That Spider-Man tray scene wasn’t CGI, took Tobey Maguire 156 takes

I can’t say I find myself re-watching 2002’s Spider-Man a lot, overladen as we are with Spider-Man movies, but even I remember that scene where Peter Parker rescues Mary Jane and her lunch when she slips in the cafeteria.

Most probably assumed some CGI trickery was involved to make it seem as though Parker managed to catch a selection of lunch items using just a tray, but apparently it was all Tobey Maguire.

On the DVD commentary (RIP, I miss those things) for the movie, special effects artist and head of the VFX team John Dykstra, explains: “This next gag here, where he catches all this stuff, he actually did that. Pretty good. Take 156.”

He’s not joking either, as Mary Jane actor Kirsten Dunst backs this up on her commentary and explains a little about how the stunt was pulled off.

“Not CGI by the way, that’s all Tobey,” she comments, “which is pretty impressive. They used sticky glue stuff to stick his hand to the tray.”

The studio apparently wanted to cut the scene, but it’s just as well they didn’t as it required a 16-hour-day of shooting and became one of the film’s most memorable scenes.