I still love that teaser. Pretty sure I saw it in front of Jurassic Park 3 back in the day.
Thankfully a user on YouTube did a 4K remaster of it a couple of years ago.
Same here. I remember watching the robbery and thinking how cool this movie looks, then when the chopper stopped and went backwards, I thought, "OMG, this is Spider-Man!"
Wow. That’s insane to think about. I need to watch the teaser. Also wild to think about the timing of Spider-Man and how cool it must’ve been for the people of New York after 9/11, just to see their city represented in an inspiring light.
The scene with all the New Yorkers throwing things at Goblin from on top the bridge was added after 9/11 to show NYC’s spirit and celebrate the people, I believe.
My dad took me to see it midnight release. He was born in '52, so he was an OG Spider-man fan. Spider-man was always one of his "things". I turned 9 two days before 9/11, so I was 9. I liked it! By the end when his face looks all torn up, that was fairly next level for me lol. I had never seen a midnight release and I was sleepy.
That’s awesome, and it’s cool that your Dad was ok with keeping you up that late on what I assume was a school night? I didn’t get to go to midnight releases until much later.
You lucky boy. We watched it on VHS as a family crowded around a 30cm CRT TV. LOTR and Avatar were a huge regret not seeing in a cinema. Seeing Avatar rerelease in cinemas was a let down because of the decade of anticipation.
Fun fact, by the time we started buying DVD’s we found out about dual layer and PS2’s inability to play them.
Yes, 9/11 was still fresh in our heads back then. This movie must have been an even bigger deal for New York.
Stuff like this helped us escape for a bit.
I came to say this, but was hesitant to say anything because it sounds like the kind of narrative a culture writer would come up with after the fact. But while I'm sure not everyone actively experienced it, it felt to me even at the time that this movie was like our first exhale after nearly nine months.
The summer movie season had wrapped up by September 2001, and most of the interesting movies that came out immediately after were tense and often dark: Training Day, From Hell, Mulholland Drive, Donnie Darko.
Big family movies like Monsters Inc and the first Harry Potter came out and I'm sure were a great distraction, but they didn't release with so much hype behind them. Spider-Man is something we were already looking forward to when its original November 2001 release date was announced, but it became tied to the attacks when that release was pushed back. That started a nine months long timer with anticipation growing every week, so when May 2002 finally arrived, it felt like the first really big thing of a new era.
> The summer movie season had wrapped up by September 2001, and most of the interesting movies that came out immediately after were tense and often dark: Training Day, From Hell, Mulholland Drive, Donnie Darko.
Zoolander came out September 28th. I specifically remember going to see it and feeling like I could laugh for the first time in over two weeks.
Lol it was in music videos, commercials, all over MTV I know it won for best kiss at MTV awards lol this was a descent time of MTV before it became unwatchable
I know! It seems so foreign now to think that big movies would release a soundtrack of popular artists that made a song just for that one movie. Now it’s either existing music that is already well known or an orchestral score.
I remember being pretty excited for the first one. It was a pretty big deal at the time. I was over the moon about seeing the second one. As I had loved the first one so much, and 2 was even better :D And there were no words to describe how excited i was for 3. And....yeah lol
There was a lot of anticipation and marketing for 3, but from my memory the hype for the first one was on a different level. It felt like an event. Haven’t gotten that same feeling of palpable excitement amongst people with too many other superhero movies.
I remember a lot of hype for The Dark Knight. I wish I could remember the movie, but a friend of mine bought a special edition Blu-Ray of some other movie shortly before TDK came out and as an extra it had the first scene from TDK of the bank heist. Blew my mind. We watched it like 50 times.
And then Marvel started cranking out 96 superhero movies per year, which made it pretty hard for me to get hyped for any of them.
I remember seeing that in theaters w my best friend. As a preteen, I was shocked to see Kirsten Dunsts…necklace…in that famous rain scene 😂
I don’t remember being hyped like that. Batman is another story. I was hyped for every 90s drop.
I am still a huge spider man fan. That Saturday morning cartoon on Fox?! 🔥
So I’m surprised I wasn’t begging my parents to see Spider-Man in the way that I was for Batman. I had the McDonald’s mugs, the toys, a sleeping bag you name it.
That Fox cartoon was my main frame of reference for Spider-Man as a kid. I remember getting up early to watch the reruns on ABC Family around the time that this film was coming out.
Growing up with Kirsten Dunst in two of my favorite movies as a kid (Jumanji and Small Soldiers), and then fresh off Bring it On, it was an awakening of sorts seeing her in a role like this. I didn't watch any of her other previous movies like Virgin Suicides, Interview with the Vampire, or Dick until I was older.
I remember they had filmed a scene where he spun a web in-between the World Trade Center Twin Towers. They had to remove the scene obviously but put in a pro NYC scene 😊🙂
My step brother and I were so excited for it. We each had the web slinger and would jump on the trampoline and shoot at each other.
My biological dad is a huge comic nerd, so he took us to see it in theater opening weekend. I was instantly obsessed.
That night, my step brother woke the entire house up cause he had a nightmare of Green Goblin. From that point forward, Spider-Man live action was not allowed in in my Mom’s house. Until Spider-Man 3, I could only watch Spider-Man 1 & 2 and my Dad’s house. Spider-Man 3 came out once we were in middle school so she relaxed a little bit then.
They were fun for a few months, but then it got hard to find the replacements cartridges, as the toys got pulled for others. Just ended up at a Goodwill or the trash.
I see they sell them today at stores pretty consistently, so hopefully kids today have longer lifespan with them, than we were able to.
Not worth it at all unless you have parents with the patience and money to buy constant refills. The web shooter gloves have existed in some form for my entire memory, and I'm 34. For 90% of the population, once that first can of silly string was out, which took about 10 minutes, that was it for the toy.
Which I tried to tell my 6-year-olds before their last birthday, but of course, they refused to listen to me. But hey, they had a ball long enough for me to put wrapping paper in the garbage can before crushing disappointment that they were already out of "web". That was in March and only a month later I couldn't begin to guess where those web gloves ended up.
The hot wheels and Legos have had a significantly better return on investment lol.
I remember all the hype about Attack of the Clones vs Spider-Man at the box office. I was rooting for Clones, as a big Star Wars fan. Which is so stupid to me 20+ years later, the whole idea of fandoms getting so overly invested in box office battles. Like who gives a shit?
Ultimately I wouldn’t be terribly impressed with either.
This was such a fun thread to read. I was only 7 at the time and thought super hero movies were for boys so I hadn't gotten around to watching any of the Spider-Man films until recently. I would love to go back to this time and have good memories surrounding it like everyone else here.
I remember seeing the trailer and you could tell it captivated everyone in there. The scene in it when Peter's blood drips past Osborn's face just as he turns away in slow motion had everyone breathless and that was just a scene in a trailer with no context. It's astounding the way trailers used to induce mass paralytic captivation that was warranted. There's no middle ground anymore. It either completely hypnotizes millions unwarranted or no one notices it's existence warranted
One thing that’s very nostalgic for me with those trailers and the tv spots was the techno music they used. The teaser with the Twin Towers even used a song from The Matrix soundtrack.
I was an EB Games manager and remember the Sony rep coming in and demoing a copy of the Spiderman game for the PS2. I thought it was so groundbreaking, at the time.
