Unless you’re insane, you’ll know James Cameron never made his Spider-Man movie. But it would be great somehow we could see what it would have turned out like - and you can piece together a damn good idea from his other work. So, I've sat and watched every film the beard has made (except Piranha II) to create a mock magazine review of Cameron’s Spidey film, as I imagine it would have turned out back in 1992, if his original attempts to make it were successful. Electro and the Sandman don't feature as I believe Cameron would have found them too expensive to achieve in 1992. Anyway...

SPIDER-MAN

1992, 20th Century Fox, Director: James Cameron

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus), Edward Furlong (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), Drew Barrymore, Jonathan Frakes, Angela Landsbury, Robert Wagner, Pat Hingle, Danny Glover. 121 mins. Cert. PG-13

Many of today’s foremost directors have been influenced by comicbooks, including Sam Raimi (who himself would have been an interesting choice to direct) and Tim Burton (who’s Batman sequel is Spider-Man’s main box-office opponent). James Cameron loves comics as well. Terminator 2 (1991) is one of the best comicbook inspired movies ever; two superpowered beings clashing with each other, and causing vandalism on a mass scale during their city-wide brawls - as comicbook as you can get. The T-1000 is a supervillain if ever there was one. Okay, the Term flicks were based on an old episode of the Outer Limits, but apart from that and the guns, this is Marvel comics for adults.

Spider-Man, which really is a Marvel comic (and a 30 year old one at that), is his latest big-budget extravaganza. Focusing on angst-ridden 17 year old Peter Parker (Edward Furlong), it sees him gain the powers of a spider, enabling him to scale walls, lift up cars and "kick some serious ass". Calling himself Spider-Man, he also discovers the ability to sense danger and constructs a red and blue costume and ‘web-shooters’, which fire strands of spider-silk for him to swing through the city on. Coming up against the evil Doctor Octopus (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Spidey must protect the city whilst trying keeping his secret from his unsuspecting Aunt May (Angela Landsbury) avoiding the school bullies, and romancing class babe Mary Jane (Drew Barrymore).

Edward Furlong, who Cameron cast as John Connor in T2, plays a very similar role here, as Peter Parker: An unhappy kid with a messed up life who is suddenly put into an extraordinary situation. Cameron loves his rebellious, long-haired, slightly whiny kids as they are basically his teenage wish fulfillment figures, and Peter Parker is the same. Fans have complained that this is an incorrect portrayal of their hero, who certainly doesn’t make the savage threats to criminals he does here, but it’s an engaging portrayal nonetheless. Shifting from upset to upbeat and back throughout the film, Furlong does well as schoolkid-turned-superhero who has to handle the staggering changes in his life. As a puberty allegory, which Spider-Man undoubtedly is, Furlong’s performance is extremely well-judged.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his third collaboration with Cameron (they are planning a fourth, a James Bond pastiche), plays the bad guy again. This time, he’s introverted, nerdy scientist Otto Octavius, who gets four long mechanical arms attached to him and becomes supervillain Doctor Octopus. Although, aided by some superb special effects, Arnie is physically menacing, that’s about all he can bring to the picture. His limited acting range, not aided by a script which paints him as evil as they come, makes him a very unconvincing scientist. Pre-accident, his fellow scientists mock him to his face, but who would mock the Terminator? And why wouldn’t he simply hit them? Still, the name of the world’s biggest movie star on the posters is wise thinking for a film with no other real huge stars.

ET (1982) actress Drew Barrymore plays redhead Mary Jane Watson, or MJ as she’s known. Going against the typical damsel in distress route of so many superhero’s girlfriends, MJ is a tough, spirited, feisty girl who helps Spidey in his fights and punches a school bully who is picking on Peter. The fact that she’s also very feminine and a wannabe-supermodel makes this doubly unusual. Barrymore is obviously enjoying herself and enlivens her scenes, while impressing in the emotional stakes. She has a very bright career ahead of her. The other notables amongst the cast include Star Trek: The Next Generation's William Frakes as savage gangland thug Kraven the Hunter, who decides Spider-Man will be "the greatest hunt of all." Frakes shakes off his upright image by being downright vicious and disturbing, and throwing knives at people. Murder She Wrote stalwart Angela Landsbury provides solid support as Peter's beloved Aunt May. The rest of the cast are adequate, including a cameo from Danny Glover, but the plot really centers on the three central individuals: hero, villain, love interest.

