All language subtitles for Icons.Unearthed.S08E05.Caught.in.the.Web.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BTN_track4_[eng]

Three Sam Raimi
Spider-Man films
had made Sony richer...

Billions of dollars.

...but left its director
feeling poorer.

There is an element
of him being disappointed

of how the third one
turned out.

Well, they can't hate you.

Months
of development hell
on Spider-Man 4

had left the director bereft.

Sam was just like, "Look,
this is turning into the thing

I didn't want it to turn into."

Plans for the next
Spider-Man lay in tatters.

All of a sudden,
we just got the call

that things were shut down.

Good riddance.

But with the clock
counting down on the rights,

the studio needed Spidey
to spin a new web, and fast.

They can't let the rights
go back to Marvel.

The race was on.

They absolutely
were racing the clock.

But this was also
an arms race,

with Sony's
frenemy Marvel.

You know, I always compared it
to, like, the Cold War.

With Marvel
breathing down its neck,

Sony needed a new director.

He didn't have any track record
for action.

A new look.

She was trying to push it
in a different direction.

Not too much bravado.

And, most of all,
a new Spider-Man.

The pressure
of taking on that part

was far heavier
on Andrew.

I needed Spidey in my life.

I was most dubious
because he's British.

Seriously?

And just when
they thought
they had it all lined up...

There was a tremendous
amount of secrecy.

...a new villain
entered the story.

What the hell
did you just do?

And his bad guys
weren't coming for Spider-Man.

Sony is actively investigating
a North Korean link
to this hacking attack.

They were coming
to burn the house down.

There's a lot
of really personal stuff
that was disclosed.

I mean, I thought
it was an act of terror.

By 2010,
Marvel was on a roll,

and a man
by the name of Kevin Feige

was orchestrating
the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But it was missing
one major ingredient.

I know Kevin really wanted
to have Spider-Man
be part of the MCU.

What was that
about the MCU?

Marvel was going to start
pulling characters
into each other's films.

Building and building
and building into Avengers.

But The Avengerswithout Spider-Man?

It's hard to imagine.

And you know Spider-Man
should be there.

So for Marvel,
it was clear.

We need Spider-Man.

But of course, Marvel
didn't own the film rights
to Spider-Man,

because as we know,
Sony bought them.

We ended up paying $10,000,000
for Spider-Man.

It made no sense
for Sony to give up
their most successful character.

Remember, for Sony,
it was all about
the spider-nomics.

The reality
is that Sony Pictures economics

are directly tied to when
the Spider-Man film
was released.

They needed Spider-Man
more than anything else

because they had
no other franchise to invest in,

so they had to hold on to it,
you know, come hell
or high water.

And with Marvel hungry
to get Spider-Man back,

Sony's only choice
was to release a new
Spider-Man movie.

They can't just sit
on the rights of Spider-Man
and not produce a movie.

If they were to do that,
then the rights would
revert back to Marvel.

They can't let the rights
go back to Marvel.

They have to make a film.

I believe it's like five years,
nine months between films.

The five-year clause
was all that allowed Sony
to keep Spider-Man,

and by 2010, Sony was already
running behind
on their next installment.

That's a very large
amount of money involved

and a lot of pressure.

But just another
Spider-Man movie
was no longer enough.

The MCU
had changed the game.

That's why they felt like,

you know,
we've gotta reboot.

With new actors,
a new director,

and heading
in a new direction.

But that film
is going to compete

with the legacy
of the three films

that have come before it,
judging essentially

how good they're going to be
in bringing that story to life.

The stakes were high,

but at least Sony were managing
their expectations.

We want a new Spider-Man
completely different,

but kind of the same,
cheaper and better.

That seems reasonable.

Anything else?

Don't screw it up.

Of course.

But for Sony, being creative
with Spider-Man
was complicated.

As complicated as
their relationship with Marvel.

Marvel didn't have
full creative rights,
but had consultation rights.

Sony's chair,
Amy Pascal, knew
this was a case

of keeping your friends close
and your enemies closer.

I can't imagine
there was anyone at Sony

who didn't look at Kevin Feige

and what he built at Marvel,
and say,

"Maybe he could
do that here."

Kevin wasn't
necessarily prepared
to do that for Sony,

but he did want to ensure
that Sony

didn't spoil Marvel Comics'
most lucrative character.

You know, I always compared it
to like, the Cold War.

You have two sides,
but it was in everyone's
best interests

to figure out a way
to work together on this,
and make it work.

And no one would
know that better than Tom,

who was Kevin Feige's
hand-picked representative.

I should start off by saying,
I'm a huge Spider-Man fan.

Even before I got to work
on anything Spider-Man related,

I cold emailed Kevin Feige

and just introduced myself
and said,

"Hey, I'm a huge
Marvel fan,

even bigger
Spider-Man fan.

If you're looking out
to build your team,

I'd love to come over there.

So that was part of the early,
team that was, like,
doing the MCU.

He just asked me to be Marvel's
representative to the studio.

