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Michael Chabon wrote one of the smartest explorations of superheroes in his Pulitzer-winning The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, so it was exciting news when he agreed to write the script for Spider-Man 2. Unfortunately, some studio execs, in their wisdom, decided to bring in some other writers, including Smallville co-creators Al Gough and Miles Millar, to revamp Chabon's script. Now David Eggers' literary magazine McSweeney's has put Chabon's original version online, as a free PDF, for a limited time. We compared Chabon's draft with what ended up on screen. And not surprisingly, everything that was good about Spider-Man 2 is in the Chabon version, and a whole lot more besides.
The biggest difference in Chabon's draft is the character of Doctor Octopus, who's much more complex and rich, with moments of great urbanity.
Otto doesn't have a wife who dies as a result of his octopus-arms experiment going awry. Instead, he's single and actually courts Peter's would-be girlfriend Mary-Jane, with a great deal of success. There's a great scene where they go to dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. Says Octopus, "I like to eat with my hands." He also tells her,"I'm a little freaky."
There's also a running subplot where Harry Osborn, Peter's roommate and the son of the Green Goblin, has put extreme security measures in place in their apartment, including steel bars and retinal scanners, among other things. Harry is having weird nightmares about his dead father, and he takes out a $10 million bounty on Spider-man's head, with the help of the Daily Bugle. Spider-Man keeps almost getting killed by ordinary people whom he's trying to help, because they want a chance at that money.
Remember that whole sequence in the movie where Peter decides he's sick of being Spider-Man, and then loses his powers for no particular reason? And he suddenly needs glasses again? And it's never explained, but then he randomly gets his powers back when he needs them most? In Chabon's draft, it actually makes sense. He talks to Otto Octavius, who gives him a special "pacer chip" that will reverse his spider-encoding DNA. Because Otto worked on the super-spider project that led to Peter getting his powers, he has the ability to reverse them.
So Peter injects himself with the chip, and slowly loses his powers. By the end of the film, he's totally powerless and having to improvise using a truck and some "webbing" made out of orange fencing when he fights Dr. Octopus.
Instead of Dr. Octopus going berserk and robbing a bank, he finally loses it when he's on a date with Mary Jane. He decides to wear his cybernetic arms on the date, because of the "endorphin push" he gets from them. (The script talks a lot about the "endorphin push" and how it counteracts Otto's pain, to the point where it becomes super-creepy.) And while on the date, Otto uses his cyber-arms to beat up a couple of guys who hassle him and Mary Jane, to her horror.
Dr. Octopus doesn't become permanently fused to his exo-arms until a bit after that, when he and Spider-Man have their subway-train fight and Spider-Man is trying to disable the arms.
And the reason why Dr. Octopus wants to capture Spider-Man is not just to please Harry Osborn, but also because that "pacer chip" that took away Spider-Man's powers will also help stabilize his fusion with the bionic limbs, which is killing him. The sequence where he makes an alliance with Harry over Spider-Man's prospective dead body makes a lot more sense in Chabon's draft.
The business with Aunt May finding out that Peter could have stopped the thief that killed Uncle Ben and becoming angry is much more intense and moving in Chabon's draft. And then later in the movie, she and Peter have an incredibly poignant scene together where she tells him that feeling crushed by your responsibilities is just normal life, for everybody. It's not something you can escape, and it's not a special destiny. It's just life.
And instead of Spider-Man getting his powers back as mysteriously as he loses them, he gets them back by using a knife and some pliers to dig the "pacer chip" out of his arm. It's a gross but extremely effective scene.
And in the end, Dr. Octopus manages to capture Spider-Man and straps him to his nasty spine-extracting machine. And that's when Harry and Mary Jane both learn Spider-Man's true identity. And it's Mary Jane who gets through to Dr. Octopus, thanks to the connection that the two of them forged earlier in the movie, and convinces him to abandon his experiment. Then Spider-Man breaks free and saves her from Otto's collapsing laboratory building.
All in all, it's much more coherent and effective than the somewhat jumbled version we saw on screen, not surprisingly. Get it while you can!
Update: McSweeney's has already taken the PDF down, after just a couple of days of being online. But I would be shocked if you had any trouble tracking down a copy.
Comments
Wow. I'm a little startled you think that all sounds better. Maybe I'm biased because I'm a fan of what we got, and I wasnt happy with certain parts overall, but some of the stuff you point out sound ridiculous to me. Maybe I should just get the pdf to read myself though. Maybe I'm just hearing you wrong.
@u_nick: I sorta liked Spider-Man 2, but wasn't as crazy about it as a lot of people... in particular, the "losing his powers" section made no sense to me in the film.
It sounds a little more interesting and cohesive.
But why does anyone have a "spine -extracting machine"?
@braak: To extract delicious spines, obviously. Some people believe it's the heart that allows you to eat your opponent's courage, but it's really the spine.