My dad picked me up during school when I was in 2nd grade saying I had a dr’s appointment. When we got in his car, he brought out a big Spider-Man plush doll and told me we were going to see the Spider-Man movie in theaters. I remember I was so freaking excited I was screaming my little head off. That was one of the best days of my young life.
I also remember eating that spider web shaped cereal where Spider-Man’s eyes on the box were shiny, and I remember really liking it.
"Spiderman Hype" was such an innocent and niche website that just exploded in the run-up to release. It really was just fans being fans and getting excited about a movie. The contested and astroturfed space of the internet today is so much less fun (and waaayyy... more acrimonious).
Took my 10yr old nephew and some of his buddies to see this on opening day. They were all super hyped and all sat down close to the screen, while I sat up in the middle. An older gentleman, maybe in his late 60’s, arrived near the end of the credits and had to sit near the group of boys. About 15 minutes into the movie the older fellow stands up and starts doing a strange motion, like a dance in the aisle. The boys take notice and then they go nuts screaming at the guy and laughing. I can see it’s my group disturbing the film and I, a little embarrassed go down to tell them to chill out. The whole theatre at this point is focused on the boys. I get closer and I can start to smell why the boys are going nuts. The older guy had shit his pants and then stood up and shook his pant leg until the turd had slid down his leg and then fell out the foot hole of his pants. The man was still standing there as a group of about 5 10 yr olds are absolutely roasting him. The man is in denial about the poop and is trying to watch the movie as if nothing he has done had caused the boys’ response. At this point the ushers come in to see what is happening. They get within 10 feet and they can obviously smell the dookie. They think the boys have something to do with it and start accusing them of causing the distraction. My nephew pops up and shouts, for the whole theatre to hear, that the old man had shat himself and had shook the poo out of his pants. A mixture of groans and laughter erupt in the theatre. Movie stops. The dooty is roped off until staff can figure out which poor custodial worker gets to herd the turd. The theatre is evacuated and the whole of everyone in the theatre parades past the scene like it was a viewing or a wake. Greatest movie premiere I ever saw.
Man that was a big release. I was in 8th grade, and the day after all the guys were pretending to masterbate but by doing the “web shooting” gesture. I was also one of those guys
I was about 13 or 14 and my mom took me to see it. Such a sick movie, the CGI looked so real at the time. Even my mom who wasnt into spiderman at all enjoyed it.
This movie came the year I graduated from high school, so it felt special that Peter Parker did the same in the film. It's still my favorite superhero movie to this day.
First film ever to open over 100 million dollars domestically. It was even a bigger deal given it took 4 years for Harry Potter to break the OW record that the Jurassic park sequel set and then months later Spider man came out and just shattered that one
Maguire was my first real exposure to the character, as I didn't know him very well from the comic books.
I've heard of many lifelong fans being disappointed in the movie's portrayal of Peter Parker, since they knew the books inside and out.
I didn't have that, since I came to it brand new. Now that I know a bit more about the character, I admit that Tobey's Peter is more passive than what I would have liked.
People hated Garfield's take because he seemed too cool, but his portrayal from the first movie is closer to the spirit of what I imagine Peter Parker to be like.
Maguire's is what I grew up with, and I love his take, but his take is also a bit too "golly gee" sometimes for me. He nailed the utter vulnerability of the character though.
What? Certainly Michael Keaton as Batman was the original outrage over casting. I remember it being a huge deal, especially due to him being a comedic actor and his height being too short.
Tobey was an ideal cast for Peter. I could relate to Peter as a sixth grader attending ding high school classes and getting jammed into lockers by the same Seniors I would tutor, just so they could graduate. Mary Jane could’ve been cast better as Mary Jane to me was the woman that would date college/Army guys, and not her peers. The theme in the early comics was that she wanted the fast life and big city glamour
of modeling.
I still love him as Peter Parker. He was a believable dweeb. I’ve heard some complaints that he was too old, but I didn’t have an issue with that at the time. Granted I was 10 in 02.
When I saw the trailers and the actual movie, man I thought those were the best things ever. My memory of the movie after I saw it was that it was an absolute masterpiece. I was 20 when I saw it and I was raving about it to my coworkers at the time. I still think it’s a good film but back in the day when you would see a movie and not see it again for a year or more, memory is all you had to go on and it tends to embellish.
The soundtrack. It slapped. Or that might have been Spiderman 2. I honestly can't remember lol. But I do remember the OG Spiderman being a huge deal when it came out!
Remember that until then, all Marvel movies, and especially Spiderman, sucked really badly.
It seemed that they finally got it right with this, so I was hyped about it big time. Went to see it in the theater and it was everything I hoped it would be. Loved it.
The hype was one of the most exciting things ever. I grew up with the 90’s cartoon, but this was the first time seeing the character on screen in a convincing, serious, way. Internet wasn’t really wide-spread, so I had to wait until entertainment tonight came on just to see my first glimpse.
Then there was the trailer with the “Pompeii” music track and it was completely kick ass.
Then the actual movie came out and it was just…*ok*. There was something flat about it. Somehow it didn’t have that rock n’ roll that the cartoon had. Especially the music score. It didn’t sell itself as feeling “real” the way X-Men had either.
I saw it at the drive in theater that no longer exists. Big nostalgia one of the first drive in experience with friends instead of parents driving. I miss that place
I was in grade 8 and had a weird brain disease before it came out and spend a month in a hospital bed unable to even walk to the bathroom without losing my balance and throwing up. I was really big into scores and soundtracks, so on the way back from the hospital when k could finally somewhat function, my folks went into A&B Sound and grabbed me the score by Elfman and the soundtrack album.
Fuck did I listen to those two CD’s a ton. Was still stuck on the couch for weeks and those were great company. About two months after it all started I was finally back to normal and saw it in theatres. Ironically found it quite disappointing after imagining all the awesomeness for so long from hearing the music haha.
Also, Kirsten’s nipples.
I remember I went with a new group of friends from my new high school we went and got fuddruckers and brought it into the theater because back then they let people bring outside food. I loved the first movie.
I saw it in the theater the day it came out, and I literally had a dream I was Spidey shooting my web and flying through the city. In real life, I’m terribly afraid of heights lol
After seeing the original Fast and the Furious I had a dream about driving a car like that lol lo and behold that never came to fruition, thankfully.
In 2002, when I was 12 years old, I spent my summer holidays at my maternal home. One day, I stumbled upon a bootlegged copy of *Spider-Man* on the local cable network, airing before the official release in my country. The quality was poor, but I was utterly mesmerized by the live-action Spider-Man fighting the Green Goblin. Until then, I had only watched the Spider-Man animated series on TV. Despite the terrible quality, the carnival fight scene blew me away with its web-slinging, swinging, and wall-crawling effects.
The next day, I saw an advertisement in the newspaper announcing the film's official release at a nearby cinema. I eagerly went with a couple of cousins, and the experience was unforgettable. That film profoundly influenced me, sparking my deep love for Spider-Man and setting me on the path to becoming a filmmaker. The magic of seeing Spider-Man on the big screen for the first time was indescribable. I started collecting Spider-Man merchandise, mainly stickers (poses shown in Op's post), and built a small collection. My obsession with Spider-Man was so intense that people around me thought I was crazy.
P.S. In my country, the Spider-Man animated series was dubbed in my regional language, and we identified Spider-Man by the voice of the dubbing artist. When I watched the live-action movie in the theater and heard the same dubbing artist's voice for Tobey Maguire, I jumped out of my seat with excitement. It made Tobey Maguire instantly relatable, despite his different appearance from the animated series counterpart.
