Sam Raimi is such an in-your-face filmmaker, I can never get over seeing the mild mannered shy guy in a business suit every time I interview him. He sort of squeaks out his answers, saving the visceral displays for the screen. Spider-Man 3 is another signature Raimi movie. Spidey does some double wrested John Woo webslinging, Venom snarls in shocking close-ups and we even see Peter Parker's dark side in a shocking display of strutting and dancing. He can never shake that Evil Dead sense of humor either, but we wouldn't have it any other way.
CraveOnline: Was anything easier about coming back to direct Spider Man the third time around?
Sam Raimi: The easiest thing was that the team was the same. Not just the producers who I became very familiar with, but I had the same production designer, the editor was the same, the animators were the same. They had learned how to move Spider Man with great grace and they had learned from a lot of their mistakes. So it was definitely easier because of the shorthand of communication. But, also we had all learned a lot of lessons so we could make new mistakes and we didn’t have to repeat the same ones. But, also working with the actors was the biggest advantage of the third picture, because what we’re always after in scenes is to try to find a moment that will reverberate with the audience. However melodramatic the drama may be, there has to be truth in the actor’s performance. So because I met Tobey and Kirsten seven years ago and we worked on the first picture as professional people, but than our friendship deepened on the second picture and I had a much great degree in trust in them. I think they trusted me perhaps more and we weren’t afraid of hurting each other’s feelings, weren’t afraid of saying, "I don’t know what you’re talking about." Sometimes when you talk about emotions, words sometimes come up short when you’re trying to describe a feeling you have or a feeling that you’re lacking from an actor. The depth of our friendship and just our closeness of our working relationship really enabled us to attempt to get at the truthful moments to a greater degree. I’m not saying that we were always successful because we weren’t. We often missed them, but at least we were really close in our relationship so that we could really speak honestly with each other about what we felt was lacking and what we felt we needed.
CraveOnline: Has the anti-organic web shooter contingent finally let it slide and cut you some slack?
Sam Raimi: I don’t know. Maybe not because I think what you’re referring to is in the Spider Man comic book written by Stan Lee. He had a mechanical web shooter and there was a great objection against the fans online that I was destroying their character. But, I love Spider Man too, I mean also. What I was trying to do was take James Cameron idea which was actually in a story that he had written that idea and I thought that’s a great idea of his because it makes the great spirit of what Stan Lee did that’s so unique is Peter Parker is a regular guy. He’s one of us and he’s a hero that we can identify with who has all the common thoughts and mishaps of any of us. So the fact that he was a mechanical engineer and could create this special substance and special gadget, I felt it was better to ignore in an attempt to be truer to the spirit of the character that Stan Lee had created verses an attempt to be truer to the specifics of every detail that he created. So that was my goal. But, these people are very upset with me. They probably still are and I’m definitely won’t say that they aren’t because they’ll even be madder.
CraveOnline: So what was the challenge of coming up with this story, incorporating three villains and two romances?
Sam Raimi: Well, this time the story was pretty much set up by the first two pictures. What wasn’t set up by the first two pictures was really influenced greatly from all the great writers and artists of the Marvel comic books of the first 45 years. It was more about sorting through the material and trying to figure out how best to conclude these story lines and where next our character Peter Parker had to grow to as a human being.
Sam Raimi: They came about in different ways. Here’s what we did. We first decided to approach the problem like this. Where’s Peter Parker again in the second picture as a human being? He’s a kid in all these stories. They’re kind of coming of age stories and he learns aspects of growing up. Different life lessons in each of these films and often times, the comic books. So my brother [Ivan] and I spoke for quite some time and we felt that the most important thing Peter right now has to learn is that this whole concept of him as the avenger or him as the hero, he wears this red and blue outfit, with each criminal he brings to justice he’s trying to pay down this debt of guilt he feels about the death of Uncle Ben. He considers himself a hero and a sinless person verses these villains that he nabs. We felt it would be a great thing for him to learn a little less black and white view of life and that’s he not above these people. He’s not just the hero and they’re not just the villains. They were all human beings and that he himself might have some sin within him and that other human beings, the ones he calls criminals, have some humanity within them and that the best we can do in this world is to not strive for vengeance, but for forgiveness. So that was what we felt would be the next broadening of his awareness as a human being. I said, "What villain will best represent the conflict that can dramatize his journey? If the hero runs into this conflict how can he learn forgiveness? We’ll make the villain piece someone that is absolutely unforgivable in Peter’s eyes to really take him to a place where the audience understands his desire for vengeance and they feel it so the kids will think, ‘Yes, bring the Sandman down, Spider Man.’" By the end of the piece, you want his journey with Spider-Man so they’d say, "Actually, as my hero the best thing that you could do right now, the thing I’d rather have you do is forgive this man." We thought that would be a worthwhile summer picture and a good story for the kids if we could incorporate that. We said, "Okay, we’re going to make it a villain that we can make Peter Parker really feel his desire vengeance against him in a real heavy way so the audience has a sense of relief when he forgives Sandman so it means something to them dramatically." We chose a villain that did not have such a detailed back story that I would be in defiance with those comic book fans. What I didn’t tell you is when I changed those web shooters, they sent a petition with 2,000 signatures to the chairman of Sony to have me remove them from the picture. So I’m trying to steer clear of that this time. But, really we wanted someone we weren’t in defiance of because the fans do love the characters and so we wanted to add to the history of one that was slightly less detailed. The Sandman, I always thought was a great visual character and could be a formidable foe against Spider Man from all the great Marvel comic books and yet his background so detailed or defined that this would be in conflict.
