| The Amazing Spider-Man | |
|---|---|
 Teaser poster | |
| Directed by | Marc Webb |
| Produced by | Avi Arad Laura Ziskin Matt Tolmach |
| Screenplay by | James Vanderbilt Alvin Sargent Steve Kloves |
| Story by | James Vanderbilt |
| Based on | The Amazing Spider-Man by Stan Lee Steve Ditko |
| Starring | Andrew Garfield Emma Stone Rhys Ifans Martin Sheen Sally Field Irrfan Khan |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Cinematography | John Schwartzman |
| Editing by | Alan Edward Bell Pietro Scalia |
| Studio | Columbia Pictures Marvel Studios Laura Ziskin Productions[1] Avi Arad Productions Matt Tolmach Productions |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Amazing Spider-Man is an upcoming American superhero film directed by Marc Webb, based on the comic book of the same name and starring Andrew Garfield as the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It is the fourth Columbia Pictures film that portrays Spider-Man in film and is areboot of the film series that stars the superhero. The cast includes Garfield as Peter Parker and his alter ego, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy andRhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors. The film will portray Parker as his super powers are evolving in high school and will explore him trying to discover the truth behind his parents. The film also brings to life new designs of the film franchise such as Parker inventing artificial webs like in the original comics instead of organic webs.
The film's development began simultaneously with Sony announcing the cancellation of Spider-Man 4. Opting for a reboot with the same production team rather than another sequel, the studio announced a July 2012 release date for what was now titled The Amazing Spider-Man. James Vanderbiltwas hired to write the script while Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves helped fine-tune the script. Pre-production involved the casting of many actors and actresses trying out the role of Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy respectively until Garfield and Stone were the clear choice. Principal photography started in December 2010 in Los Angeles before moving to New York City with the help of Red Digital Cinema Camera Company's RED Epic camera. The film entered post-production in April 2011 with the film being shot in 3D with the help of 3ality Technica and with James Horner being involved with thefilm score.
Sony Entertainment has focused its marketing campaign with a promotional website with released images, three theatrical trailers, a prologue screening in certain cities, a video game tie-in being developed by Beenox and a viral marketing campaign among other products. The Amazing Spider-Man is scheduled to be released in 3D and in IMAX 3D on July 3, 2012. A sequel of the film is being planned for release in 2014 with James Vanderbilt hired to again write the screenplay and with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci reported to re-write it.
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Premise
Teenage social outcast Peter Parker spends his days trying to unravel the mystery of his own past and winning the heart of his high school crush,Gwen Stacy. Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase belonging to his father, who abandoned him when he was a child, which leads him to his dad's former partner, Dr. Connors. The discovery of his father's secret will ultimately shape his destiny of becoming "Spider-Man" and brings him face to face with Connors' villainous alter ego, the Lizard.[5][6][7]
[edit]Cast
- A character that is depicted as trying to find his purpose in life ever since his parents disappeared 13 years ago.[5][7] Garfield described Peter Parker as somebody he can relate to while also claiming him as an important symbol to him since he was four years old.[9][10][11] He described his Peter Parker as an outsider, as someone hard to get close to because of him being dropped.[12] While being interviewed by SFX magazine. Garfield also compared his Spider-Man as a metaphor for internet trolls with the comparison of his wise-cracking humor that he will have in the film.[13] Garfield drew from his life experiences as inspiration for the role, revealing, "I was thinking of my history and thinking of the kid at school who I wasn't as strong as, who behaved badly to a lot of people – including myself – and who I constantly tried to stand up to but never had the physical prowess to".[14] In comparison with the actor who originally portrayed Spider-Man, Garfield said he respects Tobey Maguire as an actor and that when he first saw Maguire play Spider-Man he "was blown away by his interpretation."[14] Garfield confessed to The Sun and then even to Maguire when being interviewed to him in VMAN magazine that when he first watched the film Spider-Man when he was younger, he would recite Maguire's line in the mirror with his friend and the friend would joke to him that he would never be Spider-Man.[14][15] After taking the role, Garfield studied spiders' movements and tried to incorporate them as much as he could, saying Parker is "a boy/spider in terms of how he moves, and not just in the suit."[16] The actor then stated in Details magazine that he took Yoga and Pilates for the role of the film admitting that he wanted to feel more flexible than he has ever felt.[17] On taking over the role Garfield explained, "I see it as a massive challenge in many ways.... To make it authentic. To make the character live and breathe in a new way. The audience already has a relationship with many different incarnations of the character. I do, as well. I'm probably going to be the guy in the movie theater shouting abuse at myself. But I have to let that go. No turning back. And I wouldn't want to".[18]When first wearing the Spider-Man costume Garfield admitted to shedding tears and trying to imagine "a better actor in the suit".[19] While on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Garfield described the suit as "uncomfortable" and admitted to wearing nothing inside the suit because of it being skin tight.[20] When filming Garfield explained that he had four months of training and described his physical roles on stunts as terribly challenging and exhausting.[21]
