EXCLUSIVE: Video Interview With Marc Webb; The Director Of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

Back on June 18th, I was lucky enough to visit the Soho Hotel in London to talk to Marc Webb about directing The Amazing Spider-Man. Using a combination of my own questions and a few submitted by some of my followers on Twitter [@Josh_Wilding], I talked to the director about everything from the Green Goblin to deleted scenes and the absence of J. Jonah Jameson and The Daily Bugle in this film. Check out the interview below and be sure to click HERE to read my 4* review of the film. We're also still offering UK fans the chance to win a poster for the movie signed by Marc, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans and producer Matt Tolmach, so click HERE for details on that. Many thanks to Rachel Masuku for setting up the interview.

Norman Osborn is mentioned a few times in the movie. Should we expect to see him actually appear in the sequel?

I wanted to create a world that had nods and acknowledgments of the greater Spider-Man universe which we are all of course fans of. But I think you should expect to see a little bit more of Norman Osborn in future.

If you do bring the Green Goblin in, will it be the classic version in the costume or the Ultimate version?

Well, [Laughs] you're a little ahead of me! You know, I think we've got to finish with this one first.

So, are you going to be back for the sequel?

We'll see. I just want to finish this movie and then clear it out of my system and then make plans for the future.

As for deleted scenes, I noticed that there were a few scenes in the trailers and TV spots that didn't make it into the film, so do have any idea how much we should expect when it comes to the Blu-ray?

There'll be, I think, three or four deleted scenes probably. There was a scene that I really liked, there were a lot of scenes that I really liked, but I wanted the movie to have a certain pace so, you know, if it's not absolutely necessary, I didn't want to indulge myself too much. So, there'll be a few deleted scenes on the DVD.

What was it like for you to go from something like (500) Days of Summer, obviously a much smaller film, to working with motion capture and 3D?

Listen, I like technical stuff; I like tinkering, I like working with people who have a technical nature and that was a really fun and exciting part of it. But really, at the end of the day, the access point for me was the characters. And I think Peter Parker, as we all know, I think one of the reasons that we all like Spider-Man - I'm assuming you like Spider-Man?

Yeah, as long as I can remember...

Yeah, he's relatable! He's just this kid like any other kid and I wanted to build the movie on a foundation of simple human relationships and the small little intimate details that happen between people. And in the first part of the movie there's a lot of that. Particularly in the first half of the movie. That's really quite similar to the emotional texture of (500) Days of Summer. Obviously there's a lot more action and a little bit more craziness. We didn't have a Lizard in my last movie but that was what my access point was and what made it intuitive to do.

I saw a recent interview where you said Mark Bagley inspired a lot of the poses, because throughout the film there's obviously a lot of iconic looking poses, and I was wondering if there were any other artists you looked at?

Well, Ditko obviously. Romita. I just picked and chose from different comics, but the Bagley art is...there was something alive about that body type that I think was really interesting and I wanted to use as as inspiration.

Quite a lot of people will be curious because The Daily Bugle and J. Jonah Jameson weren't in this film, so again, is that something you would think down the road of bringing in?

I would think so. You know, J.K. Simmons played such an iconic version of that. So boisterous, it would be hard to replace that right off the bat. I think that we didn't have enough real estate in the story to get that. But he is a fascinating character and obviously crucial.

Humour played a big part in this film and was that another important aspect for to include?

Again, one of my favourite things from the comics was the wisecracks and the quips and I wanted to make sure that that came from an organic place. To me, the movie starts off with Peter Parker getting left behind by his parents and that creates a certain kind of character dynamic. He's got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. And I liked that. That's where the sarcasm comes from. He's a little bit distrustful of the universe and when he puts on the mask, he gets a little more courage to have that biting wit. So that was something that I thought was exciting and new and totally in the DNA of Spider-Man.

For our readers who are obviously looking forward to the film, what would you say to them if you had to sell the film to them?

I would say try to see it in IMAX 3D because that's the way it was designed. I think it has the best Stan Lee cameo in a Spider-Man movie, maybe any Marvel movie. I'm just saying! I hope they enjoy it. I mean, I'm really excited to get it out in the world after working on it for so long.

Well, good luck. I'm sure it's going to be a hit because it's absolutely fantastic.

Thank you man.

I really enjoyed it - it's the perfect Spider-Man film!

Oh good, that's awesome to hear! [Laughs]

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The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors (Ifans), his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

STARRING:

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy
Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors/The Lizard
Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben
Sally Fields as Aunt May
Denis Leary as George Stacy

RELEASE DATE: July 3rd, 2012.