Le site Comics Continuum a publié une interview inédite de Tobey Maguire, à quelques heures de la sortie de S-M 2 aux Etats-Unis.

CULVER CITY, Calif. — The Continuum today continues it series of question-and-answer interviews from the Spider-Man 2 press junket with Tobey Maguire, who returns as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

Following is an edited transcription of a roundtable interview conducted recently on the Sony lot.

Question: Can you talk a little bit about your back problems? Were you really worried you might not be able to do the picture?

Maguire: How long do you want the answer to be? This is the one we’re really interested in, so this one could take up some time.

First of all, this is a back condition I’ve had for three years or four years, on and off. Sometimes it doesn’t bother me really at all, sometimes it might bothers me a little and sometimes a lot. Coming off of Seabiscuit, it was bugging me a lot. Not because of Seabiscuit; I did not injure my back on Seabiscuit. That was a false report. But it was bugging me quite a bit.

I saw the animatics and the storyboards of the stunts that I was to do on this movie. And I was a little concerned about it and felt it was my responsibility to disclose my back discomfort to the studio, to the insurance company and the filmmakers, which I did. They were unstandably concerned. Any of their actions that resulted in that report did not offend me or bother me in anyway. I understood they have a multi-, multi-million dollar investment that they had a start date for and an entire crew hired for and everything was rushing towards a date five weeks away to start this picture. And we were all concerned about it.

Then I went in and with the stunt guys and worked on a few of the stunts to see how I was going to do. After I reported the stuff to them and told them about my conditions, my back started getting better. I told them about it, and within about a week, my back got better than it had been in three years or so.

So it was kind of like much ado about nothing at that point. But it was what it was. I was in and did some of the work with the stunt guys. I was fine. I felt good. I told them I felt good. There was other stuff involved because there was insurances companies involved and whatnot. And then we were good to go.

And I did the film and it didn’t bother me throughout the whole filming. As a matter of fact, it was easier than Seabiscuit and it was easier than Spider-Man 1. Why? I think because having had the experience of doing it before made it easier for me. And the harnesses were better than I wore and the wire rigs were easier for me for some reason, and, I don’t know, my back just wasn’t bothering me.

Question: With all the pressures, was it a pleasure? Or was there trepidation trying to follow it up?

Maguire: No trepdiation. And it was a pleasure for me. None of my feelings had to do with the success of the first movie in terms of making the second movie. It just has nothing to do with it.

What it has to with is that I really love working with Sam Raimi. He is a lot of fun, he’s a funny guy. I just get along with him very well. His sense of humor and mine kind of work together. And, also, he’s very collaborative and very open to me contributing my ideas, which I love and makes me feel like I’m a greater part of the filmmaking process. I like working with all the other people on the show, too, like Kirsten (Dunst) and James (Franco) and Rosemary (Harris) and Laura (Ziskin) and Avi (Arad). And Bill Pope was great.

I like everybody. It’s a good show and it feels like a family situation. There’s not like six of us, or nine of us, that all have the same tattoo, but I really like working with these people. (laughs)

Question: How do you find that you’ve changed and what does that bring to Peter Parker?

Maguire: I’m not sure how I’ve changed. I’m a few years older and I think I’ve changed a little bit, as one would. I don’t really know; I haven’t thought about it.

Peter Parker is just in a different place in his life. It’s wearing on him being Spider-Man and not having a life of his own. I always thought it was peculiar to me how this kid couldn’t see how he could just have a little balance in his life, and things would be a little better for him. But there are complications to that, which I understand. He doesn’t want to put his loved ones in danger and he also, just being honest with people, at first just causes him pain. Just being around Aunt May is a painful experience because he’s constantly racked with guilt and feelings of responsibility for all the bad things that have happened. He faced that situation and it helped their relationship.

Stuff is just wearing on him and he just wants a life of his own. He wants to have some kind of balance in his life. But he also has these gifts and wants to use them responsibility.

