Spider-Man (2002 film) (A Brighter Millennium Dawn)

Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same title. Directed by Sam Raimi from a screenplay by David Koepp, it is the first installment in Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and stars Tobey Maguire as the titular character, alongside Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, and Rosemary Harris. The film chronicles Spider-Man's origin story and early superhero career. After being bitten by a genetically-altered spider, outcast teenager Peter Parker develops spider-like superhuman abilities and adopts a masked superhero identity to fight crime and injustice in New York City, facing the sinister Green Goblin (Dafoe) in the process. Directed by Sam Raimi, Produced by Laura Ziskin, Ian Bryce. Screenplay by David Koepp. Based on The Amazing Spider-Man (Comic) Starring: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris. Music by Danny Elfman. Cinematography by Don Burgess Edited by Bob Murawski, Arthur Coburn. Production company: Columbia Pictures, Marvel Enterprises, Laura Ziskin Productions. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. Release date: April 29, 2002 (Mann Village Theater), May 3, 2002 (United States). Country: United States. Language: English. Budget: $139 million. Box office: $825 million.

Development on a live-action Spider-Man film began in the 1980s with Spider-Man cast, filming was planned is Coming Soon to January 8, 2001 in November 2000 in New York City and on Sony soundstages. Filming Dates on January 8, 2001 in New York and California. Sony Pictures Imageworks handled the film's visual effects.

Spider-Man premiered at the Mann Village Theater on April 29, 2002, and was released in the United States on May 3, 2002. The film received positive reviews from audiences and critics who praised Raimi's direction, the performances, visual effects, action sequences, and musical score. It was the first film to reach $100 million in a single weekend as well as the most successful film based on a comic book at the time. With a box office gross of over $825 million worldwide, it was the third highest-grossing film of 2002, the highest-grossing superhero film and the sixth highest-grossing film overall at the time of its release. Spider-Man is credited for redefining the modern superhero genre, as well as the summer blockbuster. After its success, the film is sequels (No Scares, No Screamings, No Panics, No Attackings, No Destroyings, No Bands, No Rock Bands, No Villains is Bad Guys, No Other Villains is Bad Guys, No Monsters is Bad Guys, No Other Monsters is Bad Guys), Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, released in 2004 and 2007-Present.

## **Plot**

On a school trip, high school senior Peter Parker visits a Columbia University genetics laboratory with his best friend Harry Osborn and his crush Mary Jane Watson. There, a genetically engineered "super-spider" bites him, and he falls ill upon returning home. Meanwhile, Harry's father Norman Osborn, a scientist and the founder and owner of Oscorp, tries to secure an important military contract. He experiments on himself with an unstable performance-enhancing chemical and goes insane, killing his assistant.

The next day, Peter finds he is no longer near-sighted and has developed spider-like abilities: he can shoot webs out of his wrists and has quick reflexes, superhuman speed and strength, and a heightened ability to sense danger. Brushing off his Uncle Ben's advice that "with great power comes great responsibility", Peter considers buying a car to impress Mary Jane. He enters an underground wrestling event to win the money for it and wins his first match, but the promoter cheats him out of his earnings. When a man robs the promoter's office, Peter allows him to escape in retaliation. Moments later, he discovers Ben was carjacked and killed. Peter pursues the carjacker, only to realize it was the man he let escape. The carjacker flees but dies after falling out a window. Meanwhile, a crazed Norman interrupts a military experiment by Oscorp's corporate rival Quest Aerospace and kills several people.