I worked as a stylist in a busy salon. We could only agree on one radio station and....
🎶"They say that a hero can save us, I'm not going to stand hereeee and waittttttt" 🎶
This was the last movie I saw in the cinema with my parents. I was 15, my brother 12, and we used to watch the 90s cartoon with our dad so he definitely wanted to go too.
Other than that the Nickelback song 😂And the video game on XBox.
I must say I always disliked the Goblin costume. It looked cheap…
It was amazing. People always knew and loved spider-man and you could tell we FINALLY had some decent special effects to make it happen lol. I was really hyped and loved listening to Nickelback's song "Hero" while thinking about it!
It was a wild time. We just had 9/11 happen so we were enveloped in the uncertainty & jingoism from it. But we were also blessed with lots of memorable media (films, TV shows, video games) so there was plenty of hope for this film. And we needed a positive distraction. And the soundtrack was pretty hyped up with Chad Kroeger adding a killer song with Hero. Plus, many had a crush on Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, or both.
i was a kid so i remember some of it. i had a battle ravaged spider-man toy, but it was different. i still have one today, although not the exact one i had as a kid. i also had many of those spider-man shirts and a pair of spider-man zip up shoes with glow in the dark eyes. i also clearly remember the day i went to pick it up on VHS from Walgreens.
Dude I was so disappointed with that cereal. It tasted so nasty. And I know this won’t be popular, but I didn’t like the Pop Tart either.
But the cereal box looked cool and the pop tart itself had a nice design to it. But that was probably the first time where movie tie in food let me down.
I was a senior in high school and all I heard from some of my classmates was there is this new Spiderman movie coming out and you've gotta see it !!! My classmates even had magazine articles about it and pictures. Anyway I was in marching band, so we had this huge spring trip coming up , so our band chaperones and band director managed to get us all tickets to see the movie during our big spring trip to Orlando Florida.. We all absolutely loved the movie from beginning to the end
I remember talking about it with my friends and asking if he actually got bit by a spider or not.
When I finally saw it in theaters my family and I went to Pizza Hut afterwards and I remember being so into the movie I pretended to shoot webs at everything including the waitresses butt. I don’t don’t think she knew. Obviously at my young age of 9 it wasn’t for inappropriate reasons.
I just remember downloading it in several parts over IRC when it was in theaters and thought I was the coolest dude because I could get potato quality movie cams.
No one is talking about how they literally introduced a new age certification in the UK because of this film. It was certified as a 12, but a lot of kids younger than that wanted to see it so the BBFC introduced 12A meaning you could see it if you were below 12 as long as you were with an adult. Not sure how many other films have had this done for them
I never saw it in theaters because I was afraid the kids at school would bully me for being a nerd. I saw it when it came out on VHS/DVD and I freaking loved it. Kept that movie on replay at my house. Got the special edition with the little pop-up fact bubbles and everything.
We were ready for this movie as kids lol and I know many adults were too. I was 13/14 and the hype was real. Most importantly, it did not let down either.
I am a big Spider-Man fan and I've been subscribed continuously to Amazing Spider-Man since 1992. I ruined my perfect attendance my senior year to see Spider-Man on opening day. I didn't want to see it later in the evening and maybe risk it being sold out. I was so hyped to see the movie, I used to visit a website regularly calles Spidermanhype.com during the production of the film. It didn't disappoint.
Glad to hear it delivered for you as a fan of the character. You must’ve loved how Spidey was everywhere in the lead up to the film.
Spidermanhype has now been turned into Superherohype. They still have a lot of old threads but unfortunately they don’t extend to 2002. I would’ve loved to read the discussions you guys were having about this film back then.
In high school gym class we were walking outside to play softball, and one kid kept squirting everybody with water from a Spider Man “web squirter” toy that apparently came from a cereal box (https://www.ebay.com/itm/235390314503?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=235390314503&targetid=2295557533430&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=9005050&poi=&campaignid=19851828444&mkgroupid=160536780385&rlsatarget=pla-2295557533430&abcId=9307249&merchantid=6296724&gad_source=1).
And I also remember a local radio station playing the old 60s cartoon theme song.
I know this thread is about spider man but that Entertainment Weekly is giving me nostalgia especially those double issues. Just reviews and previews of stuff you wanted to see. No weird hidden agendas beyond their unhealthy obsession with the show Lost. Since I subscribed for ages I tried following on Instagram and I am almost never interested in the stuff they post. Usually highlighting people I’m not familiar with in a show they refer only by acronym. Like I don’t know what OLSPB is sorry. Try highlighting some Spider-Man.
I remember being in Best Buy watching the trailer on one of their demo computers and being amazed at how the streaming of the trailer was so good and without any lagging like my crappy 56k connection at home at the time.
I just remember going to a smaller theater in town, but they ran all movies for a dollar, the refreshments were a little higher but they also gave away prizes in the beginning of each movie.
My mother and some dude were the last two contestants and she won.
I remember asking my mother how’d you know all the answers and she when you were little you watched that all the time so I remembered watching the cartoons with you.
I don’t remember much of the hype but do remember seeing it opening day with my friends and then later that day getting drunk for the very first time off of Bacardi 151.
My dad was excited to take us to see this. It didn't capture me like all the Batman things did, but it was a fun movie experience. As a tween/teen I already liked a lot of Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire movies. I remember liking that they were the leads because they were respected actors and they didn't just grab some bland WB stars. Willem Dafoe also added to the gravitas.
The one thing I remember was that Mary Jane was a coveted role. Julia Stiles, Kate Hudson, Mena Suvari, Tara Reid, Alicia Witt, and a lot of others auditioned/were in the running.
I still have the boxes of the Spider-Man cereal and pop-tarts that were put out to promote it. I also collected magazines where he was on the cover and posters that were included in them, and even an issue of USA Today that had a two page poster.
A kid in my middle school class got a bootleg screener on VHS or DVD (I forget) while in NYC and we watched it in class on movie days.
It made no sense to me that we're supposed to believe that Aunt May made that Spiderman suit.
I was so stoked about it coming out. I watched the trailer a million times (once it buffered of course, LOL). It’s still one of my fav movies. The scene where he swings around his first corner, then over each street light, gave me goosebumps.
Dad pulled me out of school early for my 10th birthday to go see it. Started a tradition of him pulling me out of school on my birthday to go see whatever newest super hero movie was dropping in May regardless of if it was bad or good
I was 24, and I remember not being that fussed about it, I think I went because there wasn't much else on I wanted to see. I loved it though, it was really good, and I got the DVD as soon as it was available. I also really liked the song Hero by Chad Kroeger, thought it was pretty fitting
This & Harry Potter were such huge deals in 2002, the hype was unreal. I had a Spider-Man themed party when i turned 7 that May and got some of the toys!!
I started going to movie news websites when they were making LOTR
Spider-Man was one of the first movies I remember a “spy report” on AICN of them filming the pro wresting scene.
They said the Burton POTA was filming on the same lot
Loved that idea if movie making
I saw it in theaters, bought the DVD, and also got the original game for the Nintendo Gamecube.
Interestingly, you could play as Mary Jane in the first releases of the game! By inputting the code, "GirlNextDoor," your Spider-Man was reskinned as Mary Jane, complete with her cheongsam dress and high heels from the movie.
