In the late seventies, the rise of the modern blockbuster and the fall of companies like United Artists led to a shift in the balance of power from filmmakers to studios. This shift continued even through the ballyhooed independent era, where the arthouses have now been co-opted by corporate interests. The only films that place power in the hands of the artist behind the camera are so independent they are filming in your neighbor’s backyard today, and screening at the local library tomorrow, and never anywhere else again.
This is a long-winded way of saying filmmakers are being strong-armed into making more shit than they ever have been, and it comes to a head when Sony actually hires Gary Ross to direct and write “Venom.” Ross isn’t the most accomplished filmmaker, his work representing an amalgamation of the conservative beliefs and special effects of Robert Zemeckis and the corny Americana Sam Mendes keeps trying to DRAMATICALLY SUBVERT, but he’s a guy with a voice. More importantly, he’s a guy with his heart usually in the right place, and a guy who we figured after “Seabiscuit” could write his own check. If the guy wasn’t going to make any good pictures, he could maybe take another artist under his wing or support a worthy filmmaking cause, much like Zemeckis mentored promising up-and-comer Gil Kenan (“Monster House”).
“Venom,” meanwhile, is dealing with one of the most repugnant, vile and creatively bankrupt creations in superhero comic history, one that was a big part in nearly killing the comics’ industry in the mid-nineties. He was only featured briefly in “Spider-Man 3,” by far the least-liked in that series, due to director Sam Raimi being strongarmed (there we go again) into giving the popular villain some screen-time, something Raimi has gone on record as regretting. The time for a “Venom” movie has long passed, as New Line had originally developed a story for the character independent of “Spider-Man” with David Goyer onboard, only to abandon the transparently inane concept.
While Eddie Brock took over the mantle of the character in “Spider-Man 3,” the new film is expected to feature a new Venom, as the alien symbiote has taken over many different hosts over the years in the comics. Brock was known as it’s most common association, as the creature, armed with bloodlust and a wealth of knowledge about Spider-Man, murdered innocents frequently and indiscriminately before being brought to justice time and time again. The symbiote has spawned other creations too, each one more violent and pointless than the last, most famously the serial killer cliche known as Carnage. Spider-Man has a rich gallery of rogues and villains with colorful costumes, interesting motivations and engaging backstories. Venom and Carnage are not a part of that.
Ross was long attached to “Tokyo Suckerpunch,” where he would have directed his “Seabiscuit” star Tobey Maguire alongside Anne Hathaway. When Hathaway dropped out, Ross, who penned “Big” and his directorial debut “Pleasantville,” took the whore-ish offer to re-write “Spider-Man 4.” Apparently his Spidey-centric ideas were so strong that Sony felt he should re-write their “Venom” script, from “Zombieland” writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, before getting behind the camera. To which Ross answered by waking up on a boathouse at 3 PM, shrugging his shoulders, leaving his ugly wife, buying a giant bag of coke and saying, “Fuck it, guys, I give up. Sure. Let’s do a trilogy.”
Update: Some actual details on Gary Ross’ “Venom,” have emerged. As you’d imagine, Topher Grace who played the Venom character in “Spider-Man 3,” will likely not return. Ross is not only directing, he’s writing and re-writing a script penned by Jamie Vanderbilt and David Lindsay-Abaire. Vanderbilt is currently scripting the fifth and sixth installments of “Spider-Man,” and with Raimi looking to do ‘Spidey 4’ and then move on, editions 5 and 6 are still likely going to be reboots. Even though Marvel was recently bought by Disney, Sony still own Spider-Man characters from that film universe in perpetuity, so that’s how they still have a hold of this one.
One things for certain. Sony/Columbia realizes that “Spider-Man,” is a good meal ticket and as much as a “Venom,” movie sounds terrible on paper, to them, it’s just leveraging the “Spider-Man,” universe and exploiting it for every dollar it’s worth. Even if Raimi does ditch after “Spider-Man 4,” which $1,000 dollars says he will, no perturbed fans are going to likely stop this one from going forward with a whole new cast and creative team.