IIAXAI,M*TiZtVZSZtiR-;
"In order to make a good picture,"
he told a reporter recently, "you have to
assume no one knows Doc Ock or
Goblin" — two Spidey spin-off villains
— "or any of these guys. You have to
give a little bit of a back-story, connect
it into the story emotionally and make
it interesting."
And maybe add a good corned-beef
sandwich? In one of Spider-Man 2's key
scenes, Peter and Mary Jane are having
a serious conversation only to be inter-
rupted by a car crashing through the
window of Ari's Village Deli and
Bakery — one of many special
moments in the emotional script by
Alvin Sargent that was directed by for-
mer Detroiter Sam Raimi.
If Spider-Man 2 offers an emotional
bond with audiences, it has nothing to
do with the glue-like gunk emanating
from Peter Parker's wrists, and all to
do with the notion, said Arad, "that
there is a little Peter Parker in all of
us."
He should know; Arad's first emo-
tional attachment to Spider-Man came
when reading about his adventures in
Hebrew as a kid back in Israel.
After immigrating to the United
States, he started to realize his dreams
by designing toys for Hasbro, Mattel
and Tyco. In 1988, he formed a toy
company, Toy Biz, with another Israeli,
Ike Perlmutter, where he created a
series of X-Men figures. (Perlmutter is
currently co-head at Marvel.)
In 1993, Marvel bought an interest
in Toy Biz, and Arad's interest turned
to TV and film projects; newly heading
up the Marvel Studios division, he
turned out a number of animated TV
series, including shows devoted to
Spider-Man and the X-Men.
Despite playing host to thousands of
superheroes, Arad is still party to the
toy end of the Marvel business. But
filmmaking is taking no back seat. On
the Marvel popcorn schedule: Fantastic
Four, Elektra and Blade: Trinity, as well
as a slew of Spider-Man sequels that
will have Peter Parker roll with the
punches for years.
With U.S. citizenship in his pocket
— Arad became an American citizen
last July 4 — the former Israeli is
indeed a man of the world. Yet, he
can't mask his true sense of self.
Ultimately, as Arad told a group of
movie critics and writers, "I am a toy
inventor."
"Movies," he added, "are a hobby."
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an effort to wake her up.
The film gets rolling a couple of
years after these events, when the
Jaradis get word that Hadiyah has
died. Yahia embarks on a frustrat-
ing merry-go-round, which covers a
major chunk of screen time, trying
to locate and bury his daughter's
body.
There are hints that prior to
Hadiyah's accident, Yahia and
Lauza didn't go along with all of
the Satmar dicta, and fell out of
favor with the community elders.
A documentary about one Yemenite Jewish
The movie suggests that the Satmars family's American nightmare
capitalized on Hadiyah's injury to
orchestrate the placement of the
meets with Satmars and others.
Jaradis' children with other families in
No great revelations emerge, although
the community.
another mother comes forward to testify
No evidence is provided, but any
that the Satmars took her children away
skepticism the viewer harbors is under-
also.
cut in a wrenching sequence where the
Gilady's unmistakable antipathy
couple surreptitiously visit two of their
toward the Satmars, and empathy for
children on the street and give them
the Jaradis, colors every frame of his
presents.
documentary. He may go a bit too far
Yahia and Lauza's plight is monstrous,
on occasion, but his fervor is fueled by
and it's exacerbated by the language and
the knowledge that lives are at stake.
culture difficulties of living in a complex
foreign country But Yahia is a polite,
In Satmar Custody airs 9 p.m.
persistent fellow, and to his credit he
Monday, Aug. 9, on the
keeps on pushing despite his anguish.
Sundance Channel. Check your
The filmmaker makes extensive use of
local cable listings.
hidden cameras, with Yahia miked as he
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