Trivia for Spider-Man 3 (2007)

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• The release date for the film was set before Spider-Man 2 (2004) was even released.
  
  
• At an estimated gross of $151M at the box-office, this movie holds the record for biggest single (opening) weekend of all time. Interestingly, previous record holder, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) took the record from Spider-Man 2 (2004).
  
  
• Sam and Ivan Raimi's original drafts were so long that at one point, the story broke into two films that might have been made back-to-back as parts 3 and 4 - a game plan that collapsed when screenwriter Alvin Sargent couldn't find a satisfying intermediate climax.
  
  

• During the celebration scene the band plays an alternate rendition of the "Spider-Man" (1967) TV show theme while Spiderman ascends to the stage.
  
  
• When Peter is Spiderman at the event when he is given the keys to the city he shouts "Shazam" which is the catchphrase of Captain Marvel in the DC comics, the main rival to the Marvel comic book franchise.
  
  
• During Stan Lee's cameo in the film, he uses the catch phrase "'nuff said", which he used frequently in the comics to end short editor's notes inside the panels.
  
  
• Shares the record for the fastest reach (2 days) of the $100M mark at the box-office with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
  
  
• The name of the character who replaces MJ on the play is Andrea Rubin, Sam Raimi's sister.
  
  
• The girl who gives her camera to Jonah J Jameson for $100 is actually Sam Raimi's daughter.
  
  
• All of the screams Kirsten Dunst had for this film were recycled from Spider-Man 2 (2004).
  
  
• The scene where Peter's alter ego throws an exploding pumpkin back at Harry, exploding in his face, this scene is also done in the first film where the Green Goblin throws a pumpkin at Peter, whose reactions are the same, blowing off half of his Spiderman mask.
  
  
• This is the first of the three movies to show Hoffman (Ted Raimi) entering J. Jonah Jameson's office through a door.
  
  
• 'Elisha Cuthbert' and Scarlett Johansson were each considered for the role of "Gwen Stacy".
  
  
• It was delivered to UK cinemas under the code name "Back for more"
  
  
• Prints were delivered to some theaters under the codename "Let’s Dance Again".
  
  
• Co-creator of Spider-man Stan Lee makes an appearance as the man who tells Peter how great Spider-man is.
  
  
• It took three years to create the visual effects required to portray the Sandman's powers. To understand the dynamics of sand, various experiments were conducted with sand (launching sand at stunt men, splashing the stuff around and pouring it over ledges). Sand sculptors were also consulted for advice.
  
  
• While Topher Grace was a big comic book fan and had read the first Venom stories as a boy, he found the suit he had to wear as Venom extremely unpleasant. It took an hour to put on (and four hours to apply the prosthetics); and it had to be constantly smeared with goo to give it a liquid organic feel. Grace also had to wear fangs, which bruised his gums.
  
  
• Originally, Dylan Baker was meant to mutate into the Lizard and become the main villain for this film. There is a lizard skeleton in Dr. Connors' laboratory that foreshadows this metamorphosis.
  
  
• Topher Grace is never referred to as "Venom" once in the entire movie.
  
  
• The song the marching band plays in the scene where Spiderman receives the key to the city is the theme from the original Spiderman cartoon (1967).
  
  
• In Harry's lab, his father's Green Goblin mask is seen as well as a gold Goblin mask. In the comics, Hobgoblin wears a yellow Goblin mask.
  
  
• In shots that are close enough to Peter's right hand, you can see the mark/scar left behind from the genetically altered spider that bit him in the first film.
  
  
• The movie's $59.3M take (on its opening Friday) at the box-office was the biggest single day of all time. The previous record-holder was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
  
  
• The movie had the the best per-theater average ($34,807) ever among wide releases
  
  
• Opened in 4,252 theaters, more than any other movie before, beating out the former record-holder Shrek 2 (2004) which opened in 4,223 theaters.
  
  
• Composer Christopher Young appears as a piano player at Mary Jane Watson's rehearsal scene.
  
  
• When the symbiote attaches to Peter's motorcycle license plate it takes on the shape of a V (for Venom).
  
  
• When Eddie Brock greets Peter Parker at the Construction Crane Disaster Site he salutes him with a gesture that resembles a victory sign or V (for Venom)
  
  
• The photograph of Mary Jane next to Peter’s police scanner is the picture he took of her at the science exhibit in the first Spider-Man movie.
  
  
• The font of Venom's web message is the same font used for the title of the comic, Sensational Spider-Man.
  
  
• Release prints were delivered to theaters in three parts, each with a fake title. Reels 1, 3, 5, "Two Timing Friend". Reels 2 and 4, "Back for More". Reels 6 and 7, "Listening Heart".
  
  
• Composer Danny Elfman does not return to provide the musical score for this film, citing creative differences with director Sam Raimi over the previous film. Instead, Christopher Young composes the film's score. In December 2006, however, producer Grant Curtis announced that Elfman had begun collaborating with Young on the film's score music. Interestingly, Elfman turned down this film for Charlotte's Web (2006), which is about a spider who uses her talents to do good.
  