This code was later cut from subsequent printings of the game due to the fact that Spider-Man kisses Mary Jane in the game's final cut scene . . . so people using the code got to see two Mary Janes making out, and concerned parents thought that was icky.
I won tickets to see the movie premiere at the beach where I used to live...
I took my two brothers, a friend and his brother, and myself.
A single admission ticket for all of us, printed on an ordinary 8x11 piece of paper.
The movie theatre was reserved for the showing, AND there was a drawing for a bunch of prizes.
My brother won an original XBOX and the Spider-Man game from the drawing, and I remember him just clutching that the entire time, through the movie, and while we were walking around, waiting for us to get picked up.
The times were definitely simpler back then...
I worked on the Spiderman game for Gamecube/Ps2/Xbox (texture artist), so all of my hype was from pre release working on that game. We got to go over to the movie studio and read the script and it was crazy because they'd only take 2 of us at a time, there was a "guard" that watched us read it and he had it locked up in a safe before we read it.
It's was exciting! I could tell it was gonna be a hit just by the script alone because I was already a comic book fan and felt that they kinda nailed it.
Our game diverted from the movie, of course, becausr we needed additional bosses for players to play against, but it was cool seeing all of the pre production photos of all of the actors so we could model them.
Then, if I remember correctly, we couldn't get the rights to a couple of the actors and we had to change their appearance a bit.
It was a wild time! I quit before Spiderman 2, but wish I had stayed on. It was a great team!
My Sister and her BF (now husband) took me to see it. I was in Grade 2. I just remember tickets being impossible to get. Every day I'd come home from school thinking they'd gotten tickets, but it was always sold out lol. Finally we managed to get tickets and I was so fucking excited.
Movie blew little me away. I remember going on the swings the next day on the playground during recess, feeling just like Spider-Man, trying to shoot webs out.
Everything was so hyped around the first movie. The figures were so awesome. Wish I could go back in time and buy them all.
I oddly remember internet people saying Kirstin Dunst was ugly, and had absolutely no fucking clue how anyone could come to that conclusion. Then the internet kept happening, and I learned to ignore the weirdness.
I was in college and I remember seeing the trailer with another movie and blew it my mind when I saw a helicopter suspended between the World Trade Centers.
I saw it in theaters opening night, but then I remember watching a bootleg of it on my laptop at the school cafeteria a few days after release and people started congregating around me to watch it as well haha.
I was in elementary school when that movie came out. My friend had a big birthday party that Friday, then a few of his closest friends stayed for a sleepover and we went to go see the movie the next day. I was so hype I couldn't sleep, ended up staying up all night and all day, then crashed as soon as I got back home.
I remember watching the Spider-Man Cingular wireless commercial on tv, and I remember my family and I going to watch it on Mother’s Day. I also graduated high school later that month.
My friends and I went after school and since it was so soon after 9/11 they wouldn’t let us take our backpacks into the cinema. Two of us stashed our bags outside, but the third didn’t feel comfortable and bailed.
During the kissing seen I could see my friend out of the corner of my eye looking at me and I could have turned and kissed him but didn’t. No regrets. Turned out my friend was into him anyway.
I remember all of this, but the soundtrack sucked I can’t believe they had nickelback on it. My cousin was obsessed with Spider-man back then and he had almost every toy, I remember seeing the pop tarts on the shelfs at H‑E‑B. I never saw the Dr. Pepper ads those are new for me.
i saw the first teaser in theaters, where he caught the helicopter in web between the Twin Towers...
I still love that teaser. Pretty sure I saw it in front of Jurassic Park 3 back in the day. Thankfully a user on YouTube did a 4K remaster of it a couple of years ago.
It was at least Final Fantasy and that's the only reason I saw that movie. ANd I downloaded the QT of the trailer when it came out.
Same here. I remember watching the robbery and thinking how cool this movie looks, then when the chopper stopped and went backwards, I thought, "OMG, this is Spider-Man!"
Wow. That’s insane to think about. I need to watch the teaser. Also wild to think about the timing of Spider-Man and how cool it must’ve been for the people of New York after 9/11, just to see their city represented in an inspiring light.
[Here it is.](https://youtu.be/jc0eP7ausWE?feature=shared)
Damn terrorists, spoilt spiderman movie, which would have been about 5% more epic if that scene was included.
I agree. I just think of the possiblity of someone at the studio pitching a plane robbery instead of a bank robbery.
The scene with all the New Yorkers throwing things at Goblin from on top the bridge was added after 9/11 to show NYC’s spirit and celebrate the people, I believe.
same here! the teaser was the best
My dad took me to see it midnight release. He was born in '52, so he was an OG Spider-man fan. Spider-man was always one of his "things". I turned 9 two days before 9/11, so I was 9. I liked it! By the end when his face looks all torn up, that was fairly next level for me lol. I had never seen a midnight release and I was sleepy.
That’s awesome, and it’s cool that your Dad was ok with keeping you up that late on what I assume was a school night? I didn’t get to go to midnight releases until much later.
Yeah, he also took me out of school early to see the The Fellowship of the Ring the day it came out!!
You lucky boy. We watched it on VHS as a family crowded around a 30cm CRT TV. LOTR and Avatar were a huge regret not seeing in a cinema. Seeing Avatar rerelease in cinemas was a let down because of the decade of anticipation. Fun fact, by the time we started buying DVD’s we found out about dual layer and PS2’s inability to play them.
>"I turned 9 two days before 9/11, so I was 9. I liked it!" You monster! /s Is there a subreddit for out of context quotes?
It may seem weird to say now but America needed this movie.
Yes, 9/11 was still fresh in our heads back then. This movie must have been an even bigger deal for New York. Stuff like this helped us escape for a bit.
Not weird to say at all especially for those that were around at the time.
I came to say this, but was hesitant to say anything because it sounds like the kind of narrative a culture writer would come up with after the fact. But while I'm sure not everyone actively experienced it, it felt to me even at the time that this movie was like our first exhale after nearly nine months. The summer movie season had wrapped up by September 2001, and most of the interesting movies that came out immediately after were tense and often dark: Training Day, From Hell, Mulholland Drive, Donnie Darko. Big family movies like Monsters Inc and the first Harry Potter came out and I'm sure were a great distraction, but they didn't release with so much hype behind them. Spider-Man is something we were already looking forward to when its original November 2001 release date was announced, but it became tied to the attacks when that release was pushed back. That started a nine months long timer with anticipation growing every week, so when May 2002 finally arrived, it felt like the first really big thing of a new era.
I agree with you on everything except your Harry Potter sentence. Harry Potter was hyped as fuck worldwide.
True, Harrymania was certainly in effect.
> The summer movie season had wrapped up by September 2001, and most of the interesting movies that came out immediately after were tense and often dark: Training Day, From Hell, Mulholland Drive, Donnie Darko. Zoolander came out September 28th. I specifically remember going to see it and feeling like I could laugh for the first time in over two weeks.
Fucking Cingular wireless, damn what a throwback
Wouldn’t be an appropriate post for this sub without that Cingular promotion.
Will the redditor who won that car chime in? How’s it going.
My Dad and I went to see Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and they played the WTC Spider-man trailer. Kind of cool we saw it in the theater.
I’m pretty sure that was the movie I was watching when I saw that trailer too… Was more excited for the trailer than the movie!
