Superhero Filmmakers: Where's Our Watchmen?

I like the Nite Owl and Comedian - although the Nite Owl one kinda beats you over the head with who he's supposed to remind the audience of. The Rorschach is, well, just Rorschach really; it would have been hard to mess that one up.

The Veidt one just screams Bad Guy; which is a major mistake if you ask me. Just because it's a comic book movie doesn't mean the studio/writers/director has to assume that the typical viewer is going to be a drooling idiot.

I guess they're still trying to figure out Dr Manhattan

I think it may just be the lighting in that picture though, because there's an element of "All American boy" superhero to Veidt.

Looks OK to me, maybe a little too grungy and dark™ for me. Liked the bright colours and clean lines of the original.

What he said.

OH SHI

Veidt doesn't look gay enough.

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/charliebrownwatchmen.jpg

I think these new suits are way too cool... And too "Batmanny" indeed.

There was an interview with Snyder saying something to to the effect his intent with this is to be to superhero movies what the graphic novel was to its own medium.

doesn't mean it'll turn out well, of course.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=43692

featurette about the building of the sets, if you're interested.

watchmen really gets better every time you read it. so does cerebus, but that's another thread.

> so does cerebus

...if you know when to stop.

yeah, book 7 is where i get off the boat. and that's later than some people.

I don't know which one book seven is, but I figure you're doing ok to quit at halftime (the end of Mothers and Daughters.) Yeah, the crazy anti-life voids bullshit starts there, but it still isn't the main focus of the book.

I think it's good up to book 10, if you ignore the text sections in 9. There are brilliant moments tucked a way amongst the mentalism all the way to the end, though.

xpost - yeh, like Oily said.

oops - just looked at wiki and I was confused. Yes, quit at halftime, but that's just the end of the first part of Mothers and Daughters, not the whole thing. And it's book seven! So we agree.

"Guys" is worth a look just for its formal invention, though. Plus teh funneee.

eggzie postie

"Guys" is worth a look just for its formal invention, though. Plus teh funneee.

Formal invention and occasional funnies are the main draw of the whole of the latter third.

Hahah! From Wiki:

The Roach, along with Fleagle McGrew and Dirty Drew McGrew, appeared in a Sim-penned story in the anthology title AARGH (Artists Against Rampant Government Homophobia). With the title-sized speech bubbles "Terror in a Turgid Tool!" and "By my Loins- Betrayed!" it indicated the Roach was homosexual.

Oh, the ironing.

http://www.joblo.com/video/player.php?video=Watchmen_480

i thought that was gonna be a trailer... video journal? worth watching? is squirrel police in it?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/business/media/26retail.html
Key point:
"The twist is that Mr. Snyder, known for turning the Spartan comic book series “300” into a global hit movie, is also directing a separate-but-related picture that Warner plans to distribute exclusively on DVD.

The second film, tentatively called “Tales of the Black Freighter,” follows a side “Watchmen” storyline about a shipwreck and will arrive in stores five days after the main movie rolls out in theaters. The DVD will also include a documentary-style film called “Under the Hood” that will delve into the characters’ backstories. "

i always found the black freighter sections rather tedious, don't think i actually read the story until the third time i read the whole thing.

I thought the black freighter bit was the glue that held the thing together. What I got from the black freighter storyline was that that was also the storyline all the characters were following in the main story - most clearly Veidt, but also Rorschach and the others.

yeah, sort of. all the plot points converging on this horrible truth.

Namely: raw seagulls are delicious!

kind of awesome that they're doing "under the hood"... the bits at the end of each issue were such an essential part of the story as a whole.

I did have to coax myself into reading them but I am glad I did bcz they are key and good.

hope Veidt's still a dub reggae fan

I HOPE IT HAS...KITTY!

p[urple kitty

kind of awesome that they're doing "under the hood"... the bits at the end of each issue were such an essential part of the story as a whole.

I was always wondering, how long was Hollis Mason's book supposed to be? Because his whole life story and the story of the masked heroes seems to have been pretty much covered in the 15 pages included in the comic.

Also, I've always wondered if Dreiberg's ornithological article in the later issue is supposed to be allegorical in the same sense the Black Freighter story is, or is it just supposed to illuminate his character?

Maybe the rest of it is about vintage car repair?

I was always wondering, how long was Hollis Mason's book supposed to be? Because his whole life story and the story of the masked heroes seems to have been pretty much covered in the 15 pages included in the comic.

-- Tuomas, Monday, May 26, 2008 9:35 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

lol!! true

OMG that ornithological article is IMO the most embarrassing part...such purple prose. And that kind of thing would never, ever show up in a peer-reviewed journal.

Haha, that would be awesome! Anyway, Mason turned out to be a good writer, didn't he? The scene in the beginning of the book with his boss and the fake boobs is just as touching as he imagines it to be.

(xx-post)

Also he gets the Kitty Geniovese thing totally wrong.

The ornithological article is kinda weird, and doesn't really give that much of the sort of background information the other articles do, which is why I've thought there might be a deeper level to it. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into the Moore style of writing?

I remember reading some Neil Gaiman interview where he says he sorta helped Moore write that article. They'd already become friends back then, and it turned out Moore didn't know too much about birds, so he asked Gaiman for help, and he sent Moore some books on ornithology or something. So maybe it really was just filler, since symmetry required every issue must end with an article, and he hadn't come up with anything important for that issue...

hope Veidt's still a dub reggae fan

"I'm into dancehall now."

Moore has his ways with the music references, doesn't he? Has anyone else heard the recorded version of the song ("This Vicious Cabaret") V sings in V For Vendetta (it's not by Moore but some rock singer)? It's kinda disappointing.

I like it, because I am a big fan of said 'rock singer,' who is David J from Bauhaus/Love and Rockets.

Whoa.

I love in Watchmen, something like "I don't want to look like Devo."

I'd love to hear a version of the song sang by Moore himself, he as such a great voice.

You've all heard this, right?

DUCKS! DUCKS!

Also, I've always wondered if Dreiberg's ornithological article in the later issue is supposed to be allegorical in the same sense the Black Freighter story is, or is it just supposed to illuminate his character?

-- Tuomas, Monday, May 26, 2008 9:37 PM (58 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

I remember at one point trying really hard to read it allegorically, but not really finding anything there. I think it's just supposed to underline that homie is really, almost sadly into birds.

No dis to orinthology folks, but like Ab said dude's prose is way over the top; makes it almost come off like a coping mechanism, he's desperate for something.

for birds!