By Monty Python
So the heat of the summer hasn't started to sizzle you yet. Well here’s news for you: summer has only started and Spiderman is waltzing on its web to start you on a great time with popped corn and a pair of popped up eyes. Spiderman 3, the bigggggest (I had to use so many g's to show exactly how big it is) movie release of this year is coming to your way on may 4th, and today, we tell you what exactly to expect.
We dig right into what will be the eye-candy special effects that were used in the movie, but first let me tell you the characters to expect to meet the third time around. We have Green Goblin II, along with Sandman and (hold your heart) Venom. If I am not wrong, three of the biggest threats to mankind ever in the pages of a comic book are going to be in one hell of a movie. And if that's not good enough, expect to see the darker side of Peter Parker/ Spiderman, affected by the mysterious black liquid. Plus there's Gwen Stacey and Eddie Brock (who later becomes Venom) in a love triangle of the wrong kind.
Okay, I wouldn't want to spoil the fun by telling you the storyline (but we all know the story, right?) you should go watch it yourself. In terms of logistics and scope, Spider-Man 3 is by far the largest of the three films,”says Laura Ziskin, producer of the third installment. “We want to fulfill the audience's expectations, yet bring new and exciting experiences to the third movie. Sam has really upped the ante for this film, in terms of action sequences and visual effects involving Sandman and Venom, so it is a gigantic endeavor, with over 1,000 people working toward that goal.” From her comment it is pretty clear that nothing was spared in order to bring the Spiderman experience to the fans.
We know that Spiderman is famous for its jaw-dropping special effects. This time around, director Sam Raimi went for the human touch. Sure special effects can make things look spectacular by making ordinary men do things they couldn't otherwise do, but if the actors or the stuntmen can pull off something which is amazing, it is even more spectacular. Hence Spiderman 3 will contain more stunt effects scenes than before. In fact, actress Dallas Haward (playing as Gwen Stacey) was sporting enough to do many of her own stunts, including jumping from a large building which was collapsing, to be rescued by Spiderman. Thomas Haden Church was also up to the challenge in fact, even more so. Other than Tobey Maguire, Spider-Man himself, Church suffered the most brutal treatment to complete the stunts for Spiderman 3. Whether it was being yanked five feet in the air so he could do a face-plant in the mud, or being chased (and caught) by dogs, or dangling off the side of a set, or falling onto train tracks, or having his face smashed into a pane of plexiglass, the actor found himself bruised and battered repeatedly, but was ready for anything. According to producer Grant Curtis, “It wasn't intentional, but it seemed sometimes like if any actor was required to get beat up in any way, Thomas was always drawing the short straw.”
There is this one sequence where in a fight between Spiderman and sandman, Sandman was blasted by an exploding water pipe . There was so much water work involved, even greater than Poseidon, about 50,000 gallons and the force was such that it blasted the rear of the set 50 feet away. For special effects director John Frazier and stunt director Don Bradly, it was just another challenge and just another risk of taking the job.
Venom had to be created for live action suit using a special makeup on actor Topher Grace. After the makeup, it added about 140 to 150 pounds to his weight. An additional one and a half hours were consumed everyday to create that makeup. Then the black gooey suit was connected with wires above and below to create that stretchy look. For Grace the pains of Venom were real, they were his as well. Similarly, much work was done to create the spider suit, both black and red. It takes about 200 man hours to make a suit, and filming requires about 40 of them, so you do the math!
In order to bring some of Sam Raimi's visions to the silver screen, new computer technology had to be developed for the purpose of doing Spiderman 3. In the case of Sandman, computer algorithms had to be developed that would calculate the movement and various other forces on each of the sand particles. And there are about a billion particles in Sandman! In order to do such massive calculation, new software were developed that required a huge team of programmer and graphic experts. The job was so huge that at the end, the program required enough codes for ten man years to write. And to do it all, they had some paltry months in their hand.
One of the first action sequences Spiderman 3 is a fight between Peter Parker and Green Goblin 2 which is now his friend Harry Osborn (a cliff-hanger which continues from Spiderman 2), both the actors are tied up and stringed for aerial combat. The shot was difficult and challenging, but that was the only way to bring the human emotion back to the characters as we can see the face of Peter parker fighting his personal battle. Sam Raimi wanted this action sans special effects as this should be very much in contrast to the Spider Man vs. Green Goblin fight in Spiderman 1.
