis Hanson's Wonder Boys, in which he starred opposite Michael Douglas, and in 2000 Best Picture Oscar nominee The Cider House Rules, directed by Lasse Hallstrom.
"I am delighted with this choice," said Columbia chairman Amy Pascal of the deal.(Variety reported that Maguire was said to be preparing to sign a deal in the range of $3 million to $4 million for the first film with options for richer back-end deals for two sequel. The deal is "pay-or-play" -- so he gets paid even if the project does not happen).
"Tobey's acting ability and incredible screen presence and Sam's creative vision are a powerful combination to bring Spider-Man to the screen."
"As an actor, Tobey is a director's dream,'' said director Sam Raimi. "He has all the qualities we were looking for in our Peter Parker."
Maguire's other film credits include Ang Lee's Ride With the Devil and The Ice Storm, Gary Ross' Pleasantville and Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry.
According to Variety, Director Sam Raimi had favoured Maguire throughout the search process to find the actor to play Spider-Man. But while no one doubted that Maguire had the ability needed to play Peter Parker, Columbia studio brass were somewhat reluctant, given that Maguire is not the first actor who springs to mind when thinking of adrenaline-pumping, tail-kicking titans.
But when Maguire, who was initially reluctant to test, finally donned the webslinger's vestments, execs were surprised by the 25-year-old's newly buff, aerobicized form. The studio signed off on him as its choice, and negotiations began immediately.
On Friday 16 June, the studio had several young actors don tights to screen-test for director Sam Raimi, including Felicity star Scott Speedman, Jay Rodan, who recently completed a co-starring role in Kasi Lemmons' Caveman's Valentine, and James Franco (Whatever It Takes, currently shooting the title role in TNT's James Dean biopic.
• John Malkovich as The Green Goblin. Director Sam Raimi confirmed that John Malkovich will portray the Green Goblin in early October 2000.
At the end of August 2000 Aint It Cool News commented that since Nicolas Cage won't be able to obligate to playing The Green Goblin, an emerald-skinned, pink-hatted psychopath given to tossing exploding pumpkins at anyone who gets in his way, Sam Raimi was in talks with none other than John Malkovich. On 13 September Hollywood Reporter said Malkovich was weighing an offer to play the role. Malkovich, who recently starred in Being John Malkovich for director Spike Jonze, also has starred in such films as the upcoming Shadow of the Vampire, The Sheltering Sky and Dangerous Liaisons.
The Nicholas Cage rumour: Following confirmation that Maguire would star in the Spiderman feature, it was Spider-Man Hype that reported on 3 August that Nicolas Cage might be poised to snare the role of Spider-Man's arch-enemy. Onetime favourite Liam Neeson became a doubtful bet following a road accident earlier in the year which resulted in a broken pelvis and internal injuries.
Earlier rumours of Bruce Campbell being cast as the Green Goblin also proved untrue. Although Campbell and Raimi are great friends, it's claimed the studio decided it wanted bigger actors to fulfill the duties in this film (Universal wouldn't let Campbell play Darkman).

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Script: Cameron's lengthy screen treatment served as the basis for the story scripted by David Koepp (The Lost World), then re-written by Scott Rosenberg (Gone in 60 Seconds).
In January 2000, a source for the Spider-Man Hype website claimed that Marvel was unhappy with screenwriter David Koepp's work on the Spider-Man movie. Sony was said to be looking to bring in David Mamet (House of Games, The Spanish Prisoner) to "revise the script to fit Marvel's need." The anonymous source also claimed that Digital Domain (Titanic) and Fantasy2 (Terminator) have already worked CGI effects costing $20 million. ComicBookNet commented: "This sounds suspiciously like the rumors that surrounded the Hulk movie and the pre-production CGI rumoured to have been done on that."

