The director's journey "Venom" in Hollywood began when he saw Batman in adolescence.

FOR FILMMAKER Ruben Fleischer, pop culture experiences are closely related to a sense of belonging. And it is in Washington that his dream of making superhero movies began.

Fleischer now achieves a childhood hope with the official opening of his first comic book, "Venom", an attempt by Sony to develop his Spider-Man film universe. The film, which garnered an impressive $ 10 million from Thursday night's screenings, is expected to bring in more than $ 55 million in its national debut, potentially setting a record for October.

Just days before his release, Fleischer can not help but think about the past, the weather and the terrain that drove him to Hollywood.

The director grew up in northwestern Washington in the 1980s, in the Chevy Chase neighborhood, when Christopher Reeve's Superman films sparked a wave of Spandex adaptations. For Fleischer, the franchise led by Richard Donner fueled his imagination. When these films arrived, he told The Comic Riffs of the Washington Post: "I remember being dressed up as Superman and living this fantasy."

Fleischer attended the Lafayette Elementary School and then Georgetown Day School, one of the first integrated private schools in the region – and distinct, he says, from nearby preparatory schools, such as Supreme Court candidate Brett M. Kavanaugh attended. "I must say that when I hear all the conversations," says Fleischer about current titles, "it sounds very familiar – this culture of some preparatory schools."

(Fleischer still has family in Washington and round trips have struck him about how different Washington is: "It's amazing how much the city has changed" since the 80s.)

And it was in 1989, on the occasion of Georgetown Day, that Fleischer was touched by one of the greatest movies of the year. "What really appealed to me was Tim Burton's Batman," says the director of Gangster Squad. "I was in high school and I remember seeing posters with the Batman symbol all over the city. I was intrigued.

"And then, seeing the movie – the dark tone of this film, the incredible design of the production and the great action, and [Jack] Michael Keaton's Nicholson and Batman's depiction of the Joker – this movie was probably the most significant in terms of connection and desire to make a superhero movie someday. "

Yet his itinerary would be hijacked. He went to study history at Wesleyan University – despite his famous film program – and a visit to the West led him to fall in love with San Francisco. After school, he moved to the Bay Area and found early start-up work on the Internet in the 1990s before business took him to Los Angeles. When his employer closed the doors, he says, he switched to television production, becoming an assistant at "Dawson's Creek," where he would meet future actress "Venom," Michelle Williams.

Working closely with directors such as Mike White and Miguel Arteta, Fleischer began producing his own music videos, commercials and short films. In 2009, his first surprise feature film, Zombieland, featured future Spider-Man actor Woody Harrelson. .

It would take Fleischer nearly ten years to release a comic strip movie. Yet, "Venom" – about an extraterrestrial symbiote who will bring expensive superpowers to his host, the ill-at-heart-minded journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) – would allow Fleischer to tap into so much of it. influences.

These include the setting. "Venom" is lovingly soaked with views of San Francisco Bay and colorful neighborhoods. Fleischer explains that filming a big action movie was "very satisfying".

Some of his favorite movies of the 80s also inspired. Fleischer says that "Venom" nods to comedies like "48 Hours" and "Midnight Run," while Eddie is conducting a fun war of words and continues with his parasite.

Yet, this dark comedy of taking a body in a superhero adventure directly pays homage to a film in a similar narrative vein: "An American werewolf in London in 1981". "For me, it was the biggest influence in my film," says Fleischer. "Venom" is characterized by a high dose of bloody carnage.

And how to "exploit the host-parasite relationship for black humor" is at the heart of "Venom," says the director.

"They make a real friendship and ultimately they decide to work together on this trip," he says. "They continue and learn to love each other."

Three decades after seeing "Batman" in a Washington theater sparked his film-superhero dreams, Fleischer said that realizing them was "extremely rewarding." It was good to be able to do "Venom" as I had done.