Director May Delay 'Venom'

Back in July there were some rumblings about Steven Spielberg directing a film called "Matt Helm," the story of a pulp-fiction swinging spy but without all the "Austin Powers" parody humor. The writing/producing team of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were pushing the Paul Attanasio adaptation of Donald Hamilton's 27-book-series, but when Spielberg took Dreamworks from Paramount, executives weren't too keen on giving him "Matt Helm."

The Playlist has an interesting exclusive relating to this film as well as another one that’s been getting several headlines this week. According to an inside source, Gary Ross, the man who was just announced to write and possibly direct the "Venom" spinoff will not be working on that project next.

Instead, Ross will first be taking over the "Matt Helm" project from Steven Spielberg and it sounds like the "Venom" project is quite a ways off, despite earlier reports that had him starting on it after "Spider-Man 4."

Should the news pan out, Ross's directorial attachment to "Venom" might be in question. Certainly, the superhero project would have to wait since "Matt Helm" will shoot first in the summer of 2010 should all go according to schedule.

Ross's attachment to "Spider-Man 4" and "Venom" was already considered a strange development by many due to the fact that his resume lacked some serious action movie experience. His involvement in a spy franchise is no less odd, but perhaps it's a safer training ground for the director before directing a superhero project like "Venom."

What do you make of this news?
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: First Showing, MTV News, Screen Rant

'Venom' Film Will Have Character Be a Hero

Following up on yesterday’s news that “Spider-Man 4” scribe Gary Ross will write and direct the “Venom” spin-off; new details about the plot and story direction have emerged.

Variety is reporting that the new film will transform Venom into “an anti-hero who becomes a defender of the innocent.”

The move seems reminiscent of the '90s era “Venom” comics that cast the character as a “Lethal Protector.” However, it should be noted that while the reinvention of the character was initially successful, his popularity started to fade shortly thereafter.

Since the new movie is starting “from the drawing board," it’s not certain whether Topher Grace will reprise his role as Venom’s alter-ego, Eddie Brock. [SPOILER ALERT!] With Brock’s demise at the end of “Spider-Man 3,” it will be interesting to see if his resurrection is explained in the film or if the events of the previous movie will simply be ignored.

Even though Marvel Entertainment was just acquired by Disney in a $4 billion deal, Columbia Pictures is able to turn Venom loose in a film because the studio holds rights in perpetuity not only to Spider-Man but the villains in his universe. Columbia has been developing a“Venom” picture for some several years thanks to this deal.

Venom becomes the first Spidey character to be given his own film. Spin-offs are becoming popular lately, especially by Fox which has several Marvel characters used in other movies now being in planned spin-offs after the big hit "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." That studio is also working on "Silver Surfer," a character which appeared in Fox's "Fantastic Four" sequel, and "Deadpool," a character introduced in "Wolverine."

As director Sam Raimi preps for a 2010 production start on “Spider-Man 4,” writer Jamie Vanderbilt is currently scripting the fifth and sixth installments, films which could possibly amount to a re-boot with new creative elements.

At this point, there is no date set for the release of the “Venom” film. However, given the speed of the most recent announcements, further news may be coming soon.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: MTV News, Variety

'Spider-Man 4' Screenwriter To Rewrite And Direct 'Venom' Movie?

Variety is reporting that Columbia Pictures is in talks with Gary Ross ("Seabiscuit," "Pleasantville") to direct and rewrite the upcoming "Venom" solo film. Ross’ name is not new to Sony and their Spider-Man-related flicks however, as back in July he was brought in to make rewrites on the "Spider-Man 4" script.

The report states that Ross will begin work rewriting the Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick screenplay after the fourth Spidey installment finishes. Reese and Wernick are two names you'll recognize as writers of the recently released box-office topper "Zombieland." I'm guessing that Ross is working off of their script in order to tweak it for the studio and potentially get it ready for him to direct. The film will probably be a fresh start for the villainous character and the lead actor will most likely be recast (sorry Topher Grace).

I have no idea what to expect from a "Venom" solo film but I can’t believe that it can match anywhere near the success of any of the "Spider-Man" movies. The character simply doesn’t have that mass appeal and after what happened with Venom in "Spider-Man 3," I don’t know where they go from here. Unless of course they cross-over with Spider-Man…

My prediction is that after "Spider-Man 4," Maguire, Raimi and the rest of the existing crew will leave the franchise, giving room for Sony’s planned 5th and 6th installments which are currently being written by James Vanderbilt to act as a franchise restart if needed. That would allow them to tie the new take on "Venom" with the new start of Spider-Man, allowing them to do it the right way this time.

