Spidey is Coming to Town

The New York City subways are like a barometer for the mainstream media. Plastered about the subway car interiors and all over station walls are posters and advertisements for whatever television or movie event you, as a responsible member of society, MUST be watching (read: whichever television or movie event has the best marketing scheme with the most advertising dollars). For the past month or so, the clear favorite has been, not suprisingly, the upcoming release of Spider-Man 3. Which is fine. It makes it a little less embarassing for me that all my Ultimate Spider-Mans are displayed prominently on my bookshelf as opposed to tucked safely under my bed.

But the other day, as I was walking out of the subway at 49th street my eye caught sight of something most disturbing: April 30 to May 6 will officially be "Spider-Man Week" in New York City. That's right, Spider-Man Week. Apparently the marketing gurus at Sony are a bit worried that the wall-crawler hasn't caught enough attention on the side of every bus and phone booth in the city, so have teamed up with the city of New York and just about every other sponsor on the planet to dedicate an entire week to their little indie flick.The fun-filled week begins with a cast appearance on the Today Show--Ooh! Ooh, Meredith! Meredith! Pick me!--then kicks into high gear with Green Goblin mask-making at the Children's Museum of Manhattan, "spidery" tales for children at the Brooklyn Children's Museum, a spider exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, original Spider-Man comics at the New York Public Library, a Peter Parker pizza celebration, and oh, my personal favorite, Spider-Man-inspired raps at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

Honestly, I have never seen more marketing ploys for a movie that didn't even need them. Who isn't going to see this movie? Or better yet who, after listening to Def Jam Spider-Man, will think to themselves, hey, maybe this thing is worth checking out after all! I don't know about you, but I can certainly hear the pitter-patter of ticket sales going up...

In any event, Spider-Man 3 opens May 4, and um, I suppose if you're really that bored, you can go make a Green Goblin mask beforehand.