And so,
Sony Studios began to develop
a new take on Spider-Man.

But the question was,
how new?

Now, there were
multiple versions
of Spider-Man scripts

that had belonged
to Sony over the years.

And this version
needed a punch up.

So they hired writer,
James Vanderbilt.

James Vanderbilt ends up
working on the screenplay
for The Amazing Spider-Man.

But what Vanderbilt was writing

would take Spider-Man deeper
into his own tangled web
of emotions.

That leaned heavier into
the teenage version of Peter

with a grounded, authentic,
emotionally-driven tone,

and the relationships
that he had.

But relationships
and emotions
could only mean one thing.

Emo Spider-Man was back,
and this time it would be
more than just a haircut.

Sony wanted to get back
to that root level
of Peter Parker.

And to do so,
Sony would take
its cue from the MCU.

Because just as Marvel
had brought on indie darling
Jon Favreau

to direct their first
installment in Iron Man,

their choice in director

proved they were willing
to take Spider-Man
in a new direction.

They went out
and get this guy Marc Webb.

It was sort of
a surprise choice.

Can you believe
his name is Webb,

and he's directing Spider-Man?

At the time, he was
an up and coming director,

he had done500 Days Of Summer.

That was a great
young romance movie.

This thing, what are we doing?

He didn't have
any track record

or reputation for action
or adventure or thrills.

He hadn't been a part
of anything like Spider-Man.

If Marc Webb's
new emo Spider-Man

was going to be different
than his predecessors,

then Spider-Man would need
to look different as well.

Making that happen,
was this woman's job.

My name's Kym Barrett,
I'm a costume designer.

Like her director,
Kym had to find a new angle
on something iconic.

I thought, I just
want to try and do it

without looking at too much.

She was trying to push it
in a different direction,
I guess...

Put her own stamp.

Assisting
was specialty
superhero costume designer

Jose Fernandez.

I was asked to come on board
with Kym Barrett,

and she asked
if I would help her
with technical things.

And Jose and Kym
would hit the ground running.

I started doing
the design of the suit

before we had an actor.

But the first person
to wear the suit,

wasn't
the Spider-Man actor,

it was this man.

So I got called up
and it turns out for some,
like Spider-Man thing,

so I just
don't think anything of it.

I was like, on my way out,
and I was just like,

Maybe I should show them
my free running reel.

I showed them my reel,
they're like, "Oh. Cool.

"All right, see you later."

So I leave,
and then I don't know,

like, a week later
or something like that.

And I get this phone call.

This person's just like,
"Hey, So... So I'll let you know

"that we're gonna
book you for Spider-Man

"to be the stunt double."

I was like, "Oh, cool, like
some little toy commercial
or something, right?"

"No. We want to book you
to be the stunt double

"for The Amazing Spider-Man
movie."

And I was just like...
My head exploded.

They sent me to Montreal
to Cirque du Soleil
headquarters.

I'd just been
doing a lot of work
with Cirque du Soleil,

and I knew
if I was gonna get anyone

to make 100 stretchy suits,
they'd be really good.

They had
this 3-D scanning machine,

and they just did
all these 3D scans of me.

[Barrett] And I really wanted
the web design

to look like, it's almost like
they were blown onto his body.

I think, which is what
sets this suit apart
from the other ones.

Of course,
there was one other detail

that would
make this suit iconic.

We spent a lot of time
working on the actual eyes.

It should be something
that a teenager made on his own.

Marc wanted that aesthetic.

Essentially pops lenses
out of sunglasses.

That's why, also,
the eyes are so small

because you only can
get so much out of them.

But these cool shades
came in a weird way
from another dimension.

A friend of mine
who did the glasses
for me on The Matrix

helped make the lenses,
so they were etched
with a gold texture on them,

but you could see through them.

And while
Tobey's suit had him
gasping for air...

He's claustrophobic,
and he literally tore it off.

...comfort was key
for this new Spidey outfit.

I always make sure
the gloves can come off.

I always make sure
that, whatever

they're wearing on their head
can come off really easily.

If they're feeling uncomfortable
or hot or worried or anxious,

I'd like for them to be able
to start to take it off
for themselves.

And with those
clever little details,

the look of the next generation
Spider-Man was set.

First time I left with the suit,
and I can still, like, remember,

I get this, like feeling
of this responsibility, like,
I'm Spider-Man.

Okay, this is real.

But little
did he know
that doing it for real

was about to literally
drive him up a wall.

Director Marc Webb and Sony
were going
for something different

with the reboot
of Spider-Man.

Trying at every opportunity
to separate themselves

from the Sam Raimi films.

But there was
one thread to Spider-Man

that would become
a particular sticking point.

Spinning the web
and throwing it,
that sort of thing.

Everybody's got an input on it.

Should
Spider-Man's web

fire from a mechanical
contraption on his wrist,

or more magically,
from within?

We thought, "Okay,
if we're going to
do these movies over,

just find ways
to really separate them

from the earlier version,
you know.

We want to show Peter's
science abilities

and his smarts
and really explore that.

