Ruben Fleischer

I've definitely pitched some viral ideas and do have a pretty good understanding of the Web.

We're definitely planning a huge world with this 'Venom' story, and we want to be able to satisfy our own desires and the desires of our fans to explore all of the beloved characters from the universe.

We didn't want to make a movie that excluded any fans. 'Venom' fans actually are of all ages, and so we wanted to be inclusive to all the fans that were excited about the movie.

I guess as a long time fan of 'Venom,' as soon as I heard they were making a standalone movie I got really excited at the prospect of being involved.

I have a music-video background, and I feel like the responsibility of a music-video director is to do something that hasn't been done before in a really cool visual way. So much innovation has come in filmmaking through music videos.

It's like somehow my favorite filmmakers, you know, bounce between genres. Like if you look at a career of somebody like Soderbergh or Danny Boyle or the Coen's. I mean, it goes - there's no real through line other than just their style, but the type of genre or the type of subject matter seems to go all over.

I thought 'I Am Legend' did a really great job of it, and 'Omega Man,' that concept of an empty world.

I was working in commercials and music videos, always with the goal of working in feature films.

There is more than enough 'Venom' to go around. Venom is a really huge character, and Hardy is an amazing actor, so there is plenty to mine just from Tom's performance, the character and the world he inhabits.

My first time out of the gate, I made three movies in four years, and they were all very back to back to back.

Yeah, I feel lucky to have the opportunity to try different things.

Sometimes in L.A., we get accused of being superficial. I feel like Portland's the opposite, in that there's a greater depth of character, and sense of self.