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Production Staff
Producers: Laura Ziskin (As Good As it Gets) and Oscar nominee Ian Bryce (Almost Famous). Avi Arad (X-Men) serves as executive producer. Ziskin moved to Columbia under a three-year, first-look deal after serving as Fox 2000 president for five years.
Director: Spider-Man is helmed by Sam Raimi (The Gift), a self-confessed fanatic of the cagey, web-spinning hero.
In January 2000, Daily Variety confirmed internet buzz that director Sam Raimi (For Love of the Game), who is a big Spider-Man fan, might helm the movie.
Daily Variety reported that Raimi apparently wowed executives at a meeting and leap-frogged over previous favorites David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) and Chris Columbus (Bicentennial Man).
Confirmed Prod Personnel: The creative team includes Oscar-nominated director of photography Don Burgess (What Lies Beneath), production designer Neil Spisak (For Love of the Game) and costume designer James Acheson, who has won Academy Awards for Restoration, Dangerous Liaisons and The Last Emperor.
To be confirmed Prod Personnel: Hollywood Reporter and other sources previously revealed that visual effects supervisor John Dykstra, whose ground-breaking work contributed to the success of the original Star Wars movies, had been tapped to spin the web around Spider-Man for director Sam Raimi and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Sony Pictures Imageworks will be creating most of the visual effects work on Spider-Man and has already hired character animation expert Karen Goulekas. Dykstra, whose recent work includes visual effects supervisor for the movie Stuart Little, told Hollywood Reporter he doesn't yet know how many shots the film will contain, because the script (by Raimi and David Koepp) isn't finished. "We're still sorting the character out. It's going to come down to what the character we've come to know on the printed page requires to bring him to life. It certainly won't be in any way pedestrian."
Comics2Film heard an interesting bit of Spider-Man news at the Comic-Con International in August 2000. According to animation pros speaking at one of the convention panels, Mark Andrews will be handling storyboarding chores on the movie. Andrews provided much of the storyboards for the fan-fave animated feature The Iron Giant. This information has not yet been confirmed outside of the aforementioned panel.
At the same time, Marvel was displaying a video promoting the movie, the web-spinning title sequence that was shown last year at film industry trade shows. Following that was a segment where director Sam Raimi talks about his vision for the film. Raimi confirmed that Spidey would be doing his web-slinging from organic wrist shooters, instead of the home-made ones he's used in the comics for years. "Now Spider-Man's webs come right out of his wrists. I think it's more interesting because it is one more thing he's got to be embarrassed of."
Villains are confirmed to be Doctor Octopus, whose on-screen arms will be computer-generated, and the Green Goblin, who will have his glider along with an array of weapons. Various design illustrations accompanied the presentation, but no word was given as to whether these represented current or rejected designs. Check out some of the design images by visiting the website at http://www.comics2film.com.
Prod Company:  Sony

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Production Notes: Filming on the first instalment will begin in New York and on the Sony sound stages in November, expected for release by November 2001.
Web Shooter Controversy: Comics2Film reports that there's a fan movement afoot to shape the course of the movie, prompted by the Raimi's desire to give the character organic web-shooters. The comic book character spins his webs using mechanical devices of his own creation. The current script for the movie calls for the character to grow web-spinners in his wrists as part of his transformation into the super-hero.
Director Sam Raimi points out that the organic spinners will increase the teenage character's angst, which is a key ingredient to the comic. "I think it's more interesting because it is one more thing he's got to be embarrassed of," Raimi has said on the recently seen promotional video.
Fans argue that Parker's invention of the web-fluid and web-shooters are an integral part of the character. After all, Peter Parker is a gifted student with a great love of science. What better way to illustrate that than the invention of the web-shooters? An internet-based, grass-roots movement has sprung up to convince Sony that mechanical shooters are the way to go.
Link: The Down With Organic Webshooters
Cameron bows out: In mid-1999 The World Entertainment News Network  reported that Titanic director James Cameron had declined to direct the then newly announced Sony Spider-Man film. Over the past 10 years, various writers and directors, including Cameron, who wrote a treatment for the project, have been vying for the rights to bring Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's web-slinging superhero to the big screen. But despite the legal breakthrough which allows Sony Pictures to proceed with the film franchise, Cameron refused to get reinvolved with the venture, even though comic giant Stan Lee has begged for him to direct the film, according to WENN. "I have definitely moved on," Cameron told WENN. "It was something I really wanted to do eight years ago when I was first after the project.  But your ideas change and the ways in which you want to proportion your life's energies. When you make a film every two or three years,  you make that decision very carefully and not  just because everyone wants you to make it." Cameron added, "They will find some young man or woman to bring it alive."
James Cameron also had a scheduling conflict that prevented him from working on the planned movie.
US Release Date: May 2002
UK Release Date: 2002?

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Licensing
Activision: Computer Games
Two new Spider-Man video games were released from Activision, Inc, in August 2000 in the US. Spider-Man for the PlayStation game console and Nintendo Game Boy Color. The games carry a suggested retail price of $39.99 and $29.99 respectively, and they have been rated "E" ("Everyone" -- content suitable for persons ages six and older -- with Animated Violence) by the ESRB. The first free-roaming, 3D action/adventure game based on the most recognized superhero of all time, Spider-Man challenges players to web-sling, wall-crawl, fight and use "Spider-Sense" to battle evil-doers. Gamers must utilize Spider-Man's super strength and superior wit to protect the innocent as they help solve a variety of puzzles and defeat old and new super villains alike.
Spider-Man for the Game Boy Color was developed by Vicarious Visions, a New York based developer that creates online, next generation console, and handheld games.

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Links:
Official website: Marvel Comics
Fan websites: Spider-Man Hype
Sources Include: Columbia Pictures, ComicBook Net #248 #275, Comics2Film, Daily Variety, Entertainment Weekly (18 June 1999) Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The World Entertainment News. Information welcome!