UK: KIRSTEN DUNST AND TOBY MAGUIRE BRAVE RAIN FOR LONDON PREMIERE OF "SPIDER-MAN".

Record ID: 392710

  • Title: UK: KIRSTEN DUNST AND TOBY MAGUIRE BRAVE RAIN FOR LONDON PREMIERE OF "SPIDER-MAN".
  • Date: 5th June 2002
  • Summary: LEICESTER SQUARE, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (5 JUNE, 2002) (REUTERS) ***CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** GV: WET LOOKING MELINDA MESSENGER ARRIVES MCU: BRITISH PRESENTER JONATHAN ROSS AND WIFE JANE GOLDMAN GV: CROWD OF FANS MV/CU: POP IDOL GARETH GATES (2 SHOTS) MV: PHOTOGRAPHERS GV/MCU: BLONDE WOMAN ARRIVES NELL McANDREW GV: TOBY MAGUIRE ARRIVES, SHAKING HANDS WITH FANS GV: M
  • Embargoed: 20th June 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA83BOAXRTATZTO0IXI8FFIDSEX
  • Story Text: The skies opened as Spider-Man flew into the British capital London. But no amount of rain could deter the hordes of fans desperate to see their superhero Tobey Maguire and his sweetheart Kirsten Dunst.
    Braving the rain and wind, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst greeted fans queuing outside the Odeon Leicester Square, desperate to catch a glimpse of the new superhero and his sweetheart.
    A happy couple and with reason. The movie swung into North American box office history with a record-smashing $114 million (USD) haul from its weekend debut. It set similar records in Asia and the rest of Europe. Can it work the same magic in Britain? If the excitement among the crowd of fans was anything to go by, probably. Spider-Man's girl, Kirsten Dunst, said the atmosphere at the UK premiere made the Los Angeles premiere seem dull in comparison.
    "I actually love the energy here, this one's way better so far. I love it. Everybody outside, all the fans, they're all standing in the soaking rain, like they are die-hard, not like Los Angeles. These people are rocking it tonight! They need some special treatment!"
    Their special treatment was greeting Spider-Man, without the lycra. Unfortunately Maguire left his super powers at home and proved incapable of stopping the rain from falling. "Those are not in the repertoire for Spider-Man. He can't do it."
    For Maguire, who will be on board for a sequel slated for release in 2004, the role is as dramatic as the transformation undergone by his character. Colombia initially balked at director Sam Raimi's insistence that the diminutive, doe-eyed actor with the creaky voice - who shot to fame in The Cider House Rules - be cast in the role of superhero.
    Maguire plays a high-school geek (Peter Parker) who is bitten by a spider and soon able to scale walls and shoot webs from his wrist. Kirsten Dunst co-stars as his love interest (Mary Jane Watson), and Willem Dafoe as the villainous Green Goblin. Sam Raimi directed the film, which was reportedly budgeted between $120 million and $130 million.
    A script is already being written for the first of what the film's producers hope will be many sequels, said Avi Arad, CEO of Marvel Studios, the Marvel Enterprises Inc. unit charged with turning its stable of comic book characters such as "Blade" and "X-Men" into feature franchises.
    --
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