What do you think about the "Venom" project and what would you like to see from it? Do you think it’ll tie-in at all with "Spider-man 4" or the following two sequels?

"Spider-Man 4" opens May 6, 2011.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Screen Rant, MTV News, Rope of Silicon, First Showing

Updates on 'Venom'

SCI FI Wire had an exclusive interview with Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the writers behind next month’s "Zombieland" flick and they spoke about the other big project they’ve been working on: the script for the "Venom" solo film.

The last we heard on the "Venom" project from the writers was from back in April when they couldn’t comment on whether or not this incarnation of Venom would be the same as/related to the wasted version we saw in the disappointing "Spider-Man 3."

"We've written two drafts of 'Venom,' and the studio has it, and they're pushing forward in whatever ways they push forward," Wenick said.

“We’ve written two drafts of Venom, and the studio has it, and they’re pushing forward in whatever ways they push forward,”

As for when the film going move into actual production, the writers said they weren’t sure and re-iterated that they’ve submitted their latest two drafts.

With "Spider-Man 4" moving into production early next year for a summer, 2011 opening, fans are curious as to when we might expect this film - Could it come before or around the game time? Could the movies cross-over?

“We can’t really talk about that, unfortunately… Basically, the studio and Marvel and the Arads are taking our drafts and going beyond and figuring out what’s the next step.”

What we do know about the future "Spider-Man" movies are that Sony hired James Vanderbilt to pen scripts for "Spider-Man 5 and 6." The interesting part about the news was that the scripts would act as a franchise reboot should Raimi and his cast not return for more after "Spider-Man 4."

Either "Venom" ties into the existing franchise in some form, or it helps kickoff the reboot of "Spider-man" which could be happening with "Spider-Man 5 and 6" (cross-over ideas are always great for marketing and for fan hype).

What do you think about the state of the franchise, the "Venom" spinoff and potential of a reboot?

"Spider-Man 4" is scheduled to open May 6, 2011.
Source: Screen Rant

Stan Lee in 'Venom.' Nuff Said

In speaking with Superhero Hype, "Zombieland" writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese revealed that the iconic Marvel creator Stan Lee will have a cameo appearance in “Venom,” and that his role is a very particular one.

“Oh, yeah. Stan Lee is in it,” Reese revealed. “I feel like that’s the one thing we can say. He does appear in our script, and we’re very specific about where he is and why. May he live forever. Let’s hope he’s in many movies to come.”

Lee co-created a vast portion of Marvel’s most famous characters including the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man.

Lee, 86, will also appear in "Iron Man 2," says Collider where he will reportedly play talk show host Larry King who will interview Tony Stark on TV about his new black Iron Man suit.

Previously, he played a hot dog vendor in "X-Men;" a man who saves a girl from falling debris when the Green Goblin attacks at a street fair in "Spider-Man;" a man saved from being hit by a car in "Daredevil;" a security guard at Bruce Banner's lab in Ang Lee's "Hulk;" a pedestrian who saves a passer-by from danger when Doctor Octopus attacks in "Spider-Man 2;" and postman Willie Lumpkin in "Fantastic Four."

He was a resident whose garden hose water was sent upwards by the power of a young Jean Grey in "X-Men: The Last Stand;" a man in Times Square in "Spider-Man 3" where he tells Peter Parker "You know, I guess one person can make a difference"; and he was turned away from the wedding of Reed Richards and Susan Storm in "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer."

He appears as himself in "Iron Man," where Tony Stark mistakes him for Hugh Hefner, and in "The Incredible Hulk" he is an uncredited citizen who dies after consuming a soft drink contaminated with Bruce Banner's blood.

Here's to hoping the "Venom" film is good and clears up problems from "Spider-Man 3."
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Collider, Superhero Hype, MTV News, The Geek Files

Venom in Spider-Man 4?

Many fans (myself included) don't think that Venom's appearance in "Spider-Man 3" lived up to the hype of the villain. But according to Todd McFarlane (creator of Spawn and who helped create the character Venom) with an interview from MTV News, the villain may return to the "Spider-Man" franchise.

