Trivia for Spider-Man (2002) Before Willem Dafoe received the role of the Green Goblin, both Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich were offered the role. Malkovich and Dafoe starred together in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), which was produced by Nicolas Cage. James Franco auditioned to play Peter Parker, but was cast as Harry Osborn instead. In addition to both Peter Parker and Norman Osborn wearing their enemy's costume colors during the Thanksgiving dinner scene, Harry Osborn is seen wearing all of the colors. He's wearing a green shirt, red tie and blue coat. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Leonardo DiCaprio were both considered for the role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Sam Raimi was not Sony's first choice as director. Others considered were 'DeBont, Jan' , James Cameron Ang Lee and David Fincher. Alicia Witt was considered for the role of Mary-Jane Watson. Elisha Cuthbert auditioned for the role of Mary-Jane Watson. Pre-production planning for Spider-Man actually began in 1986 by Cannon Films. Later, Cannon sold the production rights to Carolco Pictures. Carolco would later sell the production rights to Sony Pictures. Sony Pictures and Marvel would produce the Spider-Man film we see today, released through Sony's "Columbia Pictures" division. James Cameron wrote a treatment for this film, over the years, as the rights to the character jumped between companies, nearly all his ideas were scrapped except for the biological web-shooters. USA Today had expected its logo to appear in Spider-Man, replacing one on a billboard in Times Square. "But a legal web proved to be a snag," it said, after Sherwood 48 Associates, the owner of the billboard sued the studio. (The USA Today logo was seen on the billboard in the trailers and commercials for the movie.) The writers Alvin Sargent & Scott Rosenberg contribute to the last uncredited re-write on the shooting script. In preparation for his role, Tobey Maguire trained for a short while before the screen test and after he got the role, went on a strict exercise regime and specific diet for five months. The scene at Columbia University was filmed on an unseasonably warm spring day, however, the costume department had provided the high school extras with cold- weather clothing. The real Columbia University students can be seen in the background wearing shorts and t-shirts by contrast. A welder building sets for the movie was killed 6 March 2001, when a crane toppled onto a construction basket in which he was riding and struck him in the head. Zach Hudson the stunt double for Tobey Maguire, fractured his leg after a stunt went wrong and he slammed in to a brick wall. Several Spider-Man costumes were created at a cost of up to $100,000 each. Four were stolen from the set in early April of 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 spider, which was chosen by Steven R. Kutcher and painted red and blue by Jens Schnabel, while the spider was anaesthetized. The sketches Peter Parker does of his costume were actually done by Phil Jimenez, an artist on Wonder Woman comics. The original trailer for the movie depicted a theft of a bank, with the robbers making a getaway in a helicopter. A close-up of the helicopter was shown, until the helicopter stopped, apparently caught in mid-air. As the camera zoomed out, it was shown that the helicopter was caught in a spider web, suspended between the two towers of the World Trade Center. After the attacks on the towers 11 September 2001, however, the trailer was changed. The World Trade Center Towers can be seen in the background of some scenes and once in the reflection of Spider-Man's eye. The makers of the film chose not to remove them digitally. The owners of the billboards on Times Square attempted to sue Sony and those involved with the production of Spider-Man "for digitally superimposing advertisements for other companies over their billboard space in the film". The suit was thrown out by a federal judge in New York. Bleu's song "Somebody Else" was originally written to be the theme for a different superhero, Superman for the TV series "Smallville" (2001) In the comics, Peter Parker designed and made Spider-Man's synthetic spider web and the mechanical wrist guns that fire it. In the movie he shoots the web from his own body. Director Sam Raimi answered the protests of comic book fans saying that it was more credible to have Peter shoot web this way than for a high school boy to be able to produce a wonder adhesive in his spare time that 3M could not make. Tobey Maguire said he had never read a Spider-Man comic book, but that he took the role because he liked the script. Director Trademark: [Sam Raimi] The 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 appears in the movie as Uncle Ben's car. Director Trademark: [Sam Raimi] Shaky-cam shot (created by Raimi) on the Green Goblin, Director Trademark: [Sam Raimi] Features by longtime friend 'Campbell, Bruce' and brother Ted Raimi Director Trademark: [Sam Raimi] Dual personalities of one person looking in a mirror, also exhibited in Evil Dead II (1987), directed by Sam Raimi Directors Trademark (Sam Raimi): The Whip-Pan is used in the scene where Norman Osborn walks