Talk:Spider-Man (2002 film)/Archive 1

Page access
This page has been accessed 0 times. Is there a flaw in the Wikipedia hit counter tonight? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Modemac (talk • contribs) 00:40, 15 November 2002 (UTC)

I understand the counters were disabled to speed up the site. See Talk:Main Page--AN 00:41, 15 November 2002 (UTC)

Vandalism
Reverted vandalism by User:64.81.136.146 who obvously thinks it's INCREDIBLY clever and original to substitute the original text with naughty words. Lee M 00:55, 3 December 2004 (UTC)

Trivia section 2
The trivia section is missing! Would someone please replace it? 71.123.90.136 (talk) 02:43, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

Trivia section
Is it my imagination or is the font used for the PlayStation 3 title and the Spiderman movie title the same font? Could it be that Sony, whom owns the PlayStantion 3 also owns Sony Pictures whom released the Spiderman movie series (see: http://movies.ign.com/articles/615/615465p1.html) Metamorphousthe 15:36, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

I was going through the Trivia section here, and noticed how certain things are written. Without even going over to check, I can tell that much of the entries are copied from the Internet Movie Database. I don't actually care about the movie, so I can't do it, but the section, or at least parts of it, need to be rewritten. I don't understand how hard it is to something into your own words. --Bacteria 18:31, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Somebody needs to rewrite the last trivia point. It is poorly written, and doesn't make much sense either. I might just remove it completely, and if anyone protests they can rewrite it themselves. --ChinaNailStorm 14:07, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

Taglines
There are too many taglines. Why are they even there?? Dan 07:12, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

Someone should create a Wikiquote for the Spider-Man movie, or at least put a link to it on the page.


 * There is already a wikiquote page for the spiderman film. I've just linked it --Tim 12:31, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

How many taglines should be in the article do you think? There are too many just now, so which should and which shouldn't be in? --Tim 17:09, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

Original Trailer
Does anyone have the link to the trailer!?
 * &gt;x&lt;ino 14:42, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

err... necessary?

 * At the hospital, when Peter Parker is visiting Aunt May, she said: "You're not Superman you know". Obviously, this is a reference to DC's character Superman.

I think it's pretty easy to understand that at first... The Kids Aren&#39;t Alright 01:48, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

Trivia
The page is missing a Trivia page again. Could someone put it back? And when they do, also add that Matthew Broderick was considered for the role of Spider-Man long before the movie was in production, cause I wanted to put that. User:Tai112 23:20, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Darkman Reference
Did anyone notice that it ends almost the same way as Darkman? Remember Darkman's ending? Not a very big difference.--suit-n-tie 07:03, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

Mary Jane Character
Am I the only one who thought Mary Jane was lacking in common sense and a sense of appropriate timing? She ticked off both her father and her boss at the restaurant at which she worked.

She broke up with her first boyfriend, Flash, at their high school graduation, didn't bother breaking up with Harry Osborn, and tried to attract Peter after the funeral of Norman Osborn, as he was standing at the grave of his recently-killed uncle.

It just strikes me that this girl just came off as a dunb blonde who just happened to be a redhead. If that's what the movie was going for, okay, but otherwise, tacky. --The Saxon 01:52, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

Cast
An Anon wanted to make the cast section a "non table" format, which is quite common and more acceptable way to do the cast (see Featured Articles of films like Revenge of the Sith). I think it needs a little work first, maybe some slimming down and rewrites so I'm sticking it here for people to fiddle with before adding it into the page. Bignole 01:48, 8 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
 * Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin
 * Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson
 * James Franco as Harry Osborn
 * Cliff Robertson as Ben Parker
 * Rosemary Harris as May Parker
 * J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson
 * Joe Manganiello as Flash Thompson
 * Gerry Becker as Max Fargas
 * Bill Nunn as Joseph "Robbie" Robertson
 * Elizabeth Banks as Betty Brant
 * Stanley Anderson as General Slocum
 * Ted Raimi as Hoffman
 * Bruce Campbell as Ring Announcer
 * Randy Savage as Bonesaw McGraw
 * Michael Papajohn as Carjacker

