Julie Taymor Talks Spider-Man, New Movie Musical and More to Esquire

Julie Taymor, a Tony Award winner for THE LION KING, will likely always have the $75 million, massive musical adaptation of SPIDER-MAN attached to her name as well. What does Taymor, the former director for the production, have to say about the show?

"Oh, God, you saw Spider-Man," she responds when the subject is brought up in an interview with Esquire released online today. "But you didn't see my version of it, the first version, did you?"

Taymor draws parallels between THE LION KING and her version of SPIDER-MAN, saying that "[Disney CEO Michael Esner] said 'They all work, but I want to go with your first idea because it's the bigger risk, and the bigger the risk, the bigger the payoff.' I believe that would have happened on Spider-Man as well."

Taymor goes on to say that if she had the time - and budget - to fully craft her vision, she believes she would have proved cynics wrong. "I wanted Spider-Man to be in a tent on top of Madison Square Garden," she says.

"It was a rock 'n' roll circus drama, meaning its own beast...I love the script. I like the music. Our version was way too long and needed to be cut, but I still think it was a valid story," she adds. "This is the process. We unfortunately had people blogging that process. Some people say, 'Oh, well, it's the twenty-first century and you better get used to it.' Fine, but that means people will not be able to experiment and not be able to take risks, because you make mistakes along the way."

Still, Taymor says she doesn't want to dwell on the subject: "If we only concentrate on Spider-Man," she told the magazine, "it just goes on and on." Taymor is suing the production for royalities she claims she's still owed from the use of her material in the production, which opened in June. On the subject of payment, she says that she thinks "the show is what it is, and we'll see if it lasts. I would like it to last so I get paid."

Beyond SPIDER-MAN, the director plans to bring The Transposed Heads to movie screens in a musical adaptation. The novella, which Taymor first adapted for the stage in 1986, will be set "in contemporary New York City, contemporary India, and a completely supernatural, mythical India." 

While Taymor moves on to other projects, SPIDER-MAN continues to play at the Foxwoods Theatre. SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark now plays the following performance schedule: Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m., and Sunday at 3:00 p.m.