The man who saved Spidey
From the NEW YORK POST
A behind-the-curtain superhero kept Broadway's biggest fiasco from flopping
June 9, 2012
By Michael Riedel
"A couple of years ago, while in San Diego checking out a new musical, I decided to take a road trip down to Baja California with Rick Miramontez, a
Broadway press agent, and two of his office underlings, John and Andy.
Andy was the designated driver, but he was nervous. He'd read about carjackings along the coastal highway and drug-related massacres. His hands were
sweating on the steering wheel when we crossed the border and he refused to go faster than 55 mph for fear of being pulled over by a corrupt guardia
and shaken down.
But Rick, in the passenger seat, sporting Ray-Bans and singing songs from the Tijuana Brass Band, was undisturbed
What if we get pulled over?" Andy asked, his voice cracking.
"An adventure!" said Rick.
"What if they plant drugs in the car and throw us in a Mexican jail?" Andy worried.
"We can only hope!" said Rick.
We had delicious lobsters in Puerto Nuevo and spent a night at the famed Rosarito Beach Hotel, where old Hollywood used to escape for romantic
weekends - Liz and Dick, Rita Hayworth and Prince Aly Khan.
The principal topic of conversation was "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," which was still in pre-production. Rick had just signed on as press agent,
and I'd been hammering away at the show's myriad financial problems.
"Whatever happens, it's going to be a wild ride," Rick said. "Boys, prepare to be part of the legend!"
Waiting to cross the border on the way back, Rick bought a plaster-of-Paris Spider-Man statuette from an impoverished Mexican kid for about two bucks.
"Let the fun begin!" he said as he examined his purchase.
I remember thinking that "Spider-Man," despite its $85 million price tag, was just as fragile as that cheap statuette. I chuckled and thought,
destroying this show is going to be as easy as smashing Rick's new toy."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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