Most of the action in Cleveland was the sequence showing Sandman attempting to escape Spider-Man in an armored truck. I'll let you see how the story develops when you head to the theaters on May 4, but it is going to be exciting.

This is just one small clip of an extended set of clips, all of which have been edited together for the movie.

We spent an entire week filming the sequence: up Ninth Street and down Euclid Avenue, then back to our number 1, and shoot it again. Cars were flying everywhere as Sandman careened through the streets.

In the clip, note the Lincoln running ahead of the armored truck, the camera truck running alongside, the flying glass, and the near collision into the stunt cars as the armored truck swerves sharply to the left. Cleveland is a town with men (and gals) made of steel, and not just Cleveland's own hometown Superman!

This isn't CGI. This is the real deal!

I've never seen or heard a better set of car and truck crashes anywhere.

(The following added after seeing the theatrical release on May 3 and May 4, 2007):

Unfortunately, six days of work was reduced to eleven (11) seconds or so of action in the movie. So you won't get to see the best car and truck crash scene in movie history. Instead, you'll see long fight scenes (with lots of CGI) featuring Spidey and Green Goblin, Jr. and Sandman and Venom.

Maybe the sequence with Sandman in the armored truck will be on the second disc of the DVD? We can only hope!

Everyone knows that Spider-Man is one of the strongest and most nimble of all of the super-heroes. When he casts his web and soars through the air, it's him in the action, not some CGI magic.

This sequence shows Spider-Man soaring away from the scene of an awesome crash, up and beyond Marcel Breuer's "Brutalist" Breuer Tower.

Okay, he has the help of a high-rise crane, but do you think you could stand being jerked up in the air at the end of an unforgiving cable, trying to avoid the lampposts and utility wires as you go?

Making the scene takes many shots, but Spidey gets it down.

To commemorate the occasion, two of the members of the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Board of County Commissioners, Tim Hagan and Jimmy Dimora, have decided to tear the Marcel Breuer Tower down! (Send them an e-mail and tell them what you think of that idea!)

P.S. That's me in the little white circle, hoping to avoid the cutting room floor!

(The following added after seeing the theatrical release on May 3 and May 4, 2007):

Again, this scene doesn't make the movie. At least I didn't see Spidey leap from the truck to the top of Breuer Tower. Call it a save for the Cuyahoga County Board of County Commissioners. (And, yes, a quick trip for me to the cutting room floor!)

Of course, I'm disappointed, what with my brush with Spidey history fully squelched; but can a $382 million world-wide opening be wrong?

The Official Spider-Man 3 Blog recently added two short movie clips showing the filming action in Cleveland.

The stunts clip above is narrated by Second Unit Director Dan Bradley and Stunt Coordinator Scott Rogers. It features both car/truck crash sequences and wire rigging of stunt personnel.

There's an early shot at the intersection of Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland setting up the Spidey defeat of Sandman and leap away to the top of Breuer Tower.

Note the armored truck in the center of the intersection, not yet toppled upside down.

Also look at the cabling on the stunt actor as he is yanked backward and through the glass doors. The glass is fake, but the incredible acceleration on his body, as the cable pulls him backward, is real.

Later in the clip, there is yet another thrilling running collision between the armored truck and a car which "just happens to be in the way." Note the boom camera truck on the right of this shot, and motorcycle camera on the left.

Finally, there are a number of shots on the soundstage with Spidey cabled up, including work with the go camera system, which allows for flying the camera along with the actor.

Through the wonders of CGI, these shots are mixed with shots on the ground in Cleveland and New York City for fantastic, unbelievable action sequences.

(The following added after seeing the theatrical release on May 3 and May 4, 2007):

And trust me, you'll see a lot of slow pans across the crowd; you'll see a lot of happy faces in the movie; but not one of those faces will be from Cleveland (unless they traveled to New York for the shots on the streets of the City!)

So much for Cleveland's rendezvous with destiny.

The "Cleveland Rocks"clip is narrated by Unit Production Manager, Dennis Stewart, with Chris Carmody, President of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission.

There are some great shots of the armored truck on its top in the intersection of Ninth and Euclid, Spidey on a "rug" behind a camera truck, and some great crashes.

Also some great shots of the camera truck running against oncoming precision drivers. Actually, some of the shots look like blocking shots. When we were in the action as precision drivers, there were a lot more cars on the street.

The big camera truck roars to action halfway through the clip. The truck's on the right on the screen (see above), with a New York City taxi passing it in the opposite direction.

Running parallel to the camera truck, and in the same directon, is a line of cars and the armored truck one lane over. Note the boom on the camera truck passing over the NYC taxi, and the taxi with its left wheels planted firmly on the yellow line.

On the final take of the shot, the precision drivers ran behind the taxi. The trick was to keep our left tires on the yellow line, maintain tunnel vision and avoid panic as the massive armored truck barreled by to the left of us, the beefy camera truck screamed by to the right of us, and a camera boom passed right overhead.

Later in the clip, watch the "Bay Bomber" catch some close up action in front of the Wyndham Hotel. The armored truck's hit on the purple car is caught point of collision by a camera lying on the street, then from above by a camera on the roof of the Wyndham, then (separated with a cut to Chris Carmody) through the front window of the bomber.

(The following added after seeing the theatrical release on May 3 and May 4, 2007):

When the DVD comes out for Christmas, play the armored truck scene at about 1/4 speed. You'll thank me for suggesting it.