Why Sam Raimi?

I just read the Spider-Man review, thank god you guys didn't thrash it [:)] Anywho, I saw the thing about Sam Raimi's Evil Dead so I looked it up real quick, it doesn't exactly look like something that was well known, or even that good, and I'm wondering, how did it come to be that Sam was chosen as the director of Spider-Man, an expected to be blockbuster movie?? Not that I am complaining, he did great work on Spider-Man, I just think it was an incredible leap to go from.

Well let's not forget that before Spider-Man, Raimi directed The Gift, For Love of the Game, A Simple Plan, The Quick and the Dead, Army of Darkness and more.

Ah, yeah I didn't look up his other stuff :P

Leap of faith, my friend. Before Gladiator, Ridley Scott was a well-regarded filmmaker who had not enjoyed much box office success. Post-Gladiator, Ridley Scott is one of the biggest boys in town. So is Raimi post-Spidey.