- What the hell is this?
- Webbing
that I developed myself.

They were probably getting tired
of me sending emails and memos

about the mechanical
web shooters.

Marvel got their way,
marking a return to the logic
of the original comics.

And while Marc
was breaking with Raimi
on the nature of Spidey's webs,

like Sam before him,
Webb didn't want any more
digital than necessary.

Marc and the filmmaking team
really felt strongly that

let's really have some real web
swinging action in this movie

rather than
have it be all CGI.

Raimi's trilogy

had seen some amazing progress
in CGI Spidey.

[Armstrong] Spider-Man
was getting a little bit
too cartoony,

he was starting to lose
the thread of credibility.

If you can be credible
about somebody

having a spider's web
and swinging through the air.

Sure you can,
if you tap into something
completely off the wall.

That was when parkour was really
hitting the highlights,

and that was big
on our list,

because that's what
Spider-Man does.

Which is to say,
what David does.

If we can get that guy to do
that as his base core talent,

and then you can enhance it,
it's fantastic.

The new Spidey
was certainly moving
in the right direction,

but the big question
was still to be answered.

Who would play
the new Spider-Man?

It's really
the million-dollar question.

Casting Peter was a challenge
because so many young actors
were up for it.

Two names
that you hear are Jamie Bell,

who was coming off
of Billy Elliot.

You also heard
Logan Lerman

and then you hear
Andrew Garfield.

Andrew was relatively new
to the business.

He had a standout part
in The Social Network.

There was a lot of handshaking,
a lot of congratulations.

And there was something
very similar about the position

that he and Marc Webb
were in,

because they hadn't done
anything like this before,

and they were going through
the same thing together,

and I think there was
a unification for both of them.

But it was
in the screen test that Andrew

got to prove
his dramatic chops.

Kind of had
a moodiness.

He was kind of more like
the James Dean

version of Peter Parker.

Of course, James Dean
was quintessentially American.

Garfield was, well...

He's British?

Well, just to be clear,

although he was born in the US,

he had grown up
in the UK,

meaning Andrew would have
to do a New York accent.

Hey, watch out,
I'm swingin' here,
I'm swingin' here.

It's rough,
it's not the best.

He's really laying it on.

I'm walking here,
I'm walking here.

But unlike
Tobey Maguire,

Andrew Garfield
could speak Spidey's language.

Unlike Tobey Maguire,
Andrew was a Spider-Man fan

from his earliest days.

Sony and Marvel
believed enough
to feel confident

Andrew Garfield's
slender shoulders

could bear
the burden of expectation.

The pressure
of taking on that part

was far heavier on Andrew
because he understood

the weight of expectation
that came with the character,

in a way that Tobey
never could have felt.

This new Spider-Man
would retell his origin story,

as he pursued the mystery
of his parents' disappearance

and found himself
on a collision course

with a brand-new villain.

But who or what would Spidey
be facing this time?

The criticisms that were being
leveled at Spider-Man 3

was that the villains
became the story,

and that overwhelmed elements
of Peter Parker and Spider-Man,

that the audiences
had connected with

in the early days
of Tobey Maguire.

To avoid that,
The Amazing Spider-Man

had a strict one villain
per superhero limit.

Rhys Ifans
played doctor Curt Connors.

Also known
as The Lizard.

Ugh. Disgusting.

He's at least
to comic book fans,

one of the best known
Spider-Man villains.

But I think
he has this, like,

really empathetic
back story, you know,

he didn't set out
to become this evil guy.

He was trying to come up
with a great cure
for humanity, you know.

He's a scientist
who has lost his arm.

Disappointing.

But in an effort
to grow it back,

he accidentally turned himself
into something
he didn't want to be.

You know, he's a giant
humanoid lizard, you know?

And those things
are always popular.

Poor Peter Parker.

Coincidentally,
Ifans was also from the UK,

more specifically,
Notting Hill.

Well,
at least the movie.

During his audition, Rhys Ifans
actually fell to the floor,

writhing and convulsing

so convincing Avi Arad
rushed over to see

if he actually needed
to go to the hospital.

He fooled Avi.

But it wasn't
just the villain
getting a revamp.

For The Amazing Spider-Man'sleading lady,

producers had decided
they wanted a female character

who wasn't
so easily picked off.

Mary Jane gets kidnapped
by every villain

in the three
Tobey Maguire movies.

They didn't want
to just do, you know,

run it back
with Peter Parker and MJ too,

which is why the female lead
in these films is Gwen Stacy.

Last seen, of course,
in Raimi's third film.

Hi, Pete.

Sony was once again
going to take a character
in a new direction.

Ugh.

[Cohen] Emma Stone
was up and coming
and really popular,

and a great actress,
and she was great,

you know, in the role.

Gwen is far
more formidable.

She's as smart
as Peter is.

Rounding out the cast,

Sony looked
to bring in big stars

in hopes of capturing
a big audience.

You've Martin Sheen
playing Uncle Ben,

you have Sally Field
as Aunt May.

