UK: After Tokyo and LA, London gets the "Spider-Man 3" treatment as the summer blockbuster speeds up promotional tour ahead of May release

Record ID: 219547

  • Title: UK: After Tokyo and LA, London gets the "Spider-Man 3" treatment as the summer blockbuster speeds up promotional tour ahead of May release
  • Date: 27th April 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR TOPHER GRACE SAYING: "Yeah, I think someone asked me and I get something like a hundred thousand free miles. Do I get those miles? I'm just checking with Sony. I do get them. I will receive those miles."
  • Embargoed: 12th May 2007 13:00
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  • Reuters ID: LVA446R97MVTOG15ZDVPZ6BPTXJL
  • Story Text: It is the first indication that winter has shed its coat when the red carpets are being rolled out for the big Hollywood summer blockbusters.
    First out this year is the third 'Spider-Man' instalment, with the cast and crew attending the film's UK premiere in London's Leicester Square on Monday (April 23).
    The movie received its world premiere in Tokyo, Japan a week ago and before jetting to London, the cast made a detour via Los Angeles for interviews with the US press. To show they mean business, Sony, the studio behind the 'Spider-Man' movies, is flying the stars of the film to Rome, Berlin, Madrid, Moscow, Stockholm and New York for premieres before the May 4 global release.
    Launching the sequel in Japan, home to a huge community of superhero comic fans, rather than the United States was also seen as a shrewd push into the faster-growing international market that could help box-office revenues.
    But it isn't just studio bosses wallets that are getting fatter. The cast of the film said they were collecting hundreds of airmiles from the jet-setting - to use if they still wanted to board a plane after their nine international premieres.
    "Yes, actually someone showed me a number, which was, I've forgot the exact number what it was, and they asked me to guess what it was and I had no idea and they said it was the amount of miles I would have after all of my travels," Tobey Maguire said.
    "Yeah, I think someone asked me and I get something like a hundred thousand free miles. Do I get those miles? I'm just checking with Sony. I do get them. I will receive those miles," joked actor Topher Grace who in the film place the villain 'Venom'.
    Although admitting to being jetlagged, the stars said they were happy to be travelling between continents to promote the new film.
    "I don't know, you know, I just keep going, it's pretty exciting, I just try to get some good rest and you know, on to the next place," said Maguire.
    Kirsten Dunst, wearing a black Rodarte dress, said she tried to keep calm, adding that her mother had packed a lot of vitamins with her.
    "No, no, I'm passionate about these films, it's such an honour that everyone has embraced these movies so much. It's just good to keep calm and relax, you know, enjoy it," she said.
    Critics say that "Spider-Man 3" is packed with stunning special effects such as the crumbling, morphing Sandman and an evil black suit that brings out a person's dark side, but the characters also show a psychological complexity rarely seen in action movies.
    In the sequel, Peter Parker, played by Maguire, is finally enjoying life with the beautiful Mary Jane Watson, played by Dunst, when he discovers a mysterious black suit that gives him special powers, but also stirs hidden feelings of bitterness and revenge.
    The ensuing battle between good and evil, revenge and forgiveness, is played out in airborne superhero fights as well as more mundane rows with friends and colleagues.
    The impressive special effects were also a reminder of the production cost of slightly more than 250 million U.S. dollars (USD), making the movie a huge financial gamble for Sony Corp.'s Columbia Pictures.
    The gamble paid off for "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2", which grossed 822 million and 783 million (USD), respectively.
    Director Sam Raimi admitted to feeling pressure for making what has been said to be the most expensive movie ever made in U.S. dollars.
    "There was a little more pressure because I realised that the studio was spending a little more money to make any dream I had come true but at the same time the most pressure came from my desire to please the fans. There is a lot of loyal Spider-Man fans out there and I wanted to make sure I was giving them a motion picture that had everything in it that they could possibly want and more," Raimi admitted.
    But asked about box office battles, Maguire said he wasn't concerned about competition from other summer three-quels including "Pirates of the Caribbean 3", "Shrek 3" and "Ocean's 13".
    "Yeah, there is a lot of them. You know, I'm excited, it's going to be a big summer and I'm happy and very proud of our film and you know, I look forward to seeing some of the other movies that are coming out," he said.
    "Oh well, Spidey would win," he added when asked about the chances of Spider-Man in a battle against Johnny Depp's Captain Sparrow.
    "Spider-Man 3" is released world-wide on May 4, 2007.
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