Uncited cast information
Following was removed from the article during clean-up: "Tobey Maguire said he had never read a Spider-Man comic but took the role because he liked the script. The same also applies for Kirsten Dunst. Raimi was a fan of Spider-Man from a young age. Several major actors turned down roles in the film. Kate Hudson was offered the role of Mary Jane but chose to do the remake of The Four Feathers instead. Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich were first approached for the role of the Green Goblin before Willem Dafoe got the role.  When Peter didn't want to go to the arena because the ring announcer (Bruce Campbell) got his name wrong, it was Sam Raimi who pushed him out in the close-up shot, although another actor voices the line "I don't care, get out there you moron!" This fact is on the DVD commentary." The information's been placed here so citation about it can be retrieved and re-inserted into the article. (I.e., Googling for Spider-Man, Sam Raimi, and John Malkovich to find any validity behind the consideration claim.) --Erik ( talk/contrib ) @ 22:45, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Additional uncited information

 * Several Spider-Man costumes were created at a cost of up to $100,000 each. Four were stolen from the set in early April 2001 and Columbia Pictures posted a $25,000 reward for their return. The costumes were not returned.
 * The genetically modified spider that bit Peter Parker was not a black widow spider but a Steatoda grossa spider, which was chosen by Steven R. Kutcher. While the spider was anesthetized, Jens Schnabel painted it red and blue in order to give the impression that its colors had inspired Peter's costume design. The jumping spider that Peter attempts to take a picture of is an Avondale spider, the same type used in the film Arachnophobia.
 * When the Goblin attacks at the World Unity Festival, Peter Parker runs down the street ripping his shirt to reveal his Spider-suit underneath as a homage to Richard Donner's Superman. This shot is also used in the film's sequel Spider-Man 2.
 * The smoke in the lab during Norman Osborn's transformation scene was originally white but was then digitally altered to green. Director Raimi wanted to use real green smoke, but went with the CG effect when prop designers could not create a colored smoke that was non-toxic.
 * An actor was originally hired to portray Eddie Brock and did an entire scene involving Peter coming into the Daily Bugle. This was removed however, most likely because Sony planned to portray Eddie in future movies with an actor who would be set in stone.
 * Dr. Virgil Swan's Home/Mansion in the TV show Smallville is Norman Osborn's Home/Mansion in this film.
 * The speech in the boardroom regarding company profits was 'lifted' from the 1994 movie The Hudsucker Proxy, which was written by Joel & Ethan Coen & Sam Raimi.
 * When trying to shoot web from a building top Peter says "Up up and away web" a reference to Superman. Peter also says "Shazam" a reference to Captain Marvel. Directly afterwards when swinging Peter says "Tally ho!" This is the same line used in Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness, when Ash (Bruce Campbell) swings on a rope during a fight sequence in the battle at the castle, which is itself a reference to Errol Flynn's swashbuckling roles.
 * —Erik (talk • contrib) - 17:02, 23 January 2007 (UTC)


 * The most famous scene in the film and one which immediately entered popular culture is the 'upside down kiss' scene where Spider-Man, after saving Mary Jane from a gang of thugs, has a romantic kiss in the rain with her as he hangs upside down from the wall. This iconic image had been utilized in the comics for many years without generating the same kind of response.
 * --Bignole 02:13, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Plot
Ace job, guys. Plot looks good. The whole article looks good. Man...this baby has come a long way. Ace Class Shadow; My talk. 01:05, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Appreciate the compliment. It's still going the distance; we haven't even gotten into the nitty-gritty of production, either. —Erik (talk • contrib) - 01:11, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Erik deserves about 95% of the credit, if not more. That man has been going all speedy gonzolas on the article. But something we do need is a good picture of Peter and MJ. For some reason I can't save the screen when I view the film on my computer, and there are no online images where it's a clear view of both of them, and not just one's front and the other's back. Bignole 01:14, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

