Okay, I’m going to come clean. It may not surprise you to hear this from a guy who created a television show called Beyond Geek, but I’m a total dork… and I love Spider-Man.
So back in the early 2000s, I hecka wanted to see the Spider-Man suit in Tobey Maguire’s first Spider-Man movie. (I nearly wanted to say the OG Spider-Man, but there was the one from the ’70s—you know, that made-for-TV movie/TV series.)
It doesn’t really matter which version, I would have still been excited. My buddy Jerome was able to get me on the movie as an extra, and I was super stoked because they hadn’t released anything at that point showing what that version of Spider-Man was going to look like.
Me being me, I thought I might actually be there on a day with Spider-Man in full force. So I was geeking out big time. Problem was once I got there I was super bored.
Being an extra is boring a lot of the time. I’m used to juggling tons of things on set, so hanging around doing nothing was wearing me down.
We were there for the big Macy Gray concert, so there were a ton of extras there.
While we were waiting, they filmed the sequence with Peter walking around taking pictures in front of the bleachers we were sitting in.
So there’s Peter taking photos, and I realize Tobey is pointing the lens right at me, so I do what any self-respecting adult would do—I start doing these silly poses.
You know, the ones… like I’m in a bodybuilding contest. I’m flexing away, trying to get Tobey to break character and laugh while he’s filming. That’s what poor Tobey saw, not MJ like in the movie.
Except I couldn’t get him to crack. Heck, Jerome even joined me in my shenanigans. Nothing we did seemed to phase Tobey. What you saw in the movie is exactly how he acted. He didn’t acknowledge either of our childish antics… well, at least not until later.
They were finally ready for the big crowd concert scene, so all the extras were called down from the bleachers to fill the area in front of the stage.
That’s when I spotted something even cooler than seeing Spider-Man’s suit… Stan “The Man” Lee.
He was on the other side of the crowd. I turned to Jerome and told him that we needed to work our way over there.
So we did, except we only made it halfway before they began filming. Smack dab in the path of Peter Parker… AKA Mr. Maguire.
They roll sound. The crowd comes to life. I get into the scene rocking out to Macy Gray when all of the sudden someone slams their shoulder into me.
I’m like, “What the heck, man!?”
That’s when I notice who hit me… Tobey Freakin’ Maguire.
When they were done with the take, Tobey headed back to his first position, passing right past me.
I smiled and acknowledged that I deserved it. He smiled back.
I can’t remember how many takes they did, but that was the only time he shoulder checked me—which is one of the shots in the film.
Don’t blink or you’ll miss Peter Parker getting his revenge on some poor concert goer… however, Tobey is such a pro that it looks like he’s just pushing his way through a crowd of people enjoying a concert.
Heck, it was worth it, because I was in a Spider-Man movie, a Sam Raimi movie, and now I’m officially part of the MCU.
Speaking of superheroes… In the last email, I promised you another full-length episode to watch for free. It only seemed fitting that I would share Beyond Geek-Real Superheroes. It’s about a group of people who dress up like superheroes to fight crime and do good in their communities.
Next time, we’ll explore how heroes and horror can blend together.
Until then, happy viewing!
Joe
P.S. Who’s your favorite superhero?