New Sam Raimi interview

[Spider-ManHero12]

I don't know why some people seem so surprised by his attitude. He's made no secret that he doesn't like Venom. He never had any intention of using him in his movies.

But the Venom fans demanded it. Now they're getting it. You know the old saying, be careful what you wish for

yeah, venom is in this movie because of us venom fans. i also really thank sam raimi for puttingvenom in the movie.

 

[LastSunrise1981]

I really don't understand why he doesn't like Venom? Granted, I'm a huge fan of the Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Sandman, Vulture, and the Lizard along with Kraven the Hunter and Vermin.

But Venom is the one with the darker and more personal story. What makes Venom/Eddie Brock unique is that he knows EVERYTHING about Peter. He knows all of Peter's fears, joys, desires, weaknesses, and deepest secrets that came unto him via the symbiote. It makes him one of Peter's most feared opponent as he's fighting someone who just wants to kill him.

He wants to destroy Peter physically and mentally before ultimately killing him.

I loved how in the animated series he would randomly show up at Aunt May's house and torment Parker. Seriously, he is one of the creepiest and one of the deepest villains of the Spider-Man mythos.

 

[LastSunrise1981]

Hey dont blame Raimi for giving us only half of Venom, blame Arad. He guilted Raimi into cramming Venom into this one because he claimed that "it's what the fans want." And while there certainly were many here clamoring for Venom, there were also many (including myself) who wanted him in SM4 or SM5 so that his story could be properly told over more than one film. Well now all you whiny fanboys are getting Venom, but not necessarily the Venom you wanted...and it's all b/c of your complaining. If you hadnt done so Avi may have not pushed Raimi and we'd be getting Sandman and a TRUE conclusion to the Goblin legacy with Harry as a main villian. But now...you rarely even hear about Harry when the discussion of villians is brought up. All you hear about is Venom. Thanks alot fanboys....

You can still get a true Goblin conclusion with Venom in the storyline. If anyone is complaining it's you, as I'm quite sure you were one of the many calling for Venom.

Me, on the other hand, I wanted to see The Lizard and Kraven way before Venom came into the picture. But now that Venom is in the film I'm eagerly anticipating to see what Raimi has done with the character.

If his depiction and the performance sucks horribly, then everyone should speak and talk about how Venom was screwed over. Until then we all should wait until the final product is released before judging it.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

I really don't understand why he doesn't like Venom? Granted, I'm a huge fan of the Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Sandman, Vulture, and the Lizard along with Kraven the Hunter and Vermin.

But Venom is the one with the darker and more personal story. What makes Venom/Eddie Brock unique is that he knows EVERYTHING about Peter. He knows all of Peter's fears, joys, desires, weaknesses, and deepest secrets that came unto him via the symbiote. It makes him one of Peter's most feared opponent as he's fighting someone who just wants to kill him.

He wants to destroy Peter physically and mentally before ultimately killing him.

I loved how in the animated series he would randomly show up at Aunt May's house and torment Parker. Seriously, he is one of the creepiest and one of the deepest villains of the Spider-Man mythos.

i defenitley agree with you about the venom stuff but sam is not a huge fan of venom because he has always loved the 1960's and 1970's villians but i think once the movie comes out he will fully understand what venom is about.

 

[LastSunrise1981]

i defenitley agree with you about the venom stuff but sam is not a huge fan of venom because he has always loved the 1960's and 1970's villians but i think once the movie comes out he will fully understand what venom is about.

Exactly. The films have always needed a villain that is just downright evil and sadistic. Not saying the Goblin wasn't evil or sadistic, but he is a character with a conscience and doesn't outright kill everything in sight.

Venom, on the other hand, is just a downright evil sadistic badass who will stop at nothing in order to destroy Peter. It's one of the things that I feel has been missing in these films. One thing I hope they add is how the public and the police hate Spider-Man and view him as a bigger threat than the villains he's facing.

