Columbia Pictures brings to the screen The Amazing Spider-Man 2™ after launching a new chapter in the hero’s story in 2012 with The Amazing Spider-Man™, a global blockbuster that went on to take in over $750 million at the worldwide box office.
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| Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures |
Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Colm Feore, with Paul Giamatti and Sally Field, the film is directed by Marc Webb and Produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach. Screenplay by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinkner. Screen Story by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinkner and James Vanderbilt. Based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
“We wanted this film to be more playful, more fun,” says director Marc Webb, who returns to the helm. Capturing Peter Parker’s natural wit – especially as Spider-Man – was one of the keys to the film that Webb wanted to make. “You look at the comic books and you see it – his quips, his funniness, his lighthearted qualities. That’s part of what so many people love about Spider-Man – and certainly what I love about him.”
But it’s not all fun and games for Peter. His vow to keep his fellow New Yorkers safe will lead him right into the heart of the most powerful and important company in New York: Oscorp. The company that once employed Peter’s father and played a role in his parents’ disappearance now seems to be behind new enemies that are emerging, all of whom have advanced technology and powers. “The stakes have never been higher for both Spider-Man and Peter than they are in this movie,” says producer Matt Tolmach. “Spider-Man, because he is facing enemies that have joined forces against him – all with some connection to Oscorp – and Peter, because the choices he makes and the promises he tries to keep have real consequences.”
“In this Spider-Man film, it’s clear that Spider-Man loves being Spider-Man,” says producer Avi Arad. “As in all Spider-Man movies, being a hero clashes with Peter Parker’s everyday life and wishes. A major villain emerges and it is Oscorp. His life, his father’s life, Harry’s life and all the villains emanate from this tower of evil. The stakes are higher as Peter finds himself up against an institution that is all-powerful.”
“Oscorp was built for a single purpose – to preserve Norman Osborn’s life,” says Webb. “He has a terrible disease, and the wealth of the company has been used to create the company’s Special Projects division – crazy solutions to a very simple problem. But Norman Osborn is not an ethical man, and in Special Projects there exist a lot of hidden, dark, nasty things that the rest of us do not want to see unleashed on the world.”
When it comes to Electro and the Green Goblin – two of the enemies that Spider-Man will take on – not only do the villains have different motivations for taking on the wall-crawler, but in some ways, they consider themselves fighting a different enemy. “You’ve got two guys, one who hates Spider-Man, and one who hates Peter Parker,” says one of the screenwriters, Alex Kurtzman. “They want to kill the same person, but for different reasons. That’s why the two of them team up – they are driven by their emotions.”
For Webb and his fellow filmmakers, it was important to keep in mind that even as Spider-Man takes on these villains, it is the boy behind the mask that makes Spider-Man who he is. “As Spider-Man, Peter thrives on fighting crime, trouncing bullies and swinging from the high rises of New York – but as Peter Parker his challenges are more familiar,” Webb continues. “Peter is just a kid who loves a girl. And when Gwen gets an opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream, Peter has to confront a difficult truth that we all understand: that sometimes the most difficult part of loving someone means letting them go.”
Part of the reason the Gwen Stacy story was so interesting to the filmmakers was that it marked a turning point in comic book history. The chance to go back to the comic books, to present that story on the big screen in an emotionally honest way, was very appealing. “The Spider-Man movies have paid cinematic reference to this story before, but we wanted to pay homage to it in a different way,” says Webb. “We’re taking some cinematic liberties, but we’re going back to the comic books for our inspiration. Amazing Spider-Man #121 is one of the most profound issues in the canon – profound in the way it affects Peter Parker. Gwen’s fate directly derives from the choices of the hero. It’s the story that allowed comic books to take a more complex turn, and from that, we were able to give the movie a tone that is Shakespearean or operatic.”
The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is distributed in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and 2D formats by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.
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