How did a nice independent filmmaker like you end up directing studio blockbusters like the “Spider-Man” trilogy?
A. I never expected to make movies like that. I had made movies professionally for 20 years, and I didn’t think it was in the cards for me to be a big-time Hollywood director. But I was OK with that because my tastes were very different than what the studios were turning out. In this case, a character that I had grown up with and understood was being made into a movie, and all movies are made by directors who understand the character. If a director understands the character, he understands how to make the movie.