Granted we've seen a lot of a conflicted Peter Parker in these films, but we need to see his deeds go unappreciated by the cops and the general public.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

Exactly. The films have always needed a villain that is just downright evil and sadistic. Not saying the Goblin wasn't evil or sadistic, but he is a character with a conscience and doesn't outright kill everything in sight.

Venom, on the other hand, is just a downright evil sadistic badass who will stop at nothing in order to destroy Peter. It's one of the things that I feel has been missing in these films. One thing I hope they add is how the public and the police hate Spider-Man and view him as a bigger threat than the villains he's facing.

Granted we've seen a lot of a conflicted Peter Parker in these films, but we need to see his deeds go unappreciated by the cops and the general public.

maybe once peter gets the symbiote then the cops will treat him badly because of the deeds the symbiote is making him do.

 

[The Joker]

I must admit, it bugs me that Raimi ones again has made the villain (Sandman) a villain with a conscience!!!

I don't understand this silly complaint. None of the Spider-Man villains used in the movies are completely without conscience in the comics.

Sandman is actually the nicest guy of the bunch, followed by Eddie Brock. Sandman is just a petty thug, who actually turned good for years and joined the Avengers.
Eddie Brock protected innocent people, and even teamed with Spider-Man on several occasions to take down bigger threats, like Carnage.

Octavius and Norman are most ruthless of the bunch. But Raimi humanized them more in the movies. Especially Ock.

So what?? Were they really that unbearable to watch on screen?? Did they come off as 2 dimensional cartoon cut out villains?? No. Were they kick ass villains?? Yes.

Of course I would have preferred a closer comic translation. But then I'd like that for Peter/Spidey, and MJ etc. But they are still good characters in good movies.

I for one wants to see spider-man truely beat the bad-guy in a fight, where the last man standing is the winner!!! Not something anti-climatic like in spidey 2, where he teams up with Doc Ock! This just can't happen in spidey 3 also!

What are you on about?? Where did he team with Ock?? Ock chose to drown the reactor himself to repent for his sins, after Spidey made him see the error of his ways.

You don't want him teaming with any of the villains in part 3?? Then are you in for a let down, big time. He and Harry are so going to tag team for the final battle.

That clip in the trailer where he says "I need your help". He's on the Osborn mansion balcony. Just look at it and you'll see. Harry and Spidey are going to whup Venom's ass together.

 

[The Joker]

I really don't understand why he doesn't like Venom?

Because he's an old school Spidey fan. And Venom is a badly written villain with weak motivations for wanting Spidey dead. His character changes more frequently than the weather.

But Venom is the one with the darker and more personal story. What makes Venom/Eddie Brock unique is that he knows EVERYTHING about Peter. He knows all of Peter's fears, joys, desires, weaknesses, and deepest secrets that came unto him via the symbiote. It makes him one of Peter's most feared opponent as he's fighting someone who just wants to kill him.

Norman Osborn knows all Peter's secrets, too. And unlike Venom, Norman has actually used it and done something bad to Peter, rather than just stalking him and fighting him endlessly, with no culmination to their feud. Same old stuff over and over....

 

[Naite22]

Quote Doc Ock:
You don't want him teaming with any of the villains in part 3?? Then are you in for a let down, big time. He and Harry are so going to tag team for the final battle.

That clip in the trailer where he says "I need your help". He's on the Osborn mansion balcony. Just look at it and you'll see. Harry and Spidey are going to whup Venom's ass together<

I KNOW that Harry will team up with Peter for the battle royale, and that's more then cool for me.. wouldn't have it any other way... I even knew that Eddie Brock isn't evil, even though his VENOM surface makes him look that way. He just hates Peter Parker... So that leaves Sandman. I just thought, or I hoped that Flint Marko would be one mean motherF.....! That's all. But it sounds like the most "evil" person in this film, will end up beeing spidey him self, huh...