Taking place in a big, bustling New York (with skyscrapers that figure largely throughout) rather than a gothic neverwhere, Spider-Man is a more realistic than Batman (1989) from the word go. Cameron doesn’t want you to look at the sets or locations, he wants you to look at the actors. And although this is fantasy, it’s grounded in reality. Spidey is powerful but no Superman, bleeding when he is hit and swearing when he is angry. One particular line: "F*cking hell, MJ, what if Aunt May came in?" has infuriated purists. But it’s what a 17 year old boy would say given the situation (and many 17 year olds would love to be given the situation). And his powers don’t make his life any easier - they make it far more complicated, with a series of events ranging from simply painful to tragic enforcing the point that, as newspaper editor JJJ (Robert Wagner) says, "Life don’t get easier, pal." Anyone expecting a cheerful piece of escapist adventure will be disappointed.

Cameron handles the action with breathtaking skill, proving he is without a doubt the greatest helmer of action sequences alive today. He manages to up the ante of T2 and Aliens (1986) with a series of frenetic, thrilling confrontations between Spidey and Doctor Octopus that will leave audiences breathless and stunned. The frenetic, 20 minute climax, which sees Spidey, MJ and her little brother chased by Doctor Octopus through a sinking ship, is relentlessly adrenaline-pumping. The two powers of the hero and villain allow for far more inventive violence than your standard shootout. Spidey is inhumanly agile, an acrobatic showman who will backflip between two skyscrapers to avoid a hail of gunfire, while Doctor Octopus walks over the terrified traffic like a giant Daddy Long Legs. Doc Ock can also wrap his arms around himself as a shield against police fire.

The action comes in both quality and quantity; there is a lot of it. Doc Ock pulls a helicopter into building. Spider-Man, when faced with a car with a bomb inside it somewhere, just picks up the whole thing and hurls it into the harbor. The duo stage an incredible fight whilst Spidey abseils, and Doc Ock climbs, down the Statue of Liberty. Parents have complained about the violence in large numbers. "This is very violent and nothing like the cartoons," one unhappy mother told me. Fans hit back saying that it’s exactly the same stuff that the comics depict, perhaps forgetting than what you can do in a comic you can’t necessarily do in the far more realistic medium of film. Certainly, those with a firm view on film censorship will have much to debate, especially a scene in which Doctor Octopus drops a car on someone. There is also a completely gratituitous sequence with Barrymore topless.

No-one will be complaining about the special effects, however. While the blue screen and model work is expertly applied, the pioneering work done on T2 means a computer generated Spider-Man who can do the things that even this film's expert stuntmen can’t manage. Whether climbing up vertical walls or swinging through the city on his weblines, it’s very hard to tell the real Spider-Man and the CGI Spider-Man apart. Truly a step-forward in special effects technology, with many believing the visual effects Oscar is already in the bag.

Up against Batman Returns this summer, Spider-Man will bring in a younger audience than Tim Burton’s reportedly even darker sequel. Although not suitable for under 10’s, Spider-Man is spectacular, unforgettable entertainment that promises viewers fantastic visuals they’ve never seen before. Another Cameron action classic, an intelligent superhero movie, and a must to see this summer. Whether comic fans will be so delighted is another question, however.

Sam Raimi Talks Spider-Man! Spider-Man Hype

SFX magazine caught up with director Sam Raimi recently, while he was on the publicity trail for The Gift, and he shared a little more on the Spider-Man movie:

"Batman and Superman are great movies, but they're more fantastic-world movies with these superheroes and outrageously funny villains in them. Spider-Man I want to make more real world. Peter Parker is real, and something fantastic happens to him."

Raimi acknowledges that the audience has expectations of how Spider-Man should be. "That's brand new for me," Raimi said. "The audience already has it in their minds who Peter Parker is, who Aunt May is, who Uncle Ben is, and you can get it wrong. I not only have to meet their expectations, I have to go beyond them. I have to choose so right that they'll think, 'he's the soul of the character.' People will say, 'are you crazy, that isn't Uncle Ben.' But what I'm going to be looking for is the soul of the character, whether or not he looks like him, or not. So he's truly the guy that we've come to know in the comics. Of course Uncle Ben's a bad example, because he's only in it for about a page and then I kill him!"

The more I hear and read about this movie, the more I feel that Sam Raimi is going to do Spider-Man right, even with the organic spinners. I have high hopes for the script and story.