“I co-created Venom,” artist/writer/entrepreneur Todd McFarlane told MTV News. “He was in the last ‘Spider-Man’ movie. And I think he might make an appearance here in the next one, too.”

McFarlane told us that he watched closely as director Sam Raimi developed his alien symbiote character into a role for Topher Grace in the 2007 blockbuster; but as the filmmaker sought to draw a light/dark comparison between the similarly-built Grace and Tobey Maguire, he dropped the ball on a few of the character’s key elements.

“He’s one of the more popular villains of the last ten, fifteen years,” McFarlane explained, offering his advice on the how Venom could be corrected for “Spider-Man 4,” his own spin-off and beyond. “Given that I created him, I have a little bit of a bias.”

“I would’ve done a few things different,” McFarlane said of the shortcomings that hindered the movie version of Venom. “When I first created him, I made him huge. That would’ve been the first thing for me; I would’ve wanted somebody who looked like he was three times the size of Spider-Man, so it was almost like Spider-Man going against the Hulk. [I want] someone who is really formidable; whenever you have a skinny character against a big one it’s like ‘Woah, I’m going to have to work today.’ But instead, the two of them were about the same size.”

Furthermore, McFarlane offered: “I would’ve done something more dramatic. [I also would’ve increased] the nastiness; I never cared too much about the comics code. I always pushed the envelope until the editor said ‘You’d better pull that back.’”

Among the many classic titles that McFarlane worked on over the years is Wolverine, and when he spoke with us, he insisted that the success of that character shows that audiences are ready for a big, bad, bloody Venom.

“I think one of the reasons why Wolverine is so popular is because he did stuff that Captain America or Batman would never do,” McFarlane explained, hoping Venom is properly beefed-up and unleashed in the next “Spider-Man” film. “Today’s generation, they can handle that stuff.”

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: MTV News

Venom

According to Sci Fi Wire, "Sony is officially moving forward with its Spider-Man spinoff movie focusing on Venom and has hired 'Zombieland' writing team Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese to pen the script, the writers told a group of reporters.

'We had a really great relationship with Sony on ['Zombieland'], and so that was a nice in for us there,' Reese said in a group interview. 'It gave us a leg up.'

The duo is already working on the script, but they are sworn to secrecy on the details. 'We're under strict orders on Venom,' Wernick said. 'We can't talk about it. It's just super secret.'

Unlike 'Spider-Man' director Sam Raimi, who has admitted that he wasn't a Venom fan before directing 'Spider-Man 3,' Wernick and Reese said they are big fans of the comic character and have recently been doing their research to ensure that they do justice to him. 'We read [Venom] growing up, but we were not experts,' Reese said. 'We certainly know the mythology of Venom, but went back and learned more when it became clear that we could actually get this job.'

Ultimately, the writing team has fan interest at heart, they said. Even as they are just getting started on the script, they admit fan scrutiny is on their minds. 'Absolutely. I'm terrified,' Reese said with a nervous laugh. 'It's source material that everybody knows and everybody's familiar with and everybody loves. There's a burden on you to meet the expectations of people. A lot of people are curious about Venom.'"

Coming Soon also had time to chat with the two writers on the sert of "Zombieland" and Venom of course came into the discussion.

"The duo actually went to Sony with a pitch for their take for the popular Spidey villain, but couldn't really say too much about it due to the usual non-disclosure agreements anyone involved with such a high profile project for Marvel would probably have to sign.

'Venom is something that we're very fired up to be writing,' Reese told us. 'We have turned in a draft and are waiting to hear back, so it's early in the process. But it's a thrill to be writing 'Venom' for obvious reasons.'

As far as what they looking for, Reese did say that they had to follow 'certain parameters' or the '47 rules' as Wernick called them.

'Obviously, with a character like Venom there's a ton of stuff to draw from,' Reese told us. 'Then they had specific rules about the villain and the backstory and stuff like that, so there were certain things they wanted us... certain parameters they gave us. But largely we pitched them something and they liked it but they had changes, so we worked on the outline for a long time and then we wrote the script. So with Marvel and Sony and us it's definitely very, very collaborative.'

They couldn't talk about whether they were going to ignore everything that happened with the character in 'Spider-Man 3' or start fresh for reasons mentioned above."


More news to come! Catch ya' later!