- A high school classmate and love interest of Peter Parker.[22] A smart, charismatic and rebellious girl and the chief Intern at Oscorp.[5][7] Stone dyed her hair blonde for the role of the character, which happens to be her natural hair color even though she is better recognized with her red hair.[23][24] Stone described her character as "a daddy's girl" who is very responsible and very protective of her family and is a lover of science. [25][26] Stone says that her character "offers Parker a world of stability, of a family unit not marred with parental loss and, beyond physical allure, the two also forge an intellectual connection over their shared love of science."[25] She explains that her character "is stuck between [her father] the Captain and Peter Parker and Spider-Man who have different ways about going about finding justice in their lives" which she felt was a fun thing to explore.[27] She felt that she had a responsibility to educate herself on Spider-Man, admitting that she did not know much about the character beyond the Raimi films and only being familiar with Bryce Dallas Howard's portrayal in the Spider-Man 3 film.[28][27] She explained, "I was so, so excited to learn about Gwen, because (I) hadn't read the comic book growing up, and my experience was with the Sam Raimi movies. . . . I always assumed that Mary Jane was his first love".[25] After her role she expressed interest in Spider-Man, the character she played and the rest of the Marvel Universe that she was going to be involved with.[28] Stone also had this to say about the fans who would be protective of Spider-Man and the character she plays: "There's a part of me that really wants to please people that love Spider-Man or Gwen Stacy and want her to be done justice. I hope they'll give me license to interpret her my way."[24]
- He is depicted as one of Oscorps leading scientific minds, he attempts to engineer a revolutionary regeneration serum to help re-grow limbs and human tissue. Unfortnately something goes horribly wrong and he is then transformed as the monster known as the Lizard.[5][7] Ifans described the character that he is playing not as an evil incarnated villain but as a flawed character much like Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde.[31] "Curt Connors is by no means an evil villain," Ifans stated. "He’s not like the Batman villains, like the Joker, who are the embodiment of evil. Curtis Connors is a great man who makes a bad decision. ... [T]hat's the whole magic of the Spider-Man idea. These people are the embodiment of our flaws and our desires that lead to tragedy."[32]Ifans described Curt as a force for good throughout his life: "He's a geneticist who wants to help people, like him, who are limbless. In his eagerness to advance that science, he makes a mistake and that's an occurrence we've seen throughout time, sometimes to our benefit, sometimes to our detriment. ...He is a broken man who wants to fix himself."[33] In a September, 2011 interview, Ifans claimed that his character spends the majority of the film as a human. While filming for the 9-foot tall Lizard, Ifans was required to wear a CGI suit. Initially, a large stunt-double was used as a stand-in for the role, but Ifans insisted on portraying the transformed character, to which Webb agreed. Commenting on the technology used to bring his character to life, Ifans continued "I had a green suit on, and then this cardboard head, and these big claws... Each and every time you see the Lizard, the technology is so advanced now that when the Lizard's eyes move, they're my eyes. If I frown or show any emotion, they're my emotions. That's how spectacularly advanced technology is."[34] Ifans also said that he voiced the Lizard as well explaining, "I'm sure the voice will be toyed with in the eventual edits, but when I was shooting the CGI moments, when I wasn't actually human, when I was Lizard, I looked like a crash-test dummy in a green leotard thing. There were many moments when I had to speak to Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone as the Lizard."[35]