In total, there are about 900 or more effects shot in Spiderman3. A special effects team of 250 talented artists and technicians were used, who lived by the dream of one man, Sam Raimi to bring us this colossal movie. One that we will surely remember for the rest of our lives.
By Tareq Adnan
Imagine a guy suddenly showing up one day at a tall, world renowned sky scraper, which he promptly starts climbing with out any equipments at all but his bare hands. Reminds you of Spidey don't it? Meet the real life Spiderman Alain Robert, a French dude who loves rock climbing and buildering.
Alain is one of those people who seem to think that living life a hair's breath away from death is fun. And his obsession with heights started early. As a kid he spent his time climbing the cliffs around his home. The first building he ever scaled was when he was twelve and locked out of the house with no keys. Now the problem with people like Alain is that they tend to be dynamic and thus shun the normal way of doing things. Instead of calling his parents he climbed the 8 stories to his apartment.
After getting bored of the French Alps Alain turned his attentions to buildering. And here he uses his own dexterity to climb the tallest of buildings using nothing but his hands. This he does by clinging on to small protrusions on buildings walls such as frames and small ledges. And he garnered world wide fame once he started climbing sky scrapers and that too illegally. He's been arrested quite a few times but he still keeps climbing.
Notable among his exploits is his scaling of one of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. After making it to the sixtieth floor he was apprehended by the authorities. Another notable scaling was his climbing of the Sears Tower where he made it through fog and moisture to the top of the 110 storey building. Notable among his arrests is when he climbed the One Houston Center building in Houston and got arrested for trespassing and drug possession (which turned out to pills that his doctor prescribed for epileptic seizures). He was dropped off the drug charges but sentenced to one day in jail and fined $2000. And since he's such cool dude he climbed the Mercurial Towers in Bagnolet in protest.
Interestingly nowadays Alain is hired by ad firms to climb buildings as publicity stunts.
By Monty Python
This year's hottest movie release is undoubtedly Spiderman 3. and the hottest game action/adventure game release is Ultimate Spiderman. Remember Spiderman the Movie, which had cool web slinging motion and action sequences along with great villains and boss fight? Too bad that it was too short, albeit sweet. Well ultimate Spiderman is more of that, with lot more of boss fights, action and web slinging. What's more, there is the entire open Manhattan to explore and do your stuff as Spiderman or Venom. Oh Yes, you also get to play as Venom and make huge jumps around the city to kick Spiderman butt. Lets go a little deeper inside the game which all of you will be playing after you are done watching Spiderman3.
Story: Well Ultimate Spiderman is a game adaptation of the Ultimate Spiderman series. It's a series that was launched about five years ago, returning to Spidey's origins--with a 21st Century update. Parker is now a geeky high school student, Rhino is a pot-bellied intellectual driving a tank and Venom is a suit made by Peter's dad. The game picks up from the end of a recent story arc in the comics, and, supposedly, the comics will reference events in the game. In short, if you are a fan of the comic, this is the game for you to play.
Graphic: the developer team did a brilliant job to bring back the comic feeling in this game. From top to bottom, the visuals look like as if you are reading from the pages of the original comic, with cell-shaded colour and comic book panel like camera cuts. The city was huge, but somehow the feeling of huge Manhattan buildings were removed and there are mostly small flats and apartments or similar look. But whatever you say, it was worth looking at, purely from a comic book fan’s point of view.
Gameplay: the Gameplay is easy and intuitive. YOU kick and bash the bad guys, or tie them up with web. But where it really shines are the boss battles. Each boss (or Spidey's nemesis) have some kind of weakness or technique that you have to figure out (although its not tough as the game gives you the hints that you need). You also get to unlock plenty of un-lockables such as costumes, comic book covers and what-nots. Also there are plenty of mini-game, although they are a bit boring or repetitive. But hey you also get to play as Venom, although for not a very long time, but its cool to be able jump great distances with venom and feed on young children (yesss!). After every boss fight, you get to watch a cool in game cut scene, which was totally worth playing the game for.
Sound: Sorry folks, no Tobey Maguire to make it sound like the real thing. But the voice actors did a great job. There are plenty of funny dialogues and taunts. I wished they used some stuff from the movie. But I suppose it didn't have any license from Sony to use them. But nevertheless, it did a good job.
Verdict: Just go and buy it. The system requirement is pretty low, so it wont bug you or halt to a standstill. If you like GTA type games, then this is for you, but without the difficulties of having to do lots of odd city missions or ordered special missions. So far I have completed about half the game without having difficulties so I think it's a fair game for those like me who just wanna have fun.
