Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues

By Azad January 5, 2001 11:13 AM

Sam Raimi, director of the upcoming Spider-Man flick, gave a public talk for the first time about the look of Spidey's movie costume, the controversy over the film's organic webshooters, and the various rewrites of the film's script, according to a report from Sci Fi Wire.

Raimi spoke to reporters on Jan. 4 on the Los Angeles set of the movie, which begins shooting Jan. 8. Raimi was joined by cast members Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe and James Franco and other filmmakers as well.

To relieve the controversy about changes in the look of Spider-Man's famous red-and-blue costume, Raimi stated, "We've decided to get back to the classical look of the red-and-blue Spider-Man. But [costume designer] Jim [Acheson] has decided to update it, just to bring it into the year 2002, when the picture opens, to add some dimensionality to it, to take a ... slightly more subtle approach to the coloration of the outfit, [and] to increase the flexibility. ... What we were really after was to give Tobey an outfit where he could display maximum flexibility, really display his physical prowess. He's really been working out for this thing. And I think that's what the audience loves about Spider-Man. Not the Schwarzenegger look, but rather the fact that he's this graceful dancer. So a lot of Jim's work was in making him look like the classic Spider-Man, updated, but still making it a very functional outfit for a dancer to perform in."

Raimi is also in defense of the controversial choice to give the movie Spider-Man organic webshooters, instead of the mechanical ones in the comic book. This choice stirred ire and outrage amongst the many loyal comic fans. "But what we're trying to do in this Spider-Man picture is not just stick to the letter of the comic book," Raimi said. "We're trying to capture the spirit of the [comic]."

Raimi said that if his Peter Parker could invent the steely web fluid featured in the comics, it would undermine the audience's ability to identify with him as a regular kid. "When he can develop a material that even 3M ... can't seem to develop, it starts to distance him from a real human being," Raimi said. Providing Peter with a physical transformation also serves a character purpose, the director added. "It's another device to create alienation, because Peter Parker has always been an outcast, and Spider-Man a misunderstood hero," Raimi said. "I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. ... It's a great choice, and it was inspired by James Cameron's treatment."

As for rumors that the film's script remains troubled, Raimi responded, "The script is not in trouble. It's one of the best scripts I've had the chance to work on actually. ... It started with a James Cameron treatment, ... really a fine piece of work. Then David Koepp [Jurassic Park] came aboard and did the lion's share of work, turning it into a screenplay and working on it for many years. And that's basically what we're working with, although Scott Rosenberg [Gone in Sixty Seconds] did some work for us. ... and so did Alvin Sargent [Ordinary People. Sargent is married to Spider-Man producer Laura Ziskin.] And everybody's contributed a great deal. I'd say David Koepp is really the main writer."

| comments: 30

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Yay for Raimi   reply

Posted by wonko (ryan@wonko.com) on January 5, 2001 12:22 PM

If there's one director that I'd trust to pull this off and make it good, it's Sam Raimi. He's definitely the right man for the job. His comments about the organic webshooters, new costume, etc. show that he really does care a lot for the integrity of the story. 

He's not just pooping out the first movie of a massive annual Spidey franchise, he's working very hard at turning what, imho, is the best comic book ever into a very good movie that won't disappoint old Spidey fans. 

I can't wait for this one.

RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 5, 2001 12:37 PM

Come on you can't get rid of the webshooters, Its basically like hardened stringy foam. How difficult would it be for a scientist 3 to 4 years from now to develop that technology. Changing the custome is a very good Idea. If changes in X-men's costume seemed much better, so should spidermans.

Raimi vs. Cameron?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 5, 2001 2:14 PM

Does anyone know how Sam Raimi won the rights to the film over James Cameron?? I know Cameron was in court for over 3 years for this thing. Too bad he lost.

RE: Raimi vs.?Cameron?   reply

Posted by Jack (jack@dtheatre.com) on January 5, 2001 2:16 PM

I think that Raimi is a far better decision then Cameron, lately I've not been as impressed as I could be by his work.

RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 5, 2001 3:04 PM

I can't believe anyone even gives a hoot about the mechanical web shooters thing. It's hard enough to make a non-dorky comic book movie without your maine character being Inspector Gadget.

RE: RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by Acheron (denny@dtheatre.com) on January 5, 2001 5:15 PM

hahaha i'll have to agree with this guy!

RE: RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by Loath (loath@dtheatre.com) on January 5, 2001 6:01 PM

Hmm, isn't the web shooting one of his trademarks? He's supposed to be a chemical-experimenting geek and he's supposed to kind of stumble on this stuff...

Why Comics?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 6, 2001 2:31 AM

What is it about comic books that people find so attractive? I think comic books are awful, and the fact that the movie industry is trying to shove them down our throats is sickening. Name me ONE decent movie taht came out of a comic book or series and I will retract my comment. 

You better not say fucking Batman, either!

RE: Raimi vs.?Cameron?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 6, 2001 4:38 AM

Cameron only works on and develops projects that he owns now.

