Age of The Nerd
During a keynote speech at South by Southwest, the director of the The Amazing Spiderman and the upcoming sequel addressed the concerns that there were too many villains in the film.
‘We’re obviously familiar with the complaints people had. We’re very careful to make sure the stories intertwine. For Peter Parker, it’s very important that you create obstacles that are difficult to overcome. It’s about writing. We’re aware of those movies and the complaints people had. The main villain is Electro. Every other villain emerges around that. We were careful to make sure the stories entertained. You had to make sure to create obstacles that were difficult to overcome. We wanted to make the physical and emotional obstacles difficult. Rhino is in it for four minutes so it’s a legitimate comparison, but when you see the movie, I’m confident.”
To that end, Webb revealed that the Rhino is only in the movie for approximately four minutes. So while a lot of villains may appear in ‘ASM2,’ it might only be quick cameos to set them up for other movies (Sinister 6!).
Webb still can’t believe he got the ‘Spider-Man’ gig to begin with, and he had to wrestle with the decision initially.
“It was the stupidest idea I had ever heard. [Sony chief] Amy Pascal brought it up to me and I thought it was crazy! But of course I was a Spider-Man fan, but more of Peter Parker. It was a tricky time. I had just finished ‘500 Days of Summer.’ I didn’t know what to do next. And those movies, which are really sacred to people, weren’t that old. They gave me a script I didn’t like. And Amy said, “You can’t turn down Spider-Man.” And she was right. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. But to build that up, it was an adventure. Not only being a fan of Spider-Man is one thing but I was really curious about the process and work with people who were up-and-coming like Andrew Garfield but also Sally Field. The opportunities were extraordinary. I’d wake up every day and think about what I’d done right in a past life.”
What Webb had to say about flaw in the first film, looking back on “The Amazing Spider-Man” and what he could have improved.
“In the first movie I was a little too reserved with the CGI, quite frankly, because I didn’t want it to look too weird or awkward. There was a moment deep in the production process where a giant lizard smashes through a wall and I was like, ‘This is not grounded.’ And I made a decision that in the next movie I would embrace the spectacle and not be beholden to smallness. Not to reject the emotional stuff but I wanted it to be big and express and command that feeling you had as a kid reading the comics—that color and that bravado. I think in the second movie we’ve really maintained the grounded, emotional texture and combined it with spectacle.”
What Webb had to say about the amazing cast of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.”
“You see the call sheet in the morning and it’s crazy. It’s so much fun. You get to work with these actors who really enjoy what they do. It’s a really wonderful environment to make a film in because these are actors who are operating at exceptional talent. The reason I cast Paul Giamattiwas that I saw him on Conan O’Brien saying that he wanted to play the Rhino. And I said, ‘Oh what a great idea!’ And of course Jamie Foxx is so brilliant and you know him from these incredible dramatic roles but he has this huge capacity for comedy and inventing characters.”
