Sam Raimi has loved Spider-Man ever since he was a kid growing up in Michigan dreaming of making movies one day.

“I loved the character of Peter Parker because I could relate to him and I loved the stories,” he says. “And I’ve always loved every part of the movie making process; writing the screenplay, the filming, working with the actors, editing, everything.”

Those passions would eventually combine to create two critically acclaimed box office hits featuring his beloved web slinger.  And with the eagerly awaited world wide release of Spider-Man 3 this week, some would say that director Sam Raimi has far exceeded his childhood dream.

Right now, Raimi is just plain exhausted after working round the clock to deliver on time his final cut of the film. But his enthusiasm for the character burns as brightly as it did when, as a seven year old, he first read one of his older brother’s Spider-Man comics.

“My brother, who is six years older than me, sat me down and explained who Spider-Man was and shared something with me that was obviously a great interest to him. I grew to love Spider-Man too and follow his adventures.”

His admiration for the legendary Stan Lee, who originally created the Spider-Man character in 1962 for Marvel Comics, is limitless. He credits Lee with creating a believable character that youngsters could empathise with.

“Stan Lee created real characters with real journeys to go on,” explains Raimi. “There was real dramatic interaction between the heroes and the villains and real lives that they were a part of.

“Instead of kids looking up to an older man, like Superman or Batman, he said ‘I’ll make the kid the hero’ and the problems he has are problems that kids can relate to the world over - with parents, friends, girls and homework, school and teachers and bullies and being the outcast. It all came from Stan’s original stories and where he placed the characters.”

Posted by Thin White Duke

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