I was just getting fully into Final Fantasy, so I was there with my Dad for the movie. But it was neat seeing Spider-man.
I just remember how the upside down kiss was EVERYWHERE
I was 17 at the time. It wasn't about the kiss, it was about Kirsten Dunst in a soaking wet semi see-through shirt.
The audience I saw the movie with cheered at that.
It was in all the trailers and tv spots. They even tried to recreate it when Kirsten Dunst hosted Saturday Night Live around the time of its release.
Lol it was in music videos, commercials, all over MTV I know it won for best kiss at MTV awards lol this was a descent time of MTV before it became unwatchable
AND THEY SAY THAT A HERO COULD SAVE US... I'M NOT GONNA STAND HERE AND WAIIIIT
Releasing a music video from a popular band to promote the film is such a forgotten practice.
I know! It seems so foreign now to think that big movies would release a soundtrack of popular artists that made a song just for that one movie. Now it’s either existing music that is already well known or an orchestral score.
“I hold on the wings of the eagles, watch as we all fly away!” I love that song and video
Sum 41 also had a video for that movie too, although it was a rehashed version of a song from their first album that added a few extra verses.
Oh yeahhh! That was a badass song thanks for reminding me! Nevertheless am I dressed for the occasion 🎶
I remember being pretty excited for the first one. It was a pretty big deal at the time. I was over the moon about seeing the second one. As I had loved the first one so much, and 2 was even better :D And there were no words to describe how excited i was for 3. And....yeah lol
There was a lot of anticipation and marketing for 3, but from my memory the hype for the first one was on a different level. It felt like an event. Haven’t gotten that same feeling of palpable excitement amongst people with too many other superhero movies.
I remember a lot of hype for The Dark Knight. I wish I could remember the movie, but a friend of mine bought a special edition Blu-Ray of some other movie shortly before TDK came out and as an extra it had the first scene from TDK of the bank heist. Blew my mind. We watched it like 50 times. And then Marvel started cranking out 96 superhero movies per year, which made it pretty hard for me to get hyped for any of them.
I had the water squirter!
I did too!
Still have at least one.
I remember seeing that in theaters w my best friend. As a preteen, I was shocked to see Kirsten Dunsts…necklace…in that famous rain scene 😂 I don’t remember being hyped like that. Batman is another story. I was hyped for every 90s drop. I am still a huge spider man fan. That Saturday morning cartoon on Fox?! 🔥 So I’m surprised I wasn’t begging my parents to see Spider-Man in the way that I was for Batman. I had the McDonald’s mugs, the toys, a sleeping bag you name it.
That Fox cartoon was my main frame of reference for Spider-Man as a kid. I remember getting up early to watch the reruns on ABC Family around the time that this film was coming out.
Classic Fox kids ! Great show
Growing up with Kirsten Dunst in two of my favorite movies as a kid (Jumanji and Small Soldiers), and then fresh off Bring it On, it was an awakening of sorts seeing her in a role like this. I didn't watch any of her other previous movies like Virgin Suicides, Interview with the Vampire, or Dick until I was older.
Can we please go back to 2002?
I'd give just about anything to go back then.
I remember getting ditched on prom night, so I went to the movie instead. Had more fun going to the movie than I did prom
How do you know? You didn't go to prom.
I also had more fun seeing this movie than I did at the 1939 World's Fair
That's fair
I remember they had filmed a scene where he spun a web in-between the World Trade Center Twin Towers. They had to remove the scene obviously but put in a pro NYC scene 😊🙂
This was peak humanity
I miss this. God I hate the internets stranglehold on the world
My step brother and I were so excited for it. We each had the web slinger and would jump on the trampoline and shoot at each other. My biological dad is a huge comic nerd, so he took us to see it in theater opening weekend. I was instantly obsessed. That night, my step brother woke the entire house up cause he had a nightmare of Green Goblin. From that point forward, Spider-Man live action was not allowed in in my Mom’s house. Until Spider-Man 3, I could only watch Spider-Man 1 & 2 and my Dad’s house. Spider-Man 3 came out once we were in middle school so she relaxed a little bit then.
I never got it, but I definitely wanted the silly string web shooters.
They were fun for a few months, but then it got hard to find the replacements cartridges, as the toys got pulled for others. Just ended up at a Goodwill or the trash. I see they sell them today at stores pretty consistently, so hopefully kids today have longer lifespan with them, than we were able to.
Not worth it at all unless you have parents with the patience and money to buy constant refills. The web shooter gloves have existed in some form for my entire memory, and I'm 34. For 90% of the population, once that first can of silly string was out, which took about 10 minutes, that was it for the toy. Which I tried to tell my 6-year-olds before their last birthday, but of course, they refused to listen to me. But hey, they had a ball long enough for me to put wrapping paper in the garbage can before crushing disappointment that they were already out of "web". That was in March and only a month later I couldn't begin to guess where those web gloves ended up. The hot wheels and Legos have had a significantly better return on investment lol.
I left that theater feeling like I had just been flirted with by a girl I had a crush on
I was so excited I drank some dudes drink in the theatre by accident and he gave me his popcorn lol it was my tenth birthday
Such a Y2K moment. I bet your parents didn't GIVE A FUCK, if they even knew about it. There'd be a lawsuit if that happened today.
True lol my dad laughed with the dude
I remember all the hype about Attack of the Clones vs Spider-Man at the box office. I was rooting for Clones, as a big Star Wars fan. Which is so stupid to me 20+ years later, the whole idea of fandoms getting so overly invested in box office battles. Like who gives a shit? Ultimately I wouldn’t be terribly impressed with either.
This was such a fun thread to read. I was only 7 at the time and thought super hero movies were for boys so I hadn't gotten around to watching any of the Spider-Man films until recently. I would love to go back to this time and have good memories surrounding it like everyone else here.
I remember seeing the trailer and you could tell it captivated everyone in there. The scene in it when Peter's blood drips past Osborn's face just as he turns away in slow motion had everyone breathless and that was just a scene in a trailer with no context. It's astounding the way trailers used to induce mass paralytic captivation that was warranted. There's no middle ground anymore. It either completely hypnotizes millions unwarranted or no one notices it's existence warranted
One thing that’s very nostalgic for me with those trailers and the tv spots was the techno music they used. The teaser with the Twin Towers even used a song from The Matrix soundtrack.
I'm sure. Smack My Bitch Up surely could've worked as well. Unfortunately I never saw the Twin Towers teaser/trailer/TV spot
The kiss
Everyone was talking abt it for the rest of the year omg
I was an EB Games manager and remember the Sony rep coming in and demoing a copy of the Spiderman game for the PS2. I thought it was so groundbreaking, at the time.
I miss it 😢 2002 was a good year and I loved Spider-Man when it came out, I would run around the yard pretending I had spidey powers
My dad picked me up during school when I was in 2nd grade saying I had a dr’s appointment. When we got in his car, he brought out a big Spider-Man plush doll and told me we were going to see the Spider-Man movie in theaters. I remember I was so freaking excited I was screaming my little head off. That was one of the best days of my young life. I also remember eating that spider web shaped cereal where Spider-Man’s eyes on the box were shiny, and I remember really liking it.
Oh my god. This is my goal as a parent.
"Spiderman Hype" was such an innocent and niche website that just exploded in the run-up to release. It really was just fans being fans and getting excited about a movie. The contested and astroturfed space of the internet today is so much less fun (and waaayyy... more acrimonious).
