Watchmen Movie

[Jakew]

Synder made a lot more changes than he let on, apparently.

25 Minutes of Watchmen
WatchmenComicMovie.com was at the press event that screened several scenes of the movie

http://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/100708-watchmen-movie-footage.php

A few things in the article which made me sigh in exasperation a little. I knew they were probably going to happen but still ...

[spoiler]"Snyder told the audience that he got interested in comics by way of a subscription to the über sexy and violent Heavy Metal magazine. After that, he explained that whenever he picked up a regular comic book he would think, "nobody's really fuckin' or dyin' in this, so I don't get it." So when he saw Watchmen, it immediately appealed to him."

"Blake looks down and sees that his gun is on the coffee table, resting atop a copy of "Hustler" magazine. He slowly pours the tea out of his cup, then quickly hurls it at the intruder. The intruder ducks, and the cup smashes onto the open door busting the apartment number which was 3002, to now read 300 (easter egg!)"

"Basically, I liked everything I saw. At first, though, I thought Blake's battle with his "assailant" was a bit overdone and there attacks were very exaggerated and unrealistic. I mean, these are not real superheros with powers, just strong men with great fighting skills. I even brought this concern up with Dave Gibbons after the event and he explained to me that even though they aren't real superheros, they are incredible people in their own right who have the best of any man's fighting skills. So, if it's good enough for Dave..."

"Yes, we have some added action, and Snyder adds on a layer of his slow-motion/speed-up techniques on these sequences, but you can tell he's showing restraint — using these techniques sparingly and only to add tension and heighten the drama where it fits."[/spoiler]

Something I did like:
[spoiler]
— Adrian Veidt (a.k.a. Ozymandias) hanging out in front of New York City's famous Studio 54 with the Village People and David Bowie.[/spoiler]

[House Quake]

I'm kinda glad I haven't read the book... or tried to read too many of the spoilers here.  :(

I'm not trying to be argumentative... but geez guys... is there EVER going to be a movie you don't nit pick or turn into negative Nancys on before it even comes out?

One thing I believe most of you miss... 95% of the people who may see this movie will have never read any comic about this movie prior.  80% will have never picked up a comic in thier life.  While comic based movies often throw in enough to cater to the fan boyz... they have to be more conscious about catering to the masses.  And in most cases... what worked in the comic doesn't translate well into what will work on film.. or what most people may enjoy.

Sure we want them to stay true to the characters and storylines... but producers, directors, screen writers, etc aren't always just trying to re-create a carbon copy of what some one else has done already with out any of thier own creative input involved.  They want to take what was previously true and add thier own wrinkles to it so they can surprise and give people something new. 

The only times you get movies which stay true to thier source material is when the person who made the source is directly involved... and even then that is only seldom ly true.

[bredon7777]

Sorry, you don't get to change Major Plot Points.  I knew there were going to be minor changes, and I was ok with that (for example the naming of the team, 'The Watchmen'), but that ending (if true, and I refuse to believe its true until I see the finished product) is a complete and utter deal breaker.

You want to make a change like that? Go write your own <bleeping> novel and film THAT, instead.  If you're adapting something, your job is to stay as close to the source material as possible. Period. End of Story.

(Yes, this is a bit ranty, but this has gotten on my nerves for years - especially after the first Harry Potter movie proved just how possible it was to do exactly what I thought an adapatation should do)

[MJB]

You are comparing The Watchmen to Harry Potter?! Eww...

-MJB

[BWPS]

Yeah why would you compare a film adaptation of one of the coolest books of all time to one film adaptation of the coolest books of all time?

[MJB]

Let me say this in closing, before this gets off subject, my "ew" is my opinion. It is neither wrong nor right. I say this because I feel that way, not to influence anyone.

Let us not derail this subject any longer. Back to talking about the Watchmen...

-MJB

[TheMarvell]

the first Harry Potter movie actually almost put me to sleep, which proves, to me at least, that even the most faithful of adaptations can still make for poor movies.

So where is the best place to get a copy of Watchmen? Is the one on Amazon a good one?

[MJB]

Wherever you can find a copy of the complete series on the cheap is a good place.

-MJB

[Podmark]

So where is the best place to get a copy of Watchmen? Is the one on Amazon a good one?

I bought mine from Amazon a month or so ago. About $15 Canadian. It's the normal current paperback volume, but the hardcover should be out now or soon. There's also the expensive Absolute Edition.

Kinda wish I'd gotten a hardcover version if only because my cat bit my paperback  :(

[ow_tiobe_sb]

Sorry, you don't get to change Major Plot Points.  I knew there were going to be minor changes, and I was ok with that (for example the naming of the team, 'The Watchmen'), but that ending (if true, and I refuse to believe its true until I see the finished product) is a complete and utter deal breaker.

You want to make a change like that? Go write your own <bleeping> novel and film THAT, instead.  If you're adapting something, your job is to stay as close to the source material as possible. Period. End of Story.

(Yes, this is a bit ranty, but this has gotten on my nerves for years - especially after the first Harry Potter movie proved just how possible it was to do exactly what I thought an adapatation should do)

Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Ego mos non, si illa vicissitudo subsisto.

ow_tiobe_sb
Bunburyistis Phasmatis et Fossor Oriens

[BentonGrey]

Very clever tiobe.

