StudioADI (Amalgamated Dynamics) has been kind enough to send us their latest behind-the-scenes video. It's filled with rare photos, that showcase the practical effects that were used in the final battle between Spidey and the Green Goblin for Sam Raimi's
Spider-Man (2002).
What I always enjoyed about this confrontation, is that it's based on comic book, "The Amazing Spider-Man" issue #122. Which is more commonly referred to as "The Goblin's Last Stand!" which is a continuation of "The Night Gwen Stacy Died." As we all know, Gwen wasn't in the film, so Mary Jane Watson (Kristen Dunst) took on the duties of the damsel in distress, hung and dropped from a bridge. While MJ did survive, Spidey still heads after the Green Goblin with a new found rage and unleashes his anger upon his nemesis. Now, go check out the video below. Godspeed, Spider-Man!
Fun Facts:
Once he received the role, Dafoe asked that he be allowed to perform his own stunts so that the character and movements would feel authentic, or else the audience would notice the difference. He performed about 95% of his own stunts, and unlike many of the stunt crew, learned how to handle the Goblin Glider after just 15 minutes.
During the fight between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man near the end of the movie, Willem Dafoe accidentally clipped Tobey Maguire on the chin with one blow.
Color costume considerations meant that Spider-Man was shot in front of a green screen, while the Green Goblin was shot in front of a blue one.
In the final battle between Spider-Man and the Goblin, the CGI artists had to change the color of the blood pouring from Spider-Man's mouth to a clear liquid, indicating spit. This was to ensure a PG rating. - IMDB
Spider-Man (2002) was directed by Sam Raimi ("Oz: The Great and Powerful"), from a script written by David Koepp. The cast included: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, and Rosemary Harris. The film had a budget of $140 million, and earned $821 million at the worldwide box office.
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If you're anything like me, you have a deep appreciation for practical effects more so than computer-generated effects. Just imagine how much different, and quite frankly inferior Steven Spielberg's
Jaws or John Carpenter's
The Thing would be if they were made today with Hollywood's obsession with digital.
Heck, for a fair comparison all you have to do is look back at the 2011's
The Thing, which is basically a beat-for-beat remake of Carpenter's classic, but sold to moviegoers under the guise of being a prequel. Producers of that film replaced most of the amazing practical effects that were created by
Amalgamated Dynamics for digital, which I and many others believe played a huge role in the film under-performing at the box office. ADI reached out to fans and let them have a taste of what they missed out on by posting videos on their YouTube channel, which you can view by
clicking here
Which brings me to an exciting new Kickstarter project that is being lead by Amalgamated Dynamics Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis. Their plan is to create a full-length sci-fi/horror creature feature, in the vein of Alien and The Thing. And the best part? They will ONLY use PRACTICAL ANIMATRONICS and MAKEUP EFFECTS.. Check out their pitch below.
(Click Here For Their Kickstarter Page)
HARBINGER DOWN, a film that has been written, and will be directed by Alec Gillis (ADI), and produced by Tom Woodruff, Jr. (ADI).
The Plot - A group of grad students have booked passage on the fishing trawler Harbinger to study the effects of global warming on a pod of Orcas in the Bering Sea. When the ship's crew dredges up a recently thawed piece of old Soviet space wreckage, things get downright deadly. It seems that the Russians experimented with tardigrades, tiny resilient animals able to withstand the extremes of space radiation. The creatures survived, but not without mutation. Now the crew is exposed to aggressively mutating organisms. And after being locked in ice for 3 decades, the creatures aren't about to give up the warmth of human companionship.
HARBINGER DOWN is looking to raise $350,000 by Friday, June 7th
ADI Concept Art by Paul Komoda