@u_nick: agreed, I saw this on aintitcool too and Im glad his script was changed, because other than the losing powers bit, everything else was 1000 times better than Chabon fanwankish script... if you could call it that.
You know, I really liked the movie we got, but I did wonder about some of the 'weaker' moments in there like the loss of powers bit. I also really thought we'd seen the end of the "gotta save MJ" plot hook after the first movie, so it's nice to see that the script writer had originally intended that not to be the climactic battle.
However, Chabon's script sounds like an even longer movie than what we saw. I'm not sure the silver screen could have supported it.
@Charlie Jane Anders: The losing the powers part was my favorite part -- it was his depression at the choices he made manifesting itself though his powers. Superhero impotence.
@braak: Well, the story reason is that he wants to remove Spidey's spider-spine so he can fix his own problems integrating with his octo-arms. But yeah, it is *interesting* that he just happens to have a de-spining machine ready. Many chefs actually prefer to serve the main course with the spine still inside, because it's a delicacy.
@B: As long as you drink orange Crush with it, I suppose that works.
@Belabras: I agree, it sounds like it would have been a deeper movie than what we got but it would have also been longer and I don't think it would have appealed to as many people as it did. I personally thought that 2 wasn't as good as 1 but better than 3. I don't know if Chabon's script would have made me like it anymore than I did though.
@Charlie Jane Anders: @B: Well, I'm convinced. I shall set to work building my own spine-extractor immediately.
This does sound more coherent as a whole, but S2 was so full of win that I'm not going to complain about the finished product.
Unlike S3.
"Remember that whole sequence in the movie where Peter decides he's sick of being Spider-Man, and then loses his powers for no particular reason?"
That made perfect sense to me. He didn't embrace his gift so it abandoned him. Didn't strike me as being all that mysterious a reason.
@diverguy: Except for the fact that his "gift" was a genetic mutation, not an independent entity that was capable of feeling resentment.
"How, precisely, does not embracing being bitten by a mutant super-spider result in you being unbitten by a mutant super-spider?" Is the question.
Sounds like it was a good idea for me to skip the whole spiderman movie thing.
I felt it was an ok movie as delivered, but I didn't necessarily think the script was responsible for any problems I perceived. Like just about any "blockbuster" released in the last six or seven years, the problem comes down to editing. Too many scenes are just dreadfully long, both the action scenes and the dialog scenes. SNIP! SNIP! Cut a half hour out of the movie and it would have been better. You could say this about King Kong, Return of the King, any of those Pirate movies, and so on. There seems to be this attitude of, "We paid $20 million in CGI effects for this scene, we're damn well going to use every last frame of it!"
@loserface: Yeah, exactly my thoughts too. His loss of powers being caused by a form of functional depression makes a lot more sense to me than some sort of chip.
That sounds like much more of a Sam Rami movie then what we got.
Of course it still doesn't fix the biggest problem with Spider-Man: Toby Mcguire.
@braak: His mutation went into remission. Like cancer... Or the Hulk at a tea-party.
@Charlie Jane Anders: @u_nick: I gotta go with you guys. I didn't think there was anything wrong with that flick. And it looks even better after 3. This sounds a little overcomplicated. Of course I can't read it...
DAMN YOU NY LITERARY ELITE!!! Bring back the PDF!
I didn't have too many problems with the movie as filmed. I do wish Chabon was involved with the 3rd movie though...
I remember e-mailing Mr. Chabon when he was announced as the writer (I was a Chabon fan already). He wrote me a nice note back thanking me and asking me to "cross my fingers" as he began his Hollywood journey.
Spiderman 2 wouldn't have been the movie it is if it weren't for his contributions. Gifted author and class act all the way.
@Dunny0: Yes, that is definitely an explanation.
It's a shame no one thought to mention it in the movie.
@braak: All the supermodels have their spines removed nowadays. It makes them slimmer.
@B: No no... What you want from your oppenent dictates what you eat...
Heart:Courage
Spine:Reflexes
Brain:Knowledge (warning comes with angst (so bad idea in Spiderman's case))
Spleen:Immune system
Kidneys:Sense of humor (who knew)
Eyes:Vision
Fat: DUH!
@u_nick: Yeah, that's actually needlessly convoluted ("pacer chip") and the dead wife is head and shoulders above Mary Jane being attracted to Doc Ock. And I got that his powers were tied to his sub-conscious, just like in reality you tend to sick when you're stressed or depressed.
Who would have thought those hacks from Smallville (who stole the idea, though they continue to claim creation) could improve anything?
@braak: If an explanation would have removed the musical number, then no. No they did not need to do it in movie.
It certainly sounds like a better comic book, but I'm not sure it would have made for a better movie. It's tough to introduce that much complexity into a movie without making it 5 hours long.
And, really, the only way to vastly improve Spider-Man 2 would be to recast Tobey Maguire out of the role.
I think I may be only geek in existence that actually liked Spider-man 3, but I don't care. I liked it, and I liked it AT LEAST AS MUCH as Spider-man 2. (but not as much as 1)
Oh, and I like Tobey in the role.