RE: Why Comics?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 6, 2001 4:39 AM

BLADE

RE: RE: Why Comics?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 6, 2001 4:41 AM

SUPERMAN

RE: RE: RE: Why Comics?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 6, 2001 4:42 AM

THE CROW

RE: Why Comics?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 6, 2001 12:37 PM

Why not Batman. Your shooting yourself in the foot dumbass. You said name ONE decent movie. Well last time I tried math Batman equals ONE movie (unless you want to talk new math). You can't make a statment like you did and then qualify it. Think a little bit next time, Oh yeah, and settle down Beavis, if you don't like a particular type of movie you don't have to see it (Wow there's a thought) so you shouldn't have to give a flying fuck.

RE: Why Comics?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 6, 2001 2:48 PM

Darkman (also by Raimi)

RE: Why Comics?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 7, 2001 12:12 AM

No, I'm not going to say Batman. The first two were bearable, but after Joel "Schlockmeister" took over, they just SUCKED. That can be true for any movie though. Two very good comics to movies were the 1st Supeman movie and the X-Men movie. Blade was good as well.

RE: RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 7, 2001 12:15 AM

They're not getting rid of the web shooters. They're just becoming organic instead of created. I like the idea. It makes sense that if Peter Parker got the proportional abilities of a spider, then he'd also get the ability to create webbing. If he creates the webbing organically, then we still have the tension of him running out of fluid and having to renew it internally instead of having to go make more.

RE: Why Comics?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 7, 2001 2:36 AM

DARK CITY. 
13

RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 7, 2001 3:30 AM

Good comic moives huh. How about X-Men, Blade, Crow, Superman, Matrix (even tho it wasn't a comic, it was heavily influenced by comics), Mask, Men In Black, Alien, Predator, Robocop, Terminator...I could go on, but you should get the point by now. Plus, there are movies that you probably liked that were written by comic book writers (a writer that worked on the action sequences in Matrix just finished writing a Wolverine story)

And you say that you think comic books are awful. What do you base that on? Do you read any comics or just make blind, baseless comments about something you know nothing about? If you have read comics, when was the last time you picked one up? I ask because if you are going by the memories of comics when you were younger then you have missed a lot. Comics have grown up quite a bit since the silly adventures that Superman used to go on. Just some things to think about before you make uninformed comments.

RE: RE: RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by Solo (soloist@rocker.com) on January 7, 2001 6:45 PM

I agree , part of the fun of him being more human would be to watch him trying to perfect the webbing fluid , "and crash and burn a bit". 
I think it's a mistake. 

RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by xcalibar25 (xcalibars5@hotmail.com) on January 7, 2001 8:42 PM

If the webbing was really spider-like, it would come out of his ass, not his wrists. Organic web shooter make no sense. But, I can live with it.

RE: RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 8, 2001 12:31 AM

Oh Please...Logan's outfit should have remained Neon Yellow not the new leather of the current flavor...Logan said it best when he said "Do you people actually go out in this stuff"...Leave spidermans outfit alone...

RE: RE: RE: RE: Why Comics?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 8, 2001 5:59 AM

The Mask. Alien. Mystery Men. Men in Black. Roger Corman's Fantastic Four. Little Shop of Horrors, for that matter. Annie. Creepshow. Dick Tracy. Videodrome. 

I could go on, but you get it, don't you?

ByteSized

RE: RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 8, 2001 7:54 PM

I agree that there are many good comic book films out there, but don't quote Predator, Terminator, Alien, or Robocop as being comic book films.  Those movies were not based on comics, they just got a huge fan following in the comic book medium after their movies debuted.

RE: Yay for Raimi   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 10, 2001 8:01 PM

Hollywood is famous for messing up great Marvel titles. If they would just stick to the story, then perhaps this film will turn out alright, but I doubt it. Conan, X Men, Cap, FF all sucked. Only Blade was good, and of course in that movie they stuck with the story!

RE: RE: RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 10, 2001 8:04 PM

Your both morons.

RE: Why Comics?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 10, 2001 8:07 PM

Blade was good, Super Man was good, Tarzan Greystoke was good, you know you liked Barb Wire!

RE: RE: RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 10, 2001 8:09 PM

The Bat Man movies were pathetic, any real fan of Bat Man would agree with that!

RE: RE: RE: Raimi Confronts Spidey Issues   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 12, 2001 8:12 AM

And you're not! Give me a break! It's all opinion and I agree with theirs. I would prob. like to see a new suit but something well thought out .. otherwise the same suit as the comics is fine.

RE: RE: RE: RE: Why Comics?   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on January 12, 2001 8:14 AM

Damn! That was good! :)

Yeah I think you are wrong on that one. Heh

RE: Why Comics?   reply

Posted by jaesi25 (jaesi25) on January 12, 2001 8:18 AM

i think the second superman movie was the greatest comooc movie of all time...so far. xmen was also good as a 1st attempt at capturing the heroes likenesses. hell i cant wait for crossovers. give it a chance. thats the american thing to do.