  
• Originally, director Sam Raimi vehemently opposed having Venom as a villain in the film, claiming he hated Venom's "lack of humanity," but Marvel producer Avi Arad convinced him to include the character, explaining that Venom had a strong worldwide following. Raimi eventually came to appreciate the character, based on writer Alvin Sargent's script and actor Topher Grace's performance. However, to keep Venom's appearance a secret, he claimed during the film's casting and production that he hated the character, and had no intention of including the character in this film or any subsequent sequels. To make amends, he then treated the audience at the 22 July 2006 San Diego Comic-Con to the first public images of Venom in the film, albeit with unfinished special effects.
  
  
• John Dykstra, who won an Oscar for his work as visual effects supervisor on Spider-Man 2 (2004), had declined to work on the third film. Instead, Dykstra chose to work on Hot Wheels (2007). Scott Stokdyk took over as visual effects supervisor.
  
  
• Topher Grace left "That '70s Show" (1998) to star in this movie.
  
  
• The over 600 latex "web" balloons in the celebration scene had to be hand-painted with a Sharpie marker.
  
  
• Both Topher Grace and Thomas Haden Church confessed that when they were unceremoniously invited to meetings at Sony, they had no idea they would be auditioning for this film.
  
  
• This film is reportedly the most expensive film ever made in U.S. dollars, with a budget of $250 million. This breaks King Kong (2005)’s record of $207 million, and in terms of adjusted dollars, would be third to Voyna i mir (1968)’s budget of $560 million.
  
  
• Thomas Haden Church worked out for 16 months to build up his physique to portray the Sandman, and Topher Grace worked out for six months to prepare for his role as Venom.
  
  
• In a fight scene where Spider-Man punches through Sandman's chest, congenital amputee boxer Baxter Humby took Tobey Maguire’s place in filming the scene. Humby, who was born without his right hand, helped deliver the intended effect of punching through Sandman's chest.
  
  
• The film's visual effects designer, Scott Stokdyk, created a miniature of a skyscraper section at 1/16th scale, instead of using CGI, to save time and costs, and so that damage done to the building could be portrayed realistically.
  
  
• A scene (and poster) of Spider-Man shows him in his symbiote-suit and, in a window, his reflection in his old red-and-blue suit. This image is reminiscent of a scene from _"Spider-Man: The Alien Costume: Part 1 (#1.8)" (1995)_ , which also featured, as in the trailer, the symbiote-suit attaching itself to Peter as he sleeps.
  
  
• The film's translation in Russia is "Spider-Man 3: Enemy in the Reflection"
  
  
• The Vulture was considered as a villain for this film and was to be played by Sir Ben Kingsley. However, he was cut from the film and replaced with Venom.
  
  
• Real sand was used in the scenes with Sandman, except where there were characters being buried/covered in sand. Real sand being possibly hazardous for such scenes, ground up corncobs were used as a substitute. It provided marvelous snacks for the cast and crew afterwards...
  
  
• Partial scenes, where Spider-Man is hanging from the back of an armored car, where filmed in downtown Cleveland Ohio, due to expensive shooting prices in New York City.
  
  
• Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire were the driving forces that got Sandman into this film. During press interviews for the first two Spider-Man films, Raimi and Maguire repeatedly mentioned Sandman as a villain they would like to see in a future sequel.
  
  
• Spiderman 3 combines all three Raimi brothers. Sam Raimi as the director, Ivan Raimi as one of the writers and Ted Raimi as an actor in the role of Hoffman.
  
  
• While being in the Venom costume, Topher Grace didn't drink any water during his breaks because he couldn't use the bathroom with his costume on.
  
  
• According to Grant Curtis, in early production the Vulture was originally going to be in the movie, and Ben Kingsley was involved in negotiations to play him before the character's story line was replaced by Venom.
  
  
• Eddie's line - "My spider-sense is tingling...if you know what I'm talking about!" - when referring to MJ, was Topher Grace's idea.
  
  
• The font used for the posters of the play Mary Jane appears in, was originally designed for the first Fantastic Four logo.
  
  

>>> WARNING: Here Be Spoilers <<<

Trivia items below here contain information that may give away important plot points.
You may not want to read any further if you've not already seen this title.

• SPOILER: Immediately after Spider-Man 2 (2004) released, Ivan Raimi wrote a plot for the third film in two months. According to Sam Raimi, the film initially dealt with the concept of heroes with a dark side, and villains with a sympathetic side. As well as dealing with the "triangle" between Peter, Mary Jane and Harry, the Sandman was made the film's official "villain"; the screenwriters made his character, merely a petty criminal in the comics, the real killer of Ben Parker to further Peter's guilt over his uncle's death. Raimi wanted another villain in the film, and eventually settled on the popular villain Venom to please the fans. There was also the addition of a rival love interest, Gwen Stacy, to complicate personal matters. However, with all these additions, the story became so complex that Alvin Sargent considered cutting it into two films, before realizing he could not create a successful intermediate climax for the third film to lead onto the fourth.
  
  
• SPOILER: The first time all three of Peter Parker's comic book girlfriends (Betty Brant, Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson) appear in a "Spider-Man" film.
  
  
• SPOILER: You can see Flash Thompson in the background at Harry Osbourne's funeral.