- Gwen's father and a New York City Police Department captain.[36] Leary explained that he did not know much about Spider-Man in the comics explaining that he is more of a Batman guy. Not the '60s – but the really dark Batman. But he stated that his wife was a Spider-Man fan which was why he went to the Tobey Maguire ones.[37] He explained that his wife felt that Spider-Man's working class ethos, the young teenager turning into a man melodrama and his orphan back story as intriguing. As did he, once he was introduced to the series saying, "He's far from a billionaire and he’s born of this world — it’s a struggle that's easy to identify with."[38] Another thing he liked to note that before he was ever cast as George Stacy his good friend, Jeff Garlin, who happens to be a Spider-Man fan said to him, "The first time I met you, I thought you were George Stacy!"[37] Leary told the Los Angeles Times that when taking over the role of the character, Webb said that he wanted him and the rest of the cast to be ready to jump off the page and be in the moment but Leary was thinking to himself at the time "How much time are we going to have to do that on this giant action movie?" About being in that moment Leary said, "Almost every day it happened. For an actor, that's a dream."[39]
- Peter Parker's uncle.[40] Sheen admitted that he didn't know anything about Spider-Man other than watching Tobey Maguire's portrayal in Spider-Man 2. He also didn't know much about the character that he played except for knowing that Cliff Robertson previously played the part.[41] Martin Sheen described his character as being a surrogate father saying, "I'm dealing with this adolescent who is having problems with changes, with hormones changing and his getting out of hand. I have to give him the marching orders and so forth."[42]Webb said, "You think of Martin Sheen as President Bartlett. He has that sense of benevolent authority, but there's something else that's important, in terms of the dynamic that I wanted to explore, vis a vis Peter's relationship with his absent parents." He feels that unlike Peter being a scientist, Ben represents this blue collar guy which can create a little bit of gap between him and Peter. Webb felt that Martin was able to embody this blue collar guy.[43]
- Ben Parker's wife, and Peter Parker's aunt.[44][45] Webb felt that "when you cast someone like Sally, they come with a certain level of awareness and real genuine affection, which for Aunt May is an incredibly important thing to have. Webb said that "we all love Aunt May" but he wanted to create a tension between May and Peter. Webb explained that he wanted a concerned and loving character and feels that's what someone like Sally Field gives."[43]
- Irrfan Khan as Dr. Ratha[5][46]
- When originally revealed as part of the cast, the websites initially reported Khan to play the comic book character, Van Adder.[46][47] Khan described his role as a "pivotal role". Khan also said that he got his role after appearing in the drama tv series In Treatment. He said that Marc Webb has seen his work and approaching him saying he wants to work with Khan.[48][49] Khan admitted though that he wasn't really interested in the project at first but that both of his sons were excited about it and insisted that he go.[50]
- Zylka first tweeted that he was involved with the film.[51] On November 2010, he was revealed to be playing Flash Thompson, a nemesis of Peter Parker in school who picks on Parker.[52] Of playing Flash Thompson he said, "You just try to focus. As an artist or as an actor, you just try to focus and stay in that world and block it all out."[53]
Campbell Scott and Julianne Nicholson were originally reported to play Peter's parents, Richard and Mary Parker, respectively.[47] Embeth Davidtz later replaced Nicholson in the role.[54] Annie Parisse was reported to play "the villain's wife".[47] C. Thomas Howell portrays Ray, a construction worker whose son is saved by Spider-Man.[55] Hannah Marks portrays Missy Kallenback, an unpopular girl who has a crush on Peter Parker.[56] Miles Elliot portrays Billy Connors, the son of Dr. Connors.[30] Kelsey Chow has a small role as Sally Avril, a girl who goes to Peter Parker's high school.[57] Unlike the original films it was reported that J. Jonah Jameson would not appear in this film.[58] Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee has a cameo appearance, as he did in the previous films, which will involve him in an action scene and which he referred to as his "best, most unusual one yet!"[59] At the 2011 Dallas Comic Con, Lee enthusiastically talked about his cameo. He will play a librarian listening to music on his headphones while stamping books and dancing at the same time, despite the on-going fight between Spider-Man and the Lizard.[60]
[edit]Production
[edit]Development
Further information: Spider-Man in film#Spider-Man 4
Simultaneous with the cancellation of Spider-Man 4, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that the franchise would be rebooted with a new director and new cast being scheduled to be released on July 3, 2012 in 3-D and focuses on Peter Parker developing his abilities in high school.[61][62] Avi Arad, Laura Ziskin andMatt Tolmach, who were always involved with the franchise, continued on as producers of the film.[61] Sony confirmed that Zodiac writer James Vanderbilt would write the script for the new film. Entertainment Weekly called Vanderbilt's script "gritty, contemporary" and referenced Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan's reboot of the Batman film series, which also reinvented the tone of the series.[63] Alvin Sargent was then hired to fine-tune the script.[64] While in pre-productionSteve Kloves, a screenwriter who was previously involved with the Harry Potter film series and who originally turned down the role, decided to be involved with tuning up the script with Sargent since he knew both Sargent and the producer Ziskin (who died during the production of the film). He also wanted to write for Stone. Steve mostly focused on character and dialogue, concentrating on Gwen Stacy and even some of Garfield's character.[65]
