Spider-Man 2

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For the videogame based on the movie of the same name, see Spider-Man 2 (video game)

Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 theatrical poster
Directed by	Sam Raimi
Produced by	Avi Arad Laura Ziskin
Written by	Comic Book: Stan Lee Steve Ditko Story: Alfred Gough & Miles Millar and Michael Chabon Screenplay: Alvin Sargent
Starring	Tobey Maguire Kirsten Dunst James Franco Alfred Molina Rosemary Harris Donna Murphy
Music by	Danny Elfman Christopher Young (additional) John Debney (additional)
Cinematography	Bill Pope
Editing by	Bob Murawski
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment
Release date(s)	June 30, 2004
Running time	128 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US$200 million
Gross revenue	$783,924,485
Preceded by	Spider-Man (2002)
Followed by	Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Official website
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Spider-Man 2 is an Academy Award-winning 2004 film, the sequel to the popular 2002 film Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi.

Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco reprise their roles as Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn, respectively. Also featured were Alfred Molina, J.K. Simmons, Rosemary Harris and Daniel Gillies, among others.

The film was released on June 30, 2004 in the United States and other countries, such as Australia, Central America and Hong Kong. The film went on to achieve great commercial and critical success, earning over $780 million worldwide.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Credits 4 Box office success 5 Production 5.1 Budget 6 Critical reaction 7 Other Spider-Man media references 8 Awards and nominations 9 Trivia 10 Spider-Man 2.1 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Plot

It has been two years since the end of the last film, and Peter Parker is finding his double life increasingly difficult. Precariously struggling to balance his crime-fighting duties with the demands of his normal life, Peter often finds his personal life taking a backseat. He loses a job, faces financial difficulties, and struggles to maintain his physics studies. Moreover, he has become estranged from both love-interest Mary Jane and best friend Harry Osborn, and Aunt May is threatened with foreclosure. He questions if he could ever have what he "needs," a life as Peter Parker, which climaxes in a vision involving Uncle Ben.

Harry, now head of Oscorp's research division, has invested in the research of brilliant scientist Otto Octavius, Peter's idol. To perform a sustained fusion experiment, he has developed a set of artificially intelligent mechanical arms, who are impervious to heat, though not unbreakable. When the experiment overloads and becomes unstable, Octavius' wife is killed, his neural chip, which enabled him to control the arms, is destroyed, and Octavius' mechanical arms become fused to his spine. The tentacles begin to influence Octavius' mind, playing on his vanity and ego, and he decides he must complete his experiment at any cost. J. Jonah Jameson names him Doctor Octopus or 'Doc Ock'. Octavius attempts to rob a bank where Peter Parker and his Aunt May happen to be present. After a short glitch in his powers, Spider-Man manages to foil the robbery, but Octavius takes Aunt May as a hostage. When Spider-Man rescues her, she revises her former opinion of him and realizes that he is a hero. During a party, Peter learns that M.J. is planning to marry John Jameson and Harry lashes out at him in a drunken rage due to his loyalty to Spider-Man; shortly afterwards he loses his powers while web-slinging across town. Meanwhile, Ock rebuilds his experimental reactor. Peter resolves to give up being Spider-Man. Back home, after visiting Uncle Ben's grave, Aunt May is distressed by Peter's confession that he was somewhat responsible for his Uncle Ben's death. Aunt May and Peter reconcile, and she tells Peter of the hope that Spider-Man brings to others, in spite of what dreams he may have to sacrifice. Peter attempts to re-connect with Mary Jane, but she informs him it is too late. In the meantime, Doc Ock has completed rebuilding his reactor, and needs one final item, the tritium which fuels the reactor. He goes to Harry Osborn for it, dangling Harry over the edge of the Osborn mansion balcony when Harry refuses. Harry agrees to give Ock what he needs if he captures Spider-Man. Doctor Octopus agrees to capture Spider-Man for Harry, if Harry supplies him with more tritium for his experiment.

