The Official "I Loved Raimi's Spider-Man' Thread - Part 1 of 99 Luft - Part 8

[Spider-Aziz]

I still find it so crazy that Anne Hathaway was at one point cast to play Felicia Hardy (who most would know as the Black Cat), to being cast as Selina Kyle (who most know as Catwoman).

Haha, indeed
I think of the irony from time to time

Boy, that was a close call for her! Lol.

Truth

 

[Leenie]

Sam Raimi on Oz and the Two Huge Films He Never Made

An enjoyable and interesting article. Raimi seems like such a down-to-earth guy.

Some of the highlights:

"I hope enough time has passed that you feel comfortable talking about Spider-Man 4, which was in preproduction and began casting but fell apart before shooting began. What happened there?
It really was the most amicable and undramatic of breakups: It was simply that we had a deadline and I couldn't get the story to work on a level that I wanted it to work. I was very unhappy with Spider-Man 3, and I wanted to make Spider-Man 4 to end on a very high note, the best Spider-Man of them all. But I couldn't get the script together in time, due to my own failings, and I said to Sony, "I don't want to make a movie that is less than great, so I think we shouldn't make this picture. Go ahead with your reboot, which you've been planning anyway." And [Sony co-chairman] Amy Pascal said, "Thank you. Thank you for not wasting the studio's money, and I appreciate your candor." So we left on the best of terms, both of us trying to do the best thing for fans, the good name of Spider-Man, and Sony Studios.

You're reviving the Oz franchise with this film; meanwhile, other filmmakers have taken on the franchises that you left behind, what with last year's Spider-Man reboot and this year's Evil Dead remake.
I didn't see the Spider-Man reboot. I know Marc Webb is a great director, and I love Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, but as much as I love those people and Amy and Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad, I just don't want to go to my girlfriend's wedding, with all due respect. I guess that means I'm a bad loser? I just love her too much! I just have to wait. It would be hard to see her with someone else … with all those other men!"

 

[Anno_Domini]

I am very pleased to hear him acknowledge that he was unhappy with S-M 3. I don't think he has said that before, or at least I don't recall.

 

[Leenie]

I am very pleased to hear him acknowledge that he was unhappy with S-M 3. I don't think he has said that before, or at least I don't recall.

It's been pretty easy for me to tell that he wasn't happy with it, but yeah, I don't recall him actually SAYING it before this interview.

Raimi seems to be the kind of guy who really, really cares about what the audience thinks of his movie. I think Spider-Man 3 was a case where he tried really hard to please everyone (the fans, the studio, and himself), and he ended up only really pleasing the studio (because, let's face it: SM3 made a ton of money). SM4 getting scrapped was a sign that Raimi was really self-conscious about making another Spider-Man movie that wasn't overall favorable among the fans.

 

[The Joker]

He said back when Spider-Man 4 was a go that he had no creative control on Spider-Man 3. What director would be happy with that?

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Great guy... I hope Oz is huge for him.

 

[Dragon]

Well, if nothing else, I hope that interview finally puts the whole Vultress nonsense to rest.

 

[henzINNIT]

I am very pleased to hear him acknowledge that he was unhappy with S-M 3. I don't think he has said that before, or at least I don't recall.

Never directly, but he's certainly skirted around it a few times. He was probably trying to preserve relationships, and can be a bit more honest now his Spider-Man days are over. He's still totally classy and polite about the whole thing though which is nice to see.

It's a shame he never got the chance to redeem the franchise, I remember being pretty excited when he was talking about the challenge of SM4, and how TDK has raised the bar in the genre. Raimi seems like a nice guy.

I remember being a little baffled to see Hathaway up for Catwoman and Black Cat, and obviously having seen her in TDKR I understand perfectly. It's bizarre to think we nearly saw her stealing the show in Spider-Man and not Batman. Nolan was smart to snap her up after SM4 fell apart.

Well, if nothing else, I hope that interview finally puts the whole Vultress nonsense to rest.

As Black Cat was never directly mentioned, probably not. Would love to hear him definitively tackle that question though.

 

[Anno_Domini]

Can't say she would've stole the show for Spider-Man 4 as the story mattered, but it's just a possibility if Sam indeed decided to to end his series on a high note.

And...if it was going to be Black Cat and not Vulturess...is it safe to say Vulture wasn't going to be involved because why would the confirmation get one villain right and the other villain wrong?

