Hey Folks, Harry here and.... I just can't get over the idea that this movie actually exists and is filming. Ok, like the other day... we ran the pictures of the DAILY BUGLE delivery trucks... many of you questioned the inherent level of coolness of this... Folks... If you are a Spidey fan, the idea that DAILY BUGLE delivery trucks are running around... well it could very well mean that there are issues of the DAILY BUGLE inside... And if those trucks are carrying Daily Bugle's then they have photos by Peter Parker, Editorials by J Jonah Jameson and the world of Spider-Man is crossing into ours. These trucks are no longer the ink and dye of the 4-color world, but the real... real as that car outside of you house real... reality. Well this report isn't about the trucks, but an issue of the Daily Bugle.... It's about the costume on set, Mary Jane in the rain... and J. Jonah Jameson's antics... Read on, and if this doesn't strike a tremor of coolness down your spine, then I truly weep... It is simply super cool to me...
Hey, Harry, for the sake of this last minute news item let's call this ink-stained newshound "Ben Urich". And how's this for a headline?
SPIDER-MAN, GREEN GOBLIN TERRORIZE BUGLE!
Well, they weren't filming this at all. Sorry, it's a cheap reporter's trick. HOWEVER, this was the headline gracing several mocked up copies of The Daily Bugle that the props guys were trucking by my greedy eye. Along with a sub-head which read:
Editor-in-chief Braves Attack
And yes, there on the front page was an inset photo of none other than JJJ. Rest easy, spider fans, 'cuz no detail seems to be escaping Raimi & Co - Mr. JK Simmons has hair. THE hair! A bristly buzz cut along with a perfect smudge of moustache! It was farking J. Jonah Jameson! Ahhhh, yes. And, just as he had in many of Spidey's early adventures, he seems intent on turning all the news focus onto himself. Just looking at that paper, I felt I had walked into a flesh-and-blood Ditko panel circa 1964. I resisted the urge to snatch a copy (no thief, I) and took in the scene (not too hard to do when you're one of the only "background" grunts who gives a flyin' flip that you're an extra in the FRICKIN' SPIDERMAN MOVIE!!).
Since my esteemed colleague, Sallah, did such a fine job reporting on last night's activities, I'll only add a couple of details he may have missed. Thursday night involved a couple of stunt-Spideys breaking up an armored car robbery (very nice springing-fighting combos being done - Spidey will definitely move the way we've always thought he should). But the first unit stuff was being done around the corner. In an alley off of the New York street, Sam Raimi was directing Kirsten Dunst through a mugging under a storm of very amazing (very hard) rain from a bank of sprayers on cranes forty feet over the set. So - yes - I got to see MJ as well! (Let's face it, tigers, I hit the jackpot!)
She looks great. Even wet. The redhead wig looks fine and they have her decked out in some retro-ish, 70s-ish duds. And, don't worry, Spidey does in fact save the day. (Saw a little bit of the stunt coordination for this, but not the actual filming, we only get one dinner break after all.)
What we shot tonight (supposedly our last night on this lot, though there seemed to be some question): a scene of Peter and Mary Jane having a (post-date? night out? - they had me stationed too far away to hear any dialogue) talk in the street as the cars - and Daily Bugle van - rolled by. Tobey was here too, obviously, and seems right at home in this part. It was clear, even from a distance, that there's some very natural chemistry between these two young actors. Sam Raimi wore a relaxed (though tired - we've been going all night the past few days) grin through every take, only occasionally hopping from the monitor to offer a note or two. I did get the impression that this scene happens directly before MJ is mugged.
Lastly, I may as well offer impressions of the suit (having made it my duty to sidle up as close to the two stunt Spideys as often as possible). It rocks. It's two-layered, with a very thin, sculpted muscle suit (a la Batman) underneath the Spidey suit. The colors are muted a bit, but come to life under the lights. The webbing is a masterstroke. Having it raised off the costume lets it become visible in deep shadow as light catches it. And the mask is a three(!)-layered deal, closer to a helmet (though it looks comic-perfect on the outside). A tight ski-mask, then a plastic face-plate that gives the mask its signature shape, then the mask on top. The eye-pieces pop in and stand out from the mask slightly. At this point they're tinted just like sunglasses, but do smear whitish when reflecting light. I'm sorry, guys, but this is as accurate as anybody could ever get. It's perfect. These stunt guys are walking around looking like action figures - small, acrobatic, perfect physique matches for our friendly neighborhood wallcrawler.
In short, I'm happy. I have no complaints. Well, the craft service soup WAS kind of nasty.
Sorry if I rambled on a bit, but I figured folks might like a walk through the inside (as limited a view as I got). My last thoughts? It's going to rock. There's just no way around it. Now, if only I could get a line in it, hmmm.
Urich out.