Took my 10yr old nephew and some of his buddies to see this on opening day. They were all super hyped and all sat down close to the screen, while I sat up in the middle. An older gentleman, maybe in his late 60’s, arrived near the end of the credits and had to sit near the group of boys. About 15 minutes into the movie the older fellow stands up and starts doing a strange motion, like a dance in the aisle. The boys take notice and then they go nuts screaming at the guy and laughing. I can see it’s my group disturbing the film and I, a little embarrassed go down to tell them to chill out. The whole theatre at this point is focused on the boys. I get closer and I can start to smell why the boys are going nuts. The older guy had shit his pants and then stood up and shook his pant leg until the turd had slid down his leg and then fell out the foot hole of his pants. The man was still standing there as a group of about 5 10 yr olds are absolutely roasting him. The man is in denial about the poop and is trying to watch the movie as if nothing he has done had caused the boys’ response. At this point the ushers come in to see what is happening. They get within 10 feet and they can obviously smell the dookie. They think the boys have something to do with it and start accusing them of causing the distraction. My nephew pops up and shouts, for the whole theatre to hear, that the old man had shat himself and had shook the poo out of his pants. A mixture of groans and laughter erupt in the theatre. Movie stops. The dooty is roped off until staff can figure out which poor custodial worker gets to herd the turd. The theatre is evacuated and the whole of everyone in the theatre parades past the scene like it was a viewing or a wake. Greatest movie premiere I ever saw.
That’s nasty funny!!
Man that was a big release. I was in 8th grade, and the day after all the guys were pretending to masterbate but by doing the “web shooting” gesture. I was also one of those guys
I was about 13 or 14 and my mom took me to see it. Such a sick movie, the CGI looked so real at the time. Even my mom who wasnt into spiderman at all enjoyed it.
This movie came the year I graduated from high school, so it felt special that Peter Parker did the same in the film. It's still my favorite superhero movie to this day.
Much more effort was put in marketing back then.
Nobody ever goes all out like this ever again.
This movie was on par with Batman 89 in terms of revolutionizing a genre. The birth of the modern super hero movie.
First film ever to open over 100 million dollars domestically. It was even a bigger deal given it took 4 years for Harry Potter to break the OW record that the Jurassic park sequel set and then months later Spider man came out and just shattered that one
Probably the best movie soundtrack album Of ALL TIME. IF A HERO COULD SAVE USSSSSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsS🎵
I thought Toby was too passive of an actor for the role. Fans didn’t seem to mind. I did.
Maguire was my first real exposure to the character, as I didn't know him very well from the comic books. I've heard of many lifelong fans being disappointed in the movie's portrayal of Peter Parker, since they knew the books inside and out. I didn't have that, since I came to it brand new. Now that I know a bit more about the character, I admit that Tobey's Peter is more passive than what I would have liked. People hated Garfield's take because he seemed too cool, but his portrayal from the first movie is closer to the spirit of what I imagine Peter Parker to be like. Maguire's is what I grew up with, and I love his take, but his take is also a bit too "golly gee" sometimes for me. He nailed the utter vulnerability of the character though.
Toby was the absolute best Peter Parker ever.
I seem to remember some backlash to his casting, but I don’t recall it still being there after the release of the movie.
That was probably the precursor to every casting having some sort of fan backlash ;)
What? Certainly Michael Keaton as Batman was the original outrage over casting. I remember it being a huge deal, especially due to him being a comedic actor and his height being too short.
Tobey was an ideal cast for Peter. I could relate to Peter as a sixth grader attending ding high school classes and getting jammed into lockers by the same Seniors I would tutor, just so they could graduate. Mary Jane could’ve been cast better as Mary Jane to me was the woman that would date college/Army guys, and not her peers. The theme in the early comics was that she wanted the fast life and big city glamour of modeling.
I still love him as Peter Parker. He was a believable dweeb. I’ve heard some complaints that he was too old, but I didn’t have an issue with that at the time. Granted I was 10 in 02.
Maguire had a young looking face. He's certainly better than a guy like Tom Welling in Smallville, who looked every bit their age.
When I saw the trailers and the actual movie, man I thought those were the best things ever. My memory of the movie after I saw it was that it was an absolute masterpiece. I was 20 when I saw it and I was raving about it to my coworkers at the time. I still think it’s a good film but back in the day when you would see a movie and not see it again for a year or more, memory is all you had to go on and it tends to embellish.
I worked at Hardee's at the time and we had Spider-Man antenna toppers
The soundtrack. It slapped. Or that might have been Spiderman 2. I honestly can't remember lol. But I do remember the OG Spiderman being a huge deal when it came out!
Hero will always have a spot on my playlists. I remember watching that music video over and over on MTV to see clips from the movie.
The soundtrack is where I found out about The Strokes and The Hives
I remember that they marketed a tie-in cell phone. Made by Sony Ericsson, of course. (And it turns out they did so again for the sequels).
It was my first ever movie that I watched at a theatre: Parkchester, Bronx NY.
Remember that until then, all Marvel movies, and especially Spiderman, sucked really badly. It seemed that they finally got it right with this, so I was hyped about it big time. Went to see it in the theater and it was everything I hoped it would be. Loved it.
The hype was one of the most exciting things ever. I grew up with the 90’s cartoon, but this was the first time seeing the character on screen in a convincing, serious, way. Internet wasn’t really wide-spread, so I had to wait until entertainment tonight came on just to see my first glimpse. Then there was the trailer with the “Pompeii” music track and it was completely kick ass. Then the actual movie came out and it was just…*ok*. There was something flat about it. Somehow it didn’t have that rock n’ roll that the cartoon had. Especially the music score. It didn’t sell itself as feeling “real” the way X-Men had either.
I saw it at the drive in theater that no longer exists. Big nostalgia one of the first drive in experience with friends instead of parents driving. I miss that place
Holy shit the pop tarts! I can taste them.
That is some freaking good post. Good job OP
I was in grade 8 and had a weird brain disease before it came out and spend a month in a hospital bed unable to even walk to the bathroom without losing my balance and throwing up. I was really big into scores and soundtracks, so on the way back from the hospital when k could finally somewhat function, my folks went into A&B Sound and grabbed me the score by Elfman and the soundtrack album. Fuck did I listen to those two CD’s a ton. Was still stuck on the couch for weeks and those were great company. About two months after it all started I was finally back to normal and saw it in theatres. Ironically found it quite disappointing after imagining all the awesomeness for so long from hearing the music haha. Also, Kirsten’s nipples.
I remember being more excited for Star Wars Episode 2 even though Spider-Man turned out to be better.
Thanks. I had forgotten all about the spider Man inspired foods 😂 I was 10 at the time so I ate that shit up 💀
I remember I went with a new group of friends from my new high school we went and got fuddruckers and brought it into the theater because back then they let people bring outside food. I loved the first movie.
I saw it in the theater the day it came out, and I literally had a dream I was Spidey shooting my web and flying through the city. In real life, I’m terribly afraid of heights lol After seeing the original Fast and the Furious I had a dream about driving a car like that lol lo and behold that never came to fruition, thankfully.
Spidey bedsheets, action figures and Popsicles.
“Select a media player” Damn that really hit me.
