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FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2007

SPIDER-MAN 3: JAMES FRANCO

LOS ANGELES -- The Continuum today continues its series of interviews from the recent Spider-Man 3 junket with James Franco, who plays Harry Osborn/New Goblin.

Following is an edited transcription:

Question: James, it seemed like you had a perfect character arc.

Franco: I think that's right.

Question: Did you have concerns going into it, that you would have enough to do as an actor?

Franco: I was telling a story on how when I was doing the first one, I knew that it would be a big movie and a successful movie, but until I actually saw it, I didn't realize how special these movies were and the heart that Sam (Raimi, director) would infuse into them. So after seeing the first one, I was a convert. I totally believed in Sam, so I was on board. There was never any question about doing the third one.

And has far as the arc that was in it, we had been developing this script since the premiere of part two. I remember meeting with Sam and his brother just after part two came out and we met a few times over the course of a year, just to talk about the character. So it wasn't a surprise and I was pretty confident.

Question: So you had an active role in developing it?

Franco: That's the great thing about Sam. He's extremely collaborative, and since the beginning, he's been collaborative. I remember on the first one, Tobey (Maguire), Willem (Dafoe) and Kirsten (Dunst) and I going in, and the characters were just being formed at that point. There were a lot of discussions about the characters and who they would be and how they would act. He really involves the actors.

From there, on to the second and third film, he's become even more collaborative, especially on this third one. He gave the actors a lot of room and responsibility to make sure that their characters was being portrayed properly and that the arcs are complete.

Question: Can you talk about the physical stuff you had to do? There was a lot more action for you.

Franco: Well, I certainly did. I was much more part of the action, in a much bigger way, on this film than the others. I now realize why Tobey was so tired after the first two films.

It's not that any part of the action scenes are especially dangerous or strenuous. It's just that they take so long to do. I have three major action scenes in the film, and they each took about a month to a month-and-a-half to shoot, compared to a dramatic scenes at most a day, maybe two.

Question: So you're hanging on wires, with the green screen and all that?

Franco: Yes. There were two different kind of fight scenes. The first fight that Peter and Harry have is an aerial battle in the beginning of the film and that was all green screen, flying through the city. That process involves me putting on the suit, which takes about a half an hour, the camera crew has to light for about an hour, and the stunt team has to rehearse and then I have to get strapped into the wires, and they'd have to raise me up, and everyone gets cooridnated, and then the costumer has to make sure the costume looks right, and the wing fans go, and we're ready to go. And they say, "action" and I go like that (moves arm) and then, "Cut!" and that's it. And then I get down and undressed a little bit and they set up for the next shot for about an hour or two. So it takes about a month-and-a-half to do.

So it's not like I would be exhausted after doing one of those shots. It's just that you go in every day and it's this process. And it's draining just because of the length. It's a matter of staying motivated over a month-and-a-half and keeping the continuity of the performance for a month-and-a-half. Because in the movie, the scene's going to take about five minutes, so the performance has to be continuous.

And then we did a more traditional fight scene in the mansion and that was done in a way that I've done before, a traditional fight scene where you choreograph it. Tobey and I went through the moves and you have to know when somebody's throwing a punch and how to fake the hit. But even that took six weeks. We shot a couple weeks on main unit and then I went back on second unit for a month and shot that. I think on a different film that scene could have taken a week, but they're very meticulous on Spider-Man.

Question: What was your favorite part of the movie?

Franco: For my character, I enjoy the turns that he gets to take. I like watching the points where he turns. Harry is definitely villainous in the film, but he also has a point where he becomes the old, good Harry. And he's a bit more innocent and goofy. And it was unusual for me to have those kinds of scenes in the Spider-Man franchise, so they were fun.

And I really had a good time working out the scenes and playing the scenes where Harry's turning back, and Peter's not quite sure what's happening. It was fun just to work that out.

And just as a viewer, the way they executed the Sandman special effects were incredible. I thought some of those battle scenes between Spider-Man and Sandman were incredible.

Question: You had mentioned that your character is transitioning throughout the film. Can you talk about how you as an actor get to those transitions?

Franco: Harry goes to extremes in both directions in this film, but I didn't find it difficult playing the scenes. I feel like everything goes through has been justified by what has happened before. And I guess I find as an actor, as long as it feels real and justified, it's not that difficult to play.

When we worked on it, Sam and I really plotted out where the changes were and how those changes happened, and what were the triggers. We just made sure where Harry's mental state was in each section of the movie. And once we figured that out, it was pretty easy.




E-mail the Continuum at RobAlls@aol.com



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