Mary Jane meets Peter in a coffee shop to ask if Peter still loves her, but Peter tells her that he does not. Amidst this exchange, the two are ambushed by Doctor Octopus, who abducts Mary Jane in a ploy to lure Spider-Man into a trap. This brings back Peter's powers. He dons his costume and engages in a fight with Octavius, culminating with the insane scientist forcing Spider-Man to rescue a runaway subway train. With great effort, Spider-man manages to stop the train before it can plunge over the end of the track. Still weak, he is captured by Doctor Octopus, and then delivered to Harry Osborn. Harry unmasks Spider-Man and is stunned to discover that his sworn enemy is also his best friend. Peter awakens and convinces Harry to reveal Octavius' whereabouts so he can rescue Mary Jane. Spider-Man finds Doctor Octopus in an abandoned warehouse on a waterfront pier, where he's restarted his fusion experiment. After battling with Ock, Spider-Man manages to electrocute Ock when Ock tried to stab him. Dazed, with his tentacles briefly incapacitated, Peter reveals his true identity to Octavius, and pleads with him to stop the machine. Determined to end his doomsday experiment before it causes more harm, Octavius uses his mechanical arms to collapse the floor of the building, plunging the fusion device into the water below and him along with it. Mary Jane sees Peter without his mask and realizes that he is Spider-Man. But Peter tells her they can never be together, as he will always have enemies.

Across town, Harry has visions of his father, the late Norman Osborn in a hanging mirror. The hallucination of Norman demands that his son kill Peter Parker to avenge his death. Harry hurls a dagger at the mirror, shattering it and revealing a hidden passageway which leads to a secret room in the attic. Upon entering, Harry sees a Goblin Glider in the center of the room and realizes that his father was the Green Goblin. At the end of the film, Mary Jane finds Peter in his apartment, telling him that she has decided to be with him - despite the risks. She persuades Peter to finally let her in while accepting the need of his vows by letting him respond to a sudden call for help.

[edit] Cast

• Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: Peter Parker is a lonely college physics student and photographer for the Daily Bugle who continues to lead a double life as the superhero Spider-Man, protecting New York City from crime.
• Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus: Dr. Octavius is a good-hearted nuclear scientist, who wants to create a first-ever successful fusion reaction for the welfare of mankind, but in an accident, ends up as the dangerous & multi-tentacled Doctor Octopus.
• Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson: M.J. is Peter's love interest. She is a Broadway actress and model.
• James Franco as Harry Osborn: Harry Osborn has taken his father's position as head of Oscorp. He supplies Octavius with tritium for the fusion experiment.
• J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson: J. Jonah Jameson is the chief of the Daily Bugle who carries a personal vendetta against Spider-Man, who he considers a criminal.
• Rosemary Harris as May Parker: May Parker is the loving aunt to Peter a widow of Ben.
• Daniel Gillies as John Jameson: John Jameson is the son of J. Jonah Jameson, fiancee of Mary Jane and a national hero.
• Dylan Baker as Dr. Curt Connors: Dr. Curt Conners is one of Peter's physics professors at college, who troubles him to get his work done.
• Donna Murphy as Rosalie Octavius: Rosalie Octavius is the wife of Dr. Otto Octavius, she is killed during her husband's fusion experiment.
• Bill Nunn as Joseph "Robbie" Robertson: "Robbie" Robertson is an employee of the Daily Bugle and friend to many of his coworkers. He believes in Spider-Man despite his boss's resentments about the vigilante superhero.
• Ted Raimi as Hoffman: Hoffman is an employee of the Daily Bugle who is frequently harassed by his boss, J. Jonah Jameson.
• Elizabeth Banks as Betty Brant: Betty Brant is the secretary to J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle.
• Elya Baskin as Mr. Ditkovich: Mr. Ditkovitch is Peter's landlord, always demanding to collect the monthly rent.
• Mageina Tovah as Ursula: Ursula is Mr. Ditkovich's daughter and seems to have taken a liking to Peter.
• Cliff Robertson as Ben Parker: Uncle Ben was the husband to May Parker and uncle of Peter Parker. He appears to Peter in a vision reminding him, "With great power comes great responsibility."
• Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn: Norman Osborn is the father of Harry Osborn; he was killed while fighting Spider-Man in the previous film. He shows up to Harry as a vision, telling his son to avenge his death.
• Aasif Mandvi as Mr. Aziz: Mr. Aziz is the owner of Joe's Pizza, and Peter's boss. He fires Peter for not being dependable on the job.
• Bruce Campbell as Snooty Usher: Known as Waldo in the novelization, he denies Peter access to Mary Jane's play, thus causing a rift in their relationship.
• Vanessa Ferlito as Louise: She is an actress and co-star of Mary Jane Watson in the play.

[edit] Credits

The film, directed by Sam Raimi, the screenplay is credited to Alvin Sargent, with screen story credit given to Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko receive additional screen credit for "comic book and characters."