Your father
was a very secretive man, Peter.

It was another one of the
creative discussions

that was being made.

It's like,
"Let's make Aunt May younger."

They are much better known,
I think, to modern audiences

than Cliff Robertson
and Rosemary Harris were.

What's that all about?

There was more star power
in those kinds of roles.

But one role
that wasn't so well known

would be played by...

My name is C. Thomas Howell,
and I played Jack's dad
on The Amazing Spider-Man.

As a standout actor

in many
of the '80s biggest hits,

C. Thomas Howell
saw this as an opportunity

to work with an up and coming
director like Marc Webb.

Of course, I was a fan
of 500 Days Of Summer.

And Marc had a real incredible
ability to communicate.

He, I think,
had a real grip on

what it was
that he wanted to do.

And what
he wanted to do
was portray a new,

more emotionally complex
Peter Parker.

No, forget that.

I'm not going to talk about...
I'm gonna talk about me, okay?

With a new look
for Spider-Man...

You seriously think I'm a cop?

A cop in a skintight
red and blue suit.

A new hook
for Spider-Man.

And even a new Lizard.

Won't stop me again.

But whether
Andrew Garfield

and Marc Webb's new Spider-Man

could catch an audience in
its web, remained to be seen.

As the cameras began rolling
on The Amazing Spider-Man

in December 2010,

Vic Armstrong was tasked

with bringing
this new Spidey to life.

Any time there's action,
that's what we do

because we're more equipped

and more used to doing it
than the main units.

One night
I went to the set,

they set this huge
rigging structure.

So they took a fire truck
and they ripped

the water tank off of it,
built this trust system,

so I'll be able to swing
and swing and swing.

Whoo!

[Armstrong] We went back
to the early Tarzan films

where you see
Johnny Weissmuller
swinging through the jungle.

And he changes hands
on the ropes.

But when you think about it,
it's exactly the same

as what Spider-Man is doing,
he's going ping!

And swinging, ping!

Whoo-hoo!

The difference
between practical CG
when it's practical,

it just feels
and looks real to you.

But as Dave
would learn firsthand,

often what felt real
was real.

I was supposed to run through
these lanes of traffic,

chase down
this pickup truck.

And so I'm just swinging
through the streets of New York.

And this one stunt guy
comes up to me,

"You've got two cars
coming this way.

"two cars going that way,

"and this camera car
behind you chasing you.

"Don't fall."

I was just like,
"Oh, this has consequences."

But David's tasks
weren't also dangerous.

He was also involved
in this more intimate scene.

Another one
of my favorite scenes,

was this car thief scene.

It was a very famous
stuntman, Keith Campbell.

There I was
trying to steal a car

and he shows up
in the backseat.

You know,
in the future,

if you're going
to steal cars,

don't dress
like a car thief, man.

That's the first time
they had shot off the lot.

And there were paparazzi
getting some good pictures.

The main one was Spider-Man
on my shoulders, but facing me.

Run!

Surely
no one could joke
about an image like that.

[Campbell] The caption under it was,

"Wow. I guess
they put a zipper

in the Spider-Man
suit this time"

or something, it was

very rude and funny.

Wrapping production
on The Amazing Spider-Manon budget and on time,

Marc Webb and his crew
were riding high.

That is,
until news came in,

that one of Spider-Man's
staunchest supporters
had passed.

Laura Ziskin for me was...

She was a really
close friend and collaborator,

and was a personal mentor.

I learned
so much from her.

A near constant
creative presence,

the producer lost her battle
with breast cancer
on June 12th, 2011.

Right until the end, you know,
even when she couldn't
come to set,

I was like, you know,
"What about this?

"What about that?
What do you think?"

[Precious] Laura was one of a kind.

I mean, I have
so much respect for her.

Just a very, very,
very wonderful person.

The world
is a lesser place without her.

And while
Spider-Man's journey
from comic book to screen

wouldn't have been possible
without Laura Ziskin,

Marc Webb and his team
continued on,

as there was plenty to do

before The Amazing Spider-Mancould hit cinemas.

And although it was
Sony's movie,

Marvel was never far away.

They would invite me over,
and sometimes Kevin
would come too,

to see cuts of the film and
give them feedback and notes.

And Kevin just starts, like,
riffing thoughts and ideas

like, he's just like,
just has this innate ability,

that's one of
the great things about Kevin.

And some
of those ideas were starting

to bring Spider-Man
closer to the MCU.

I think people both sides
had thought,

"Hey, yeah. What if we hint
that these movies

"are taking place
in the same universe."

Both parties
could see the benefit

of laying some Easter eggs
to excite the fandom.

Could we put the Oscar building
in the background of Avengers?

Or put Stark Tower in
a Spider-Man movie, you know.

Even though
that didn't happen,

that was the start
of the conversation.

There was a real desire
on both sides

to make Spider-Man
part of that MCU.

While Sony fine-tuned
their new Spider-Man,

they needed a way
to introduce their new
Peter Parker to the world.

