Sam Raimi in the context of "Spider-Man (2002 film)"

Bryce Dallas Howard (born March 2, 1981) is an American actress and director. The eldest child of filmmaker Ron Howard, she studied acting at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. While portraying Rosalind in a 2003 production of As You Like It, Howard caught the attention of director M. Night Shyamalan, who cast her as a blind woman in the thriller film The Village (2004) and a naiad in the fantasy film Lady in the Water (2006).

Howard's performance in Kenneth Branagh's romance film As You Like It (2006) earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination and she subsequently appeared as Gwen Stacy in Sam Raimi's superhero film Spider-Man 3 (2007). She went on to appear as Kate Connor in the action film Terminator Salvation (2009) and as Victoria in the fantasy film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010). She also appeared in the drama film The Help (2011), the comedy-drama film 50/50 (2011), the fantasy film Pete's Dragon (2016), and the musical film Rocketman (2019). Howard gained further recognition with her role as Claire Dearing in the top-grossing Jurassic World trilogy (2015–2022).

Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. Directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story conceived by Michael Chabon and the writing team of Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, it is the second installment in Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, following the 2002 film. The film stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, alongside Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, and Donna Murphy. Peter Parker fights to stop scientist Dr. Otto Octavius from recreating a dangerous experiment, while also dealing with a personal crisis.

Principal photography began in April 2003 in New York City and also took place in Los Angeles. Reshoots took place later that year and concluded in February 2004. Danny Elfman returned to compose the score.

James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007), Milk (2008), Eat Pray Love (2010), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Spring Breakers (2012), and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). He has collaborated with fellow actor Seth Rogen on multiple projects, including Pineapple Express (2008), This Is the End (2013), The Interview (2014), Sausage Party (2016), and The Disaster Artist (2017), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Franco's performance in 127 Hours (2010) earned a Best Actor nomination at the 83rd Academy Awards.

In his first prominent television role, Franco played Daniel Desario on the short-lived ensemble comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000), which developed a cult following. He portrayed the title character in the television biographical film James Dean (2001), for which he won a Golden Globe Award, and received nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. Franco had a recurring role on the daytime soap opera General Hospital (2009–2012) and starred in the limited series 11.22.63 (2016). He starred in the David Simon-created HBO drama The Deuce (2017–2019).

The Daily Bugle (at one time The DB!) is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Daily Bugle is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most prominently in Spider-Man comic titles and their derivative media. The newspaper first appeared in the Human Torch story in Marvel Mystery Comics #18 (April 1941). It returned in Fantastic Four #2 (January 1962), and its offices were first depicted in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963).

The Daily Bugle was first featured on film in the 2002 film Spider-Man. The fictional newspaper is meant to be a pastiche of both the New York Daily News and the New York Post, two popular real-life New York City tabloids. The outlet appears in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–07), Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man duology (2012–14) and Sony's Spider-Man Universe (2018–24). The agency is reimagined as a sensationalist news website in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), the SSU film Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), and the web series The Daily Bugle (2019–22), headlined by J. K. Simmons and Angourie Rice as J. Jonah Jameson and Betty Brant. An alternate version of the web series hosted by Nicque Marina was featured in promotional material for the SSU film Morbius (2022).

The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, who has endured as the archenemy of the superhero Spider-Man. Originally a manifestation of chemically induced insanity, others would later take on the persona, including Norman's son Harry Osborn. The Green Goblin is depicted as a criminal mastermind who uses an arsenal of Halloween-themed equipment, including grenade-like Pumpkin Bombs, razor-sharp bat-shaped blades, and a flying Goblin Glider, to terrorize New York City.

Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "Of all the costumed villains who've plagued Spider-Man over the years, the most flat-out unhinged and terrifying of them all is the Green Goblin." The Green Goblin has appeared in numerous media adaptations of Spider-Man over the years, including films, animated television series, and video games. Norman and Harry Osborn were portrayed by Willem Dafoe and James Franco in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy (2002–2007), and by Chris Cooper and Dane DeHaan in the film The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). Dafoe reprised his role as Norman Osborn in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) which used the concept of the multiverse to link the Raimi trilogy to the MCU.

The Hudsucker Proxy is a 1994 screwball comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by the Coen brothers. Sam Raimi co-wrote the script and served as second unit director. The film stars Tim Robbins as a naïve but ambitious business school graduate who is installed as president of a manufacturing company, Jennifer Jason Leigh as a newspaper reporter, and Paul Newman as a company director who hires the graduate as part of a stock scam.

The script was finished in 1985, but production did not start until 1991, when Joel Silver acquired the script for Silver Pictures. Warner Bros. subsequently agreed to distribute the film, with further financing from PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Working Title Films. Filming at Carolco Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina, lasted from November 1992 to March 1993. The New York City scale model set was designed by Michael J. McAlister and Mark Stetson, with further effects provided by The Computer Film Company.