September 24, 2000

Elfman Officially Scoring Spider-Man! Spider-Man Hype

In a conversation with Cinescape Friday evening, Spider-Man helmer Sam Raimi revealed that he has hired composer Danny Elfman to score Spider-Man.

"He is [perfect for the film]. He's a great composer," Raimi said. "I really have enjoyed working with him in the past." Elfman has scored such Raimi projects as Darkman and A Simple Plan. He's also provided music for such high-profile projects as Batman, Men in Black and Sleepy Hollow. Thanks to Cinescape for the heads up!

Kick ass! Danny Elfman is an incredible musician! His musical scores are big, loud, moving pieces of art. I highly recommend the Batman soundtrack, as well as "Music For a Darkened Theater, Vol. 1" for your listening pleasure. I have several of his releases. Danny Elfman is going to do an incredible job with this score. (Hey, for me, Danny Elfman is to music what Tim Burton and Ron Howard are to movies! Yeah, I know, strange combo!)

September 21, 2000

X-Men DVD Has Spider-Man Cameo Spider-Man Hype

The Spider-Man Hype site is reporting that the X-Men DVD will have outtakes of the actors from the summer blockbuster X-Men. One of the outtakes involves a costumed Spider-Man running across the set during a scene and cracking up the actors. The video and DVD will be released on November 21st. Check out Coming Soon for more details on the DVD extras.

September 19, 2000

A Complete CG Spidey? Spider-Man Hype

The Dark Horizons site is reporting that special effects maker Ken Hahn is creating a computer generated Manhattan for the new Spider-Man movie. They are also discussing having Spider-Man in costume that is completely computer generated. "With the technology we created for Hollow Man, it would be a breeze," said Hahn.

This strikes me as kind of a disappointment. I'm really hoping they don't resort to all of Spidey's acrobatics and the entire suit be CGI. Just because Hollywood and the movie industry as that kind of technology at it's disposal doesn't mean it HAS to be used EVERYTIME a movie along Spidey's line comes out. Hell, part of the charm of this movie to me, even before it's begun production, has been seeing sketches of possible costumes and character development. Why bother having anyone train Tobey to be Spidey if Spidey isn't going to be real?

September 13, 2000

Avi Arad Talks Release Date, Villains & Casting! Spider-Man Hype

Marvel's Avi Arad called the move of the release of the Spider-Man live-action movie to May 3, 2002 "the right decision," according to the Comics Continuum.

"We decided that we are much better off with a movie in the summer, especially after X-Men, Arad, executive producer on Spider-Man, told The Continuum's Rob Allstetter. "We'll be starting the summer like Gladiator. I like summer movies. What it does for us, it's the first movie of the summer, it starts the whole business. It also makes it a summer movie in Europe. X-Men, as you know, just started its international run and we are already up to $90 million. The numbers are so much bigger and you have a longer run, and May, obviously, is bigger than July, because you have a whole summer to go. Just bigger numbers. It was a courageous decision, but the right one. There's just too much money to be left on the table going in Christmas."

Arad said it wasn't totally a case where Spider-Man could not have been made by next November.

"It's just the right decision," Arad said. "We get out May 3, and I think we are going to have an incredible run. Christmas would have been good, but it's not summer. I can tell you we are going to do $160, or just north of $160 million, on X-Men and that was July. So you can imagine what the potential is for us here with May 3."

Arad also said that the film's villain will only be the Green Goblin, and Doctor Octopus will not be featured. "He's gone," Arad said. Arad admitted to mixed feelings about Doc Ock's removal.

"I would have liked him, but it just became very difficult to have two major villains in this movie," Arad said. "There was so much to tell in the origin - there's Peter, there's Spider-Man, Norman and Harry, the Goblin and Aunt May and MJ. It wouldn't have done justice to him. So I like the fact that they decided they not to do a throwaway out of such an important character as Doc Ock. But I would have loved it."

Arad said that Doc Ock is possible for a sequel. Another possible villain down the road is Venom; that character's film rights no longer belong to New Line Cinema. So will Venom be in a Spider-Man movie and not in his own?

"I don't want to say never. I can never say never in this world," Arad said of a Venom film. "I think maybe Spider-Man 3 who knows, maybe Spider-Man 2? You can never tell. You'll see in movie one, you'll get some clues about where we are going with the sequel, just like there were clues in X-Men where X-Men 2 was going."

Toby Maguire is starring as Peter Parker and Spider-Man in the film, which will now begin production under the director of Sam Raimi in January.