And at 2011's Comic Con,

Andrew Garfield
had just the idea.

The Amazing Spider-Man.

This was
their first step forward

from a publicity standpoint

of here's the new guy
playing Spider-Man.

And there was
so much pressure.

Garfield, new,
little-known, English accent,

was already thinking

about the most Spider-Man way
to announce his arrival.

And Andrew
has this idea.

He wanted to wear
a store-bought costume,

and appear at the podium
asking a question,

to the Comic Con panel.

And then he would
take off his mask

and show everybody
that it was him,
Andrew Garfield.

We're not gonna take questions
just yet, you know.

[Garfield] I'm sorry.
Do you mind if I just quickly...

I think this might be
the most incredible day
of my life.

The minute he took his mask off,
the fans went nuts.

- So, thanks for having me.
-

It was a neat moment.
I think a lot of people, fans,
like, ate it up.

You have no idea...
You have no idea
how much this means to me.

But not
all publicity events
went according to plan.

Like when C. Thomas Howell

was prompted
on a radio interview.

"Tell us about your character."

And I started discussing
that I was a construction worker

and my son is put
into a perilous situation,

and there's a big battle
on this bridge

between Spider-Man
and The Lizard.

Both the jocks
on the radio station go,
"Wait. The Lizard?"

And those two tiny words...

The Lizard?
The Lizard?

...unleashed
a flurry of activity,

My phone
has been ringing nonstop.

I've got attorneys on the phone,
Sony's on the phone.

I had to write
apology letters.

I had no idea
that was some big secret.

They were
so mad at me, my God.

But it wasn't
all bad.

With excitement around the film
reaching its apex,

Sony greenlit
The Amazing Spider-Man 2

almost a full year before
the first film's release.

But first things first,

the premiere
of the Amazing Spider-Man

hitting Cinemas July 2012.

And The Amazing Spider-Mandid amaze plenty of fans.

So you're always going
to get Spider-Man fans

who were gonna turn out
for the movie no matter what.

Audiences
were quickly endeared
to Andrew.

They did a great job
casting that whole movie.

Andrew Garfield's
a great actor.

I think
Emma Stone's great.

[Armstrong] Her and Andrew
kicked it off really naturally,

just a natural chemistry
I thought was really lovely.

That part of it
was more successful

than some of the action.

Even some of Peter's
character stuff.

Easy, Bug Boy.

And even though
fans were connecting
with Andrew and Emma,

lethargy was sinking in
around Spider-Man himself.

It felt like to many
that it was way too soon

to do another film

that retells Peter Parker's
origin story so soon

on the heels of
the Raimi-version,
which did it.

Good reflexes.

Good reflexes.

Seriously?

Fans agreed
Garfield's new Spider-Man
was cool.

I thought he was cooler
than Tobey Maguire.

-
-

And that was
exactly the problem.

Well, the whole essence
of Peter Parker is,
he's not cool.

And the cooler he is,
the less of a need
there is for Spider-Man.

Because the whole reason
for Spider-Man

is to cover up the fact
that he's such a hapless nerd.

The movie wasn't really
well-received.

It ended up making
not nearly as much money

as the previous
Sam Raimi films.

But globally, it was
still one of the biggest hits
of summer 2012 for Sony.

Landing in the 700-million
worldwide range, acceptable.

Not smash hit,
but acceptable for Sony.

That meant Marc Webb was
invited back for the sequel.

But what was
coming out of Marvel

would raise expectations
on the 39-year-old director.

Marc Webb was back to direct
The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

However, the franchise
faced competition,
to put it mildly.

[Chitwood] Avengersis a worldwide event,

it has the highest grossing
opening weekend of all time.

Smash.

And the success
of Marvel got Sony thinking...

[O'Connell] You had Marvel
that you were competing with.

Well, all Sony had
was Spider-Man.

If Marvel could
do it, why couldn't they?

How quickly can we build
a cinematic universe?

And they wanted
to kind of introduce
all these other characters.

The studio
that had once
turned down an offer of...

$25,000,000
for 25 Marvel properties.

...in order
to focus on one...

I thought it was a mistake,
I believe I told them
they were fucking idiots.

...now wanted
to unleash a mob.

So let's just throw
everything we can at it.

You're hearing about Jamie Foxx
being cast as Electro.

You're hearing
about Dane DeHaan
being cast as the Green Goblin.

you're hearing
about Felicity Jones

being added to the cast

to become the Black Cat
later on.

They hired Chris Cooper
to play Norman Osborn.

And, of course, you see an actor
of Chris Cooper's caliber

and you're thinking,
"Well, obviously,

they're going to use him for,
you know, future parts

in upcoming movies.

But before they could
get to those future movies,

they would need a story
for The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Spider-Man is a character
who loses and comes back.

He'll never give up.

So he's gonna have to have
scenes where he loses.

And luckily,
Tom had an idea about loss.

[Cohen] Hey, if you're gonna
have Gwen Stacy,

you know, this is like one
of the most impactful
comic book stories ever.