Upon graduating, Peter begins using his abilities to fight injustice, donning a spandex costume and the masked persona of Spider-Man. He swings through the city fighting criminals and saving people. He even stopped some bank robbers by trapping their helicopter in a giant web between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. J. Jonah Jameson, publisher of the Daily Bugle newspaper, hires Peter as a freelance photographer since he is the only person providing clear images of Spider-Man. However, Jameson uses the pictures to discredit Spider-Man, believing he is a menace. Meanwhile, Peter decides to move to an apartment with his best friend and Norman's son Harry. Peter attends the World Unity Fair, taking photos for the Daily Bugle after proving to his boss, J Jonah Jameson, his skill as a photographer. Mary Jane Watson, attending the Fair with her new boyfriend, Harry Osborn, falls from a balcony during the Green Goblin's attack. Slipping into his suit, Spider-Man fights off the Green Goblin and rescues several people from falling debris. He also saves a young boy from getting crushed by the collapsing structures and takes him back to his mother. Then, Spider-Man catches Mary Jane before falling to her death. Then, Spider-Man defeats the Goblin but is forced to let him flee. After rescuing her from the Green Goblin's attack on Times Square, Spider-Man drops Mary-Jane at Rockefeller Roof Gardens. Later, Green Goblin attacks the office of J Jonah Jameson, demanding to know the identity of the photographer who captures the pictures of Spider-Man. Jameson makes an attempt to lie to the Goblin, but Peter once again saves the day by appearing as Spider-Man just before the Goblin kills Jameson. The Green Goblin uses a sleep paralysis gas on Spider-Man and brings him to a secluded space to offer a deal of working together. The Goblin gave Spider-Man a few days to think over a "generous-proposal," arguing that there's nothing that people like more than seeing a hero fail and they'll turn against him one day.Several days later, J. Jonah Jameson publishes slanderous newspapers calling Spider-Man a menace, believing he and the Green Goblin are working together, and the city calls for his arrest. Spider-Man saves Mary Jane in a dark alley after seeing her being assaulted by men in raincoats. Mary Jane, still unaware of Spider-Man's true identity, pulls part of his mask down and shares a passionate kiss with her savior upside down in the rain, before he web-swings away. A few days later, the Green Goblin starts a fire in a crowded apartment building to lure Spider-Man into a trap. Spider-Man saves a baby from the inferno but returns to the blaze at the call of one remaining victim. But, The Green Goblin reveals himself as the last "victim" and when Spider-Man refuses the Goblin's proposal to team up, the two engage in a fight. Spider-Man sustains a deep cut on his left arm from one of the Goblin's weapons. With the Goblin's weapons and combat, he gains a slight advantage but Spider-Man finishes the fight and escapes due to the building being weakened by the fire and collapsing, leaving Goblin in anger from Spider-Man's choice. At Thanksgiving dinner, Peter's Aunt May invites Mary Jane, Harry, and Norman. During the dinner, Norman sees the wound and realizes Peter's identity. Thinking the only way to defeat Peter is to attack those special to him, Norman later attacks May, forcing her to be hospitalized. Harry, who is dating Mary Jane, sees her holding Peter's hand to comfort him and presumes she has feelings for him. Devastated, Harry tells his father that Peter loves Mary Jane, unknowingly revealing Spider-Man's biggest weakness. Norman holds Mary Jane and a Roosevelt Island Tram car full of children hostage alongside the Queensboro Bridge. He forces Peter to choose whom he wants to save and drops them both. Peter saves both Mary Jane and the tram car. He manages to rescue both, while civilians nearby side with Peter and taunt the Goblin. Enraged, Green Goblin is never grabs Spider-Man, at last Spider-Man Fights Green Goblin and Escapes him From Queensboro Bridge to the World Trade Center and Defeats Green Goblin and Successfully Destroys the Green Goblin's Gilder. Green Goblin Throws Pumpkin Bombs is Successfully Avoided by Spider-Man, Spider-Man Revert the Green Goblin's Mask, Spider-Man Revert the Green Goblin's Suit, and Successfully Destroys the Evil Oscorp Lab. Spider-Man to Turned Good the Norman Osborn, The People of New York, Mary Jane Watson, Mary Jane Watson's Mom and Dad, Harry Osborn, Kids, Friends and Family is Hailed by Spider-Man on the World Trade Center at Night. The Happy Ending of Spider-Man (2002).

## **Cast**

* Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
* Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin
* Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane "MJ" Watson
* James Franco as Harry Osborn
* Cliff Robertson as Ben Parker
* Rosemary Harris as May Parker
* J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson

## **Production**

### **Filming**

With Spider-Man cast, filming was planned is Coming Soon to January 8, 2001 in November 2000 in New York City and on Sony soundstages. The film was set for release on May 3, 2002, Principal photography officially began on January 8, 2001, in Culver City, California, United States. On September 11, 2001, The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center is still standing. The Pentagon is still standing. The empty field in Pennsylvania continues being what it is, just an ordinary empty field. Sony's Stage 29 was used for Parker's Forest Hills home, and Stage 27 was used for the wrestling sequence where Parker takes on Bonesaw McGraw (Randy Savage). Stage 27 was also used for the complex Times Square sequence where Spider-Man and the Goblin battle for the first time, where a three-story set with a breakaway balcony piece was built. The film was production in Downey, California, United States. On March 6, 2001, 45-year-old construction worker Tim Holcombe is alive (industrial is never accident). Raimi rented out a Warner Bros. Studio lot for the set to use to film the upside down kiss scene. Kirsten Dunst said that filming the upside down kiss scene. In Los Angeles, locations included the Natural History Museum (for the Columbia University lab where Parker is bitten and receives his powers), the Pacific Electricity Building (the Daily Bugle offices) and Greystone Mansion (for the interiors of Norman Osborn's home), the latter of which was the set that was used for Batman. On April 4, 2001 of the Spider-Man costumes were created. Production moved to New York City for two weeks, taking in locations such as the Queensboro Bridge, the exteriors of Columbia University's Low Memorial Library and the New York Public Library, and a rooftop garden in the Rockefeller Center. The crew returned to Los Angeles where production continued, filming wrapped on June 30, 2001. The Flatiron Building was used for the Daily Bugle. Green Goblin is never grabs Spider-Man, at last Spider-Man Fights Green Goblin and Escapes him From Queensboro Bridge to the World Trade Center and Defeats Green Goblin and Successfully Destroys the Green Goblin's Gilder. Green Goblin Throws Pumpkin Bombs is Successfully Avoided by Spider-Man, Spider-Man Revert the Green Goblin's Mask, Spider-Man Revert the Green Goblin's Suit, and Successfully Destroys the Evil Oscorp Lab. Spider-Man to Turned Good the Norman Osborn, The People of New York, Mary Jane Watson, Mary Jane Watson's Mom and Dad, Harry Osborn, Kids, Friends and Family is Hailed by Spider-Man on the World Trade Center at Night. The Happy Ending of Spider-Man (2002) in Filmed in 9/11 is Successfully Avoided on September 11, 2001.