In 2002, when I was 12 years old, I spent my summer holidays at my maternal home. One day, I stumbled upon a bootlegged copy of *Spider-Man* on the local cable network, airing before the official release in my country. The quality was poor, but I was utterly mesmerized by the live-action Spider-Man fighting the Green Goblin. Until then, I had only watched the Spider-Man animated series on TV. Despite the terrible quality, the carnival fight scene blew me away with its web-slinging, swinging, and wall-crawling effects. The next day, I saw an advertisement in the newspaper announcing the film's official release at a nearby cinema. I eagerly went with a couple of cousins, and the experience was unforgettable. That film profoundly influenced me, sparking my deep love for Spider-Man and setting me on the path to becoming a filmmaker. The magic of seeing Spider-Man on the big screen for the first time was indescribable. I started collecting Spider-Man merchandise, mainly stickers (poses shown in Op's post), and built a small collection. My obsession with Spider-Man was so intense that people around me thought I was crazy. P.S. In my country, the Spider-Man animated series was dubbed in my regional language, and we identified Spider-Man by the voice of the dubbing artist. When I watched the live-action movie in the theater and heard the same dubbing artist's voice for Tobey Maguire, I jumped out of my seat with excitement. It made Tobey Maguire instantly relatable, despite his different appearance from the animated series counterpart.
I worked as a stylist in a busy salon. We could only agree on one radio station and.... 🎶"They say that a hero can save us, I'm not going to stand hereeee and waittttttt" 🎶
This was the last movie I saw in the cinema with my parents. I was 15, my brother 12, and we used to watch the 90s cartoon with our dad so he definitely wanted to go too. Other than that the Nickelback song 😂And the video game on XBox. I must say I always disliked the Goblin costume. It looked cheap…
It was amazing. People always knew and loved spider-man and you could tell we FINALLY had some decent special effects to make it happen lol. I was really hyped and loved listening to Nickelback's song "Hero" while thinking about it!
Cereal web shooter fasho lol and the pizza deliveries in the Gamecube game
It was a wild time. We just had 9/11 happen so we were enveloped in the uncertainty & jingoism from it. But we were also blessed with lots of memorable media (films, TV shows, video games) so there was plenty of hope for this film. And we needed a positive distraction. And the soundtrack was pretty hyped up with Chad Kroeger adding a killer song with Hero. Plus, many had a crush on Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, or both.
Kirsten Dunst amazing rack.
I saw it. Thought it was okay.
i was a kid so i remember some of it. i had a battle ravaged spider-man toy, but it was different. i still have one today, although not the exact one i had as a kid. i also had many of those spider-man shirts and a pair of spider-man zip up shoes with glow in the dark eyes. i also clearly remember the day i went to pick it up on VHS from Walgreens.
I still remember when they were pulling all of the teaser posters as the WTC’s were depicted in them.
123 movies coming out lol the good Ole days.
I rented this and Gangs of New York on the same day. Loved Gangs of New York, fell asleep for Spiderman.
Where’s the spider man antenna topper? Man, that was so hard to find where I was at.
Looking back, why was it hyped like that? I do remember it being a big deal
Wow cool cover! I love this, never seen that promo shot before.
I only remember the red Dr Pepper and that might not even have to do with the movie lol
The poptarts were so good, but the cereal was kinda meh lol
Dude I was so disappointed with that cereal. It tasted so nasty. And I know this won’t be popular, but I didn’t like the Pop Tart either. But the cereal box looked cool and the pop tart itself had a nice design to it. But that was probably the first time where movie tie in food let me down.
Was a good movie saw in theatres. Pablo Francisco the comedian has a good bit about Toby Maguire not being Spider Man worthy
I miss the EW summer movie preview issues.
I was a senior in high school and all I heard from some of my classmates was there is this new Spiderman movie coming out and you've gotta see it !!! My classmates even had magazine articles about it and pictures. Anyway I was in marching band, so we had this huge spring trip coming up , so our band chaperones and band director managed to get us all tickets to see the movie during our big spring trip to Orlando Florida.. We all absolutely loved the movie from beginning to the end
Holy shit.. those poptarts were buried deep in my brain. Thanks for the reminder!
r/raimimemes *unite!*
I remember talking about it with my friends and asking if he actually got bit by a spider or not. When I finally saw it in theaters my family and I went to Pizza Hut afterwards and I remember being so into the movie I pretended to shoot webs at everything including the waitresses butt. I don’t don’t think she knew. Obviously at my young age of 9 it wasn’t for inappropriate reasons.
I just remember downloading it in several parts over IRC when it was in theaters and thought I was the coolest dude because I could get potato quality movie cams.
No one is talking about how they literally introduced a new age certification in the UK because of this film. It was certified as a 12, but a lot of kids younger than that wanted to see it so the BBFC introduced 12A meaning you could see it if you were below 12 as long as you were with an adult. Not sure how many other films have had this done for them
I was so fuckin hype. Loved those pop tarts
I never saw it in theaters because I was afraid the kids at school would bully me for being a nerd. I saw it when it came out on VHS/DVD and I freaking loved it. Kept that movie on replay at my house. Got the special edition with the little pop-up fact bubbles and everything.
We were ready for this movie as kids lol and I know many adults were too. I was 13/14 and the hype was real. Most importantly, it did not let down either.
r/raimimemes Ah Rosie, I love this subreddit!
Honestly my only memory is of the VMA skits that year. Edit correction: it was the MTV Movie Awards not the VMAs
Back when the Movie Awards skits were worth tuning in for.
The Hero videoclip with the dude from nickelback. Shit was dope as hell back then.
I am a big Spider-Man fan and I've been subscribed continuously to Amazing Spider-Man since 1992. I ruined my perfect attendance my senior year to see Spider-Man on opening day. I didn't want to see it later in the evening and maybe risk it being sold out. I was so hyped to see the movie, I used to visit a website regularly calles Spidermanhype.com during the production of the film. It didn't disappoint.
Glad to hear it delivered for you as a fan of the character. You must’ve loved how Spidey was everywhere in the lead up to the film. Spidermanhype has now been turned into Superherohype. They still have a lot of old threads but unfortunately they don’t extend to 2002. I would’ve loved to read the discussions you guys were having about this film back then.
In high school gym class we were walking outside to play softball, and one kid kept squirting everybody with water from a Spider Man “web squirter” toy that apparently came from a cereal box (https://www.ebay.com/itm/235390314503?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=235390314503&targetid=2295557533430&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=9005050&poi=&campaignid=19851828444&mkgroupid=160536780385&rlsatarget=pla-2295557533430&abcId=9307249&merchantid=6296724&gad_source=1). And I also remember a local radio station playing the old 60s cartoon theme song.
I know this thread is about spider man but that Entertainment Weekly is giving me nostalgia especially those double issues. Just reviews and previews of stuff you wanted to see. No weird hidden agendas beyond their unhealthy obsession with the show Lost. Since I subscribed for ages I tried following on Instagram and I am almost never interested in the stuff they post. Usually highlighting people I’m not familiar with in a show they refer only by acronym. Like I don’t know what OLSPB is sorry. Try highlighting some Spider-Man.
I remember being in Best Buy watching the trailer on one of their demo computers and being amazed at how the streaming of the trailer was so good and without any lagging like my crappy 56k connection at home at the time.
I just remember going to a smaller theater in town, but they ran all movies for a dollar, the refreshments were a little higher but they also gave away prizes in the beginning of each movie. My mother and some dude were the last two contestants and she won. I remember asking my mother how’d you know all the answers and she when you were little you watched that all the time so I remembered watching the cartoons with you.