How about Peter holding the new suit and Spidey and MJ in the rain? We might need to mention the romance in the Plot, though. If we do these, or something similar, then I think we could have a full body shot of the Green Goblin on his glider. What do you think? —Erik (talk • contrib) - 01:31, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Well, the first image is a fake. He never picks up the suit like that in the original. When he picks up a suit like that it's his wrestling costume. Someone super imposed that real costume over the wrestling one, you can tell if you look at the sleeves in the picture. As for the Spidey and MJ pic. Which would that replace? I think we need one of GG, better to have one of GG and Spidey together, but i'm not sure. Bignole 01:38, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

While the plot section should only be a summary of the events in the film, the description currently lacks some of the more interesting details that were previously on the page. It doesn't even mention that Peter is brilliant. --131.216.65.45 22:40, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Dark Spidey? Hmm. For the record, Sam Raimi has stated that Peter is not supposed to be a supergenius as in the comics. thus organic webshooters. Ace Class Shadow; My talk. 22:55, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Peter isn't a super genius, but he is exceptionally brilliant in the film, capable of understanding Norman's papers on nanotechnology while in high school. In the next film, he impresses his idol, Dr. Otto Octavius. --131.216.65.45 23:53, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
 * That's not relevant HERE, in an encyclopedia. The article is about what went into making the film, not the film itself. The plot is merely there to add the briefest bit of context to those that may not have seen the film, so that they can better understand the rest of the article. That means minor details like his intelligence, the color underwear he is wearing, etc are to be left out. Plots shouldn't be more than 600 words, unless they have an over complex plot (which this films does not in any way have, The Matrix would be a film that could be over 600 words). Bignole 23:57, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Citations for use

 * Citations for use. —Erik (talk • contrib • review) - 01:38, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Citations for use. —Erik (talk • contrib • review) - 01:38, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Citations for use. —Erik (talk • contrib • review) - 01:38, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Citations for use. —Erik (talk • contrib • review) - 01:38, 17 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Wiki-newbie 13:11, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Wiki-newbie 13:11, 17 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Awesome, thanks. I want to get back into working on this page again after I finish my exams (one tonight, one on Monday). —Erik (talk • contrib • review) - 15:04, 17 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Interesting bit about how Dunst decided to audition for Spider-Man when she saw that Tobey Maguire was cast, which made her see it more as an independent film. —Erik (talk • contrib • review) - 12:36, 31 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Interesting bit about how Dunst decided to audition for Spider-Man when she saw that Tobey Maguire was cast, which made her see it more as an independent film. —Erik (talk • contrib • review) - 12:36, 31 March 2007 (UTC)


 * - San Francisco Chronical review (negative)

Casting Tobey Maguire
There's a source out there -- don't remember what it is -- that said Raimi was encouraged by his wife to take a look at Maguire for the lead role based on Maguire's performance in The Cider House Rules. Just a heads-up, and a semi-reminder to myself. —Erik (talk • contrib • review) - 12:21, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Tappa, tappa, tappa, I inserted the Dunst comment by the way. Alientraveller 20:47, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Trivia section removed

 * According to court documents, Marvel Comics tried to use "Hollywood accounting" to deprive Stan Lee of due royalties from the films, claiming the film's "earnings" were not profits. Lee successfully sued in 2002.
 * Uncle Ben's car is a 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 that is placed by Raimi in many of the director's films.
 * It's become apparent that the existence of a Trivia section only attracts uncited edits, so I've removed it for the time being. If the two cited bits above can be integrated into the rest of the article somehow, feel free to do so. —Erik (talk • contrib • review) - 12:08, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Character Profiles?
Should there be character profiles for the film version of the characters? Like they have done with James Bond characters and Star Wars characters. --172.216.80.106 18:07, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Yes, there are. Alientraveller 18:08, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I meant like an entire page for them --172.189.13.145 22:01, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Stan Lee
Stan Lee makes an apperance in the movie. In the scene where the Green Goblin attacks the parade, theres a brief shot where it shows Stan picking up and carrying away a little girl. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.244.42.199 (talk) 15:20, 29 April 2007 (UTC).


