Techtite's Hardcopy: Book Reviews

"...my favorite anecdote was the one about the kissing scene between Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten) and an upside-down Spider-Man...'One thing I always thought was funny,' says Kirsten, 'is what if Mary Jane pulled down Spider-Man's mask and he was some kind of weird old creepy dude?' "

---from the review

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Also reviewed: Spider-Man (the film). 

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It is no doubt to any fan of the comic books, that Spider-Man as a theatrical, live-action film was a long time in coming. Not only was something as simple as Peter Parker's "spidey sense" difficult to convey on film, though there was also his swining several hundred feet in the air by a single thread of spider web, not to mention his webbing powers in general, and even his wall-crawling abilities. "How did they do that?" is a question with good enough strength to purchase this book. However, the whole political back story behind the film makes it an even more fascinating read than you'd expect.

Behind the Mask of Spider-Man: The Secrets of The Movie is 224 pages worth of every facet of the film, from initial conception to final product. Everything is covered here: the hurdles that resulted during Marvel comics' bankruptcy, to the initial vision of then-hired-director James Cameron. This is more than one of those typical Star Wars "art books," where the majority of what is shown is from the final film. This is a walk down storyboard lane, where (or so one would assume) nearly every sketch not thrown into the trash is offered for your viewing pleasure.

Wisely, this is not a mere scrapbook collection of photos, either. The whole torrid story of the Spider-film dream is preserved here, complete with anecdotes from the film's stars like Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and Willem Dafoe. One of Tobey's anecdotes includes how he was asked at the eleventh hour to fly overnight to where Kirsten was filming a different movie, just so they could audition her in the available time (which was wearing thin; it was weeks prior to shooting, and they had yet to cast Mary Jane!). Speaking of Mary Jane, my favorite anecdote was the one about the kissing scene between Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten) and an upside-down Spider-Man (who was actually Tobey, hanging upside-down for that scene!). In that scene, Mary Jane flirtatiously pulls Spidey's mask halfway down to kiss him on the lips, though respects him enough to not reveal his secret identity by pulling off the whole mask. "One thing I always thought was funny," says Kirsten, "is what if Mary Jane pulled down Spider-Man's mask and he was some kind of weird old creepy dude?"

Such behind the scenes info is divided into three parts, basically referring to the three acts of the film: Spidey's "birth," the entrance of The Green Goblin, and their battles near the end of the film. These are also used to allude to the film's own battles in the initial concept stages, of getting the go-ahead to film at all, plus the challenges of bringing both hero and villain to life as human characters. See why they used a real spider (yes, a real spider!) to fall by its own web, onto Tobey's own hand. See why they opted not to have a more articulate, animated mask for The Green Goblin, and made his mask inanimate instead. If such information interests you, this is the book for you.

Of particular interest, though, are the scenes that never were; concepts that were either scrapped for lack of continuity, or maybe just because of a lack in funds. Did you know that Doctor Octopus was also supposed to be in this film, yet his role was scrapped due to limited budget? This is perhaps the first time I've heard of budget helping a film; just think how much the engrossing M.J., Peter Parker, and Green Goblin scenes would have to have been edited, to make room for one additional "back-story." However, it's amusing to see the early storyboard sketches of Soctor Octopus, which no doubt will be used in some fashion for the inevitable sequels. 

Not much to gripe about this book; after all, if you're interested in this type of subject matter, there is no stone left unturned here. Sure, there are more moving books to enjoy, though that is no reason to complain about this book. Simply put, if this is the type of book you like, then you will love this Behind-ths-cenes guide. As someone who's seen a lot of such "guides," that is indeed saying a lot.