Webb, whose previous film (500) Days of Summer was his directorial debut, was confirmed to direct the reboot.[66] Amy Pascal and Matt Tolmach of Sony Entertainment felt that the key for them as they looked for a new director was to identify filmmakers who could give sharp focus to Peter Parker's life and they felt that Webb was the perfect director to bring that journey.[66] Webb stated that he was first hesitant about directing the film but then he said to himself "How could I walk away from this? What an opportunity! What better cinematic character is there than Spidey!"[67] He stated that it was something he "found very appealing" and that "he couldn't let the opportunity go."[68] Webb commented on comparisons of his and Sam Raimi's work as director of a Spider-Man film: "Sam Raimi's virtuoso rendering of Spider-Man is a humbling precedent to follow and build upon. The first three films are beloved for good reason. But I think the Spider-Man mythology transcends not only generations but directors as well. I am signing on not to 'take over' from Sam. That would be impossible. Not to mention arrogant. I'm here because there's an opportunity for ideas, stories, and histories that will add a new dimension, canvas, and creative voice to Spider-Man."[66] He stated that he has a "deep and abiding respect for Sam and Tobey and all those movies that were made," but that he was "trying to achieve something different." Webb felt that it's different than Harry Potter, which has just a handful of books for his entire canon. He described it as being "more like James Bond" because he felt that "there's so much material in Spider-Man that there are so many stories to tell and so many characters."[68] He described the film as "not a remake" explaining that "we're not making Sam's movie again. It's a different universe and a different story with different characters."[69]
It was reported in April 2012 that when at the Tribeca Film Festival, Paul Feig, director of the film Bridesmaids and creator of the TV series Freaks and Geeks said that he was involved with one of the writings for the high school scenes of the film.[70]
[edit]Casting
In May 2010, The Hollywood Reporter said the actors who met with director Marc Webb to be considered for the lead role included Jamie Bell, Alden Ehrenreich, Frank Dillane, Andrew Garfield, and Josh Hutcherson,[71] and in June 2010 the Los Angeles Times reported that the shortlist had expanded to include Aaron Johnson and Anton Yelchin.[72] At least Bell, Ehrenreich, Garfield, Yelchin, Logan Lerman and Michael Angarano had screen tests.[73] On July 1, 2010, it was confirmed that the role would go to Garfield.[8] Webb stated that he felt he knew Garfield was the right guy when they were filming a scene not in the film where he was eating a cheeseburger while telling the character Gwen to calm down.[74] Sony would then hold auditions for the role of a young Peter Parker, somebody who would resemble Garfield in looks.[75] Webb said, "I think we saw the origin of Spider-Man before but not the origin of Peter Parker." Webb felt that when you try to build the film you must also build the protagonist in the ground up. That's why he wants to introduce Peter Parker as a small child.[76]
It was reported originally that the film would feature both Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy as love interests,[77] but the website The Wrap later reported that only Gwen Stacy will appear in the film.[78] In August 2010, the list of actresses to play the love interest included Imogen Poots, Ophelia Lovibond andLily Collins with Teresa Palmer, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Emma Roberts cited by The Hollywood Reporter as "potentially in the mix".[79] In September 2010, Variety reported that the shortlist had expanded to include Stone and Mia Wasikowska.[80] The shortlist was reported to then include Dianna Agron,Georgina Haig, and Dominique McElligott.[81] On October 5, 2010, it was confirmed that the role of Gwen Stacy would go to Stone.[22] Tolmach said that her on screen spark is perfect for the role. Webb also said that the chemistry between Emma and Garfield is what made her the clear choice.[22]
On October 11, 2010, Rhys Ifans was confirmed to be the unnamed villain in the film and on October 13, 2010 it was reported that Ifans will be playing Dr. Curt Connors, a.k.a. the Lizard.[29][82] The producer Avi Arad has admitted to Empire interviewers that the Lizard is his favorite Spider-Man villain and that he has always wanted to do the Lizard as the villain of the film and that it was a dream come true that he was the chosen villain.[28] Long before the villain was committed to the script, Avi already had conceptual drawings prepared for the Lizard to be the villain.[28] Webb explains why he's the best villain for the film: "He's the literal embodiment of the theme of the movie, which is we all have a missing piece. He has no arm. Peter has no parents, and he fills that void with Spider-Man.[83]
[edit]Design
When you walk out of the theater, I want the world you see to resemble what you saw on the screen. Part of the joy of cinema [is that] you make the impossible look real. I wanted it to be more grounded and more realistic and that went for the emotion of the scenes, the physical action and wardrobe. It's less based in Steve Ditko world and probably closer visually and more influenced by "Ultimate Spider-Man" but it is also very much a world of our own devising.
