Writer. Creator. Large mammal.

The Spider-Man Musical That Might Have Been

Note from JayJay: Jim wrote the following recently and it appeared on the Bleeding Cool web site along with the entire script for the show. I’m reposting it here. You can read the script here on Bleeding Cool.

In the spring of 1987, lawyer Steve Massarsky closed a deal with Marvel Licensing for the live action performance rights for ALL Marvel characters for two years.  His intention was to produce a traveling children’s arena show.  He had previously tried to get the rights to the Cabbage Patch Kids and failed.  Massarsky had no experience as a producer and no credibility whatsoever as a licensee.  Nonetheless, he easily convinced Marvel’s licensing people to grant him the rights.  He paid an advance of only $25,000—put up by a friend in the smoke alarm business.  The Marvel licensing people had no idea of the value of the characters!  They thought they were stealing the money!

During the negotiations, one concern Massarsky had was finding someone who knew the characters to write the show.  The licensing people assured him that, once the deal closed, they would get Marvel’s “genius” Editor in Chief—that would be me—to find them a suitable writer.  The licensing people thought highly of me because I had helped them close many deals.  Taking me along to pitch to potential licensees, like Mattel, meant that they didn’t ever actually have to open a comic book, or have a clue who the characters were.  And I was great at selling the sizzle, the romance of the characters that I loved.


Example:  The licensing people thought that the Amazing Spider-Man and the Spectacular Spider-Man were two different characters and licensed them to different film producers.  Lawsuits ensued.  They licensed the Avengers, including Iron Man, to a film producer, then, having no clue that Iron Man was an Avenger, licensed Iron Man to another film producer.  Lawsuits ensued. 

The live action rights, however, were clean.

When Massarsky closed the deal, he asked to be introduced to the “genius,” and was told that I had been fired days earlier.  But, no worries, the licensing people said.  “Get Jim to write the show and approval is guaranteed.  Nobody knows the characters like him.”  That is an actual quote.

Massarky asked me to write the show.  I was unfamiliar with kids’ arena shows.  Massarsky provided me with scripts for a couple of them, and I actually went to see one at Madison Square Garden.  It starred Gumby and the Thundercats.  On roller skates.  It was moronic.  The parents were in boredom Hell and the kids all had their backs to the show, busy playing with their souvenir swords and toys.  The scripts I read were worse.  Children’s arena shows largely consisted of Bugs Bunny or his ilk bouncing on a trampoline to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.”

Though I needed work, I turned the gig down.

Massarsky told me he didn’t want standard fare.  He wanted the Wizard of Oz, only Marvel—something that would entertain the adults and fascinate the children.  All righty, then.

I wrote the show.  One thing Massarsky had was connections.  He got the best booking agent, the best road manager, the best musicians, the best production people….  He got Charlie Reynolds, the best illusion engineer to create the magic tricks and effects.  He got a commitment from the Nederlander organization to stage the show in all their amphitheaters.

Massarsky sent the script to Marvel for approval.  They rejected it, based on then Editor in Chief Tom DeFalco’s objections.  Massarsky asked for a meeting.  We met in Tom’s office—formerly my office.

Tom’s first objection was that characters weren’t properly introduced.  Every instance he cited, I cited the previous page and lines that introduced the characters.  I guess he hadn’t read it carefully. 

The licensing people pointed out that stagecraft was not in Tom’s purview anyway.  The director would sort that out, if necessary.  His job was to make sure that the Marvel characters were accurately represented.

Okay, he said.  He pointed out that there was a line in the script in which a civilian said that they once saw Spider-Man pick up a bus.  Tom said Spider-Man wasn’t strong enough to do that.  I pointed out that in the intro panel of the Spider-Man Sunday strip, drawn by John Romita and written by Stan Lee, that Spider-Man had been picking up a bus for more than a decade—however, if it made him happy, I’d change it to “a car.”

