Hollywood.com continues its sneak peek into next summer’s highly anticipated Spider-Man 3 with the first official interview with three of the film franchise’s newest stars: Thomas Haden Church as the abrasive villain the Sandman, Topher Grace as the evil-oozing Venom and Bryce Dallas Howard as the beautiful—and possibly doomed—Gwen Stacy.
Hollywood.com: Bryce, you’re playing a character who is famous in the comics for being Peter Parker’s girlfriend who was killed by the Green Goblin. How does Gwen Stacy play into the third Spider-Man film?
Bryce Dallas Howard: She is part of a love triangle between Peter Parker and Mary Jane, and that’s all I am going to say about it…I really can’t say anything about any of that. I really and truly can’t. What I will say about this film in particular, I am sure audiences notice that the second film was twice as big as the first one, and the third film is like three times as big as the entire franchise put together. and that is a testament to how much integrity and passion that everyone who is working on this truly has. They could just sit back and say “We got it, we’ve got the people that are going to be in the seats opening weekend, we’ve got it,” and they don’t do that. They work so incredibly hard. They push themselves, artistically. They push themselves in how to make this the most entertaining film. And then what Sam really brings into this is how do we make this above all moral for the kids that are going to be seeing this. Bringing it back to Gwen Stacy, he is very reverent to everything that people would expect, and yet it is surprising so I don’t want to give anything away. None of us do, because we don’t want to betray the audience. They had that opportunity with the first and second film: they really didn’t know what they were going to expect, and it made it that much more entertaining.
HW: Topher, what was the most exciting prospect about playing Venom for you?
Topher Grace: He is a great character to play because unlike most bad guys he truly loves being evil. He really comes to grips with it and enjoys it, so it was fun to play someone that finds their way to that place. It is a fun thing to play as an actor.
Howard: And Topher was able to call upon his own personal life, where he loves being evil.
Grace: Yeah, for the role I went out and I killed a hobo with a hammer. It worked and all of a sudden people were treating me differently.
Thomas Haden Church: Especially hobos. “Stay away from That 70’s Show guy!”
HW: Is there supposed to be a strong dichotomy between Eddie Brock and Peter Parker – how they use the same power?
Grace: There is that is what I liked about the character the most. It is kind of a case study in if someone had the same job and maybe the same taste in women and got the same powers, but had a really bad upbringing. I used to say on set to Sam “It is like with great power comes great fun.”
HW: Was there any trepidation on any of your parts about doing a superhero movie? We’re sure that Sam Raimi gave reassurance, but was the idea of doing a comic book movie daunting at all?
Grace: Let’s ask the guy who has been nominated for an Oscar.
Church: I wouldn’t say there was trepidation, but you have a tradition with a comic book that you have to honor, and then you look at the requisite storytelling that went on with the first two movies and I just wanted to do my part. I really just wanted to get in the game, be in for one minute, and not fumble the ball in the end zone. I just wanted to be able to do what was asked of me, and Sam is a real actor’s director. I refer to him as Elia Kazan trapped inside this “Motor City Madman”, action picture director body. [pause] I guess I was hoping for a bigger laugh on that one.
Grace: Using “Motor City Madman” Ted Nugent?
Church: Come on! I brought in The Nuge! No, really he just has a great specificity, and I think that is part of the allure of the movies is to create people that are very accessible and to hire actors that are very accessible and identifiable to the audience.
HW: Even though Sam is an actor’s director, were you prepared for the technical things that you were going to face in this movie? Was making a big special effects kind of movie an eye-opening experience for you?
Church: I just wanted to see Topher naked.
Grace: Mission accomplished.
Howard: Sam really carries you through that and explains everything with such detail that he brings you into the moment, and you forget that you are standing there naked.
Grace: Only for my off-camera work…When you are looking for a guide you are really looking at the director and you can’t get let down by Sam. He is just not going to let you look bad.
Howard: You hope. [Laughs] No, no, no, it’s true.
HW: Will the villains in the film be working against Spider-Man individually or as a team?
Grace: We can’t comment on that.
Church: Actually I am not even sure I am in the movie. No, how vague can you get? “I may or may not be in Spider-Man 3.”
HW: Were you familiar with the characters from the comics beforehand?
Grace: Yeah, I got into it when Todd McFarlane was illustrating the comic in the late 80s, which fortunately was right when my character was coming into existence. What I love is how when kids get cast in these movies they are like “You know I have never even seen Star Wars before.” I was such a big fan of Peter Parker and a lot of the work that Todd McFarlane has done. I am probably the geekiest guy ever to be cast in a geek film.
Howard: I can confirm that. Actually one of my friends was saying today—because he is such a huge fan of the comic book—he was like “I am so glad that Topher is here because he is really representing. He totally is.
Grace: The first day I was on the set was in The Daily Bugle and just as a fan of the first two movies. You know those theme parks that are like “We will put you in the movie!” And the guy is there with the cigar like “Parker, get in here!” Oh my God, it was tough because I had to be angry. I was just smiling ear to ear.
HW: For the guys, how does it feel to have to train for months while Bryce just had to dye her hair blonde?
Church: It was physically daunting to show up last year with the physique of a fishwife. Weirdly they said “This won’t work for us. You have got to be more built.” Actually, Topher and I both trained with the same sort of results.
Grace: He had slightly better results.
Church: We just try to tow the line and do what is asked of you. It has been a great discipline, I worked out for about probably 16 months, and it was a good discipline to have in my life. It was very invigorating to reincorporate that.
HW: How does it feel to be made into action figures?
Grace: I saw a kind of version of mine.
Church: I saw mine, too. It’s weird, like a little plastic me. I can do whatever I want with me. Shave with me, use me as a toothbrush. What is your action figure going to do, Bryce?
Howard: It’s going to have huge bazoombas.
Church: That is something to look forward to, right? Every eight-year-old in China is going to really look forward to that.
HW: How was it for the three of you coming on to the set as the new kids on the block?
Church: Remember inOut of Africa there was a certain tenderness when Robert Redford washed Meryl Streep‘s hair? That’s not applicable in any way. I just like that moment in the movie.
To check out Hollywood.com’s conversation with Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, click here!