 * It's covered under Cast. :) —Erik (talk • contrib • review) - 15:22, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

GA
Looks good. Good work. The only specific comment I have is that the image Spider-Man (2002 film) teaser poster.jpg could be cropped a bit to remove the watermark. Or perhaps a different scan of the same poster could be found? (Ibaranoff24 20:55, 5 May 2007 (UTC))

Found an extremely cropped version. Alientraveller 21:05, 5 May 2007 (UTC)
 * That works. (Ibaranoff24 15:59, 7 May 2007 (UTC))

Spoiler Warning
Hey I noticed that the spoiler warning here is in the plot. After looking at Spoiler_warning and WikiProject Films/Style guidelines I'm going to remove it from that section. If you have any objections reply below or let me know on my talk page. Thanks! Jussen 22:35, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Trivia
This article needs a trivia section to be for filled...


 * No it doesn't. Please see WP:AVTRIV.   BIGNOLE     (Contact me)  00:57, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Find me a home
"Spider-Man's costume was initially developed by Warren Manser on his Power Mac G4. Manser used Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, and Macromedia FreeHand before sending his finished product off to Sony Imageworks. Manswer stated, 'I use the computer mostly as a conceptual tool that develops ideas that are first generated from my drawings. Sony Imageworks will take those concepts to a 3D level, using their hardware and software, that can be used for visual FX, etc.'"   BIGNOLE    (Contact me)  17:26, 11 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I'd also like to say that I found The Art of Spider-Man 3 at the book store (costs US$50), and it is very, very packed with information. It could easily replace and/or expand a lot of production detail in my opinion.  It would definitely be something to implement to move this article toward FA status. —Erik (talk • contrib) - 13:05, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Wrong article pal. Alientraveller 13:07, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Script & development history
BIGNOLE, and whomever else is interested-- I've been following and documenting the history of this project for... oh, about 20 years. The cited articles by Shelly Teitlebaum in Cinefantastique and the huge one by Michael Hiltzik in the LA Times have been used as references here but facts and dates are taken out of context, non-pro editors make these wacky leaps of fictionalized guesswork. Continuing to revert to previous versions with confusing grammer, factual misstatements, corporate confusion and basic misunderstandings of how films are made does no one any good.

Maybe someone feels proprietary about this stuff because they wrote it, so they keep reverting back to an old entry. Fine, except that it's wrong. Among all sorts of other things: Cannon was not a "studio," it was a company. They had no studio facilities, period, nor did Golan on his own. Golan didn't sell off territories and rights because he was forced to, as this implies-- that's common procedure, called "pre-sales." It's exactly what any other independent production company would do. Marvel wasn't bankrupt in 1985; they'd just opened up an entire new division in California for animation, for goodness' sake. The chronology is ass-backward, names and dates are jumbled and misinterpreted, etc.

This silliness about Spider-Man "ceasing... due to a tight budget at Caroclo" again shows a misunderstanding of the situation and the business in general. The later -- erroneous-- comment that MGM/UA traded Spider-Man for Casino Royale is equally mistaken. The swap was with Columbia for the McClory rights to James Bond, the way it is described in this revision. This has been documented and reported repeatedly.

As for a suggestion that the entry on Cannon/Columbia/Carolco (etc.) is too long on a film that was never made-- I'd argue since the film was the biggest blockbuster of all time to date, the history of the project and ALL its permutations should be part of history. It isn't a series of Spider-Man projects that almost happened-- it is genuinely one project with a consistent history. It is far more legitimate to qualify this history as important to the film that was made than it is to legitimize all the guessing about what villain is going to be in some yet-unmade sequel.

