Oprah Chats With SPIDER-MAN's Julie Taymor

Back in November, Oprah Winfrey stopped by Broadway's Foxwoods Theatre to chat with SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK director Julie Taymor on her newest project. Much news has circulated around SPIDER-MAN since Oprah's interview, however Taymor still revealed some unknown details about her involvement in the production.

On her development of Arachne, Taymor told Oprah: " So I started to look at the comic books, and on page one of Ultimate Spider-Man, I found the story of Arachne. In Greek mythology, Arachne is a young girl who's full of hubris-that attitude of "We're better than the gods."'

She adds, "She was a great weaver-she wove all the stories of the gods' misdeeds. And basically, the goddess Athena got pissed and challenged Arachne to a duel at the loom. The two female powers, the human and the goddess, wove, and Arachne's tapestry turned out better. Athena got so angry that she destroyed it-and Arachne hung herself on a single thread. Athena was so taken with this act that she transformed her into a spider and made her immortal. Really, she was dooming her to loneliness, cursing her to weave her webs in the darkness, inspiring fear and terror everywhere."

On the involevement of Bono and The Edge she adds, "The reason Bono and Edge can write these songs is that they get the dilemma, which is: How do you be a superhero, save the world, and also be a dad and husband and drink in your pub and just be a guy? How do you balance those identities?"

Read the full interview by visiting: http://www.oprah.com/entertainment/Oprah-Interviews-Julie-Taymor-on-Spider-Man-and-Her-Creative-Vision/1

Featuring direction by Tony® Award-winner Julie Taymor (The Tempest, Across The Universe, The Lion King), music and lyrics by 22-time Grammy® Award-winners Bono and The Edge, a book co-written by Taymor and Glen Berger (Underneath The Lintel) and one of the most iconic title characters of all time, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark is the most ambitious production ever undertaken on Broadway and finds astonishingly fresh ways to tell a story inspired by over 40 years of Marvel comic books. The show follows the story of teenager Peter Parker, whose unremarkable life is turned upside-down when he's bitten by a genetically altered spider and wakes up the next morning clinging to his bedroom ceiling. This bullied science-geek suddenly endowed with incredible powers soon learns, however, that with great power comes great responsibility as villains put both his physical strength and strength of character to the test. SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark will thrill audiences through a unique entertainment experience in ways never-before-dreamed-possible in live theater.

Photo Credit: Monica Simoes