"Tobey's great," Arad said. "He's cut. He's in training and getting even more cut. If you look at this month's edition of InStyle magazine, there's a great picture of Tobey Maguire and you can see how perfectly he fits the film."

Arad confirmed that John Malkovich has been in talks for the role of the Green Goblin and that Kate Hudson, who is currently starring in Almost Famous, is a possible Mary Jane. Although he noted that neither has signed, Arad said he would like both in Spider-Man.

More On The New Release Date Spider-Man Hype

Variety talked to Sony about the change in schedule for Spider-Man. "I'm very happy with the release date," said producer Laura Ziskin, who chalked the rescheduling move up to "a very ambitious post-production. We're doing things in (special) effects that have never been done before".

Ziskin denied that the move had anything to do with possible Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes that may hit Hollywood May 31, 2001 and July 1, 2001, respectively. "It never played into the conversation, and was never an issue," said Ziskin.

The move also protects the picture from limbo in the event of a prolonged strike. For while Spider-Man is expected to finish principal photography well before the start of any possible WGA or SAG strikes, any post-production work such as reshooting or re-recording scenes and dialogue with actors would not be permitted during a strike.

Along Came a Spider-Man...Wizard:The Comics Magazine #109, October 2000, page 45

Spider-Man Set For May, 2002! Spider-Man Hype

The Spider-Man movie has officially been pushed back from November 2001 to May 3, 2002. The following is from the Sony press release:

Columbia Pictures will begin principal photography on the live-action action-adventure Spider-Man in January and has set the release of the film for May 3, 2002.

The start date makes possible a production and post-production schedule that will enable the film's creators to realize their ambitious vision for Spider-Man and bring Marvel's worldwide comic book icon to life.

Spider-Man, starring Tobey Maguire, is helmed by Sam Raimi, a self-confessed fanatic of the cagey, web-spinning hero. Laura Ziskin (As Good As It Gets, To Die For, Pretty Woman) and Oscar nominee Ian Bryce (Almost Famous, Saving Private Ryan, Twister) produce. Avi Arad serves as executive producer.

The screenplay for Spider-Man is written by David Koepp. The creative team includes Oscar-nominated director of photography Don Burgess (Cast Away, What Lies Beneath, Forrest Gump), production designer Neil Spisak (The Gift, For Love of the Game, Heat) and costume designer James Acheson, who has won Academy Awards for Restoration, Dangerous Liaisons and The Last Emperor.

Amy here. Boy, was I pissed and disappointed to read this! How can they change dates like that, all within a span of 24 hours??! Does anyone know what they are doing with this film?

When I read stuff like this, it concerns me about what the end product will end up being. I guarantee that we will still see some more major player changes, if the movie won't be out until 2002. The Sony press release didn't say when they would start production, but I've read in other places they've started photography already. But from September 2000 to May 2003, well, that's a long time. Things are going to change.

Spider-Man Movie Release Date Set? Spider-Man Hype

According to an article at Mr. Showbiz discussing the recent confirmation that John Malkovich is in negotiations to play the Green Goblin, they also mention that Sony has set a tentative release date.

Sam Raimi will direct the new movie, which, pending completion of casting, could go into production before the end of this year. A tentative release date of Nov. 2, 2001, has already been set. (Uh-oh: Oscar season. Our Spidey sense is tingling again.)

This means we're 20 days closer to seeing the Spider-Man movie than the Thanksgiving date that was previously rumored.

September 8, 2000

Movie Rights For "Venom" Are Available! Spider-Man Hype

Coming Attractions reports that we may see Venom in the Spider-Man movie or sequel after all!

All the talk about Eddie Brock and his rumored cameo in the Spider-Man movie got us thinking -- just what was happening with the Venom property over at New Line Cinema? We went directly to the source himself, New Line numero uno Michael DeLuca. DeLuca told us the news that hasn't appeared anywhere else: the Venom property has been dropped by New Line. That means the right for the characters of Eddie Brock and Venom, the popular villain from the Spider-Man universe, are again up for grabs.

Now, you're probably asking the next question just like we were: Where's the property now? Is it back in the Marvel stable or...did Sony play it smart and quietly pick it up, thus paving the way for a Brock cameo and the appearance of the character Venom in a sequel? Does Sony even know the rights for this character are available? Well, at this point your guess is as good as ours. Despite the fact we contacted Marvel Enterprises, Marvel Studios, Sony and Avi Arad's office directly -- no one would comment as to what status the Venom rights were in.