I'm not banging my own drum here. I have no personal axe to grind, it's all over and done with. But as a professional writer for about 30 years, a good third of that time a newspaper and magazine journalist, I value getting things factually accurate. And the cited articles by Teitlebaum and Hiltzik got it right. (Full disclosure-- they used me as a source.)Ted Newsom —Preceding signed but undated comment was added at 05:07, 2 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Please take your concerns to Talk:Spider-Man film series. Previous film attempts at Spider-Man aren't that relevant to this article. Alientraveller 09:06, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

Some new Info
I don't have time to help out with this article. I had at one point expressed interest, and started reasearching like crazy. Anyway I think I overlinked, and some of the new info is already in this article. Anyway here it goes, (please edit this long statement, and try and get it into the article).

In the early 1990s, Carolco Pictures paid James Cameron $5 million to write and direct a film adaptation of Spider-Man. In March 1998 Cameron was still hoping for it to be his follow up to Titanic. 20th Century Fox tried to buy the rights from Carolco, but instead Carolco claimed they sold the rights to MGM/United Artists. Viacom then tried to claim they had the film and television rights, with Columbia TriStar claiming to have Home Video rights. If the situation wouldn't be settled soon enough, Cameron would then leave to do the Planet of the Apes remake with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In March 1999, Sony Pictures won the infamous case for the film rights of Spider-Man. James Cameron then worked on a brand new treatment for a summer 2001 release date. Sony is also developing a live-action TV series. In April 1999, Cameron announced that he was no longer involved on the project. David Koepp was then hired to write the script that was to be partially based on Cameron's treatment. Koepp had no interest in directing the project.

In December 1999 Variety reported that Sony is pursuing sign David Fincher or Chris Columbus to direct. In January 1999, Sam Raimi, a fan of the character was reported to be in negotiations to direct. Leonardo DiCaprio, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Jude Law were all attached to the role of Spider-Man. DiCaprio was even approached and Law has been a fan since he was a kid.

Nicolas Cage was the studio's first choice to play the Green Lantern. Cage was in talks with the filmmakers, though at the time was going through a busy schedule. He was even met with positive approval from Stan Lee. In September 2000, Tobey Maguire was cast in the lead role. That same month, the theatrical release date was pushed form November 2001 to May 2002. In October 2000, Variety reported that Kate Hudson had turned down the role of Mary Jane Watson.

Alicia Witt was approached for the role of Mary Jane Watson. Raimi then offered the role of the Green Goblin to John Malkovich after Cage declined. In November 2000, Willem Dafoe was cast as the Green Goblin, with filming set to start in January 2001. In December 2000, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, and J.K. Simmons all joined the cast. When Heath Ledger asked about the rumors of him being cast in the lead role, he replied, "I'm not a big fan of putting on tights." Alvin Sargent and Scott Rosenberg remained uncredited as writers.

Raimi was already looking forward to do a trilogy ever since he signed to direct the first film. Maguire and Dunst each signed on for three films. Dunst had always wanted to do Spider-Man ever since the minute she found out about it, even before Maguire had been cast. What attracted her to the film even more was when she found out that Maguire was cast.

Again, some of this stuff is already posted in the Spider-Man film series section and this Spider-Man (film) article. Do whatever you want with this info, I'm too busy as it is. Wildroot 01:09, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

"Spidey fighting Goblin" image

 * I think we should get rid of that pic because it doesnt look like they're fighting it looks like they're...ya know. --The Dark Lord of Wiki (talk) 01:17, 21 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Not a reason to get rid of an image.   BIGNOLE    (Contact me)  01:59, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

GA Reassessment

 * This discussion is transcluded from Talk:Spider-Man (2002 film)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the reassessment.

