GaryRoss

Looks like Columbia Pictures is still interested in moving forward with a Venom spin-off movie, as Variety reports that Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) is in talks to rewrite and direct the movie. Ross, for those not aware, was the one the studio hired to re-write the latest draft of Spider-Man 4, due to begin production early next year with Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kristen Dunst all back for another (their last?) go-round.

Apparently the studio was so happy with the work Ross did on Spidey that they're now interested in having the guy rewrite and direct Venom, which we assume will follow the trials and tribulations of that black gooey alien entity that, when applied to a human's skin, turns them into either a vicious and violent monster or a fan of all things emo (or both!). The fact that Ross will be working on both Spidey 4 and Venom leads me to believe there might be some cross-over between the two, as that's all the rage right now and studios know how excited fans get when a character shows up in a movie he's not supposed to be in.

That being said, I still think this film is a bad idea. I don't think Venom is an appealing enough character to base an entire movie around, and that's mainly because his character was botched big time in Spider-Man 3. Could they turn it around? Perhaps. They could turn Venom into a sort of anti-hero, and have him (it?) do things like growl and screech -- but if he's not fighting Spider-Man, then who really cares? Needless to say I'm not putting this high up on my anticipation meter.

What do you think? Am I wrong? Is there enough here for a Venom spin-off movie? Would you see it?

(Looks like Sony finally found a way to weave that much-discussed two-film arc for Spider-Man, which was a story Cinematical first broke wayyy back in May of 2008. Here's Elisabeth Rappe reporting)

The Spider-Man franchise might just be heading down the road for a divorce from Sam Raimi and all his players, if I'm interpreting Variety and its sources right. Sony has "quietly" hired screenwriter James Vanderbilt to pen the fifth and sixth installments of the web-slinger franchise. Nothing wrong with that at all, of course. Vanderbilt has good work to his name, and a superhero franchise could do a lot worse than hiring the Zodiac screenwriter. However, Raimi didn't care for Vanderbilt's take and replaced him with David Lindsay-Abaire. He's currently having Gary Ross rewrite that script. However, Sony / Columbia and Marvel Studios loved Vanderbilt's ideas, in part because they form a big, interconnected storyline. (I can see Marvel all over that, can't you?) In fact, that was the original plan for Spidey films 4 and 5 which were to be shot back to back, but the idea was scrapped.

But here's where things could get really ugly. Raimi, Tobey Maguire, and Kirsten Dunst are reportedly not signed to installments 5 and 6, and with Raimi boarding World of Warcraft, the studio is even more uncertain that he'll return. So Vanderbilt's scripts are being eyed not as sequels but as a blueprint for a franchise "reboot." Obviously, there's no further details on what that would mean beyond a new cast and crew.

Read the rest at Cinematical