Dan Poole's The Green Goblin's Last Stand Available for Download Spider-Man Hype

Can't wait until November 2001 to see a Spider-Man movie? Then check out Dan Poole's film, The Green Goblin's Last Stand, now available! Also, check out for a recent interview Dan Poole did with comics2film.com.

"Fellow Spider-Man fans, I'd like to extend my appreciation to Spider-Man Hype! for their generosity, and especially I'd like to thank everyone around the globe for their interest and enthusiasm in my video, and apologize for not being able to meet the incredible demand of individual tape requests. (I can't even reply to everyone yet!

So as a solution, www.LocalOrigination.com has agreed to host the video "The Green Goblin's Last Stand" for a while so as to help me help the fans in viewing it. Visitors to the site can even download it and own it that way, so we all win.

In return for this gesture to the loyal fan base of Spidey-philes I ask only one thing: DO NOT SELL THIS IN ANY FORM. Be cool. Enjoy it and spread the fun like a good little superhero!

A copy of this movie was recently sold on eBay for $203! (But Dan had told me he was able to get the guy's money back for him.) I recently emailed Dan Poole a few weeks back about his film. He said it was put up for auction without his knowledge. He and some friends made this film about eight years ago, in Baltimore, when Dan was 23. Check it out for yourself! A damn fine amateur movie! I give it two webbed thumbs up!

September 5, 2000

Romita Jr. Talks Raimi & Organic WebshootersSpider-Man Hype

In the second part of Hero Realm's interview with legendary Marvel artist John Romita Jr., Romita says that he met with Raimi. Here's a sample from the interview:

GB: Along those lines, speaking of the Internet, a furor has erupted recently over the movie and the fact that Sam Raimi wants to set up Peter Parker with organic webshooters instead of mechanical. What are your thoughts on the webshooters in the film?

JRjr: I didn’t like the idea when I first heard it and it came from Cameron. Didn’t like the way it was used. I talked to them about Spider-Man—but they didn’t want to pay me so I didn’t get to work on it. I don’t think Raimi can be second-guessed at this stage, because he’s a pro and an experienced guy so let’s see what he does. I don’t have a problem with it. It adds an eerie sort of Tim Burton thing to it, that if it’s controversial and if it pisses off a lot of fans it’s unfortunate because there’s nothing you can do about it. A lot of what was in the Batman films pissed fans off, but they became popular movies. Well—the first one was great.

GB: See, I’m different—I liked Batman Returns way more than the first Batman movie.

JRjr: Well I actually didn’t like the second one. The first one… I liked Keaton but not Nicholson, though everyone thinks he was brilliant. But I’m talking about commercial assessment. I think Spider-Man will have a lot of commercial appeal, but I don’t know if it will be as big as the X-Men...

No, hopefully it will be BETTER than X-Men. It was a kick ass movie in terms of the characters and the graphicness of the settings and special effects. But it SORELY lacked in ACTION!

JRjr: (Cont.)...But Raimi is a good man and he knows what he’s doing. But he needs somebody to be where he asked me to be—he was telling me, “I need to know the logistics of when the webbing hits a wall, what happens to it, and when it comes out of his wrist what does it look like, and does he grab a hold of it as soon as it comes out, and when he swings the middle of canyon of buildings how does he how can he swing down the middle when he’s stuck to one building when he should be slamming into one building?” Good questions, and he needs someone to explain that stuff. I gave him a couple of hours of advice that I didn’t get paid for, but they need someone to really spell the whole thing out to him. But you can’t second guess a guy like Raimi. I don’t have a problem with the organic webshooters—I did at first, because I’d like to see Peter Parker be the genius he is, a wiz.

GB: Exactly—the mechanical webshooters are a symbol of his scientific know-how.

September 2, 2000

Spider-Man At The Box Office by Mike Fett Spider-Man Hype

Over the past year one boggling question has seemed to grasp the minds of the Spider-Man community. How well can we expect Spider-Man to do in theaters? Doing some investigation has led to the following points:

...2. With the recent success of both Blade and X-Men in the theaters this should give Spider-Man some extra publicity through the media which it may not have seen as much of.

Currently in the world Spider-Man places in the top three most known superheroes from comic books. Only Superman and Batman beat him, but Batman is only more known for his recent string of movies. As for Superman, he is in the top three most well known fictional characters in the world now. Spider-Man is very big in Asia, in fact he even had his own TV show over there. X-Men places in the lower top ten and even then most people only know the sign, they would not be able to tell you much more.

