Italian Spiderman
| Italian Spiderman | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Dario Russo |
| Starring | "Franco Franchetti" (David Ashby) "Leombruno Tosca" |
Production company | Alrugo Entertainment |
Release date |
|
| Country | Australia |
| Languages | Italian English (subtitles) |
| Budget | AU$9,500 |
Italian Spiderman (intentionally spelled without the hyphen present in Spider-Man) is an Australian short film parody of Italian action–adventure films of the 1960s and 1970s, first released on YouTube in 2007. The parody purports to be a "lost Italian film" by Alrugo Entertainment, an Australian film-making collective formed by Dario Russo, Tait Wilson, David Ashby, Will Spartalis and Boris Repasky.[1]
A trailer was released, followed by a full-length short feature made up of ten mini-episodes.
Plot
The film begins with Italian Spiderman (David Ashby, credited as "Franco Franchetti") facing a stranger with an eyepatch in a game of blackjack. The stranger suggests that the stakes be raised, and threatens to kill Italian Spiderman if he loses, to which Italian Spiderman agrees. The stranger pulls a king and an ace, and, believing he won, prepares to shoot Italian Spiderman. However, Italian Spiderman pulls the same cards and immediately attacks the stranger's henchmen with a shotgun. The stranger is revealed to be the terrible Captain Maximum (Leombruno Tosca), who escapes by turning into a snake. Italian Spiderman himself flees the scene on his motorcycle
Meanwhile, in the middle of a party, an asteroid from a distant galaxy falls to Earth and is taken by Professor Bernardi (Carmine Russo) for research. He discovers the asteroid has a substance that can create duplicates from any living being and decides that Italian Spiderman is the only man capable of holding custody of the valuable asteroid.
A crocodile-themed supervillain named Coccodrillo breaks into Italian Spiderman's home, but the hero kills him by strangling him with a telephone cord. He then travels to Professor Bernardi's laboratory and collects the asteroid, before leaving on his motorcycle.
As soon as Professor Bernardi gives Italian Spiderman the asteroid, he is attacked by Captain Maximum, who is interested in using the asteroid for his own evil plans. Foiled in his attempt to steal the asteroid from Bernardi, he transforms the Professor into a snake. Captain Maximum later intercepts the Italian Spiderman and takes the asteroid, although he gives Italian Spiderman a chance to win it back by beating Maximum in a surf contest. When Captain Maximum notices the obviously superior surfing skills of Italian Spiderman, Maximum attempts to win by cheating. His efforts fail, however, as Italian Spiderman summons the help of penguins (which hurl themselves at Captain Maximum and his henchwomen) and wins. When Italian Spiderman returns home, he is again attacked by Captain Maximum's henchmen, where a tranquilliser dart causes the hero to collapse.
Waking up in Captain Maximum's lair, Italian Spiderman witnesses how the Professor is forced to use the powers of duplication on one of Captain Maximum's henchmen. The hero is forced to watch as the Professor is shot by Maximum. This causes the furious Italian Spiderman to attack Maximum's henchmen, killing many in a surprisingly gory battle sequence. Despite Italian Spiderman's efforts, the Professor dies, but in his last moments gives Italian Spiderman a potion made from the asteroid. Italian Spiderman again attacks the headquarters of Captain Maximum. Despite having the potion, Italian Spiderman overwhelms Captain Maximum's henchmen by his use of guns and his superpowers alone (showing in the process to have the power to teleport, a venomous bite, and removable moustaches that can double as razor-sharp exploding boomerangs). Later, Italian Spiderman returns home with the Professor's niece, Jessica (Susanna Dekker). When a gigantic Captain Maximum lays siege to the city, Italian Spiderman finally drinks the potion, growing to the same height of Captain Maximum and battling him until the titles roll.
Crew
- Director – Dario Russo
- Producer – Dario Russo
- Writers – Dario Russo, Tait Wilson, David Ashby, Will Spartalis, and Boris Repasky
- Director of Photography – Sam King
- Production Design – Tait Wilson
- Costume Design and Makeup – Sophie Spalding and Chloe Spalding
- Prop Builders – Bluey Byrne and Brad Maddern
- Sound Design & Score – Will Spartalis
- Original Music – Dario Russo, Will Spartalis and Josh Van Looy
- Editor – Dario Russo
- Gaffer – Sarah Macdonald
- 1st Camera Assistant – Vivyan Madigan
- Grip – Henry Smith
- Squirrel Grip– Matt Veseley
- Production Assistant – Sarah Bond
- Stills Photography – Lucy Spartalis
Project history
The project began as a trailer for a non-existent film, created by director Dario Russo. It was filmed on one 16mm roll of film in one day.[1] The trailer was partly a parody of the 1968 film Danger: Diabolik. Once it was uploaded online, the trailer went viral and got several million views. Dario Russo then went to the South Australian Film Corporation and was given an investment of 9,500 Australian dollars to expand the trailer into a full series.[2]
In May 2010, Alrugo Entertainment announced its dissolution.[3]
Due to the success of Italian Spiderman, the Special Broadcasting Service contacted Dario Russo and David Ashby expressing interest in creating a television adaptation, but copyright issues caused the project to be dropped.[4] In its place, the SBS commissioned them to create the show Danger 5[2][4] with a budget of 1.5 million Australian dollars.[1]
In 2018, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller expressed interest in including Italian Spiderman as a character in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,[5] although this never came to fruition. According to Joaquim Dos Santos in 2023, the character could not be used because he was not owned by Marvel. He stated:[6]
We watched this thing called Italian Spiderman. I don't know if you guys are familiar with it, but it's bonkers. It's completely bootleg, it's not owned by anybody except the crazy people that made it on the internet. We tried for Italian Spiderman at some point. Marvel was like, "We don't know what you're talking about, dude. That’s not ours," so yeah...
References
- ^ a b c Blundell, Graeme (25 February 2012). "Generational change as old becomes new again with the Danger 5 team". The Australian.
- ^ a b Colvin, William (2 April 2012). "Nazi dogs, dino-soldiers and superwomen - no, Danger 5 is not Packed to The Rafters". news.com.au.
- ^ "The Mantis' Quill: Fare the well Alrugo..." alrugo.blogspot.com. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ a b Hawker, Philippa (22 February 2012). "Five spies all Reich now". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "Into the Spider-Verse Filmmakers Reveal Characters They Want In A Sequel". CBR. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Directors Teases 'a Lot' of Variants & More Universes in Beyond the Spider-Verse". MovieWeb. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
External links
- Official Alrugo YouTube account containing the original trailer and the serialized film
- Official Will Spartalis link for the full film
- Dario Russo's Interview (Italian text)
