8 Famous Movie Scenes You Didn't Know Were Stupidly Hard To Film
6. One Of Spider-Man's Most Famous Stunts Didn't Require CGI
It's easy to assume that any complex stunt you see in a superhero movies these days is the result of an animator tinkering around with CGI for a few dozen hours. Really, practical effects in big-budget action movies all but disappeared after James Cameron unleashed the game-changer that was Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Which is why it's so refreshing to hear that one of the more memorable stunts from 2002's Spider-Man was au naturale.
The lunchroom scene, in which Mary Jane trips and Peter Parker valiantly leaps to save her (and her lunch) from hitting the floor, shows off Parker's newfound Spidey Sense and rapid-fire reaction time by having him swiftly move the tray to catch each falling food item as it drops.
In the DVD commentary, special effects guru John Dykstra and leading lady Kirsten Dunst both confirm that Tobey Maguire actually performed the stunt himself with the help of a mechanical rig and a little finger glue to keep the tray attached to his hand. But that doesn't mean it was easy.
It was an arduous process that took a full 16-hour day to refine. Dykstra claims -- perhaps jokingly, perhaps not -- the take you see in the movie is #156. That's an impressive amount of lunch tray gymnastics.