Spider-Man Film Rights Tangled in Web (of Lawsuits) -- October 11, 1998

Stan Lee believed in Spider-Man as a film franchise, but the rights were tangled in a web of lawsuits

Spider-Man film rights stuck in legal quagmire

Stan Lee had a vision — an entire Marvel Universe on screen! He had worked for decades to get Hollywood executives and studio heads to believe him. As always, he placed his faith in his most successful co-creation — Spider-Man.

Stan Lee with his number one creation -- Spider-Man

Even a person as optimistic as Stan had a difficult time keeping his cool as a series of productions companies bought the rights to Spider-Man, but then fell into development hell as they attempted to figure out just how to bring the web-slinger to life.

The extensive licensing and rights deals attached to the character led to a series of high-profile lawsuits that stalled progress and infuriated Lee. At various points the legal battles included many of Hollywood’s greatest names, from MGM and Viacom to Sony and 21st Century. Even the great James Cameron — who would later become a hit-maker based on Titanic (1997) — couldn’t move the mountains necessary to make a Spider-Man film based on his 1991 treatment.

Stan Lee hoped James Cameron would make a Spider-Man film

The legal battles were not cleaned up until early 1999, when Columbia Pictures acquired the rights to all previous Spider-Man scripts in a deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Sony then purchased the rights from MGM. Sam Raimi was hired to direct the Tobey Maguire-starring vehicle in 2000 and the film came out two years later.

Spider-Man (2002) is finally made!

Spider-Man was 2002’s highest grossing film, generating more than $407 million in North America, while earning a staggering $418 million overseas. Wiping out all the doubts about whether a superhero film might work, Spider-Man soon became the highest-grossing superhero film of all time after its release, both domestically and worldwide.

Spidey turned Stan Lee’s dream into a reality!

To learn more about the Marvel maestro’s amazing life, please read Stan Lee: A Life, available wherever you like to purchase books.

Stan Lee Predicts Marvel's Future -- 50 Years Ago Today

Stan Lee Predicts Marvel’s Future in 1972!

Newspaper article on Marvel superheroes featuring Stan Lee

The power and global influence of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is pervasive today, but imagine having nearly every door in Hollywood slammed in your face at the mere thought that anyone would want to see Marvel superheroes on the big screen.

This was Stan Lee’s reality 50 years ago in 1972, even though comic books were a $200 million industry at the time. Ironically, the Dallas Times Herald journalist who interviewed Stan was named Bill Marvel, a daily reporter who had started his career in 1961, at the dawning of the Marvel comic book renaissance, which began with the launch of the Fantastic Four, co-created with artist Jack Kirby.

Stan Lee is prescient in forecasting Marvel's future

Despite being roundly ignored (or laughed out of the room) by Hollywood executives, Lee persevered, asserting that Marvel was in the midst of a major transformation from comic book company to media “hot property.”

Although he could not get producers to agree, Stan told the journalist that he viewed television and film as the future of the company. He was betting his own future on that vision after a lifetime in creating comic books and decades ahead of his peers at Marvel or in the entertainment industry.

“The next phase is where the much bigger money might lie.”

— Stan Lee

Stan Lee with the book Origins of Marvel Comics

Stan certainly did not have a crystal ball, but his tireless dedication to the basic notion that adults would enjoy films centered on Marvel superheroes eventually transformed the film industry around the globe. Lee was just decades ahead of his time!

To learn more about the Marvel maestro’s amazing life, please read Stan Lee: A Life, available wherever you like to purchase books.

Stan Lee on Cameos and Superheroes

Five Years Ago: Creating Superheroes and Cameos

Kids, teenagers, and adults of all ages got weak in the knees around Marvel icon Stan Lee. Yet, talking to them moments after meeting him, you could hear the joy in their voices. Some shed tears of happiness. Universally, they looked frozen in the moment of delight — as if they were opening Christmas presents or getting ready to blow out candles on their birthday cake.

I chatted with a 50-something father who confessed that taking his teen daughter to meet Stan was a bucket list kind of event, one that they were able to share together. He wiped tears from his eyes as he reminisced about watching Marvel films with his daughter and how Lee’s cameos were a bonding moment for them.

Stan Lee on cameos in Marvel films

These clips are from a September 26, 2017 newspaper piece on Stan's appearance at a comic book convention in Madison, Wisconsin, (about a year before he died).

The sentiment demonstrates his significance as the symbol of Marvel and Marvel Studios for so many fans. There has never been a phenomenon quite like Stan’s cameo roles. His brief blip on the screen frequently caused the audience to break out in applause. For many fans, the cameo was as necessary and elemental as the film itself. One could not exist without the other.

Anyone else remember going to a Marvel film and hearing spontaneous applause when Stan's cameo rolled?

Stan Lee's co-created superheroes an inspiration

Stan Lee's co-created superheroes have served as an inspiration for generations because he gave them human traits. This idea — so novel in the early 1960s — caught fire during an era where novelists, screenwriters, and others were challenging conventional norms about what it meant to be a superhero.

Learn more about Stan’s epic tale in Stan Lee: A Life (Rowman & Littlefield).

Stan Lee: A Life by historian and biographer Bob Batchelor

John Updike: Pennsylvania Roots on the Updike Podcast

John Updike was born in Pennsylvania in 1932. Much of his early work, including the famed Rabbit novels and many critically acclaimed short stories were set in the state. Examining Updike's PA roots is important in understanding his development as a writer and how that output shaped his "writerly" life. 

I share snippets of a 1983 Updike speech in which he discusses many of these Pennsylvania connections and why he chose to dedicate his artistic life to "middles."

On another note...

I am incredibly honored to feature the fantastic piano piece, called "Swing Of The Hip," written and performed by Evan Palazzo. Evan is the band leader and pianist of The Hot Sardines, the group he and front woman, singer extraordinaire Elizabeth Bougerol created to play the great jazz classics of a century ago, as well as their own original recordings. If you love jazz, you should be listening to The Hot Sardines. Or, once live music kicks off again, see them at one of their many global tour stops. I guarantee seeing THS live is a concert experience you will never forget! For my money, The Hot Sardines are simply the best jazz band playing today!

For more information about The Hot Sardines, visit them online at www.hotsardines.com or at Facebook or Instagram where many thousands of followers gather to get the latest news, music, and information about the band.

New Podcast -- John Updike: American Writer, American Life

Over the course of his six-decade career stretching from the 1950s to 2000s, great American writer and novelist John Updike received praise from countless critics, including Christopher Hitchens, who called his scope “rather breathtaking,” and from Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times, who said that Updike “established himself as a major and enduring critical voice; indeed, as the preeminent critic of his generation.”

This Anchor podcast tackles many of the most urgent questions facing literature and pop culture in contemporary America and where culture goes from here. Some episodes will feature interviews with readers, critics, scholars, academics, and other interested in the life and times of John Updike.

Sometimes the show will be funny, other times, sad, but across the board, it will be informative as we interrogate, examine, and analyze the great American author John Updike.

Click on the URL to listen to “John Updike: American Writer, American Life”