Watchmen

[Y 2 Jake]

Empire Magazine:Zach Snyder's adaptation of seminal comic tome Watchmen is yet to start shooting, but the good folks over at Aintitcool have managed to get their hands on a test image from the movie. And what better way to begin what will no doubt be be a very long twelve months of Watchmen chatter, than with a street-lit look at that journal-writing crimefighter Rorschach.

In Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons tale of a group of outlawed superheroes (or "costumed adventurers") who re-assemble to make sense of the puzzling events surrounding the murder of one of their own, masked investigator Rorschach is the first character we meet. The below image is only a test shot and briefly appears in the middle of a new and very bloody trailer for Snyder's 300.

I hope they dont fuck this up. They will have to try really hard not to. It's the best graphic novel of all time. Ideally it would be a mini series. I dont see how they could get all of it into a film without cutting it to shred's. Hopefully they dont dumb it down so it appeals to a younger audience. And hopefully they keep all the rape and violence in.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The pics look intrestion. You don't really get a feel of what the film will be like, so far though. Can't wait for this. I know it'll be nowhere near the quality of the book. But I still expect it to be pretty good. They're going to have to cut out a lot of stuff though to fit it into about 2 hours.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=22088

The best bit about the novel in my opinion. A guy using dead bodies as a raft. This should have it's own feature. I also like Gerard Butler. He's worthy of so much more than shit like PS I love You.

 

[Bentallica]

Man, Jake. It seems like your the only one interested in Watchmen. Or at least the only one to post in this thread. I never read the mini series, but if they're aiming this for PG-13 (which I heard they were), I'll give it a go. Maybe I'll pick up the series afterwards. When's this coming out again?

 

[Shadowmancer]

PG-13 and Watchmen? Not Bloody likely. It will be M or R at the very least. R18 in New Zealand most likely. Im cautiously optimistic about this movie. Watchmen is a classic and its format lends well to a movie to an extent. But If you read Watchmen you will see why they have waited this long to even attempt to make the Movie that it could be. A Mini Series would probably be better for Watchmen rather than a Movie.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Two things usually get people wet when it comes to new movies. #1 Superheroes. #2 Individual character pposters. It worked for X-Men, it'll work for this too. I have to say some of them don't look right. But The Comedian looks awesome. Can't wait for this.

 

[MrD]

Pg 13 Watchmen would be a crime, awesome graphic novel, has really good themes but it's totally 18+. Comedian looks badass! owl looks way more high tech but I guess that's what you get. and I thought rorscharch or whatever had purpleish pinstripe pants? although it's kinda dark so blarggles.. I heard David Hayter wrote the screenplay..which is the same as X-men 2 I think so take that for what it's worth.

I hope they include the pirate story, that was huge! hahaha

 

[waylon p]

can't be done. terry gilliam once wrote an article about why he wouldn't even try to adapt the watchmen to film. it's good stuff, and very convincing. he says, among much in the way of reasons, that to even do it in three hours would require the comedian to be relegated to just some guy who died at the begining. alan moore wrote a great story, but a movie? i agree with the miniseries people. hbo should do it.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Rorschach looks awesome and so do the location images.

But, I disagree with a movie adaptation of a great landmark graphic novel. Alan Moore stated himself many times that his comics are supposed to be comics. The effect is lost in other mediums, because of what can only be achieved through comics. Watchmen is very complex in detail. It has metaphors, symbolism, motifs and many intricate cross-references. There's just too much to take note of and having to exclude or alter significant material would be detrimental.

 

[Kasey]

I hope Snyder is able to make an adult film and not have his (and more importantly Alan Moore's) vision compromised by some fuckhead studio execs who want to sell more toys. That kind of lousy thinking ruined Daredevil, Batman, Constantine, and LXG to start. I think that if anyone can direct an adaption of Watchmen and not make it yak-worthy, Snyder is the guy. I'm optimistic. Cautious, but optimistic. I love the books, though, so he had better not fuck this up.

 

[Kasey]

But, I disagree with a movie adaptation of a great landmark graphic novel. Alan Moore stated himself many times that his comics are supposed to be comics. The effect is lost in other mediums, because of what can only be achieved through comics. Watchmen is very complex in detail. It has metaphors, symbolism, motifs and many intricate cross-references. There's just too much to take note of and having to exclude or alter significant material would be detrimental.

