RAIMI takes respite from the SPIDER's web

[KiwiCoromandel]

UNLESS you're in the Arctic wasteland, the Sahara desert or a remote Pacific island, there is no escaping Spider-Man 3 this week. Even its director, Sam Raimi, is staggered by the scale of the release - a simultaneous opening in 107 countries.

"It's shocking," he says on a visit to Sydney. "I hope that people like it, that's all, because there's going to be a lot of it."

Once best-known as a director of low-budget horror flicks and thrillers - with credits including The Evil Dead, A Simple Plan and The Gift - Raimi has turned the Spider-Man movies into one of the most successful Hollywood comic-book adaptations. The first two instalments grossed $US807 million and $US784 million respectively. The third has already broken opening day box office records in 10 countries.

Raimi won't reveal whether, as some have claimed, Spider-Man 3 is the most expensive movie ever made. "I don't know if that's true," he says. "There's been so many gigantic productions throughout the history of movies but certainly this was a tremendous amount for me to handle."

So how true are reports that the movie cost more than $US250 million ($303 million)?

"I'm not allowed to speak about the budget," Raimi says. "That's stuff I'll let the producers handle. But … this third film is the most expensive of the three.

"We're trying to do things with the special effects and the amount of the characters and the size of the experience we're trying to bring to the audience that far outpaces the other pictures. And I hope we haven't lost sight of the characters at its core, which has always been the strength of the Spider-Man films."

The shoot was particularly complex this time. "Not only were there intense emotional scenes with the actors and actresses but there were also very gigantic set pieces of action, stunts, car sequences and aerial combat sequences," Raimi says. "Then the post-production process was very lengthy and complex."

While the studio plans to make more instalments, Raimi is not sure whether he will be involved because of the toll taken by Spider-Man 3.

"It took everything I had," he says. "It took every ounce of energy and concentration and patience."

source:SMH/Garry Maddox

image:Natalie Boog:Resolutely undecided...Sam Raimi.