Let the ostracizing begin.
Interesting, now if only something could be done to prevent #4 from being another train wreck like #3
@xv43: Recasting Kirsten Dunst out would have been a good start.
does anyone know where you can find the pdf online now?
@Belabras: If you expect the ostracizing, it makes it less fun for me to say things, like...Dood, you're a frakkin idiot for liking 3 as much as 2. So... I won't say it. Hah.
SM2 was a step up from 1 (which started off great, until the Goblin showed up and bored everyone to death with his dastardly attacks on parades and the suburbs), but still left me feeling like something was missing. It never fully hit the emotional notes I thought, except when MJ finds out PP is SM. And SM3? No worse than SM1 or 2. The birth of Sandman was sheer poetry.
@Macloserboy: yeah. I'm not sure who would watch Smallville--especially the early seasons--and think, "These guys really get what it takes to make a good superhero story!"
I'm a little ambivalent about Chabon; I think he's a good enough writer, a little too polite for my taste, but I guess I'd tend to trust him over those two..
That being said, I'm off to see if I can find the script somewhere.
All said, I neither hate 3 nor exalt 2 because they all just felt like well-executed and financed B-movies, rather than Epics.
Just read my first Michael Chabon "The Yiddish Policemans Union" and enjoyed it immensely so I can imagine the sort of characters and plots he might have put into this script.
Incidentally I recently read that "The Yiddish Policemans Union" is to be filmed by the Coen Brothers, woot!
@Seth L: a friend of mine says the same thing. He equates Spider-Man & Toby to having your favorite meal at a restaurant and then finding a big ol' turd in the middle of it. I don't exactly like Toby, and I can probably think of a few other dudes who would play PParker better, but I didn't particularly let it ruin the movies for me.
Well, it was certainly clear that every excellent thing about S-M2 (sounds like a different kind of flick when it's all acronym'd) came from the Chabon script. I read it over at slashfilm a few days ago, and most people there hated it. Me, I liked it. It would certainly have been a different film, but whereas most people there complained about the dialogue, I thought it was pretty good. Now, I only know Chabon from reputation before this, so I was certainly not biased as a fan, but I can definitely say I'll be checking out his work after reading this script.
@jermom:
I didn't mind him in one, but it was diminishing reterns for the next two.
I don't think the Chabon script was preferable to the final version of SM 2. In fact, I'm a little surprised that many of the appealing aspects of this film have been diminished in this blog post. For instance, when Spidey loses his ability it did actually make sense and offered a deeper look into Peter's psyche and the psychological association with his abilities than the Chabon version which made the incident very two dimensional.
Similarly, I find it far less believable and, once again, two dimensional to have Doc Oct be not only Spidey's superhero rival but his romantic rival as well.
In any case, it wasn't just the script but its execution that made Spiderman 2 one of the best movies of this genre.
@braak: A spine-extractor was Invention of the Month for the Scientists of Questionable Morals/Sanity Club back in October of 02. There's a lot of 'em lying about.
Aside from the hard pull we're all getting off of reading one blog post, does anyone have the PDF or know where I can get it. I like reading before judging.
I would've liked to see Harry pull a slow dive into insanity through all of 2 instead of the justifiable simmer and hard turn into nut-burger at the end, but as for the rest of it, I prefer the direction they went, especially with Ock. Letting the mechanical arms embody his ambitions and his dark, impulsive frustration at science being subordinate to the corporate money men, and having his wife personify his fragile connection with the rest of humanity worked really well for me. Spidey's power loss could have just as easily been handled by letting Spidey have a careless accident and failure as his personal life reared up distracted him. Letting doubt manifest as impotence? That's a more realistic answer for me than diablos ex machina.
@diverguy: I thought in the books Spidey's powers diminished when he got a cold or fever or when he was depressed?
I enjoyed the released version of Spider-Man 2. Out of the three Spidey films, I think this one was the closest to feeling like a Spidey story. All it really needed was a cast change (Maguire needs to go!) and some one-liners for the boy in red and blue.
What I don't like hearing about this script is the fact that Otto was "courting" MJ. I mean, the character of Mary Jane is supposed to be one of the hottest Marvel Universe characters and all, but just because everyone wants to fuck her doesn't mean that she bothers giving them the time of day.
Yeah, I'll probably try to find the PDF because: Michael Chabon; but as described the script sounds over-convoluted and unsubtle. In particular, Aunt May spelling out that everyone has to cope with the angst of responsibility would have just about killed the film for me. Taking that subtext, which is what makes me love Spiderman 2 to an unnatural degree, and making it into expository dialoguey text? No. No.
I found a copy of the PDF here.
wow they gave his script a hollywood rewrite and actually made it better ,all the stuff they dropped sounded stupid a chip to re write dna?doc ock dosent go insane from grief but rather a bad dining experience?the only thing that sounds good was the aunt may scene.I thought the movie was flawed but now i see we had a lucky escape