He’s pudgy, moustachioed and obnoxious, and now he’s going to star in his own movie.

The South Australian Film Corporation recently made a $9,500 grant to support the development of a series of short videos based on the character of Italian Spiderman, the dubious superhero created by Flinders University Screen Studies graduate Dario Russo.

Italian Spiderman, a mock three-minute ‘trailer’ for a very bad 1964 Italian film that never existed, initially achieved cult status on the internet hosting sites YouTube and MySpace. It has since gone on to international fame, garnering more than 1.8m hits in its five-month life on the web.

The basic footage was shot in a single day on 16mm film, and the cheap special effects, overblown voiceover and cheesy soundtrack – integral features of B-grade Italian movies – were incorporated later. The video, made as a final year project for the Screen Studies course, used the University’s 1960s concrete architecture and pine forest as backdrops.

Thanks to the SA Film Corporation funding, the first half-hour of the “lost” full-length movie will be posted on the internet in 10 three-minute instalments, beginning later this year.

Beyond producing a soundtrack single, Mr Russo said are no plans for the Spiderman to go commercial. If his popularity continues, however, the whole movie may yet emerge.

“If people keep on watching it, it will probably keep on coming,” Mr Russo said.

To learn more about Italian Spiderman, go to: www.alrugo.com