[bredon7777]

Bravo, tiobe.  Well said.

[thanoson]

Ok, translation for those of us without big brains?

[Jakew]

Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Who watches the watchmen?

Ego mos non, si illa vicissitudo subsisto
I will not , if you wish that change to stand


ego partis idem eadem idem sensus

Also, a new Total Film article regarding the previews:

http://www.totalfilm.com/features/first-reaction-watchmen

[The Enigma]

It did upset me the way that they were referred to as "the watchmen". One of the best bits is that it's constantly implied in the graphic novel, but never outright said (save in the title). The Crimebusters meeting proved how all the heroes are too different to work together, especially The Comedian and Rorschach (more so later on for the latter) and although the Juvenal graffiti appears all over the place, it's never shown in its entirety. We as comic readers come to the text with preconceived notions about hero teams and, after X-Men etc., so will film audiences. I think to cater to what people expect (random heroes with powarz get together because they have powarz and the plot demands it) is oversimplifying what Moore was trying to do.
What I expect we will see is Watchmen as Zack Snyder reads it and thinks about it. This will not be Watchmen as I read it and think about it and may or may not overlap with my view or with yours. That does not preclude it from being a good film. Peter Jackson's LotR films were good films, even though they were far from how I read and think about the book (especially the latter two) and I enjoyed them for what they were. I will try and do the same for Watchmen, knowing always that I can go back to the text whenever I need to.

[the_ultimate_evil]

i just finished the book, so if the alien has been changed have we been told what it's been changed too? [spoiler] if it's still an "alien invasion" it's the same message that moore was putting across of the fake threat to unite a warring world[/spoiler]

[Podmark]

i just finished the book, so if the alien has been changed have we been told what it's been changed too? [spoiler] if it's still an "alien invasion" it's the same message that moore was putting across of the fake threat to unite a warring world[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Rumor is it that the 'threat' has been changed to Dr. Manhatten.
And unless there's misdirection being put out, it seems a certainty that the squid is not part of the ending.[/spoiler]

[Jakew]

New trailer / Comicon footage ... we see Moloch, Janey Slater, Dollar Bill, Silk Spectre I, etc

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/watchmen/comic-con-footage

This looks great ... easily the best trailer so far. I think this trailer was designed to keep the fans onboard after Trailer 2 (which showed a few major alterations to a film that had been hyped as a faithful adaptation of the comic).

Also, this is the new French trailer ... we see Roscharch as a kid, Archie in Antarctica, some more action, etc.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/International-Watchmen-Trailer-11194.html

[Mr. Hamrick]

i just finished the book, so if the alien has been changed have we been told what it's been changed too? [spoiler] if it's still an "alien invasion" it's the same message that moore was putting across of the fake threat to unite a warring world[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Rumor is it that the 'threat' has been changed to Dr. Manhatten.
And unless there's misdirection being put out, it seems a certainty that the squid is not part of the ending.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I wouldn't be surprised if it was misdirection.  After all, there was a thing around the mid point of the series where Dr. Manhattan was believed to a threat to mankind and all. 

Though I do expect some sort of change that would put Ozymandis squarely in the role of villain and Night Owl and Silk Spectre in the role of Heroes.  Otherwise, it appears as though "the villain won" and was allowed to by "the hero" thus negating their status as hero while the one person who wanted to expose the villain was killed by another hero. 

I think this fact would be why Alan Moore is against the thing being made into a movie.[/spoiler]

[Podmark]

i just finished the book, so if the alien has been changed have we been told what it's been changed too? [spoiler] if it's still an "alien invasion" it's the same message that moore was putting across of the fake threat to unite a warring world[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Rumor is it that the 'threat' has been changed to Dr. Manhatten.
And unless there's misdirection being put out, it seems a certainty that the squid is not part of the ending.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I wouldn't be surprised if it was misdirection.  After all, there was a thing around the mid point of the series where Dr. Manhattan was believed to a threat to mankind and all. 

Though I do expect some sort of change that would put Ozymandis squarely in the role of villain and Night Owl and Silk Spectre in the role of Heroes.  Otherwise, it appears as though "the villain won" and was allowed to by "the hero" thus negating their status as hero while the one person who wanted to expose the villain was killed by another hero. 

I think this fact would be why Alan Moore is against the thing being made into a movie.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I think Moore was against it regardless. I'm pretty sure he was long before this iteration of the film was developed.

I'll reserve judgment if they change the squid thing til I see it, but if they change the actual ending of the book, how things play out, then I will be upset. [/spoiler]

[BatWing]

omg i cant wait to see this movie!

[the_ultimate_evil]

moore is just against anything and everything, i get the feeling he takes that stance now cause people expect it of him

[Jakew]

http://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/110608-watchmen-movie-video-journal.php

Interview with Silk Spectres 1 & 2. Both of the actresses are gorgeous.

[JeyNyce]

http://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/110608-watchmen-movie-video-journal.php

Interview with Silk Spectres 1 & 2. Both of the actresses are gorgeous.

Nice find!