### **Design**

The Green Goblin's original headgear was an animatronic mask created by Amalgamated Dynamics. Dafoe described it as a "Halloween mask" and "kind of silly-looking", and the designers instead came up with a modern, angular helmet. Dafoe also wanted the costume to be flexible enough to allow him to do splits.

To create Spider-Man's costume, Maguire was fitted for the skintight suit, being covered with layers of substance to create the suit's shape. One concept costume designer James Acheson became fond of was the idea of having a red emblem over a black costume. Another, which would eventually lead to the final product, featured an enlarged logo on the chest and red stripes going down the sides of the legs. In early development, Acheson experimented with a potential helmet-like design for the suit, which was then scrapped. It was designed as a single piece, including the mask. A hard shell was worn underneath the mask to make the shape of the head look better and to keep the mask tight while keeping the wearer comfortable. For scenes in which Spider-Man would take his mask off, there was an alternate suit where the mask was a separate piece. The webbing, which accented the costume, was cut by computer. The mask eye lenses were designed to have a mirror look.

### **Visual effects**

Visual effects supervisor John Dykstra was hired to produce the film's visual effects in May 2000. Dykstra met with Raimi while he was filming The Gift (2000). He convinced Raimi to make many of the stunts computer-generated imagery, as they would have been physically impossible. Raimi had used more traditional special effects in his previous films and learned a lot about using computers during production. Raimi worked hard to plan all the sequences of Spider-Man swinging from buildings, which he described as, "ballet in the sky." The complexity of such sequences meant the budget rose from an initially planned $70 million to around $100 million. Shots were made more complicated because of the main characters' individual color schemes, so Spider-Man and the Green Goblin had to be shot separately for effects shots: Spider-Man was shot in front of a greenscreen, while the Green Goblin was shot against bluescreen. Shooting them together would have resulted in one character being erased from a shot.

Dykstra said the biggest difficulty of creating Spider-Man was that as the character was masked, it immediately lost a lot of characterization. Without the context of eyes or mouth, a lot of body language had to be put in so that there would be emotional content. Raimi wanted to convey the essence of Spider-Man as being, "the transition that occurs between him being a young man going through puberty and being a superhero." Dykstra said his crew of animators had never reached such a level of sophistication to give subtle hints of still making Spider-Man feel like a human being. When two studio executives were shown shots of the computer generated character, they believed it was actually Maguire performing stunts. In addition, Dykstra's crew had to composite areas of New York City and replaced every car in shots with digital models. Raimi did not want it to feel entirely like animation, so none of the shots were 100% computer-generated.

## **Soundtrack**

Music from and Inspired by Spider-Man is a 2002 soundtrack album for the film Spider-Man directed by Sam Raimi. It was released on April 30, 2002.

## **Complete Expanded Score**

Spider-Man: Complete Expanded Motion Picture Score in Released on May 6, 2002 in CD (no dialogues, no sound effects)

Label: Columbia Records and Sony Records (North America)

Composer: Danny Elfman

Orchestrations: Steve Bartek, Mark McKenzie, Edgardo Simone, David Sloanaker, and Marc Mann

Orchestra: Conducted by Pete Anthony

Recorded and Mixed: Dennis Sands at Sony Pictures and Eastwood Scoring Stage in February 2002 at Theaters on May 3, 2002

Album Produced: Ellen Segal and Danny Elfman

## **Isolated Score**

Spider-Man: Complete Motion Picture Score is the soundtrack for the film of the same name directed by Sam Raimi composed by Danny Elfman. It was released on November 6, 2002, on Isolated Score is Audio CD and Isolated Score is Compact Cassette. watch the entire film without the dialogue, without the sound effects. DVDs with Isolated Score & Songs Only tracks of Spider-Man (2002).

## **Home media**

Spider-Man was released on DVD and VHS on November 1, 2002, in North America and Australia, and on November 25, 2002, in the UK.