 

[Spider-Aziz]

After watching these movies for the umpteenth time, anything from Raimi about MJ's father? I think maybe he had plans for MJ's parents and not just mentioning her father the two sequels just like that

First movie he called her trash, and was fighting with her repeatedly
Second movie, he went backstage to borrow some cash
Third movie, she felt like the critics words were said by her father

Did Sam Raimi have any plans to shed more light on his side of the story?

 

[A Necessary Evil]

Probably not.

 

[SpideyVille]

I think the father stuff served as nothing more than just backstory. It was done, especially in the first one, to show that even though she was this beautiful, popular girl, she had issues at home, and that her life wasn't perfect.

I also mentioned this in a previous post, but MJ had daddy issues, and I think it was a way of explaining why she could never be alone, and why she always needed to have a man in her life to make her feel better. She quickly jumped to Harry after Flash broke up with her, and then she fell for Spider-Man who was always there to protect her. Then in SM2, even though it was obvious she was still in love with Peter, she was seeing John and got engaged to him, simply because he was there, and not because she truly loved him like she did Peter and Spider-Man. And in SM3, at the first signs of trouble with Peter, she was always looking for comfort from Harry.

 

[roach]

Just saw Oz last night and throughout the Wicked Witch scenes I kept thing...so that's a Raimi Green Goblin done right.

 

[Venom75]

If the final draft of Spider-man 4 wasn't ready I don't understand why Sony couldn't have postponed the release of the film? It seems like the release date is set in stone? I would figure they wait and have a better script and movie,instead of just slapping together some crappy film?

 

[Anno_Domini]

Because even Sam Raimi mentioned that he knew Sony was already having an idea on rebooting it anyways.

The sad and ironic thing is that Sony still postponed it all to a year later with TAS-M.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Or at the very least Sam could have stayed on as producer...

He clearly adores the character and I don't think he moved on gladly (His longing is obvious from recent interviews). They wanted him gone... He just gave them want they wanted, with Tobey and Kirsten following suit.

 

[Venom75]

Because even Sam Raimi mentioned that he knew Sony was already having an idea on rebooting it anyways.

The sad and ironic thing is that Sony still postponed it all to a year later with TAS-M.

Kind of a ******** move by Sony then. With all the success/money Sam and his series gave the studio,you'd figure they'd give him a little support.

 

[Brain Damage]

"Punch me, I bleed!"

One of my favorite Spider-Man 2 lines

 

[SpideyVille]

I really wonder what Marvel would have done with the series if that had the rights to it.

 

[Brain Damage]

"Uncle Ben died that night for being the only one who did the right thing."

Also this. And I love that it's even more true of ASM.

 

[SpideyVille]

Or at the very least Sam could have stayed on a producer...

He clearly adores the character and I don't think he moved on gladly (His longing is obvious from recent interviews). They wanted him gone... He just gave them want they wanted, with Tobey and Kirsten following suit.

Yeah, my brother and his friend were asking me why I wasn't hyped for ASM2 and they thought it was because I preferred Tobey over Garfield, which isn't the case. If anything, the big reason is because Raimi is not in charge of it. Don't get me wrong, I loved 500 Days of Summer and had no problem with Webb, but Raimi was clearly one of those guys who was just such a big fan of the character that he really tried to do right with it, and it showed in SM2 when he pretty much all the money and freedom to back him up.

But my biggest issues with ASM were not the actors, but rather the direction the film was taking and how it was cut together.

 

[SpideyVille]

"Uncle Ben died that night for being the only one who did the right thing."

Also this. And I love that it's even more true of ASM.

I miss Uncle Ben

I think my favorite part of the entire trilogy was his vision of Ben, right before he quit being Spider-Man. It was such a great way of re-creating an iconic shot from the comics, while making it relate to the character from this version.

 

[Brain Damage]

Definitely not my favorite, but an amazing scene indeed. I love when Uncle Ben extends his hand and Peter refuses it.

I think my favorite scene in the trilogy might be when Aunt May is moving out of the house and Peter comes by. That scene is so human it still kind of surprises me it's in a comic book film.

 

[Venom75]

Spider-man 2 had alot more emotional moments than 1 or 3. That's probably why it's regarded as the best. It's takes time to put those scenes in there instead of just having action and special effects dominate the film. Actually,I think all 3 films do that,but part 2 did it the best.

 

[The Joker]

Aunt May giving Peter the $20 on his birthday, then getting angry when he refuses to take it, and then breaks down crying about how much she misses Uncle Ben. That scene is my favorite Peter/Aunt May scene.

Great acting from Rosemary Harris.