Kirsten Dunst Was Given a ‘Book of Famous Kisses to Be Inspired’ Before Shooting ‘Spider-Man’ Kiss, Says It Was ‘Miserable Doing It Actually’
Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire delivered one of the most iconic movie kisses of the 21st century in 2002’s “Spider-Man,” but it was “kind of miserable” to shoot. Dunst is the latest guest on “The Jonathan Ross Show” (via The Independent) ahead of the release of her new movie “Civil War,” and she remembered how not ideal it was to kiss Maguire in the pouring rain while he was upside down as Spider-Man.
“I remember [the film’s director] Sam Raimi giving me a book of famous kisses to be inspired but also he really wanted to make it special even though it was kind of miserable actually doing it,” Dunst recalled.
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“It was pouring with rain, freezing, Tobey couldn’t breathe so it was almost like I was resuscitating him,” she added.
Dunst starred as Mary Jane Watson opposite Maguire’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Raimi’s 2002 blockbuster, which led to two more hugely-profitable sequels: 2004’s “Spider-Man 2,” often considered one of the greatest superheroes movies ever made, and 2007’s “Spider-Man 3.” During a recent interview with Marie Claire, Dunst lamented over not speaking up for herself on set when people referred to her as a “girly-girl.” Dunst said “you didn’t say anything” on sets at that time, especially before the #MeToo movement, and “you just took it.”
“It was a joke, but on ‘Spider-Man,’ they would call me ‘girly-girl’ sometimes on the walkie-talkie. ‘We need girly-girl.’ But I never said anything,” Dunst said. “Like, don’t call me that!”
Would Dunst ever go back to the comic book world? “Yes,” Dunst told the magazine, “because you get paid a lot of money, and I have two children, and I support my mother.”
Maguire reprised his Spider-Man role in the 2021 Marvel tentpole “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which united him with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Andrew Garfield’s “Spider-Man.” He’s already said he’s game for more.
“I love these films and I love all of the different series,” Maguire told Marvel. “If these guys called me and said, ‘Would you show up tonight to hang out and goof around?’ or ‘Would you show up to do this movie or read a scene or do a Spider-Man thing?’ it would be a ‘yes!’ Because why wouldn’t I want to do that?”
Dunst told Variety in 2021 that “I would do it” when asked about playing Mary Jane again. “Why not? That would be fun,” she added. “I’d be old MJ at this point with little Spidey babies.”
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