His next objection was that the Maestra, a new character I’d invented, wasn’t horrified when she saw Doctor Doom’s face.  I pointed out that many Marvel characters had seen Doom’s face and not shrunk back in horror.  Mark Gruenwald was in the room.  I cited a number of instances—Doctor Donald Blake, Sue Storm, several others.  Mark, the Marvel encyclopediac, had to agree—but fearing to displease Tom added that, in those instances, the characters could have recoiled in horror “between panels.”  I kid you not.

I also pointed out that while Tom might have jurisdiction over Marvel characters, Maestra was MY character, and she acted—and reacted—the way I said, not the way he said.

The licensing people called the meeting to an abrupt halt, led Massarsky and me to their offices upstairs, signed the approval and swore they would never ask DeFalco’s opinion on anything ever again.

Massarsky pitched my script to MCA Records.  They loved it.  The MCA guy said, “The hell with an arena show, this is a major motion picture!  Let’s do it!”  I pointed out Marvel’s legal quagmire, and they settled for an arena show. They offered $1 million dollars (a lot of money back then) for the rights to the music (pending the completion of fund-raising) and guaranteed staging in all MCA Universal amphitheaters.

All Massarsky needed was to raise another $2.5 million.  He spent months trying.  He kept barking up wrong trees—largely, I think, because he only went after targets that would be silent partners, leaving him in control.  No dice.

Finally, with the clock running out on his two-year deal, he pitched to Radio City Music Hall.  They loved it, and agreed to put up all the capital required—with the stipulation that they, not Massarsky, would be the producers.  He’d get his money, no worries there, and an “executive producer” credit—but they weren’t about to put their fate in the hands of a beginner.  Fine.

The show would have debuted on the stage of Radio City Music Hall, as it happened, two weeks after the premiere of the first Batman movie.  Think anyone would have come?

There wasn’t enough time left on Massarky’s license to mount the show—so he went back to Marvel seeking an extension.  Somebody had wised up, and Marvel demanded millions for an extension.  Massarky went back to Marvel with the power people of MCA and Radio City at his side to convince Marvel that, if they were reasonable, they’d have a big money-maker.  Marvel refused to cooperate and the license expired.

On the day the license expired, Marvel business affairs Executive V.P. Joe Calamari went to MCA and Radio City seeking to do the same deal without Massarsky!

The Radio City honcho, Phil Mayer (not sure of the spelling) called me up and told me that Marvel claimed it owned my script.  I said they didn’t.  It wasn’t written work-for-hire.

Phil called a meeting—the Radio City people, Joe Calamari, representing Marvel, Massarsky and me. 

Calamari insisted that Marvel owned my script.  I asked him to show me a W4H document.  He shouted (!) at Massarsky that he should have gotten me to sign a W4H, and that Marvel would sue.  Massarsky pointed out that Marvel’s contract was with “TM Productions,” a shell corporation with no assets, and that he was welcome to sue his brains loose.  Massarsky was a lawyer, after all.

Then Calamari stood up, angrily stuck his finger in my face and shouted that I had no right to make a non-W4H deal.  What?  I assured him that I was a freelance writer, entitled to make any deal I pleased.

In an attempt to restore order, Phil asked me what I wanted.  My handshake deal with Massarsky was “pretty rich,” he said, on the back end.  He said, usually, the writer, the composer and the lyricist split a 6% royalty pool.  I told him that was fine by me.  In fact, I demanded to be treated normally, to have the normal deal.  Screw the “rich” deal.  I would cheerfully give up the perks Massarsky had offered me to see the show mounted.

To Calamari, Phil said, “Joe, this is the most reasonable man on Earth.  Let’s make a deal.”

Calamari said that Marvel would be content to take HALF the writer’s royalty.  They would get half the writer’s share, leaving me with 1%.  I repeated that I demanded to be treated normally, like any other writer, and Marvel stealing half my share was unacceptable.

Calamari started shouting again.  He said that they didn’t need my script, that he would have STAN LEE HIMSELF write a script.

And, in one of the highlight reel moments of my life, a life chock full of such Pyrrhic victories, Phil tapped his finger on my script and said, “Joe, we like this one.”

That was about it.  Massarky and I left.

Days later, Variety and other rags announced that Stan was writing an arena show, to be produced by Radio City.

Either the script never got done or it was not accepted, because nothing ever came of it.

