Andy Serkis on filming ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ in San Francisco

Carnage in the movie “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”. Photo: Sony Pictures Entertainment / TNS

“Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” the sequel to the hit comic book “Venom” from 2018, is tearing the Bay Area apart with bloody glee – and that’s partly down to new director Andy Serkis. The shape-changing master of computer-aided performance recording, who played indelible screen characters in film franchises such as Gollum from “Lord of the Rings”, leader of the “Planet of the Apes” Caesar and the “Star Wars” evil Snoke, is thrilled with of dark destruction like his love for San Francisco.

Serkis recently switched to directing the English heritage drama “Breathe” and the “Jungle Book” adaptation “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle”. Serkis felt more than ready when “Venom” star and compatriot Tom Hardy asked him to direct his second appearance in the dual role of Marvel’s sticky, toothy symbiote and investigative reporter Eddie Brock, whose body the alien antihero shares.

After production for “Carnage” shot indoor and other scenes near London, production moved outdoor shots to San Francisco for a month in early 2020 before the pandemic broke out. Serkis spoke to The Chronicle by phone from New York about the great time he had getting “Carnage” out on the bay.

Venom in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Photo: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Q: How did you want to distinguish the sequel from “Venom”?

A: The story I inherited from the first film is that two years later we begin to see a strange couple relationship blossom. It was a really enjoyable part of the arc. So we tried to research the relationship between Eddie and Venom, who can’t live with each other, but they can’t live without each other either.

And you have the psychology of Cletus Kasady – the serial killer played by Woody Harrelson – but then reinforced by Carnage, the symbiote that emerges from him. So my challenge was to make a film that should always be a fast roller coaster ride, but with a lot of profound character, underpinned psychologically and emotionally.

Q: How was filming in the Bay Area for you and your crew?

A: We had a ball. We shot there for about three or four weeks. It was the last part of the shoot; we shot at Leavesden Studios in the UK. We landed in San Francisco in the middle of winter, three weeks before COVID closes everything, so we were lucky enough to get ready there.

I love San Francisco as a city. I mean who couldn’t? It’s such a brilliant mix of architecture, positioning, geography, culture … no wonder it’s one of the most filmed cities in the world.

Tom Hardy, background and director Andy Serkis on the set of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Photo: Jay Maidment / Associated Press

Q: In which places in the city did you shoot?

A: We shot in the Tenderloin District, which is of course also Eddie’s apartment. I can’t be street specific, but we shot a lot in the area. … Woody’s character is tracked down and caught there. There were shots fired and it was all insane – those are the movie shots I’m talking about.

We shot on the Coit Tower. It was wonderful! It’s such an incredible structure and all of these murals inside. In the arches at the top we filmed Tom Hardy on the run from the police and also in the hunt for Carnage.

We erected a statue of Cervantes, the author of “Don Quixote” – the statue of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are in the film and refer to the story – right in front of the Palace of Fine Arts. I’m not entirely sure where the real statues are in San Francisco (Editor’s Note: They’re in Golden Gate Park), but we moved them. Venom and Eddie get together at the Palace of Fine Arts and find that they are a perfect match, as is Sancho Panza and Don Quixote.

For the climax of the fight at Grace Cathedral, we shot all of the exterior shots in the actual location on Nob Hill, which was amazing. We had a couple of nights up there and we did all the outdoor shots. Obviously they fit into the CG world, but all the panels were shot up there, and the exterior front and the large rotunda window. It is wonderful.

Q: And you turned the anchor brewery into a police station?

A: Correctly! That was very successful and looks great in the film. We had seen a number of other places but I fell in love the instant I saw it. Just the positioning and it’s such a great, great building. It will be pretty unrecognizable because there are police badges and police cars all over the place. You wouldn’t really know it was a brewery.

Q: You also shot a local prison, right?

A: One of the main places we shot was San Quentin. Considering it’s a big prison they were so super friendly and a joy to shoot there. Many employees could actually be seen in the picture, which we are very happy about. They’re really good actors too!

Director Andy Serkis (left) and Woody Harrelson on the set of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Photo: Jay Maidment / Associated Press

Q: Tom Hardy asked you to direct the sequel?

A: Yes sir. I think it made a lot of sense. We are very similar in that we approach roles and topics that tend to be dark and edgy; Outsider characters. Tom wanted someone who would appreciate and understand it and create the right atmosphere for a fellow actor to work that way.

Q: How did your performance recording background contribute to the way you staged Tom and Woody?

A: We only used motion capture in the early experimental stages to find ways to create a physicality for Carnage. Tom had a very specific methodology anyway that picked up the voice of Venom and then acted on it in an earphone. But it really created the right atmosphere in which to find ways to make these creatures believable and give them a level of reality in the CG process. To make trading easier if you want.

A scene from “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”. Photo: Associated Press

Q: I think October 1st is the fifth announced release date for Carnage. All films have gone through similar uncertainties over the past year and a half, but have the delays taken their toll?

A: Yes, to a certain extent. While I have to say that COVID was a very difficult time – and we basically spent the entire post-production on Zoom – the only bright spot is that we had more time to tweak the visual effects.

Q: You are playing Alfred Pennyworth for The Batman movie next year, and despite being killed, Ulysses Klaue from Black Panther keeps showing up on Marvel shows. But where should your career now lead between acting, directing, mon-capping or whatever?

A: Actually, I’m developing projects that I’ve wanted to do for many years, so there are at least three films that I really want to make.

I want to keep acting and switching from one to the other. I love switching muscles, burying myself completely in a character, and just as much love steering with talented, wonderful filmmakers, working with topics and bringing stories to life.

“Venom: Let There Be Slaughter” (PG-13) in theaters Friday October 1.