Avi Arad
Avi Arad on Spider-Man 3's Novelization
"I happen to think that it is a concern," he said. "It’s been this long tradition that we all here try to break. It’s a shame because well, you saw the movie now, so there are twists and turns and we all worked very hard to create some mystery so by the time you get to the movie house, there’s something new, something fresh. The licensing business the way it is have these axioms that you have to release things six, eight weeks before. If it was up to me and just speaking for myself here, not for the studio or the company or Marvel, I would hold it back. I don’t think it’s a big enough business to warrant giving away the freshness of the movie."
And with all due respect to author Peter Davis, can he really capture the magic like screenwriter Alvin Sargent? "I think the success of movie like that, this kind of genre, is if you can create an incredible character story that almost works without the effects, without the costumes, without the metaphors, and if that part of the movie works, the rest is bonus and you have this amazing event, an epic roller coaster, super entertainment. In order to get there, you need writers that totally get to the human soul. All that Sam is really interested at this stage of his life is looking inside the actors. I think he knows exactly what he is looking for but then someone has to write it. Fortunately for us, Alvin Sargent is probably the best possessor of eyes for the soul and he can write it. And therefore you hear in the Spider-Man movies language that is reserved for more of the art house kind of relationship movies. That’s what elevates it."
In one scene, Peter Parker tells Aunt May of the death of Uncle Ben's killer. He expects it to bring her joy but instead they share a more complicated emotional moment. "Most movies will say, 'Well, someone killed him and I thought you wanted him dead.' When it’s written by an Alvin Sargent, it just makes a different moment out of it. And lucky for us, between the director, the production team and Sony, the level, the quality we demand of ourselves brings in the kind of writer that can work with us. One should know that Alvin worked on the movie every day. It wasn’t like we had the script and he went to sleep. Literally every day through post, so we always were looking for the kind of dialogue that elevates the movie dramatically, the love affair, the innuendos. That’s what he does best than anybody alive."
Ultimately, Spider-Man fans have both Arad and Sargent to thank for the inclusion of Venom in the film. Raimi was resistant to the popular villain. "That’s what I was telling you about Alvin’s story. Venom is a later character. Sam is an earlier Spider-Man fan so he really wasn’t familiar with Eddie Brock. The ying and yang, the other side of Peter, which is exactly what this movie’s about, we’ve all got a dark side and how does it manifest? For me it was always interesting that Peter Parker had the kind of soul that when he had the powers, he became a hero. Some of us with the same powers would have been the biggest cat burglars ever lived and made a great living. So it was, I think for a while, he needed to understand it. Then once he read it, he embraced it and delivered a terrific character."
Spider-Man 3 opens to theatres on May 4th.
For the trailers, posters, stills, clips and additional movie info, go to the Spider-Man 3 Movie Page.
Stay tuned for updates.
|
Add to Heffee!