Tom was
petitioning Sony to include

the one Gwen Stacy story

still talked about by fans
to this day.

It's hard to overstate
how shocking that was
in the comics.

I mean, it was an astonishingly
bold thing to do.

Which begged
the question,

could Sony
afford to be so bold?

To kill off one of
your main characters,

you don't often see that
in these kinds of movies.

But again, I think that they
had to do something
to shake it up

and make audiences really feel
Peter Parker's anguish.

We decided to make
Gwen Stacy's death
part of the storyline.

No, please, please.

The Amazing
Spider-Man 2 was getting
filled to the brim,

but little did Sony know
that their quest for more

might turn out to be
the very web
that ensnared them.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys,
did we not learn

what went wrong
with Spider-Man 3,

where we hacked it with villains
and lost focus on the hero?

Is this going
to be a problem already

before the movie
even starts?

But a bloated
rogue's gallery of villains

wasn't the only thing Marc Webb

was doing differently
the second time around.

The Amazing Spider-Man 1
was shot all in the back lot.

- When's the last time
you were in Queens?
-

Marc wasn't going
to do that this time.

He wanted it
to feel authentic,

saying, "We're going
to shoot in New York."

But in 2012, shooting
on the streets of New York

presented a new danger.

[O'Connell] This is the rise
of spoiler culture

and shooting out in public,

that just
becomes a nuisance.

They were very concerned
all through shooting that,

"Oh My God, you can't
let the public know

the Spider-Man suit,
this paparazzi.

So he would wear
a hooded garment around,

going to set.

But what exactly
did Sony have under wraps?

They wanted the costume
to be very much
honoring the source material.

That gave veteran costume
designer Deborah Lynn Scott...

Let's go back to basics.

...and suit sculptor
Jose Fernandez a simple mission.

I just want to make it
my imagery from my childhood.

Classic Spidey.

That meant
bringing to the screen

a practical incarnation
of a look

only ever designed
for two dimensions.

To reinvent that
in a three-dimensional
movie form was a challenge.

In the comic, he does
have quite large eyes.

It took a lot of time
and work to get to that.

You can make
these big, giant eyes,

but can the actor see?

So we discovered
really early on,

it would just be
a matter of,

if they were
a little closer together.

You're my eyes
and ears out here.

- All right?
- All right.

That looked like the comic book,
that also flattered

Andrew's face,
was really the main brief.

Jose and Deborah knew
they'd achieved a classic look.

when Marvel execs locked eyes

with the new web head
in the flesh.

[Fernandez] I remember
Avi leaning over
and telling me it was perfect,

and saying we never need
to change it again.

For him, he's done.

And I'm like,
"That's what I thought, too."

It was a great moment.

Great for Jose, at least.

Because where Kym had focused
on the suit's wearability...

I always make sure
the gloves can come off.

...Jose was honed in
on the final result.

Within a minute
of that conversation,

I heard Andrew say,

"I can't wait to get
this fucking thing off of me."

He was so miserable
in the suit.

Webb's push
for a more tactile world

meant putting down some
of the filmmaker's
most powerful tools,

especially
when it came to its villains.

In Amazing Spider-Man 1,

we had The Lizard,
but it was all digital.

Uh-oh.

Just never felt alive.

Howard Berger had the task

of making an analogue Electro
for a digital world.

I worked hand-in-hand
with Jerome Chen,

who is
our visual effects supervisor.

He said, "Anything you can do
will save us tons of time,
tons of money."

And I'm like, "Well,
let's do the full Monty.

"I want to do a full makeup."

It was a great combination
of all the crafts, you know,

all the disciplines
working together.

And during Electro's
big introduction,

second unit director
John Mahaffie

had the very big task
of merging the digital
and the very real world.

We built the basis
of Times Square

in the back lot
on Long Island.

And shooting
in a controlled environment

allowed for some
practical camera tricks,

courtesy of John.

It was quite a challenge
to work out

how we shoot the moment in time

that there is about to be
an electrical charge

all the way
through the bleachers.

We froze
that moment in time

and everyone
was moving at full speed,

what would happen?

They had a plan
to capture it practically,

but regular actors
wouldn't cut it for the job.

We said all the people
on the bleachers are dancers

to be able to hold positions.

I think there was a lot of it,

just the fact
that their familiarity
with their own bodies

and how they could
strike a pose and hold it.

And everyone
had light clothing

so that we could wire it,
or hair that stuck out.

They had to, like,
really, lock the hair

so it didn't blow or move.

I worked out
the travel of the camera.

It felt like we zipped
to another moment

and then zipped
to another moment.

The whole shot
is virtually practical

but works very well.

And some of the ideas
they were using

would come
from a surprising place.

I love silent movies.

Harold Lloyd and Keaton,

they're really pertinent
because those guys
were really inventive.

They had to come up
with smart ideas.

There's a little sequence
where Spider-Man

grabs hold of the handle
and is pulled onto

the back of the vehicle,
and takes off.

