Watchmen (Zack Snyder, 2009)

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rs98762001 · #101 Post by **rs98762001** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:45 pm

Rorschach is great. But the others are just awful. Absolutely fucking awful. This does not bode well at all, but I can't say I'm surprised.

Fletch F. Fletch · Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:13 pm

Orphic Lycidas wrote:I'm with you on all points, though Ozymandias freaks me out more than Silk Spectre (I may get used to her new look, actually) considering his importance in the film. What was wrong with the original design?!!? But the real turn off here is the dark, gritty "Se7en"/"Fight Club" backgrounds. That "nihilism"-type aesthetic has been done to death!! Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the Comedian does look fantastic, though. And Rorschach is certainly Rorschach. Ozymandias is the coolest as messed up as he is and is one of the few characters - along with Rorschach - who has a real moral code of conduct. I wonder if Snyder can maintain the complexity of his character without turning him into a one-note crazy. I'm still cautiously optimistic about this project though (says the guy who has never seen "300.")

Well, Snyder's been very smart about doing lots of interviews, playing up the fact that they are trying to stay as faithful to the book as possible while being up front about certain changes that he is making and these pics are obviously the first significant declaration of where he's staying faithful and where he's making changes.

The dark gritty backgrounds actually don't bother me all that much. A lot of the Watchmen is very dark as well... I'm thinking of the issue where Rorschach gets ambushed by the cops... the look of that whole sequence is quite dark. Or, what happens to the Comedian in first few pages... also dark in tone and in look. But hey, we'll see when the first trailer surfaces. I have a feeling that these pictures aren't going to really do the film's look justice as they are really stick working on it in post-production.

Jackie Earle Haley chats up the film on MTV's Movie Blog.

Fletch F. Fletch · Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:23 pm

The first of 12 behind-the-scenes featurettes is online.

Fletch F. Fletch · Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:19 pm

Some good news for fans of the original graphic novel:

DC Preps New 'Watchmen' Hardcover
Out in October. April 10, 2008

DC Comics is producing a new hardcover edition of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen graphic novel. The 436-page hardcover edition will have a cover price of $39.99 and will be released in October, the same month that Titan Books will be publishing Watching the Watchmen, Dave Gibbons' account of the creation of what is likely at this point, the most popular graphic novel of all time (see "Watching the Watchmen"). The new hardcover edition will provide a deluxe presentation of the graphic novel classic at a lower price point than the $75, 464-page Absolute Edition (see "Absolute Watchmen in N.Y. Times Review").

With Zack Snyder's big screen adaptation of Watchmen due out next March, sales of the Watchmen graphic novel have been building steadily since the film was announced. Watchmen was the bestselling non-manga graphic novel in American bookstores during the month of March (see "BookScan's Top 20 Graphic Novels for March") and sales should continue to grow as the premiere of the Watchmen movie gets closer.

Altho, it doesn't really say what is different about this release from previous ones.

Here's some even better news:

WATCHING THE WATCHMEN WITH TITAN BOOKS

“Told with ruthless psychological realism, in fugal, overlapping plotlines and gorgeous, cinematic panels rich with repeating motifs, Watchmen is a heart-pounding, heartbreaking read and a watershed in the evolution of a young medium.”
– Time Magazine

Voted among Time magazine’s 100 Best Novels from 1923 to the present, a perennial bestseller over the past twenty years and widely considered the greatest graphic novel of all time, WATCHMEN is a gripping, labyrinthine piece of comic art. Written by comics living-legend Alan Moore and featuring the iconic artwork of Dave Gibbons, it has earned an acclaimed place in modern literary history.

Now, Titan Books is to shed new light on this seminal work with WATCHING THE WATCHMEN by Dave Gibbons [October 2008, 9781845760413]. Providing the ultimate companion to the comics masterpiece, artist Dave Gibbons gives his own account of the genesis of WATCHMEN in this dust-jacketed hardback volume, opening his archives to reveal excised pages, early versions of the script, original character designs, page thumbnails, sketches and much more, including posters, covers and rare portfolio art. Featuring the breathtaking design of Chip Kidd and Mike Essl, WATCHING THE WATCHMEN is both a major art book in its own right, and the definitive companion to the graphic novel that changed an industry.

“I’ve had a great time, re-visiting the very beginnings of Watchmen and unearthing material I haven’t set eyes on for many years. As a fan myself, this is the kind of stuff I eat up and I’m sure the many devotees of the graphic novel will do the same!” says Gibbons.

Murdoch · #105 Post by **Murdoch** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:02 pm

Anybody have a link to Hayter's script? I've never been into reading scripts, but I feel a strong need to for this one.

The biggest reason I'm hesitant about this adaptation is that it seems that such an unconventional tale of "superheroes" will not be as warmly received by audiences as Iron Man or Dark Knight. I'm very interested in seeing how well audiences respond to this.

Orphic Lycidas · #106 Post by **Orphic Lycidas** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:10 am

Zack Snyder on YouTube (new Watchmen channel) asking for "Veidt Enterprises" TV commercials.

Fletch F. Fletch · Tue May 20, 2008 1:12 pm

Watchmen action figures.

An interview with the film's DP Larry Fong. Scroll down for the English version.

The second of 12 behind-the-scenes featurettes is online.

Another set report from an extra on the film. If you can get past all the fanboy gushing early on, he does reveal some stuff from the book that was shot. Very interesting...

