Chris Columbus

Spider-Man initially made me want to come to New York and work for Marvel; I wanted to be a comic book artist.

My reason for getting into the film business was a Spider-Man comic called 'The Night Gwen Stacy Died' when I was a kid; it changed my life.

I can understand the validity of showing people the ugliness of the world, but I also think there is a place for movies to leave people with a sense of hope.

People say if you're doing an art project, that's different from a book, but I honestly don't see it. I try and try, and I just don't.

I am convinced that the reason so many fans leave Dodger Stadium after the seventh inning is that they become bored.

If you're going to go to an audition, you don't want to go in trying to force yourself into some archetype that has been thought up by a director and translated by a casting director.