And we did that for real,

based on a piece
of physical action

from Buster Keaton.

We were trying
to put in a physicality

that really grounded that
in reality.

When it came
to keeping things grounded,

nothing loomed larger

than Gwen Stacy's
impending fate.

Peter!

And John had a plan
that would turn
everything on its head.

When it came to Gwen Stacy's
deathly plummet,

second unit director
John Mahaffie

was happy to defy
the laws of physics.

One of the tricks
that I have is to turn things
upside down.

So we would put the blue screen
on the ceiling of the set.

We'd put the camera
right down on the ground.

And the trick
for it being upside down,

rather than
the other way around is,

if she was falling away,
her hair would fall
to the ground.

So by doing it this way,

all her hair and her clothing
is falling to camera.

Gravity is actually
working for you

rather than against you.

You're actually using them
to your enhancement.

Combined with the brutality
of our darling stunt woman

who does
the final profile shot,

it makes
that sequence

one of those
quintessential moments

that I'm thrilled to have been
involved in.

When Emma dies,

I watched that on set
and it was heartbreaking.

Possibly
because this scene
had more in it than most.

It's very real.

Emma and Andrew
were already a real item,

continuing a tradition
of leads in love,

that began on Spider-Manand wasn't done yet.

Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone
didn't see each other for a week

leading up
to shooting that scene,

so that when
they got to that point...

Stay with me.
Stay with me.

...there would be
some raw element to it.

In the sequel
to The Amazing Spider-Man,

Sony had some people
it wanted us to meet.

I'm Electro!

They were a few
mysterious new characters.

What's your name?

Felicia.

Sony was putting together
the basic elements of something

it believed could rival
the MCU.

The spiderverse.

There was an agenda
for these various characters

that we were introducing,
but it was evolving
as a concept.

[Sneider] Sony was looking
for ways

to continue making, you know
superhero movies
and Spider-Man movies,

but without necessarily
watering down
Spider-Man himself.

In December 2013,

Sony publicly committed
to its spiderverse,

by announcing more films.

Sony announced
release dates

for Amazing Spider-Man
3 and 4.

They hired Drew Goddard
to direct a Sinister Six movie.

They're working
on a Venom movie.

Good for people
like Andrew Garfield.

Andrew Garfield
was guaranteed

to get at least two more
Spider-Man movies

in addition
to this Sinister Six film

that he was going to pop up in.

But was it good
for The Amazing Spider-Man 2

to be so chock full
of story potential?

One educated onlooker
didn't think so.

I would give them notes.

But then I remember
Kevin coming in.

He definitely gave them
constructive feedback
on the movie.

[O'Connell] Feige sent notes
over to Amy Pascal

that said,
this is a disaster.

Feige,
the guru of cinematic
universe building,

felt certain Sony was building
too much, too fast.

Dad...

One of his
most significant notes was

get rid of the parents
by plotline

at the beginning of this movie.

Audiences would get to decide

whether the story of Spidey's
long dead parents mattered,

when The Amazing Spider-Man 2was released.

The Amazing Spider-Man movies
come out

and they're not doing as well
as they would have liked.

The sequel made $202 million
at the US box office.

$60 million shy
of its predecessor.

I was actually
kind of taken aback
by the reaction.

Critics just
kind of piled on it.

And the audiences are not
as emotionally invested
in the characters.

You know, I thought, uh,
you know, I mean...

It was
just underwhelming.

You're a fraud,
Spider-Man!

I thought...
I thought, you know,
there was a lot of, like,

great set pieces, you know,
in the movie.

People just weren't happy
with what they did.

And that meant
they weren't lining up

for more travels
in the spiderverse.

You ready to give up?

We were very excited
about the potential of

all coming back
and doing another movie.

And then the studio decided
not to move forward

on another Spider-Man movie
in that universe.

As Sony chair
Amy Pascal

contemplated
Spider-Man's future,

she concluded
more of the same

would only lead
to more of the same.

To take Spider-Man
to another level,

Sony needed
to break the mold.

Marvel and Sony realize
that if we're going to do

another Spider-Man movie,
we need to, like rethink.

That's when efforts
were heating up

to bring Spider-Man
into the MCU.

Ultimately, it became
clear to Amy Pascal,

that they were not
going to be able
to compete with Marvel.

They were gonna
have to cooperate with them

and figure out some way

to play nice with this character
that they owned,

that Marvel wanted.

Um, and they were going
to have to figure out

some way to creatively
collaborate moving forward.

I think by necessity,
had to start over.

But exactly
how Spider-Man
could travel into the MCU,

without completely
leaving Sony's orbit

would need to be
carefully negotiated.

Amy reached out
to Kevin.

They met for lunch.

Amy Pascal said
we could use your help

in making
the next Spider-Man movie.

And Kevin kind of knew

that Amy was over a barrel
and needed to cooperate.

Sony's overture
was a golden opportunity

for Marvel to finally
bring Spider-Man home.

And unify its characters
within the MCU.

Feige said, I don't know
how to help in half measures.