Antoine Doinel · #108 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Mon May 26, 2008 8:50 pm

Warner will be releasing Tales of the Black Freighter, a Snyder directed, Watchmen subplot film, direct to DVD five days after the theatrical release of the main feature.

Fletch F. Fletch · Tue May 27, 2008 2:07 pm

Antoine Doinel wrote:Warner will be releasing Tales of the Black Freighter, a Snyder directed, Watchmen subplot film, direct to DVD five days after the theatrical release of the main feature.

And also Under the Hood is getting its own subplot film. Nice!

Ain't It Cool News has posted a still of the 1940s era superheroes, The Minutemen from the film.

Murdoch · #110 Post by **Murdoch** » Wed May 28, 2008 11:58 pm

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:Ain't It Cool News has posted a still of the 1940s era superheroes, The Minutemen from the film.

I am now more excited about this movie than any other coming out before it. Despite how cheesy the picture looks, they pretty much captured the Minutemen's costumes. Even if the Comedian looks like a Dudley Do-Right villain.

starmanof51 · #111 Post by **starmanof51** » Thu May 29, 2008 4:59 pm

I love that the IMDB cast list has entries for the characters of "John McLaughlin" and "Eleanor Clift". I'm hoping their scene will be retro-McLaughlin, and we'll get cameos of Jack Germond and Pat Buchanan. And who who who will snatch the plum role of Morton Kondracke?

Fletch F. Fletch · Thu May 29, 2008 8:35 pm

David Hayter is interviewed and talks about adapting the graphic novel to film.

The third of 12 behind-the-scenes featurettes is online.

Apparently some footage of the film was screened in Amsterdam and got a very positive response.

There's rumors that a trailer is going to be attached to The Dark Knight.

Snyder dishes some more stuff on the upcoming film.

Fletch F. Fletch · Mon Jul 07, 2008 8:14 pm

The fourth of 12 behind-the-scenes featurettes is online.

dr. calamari · #114 Post by **dr. calamari** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:07 am

I'm looking forward to this one much more than Dark Knight, probably because of over familiarity with the DC Comics characters. I just hope it doesn't become a disaster like Fantastic Four, but there's still plenty of time for this to happen.

Fletch F. Fletch · Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:33 pm

Set visit

Fletch F. Fletch · Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:54 pm

CHUD set visit

UGO set visit

Description of upcoming trailer

This last one is a really interesting read. Can't wait to see this!

Fletch F. Fletch · Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:44 pm

Trailer will be online on Friday

Antoine Doinel · #118 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:46 pm

I think the year in the title of the thread can be changed to 2009. Sorry, it's been bothering the anal retentive in me for a while.

Anhedionisiac · #119 Post by **Anhedionisiac** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:07 pm

Trailer's already online.

flyonthewall2983 · Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:17 pm

Should it be considered a bad omen that they used a remix of the lead single off the Batman & Robin soundtrack for this teaser?

Antoine Doinel · #121 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:26 pm

Yikes. What did I just watch?

Anhedionisiac · #122 Post by **Anhedionisiac** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:32 pm

Suck. Suckity suckee suckarama.

Orphic Lycidas · #123 Post by **Orphic Lycidas** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:37 pm

Anhedionisiac wrote:Suck. Suckity suckee suckarama.

Well, I guess we get what we deserve for giving Zack Snyder the benefit of the doubt.

Grand Wazoo · #124 Post by **Grand Wazoo** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:18 pm

The trailer link stopped working for me, but I found a youtube link.

I personally think Snyder nailed Dr. Manhattan. The 300 style slow down/speed up shit seems far too prevalent, but a lot of clips in this trailer were of flashback sequences and I think that style of time manipulation is more appropriate for that than action sequences in the "main" story. I'm trying to stay positive... goth goddess Silk Spectre looks ridiculous unfortunately. I loved Manhattan blowing apart the soldier in Vietnam, as well as the comedian reveling in his wartime murder. Ozymandias looks way too similar to Captain Amazing from Mystery Men. I think he got Rorschach down pretty well too, though the goopy sound of his mask changing design isn't necessary.

Sorry for these scattered thoughts, I'm typing this as I'm about to run out the door.

Fletch F. Fletch · Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:26 pm

Grand Wazoo wrote:I personally think Snyder nailed Dr. Manhattan. The 300 style slow down/speed up shit seems far too prevalent, but a lot of clips in this trailer were of flashback sequences and I think that style of time manipulation is more appropriate for that than action sequences in the "main" story. I'm trying to stay positive... goth goddess Silk Spectre looks ridiculous unfortunately. I loved Manhattan blowing apart the soldier in Vietnam, as well as the comedian reveling in his wartime murder. Ozymandias looks way too similar to Captain Amazing from Mystery Men. I think he got Rorschach down pretty well too, though the goopy sound of his mask changing design isn't necessary.

Yeah, I would pretty much agree with these comments. Aside from the inappropriate music (which, thankfully, will not be in the film), I thought Snyder nailed many of the images from the comic book. Also, I don't think the film will have that much slow down, speed up crap. I get the feeling that this was probably done for the trailer (i hope). Manhattan looks right on the money (my biggest worry) and both the Comedian and Rorschach look pretty badass. I agree with you about Spectre and Ozymandias. They look all wrong. Surprisingly, Nite Owl's look doesn't both me as much. And his Owl Ship looks really cool as well.

Also, that link above doesn't work anymore. Go here.

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