Spider-Man

Before Willem Dafoe received the role of the Green Goblin, Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich and Robert De Niro were offered the role.

James Franco auditioned to play Peter Parker, but was cast as Harry Osborn instead.

Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

Alicia Witt was considered for the role of Mary-Jane Watson.

Mena Suvari auditioned for the role of Mary Jane Watson.

In preparation for his role, Tobey Maguire trained for a short while before the screen test. After he got the role, he went on a strict exercise regime and a specific diet for five months.

Zach Hudson, the stunt double for Tobey Maguire, fractured his leg after a stunt went wrong and he slammed in to a brick wall.

Several Spider-Man costumes were created at a cost of up to $100,000 each. Four were stolen from the set in early April of 2001 and Columbia Pictures posted a $25,000 reward for their return. The costumes were not returned.

The movie cost over $100 million to produce, and another $30 million to promote.

Tobey Maguire had to have his Spider-Man outfit slightly remodeled as the original design had not made any allowances for when the actor needed a bathroom break. A vent was added to enable him to perform that function without having to take the entire costume off.

One of the chief difficulties that Tobey Maguire experienced in the now-famous upside-down kissing scene was that his sinuses kept filling up with water as it was performed in driving rain.

Although Spider-Man is an iconic figure for New York, the majority of the film was actually made in Los Angeles. Only two weeks' worth of location filming was done in the Big Apple.

James Franco's hair was dyed brown to give him some resemblance to Willem Dafoe, his screen father. This decision was only made after filming had begun. In the scene where Harry visits Aunt May in hospital, you can see that Franco's hair is his usual black.

One of the reasons why Sam Raimi was a popular choice with Sony for the director's gig was because he is an avid comic book collector in his private life, with a collection of over 25,000.

By signing on for two sequels, Tobey Maguire secured himself a paycheck of $26 million.

The construction crew for the art department spent almost a year building the 100 sets needed for the film..

The World Trade Center Towers can be seen in the background of some scenes and once in the reflection of Spider-Man's eye. In addition, during the ending scene where he is swinging around the American trade building, you can see the towers in the far background slightly blurred. The makers of the film chose not to remove them digitally.

Tobey Maguire said he had never read a Spider-Man comic book but took the role because he liked the script.

During the fight between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man near the end of the movie, Willem Dafoe accidentally clipped Tobey Maguire on the chin with one blow.

Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom, appears in a non-speaking cameo as a board member of Oscorp, Norman Osborn's company.

During the ending credits, the theme of the original "Spider-Man" (1967) animated series is played.

Mary Jane's red hair in this movie is a wig; however, Kirsten Dunst liked the look so much, she dyed her hair for the sequels.

The jumping spider that Peter attempts to take a picture of is an Avondale Spider, the same type used in Arachnophobia (1990).

The last few shots of the spider dream sequence were taken from the Lucio Fulci film E tu vivrai nel terrore - L'aldilà (1981).

At the time of its release, the movie passed the US$100 million mark faster than any other movie, in just three days. That record has since been broken by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), which made the mark in just 2 days. Several other movies have also reached this record, including Spider-Man 3 (2007).

Entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as having the Highest Box Office Gross in a Single Day, taking in US$43.6 million on its second day of release.

After the terrorist attacks on the USA of 11 September 2001, Sony recalled teaser posters which showed a close-up of Spiderman's face with the New York skyline (including, prominently, the World Trade Center towers) reflected in his eyes. Not all the posters were recovered, however, and the ones still at large are now highly prized collector's items.

The diner that Mary Jane Watson worked at is the same diner (at least the exterior) where Monica worked in the early seasons of "Friends" (1994).

Both Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe incorporated a Yoga technique called Ashtanga into their training regimens for this film. "Ashtanga" translates into English as "eight-legged."

When Uncle Ben drops Peter off to go to the library, a bus can be seen driving by with a promotional advertisement that reads, The Producers (1968), a 'Mel Brooks (I)' musical. Brooks later sued Sony Pictures Entertainment for unwanted advertisement in motion-picture space.

When James Cameron was developing Spider-Man in the early 1990s, Charlie Sheen actively campaigned for the role, apparently to Cameron's disinterest. After Titanic (1997), Cameron said his only choice was 'Leonardo Dicaprio' before he eventually passed onto other projects.