Let me and my team
make this film for you.

We'll produce it,
and you put it out.

Amy Pascal,
who is the creative force

behind these Spider-Man films,
did not love that response.

And she threw a sandwich at him
to express her displeasure.

She throws what?

That is the rumor, that she
threw a sandwich at him.

I could see her doing that.
Good for her.

Evidently,
Amy preferred
to share her sandwich

rather than
Sony's golden goose.

[O'Connell] You don't
share your assets,

potentially
make money for a rival

and you don't
pull the plug on a franchise

if it has gas in the tank.

While Sony
had few good options,
Andrew was sitting in limbo.

Andrew's kind of
being strung along.

It's stopping him
from getting other jobs

because he doesn't quite know
if he needs to be ready

to start filming
on a Spider-Man movie.

And while Sony
was working out what to do

with its biggest
movie property,

one of its smaller releases,
called The Interview,

an action comedy

about the assassination of, uh,
well, this guy...

- Kim Jong-Un.
- Kim Jong-Un.

We are talking
about Kim Jong-Un.

...put Sony in hot water,
to say the least.

Apparently,
he was not amused.

And the fallout would change
the script for everyone.

In November of 2014,

no one could have guessed that
for Seth Rogen's The Interview,

this small comedy was destined
to become a big tragedy.

- Dave!
- Kim.

Tonight the FBI
is on the case,

and they are warning
big companies in America
to protect their data.

As I understand it, he had
his hackers break into Sony,

and release embarrassing
emails as retaliation.

I mean, I thought
it was an act of terror.

It certainly
terrified Sony executives,

whose commercially
sensitive plans for Spider-Man

and Marvel
were laid bare.

The minute
that the the fans realized

that Amy was at least
flirting with the idea,

it became
a relentless campaign

of "Sony gives Spider-Man
back to Marvel."

They made such a ruckus
of "Marvel's doing it correct,"

"Give Spider-Man to Marvel."

Caught
in the crossfire
was Amy Pascal,

whose private musings
were suddenly
swirling around the Internet.

I think
it's really tough for Amy

because there were
some ugly emails

that sort of came out
with her name on them.

There was a lot
of really personal stuff
that was disclosed

that made it hard
for Amy to do her job.

And really hard.

Severely compromised,
Amy's days were numbered.

Ultimately, that entire
management team moved on.

Down but not out,
Amy had one last play.

And so she began
talks with Disney,

who had purchased
Marvel Entertainment

for $4 billion in 2009.

Disney came in saying,
"Hey, well, let's cut a deal."

I think it was just, you know,
everyone realized

it's in our mutual
best interests

to figure out a way
to make this work.

Within months,
a deal was agreed,

and there was only
one word for it.

When they cut the deal,
that was pretty special.

I mean, this was the deal
that all the fans
had been waiting for.

It was,
it was a big deal.

I knew it meant
a lot to Kevin.

So they worked out a deal

where they would
share Spider-Man

with the current
Marvel Cinematic Universe

for at least five films.

Disney kept the merchandising
rights to the character.

They also allowed Marvel to have
complete creative control
over the character.

And what did Sony get?

Sony kept
all of the film's profit.

But only
on standalone Spider-Man films.

And actually
not all the profit.

Disney did get
one other thing,

which is 5%
of the film's profits

were paid back to Disney.

Marvel's prodigal son
had finally returned home

and everyone was happy.

[O'Connell] Sony was happy to be
getting the film profits,

and Marvel was happy
to have Spider-Man,

to be able to use
in their universe.

It was a Hollywood
ending for Spider-Man,

but also
the beginning of a new chapter.

He was going to, you know,
be fighting alongside
the Avengers and everything.

They were starting withCaptain America: Civil War.

Hey, everyone.

Actually, there was
one unhappy customer.

Avi was furious.

To him, it was preposterous
to give away rights
to Spider-Man

to anybody else,
even Kevin Feige.

But there was someone
possibly even more committed
to Spider-Man than Avi Arad.

Amy Pascal,
she's a force of nature.

And she had a plan
to stick with Spidey.

She has survived for decades
in this business.

Cast out from Sony,
Amy Pascal formed
her own company

to work with Marvel

shepherding Spider-Man
through the MCU.

She's become the gatekeeper
of the character.

Meaning her name
would still be in the credits.

And as for the man himself,
the man inside the suit,

he was suddenly
released from limbo.

Thank you for being here
and sharing it with me.

Poor Andrew Garfield.
He was not asked to continue.

One of the most
passionate custodians

of the Spider-Man suit,
was forced to hang it up.

[Cohen] I always thought
he was a great Peter Parker,

and I was always kind of bummed
that he didn't get to do

his third Spider-Man movie.

But as Marvel took
the reins on this next
iteration of Spider-Man...

It was the mom and dad of it.

One had the purse strings
and one had the creative vision.

This new marriage
would prove to be
far from harmonious.

Marvel was going
to be the creative lead

and Sony was financing it.

That's always a slightly
scary proposition.