 Originally, director Sam Raimi (qv) vehemently opposed having  Venom as a villain in the film, claiming he hated Venoms "lack of  humanity," but Marvel producer Avi Arad (qv) convinced him to  include the character, explaining that Venom had a strong worldwide  following. Raimi eventually came to appreciate the character, based  on writer Alvin Sargent (qv)s script and actor  Topher Grace (qv)s performance. However, to keep Venoms  appearance a secret, he claimed during the films casting and  production that he hated the character, and had no intention of  including the character in this film or any subsequent sequels. To  make amends, he then treated the audience at the 22 July 2006 San  Diego Comic