Marc Webb in a interview with the Los Angeles Times[84]
Webb felt a responsibility to reinvent Spider-Man on the big screen stating that he and the crew tried to keep the stunts more grounded physically which he said was a huge challenge for a film that stars a character whose abilities are superhuman.[84] Webb looked at the Mark Bagley art for the Spider-Man body and he really liked that work in The Ultimate Spider-Man.[85] One change of the franchise to reinvent the hero for the film was to go back to the original source material in the mainstream comics of Spider-Man having artificial web-shooters.[86] Webb stated, "the web-shooters were able to dramatize Peter's intellect". Webb paid attention to the question of "How would a kid make it?" And then took some license with it.[86] Webb explained that he and the crew "wanted a design that would make the body longer and more lithe, more of an acrobat, someone incredibly agile, and the legs of the spider [symbol on the chest] were something we used to emphasize that."[86] He also explained that the crew made a bunch of different suits for different lighting conditions even using something that would work in the night a little better.[86] Webb and the crew also paid attention to making the webbing on the costume a little bit darker.[86] Webb confessed, "With the costume and the web-shooters we wanted to emphasize that these are things that Peter Parker made".[86]
While Webb introduced a few elements of the film with Ultimate Spider-Man, he wanted to keep the The Amazing Spider-Man version of Gwen Stacy instead of the punk rock girl as depicted in theUltimate Spider-Man.[85]
Webb felt that there are different incarnations of The Lizard in the comic book. He felt that he should do it without the snout because he was interested more in something that could relate human emotions because he wanted to keep Rhys' performance in that creature. Webb wanted him to have emotion, have a face and have feeling.[43] That's the way I chose to do that. He stated "that in a comic book, you just put that thing up there, and you can say, oh, thought bubble, whatever. But when you try to do that and make it look real, it's a different challenge, and I'm creating a movie, I'm not creating a comic book. That was part of the design."[85]
Webb felt that he "wanted to do something that felt more contemporary, and was less based in representing panels from the comics" and focus on spirit over style.[87]
[edit]Filming
Principal photography began on December 6, 2010 in Los Angeles.[88][89] The working title of the film was dubbed Fiona's Tale.[90] The 90-day film shoot also includes two weeks in New York City, while the bulk of filming occurred in and around Los Angeles, including such locations as the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood, St. John Bosco High School's Gym, Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Mid-Wilshire, and various locations around South Pasadena, San Pedro, andWoodland Hills.[91] Sony Entertainment spokesman Steve Elzer says "this is the fourth Spider-Man production we have shot primarily in Los Angeles and for good reason, the crews here are the best in the world but there is a comfort level in producing a project of this size and scope on your own backlot." He continued, "Basing the film on the lot also makes it easier for producers to interact with Sony’s in-house visual effects team, and gives the studios greater control of quality and security."[91]
The film was the first Hollywood production to be filmed with the Red Digital Cinema Camera Company's RED Epic camera, and is being shot in 3-D at 5K resolution.[89] Cinematographer, John Schwartzman had this to say about the camera: "Today was Epic, Monday December 6 marks the first day the Red Epic camera was used to shoot a major studio motion picture. I can say for certainty the camera does exist and boy is it ready for primetime, as a matter of fact it's a true game changer."[89] Schwartzman also felt that the 3D of the film would have been more impossible without it. He said "I can tell you without these cameras it would be impossible to move a 3D rig in the ways that THIS story demands, if Jim and the crew hadn't made these cameras available to us I don't think we could have shot this movie the way our director envisioned it in 3D."[89] Webb had a chance to talk about the RED Epic cameras on Attack of the Show! saying that in order to shoot in 3D he and the crew wanted cameras small enough to fit on the rigs that he and the crew plan to use so they could swing them around as fast as they could saying that the "RED Epic cameras were the right cameras to do that." Webb continued that "you need to shoot it with a level of velocity and 3D cameras can be very large...and so we need those cameras to mount on rigs that could fly to the air and run to the streets in a certain pace. That allowed us to do it."[92]
The stunt performers of the film included the Armstrong family,[84] Vic Armstrong[93] and Andy Armstrong along with Richard Norton who plays a SWAT team member.[94][95] Andy Armstrong was the stunt coordinator while Vic Armstrong was said to be the second unit director.[92] While filming in New York the crew built a whole rig hundreds of feet long over Riverside Drive in Harlem. While there they swung a man through traffic down the street. Andy Armstrong built a car rig with a series of wires to help with effects which Webb said required an "incredible wealth of acrobatics".[95] These rigs were said to be over 200-300 feet and it took months and months of rehearsals and designing.[92] Webb said the purpose of the rigs was so they could show Spider-Man swing in a way that wasn't computer-generated.[84] Garfield was reported to be involved with some of the stunts as well. He was even being reported to have a tissue in his nose suffering anosebleed from his swinging while in in New York City.[96] Filming locations also included near East River close to the Williamsburg Bridge. Although filming was near there, a lot of the action scenes couldn't be done there. A 150 foot replica of the piece of the bridge near a tank had to be replaced for some of the action scenes in Los Angeles and then some of the tighter shots and close-ups were done on a soundstage in New York City.[87]
On April 2011, Stone revealed that the cinematography had been wrapped up and that post-production began in May although some reshooting took place in New York City in November 2011 and in Los Angeles in December 2011.[97][98][99]