The Spider-Man movie places in the top three most eagerly awaited films from moviegoers. The other films in that list is the next Star Warsprequel and Lord of the Rings.

5. Merchandising and promoting for this film will be outrageous, as we can already see T-shirts possibly being available within a few months, not to mention a huge toyline, an official comic book adaptation, and maybe even a huge deal with a company like McDonalds for a Happy Meal deal which will even promote it more...

Keeping these points in mind I do not see why Spider-Man will not be able to double what X-Men did on its opening weekend and depending on the public's opinion after the opening weekend it should be able to pass what the X-Men made in theaters all together. In fact this film has great chance to end up in the top five money grossing films of all time after its theatrical run.

September 1, 2000

Alex Ross Phone Interview AICN

HK: SO, BASICALLY, LET’S START OFF BY FINDING OUT WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED ON YOUR SIDE CONCERNING HOW YOU WERE APPROACHED TO DO SOME WORK ON SPIDER-MAN, HOW THAT ALL CAME ABOUT INITIALLY.

AR: Well, the truth is I was never really approached on Spider-Man, I was approached on Fantastic Four. They called me, asking if I was available to do designs for the movie, as it was supposed to be in production, for FF, and my quote to them at that time was, "What? Am I not good enough for Spider-Man?" So that turned into us talking about Spider-Man. AR: Actually, at first I was dealing with strictly from the Toy Biz, Marvel offices in LA, a guy I’ve dealt with a couple of times before on some other failed things like he had been - I’m not going to actually name him - but he had been the one to call me and tell me about how they were going to do these Earth X toys and how we were all going to be involved in them. Low and behold, nothing ever became of that. Yet again, another experience where nothing comes of something. In any case, he had mentioned to me at that time that they didn’t have a design yet, that nothing was firmed up, that it was still very early in the development of that property. He asked me, sort of meekly, why do I want to be involved. I told him at that point that I had a design, and I was speaking again of my friend’s design, that I’d be ready to pass onto them. That turned into him... I guess he passed on to me a number of somebody who was a producer for Spider-Man, but he was going to do some legwork first himself. By the following week, I was taking this conference call out of the blue, where Avi Arad wanted to talk to me. Avi seemed to have a little less focus as to what it is I was actually contacted for doing because he was asking things like, "Are you going to be relocating out here to LA and do storyboards for the film?" I had to clarify, "No, I’m just going to be used as a costume designer. That’s the only thing I offer forth at this time and, frankly, that’s the only thing you should be bothering me about. You don’t need me for storyboards."

HK: OK, SO AFTER THE CONVERSATION WITH AVI, THE NEXT STEP WAS YOU STARTED WORKING WITH A FRIEND OF YOURS WHO DID SOME INITIAL DESIGN WORK ON IT, IS THAT CORRECT? WHAT’S HIS NAME AND THAT WHOLE STORY?

AR: David Williams. Actually, the story really dates back mostly to when David had shown me that design and that’s over a year ago in May. In May of 99, I visit his office at Warner Consumer Products and he had one of these things just pegged up on the wall. I reacted very strongly to it. Curious. Like, "What the hell is that? Damn! That is a great simple redesign of the costume. He told me he it was something he was just farting around with to show what he could potentially do with the movie treatment. Where he was able to take it further. I was so impressed that I told him at that time, "If I ever get called about this movie, I’m going to try and push your particular design." I just thought there was none better...

AR: Yeah. Basically, I took what he had drawn, the exact same shots, and basically painted them up in very simple 11x17 shots, one of which was like a phony movie poster where you see Spider-Man sort of straddling the edges of a sort of rectangle composition where you’re just getting the torso, but it points out to you the high impact of the character. You see the mask as it classically appears, you see the chest area mostly the same way, very large, graphic spider image on the chest. You see no belt because the abdominal shape of the red points down into the abdomen, just ending there without creating a belt going around the body. That was the thing that impressed me the most.

AR: The second thing I was most impressed with was the fact that the eyes were in fact black. They were completely without a white/black separation, but in fact were just curved, black lenses that gave off white highlights, therefore creating an illusion that seemed to be highly reminiscent of the classic costume, but at the same time going into a more future, a more movie-like presentation of the character and even more appropriate to the whole bug aspect to the character.