True to the Nth power. There is a definite difference when switching mediums. Just like when novels are adapted into films, you lose a lot of the exposition without having narrative over the top of the stuff. I do think that Watchmen could function correctly as a film, though. And as much as I love Alan Moore's work, he's nutty as a fruitcake and he HATES anything related to Hollywood. Rightfully so, though. They've burned him too many damn times for him to trust anyone of the sleazebag producers who've wanted to adapt anything of his (Joel Silver anyone?).

 

[Y 2 Jake]

[youtube]EgQJKh5t54I[/youtube]

Not terribly impressed. It looks very pretty. But that's the problem. It shouldn't look that shiny and polished. It should be grubby. Dr. Manhattan should be the only thing that's clean looking in this film.

It's also from the visionary director of 300. He's not a visionary. He directed 300 like it was drawn, and Dawn Of The Dead was a remake. The trailer gives nothing away. Other than it looks to be a total waste of time.

 

[Shocky]

I must say, after seeing the trailer in front of the Dark Knight, my expectations for this movie have dropped dramatically. As Jake said, this trailer was pretty and beautiful to watch, but is that Watchmen?

300 was okay to watch, because of the visuals, but the story and everything with it, sucked ass. I'm just not sure how they are going to cram the entire Watchmen Graphic Novel into a 2 to 2 1/2 long hour movie with a director that is known more for his visual style moreso then his storytelling. I would wager to say that come March 10th, there are going to be some pretty angry fanboys.

 

[Papa Shango]

I've never gotten around to reading Watchmen, and once I found out about the movie, I decided to wait until after I saw the movie to read it. That way, I'm not completely disappointed like I was with V for Vendetta and 300. I can at least enjoy the movie on it's own merits (or hate it, can't tell if it'll be any good), and then go back and enjoy the novelization, like I did with Sin City.

However, from what I do know about the book, it appears as if it at least looks faithful, albeit cleaned up, and maybe updated a bit. I must say, Nite Owl's costume looks kick ass, and much improved upon his comic appearence, which is too cartoony for a movie.

Also, I have read that, despite hesitations from the studio, the movie's timeline will not be changed. It will still take place in an alternate 1985, which I think is a smart move. I heard, in interviews with both Snyder and cast members, that the movie is as faithful an adaptation as could possibly be, considering it's been mashed into a two-and-a-half hour time frame. Snyder apparently went out of his way to add dialouge that shapes out the character's backstories. Also, the ending, which has apparently been deemed "unfilmable" since the late '80's has been untouched. Patrick Wilson says it's unchanged, it's exactly as it is in the novel.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

There are some new posters out. They're really good. Ok so they won't generate the hype that some of The Dark Knight ones did. But they're still really good. Which is needed for a film like this. Why see a comic book film that you've never heard of when you can see somebody that you remember from as a child?

It won't let me copy the posters. But they're on IGN. Really cool profile shots.

 

[Shocky]

UhOh, looks that Fox is stickign there dirty hands into this. Supposedly, Fox still claims to own the rights to the Watchmen and a project that was set to be made in 1991. The two sides split, ending up at Warner Bros.

Now Fox is saying that they still own the rights to make the movie, and are not only threatening to take monetary compensation, but rumor has it they are trying to get the movie killed.

Now that doesn't sound like too good of an idea. The idea of Fox killing a comic book goldmine like Watchmen is dangerous to say the least. People have been waiting for Watchmen for a long time, and if Fox tries to get the movie killed, backlash on Fox movies will probalby be pretty harsh.

Sure people will see a Wolverine movie, but it's the loyal Fanboys that go and see it over and over again, and if they don't get Watchmen, they'll be pissed. Nothing is as terrible as a pissed off fanboy.

I'm certain this will be resolved before too long, but how the fuck do you drop the ball on someone owning a movie before you?

 

[travis_touchdown]

I doubt a cancellation will occur. The film appears to be in post-production (according to comments made by Kevin Smith) and news of Watchmen circulated since the earlier portion of July. If Fox truly desired the film’s “death” it could be argued that they would have worked to achieve this earlier. Instead they selected to become involved at a more opportune time—making it seem more like a strategic move to gain a favorable position in any negotiation.

Nonetheless, we’ll see how things turn out.

On the topic of the film: I do have some faith in Snyder. The directors of the recent comic-book films appear to put their efforts into capturing the spirit of the source material rather than making a half-assed interpretation. If Snyder follows in these footsteps and stays true to his comments at Comic-Con, Watchmen can turn out to be a great film.