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

Quote Doc Ock:
You don't want him teaming with any of the villains in part 3?? Then are you in for a let down, big time. He and Harry are so going to tag team for the final battle.

That clip in the trailer where he says "I need your help". He's on the Osborn mansion balcony. Just look at it and you'll see. Harry and Spidey are going to whup Venom's ass together<

I KNOW that Harry will team up with Peter for the battle royale, and that's more then cool for me.. wouldn't have it any other way... I even knew that Eddie Brock isn't evil, even though his VENOM surface makes him look that way. He just hates Peter Parker... So that leaves Sandman. I just thought, or I hoped that Flint Marko would be one mean motherF.....! That's all. But it sounds like the most "evil" person in this film, will end up beeing spidey him self huh...

the darkness will end up being the most evil thing i guess.

 

[Secret_Riddle]

Well Eddie may hate Peter, and im not a religious person, but for a Catholic to pray for death on someone else is not a very...erm...Good sign.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

Well Eddie may hate Peter, and im not a religious person, but for a Catholic to pray for death on someone else is not a very...erm...Good sign.

well brock is doing the wrong thing by going inside a church and ask god to kill peter parker. that is a bad thing.

 

[The Joker]

I KNOW that Harry will team up with Peter for the battle royale, and that's more then cool for me.. wouldn't have it any other way

But you just complained that you didn't want to see Spidey teaming with any villain in SM-3. In fact, you said you didn't want to see it again, when it hasn't even happened once yet.

I even knew that Eddie Brock isn't evil, even though his VENOM surface makes him look that way. He just hates Peter Parker... So that leaves Sandman. I just thought, or I hoped that Flint Marko would be one mean motherF.....! That's all. But it sounds like the most "evil" person in this film, will end up beeing spidey him self, huh...

But Sandman is not evil in the comics. He's never even killed anyone. I'm sure he'll be badass in his determination to get what he wants.

I remember reading somewhere, probably in Wizard, where Raimi said that with his villains he likes to show that anyone can be a sinner. It's why he makes them reflect the theme of the movie.

It may not be very faithful to the comics, but it tells a good story. But with this Sandman/Ben thing, he's really treading risky waters. Hope he knows what he's doing.

 

[Naite22]

^ I've never really concidered Harry a villain... I knew he'd throw punches with Peter in number 3, pretty early on... but there was never a doubt in my mind that he and peter would go into the battle royale side by side -as brothers!- and that I except! It'll be a teardropper when he gets killed of in the end


I only ment that he did team up with DocOck in the end of "2".. in some way... but I see what you mean still... ok ok, he didn't exactly team up with Ock... but he didn't knock the **** out of him either... that's just something I wanna see spidey do in "3"!

 

[The Joker]

^ I've never really concidered Harry a villain

I don't see why. His logic is exactly like Brock's. They both hate Peter for doing something wrong by the them. And in both cases they have no real reason to hate Peter.

Only difference is that Harry's hate is alot more well founded than Brock's.

I only ment that he did team up with Doc Ock in the end of "2".. in some way... but I see what you mean still... ok ok, he didn't exactly team up with Ock... but he didn't knock the **** out of him either

But he did smack the crap out of Ock. He slammed him thru the floor into the water, where he punched the face off him. Then after Ock recovered and smacked him down and try to stab Spidey, Spidey electrocuted him.

Spidey has not beaten either Green Goblin or Ock thru violence. They were both the cause of their own downfall.

 

[Naite22]

^okok, I give up

 

[Jasmine]

Cool interview.

 

[Skywalker88]

awesome interview! thanks for the info!

 

[Retroman]

Nice interview Thanks superkong.

Is it tough for you—being someone who likes to surprise the audience—to cut together a trailer to promote the film?