Previous

More Questions, More Answers

Next

Jim Shooter, to me. By guest blogger JayJay

21 Comments

  1. Dear uncannyderek,

    No, I haven't ever spoken about it with Stan, but it's not a touchy subject. It just never came up. He probably didn't know anything about the wrangling that went on before he was asked to write a show, and I see no reason to discuss it with him.

  2. I suppose Tom Brevoort believes Jim isn't entitled to confidence. There's a huge difference between not being capable of doing wrong and choosing not to do wrong. It sounds like Tom believes Jim should ignore his scruples for the sake of upgrading someone else's self-esteem.

    Considering Tom admits Jim is "super-smart", how can he be expected to embrace dumb ideas? If that Forumspring article reveals anything about human nature, it's that Tom is a guy who pathologicaly cannot give a sincere compliment without adding an unnecessary putdown afterwards. After reading that link, I promptly unfollowed Tom Brevoort on Twitter.

  3. The work produced at Marvel under Mr. Shooter's watch tells you a lot about the man, and as a fan, that's all I need to know, no matter what "poison personality"s say.

  4. Well, Tom Brevoort wasn't there at the time this took place. Neither was I. I'm not going to say I'm "privy" to what really happened, but I'm going to have to go with a first hand account of someone who was actually there. I don't know what bit Tom is referring to, but hearsay is hearsay. And i wouldn't necessarily take gossip completely seriously from folks who hold a grudge against Jim.

    Tom also says Jim is "a poison personality in a workplace setting over any sustained period of time." Well, I've worked with Jim on and off for almost 30 years. Debbie Fix has worked with him at all of his companies. Joe James has worked with him at Defiant, Broadway and Daring and tells me he is still eager to collaborate with Jim on a project. And more. So, that's not accurate, either.

  5. Tom Brevoort seems to have weighed in on this over on his Formspring page:

    "And his memory is also selective–he told a story at Rich Johnston's site and recently over at his own blog for which I'm privy to the other side, and he leaves out a key bit of information that casts other people in a much better light and himself more poorly. "

    http://www.formspring.me/TomBrevoort/q/180673531061762764

  6. Hi. Just wanted to say that I stumbled upon this blog last week and have been checking back each day for the latest installment. Never fails to entertain.

    Jim, you were the EIC during the Golden Age of Marvel for me when great creativity and originality seemed to go hand-in-hand with weird business/legal decisions. Thank you so much for setting various records straight and filling in so many blanks.

    PS: My favorite moments are anecdotes like today where certain lawyers, editors, licensors etc are revealed in all their Bizarro glory.

  7. Tim

    Mr. Shooter, I'm wondering if you could expand a bit on your mindset working on a Marvel script shortly after being fired by Marvel. For me it would seem like a difficult task to undertake so soon after being let go. At this point had you and Mr. Massarsky already discussed buying Marvel?

    Thank you for writing the blog. Each post is fascinating, and I am looking forward to next week's entries on comic creation. I'm also enjoying the Dark Horse series that you're writing, and hope that the scheduling issues are worked out soon. After reading about your first year at Marvel and your focus on getting books out on time that this must be frustrating for you. Fortunately each successive issue is better than the one before, and I have great anticipation for the Magnus origin issues coming soon.

  8. "Mark, the Marvel encyclopediac, had to agree—but fearing to displease Tom added that, in those instances, the characters could have recoiled in horror “between panels.” I kid you not."

    That's madness!

    But your script was excellent, Jim. I can just see all of the visuals happening in my head as I read it.

    But did you ever speak with Stan about his apparent version of the script, or was it a touchy subject?

  9. Yes. Mr. Massarsky died a few years back. He later betrayed Jim. On a positive note he's most likely buried and I hear that deep down lawyers are good people.

  10. That's too bad the Back Issue people never called you – I might have to send them an email and tell them they missed the boat.

    (Not that it was a bad article, just now it seems pretty incomplete.)

  11. Yes, we need to hear that Mort Weisinger story! This one was very funny, though. I loved the conference with DeFalco and Gruenwald.