CraveOnline: We know Venom was a hard sell for you. How long did it take you to get a handle on the character and figure out what to do with him?
Sam Raimi: To finish that question, that’s how the Sandman came about. We tried to develop a character that would represent a conflict for our hero. Once we finished the story, Avi our producer and partner and the former head of Marvel comic books, said, "Sam listen, you are so aware of all of these 70’s villains, but you really need to incorporate Venom into this story because the fans really love Venom and don’t be so selfish with villains that you know and love." So I said okay. I didn’t understand that much about Venom because I hadn’t really read as a kid. So I went to school on Venom and Avi taught me a lot about Venom and then Alvin Sargent, our screenwriter, he really was the voice of Venom and the writing of the screenplay and he showed me who he was. Then Topher Grace brought another life to the character until finally I had to go to school on all of these people being my teacher as to who he was and trying to satisfy the comic book fans and incorporate Venom into the story.
CraveOnline: You seemed to have a lot of fun with Peter Parker embracing his darker side.
Sam Raimi: Well, in this story, Peter Parker falls victim to his own pride. He starts to believe all the press clippings about himself, that he’s really this hero and someone great. He starts to be afraid that he isn’t that person and doesn’t want to act any other way than the person that’s right. That pride manifests itself in a much darker way. Working on those sequences with Tobey Maguire and the dark Spider-Man, that was a difficult thing for me actually. It wasn’t fun for me because I didn’t like those sequences. I didn’t like watching Spider-Man go bad. It was unpleasant and I kept worrying, "Gee do I really have to do this to show how rageful and vengeful he is? Do we really have to show how pride can destroy you?" But, my brother kept telling me, "Yes because he’s going to find himself again."
CraveOnline: You didn't have fun doing the Saturday Night Fever struts and dances?
Sam Raimi: Actually it was not an attempt to intimidate that great dance sequence, but I know people have said that to me. That was fun. I agree. I was referring more to the sequence of Mary Jane and the Jazz club or his treatment of Harry Osborne in that sequence.
CraveOnline: There’s talk of you being interested in The Hobbit and if you end up directing the film, would it be part of the world that Peter Jackson created?
Sam Raimi: I haven’t even thought about that because I don’t really know what I’m doing next. It’s so soon, my ears are still ringing from the mix on this picture.
CraveOnline: Well, Sony has announced there is going to be a Spider Man musical and also there will be a Spider Man 4, 5 and 6. Are you going to have anything to do with either of those?
Sam Raimi: I’m not involved in the musical. That sounds very exciting and I’d love to go see it though. I love U2 it’s going to be great and Julie Taymor’s picture was great. Frida is the only one I saw, but I love that picture. I saw the LA production of Lion King and that was staged beautifully. I don’t know if that was her staging, but that was fantastic. But, no I’m not involved in that. And yes, Sony is making 4, 5 and 6, but I haven’t even had time to think about involvement and I don’t want to assume that they are definitely going to ask me. I don’t want to be presumptuous about that. Not yet I haven’t.
Sam Raimi: If there was a great story to tell and I had a really good take on where he could grow to now. Then I think it would be great. But, I’d have to have a tremendous passion to do it because so many people love Stan Lee’s character. If I didn’t think I could do it fantastically, than I should step aside and let a younger director come in who loves the character and said he could do it with the greatest passion on the earth.
CraveOnline: Would you do another movie in between, maybe 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?
Sam Raimi: I was not going to be directing that picture actually. I would definitely need a break. Right now I couldn’t. I just don’t know.
CraveOnline: So you don’t have the feeling like you want to say goodbye to Spider Man?
Sam Raimi: It would be very hard to say goodbye to Spidey.
CraveOnline: If there is a new series of Spider Man trilogy, do you think it should be a new Spider Man?
Sam Raimi: I don’t know. I would have to make that choice based on what the story is and what the characters are. It would be very hard to be involved without Tobey and Kirsten for me at least.
CraveOnline: Since we’ve been talking about these franchises that you’ve been attached to, is that something you’re comfortable with?
Sam Raimi: Well I know that that will pass. Mostly I see myself as who I was for the 20 years of making films professionally before my Super- 8 days and that was Mr. low budget schlockmeister horror film guy. You know, low budget crime thriller or low budget supernatural thriller. Although I have the occasional different picture, I always found that it was strange that Amy Pascal hired me to do this film. I really loved the film and I wanted it, but I thought it was a bold and unusual choice. When it had that tremendous success franchise, I realized this too will pass. This is a very strange experience and I realized how unusual it was and I know that it won’t be here long.
Sam Raimi: Ghost House Pictures is a company that I have with my partners is Rob Tapert and Mandate Pictures. We make supernatural horror films. Right now we’re finishing up the post production on 30 Days of Night based on a graphic novel with Steve Niles. Jeff Lynch has 2nd united directed this film and he’s someone that I really respect and a friend of mine. He’s going to be working on a film called Drag me to Hell and that’s a nonstop low budget horror picture so that’s in preproduction.
Sam Raimi: I would definitely like to make another Evil Dead film with Bruce one day. I don’t know when, but I would definitely like to do it and I love working with Bruce.