Oh, it’s impossible. I’m terrible at that. Unfortunately, the way that these promotional things work you’ve got to go out and talk about the movie, and yet I feel like it’s just so not what I want to do for the fans. I don’t want to tell them about what they’re going to see. I just really want them to see the movie. I really believe that the director should have their movie be seen and they should not be heard. It’s a shame, and yet I’m sitting here doing this interview with you because I want people to see the movie. So it’s called promotion. I’m also trying to tell you as little as possible about the picture, but the guys reading the magazine are thinking, “Why do you think we’re reading the damn thing? We want to know about it.” But I just want the movie to tell the story, honestly.

lolt: I admire his honesty about Brock/Venom. He's still not embrased the character 100% even at this stage of production.

 

[ultimatefan]

Not being a big fan of Venom, I´m actually more interested in seeing what Sargent and Grace did with the character than bursting in excitement for seeing Venom on the screen - even though he´s a cool looking villain, I´ll say that.

 

[superkong 500]

Nice interview Thanks superkong.


lolt: I admire his honesty about Brock/Venom. He's still not embrased the character 100% even at this stage of production.

Your welcome. I hope he changes his mind once he sees venom in action.

 

[Carnotaur3]

I can tell you what Sam means about not fully understanding Venom.

I'm a film director. I just recently finished a horror film called Home Sweet Home. We've had 80% of the film in the can and edited... until this past Saturday, when we filmed the interrogation scenes of the movie with the detective. This was an entirely new aspect of the film. It completely changed the way the picture as a whole was, but in a good way.

This is much like Sam Raimi's predicament. I didn't really know how my story would come out before I filmed those scenes, because they were an entirely different element. Sam did direct the special effects shots, but he's not the one coming up with the CGI effects for Venom, and I bet the picture isn't fully edited either. So, Sam is waiting for everything to cut together and the full effects of Venom to be complete before seeing exactly what Venom is all about. And remember, he's talking about the Villian, not Eddie Brock. If he's able to combine the two into one, he'll see Venom for the way he trully is.

You know, you can't be sure of everything. Sometimes you have to trust that it will all come together in the end.

 

[jimmylace]

If Raimi says "It'd be great" to be involved in SM4 at the post-production stage of SM3 and Sony are definately making another, well you know what this means.

That's as good as youre going to get for conformation of SM4. And if Raimi does it (and Im sure Sony will ask) then Maguire will. And if Maguire does it, then so does Dunst. And if Dunst does it so does Howard.

To cut a long story short I think we'll get a Raimi SM4 with Maguire. How freaking cool is that?

 

[Buford The Sly]

I can tell you what Sam means about not fully understanding Venom.

I'm a film director. I just recently finished a horror film called Home Sweet Home. We've had 80% of the film in the can and edited... until this past Saturday, when we filmed the interrogation scenes of the movie with the detective. This was an entirely new aspect of the film. It completely changed the way the picture as a whole was, but in a good way.

This is much like Sam Raimi's predicament. I didn't really know how my story would come out before I filmed those scenes, because they were an entirely different element. Sam did direct the special effects shots, but he's not the one coming up with the CGI effects for Venom, and I bet the picture isn't fully edited either. So, Sam is waiting for everything to cut together and the full effects of Venom to be complete before seeing exactly what Venom is all about. And remember, he's talking about the Villian, not Eddie Brock. If he's able to combine the two into one, he'll see Venom for the way he trully is.

You know, you can't be sure of everything. Sometimes you have to trust that it will all come together in the end.

That was the way I took that quote as well.
It's not that he still doesn't like the character, it's that he's waiting to see how it all comes together (FX / performances ...etc...) untill he is fully sold on how the fans feel about Venom.
I'm guessing that's why Venom was not in the initial trailer either.

 

[The Joker]

I think that's just wishful thinking on both your parts. He said "Maybe when the movie is complete I&#8217;ll have the fullest understanding of Venom".

That's got nothing to do with special FX or performances. If a director is not happy with a performance, then they re-shoot the scene to get a better performance. He doesn't wait until the movie is finished before knowing if he likes it or not lol.

He just isn't a fan of the character. Simple as that.