According to actor and stuntman Richard Norton, the film was "a $220 million budget movie".[94]
[edit]Effects
The company 3ality Technica of Burbank, California was involved with shooting the equipment for the 3D for the film.[100][101] The film is reported to be the first to be lensed in 3D using 3ality Digital's TS-5 wireless and handheld beamsplitter mirror rig.[102] 3ality technology helped make it possible for the film not to be post-converted to 3D.[100] About 3D Webb explained that he wanted to create a new 3D experience for Spider-Man: "Because we're shooting in 3D, I wanted to conceive of certain things very specifically for 3D. There's an experimental component to 3D that's fascinating and we're experimenting with generating that point of view – so you feel what Peter Parker feels, you feel what Spider-Man feels when he's jumping over buildings and over the streets.[95] He felt that if there ever should be a 3D film it should be about Spider-Man."[103] Webb elaborated that he shot the film in stereo so it was native 3D while nothing was ever converted. Webb felt that when you get that scope, the film will gradually expand.[103] Webb stated that he and the crew "started making the movie around the time Avatar came out" which made every studio in the world want 3D. He admitted that he hadn't worked with it before and he didn't want it forced upon the movie because he has seen bad conversions and it scared him that it hasn't been used it properly. He wanted to figure out how to give the audience an experience "that's worthy of a Spider-Man film".[68] Webb also said while James Cameron liked to play 3D as depth, Webb wanted to push it a little bit further. He wanted it so that it would come out of you with films such as Creature from the Black Lagoon and House of Wax that he remembered when he was a kid as an inspiration for him to exploit that.[43]
About the creation of the Lizard, Webb explained that there was an entire staff of people dedicated to make the Lizard look lifelike. They started by thinking about a lizard's biology and how his muscles would work.[104] When shooting sequences of the Lizard, the crew actually shot an actual big human guy that was referred to as Big John, who did a lot of the interactive stuff.[43]Once the interaction of the Lizard was done, then the computer-generated lizard would replace him.[43] Ifans would do the motion capture of the Lizard with Webb feeling that he should try to incorporate his performance into The Lizard and keep Ifan's performance in that creature. Webb described that as taking enormous amount of time and tricky.[43] Webb also explained a lot of motion capture was used to the point that every moment was rendered from that input. It took a massive quantity of work just to find the nuances, the eyebrow moves, the lip curls. And when they were trying to create a character that speaks, they had to create a mouth armature and a biologically working palate that can actually create words.[85] When computer generating the Lizard, Webb wanted to create emotion within the character that are essentially computer animated just like Pixar movies which he felt does it very well.[43]
In February 2012, the film was reported to be getting a digital touch up in Vancouver by Sony Pictures Imageworks.[105]
[edit]Music
James Horner is reported to be involved with the score of the film.[4]When hearing Horner's first musical cue Webb described it as being "spectacular". Webb said he wanted to find a composer to understand both grandeur and intimacy and he felt that James was a genius at that. "I wanted to to create a score that felt massive and huge but also intimate and small." Webb told Collider at the Wondercon in Anaheim, California.[106] The score album will be released under the Sony Classical banner.[107]
[edit]Marketing
In February 2011, after the launch of the official website and the title of the film, the first official image of Garfield as Spider-Man was originally revealed in the website.[108] Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times agreed "that the suit lives up to the challenge of being different from the Sam Raimi films but not too different from the classic suit that stands as one of the great comic-book costumes ever." He was also skeptical with the introduction with the web shooters of the film feeling that it's too hard to believe that a financially strapped young man to conceive a wrist-worn device that can instantly produce a strand of synthetic webbing.[109]
A teaser trailer was leaked on the Internet and aired at San Diego's Comic-Con International in July 2011, attached to the superhero film Captain America: The First Avenger.[110] Rob Keyes of ScreenRant felt that "it takes on a noticeably different tone from that of Raimi trilogy of Spider-Man movies, and presents itself in a similar fashion to what Christopher Nolan did with Batman Begins."[111] Germain Lussier of /Film felt that the trailer makes it feel like a small film when judging with all the leaked photos of filming going on that it is going to be a big film. He commented that the trailer makes it look more like "a superhero Twilight." He states that "this is a big action movie with massive practical effects all shot in painstaking 3D with a hefty price tag. This trailer really doesn't sell that."[112] Some writers have observed that the trailer closely resembles the 2008 video game Mirror's Edge, when Spider-Man is running along the rooftops and swinging in the city in a point of view shot.[113][114][115] Once the third trailer was out Webb explained himself on the negative reaction of the point of view footage because of it being computer generated saying that he believed that he and the crew were still in production making it a very early rendering of some of the CGI that was shown in it.[43]