Question: Can you identify with him?

Maguire: I guess. It’s a bit of a stretch. I get really busy and can feel somewhat overwhelmed at time. But my life is not at all like his. I mean, I have friends and family that I am close to. I am an actor.

Question: What’s your take on him losing his powers?

Maguire: It’s psychological and I think it starts to happen because he really doesn’t want it any more. His system’s rejecting it. It’s casuing him so much personal inner turmoil and pain that his system is just rejecting it. And then I think it becomes a conscious choice, and when it becomes a conscious choice, then the powers really go away at that point.

Question: Wire services are reporting that you’ve said trailers are giving too much away.

Maguire I don’t think I’ve ever said that. Do I want to say it?

Question: OK, in general are trailers giving away too much of movies? Do you think the trailer for this gave too much away?

Maguire: I don’t think that this trailer gives away too much. I think it teases you with a couple of things. You see the thing in the alley and he says, “Spider-Man, no more.” That’s a big plot point that it implies, but there’s no context to it. You don’t really know what’s going on, you don’t know what that means. I think it’s a good tease.

Then when Harry says, “Let’s see who’s beind the mask,” that’s another big (gasp). But you don’t even know if that’s me there. You don’t know anything about that. I’ve had people ask me, “Is that you? Does he see you?” So I think it’s a good teasy thing. It hints to some plot points and it teases. And I’ve had the right questions from people that I would imagine the people who made the trailer wanted people asking.

Question: Kirsten said she definitely does not want to make a fourth movie. Are you dead set against a fourth movie?

Maguire: I don’t know if I would make a statement like that, but I don’t anticipate doing a fourth movie.

…I think three’s probably enough for me, but you never know. If they sent me a script that was better than any other script I’ve ever read and offered me a piece of Sony Corporation. (laughs). Never say never. Sony’s a big company.

Question: There have been reports that in addition to your back it was a money issue and you were renegotiating your contract and you felt it was unfair that that producer got more money than you. What about those reports?

Maguire: That stuff wasn’t true. We were renegotiating, but that stuff was settled before any of the back stuff came up. We were done with that at that point, as far as I remember. Maybe some of the finer points of the deal, but the bigger issues were done. The negotiations were fine. They were negotiations. I was asking for his, they wanted to give me that. Then we finally met somewhere. Normal negations.

Question: Do you find you have paparrazzi and media attention now because of Spider-Man?

Maguire: Yeah, it certainly happens a lot more to the guy who plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man than the guy who plays Homer Wells or whatever. It’s just part of the territory, I guess.

Question: Can you talk a little about Alfred Molina as a foe for Spider-Man?

Maguire: I thought that Alfred did such a great job. I think that the character Doc Ock is a more interesting character cinematically than Green Goblin was. I love Willem (Dafoe) and think he did a great job. But I think Doc Ock is one of the best movie villains ever. Alfred got to play that, which is cool, and he did it extremely well.

You never know what to expect from an actor. I’m a fan of his and I’ve seen him in some movies, and I think he’s a terrific actor. But it’s a very different kind of thing, and I think he did it very well. He gives you those delicision kind of one-liners perfectly and has the right humor and the right kind of sinister thing going on. And he’s also very human and you care about him. And I think that the character is also written that way. And I think that cinematically Doc Ock is just way cooler than the Green Goblin.

Question: Sam said the movie was about the characters. Do you agree and is that why people respond?

Maguire: From my standpoint, it’s all about character. The characters and the relationships, it’s all I think about or all I come to work to do. I think there’s a lot to this movie. I think that it’s very well balanced with character and relationship and action and excitement and all that stuff. I don’t know what attracts somebody to a movie or why you versus you would go see a movie. If you want to see Spider-Man action, or you go to see a love story or you like a little bit of all of it, I don’t what attracts any individual to the film exactly, but it has a great mix and balance of all that stuff, and I think it appeals to a lot of people.

Question: Peter is very frustated in the movie. What are you frustrations?

Maguire: Talking to the media. (laughs) Just kidding. I don’t have any great frustrations, really.

Question: What was your sense of Sam on this one? It seemed much more like a Sam Raimi movie.

Maguire: In terms of the working experience, it was very similar. You see it more in the work than in working with him. I understand what you’re saying and I think that comes in a lot of ways. He got the experience of doing the first pictures. And even though he got to do a lot of crazy camera stuff in the Evil Deads and very complicated dramatic stuff in A Simple Plan or something like that, this was a different film than he had ever done. Even though he had the perfect training to do the first movie with everything he had done, it was still different. And to take Spider-Man and animate him and get into his movements and try to perfect all that stuff, I think was a learning experience. And he got to use his learning experience from the first picture, apply it to this one, also having more freedom as a filmmaker. He seemed to carry out whatever he imagined with ease.

When I saw this picture, my first reaction after I saw the picture was just, “Sam is a genius!” I love how he makes this movie. I love it. And I told Sam this after I saw the film and he just shrugs it off or whatever.

I said, “Not only is this better than the first movie. This is the best film you’ve ever made.” Evil Deads movies are different; they’re great movies. But I think this, in terms of being a complete movie, is the best movie he’s ever made.

Question: There were a lot of complicated action scenes. Can you recall one scene that was tough for you?

Maguire: The whole train sequence was pretty difficult. The process of shooting that, and I don’t even know how they put it together exactly. I know they started in Chicago, shooting plate shots of the train and that was a few months before we started shooting the picture; we didn’t even have a final draft of the script. But they went all of that stuff and then we finally got to it, I don’t even know how long we shot the train sequence for. It seemed like forever.

PS : Merci à austin pour cette info.

Comic Continuum a publié un entretien de Kirsten Dunst et diffuse en même temps quelques photos.

CULVER CITY, Calif. — The Continuum today begins it series of question-and-answer interviews from the Spider-Man 2 press junket with Kirsten Dunst, who returns as Mary Jone Watson.

Following is an edited transcription of a roundtable interview conducted recently on the Sony lot.

Question: How has Mary Jane changed from the first film?

Dunst: It’s been two years since the last movie, so, of course, anybody goes from 18 to 22, you change a lot. I’ve grown up, of course, Mary Jane has grown up. I think that’s reflective in the movie. You see that she’s much more mature than Peter. He’s kind of stayed juvenile because he doesn’t really have any social life.

The last movie, he kind of was the decision-maker in that we can only be friends. And in this movie, she decides for them, which I’m really happy about. She’s the one pushing him to do things. And it’s usually the man in movies who pushes things. It’s like, “I love you. C’mon.”

I just talked to Sam (Raimi) a lot about writing her to be a very strong, independent woman. She’s moved to New York so she’s changed a lot.

Question: Did the success of the first movie impact you dramatically?

Dunst: Not personally. Now, I’m know worldwide, I guess, and I can finance movies. On a money, production (level), it’s changed a lot for me. Now it’s not a question to get whatever people to come see a movie that I’m in. That all helped me. And I get paid more now, too. (laughs)

Question: You were already fairly well known. Personally, has the recognition changed?

Dunst: Definitely. More people recognize me. I mean, I still have the red wing. And I live in L.A., where everybody is too cool to come up to you. They talk about you behind your back and gossip about in Los Angeles.

But when I go to other places, I realize that people know who I am. Because they’re the ones that want autographs and want to take pictures. But living in L.A., everybody’s just used to it. They’re talking about you behind your back more rather than admiring you or being an innocent fan.

Question: What kind of conversations did you have with Jake (Gyllenhaal) when it looked like Tobey Maguire might step down?

Dunst: That was really a complicated time. I’m just so thankful that Tobey ended up doing the movie because he is Spider-Man. And it wouldn’t have been good… Jake could have done the movie, he’s one of the best young actors and he probably would have done an amazing job, but Tobey is Spider-Man. I’m just happy it all worked out and he could do the stunts.

Question: Would it have been weird to work with your boyfriend?

Dunst: Of course, it would have been weird. I would like to work with him. I’m happy it wasn’t this because I would like to do a more intimate movie with him where I could do many scenes with him. If we had done this, we could probably not have done another movie with him, probably. I would rather do something else with him.

Question: Have you thought about where you want Peter and Mary Jane’s relationship to go in the third movie?

Dunst: I can’t give away the movie. I hope that one day they’ll be together. It’ll be more complicated because he’s basically risking his life everyday and she’s worried about him risking his life everyday. And she’s in danger. It adds tons of layers of complication?

Question: What is the advantage of reprising a character?

Dunst: It was nice. I feel like all my relationships developed so much more on this one. I just felt more comfortable. Sam and I got to know each other better. I changed a lot from how I was on the first movie and how I approached my work and my relationships with them. It just grew and I felt it could be more creative and open. He trusted me a lot and he knew my work. So it just made for a very comfortable shoot, where you could say anything and everybody knows you. It made it nice to go to work and know who’s going to be there.

Question: Did it make it different than any other job you’ve had?

Dunst: With Spider-Man 2, you just wait around all day, like five hours on set. In this one, I got have my own hair and makeup person, my own person doing my wardrobe. I had much more perks in this one. It was fun to have my own little posse, because I’ve never had one before.

Question: Are you doing more besides the third?

Dunst: Three’s enough. I think don’t wear about a good thing too much.

Question: Have you determined that three is it for you?

Dunst: It will be it, yeah. I’m only contracted for three, and I don’t see me signing on for a fourth.

Question: So do you want to see her killed off? Or will somebody else take over the role?

Dunst: It would actually be interesting to see Spider-Man die. Why doesn’t the super-hero ever die? It would be so sad and beautiful. He’s so human. I think that if Mary Jane was alone pregnant and he dies, she could give birth to a Spider-baby and carry on the series with another young boy. I doubt Tobey would come back for a fourth or a fifth.

Question: Are you worried about being trapped if you take on more in this series?

Dunst: I just think that three’s a good number. I think Mary Jane is a huge, important piece of this film. It’s all about the love story. But how many movies can you really make about it? You want to stop it while it’s still great.

Sam wants to move on, too. This movie has been his life for so long now. You gotta !refresh!. You can’t do it too much, I think.

Question: How hard is it to concentrate on the human moments of the film when you’re dangling from a wire?

Dunst: It’s so hard because it takes so long. The hardest thing is just keeping up your energy and to be there in the present when you’re so tired because you’ve done nothing all day. What is good is that Sam knows that the scenes are the most important thing. Because if they don’t work, the whole movie doesn’t work, no matter how good the action scenes are. So we’d take all the time that we needed to get everything right, the dialogue. Those scenes are the easiest for me, honestly. Those are the scenes that I like to do.

It’s the scenes where I have to look at this piece of tape and look at this thing blow up. Then I get picked up and then I scream and then I get picked up and then my head has to turn this way. It’s like all those little details. I don’t like to do that kind of stuff, so I would just try to nail it in one take. I always try to nail any harness work right away because it’s not fun for me. I don’t like to do this stuff.

Question: I read recently where you were more than willing to let you stunt double do things this time. Can you talk about that?

Dunst: On the first one, they could take advantage because I was so eager and I would say, “I’ll do it!” On this one, I was like, “When you really don’t have to use me, please don’t.” It’s just things where my hair would cover my face anyway and I don’t really need to do. And Tobey’s not doing it any way, so why should I?

I did most everything, but certain things I just don’t have to do. And on the last movie, I did so many things that weren’t even put in the movie. So I just didn’t let them take advantage of me like on the first one.

Source : Comics Continuum

PS : Merci à Austin pour cette info.