into Peter Parker's bedroom. Cameo: [Stan Lee] The creator of Spider-Man appears in the scene where the Green Goblin attacks the balcony at the World Unity Festival. Cameo: [Nicholas Hammond (I)] the former "Spider-Man" actor ("Amazing Spider-Man, The" (1978)) is also at the World Unity Festival. Cameo: [ Lucy Lawless] as a punk girl (Director Sam Raimi was an executive producer of _Xena: Warrior Princess (1995)_ ) The film contains multiple references to future Spider-Man villains- Doctor Curtis Connors (Lizard). Eddie Brock (Venom) Harry Osborn (Green Goblin#2). Mendel Stromm, (Robot Master) The sequence of Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) talking to his board members begins with the same shot (a steady pull back along a table framed symmetrically) and dialogue "Costs are down, revenues are up, and our stock has never been higher" as a scene in Hudsucker Proxy, The (1994) , in which Sam Raimi was co-writer and 2nd unit director. Both films also have a fast-talking newspaper chief. Also, in the scene where The Green Goblin attempts to form an alliance with Spider Man, the Goblin confuses the words "fail" and "fall". This is a direct reference to a similar scene between Tim Robbins and Charles Durning in Hudsucker Proxy, The (1994). A sign in front of Peter Parker and Harry Osborne's apartment building: Webstring Platform. During the World Unity parade, a billboard for Terminix can be seen, one of many insect-related inside jokes Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom, appears in a non- speaking cameo as a board member of Oscorp, Norman Osborne's company. When Spider-man fights with his uncle's killer he smashes a couple of glass panes with his head. In Sam Raimi's Darkman (1990); his first superhero film, the thugs attack Liam Neeson the same way in his lab. At the end of the film, Spider-man walks away from his beloved saying "I'm Spider-man". This is also identical with the ending sequence of Darkman, with the exception of the hero's name of course. The mask of the Green Goblin also appears as the head of a winged creature in Army of Darkness (1993), another Sam Raimi film. When Peter Parker is testing out his webbing for the first time, he makes several classic comic book catch-phrases, most notably "Up Up and Away Web!" (Superman) and "Shazam!" (Captain Marvel). During the ending credits, the theme of the original Spider-Man animated series is played. During the World Unity Fair fight scene, in the background one of the signs on the buildings shows a police officer and behind him read the words "Protecting, Serving, Blah Blah Blah." In the Thanksgiving dinner scene, both Peter Parker and Norman Osborn wear their enemy's costume colors - Peter wearing a green shirt, and Norman wearing a blue shirt with a red tie. One of Peter's sketches for his costume is of Marvel Comics superhero Stingray. When Peter Parker browses through several newspapers looking for a used car, one of the ads shown is for an Alfa Romeo convertible: that model was marketed in Italy under the name 'Spider'. Danny Elfman is the composer for the score of Spider-Man. He'd also written the score of other films starring a comic book hero, Batman and Darkman. He also composed "The March of The Dead", the main theme to Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness (1993) When Uncle Ben's Killer crashes the car into the gate after Spider-Man leaps off, the police car that pulls into frame on the right side has a very obvious license plate with "1927" being the only markings. This 1927 is to honor John Buscema, a legendary comic artist who was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 11, 1927. He sadly passed away on January 10, 2002. Buscema was a great friend of Stan Lee's and worked for both Marvel and DC Comics. David Koepp's fourth screenplay to hold the opening weekend box office record. The others are Jurassic Park (1993) (June 1993), Mission: Impossible (1996) (May 1996) and Lost World: Jurassic Park, The (1997) (May 1997). Actor/stuntman Scott Leva was considered for the role of Peter Parker/Spiderman when the film project was first proposed in the mid-1980s. Marion Ross was considered for the role of Aunt Mae. Among the "page two" headlines advertised on the front page of the "Daily Bugle": "Public clamors for pest control" and "New York fears the bug - 20 victims to date." Mary Jane's red hair in this movie is a wig; however, Kirsten Dunst liked the look so much, she has said she will dye her hair for the sequels. The camera that Peter Parker uses is a Canon "New F-1" SLR, with the Canon logo blacked out. This camera was marketed in 1981. James Cameron was originally to write and direct the movie in 1994, with Michael Biehn starring as Spiderman/Peter Parker. The film was deemed too technically challenging at the time, and Cameron opted to make True Lies (1994) instead. The scene in which Peter Parker catches Mary Jane's lunch on the tray involved no CGI. With the help of a sticky substance to keep the tray planted on his hand, Tobey Maquire eventually (after many takes) performed the stunt exactly as seen. The "jumping spider" that Peter attempts to take a picture of is an Avandale Spider, the same type used in "Arachnophobia". From www.imdb.com - o -