Posted July 26, 200618 yr http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fa/Gwen_Spidey.jpg Gwen & Spidey Venom Won Over Spidey 3's Raimi Spider-Man 3 director Sam Raimi told SCI FI Wire that he was at first reluctant to make the sequel's big villain the alien-human hybrid Venom, a fan favorite to be played by Topher Grace, and that the SF nature of Venom didn't fit neatly in the more realistic world of the Spider-Man movies. "Avi Arad [the former Marvel chief]—who's really got his pulse on all the Marvel fans better than any head of a corporation has ever understood those people who are interested in the corporation's product—he really knows what those kids want," Raimi said in a group interview at Comic-Con International in San Diego over the weekend. "And he said, 'You know, you've ... had two Spider-Man pictures. This third one, there's so many kids, so many fans of Spider-Man, [who] want to see Venom, even if you didn't grow up with him. They want to see him. So you've got the Sandman [Thomas Haden Church]. That's one of your favorite villains. Why don't you bring Venom in also and make those kids, the fans of Venom, happy?' And that's what I thought we should do." Raimi added that he was won over once he saw how screenwriter Alvin Sargent made use of the character, not to mention how Grace played him and his human alter ego, Eddie Brock. "Now that I've seen Topher Grace perform and saw what Alvin Sargent did with the script—he created a great character, really filled out Eddie Brock into a very meaningful character—and Tobey [Maguire, who plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man,] has a great energy with him in the few scenes that they play together as competitors, and I really like him now." Venom is the combination of a black alien goo and Eddie Brock, who is a rival of Peter Parker's both in journalism and for the hand of Mary Jane Watson, played by Kirsten Dunst. As for the science-fiction nature of the Venom storyline, Raimi said: "There's a lot of fantastic elements about Venom that you could say are in conflict with the realism that we wanted to have in the picture. But we just said to ourselves, 'Kirsten and Tobey, you'll have to do the heavy lifting here to bring it back down to earth, because there's this wild goo from outer space, and you're just going to have to connect us to the characters.'" Spider-Man 3 is in post-production and will premiere May 4, 2007. —Patrick Lee, News Editor
July 26, 200618 yr Author Spidey 3's Grace Stuck On Venom Topher Grace, who plays Eddie Brock/Venom in the upcoming sequel Spider-Man 3, told SCI FI Wire that he was the ultimate fanboy when he first showed up on set. "The first day I was on the set was in The Bugle, and, like, just as a fan of the first two movies to be, like, you know, like [i was at] those theme parks that are like, 'We'll put you in the movie.' ... And the guy [J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson] is there with the cigar, [saying] 'Parker! Get in here!' Oh, my God. It was ... tough, because I had to be angry, and I was just smiling from ear to ear." http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8a/S4_eric.jpg Grace ( That '70s Show ) plays Brock, an angry young man who is a rival of Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) in journalism and for the hand of Mary Jane Watson. Brock becomes the super-powered Venom when he is infected by black alien goo. "He's a great character to play," Grace said. "Unlike most bad guys, he truly loves being evil. So, I mean, he really comes to grips with it and enjoys it. So it was fun to play someone that ... finds their way to that place. It's a fun thing to play as an actor." Brock/Venom is also the flip side of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Grace said. "That's what I liked about the character most," he said. "It's kind of a case study in if someone ... had the same job and ... the same taste in women and got the same powers, but had a really bad upbringing. So I used to say on set to [director] Sam [Raimi], it's like, 'With great power comes great fun.'" Grace came in for some ribbing from his co-stars, who sat next to him during press interviews. "Topher was able to call upon his own personal life, where he loves being evil in real life," said Bryce Dallas Howard, who plays Gwen Stacy. Grace: "Yeah. Before the role, I went out and killed a hobo with a hammer just [to] kind of get into [it], and it worked. All of a sudden, people were treating me differently." "Especially hobos," said Thomas Haden Church, who plays Sandman. "'Stay away from That '70s Show guy.'" Spider-Man 3 is in post-production and will open May 4, 2007. —Patrick Lee, News Editor
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