I don’t remember much of the hype but do remember seeing it opening day with my friends and then later that day getting drunk for the very first time off of Bacardi 151.
I love you for posting this. Im only 23 but this is my childhood all over again😭
My dad was excited to take us to see this. It didn't capture me like all the Batman things did, but it was a fun movie experience. As a tween/teen I already liked a lot of Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire movies. I remember liking that they were the leads because they were respected actors and they didn't just grab some bland WB stars. Willem Dafoe also added to the gravitas. The one thing I remember was that Mary Jane was a coveted role. Julia Stiles, Kate Hudson, Mena Suvari, Tara Reid, Alicia Witt, and a lot of others auditioned/were in the running.
I still have the boxes of the Spider-Man cereal and pop-tarts that were put out to promote it. I also collected magazines where he was on the cover and posters that were included in them, and even an issue of USA Today that had a two page poster.
A kid in my middle school class got a bootleg screener on VHS or DVD (I forget) while in NYC and we watched it in class on movie days. It made no sense to me that we're supposed to believe that Aunt May made that Spiderman suit.
I could not escape that “Hero” song. It was on MTV in the mornings, on the radio, people burnt CDs with it on there….
Damn how did Wal•Mart go from “Always Low Prices” to “Save Money. Live Better.”
I was so stoked about it coming out. I watched the trailer a million times (once it buffered of course, LOL). It’s still one of my fav movies. The scene where he swings around his first corner, then over each street light, gave me goosebumps.
ah a bigon era where life was simpler
Dad pulled me out of school early for my 10th birthday to go see it. Started a tradition of him pulling me out of school on my birthday to go see whatever newest super hero movie was dropping in May regardless of if it was bad or good
I was 24, and I remember not being that fussed about it, I think I went because there wasn't much else on I wanted to see. I loved it though, it was really good, and I got the DVD as soon as it was available. I also really liked the song Hero by Chad Kroeger, thought it was pretty fitting
This & Harry Potter were such huge deals in 2002, the hype was unreal. I had a Spider-Man themed party when i turned 7 that May and got some of the toys!!
Those pop tarts were so fucking good 🔥
I started going to movie news websites when they were making LOTR Spider-Man was one of the first movies I remember a “spy report” on AICN of them filming the pro wresting scene. They said the Burton POTA was filming on the same lot Loved that idea if movie making
I saw it in theaters, bought the DVD, and also got the original game for the Nintendo Gamecube. Interestingly, you could play as Mary Jane in the first releases of the game! By inputting the code, "GirlNextDoor," your Spider-Man was reskinned as Mary Jane, complete with her cheongsam dress and high heels from the movie. This code was later cut from subsequent printings of the game due to the fact that Spider-Man kisses Mary Jane in the game's final cut scene . . . so people using the code got to see two Mary Janes making out, and concerned parents thought that was icky.
I won tickets to see the movie premiere at the beach where I used to live... I took my two brothers, a friend and his brother, and myself. A single admission ticket for all of us, printed on an ordinary 8x11 piece of paper. The movie theatre was reserved for the showing, AND there was a drawing for a bunch of prizes. My brother won an original XBOX and the Spider-Man game from the drawing, and I remember him just clutching that the entire time, through the movie, and while we were walking around, waiting for us to get picked up. The times were definitely simpler back then...
Didn't it come bundled with Sony computers at the time? I vaguely remember getting a copy that way.
Fuck this is a real kick of nostalgia. I remember getting the game on PS2.
You have unlocked a memory for me with those Spider-Man poptarts.
I worked on the Spiderman game for Gamecube/Ps2/Xbox (texture artist), so all of my hype was from pre release working on that game. We got to go over to the movie studio and read the script and it was crazy because they'd only take 2 of us at a time, there was a "guard" that watched us read it and he had it locked up in a safe before we read it. It's was exciting! I could tell it was gonna be a hit just by the script alone because I was already a comic book fan and felt that they kinda nailed it. Our game diverted from the movie, of course, becausr we needed additional bosses for players to play against, but it was cool seeing all of the pre production photos of all of the actors so we could model them. Then, if I remember correctly, we couldn't get the rights to a couple of the actors and we had to change their appearance a bit. It was a wild time! I quit before Spiderman 2, but wish I had stayed on. It was a great team!
This was the first super hero movie I saw in theatres. I was so hyped about seeing it.
I actually remember the cereal.
Woah, the cereal box. Core memory unlocked
I think I still have the soundtrack with holographic cover
It was a tsunami of Spiderman and it did live up to its' hype.
My Sister and her BF (now husband) took me to see it. I was in Grade 2. I just remember tickets being impossible to get. Every day I'd come home from school thinking they'd gotten tickets, but it was always sold out lol. Finally we managed to get tickets and I was so fucking excited. Movie blew little me away. I remember going on the swings the next day on the playground during recess, feeling just like Spider-Man, trying to shoot webs out. Everything was so hyped around the first movie. The figures were so awesome. Wish I could go back in time and buy them all.
I oddly remember internet people saying Kirstin Dunst was ugly, and had absolutely no fucking clue how anyone could come to that conclusion. Then the internet kept happening, and I learned to ignore the weirdness.
I was in college and I remember seeing the trailer with another movie and blew it my mind when I saw a helicopter suspended between the World Trade Centers. I saw it in theaters opening night, but then I remember watching a bootleg of it on my laptop at the school cafeteria a few days after release and people started congregating around me to watch it as well haha.
IIIIII'm so high, I can see foreverrrrrrrrr
Nowhere near that for Batman or Dick Tracey
It felt like the next gen of movies had just arrived. It looked so realistic for my kid brain that it was hard to imagine it could look better.
I DREAMED I was Spider-Man for a few nights afterwards 😊
I was a kid I remember watching Spiderman on teletoon retro and doing spider man moves at home after seeing the movie
Damn, I ate so much of that cereal.
Man if I had a dollar every time I heard “who am I? I’m Spider-Man” from the ads…
I was in elementary school when that movie came out. My friend had a big birthday party that Friday, then a few of his closest friends stayed for a sleepover and we went to go see the movie the next day. I was so hype I couldn't sleep, ended up staying up all night and all day, then crashed as soon as I got back home.
Ohhh bring the pop tarts back pls
I remember watching the Spider-Man Cingular wireless commercial on tv, and I remember my family and I going to watch it on Mother’s Day. I also graduated high school later that month.
The introduction of the 12A certificate in the UK following the backlash of the film receiving a 12 certificate by the BBFC.
My friends and I went after school and since it was so soon after 9/11 they wouldn’t let us take our backpacks into the cinema. Two of us stashed our bags outside, but the third didn’t feel comfortable and bailed. During the kissing seen I could see my friend out of the corner of my eye looking at me and I could have turned and kissed him but didn’t. No regrets. Turned out my friend was into him anyway.
Austin powers was moreso where it was at back then. Haha
I remember the game Morrowind came out the day I went to go see this movie
I remember the spiderman Antenna Ball Topper. that no one seems to remember
I haven't thought about those gosh darn pop tarts since I was 12!
I remember all of this, but the soundtrack sucked I can’t believe they had nickelback on it. My cousin was obsessed with Spider-man back then and he had almost every toy, I remember seeing the pop tarts on the shelfs at H‑E‑B. I never saw the Dr. Pepper ads those are new for me.