GA Sweeps: Pass
As part of the WikiProject Good Articles, we're doing sweeps to go over all of the current GAs and see if they still meet the GA criteria. I went through the article and made various changes, please look them over. I believe the article currently meets the criteria and should remain listed as a Good article. Altogether the article is well-written and is still in great shape after its passing in 2007. Continue to improve the article making sure all new information is properly sourced and neutral. It would be beneficial to add details about the home video release and the music. If you have any questions, let me know on my talk page and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. I have updated the article history to reflect this review. --Happy editing! Nehrams2020 (talk • contrib) 00:59, 30 May 2009 (UTC)

Kirsten Dunst
Somebody put that Gweneth Paltrow played mary jane in the movie. The anecdote at the end may or may not be false, all i did was switch the names. can we get a fact check on that please? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 164.107.252.218 (talk) 01:21, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Move
This article needs to be disambiguated to Spider-Man (2002 film). It is no longer the only film titled "Spider-Man", which makes it confusing since most people would now be searching for Spider-Man (2012 film). --Boycool (talk) 04:01, 13 February 2011 (UTC)
 * The title of the reboot has yet to be confirmed, so I say keep it as it is for now.-5- (talk) 07:03, 13 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I stand corrected. --Boycool (talk) 21:56, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

FA Push?
I am considering a push to at least FA status. A couple of issues though:
 * Lead section - needs to be expanded into three paragraphs.
 * Plot section - looks perfect
 * Production section - this section and subsections look perfect
 * Reception section - this section looks perfect. A couple of additional reviews from reliable sources should be used to expand it.
 * Possibly add a Music section if reliable sources can be found.

I think it would be good if we can get this up to at least FA status. Does anyone have any comments or objections? Darth Sjones23 (talk - contributions) 04:04, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * A featured article? Hmmm! Maybe and I would support such a push. Have you ever thought about peer reviewing the article? Jhenderson  7 7 7  18:06, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

Candidate for anniversary collaboration
Hello, the film Spider-Man (2002 film) is one of the candidates for WikiProject Film's anniversary collaboration. Please see the discussion about the collaboration here. Feel free to support this candidate, the other candidates, or even nominate other films as candidates for the anniversary collaboration. Erik (talk &#124; contribs) 17:37, 4 October 2011 (UTC)

FILMPLOT
This article's plot has bloated ever since GA. It's now over 900 words and needs to be trimmed or else submitted to GA reassessment. I plan on trimming it but I'd like to have help. Discuss, please. --Tenebrae (talk) 08:12, 5 December 2012 (UTC)


 * The first step is restoring the plot to the length it was when it passed GA reassessment on May 29, 2009. We shouldn't be bloating plots at all, but especially not a plot once the article is passed GA. It's still a bit over, but can be reduced with purely technical trims reducing wordiness, e.g., "they find out that the moon is blue > "they learn the moon is blue," etc. --Tenebrae (talk) 08:18, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

Spider-man script and Moviefone article on earlier proposed Spider-Man films - one is a draft by James Cameron
WhisperToMe (talk) 07:57, 1 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Larnick, Eric. "'Spider-Man' Movies: Five Films That Almost Happened." (Archive) Moviefone. July 5, 2012.
 * Chitwood, Scott. "David Koepp talks about Spider-Man script." IGN. February 4, 2000.
 * Refers to an interview here: http://www.fandom.com/master_site/editorial.asp?action=page&obj_id=70558 - but the URL is dead and it seems the Wayback Machine hasn't caught it. If someone can find it, it would be awesome!
 * Chitwood, Scott. "Review of James Cameron's Spider-Man Scriptment." IGN. February 15, 2000.

The Smallpox Hospital
In the very near end of the film, Spider-Man and Green Goblin were fighting inside the Smallpox Hospital. As I remember correctly. so that means it should be an edit or not? Reply me back. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.82.65.119 (talk) 15:21, 10 October 2015 (UTC)