Because of their costume colors, Spider-Man was filmed in front of a green screen, while the Green Goblin was filmed in front of a blue screen.
Spider-Man (2002), Marvel Entertainment
During the famous upside-down kissing scene in “Spiderman” (2002), Tobey Maguire’s sinuses kept filling up with water, making filming difficult. His hardships were somewhat alleviated by having Kirsten Dunst attached to his face.
After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, Sony recalled already-released posters that showed a close-up of Spider-Man’s face with a New York skyline that included the World Trade Center towers reflected in his eyes. Not all the posters were recalled, however, and the ones that are still in the wild are now considered highly valuable collector’s items.
The New York citizens on the bridge throwing things at the Green Goblin was added post 9/11 as a way to illustrate the unity of the city.
Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man costume had to be slightly modified because the original version didn’t have any way for him to go to the bathroom. They added a vent to allow him to void his innards without having to take the entire costume off.
Bonesaw, the wrestler that the 2002 Spider-Man fights for money, was played by “Macho Man” Randy Savage who used to wrestle under the name Spider.
The scene in 2002’s “Spider-Man” where Peter Parker catches Mary Jane’s lunch on a tray didn’t involve any CGI or camera tricks. Toby Maguire actually performed the trick as seen on screen. It took 156 takes.
Spider-Man (2002), Marvel Entertainment
In the comics, Peter Parker’s web is a synthetic fluid fired from mechanical wrist guns of Parker’s own design. In the movie, the web originates from Parker’s body. To defend himself against angry nerds, director Sam Raimi said it made much more sense that the web would be produced this way, rather than invented by a high school student living with his aunt who has no resources and little spare time.
When two studio executives were shown footage of the computer-generated Spider-Man, they actually believed that it was the real Tobey Maguire doing his own stunts.
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Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for the role of Spider-Man. Had he gotten the role, he likely would have played a version of Spider-Man that was eaten by a bear.
While on the set of Spider-Man (2002), James Franco referred to Tobey Maguire’s features as “frog-like,” which Maguire did not appreciate very much at all. This led to a rivalry between the two actors that still exists to this day. That’s the problem with frogs. They have no sense of humor.
In “Spider-Man 2” (2004), Alfred Molina, who played Dr. Octopus, named his four tentacles Larry, Harry, Flo, and Moe. Flo was so named because that particular tentacle was deemed the “most motherly,” removing his sunglasses and feeding him sips of his drink.
Tobey Maguire almost dropped out of filming the sequel because of a bad back. Jake Gyllenhall was fully prepared to take the role, but at the last minute, Maguire returned and Gyllenhall went on to become the whitest Persian ever in “Prince of Persia.”
Kirsten Dunst dyed her hair red for the sequel. In the original film, she wore a wig. Apparently, she liked having red hair because nerdy dudes dug it. “I attract a different kind of boy when my hair’s red. I get more quality men—like a more thoughtful, nerdy dude.”
In the third movie, the aptly named “Spider-Man 3,” Thomas Haden Church injured himself during the scene in which he punches out part of a wall. The effects team told him that while the top and bottom bricks were real, the one in the middle was fake. Unfortunately, the fake brick hadn’t yet been installed, and on the first take, Haden Church turned, and promptly broke three knuckles on a real brick.
Spider-Man 3, Marvel Studios
Bryce Dallas Howard performed all her stunts in the third film while completely unaware she was pregnant at the time and defying death for two.
Kirsten Dunst, who is a natural blonde, played a redhead in the film, while Bryce Dallas Howard, a natural redhead, played a blonde.
In the fight scene where Spider-Man punches through Sandman’s chest, amputee boxer Baxter Humby stood in for Maguire. Born without a right hand, Humby made the effect of punching into Sandman’s chest more believable.
Real sand was used for Sandman, except for when characters were buried, which might have been hazardous. In those instances, they used ground up corn cob, which made an excellent snack for the cast and crew.
Stepping into Tobey Maguire’s role, Andrew Garfield put on the Spidey costume for the 2012 reboot “The Amazing Spider-Man,” and he admitted that, the first time he put it on, he cried. To be fair, he also cried the 100th time he put it on. And when Betty Spaghetti died in “A League of Their Own.” And at the smell of freshly cut grass. Garfield is a sensitive soul.
In the rebooted franchise, the web that Spider-Man shoots come from artificial devices, much to the satisfaction of the comic book purists who were angered by the alterations in Sam Raimi’s trilogy. New director Marc Webb explained that this was a creative decision to emphasize that Peter Parker was already special. The fact that he was bitten by a radioactive spider and didn’t immediately die of cancer was a bonus.
During the filming of the otherwise silent scene in which Peter goes into the web harvesting room with the spiders, Garfield requested that they play the song “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We would have gone with No Doubt’s “Spiderwebs.”
Most of the stunts were performed by the actors and stuntmen rather than via CGI because Marc Webb wanted a more realistic and physical film. When filming in New York, the crew built a rig that was hundreds of feet long over Riverside Drive in Harlem while a car rig was also built to help with VFX, which required serious acrobatic skills.
In the sequel to “The Amazing Spider-Man,” the graduation speech given by Gwen Stacy was written by Emma Stone, who given her white hot career, will be giving a lot of speeches.
Jamie Foxx, who played Electro, was the first African-American to play a villain in any of the Spider-Man films.
Shailene Woodley was meant to be in the sequel as Mary-Jane Watson and had even filmed some of her scenes. However, she was cut from the film because the filmmakers felt there were already too many characters.
Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone met during screentests for “The Amazing Spider-Man” and became a real life couple for at least three years. While the status of their relationship is currently tabloid fodder, it is clear that Garfield still has quite a bit of affection for Stone based on the look of adoration he gave her during her Oscar win for Best Actress in “La La Land,” which won the Oscar for Best Pict- oh, sorry, that was “Moonlight.”
The dog that Gwen walks while Peter spies on her from a rooftop was adopted by Garfield and Stone in 2013. No word on who got to keep the dog following their breakup.
When asked about Gwen’s relationship to Peter, Emma Stone said that, “She saves him more than he saves her. She’s incredibly helpful to Spider-Man. He’s the muscle, she’s the brain.”
Jonah Jameson, the hateful news boss, was one of the most iconic characters in the Spider-Man universe. And yet, he didn’t make an appearance in the rebooted series. Producers claim that it was because they couldn’t find an actor who could measure up to J.K. Simmons’ legendary portrayal.
Spider-Man (2002), Marvel Entertainment
Stan Lee said that if he were 30 to 40 years younger, he would have happily taken a stab at playing J. Jonah Jameson.
A Sony e-mail hack revealed that Garfield got fired because he insulted Sony chief Kaz Hirai by snubbing him at a big gala celebrating the end of the World Cup. Hirai was planning on introducing Garfield as the star of “The Amazing Spider-Man 3” in a speech before 750 guests, but Garfield never came down for dinner, much to Sony’s consternation. Hirai then fired Garfield and cancelled the next film. Overreaction, much?
We think they should have continued with the movie and had this kid replace Andrew:
There was originally supposed to be an “Amazing Spider-Man 3” and 4 and a spin-off of the Sinister Six. However, none of that will happen because Garfield got himself fired. Instead, Sony and Marvel teamed up and Spider-Man became a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making his debut in
“Captain America: Civil War.”
“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” coming in 2017, will be the first Spider-Man set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will feature Iron Man, the first time a MCU character will ever appear in a standalone Spider-Man film.
Spider-Man: Homecoming, Columbia Pictures
My mom never told me how her best friend died. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery.
Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.
I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life.
Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but few people know her even darker history.
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