A "sneak peek screening" of The Amazing Spider-Man was held on February 6, 2012 in 13 cities internationally: Berlin, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, Moscow, New York City, Paris,Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Seoul, Sydney, and Tokyo.[116] On January 8, 2012, the Spider-Man logo has also appeared on some of the world's most iconic buildings such as the Sydney Opera House, the Colosseum of Rome, the Kremlin in Moscow and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.[117][118] The screening revealed a second trailer for the film screened in 3D, which thereafter appeared online. Glen Levy of Time magazine felt that with the trailer's "dialogue goes hand in hand with the action, rather than be dominated by it", and that the action scenes from the film looked "polished and slick".[119] Additionally in the special screening there was a eight and a half minute extended trailer which Webb walked the fans to.[120] When seeing the extended footage, Scott Mantz ofAccess Hollywood felt that it's edgier and more character-driven and that "the Lizard looks like a great villain".[121] Peter Sciretta of /Film said that both of the trailers had left him "impressed" and had captured a feeling of dark naturalism alongside Spider-Man's trademark wisecracking.[122] With the second official trailer and the sizzle reel Webb felt that it was important to give the audience a more specific idea of what the film would look like such as showcasing Peter and Gwen's relationship along with showcasing a lot of the visual effects just to display the attitude of the film that he and the crew were trying to create.[123] On February 7, 2012 it was reported that the latest official trailer revealed a link of the viral marketing internet site for the film.[124]
The Kellogg Company and the Keebler Company teamed up with Sony for a marketing campaign to access clips from the film.[125] Sony has launched a new augmented reality mobile application theme for the film being developed using Qualcomm's Vuforia platform. Dwight Caines Of Sony felt that the "use of augmented reality technology is a fun way of embracing the 3D aspects of the movie while nurturing the playful kid inside all of us who wants to collect items from their favorite superhero character to share with their friends and family."[126] Twizzlers has teamed up with Sony to mark the debut of the film by challenging fans nationwide to help the hero build a virtual web of Twizzlers Twists to unlock prizes and exclusive content.[127]
A third official trailer was debuted on iTunes on May 3, 2012. The trailer was attached to the 3D premiere of The Avengers, the day after.[128][129] The trailer contains with what most reporters call a better and more fleshed look of the Lizard.[130][131][128][132] Adam Chitwood of Collider said, "The webslinging has an edge to it and The Lizard has much more texture. I like Andrew Garfield a whole lot, and the biggest draw for me here is the character work between Garfield and Emma Stone. They look to have some great chemistry and Garfield brings out a dickish side of Peter Parker that we didn't really see in Sam Raimi's trilogy."[133] "Sandy Schaefer of ScreenRant felt that "the darker color palette and 3D visuals shown here look overall quite crisp, even without the benefit of the big screen."[129] Webb felt that "there's a small, intimate little indie movie at the heart of Spider-Man" and that was his access point for the trailer.[43]
In May 09, 2012 the first tv spot trailer was revealed which teased an "4 minute Super Preview" on NBC with the season premiere of America's Got Talent on May 14.[134] The super preview revealed Spider-Man saving a boy near a bridge whose dad is revealed to be played by C. Thomas Howell.[135][136] Most fans and writers applauded that scene in the extended preview the most.[137][138][139]Even Angela Watercutter of Wired felt that the footage that was shown was mostly shown before but described the unseen footage of the Spider-Man saving the kid as "pretty freaking epic."[139] Writer Luke Gallagher of Nerd Bastards.com, who mostly expressed his unapproval over the film, didn't like the look of the CGI but did enjoy the particular scene in which Spider-Man saved the kid from the burning car feeling that it captures what Spider-Man is all about.[138] Kofi Outlaw of ScreenRant felt that the biggest thing to note "is the tone and composition of the film" and that most of the footage "manages to showcase a version of Peter Parker / Spider-Man that is both familiar and fresh."[140]
First revealed at the Comic-Con was a Spider-Man and Lizard PEZ dispenser which first revealed how the Lizard was going to look like.[141] Soon after the leak of the Lizard in PEZ dispenser and a unconfirmed concept art of the Lizard, the reaction of the Lizard designs was reported to be mixed with many news writers comparing the design of the character to other fictional characters instead of looking like the character from the comic books.[142][143][144][145] Mega Brands obtained the rights to produce construction sets based on the film.[146][147] A Marvel Select action figure of the film version of Spider-Man with building wall base by Diamond Select Toys has been announced. Being the fifth Marvel Select Spider-Man figure, but the first based on a film.[148] The first look of a Hasbro action figure of the film's version of Spider-Man was revealed in Comic-Con.[149] Hasbro is also selling a radio control speed climbing figure of the character.[150] OPI Products has released a collection of The Amazing Spider-Man nail polish.[151] Trading cards have been revealed as a promotion for the film online.[152]
CKE Restaurants, parent company of Carls Jr. and Hardee's, will help sponsor the film. Brad Haley, chief marketing officer of CKE restaurants said they will even have a new burger as part of the promotion.[153]
[edit]Viral campaign
The link of the main viral marketing site was first revealed in the second trailer.[124] The official Twitter account of the same name of the website revealed a scavenger hunt by posting "Property of Peter Parker... Lost" with the longitude and latitude coordinates of direct markets in major cities in the United States. Discovered in these places was a JanSport backpack modeled as Parker's backpack which contained many items. Hidden in the backpack was a clue which pointed to a page on the viral site which then unlocked a countdown on the main website.[154] There was a countdown timer for the cities of Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Denver, Seattle and Phoenix, Arizona.[155] Once the countdown was up each of the six city's own twitter account of the marketing campaign would send out five different pick-up locations in each city. The first of who spoke a password to a particular guy stationed there would pick up a package and be tagged as an "operative" into the next phase.[156] These operatives would show their support of Spider-Man by painting the Spider-Man logo with graffiti on the particular city.[157] Those operatives then had a chance to unlock the first scene of the film where Peter goes face to face with an intimidating doorman which was leaked online. George Wales of Total Film felt that "it's not the most action-packed of sequences, but it does at least give us a chance to see Andrew Garfield’s boyish charisma in full effect, as he struggles not to lose his cool.[158] Katey Rich ofCinema Blend felt that the scene was funny and nicely placed but also felt that if Peter was as clever as his alter ego he should have been able to talk himself out of the situation.[159] Dave Trumbore of Collider compared it to Bruce Campbell's cameo scene of an obnoxious usher in Spider-Man 2 saying that the doorman "is no Bruce Campbell" but he felt that it pays homage to the Sam Raimi vision.[160]
