Movies are fluid. Directors often shoot a ton, and leave some of it on the cutting room floor as they figure out, in the editing room, what the final feature actually is going to be. When it comes to Venom, the standalone anti-hero movie that will be in theaters later this week, some of Tom Hardy's favorite scenes to film didn't make it into the final cut of the movie, as the leading man explains a chunk of footage he recalls shooting was exorcised as the movie was being assembled. When asked what his favorite scene in Venom was, Hardy candidly replied:
Tom Hardy: There are scenes that aren't in this movie. There's like 30 to 40 minutes worth of scenes that aren't in this movie. ... All of them, yeah. Mad puppetering scenes. Dark comedy scenes that just never made it. For me, for me.Riz Ahmed: That's what's in your head, in terms of, you enjoyed filming them...Hardy: Doesn't mean that they were any good, is what you're saying. Is that what you are saying?Ahmed: Sometimes. Well, if they didn't make it into the film, probably... they weren't any good, bro, alright? I hate to break it to you.
Tom Hardy and Riz Ahmed were having fun during the recent press day for Venom, when they were asked a relatively harmless question by ComicsExplained, about what was their favorite scene in the upcoming film. And Hardy revealed that his favorite scenes -- to film, at least -- were cut. Which is a little strange, because this sounds like a LOT of material, when you mention 30 to 40 minutes.
And yet, in other interviews, the producers have made it clear that there isn't a longer, or even an R-rated, cut of Venom that could be released. So it's probable that this was stuff between Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy's character) and the symbiote as director Ruben Fleischer was figuring out what their dynamic was going to be.
Here, see Tom Hardy and Riz Ahmed's back and forth on the topic in the video below:
There's a balancing act that has to happen in Venom. The movie essentially serves as an origin story for two important characters -- Eddie Brock (Hardy), and the alien symbiote. The challenge lies in the fact that their origins had to shift, because Sony couldn't use Spider-Man in this story... even though Venom and his heroic counterpart tend to go hand in hand.
You will be able to see for yourself if it worked or not when Venom opens in theaters on October 4. Stay on CinemaBlend all week for more coverage from the Venom junket, and for our review of the film, which drops on Tuesday night, once the embargo lifts.
