Hey folks, Harry here! Well today with have a variety of different scoop types. From Smilin Jack Ruby's site you can hear his descriptions of how things went down at the arena, but... he also has pictures that Popcorn.Co.Uk has up at their site as well.... In edition to that, our faithful H.G. Wells and mysteriously lovely M.J. have sent in this report which gives us the truth about those pictures that SONY released... or at least Tobey Maguire's version of the truth.
H.G. Wells telling you it was a pretty slow day according to M.J.'s journal. I only talked with her briefly, as she was on her way out with her boyfriend (while I'm stuck at home... single!). Only a couple things of note:
She DID manage to speak to Tobey Maguire who had a few things to say. He told her (and she agrees) that the real star of the movie is Christopher Daniels, the young stuntman who portrays Spidey in every shot but close ups. Tobey mentioned that Chris is actually the guy in the suit in the Entertainment Weekly picture shoot.
Some crazed fans rushed down to get Tobey's autograph and one of them fell nearly smooshing Sam Raimi. Tobey signed their stuff, and M.J. asked him "is this what happened on the set of The Ice Storm?" and Tobey replied "Actually, some girls thought I was Elijah Wood, so I signed the photo the had of him as Elijah!" M.J. laughed and sat down behind the monitors.
Along the lines of Christopher Daniels... she said that watching him vs. Tobey is like comparing Ang Lee to Antoine Fuqua (my comparison). Her opinion is that Tobey should play Peter Parker and Chris should play Spidey FULL TIME. I pointed out that if his face is visible in this "homemade costume" of his, then they have to have Tobey. Her reply- "COVER HIS FACE. CHRIS IS SPIDERMAN. PERIOD. THIS IS THE LIVING BREATHING CHARACTER. TOBEY, SADLY, IS NOT" I maintain more hope than M.J., as she didn't have anything in her notes about dialogue. I'm sure Spidey's wit and charm will come out with a talented actor like Tobey, so I still have faith. Let's just hope the script measures up!
H.G. Wells out
Alright, so you've checked out the photos that Popcorn had... but those are fairly static and non dramatic.... What we are hearing in the descriptions we've had these last couple of days tells us that things have been... fairly action packed in the ring.... Well, the dear Mr Yolk decided to play Steve Ditko and sketched up the following 'court-side' drawings for our perusal...
i was at the spiderman filming on thursday...here are some sketches I did while watching.
mr. yolk
Hey folks, Harry here again, now the next spy report comes from an employee of the film shooting in the studio next door to SPIDER-MAN... which I guess depending in which direction, that'd mean either PLANET OF THE APES or ZOOLANDER (I think). I do have to admit, the idea of extras from the Spider-Man set taking leaks in urinals with Apes extras in costume... well it tickles me something fierce! Here ya go....
Harry-
I work on the Sony lot. Call me "The Lawgiver." I cannot tell you anything about the production I am working on, but I can tell you about the film shooting next door.
As you know, there are no real secrets on a studio lot, and the word got out about Spider-Man very quickly. Mainly because it presented security issues due to the lack of controls placed on the backround performers - however many thousand of them there were. During our lunch break yesterday, I simply walked right on the so-called "Top Secret" set. So here's what's really going on around the set of Spider-Man.
In the same soundstage as the New York Wrestling League Arena is a four-story facade, duplicating the top of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. A large chunk of it is on a hinge as it is blown off in the film, but pulled back up by Spider-Man. There's a greenscreen border around the top rim. They've set up the crafty tables in here, so you've probably heard a lot about this from extras going to get chips and snacks. Most of them seen to think it's part of a government building or Grand Central Station. I have to admit I thought the same thing at first.
A nearby soundstage - off-limits to the extras - has a large side portion of the Brooklyn bridge in it. Directly behind it is a dark warehouse with lots of girders and beams that is where Spider-Man corners his Uncle's killer. Within the same area is a large laboratory installation that resembles a supervillain hideout of some kind. Not a science lab like in a university, but more like something out of a cartoon, with angled walls and such. I am not aware of the specifics behind this, but from what I gather this is related to the green goblin. Though it was off limits, word was that several high school kids were picked up from here yesterday or the day before and ejected from the lot.
The lot was crawling with extras yesterday as the production employed the populations of no less than three area high schools. North Hollywood kids were plucked out of soundstages all across the lot and ejected from the studio, prompting an increase in the almost-nil security around the Spider-Man stage.
Adding to the mix is our film shooting right next door. Several times during the day several of our apes were found mingling with Spider-Man extras headed for the bathroom. I can only imagine the looks on the teenager's faces when they realize they're at a urinal next to three chimps and a gorilla!
Until Next Time, True Believer.
THE LAWGIVER
