Comic-Con: 'Spider-Man stands for everyone: black, white, Asian, gay, straight, bisexual' Jul 20th 2013, 07:05
Sony's panel at Comic-Con had the huge coup of a wraparound screen for Spider-Man 2 footage, plus Andrew Garfield in costume and Jamie Foxx in Oedipal mood
Thus far at Comic-Con, every presenting studio has made do with one central screen to promote their wares in Hall H. Not so Sony, who during its presentation for summer 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 clearly wanted every audience member to stagger away with vivid images of super-tensile cobwebs, swinging superheroes and screeching bad guys emblazoned in their minds for all eternity.
The studio kept the crowd waiting for the finale of a two-hour session that had treated them to footage and talent from the 2014 RoboCop reboot, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2.
When it got close for the Spider-Man 2 panel, about a minute into a slow hand-clap, the house plunged into darkness. A hum filled the air and to the delight of everyone, including a trio of thrilled young studio apparatchiks in the press area, Sony delivered a presentational coup as they unfurled a wraparound screen that stretched to the sides of the auditorium. On this curved canvas we witnessed a short scene in which Spider-Man swung outdoors and tumbled his way into Hall H. The footage synched with the entry of Andrew Garfield in costume.
The star hopped into a seat on stage and engaged in light banter before Sony showed a taped message from co-star and Gwen Stacy persona Emma Stone, in France to work on Woody Allen's forthcoming untitled comedy. Then Jamie Foxx arrived to talk about his character Electro, but not before Spider-Man quipped, "I loved Django."
Before he was Electro the movie's main bad guy was Max Dillon, explained Foxx; an insular mummy's boy in early middle-age who literally gets in out of his depth in a lab and crashes into a tank of fearsome electric eels. The rest … well let's just say the next time we see Dillon he bears an odd blue hue and has taken to hurling voltage around the city.
"His mother forgets his birthday," said Foxx. "He is in a hole, so that when he turns into Electro he has so much venom and anger. I wanted to make him a serious individual who wants to burn Spider-Man down and burn the city with it."
Director Marc Webb showed a few scenes of Electro before and after he became intimately acquainted with the laboratory wildlife, as well as an early scene in which Spidey battles a ferocious Paul Giamatti as The Rhino.
Garfield, who left the stage briefly to return in civilian garb, used an admiring comment from an audience member to declare Spider-Man's tolerant attitude. Not so long ago the actor had declared his support for gay marriage and mused on the possibility of the superhero one day exploring his sexuality. "Spider-Man stands for everyone: black, white, Asian, gay, straight, bisexual. It would make sense if I was with a black guy in the third movie."
The young star said he would love to see Spider-Man join The Avengers and spoke of going weak at the knees the day he met comic book icon Stan Lee. "It was like meeting Mickey Mouse," he said. "He was so iconic."
Before the antics of Spider-Man, Hall H was treated to dazzling footage from the forthcoming RoboCop, in which Elite Squad director José Padilha takes Paul Verhoeven's 1987 film and turns it into a discussion that touches upon highly relevant contemporary social mores.
"The movie is fun and has action. But it's also a movie that talks about drones in war. If you think about it we will soon see robots in wars."
Previously unseen footage showed a news team in Iran shadowing an AI patrol unit as the situation degenerates into a bloody confrontation on the streets. Pulling the strings is the robotics manufacturer Raymond Sellars played by Michael Keaton. Samuel L Jackson is the excitable talk show host reminiscent of right wing propagandists on US airwaves.
Sony launched its presentation with a visit by key cast members of Cloudy With A Chance Meatballs 2. Bill Hader, Anna Faris and Terry Crews all entertained and the movie opens on 27 September. Meanwhile the key cast from The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones including Lily Collins turnout up to heap praise on the project. The young adult fantasy adventure arrives in the US on 21 August.
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