[edit] Box office success

Spider-Man 2 opened in the United States on June 30, 2004 and grossed $40.4 million in its first day; this was the second highest opening day, after The Matrix Reloaded, just inching out over the first Spider-Man's opening day take of $39.4 million. The record is now held by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, although Spider-Man 2 still holds the Wednesday Opening Day record by quite a margin, opening with nearly $6 million more than The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King the year before.

The film grossed $88.1 million in its opening weekend, which is a large sum but far from a record; indeed, the film's opening weekend gross currently stands at #11 on the All-Time charts. In its first six days the film had grossed over $180 million and eventually went on to gross $373.5 million, becoming the second-highest grossing film of 2004, behind Shrek 2's $441.2 million take. Worldwide, the film grossed $783.8 million, ranking behind Shrek 2 and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Spider-Man 2's gross is currently among the all-time top ten grossing films domestically and is among the top twenty worldwide.

[edit] Production

On May 8, 2002, following Spider-Man's record breaking $115 million opening weekend, Sony Pictures announced a sequel for 2004.^[1]

[edit] Budget

• Story rights: $20 million
• Screenplay: $10 million
• Producers: $15 million
• Director: (Sam Raimi): $10 million
• Cast: $30 million
  • Tobey Maguire: $17 million
  • Kirsten Dunst: $7 million
  • Alfred Molina: $3 million
  • Rest of cast: $3 million
• The shoot: $45 million
• Special effects: $65 million
• Music: $5 million
  • Composer (Danny Elfman): $2 million.
• Total: $200 million^[2]

[edit] Critical reaction

The general critical reaction to the film was very enthusiastic, with many critics saying the film had a dramatic power and emotional content that many summer blockbusters lack. Metacritic gave the film a collective rating of 83 out of 100 based on an average of 41 reviews.^[3] Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 93%, based on 222 reviews.^[4]

Roger Ebert, who was lukewarm on the first film,^[5] praised the second movie and gave it four stars. He went on to call it the "greatest super-hero movie since Superman: The Movie.^[6] A number of other newspapers also gave it good marks, and the movie was listed in AFI's Top Ten Films of 2004

However, The New Yorker rated it as average, while Salon.com and Village Voice rated it as poor.^{[citation needed]}

In the 77th Academy Awards, the movie won the Academy Award for Visual Effects. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Sound and the Academy Award for Sound Editing. There were many rumors that the film was in contention for the Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay, as many fans and critics alike regarded Alvin Sargent's screenplay as superb in terms of emotional depth and character development. There have also been a few critics (most notably Roger Ebert) and web sites arguing that it even deserved a Best Picture nomination.

The movie was the biggest winner at the 31st annual Saturn Awards. It won for Best Fantasy Film, Best Director for Sam Raimi, Best Actor for Tobey Maguire, Best Writer for Alvin Sargent and Best Special Effects.

Particular praise was lavished upon Alfred Molina for his sympathetic performance as Doc Ock, as well as Tobey Maguire's continued portrayal of the troubled and tormented superhero.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Other Spider-Man media references

This article or section may contain original research or unattributed claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details.

• At one point, the working title of Spider-Man 2 was Amazing Spider-Man.
• Elements of the film's plot are taken from the Stan Lee written Spider-Man storylines "If this be My Destiny" (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #31-33), Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #50, and the first Spider-Man annual).
• One of the suggested names for Doctor Octopus is Doctor Strange (to which Jameson replies "Good! But it's taken."), which is Steve Ditko's other major co-creation for Marvel Comics.
• A woman with the violin sings a song about Spider-Man. That song was actually the theme song of the 1967 Spider-Man series, although the tone and tempo was changed in the movie. This was also the same song sung by a man in the subway in the first film.
• Dr. Curtis Connors actually appears in the film as Peter's physics professor. In the comics, Connors becomes The Lizard due to a serum he makes from Lizard DNA to regrow his arm.
• The shot of Spider-man's suit left in the bin with Peter walking away is a homage to a splash panel from Amazing Spider-Man #50, with the line "I am Spider-Man no more!" being a direct reference to that issue. Ironically, when Peter put it in the bin it looks nearly the same as it does on the comic, stated in the commentary this was not planned.
• A book of Spider-Man related jokes was published as a tie-in to this film. The book includes jokes such as: "If Spider-Man and M.J. wanted to get married, what would they plan? A huge webbing!"^[7]

