Under the watchful eyes of the whole country, *Spider-Man* finally started filming.
Comic fans were buzzing with excitement. Meanwhile, in Hollywood, most folks were just waiting to see Dunn crash and burn.
Dunn's string of successes had rubbed a lot of industry vets the wrong way. They'd been grinding for decades, and here comes this kid, barely in the game two or three years, climbing higher and faster than them. It stung.
With Dunn's recent "missteps" piling up, they finally had their chance to laugh.
Dunn? He didn't care what they thought. No responses, no rebuttals—just watch and wait.
Laugh at *Spider-Man*?
Heh, the joke's gonna be on them.
The crew rented out a physics lab at UCLA and kicked off with the first scene.
"Peter!" Outside the lab building, Tobey Maguire as Harry Osborn steps out of a Rolls-Royce.
"Hey, Harry, how you doing?"
"Spider-Man" Peter Parker, sporting dorky black-framed glasses, looks a little awkward—like a total nerd.
James Franco was a straight-A student in real life, so playing the bookish type came naturally to him.
"Harry, you forgot your backpack."
"Oh, thanks!" Harry Osborn glances at Peter Parker and introduces, "Peter, this is my dad, Norman Osborn."
Willem Dafoe, a well-known actor, plays Norman Osborn. He shakes Peter's hand politely. "I hear about you all the time."
Peter's all shy and fidgety. "Nice to meet you, sir."
"Harry says you're big into science." Norman flashes a friendly smile. "You know, I'm a scientist myself."
"I read your report on nanotechnology—it's incredible."
"Oh?" Norman looks surprised. "You actually understood it?"
"Yeah, I even wrote a report on it."
"Wow, that's impressive. Your parents must be proud!" Norman's genuinely amazed by Peter's smarts.
"I live with my uncle and aunt."
…
"Great, that's a wrap!"
Dunn nods, satisfied. This scene was trickier than it looked—filming outside a university building meant tons of extras milling around as students in the background.
One wrong move, and the shot's composition goes off. They'd have to redo it.
For *Spider-Man*, Dunn tapped into James Cameron's "mirror possession" skills again, all to nail those slick visuals.
This is a popcorn flick meant to entertain the masses—Dunn wasn't about to get all artsy and pretentious.
Still, as Marvel's big debut, he didn't skimp on the story either.
The script's backbone mostly sticks to the original *Spider-Man*, with some tweaks—more laughs sprinkled in, plus a few character Easter eggs.
Like Peter Parker's neighbor, Brian Braddock. He doesn't show up, but Peter and Mary Jane mention him in passing.
That's Captain Britain, another Marvel hero.
Or take Peter's classmate, Mary Jane's bestie, Jessica Jones—a little nod there. She's a future Defender, Luke Cage's partner, and a badass superhero in her own right.
Captain Britain and the Defenders never hit the big screen, but Dunn's cool with planting seeds. Who knows? Maybe they'll turn into TV shows down the line.
"Director, I need more info to really nail this role. But Producer Jacobson says it's company confidential—can't share."
James Franco clearly isn't here for a surface-level performance. With a ten-film deal locked in with Marvel, he's determined to *own* Spider-Man, not just phone it in like some generic blockbuster gig.
"Oh?" Dunn loves actors who put in the work. "What do you want to know?"
James Franco frowns. "I've read all the *Spider-Man* comics. He's chatty, funny—a wise-cracking hero. But this script you gave me… it's off."
"Too timid?" Dunn grins at him.
James nods. "Yeah. It's hard to picture Spider-Man too shy to even ask a girl out. With a personality like that, can he really protect New York?"
"Superheroes aren't born super—they've gotta grow into it."
"I get that. That's why I need to know what his growth looks like. The script's pretty different from the comics."
Dunn catches his drift. This guy's treating a blockbuster role like it's an indie drama.
Robert Downey Jr. brought Iron Man to life. Looking at James Franco now, Dunn's starting to think—maybe he could *be* Spider-Man's defining face too.
"It's not some trade secret. The sequels aren't written yet—it's all just my vision. Nina's out of the loop on this."
"Can I hear some of it? I think it'd help my acting—give me a better grip on Spider-Man's headspace."
Dunn nods, keeping it short and sweet. "Three films, three stages of Spider-Man's growth. This first one's 'With great power comes great responsibility.' The second's about him realizing destiny's about facing things, not running. He owns his identity, steps up to love. Third one, he's fully transformed—outgoing, confident, quippy. That's when he locks in the character. He proposes to Mary Jane, and the trilogy wraps up nice and tidy."
James Franco blinks, stunned. "That's it? I… didn't I sign on for ten films?"
Dunn chuckles. "Three films to chart Spider-Man's arc is already a luxury. After that, these movies lean hard into fun and entertainment. With so many heroes, we can't navel-gaze with every single one—it's about giving the audience a good time."
Just then, Jessica Alba strolls over, waves at James, then leans in to whisper, "Nicole just texted. Natalie's crying."
"What?" That's a five-alarm fire for Dunn—he's instantly on edge. "What happened?"
Jessica jumps, startled. "It's from filming… Director Mendes made some demands she's struggling with."
"Sam Mendes!"
Dunn's grinding his teeth now. Messing with Natalie? That's his line in the sand.
Jessica rushes to clarify, keeping her voice low. "Mendes said to make the characters pop, he wants Natalie and Nicole to do a kiss scene. Everyone's on board—except Natalie's not thrilled."
"Huh?"
Dunn's fury fizzles out like someone dumped ice water on his head. He's stumped.
If it were Natalie kissing a guy, he'd lose it. But Nicole Kidman? That's… not so bad.
"It's for the movie, you know." Dunn coughs a little, brushing off the awkwardness. "If Nat hasn't called me about it, it's probably not a dealbreaker for her. Tell Nicole it's fine—just act."
Okay, maybe there's a little selfish angle here.
If Natalie gets more comfortable with women, it might make his life a bit easier down the road…
---
Patreon: belamy20