Improv Everywhere is one of my favorite things about living in New York. I’d probably love it even more if I wasn’t an agoraphobic shut-in who only leaves the apartment to throw rocks at Lena Dunham when she films across the street from me. But hey, enough about my sex life. In this video, someone got all dressed up in spandex and got ready to shoot some webs. Wait, I thought we stopped talking about my sex life.
In the latest of their Movies In Real Life series, Improv Everywhere played out a scene with Spider-Man. Could it be from the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man 2? No, but I get paid per hyperlink, so you’ll click that and you’ll like it. This video, directed by Charlie Todd, is totally unlike the usual Improv Everywhere missions. They dialed the humor back in favor of spectacle, by having Spidey leap off of a 20 story building to rescue a kidnapped Mary Jane Watson. While many New Yorkers gathered to watch, some were totally unaware of Spider-Man’s presence until he swung to the street, literally a few feet away from them. How can you safely pull off a stunt like this without anyone knowing? Charlie Todd explains:
We worked with parkour and stunt performer Richie Rodriguez, who is no stranger to these types of jumps. We also partnered with the Brooklyn Climbers Association and had some of their trained professionals on board to oversee the safety of the stunt. We were confident this was something we could pull off safely, but there were many x-factors. We had no permission or permit for any of this. Our team found a building under construction on 34th Street that gave us easy roof access. We were able to sneak up our equipment over the course of three weekends.
Rodriguez looked good in that Spidey suit. I wonder if he got any packaging tips from Andrew Garfield?
Check out more photos, courtesy of Improv Everywhere:
Via Laughing Squid