  12. Jim has asked me to fill in and write a guest post… It will run tomorrow! I DO have a couple of stories to tell. Oh, don't worry, Jim, not THOSE stories! lol. ;D

  13. Dear Jim,

    It's a shame your development work hasn't been on any screens yet. Do you own any of the rights to it? I really should go buy your Golden Books while I wait for your first movie. I am serious.

    I have seen your TRANSFORMERS treatment. There's a name that stands out as odd because it's not based on an English word or phrase: "Ulchtar." Was that your idea or was it a leftover from Denny O'Neil's draft? If it's yours, do you remember the reasoning behind it?

    Dear JayJay,

    Please DO get Jim to tell that story!

    And if you ever have stories of your own to tell – and time to tell them – maybe you could start a blog of your own. I'd appreciate a second perspective on Marvel, VALIANT, DEFIANT, and Broadway, plus your own insights on the world of commercial art.

  14. I was unaware of the Back Issue article.

  15. One day soon I will get Jim to tell the story of when Mort Weisinger took him to see the Superman musical on Broadway. I must have heard it a dozen times, but I love it. And we have frequently made spectacles of ourselves in restaurants when we sing the songs from it. Not TOO loud, though. lol.

  16. Thanks for the kind words.

    I actually have written other non-comics stuff. In 1987, I was hired by the Hal Prince organization to write the story for a STAR WARS MUSICAL. I wrote a brief outline and a few sample script pages. But, George Lucas started to have cold feet about a Broadway musical, thinking that it might diminish the franchise, and pulled the license. So I was told by several of the show's backers: toy business legend Stan Weston (G.I. JOE, Micronauts, more), John Roche (one of the backers of Blade Runner and other SF films) and others whose names elude me at the moment. They said that Lucas "loved" the story, though. Sigh.

    ASIDE RE: HAL PRINCE: I met him, had a meeting in his office. I noticed that he had Broadway show posters all over the place, but "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman" was conspicuously missing. I asked him about it. He said "Don't ever mention that again." Apparently, though it was one of the Ten Best Plays of 1966, it didn't do well, one of the few projects of his that wasn't a smash. I loved that show.

    I've done developments/written treatments/done for Fox, Paramount, Universal, and bunches of others. I co-wrote a film with George Romero for Laurel Entertainment. He's a genius. What fun. I did a "concept doctoring" job for Saban Entertainment. I've done children's books, many other things — so much stuff. No movies on the screen yet, though, unless you count Transformers, which I developed and a few others I had some influence upon. I wrote a screenplay for Plan Z Productions called the Omega Point, that New Line Cinema was interested in till Mike De Luca's departure. It is one of the best things I've ever written. So much stuff….

  17. Mr. Massarsky passed away a few years ago.

  18. "Are you still in touch with Massarky?"

    I believe the phrase "ten-foot pole" should come into play any moment now…

  19. Back Issue just did a special on this; I can't recall if your involvement was mentioned therein, though. Did you get any calls over the last 6 months asking about this? I'm surprised (if my memory is correct on this) that your involvement wasn't mentioned.

    That is just insane about the licensing SNAFUs. How can people be so clueless? I'm reminded of when Kevin Smith's script for Superman was rejected (among other reasons) by Jon Peters, who famously asked "Who the f**k is Kal-el?"

  20. Great story! Are you still in touch with Massarky?

  21. Dear Jim,

    I read your script when it came out on Bleeding Cool. Forget Julie Taymor's musical. This is what should have been produced! A one-night tour of the Marvel pantheon!

    I have no interest in arena shows for the reasons you described. Yours is different. What I like most about NIGHT OF DOOM is how it was structured around the needs of the characters. On the one hand, Dr. Doom wanted his mother back. Any kid can understand that. Makes him superior to the typical one-note villain that "James S. Jackson-Weiss III" parodied with Dominator in BLOOD S.C.R.E.A.M. On the other hand, Spider-Man needed money. Any parent can understand that. Their paths cross, and BOOM! A conflict that both halves of the audience can relate to.

    If the show had debuted and been a success, would you have written more shows? Your career might have taken a very different path.

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén