Spider-Man: No Way Home has landed in a web of criticism surrounding the upcoming Oscars and the Academy’s decision to honor Twitter users’ favorite film during the March 27 telecast. It’s easy to imagine that the Academy chose to spotlight the social media favorite in hopes of fans of the film tuning in. As it stands, No Way Home, the sixth-highest-grossing movie of all time, is a frontrunner for the recognition. The film has a sole nomination for best visual effects, meaning a trip to the podium is hardly assured, given that only one Marvel movie has prevailed in the category: Sam Raimi’s groundbreaking 2004 sequel, Spider-Man 2.
That film, in which Tobey Maguire returned as the conflicted title character opposite a new foe in Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus, featured effects led by production visual effects designer John Dykstra, a previous Oscar winner for Star Wars, plus a clear vision from Raimi. Production visual effects supervisor Scott Stokdyk recalls, “Every single day, Sam shows up trying to improve something,” although he adds that these high standards led to a “race to the finish line” in completing the effects.
Among the challenges was how to bring Doc Ock’s metallic arms to menacing life; early footage using puppetry was largely scrapped, with CGI offering more movement to the anthropomorphic appendages. Another hurdle was a third-act subway train battle between Spidey and Doc, as the visual effects team initially labored to nail the realism of the surrounding environment to increase the sense of peril.
“My proudest moment was seeing audiences respond to the train sequence because we had just struggled with it,” Stokdyk says.
Dykstra remains proud of the filmmakers’ innovations, including their commitment to studying not only the way Spidey himself would swing through the city, but also having the camera’s mid-air point of view adhere to real-world physics.
Dykstra explains, “What we had to do was avoid making the CGI call attention to itself because ultimately this is a story about personalities and events, and not about technology.”
This story first appeared in a March stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
Source: HollyWood