[edit] Awards and nominations

2004 Academy Awards (Oscars)

• Won - Best Visual Effects — John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier
• Nominated - Best Sound Mixing — Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Joseph Geisinger
• Nominated - Best Sound Editing — Paul N.J. Ottosson

2004 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (Saturn Awards)

• Won - Best Actor (Film) — Tobey Maguire
• Won - Best Director — Sam Raimi
• Won - Best Special Effects — John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier
• Won - Best Writing — Alvin Sargent
• Nominated - Best Supporting Actor (Film) — Alfred Molina
• Nominated - Best DVD Special Edition Release
• Nominated - Best Music — Danny Elfman

2004 BAFTA Film Awards

• Nominated - Best Sound — Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Paul N.J. Ottosson
• Nominated - Outstanding Achievement in Special Visual Effects — John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier

2004 BMI Film & TV Awards

• Won - BMI Film Music Award — Danny Elfman

2004 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards

• Won - Best Popular Picture
• Nominated - Best Family Film (Live Action)

2004 Cinema Audio Society

• Nominated - Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures — Joseph Geisinger, Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush

2004 Sony Ericsson Empire Awards

• Won - Best Director — Sam Raimi
• Nominated - Best Actor — Tobey Maguire
• Nominated - Best Actress — Kirsten Dunst
• Nominated - Best Film
• Nominated - Scene of the Year — Spider-Man battles Doc Ock on the train

2004 Hugo Awards

• Nominated - Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

2004 Kids Choice Awards (Blimp Award)

• Nominated - Favorite Movie
• Nominated - Favorite Movie Actor — Tobey Maguire

2004 Motion Picture Sound Editors (Golden Reel Award)

• Nominated - Best Sound Editing in Domestic Features: Sound Effects/Foley — Paul N.J. Ottosson, Christopher Flick, Scott G.G. Haller, Ruben Simon, Jussi Tegelman, Lisa Hannan, Ai-Ling Lee, Martin Lopez, Bernard Weiser

2004 Satellite Awards / International Press Academy (Golden Satellite)

• Nominated - Best Film Editing - Bob Murawski

[edit] Trivia

• Tobey Maguire's back problems, which set the film's production back several months, were also referenced in the film itself. When Peter Parker tries to leap off of a building, he falls to the ground in an alleyway. When he stands he winces crying "My back! My back!". As clarified by both Raimi and Maguire, the line was not initially poking fun at Maguire's problems - it was simply a line gag (ex. "I'm back! I'm back! My back! My back!"). But once Raimi heard about Maguire's back problems he was considering taking the line out of the movie, but Maguire wanted to do it so Raimi left it in.^[8]
• The name of Peter's landlord, "Ditkovitch", was an obvious hat-tip to Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko.
• Spider-Man creator Stan Lee makes yet another cameo appearance (as he did in Spider-Man, and nearly every other Marvel film) during Spidey's first battle with Doc Ock.
• Phil LaMarr appears as an extra in the movie. He can be seen in the train. The appearance is not credited.
• Tobey Maguire's younger half-brothers also appear in the train sequence as the young boys who hand Peter Parker his discarded Spider-Man mask. Neither is credited.
• Spider-Man 2 is the first movie to be released in UMD format for the PSP. The first one million copies of the U.S. PSP included the movie free.
• The scene in which J. K. Simmons (as J. Jonah Jameson) shouts "Spider-Man was... A THIEF!" caused much hilarity around the set. Simmons was wearing false teeth for Jameson's trademark scrooge smile, and whenever he tried to form the "TH" he spat out his false teeth. These scenes can be seen on the blooper reel of the DVD.
• Bruce Campbell, the star of Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy makes a cameo appearance as a theater doorman who won't let Peter Parker into the theater.
• There is a cameo of Queer as Folk star Hal Sparks as the elevator passenger Spidey speaks with while having to take the elevator when he finds his powers weakened. Hal Sparks character in Queer as Folk is a comic book fanatic.
• It was the first film with over 4,000 theaters for an opening day and second for overall counts.
• Willem Dafoe enjoyed working on the first film so much that he offered to return for the sequel, so long as Raimi could write him in somewhere. Raimi obliged with his request, and Norman Osborn's cameo scene was the end result.^{[citation needed]}
• Film director John Landis has a cameo appearance in the scene in which Doctor Octopus is in the hospital after the accident.
• Sam Raimi was the second student to hit Peter with his back pack,which could been seen on the gag reel of the Spider-Man(2) DVD.
• Donnell Rawlings has a minor role in the beginning when Peter Parker delivers the pizzas.
• Dan Hicks makes a cameo appearance as one of the passengers on the runaway train. Dan Hicks played the character Jake in another Sam Raimi film, Evil Dead 2.
• In the commentary Sam Raimi says that the hospital scene was the first scene they started filming and the first one to be done.
• In an easter egg on the second disk of the DVD version of the movie, (You must select the "Making the Amazing" option and then push Up on your remote control. Doctor Octopus's arm should be highlighted in a green color) Willem Dafoe makes a surprise cameo as he practices the first fusion experiment scene in Alfred Molina's place, much to Molina's surprise and delight.
• In another easter egg, on the second disk of the film, (You must select the "Gallery" option from the main menu and then push Left on your remote control. Spiderman's head should be expressing that he is using his "Spidey Senses") shows Alfred Molina doing a highly entertaining skit from the broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof.