A Daily Bugle van was parked outside near Wondercon at Anaheim. Wanted posters were then revealed there which referred Spider-Man as a "webbed menace." A site of the same name was discovered revealing Dennis Leary as George Stacy lamenting the appearance of the wall-crawler and asking on whoever spotted Spider-Man to e-mail them in a a cable channel run by The Daily Bugle. The site would then offer many of the best fan made Spider-Man scenes that were emailed.[161][162] The viral website then revealed a section which linked another viral website that pretended itself as a baggage claim of Parker's backpack with two pages that didn't appear originally. Website Superhero Hype! published a message that was decoded by alternate reality gameplayers from an internet forum, as well as a photo blog which appears to be from Peter Parker's point of view.[163][164] In that website a unlocked puzzle revealed "evolve" "through" and "engineering" which then put together revealed another website with design sketches on how to build a webshooter.[165][166][164] People who have sent images of Spider-Man on the webbed menace viral site then received a poster that sent them to a website that acts a main website of a boxing gym entitled Jerera's Boxing Gym.[167] The Boxing Gym was mentioned to be funded by Midtown Science High School which is the school Peter Parker goes to in the film. A viral website of that class is then discovered. Somebody can then enter a certain password that can be decoded on the site that shows the images of Parker's point of view on the particular image that shows a mathematical formula which is a alphanumeric code of the password. Once the password is set, Parker's class schedule is recovered. A key word is used at the end of a sentence which lead to a site that reveals a picture of Parker with his parents. Also the Midtown High School site revealed a twitter user tracking down the Lizard and wanted people in Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Austin, Tampa, Minneapolis and New Orleans to stay tuned for details.[168][169] The twitter account revealed that hashtags would then appear on May 11, 2012 to reveal the planned event. Meanwhile a viral site for Oscorp industries was then discovered.[170] The Twitter account that coordinated a nationwide effort to track sightings of the Lizard revealed coordinates that led players to locations where packages were discovered that contained Connor's shredded labcoat, an Oscorp ID badge and scientific samples of reptilian skin. When unscrambling the letters listed on each sample, the words "animal dynamics lab" lead players to a new Oscorp Industries site focusing on a science program that focuses on reptile genetics. The site depicts Doctor Connors looking for interns and that the application process appears set to begin on Monday, May 14. [171] In this site, a key word "Mutagen" was used to unveil another site on the Oscorp Industries website. This part of the site revealed a featurette of the Lizard.[172] The application process with Doctor Connors looking for interns was revealed to be a game that players are required to match colored portions of elements in order to form a string between two molecules to unlock the already revealed Lizard featurette.[173]
Oliver Lyttleton of indieWire felt that that viral ads such as the webbed menace website seemed a little forced and that Sony is cribbing heavily from the example set by The Dark Knight with viral games.[174] Silas Lesnick of SuperheroHype described the film viral as "proving to be one of the most comprehensive film virals to date".[168]
[edit]Video game
Main article: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012 video game)
A video game based on the film was first announced at the 2011 New York Comic Con. The game is being developed by Beenox, the development team behind the previous two Spider-Mangames, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Spider-Man: Edge of Time. During New York Comic Con a producer at Activision, Doug Header stated that the game will take place after the events of the movie.[175][176] Header realizing his mixed reviews with his last video game, promising that the video game will find a different fate, thanks to its lengthy development time.[176] It is being developed by Gerard Lehiany, the creative director of Beenox.[176] Characters such as Rhino, Iguana and Black Cat appear as antagonists in the game.[177][178][179] The game is set after the film, with a plot that involves an Oscorp executive, with the help of Michael Morbius accessing the research of Dr. Curt Connors (aka the Lizard) to create more cross-species experiments.[178]
Dee Brown of Beenox felt that the film was an inspiration of the development of the video game on how the creators wanted it to turn out. "The fact that our game is based on the movie, and the movie is re-approaching the universe in a completely different way — a more grounded, more realistic approach — gives us an incredible setting to play with".[180]
The first virtual world screenshot of the game was revealed in January 2012.[181] The first concept artwork of the game was released on November 2011 while on December 2011 the first world premiere trailer debuted during the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards.[182][183] The game is planned to be released on June 26, 2012 in Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, personal computer, Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS.[176][178][184]