[edit] Spider-Man 2.1

Columbia Pictures will be releasing an extended cut of the film, entitled Spider-Man 2.1, on DVD April 17 2007. The 2-disc set will feature eight minutes of new footage, an introduction with producers Avi Arad and Grant Curtis, an audio commentary with producer Laura Ziskin and screen-writer Alvin Sargent, a trivia track with new video segments, an "Inside 2.1" featurette on the new cut, visual effects breakdowns, and a sneak peek at Spider-Man 3.^[9]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Spider-Man Movie Network
• Spider-Man 2 on Marvel.com
• Spider-Man 2 at the Internet Movie Database
• Spider-Man 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Spider-Man 2 at Box Office Mojo
• Spider-Man Movies hype at the SuperHeroHype!
• Metacritic Spider-Man 2 review summary
• Allmusic.com soundtrack review
• IMNO Interviews Ryan Woodward Storyboard Artist for Spider-Man 2
• Spider-Man Movies
• [1]

v • d • e Spider-Man
Publications	Main continuity: Amazing Fantasy • The Amazing Spider-Man The Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) • Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man • Astonishing Spider-Man • Spider-Man Family Other continuities: Ultimate Spider-Man • Marvel Adventures Spider-Man • Spider-Girl • Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Spider-Man: Reign
Television	Spider-Man (1967) • Spidey Super Stories (1974, live action) • Amazing Spider-Man (1978, live action) • Supaidāman (1978 - Japanese) • Spider-Man (1981) •Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981) • Spider-Man (1994) •Spider-Man Unlimited (1999) • Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (2003) • The Amazing Spider-Man (2008)
Films	Spider-Man (2002) • Spider-Man 2 (2004) • Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Other topics
Fictional history of Spider-Man • Spider-Man supporting characters • Spider-Man villains • Spider-Man's powers and equipment • Video games • Alternate versions of Spider-Man • Spider-Man in other media

v • d • e Marvel Comics films
Live action	Single films	Howard the Duck (1986) • The Punisher (1989) • Captain America (1991) • The Fantastic Four (1994) • Ghost Rider (2007) • Iron Man (2008) • Luke Cage (TBA) • Namor (TBA) • Ant-Man (TBA)
	Franchises	Blade: Blade (1998) • Blade II (2002) • Blade: Trinity (2004) Daredevil: Daredevil (2003) • Elektra (2005) Fantastic Four: Fantastic Four (2005) • Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) The Hulk: Hulk (2003) The Incredible Hulk (2008) The Punisher: The Punisher (2004) • The Punisher 2 (TBA) Spider-Man: Spider-Man (2002) • Spider-Man 2 (2004) • Spider-Man 3 (2007) X-Men: X-Men (2000) • X2: X-Men United (2003) • X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) • Wolverine (TBA) • Magneto (TBA)
Animated	Single films	The Invincible Iron Man (2007) • Doctor Strange (2007) • Teen Avengers (TBA)
	Franchises	The Ultimates: Ultimate Avengers (2006) • Ultimate Avengers 2 (2006)

Sam Raimi
1980s	The Evil Dead | Crimewave | Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn
1990s	Darkman | Army of Darkness | The Quick and the Dead | A Simple Plan | For Love of the Game
2000s	The Gift | Spider-Man | Spider-Man 2 | Spider-Man 3
Shorts	It's Murder! | Within the Woods | Clockwork