Superhero Filmmakers: Where's Our Watchmen?

I think it looks terrible. color scheme is all wrong.

would love to hear deeznuts explain how this movie is inherently superior to the comics by virtue of its being a movie

OK, it's also at (shudder) Harry Knowles's.

DG, it wasn't all shot in front of a green screen! It was shot mostly on practical sets!

Love the shot of Veidt nailing the assassin guy. And the Dr. Manhattan effects look great.

they did actually film on Mars i believe

No, they filmed on Venus doubling for Mars. It's cheaper to travel towards the sun for a movie crew.

http://base58.com/pics/watchmen/w1.jpg
http://base58.com/pics/watchmen/w2.jpg
http://base58.com/pics/watchmen/w5.jpg

http://base58.com/pics/watchmen/w6.jpg
http://base58.com/pics/watchmen/w7.jpg
http://base58.com/pics/watchmen/w8.jpg

http://base58.com/pics/watchmen/w9.jpg
http://base58.com/pics/watchmen/w10.jpg
http://base58.com/pics/watchmen/w11.jpg

http://base58.com/pics/watchmen/w12.jpg
http://base58.com/pics/watchmen/w13.jpg

sorry, i'm done

is that aged Nixon on the TVs behind Veidt then?

Looks interesting to me! Virtual sets/actors is the only way this thing COULD work, short of being an animation (which I can't believe no one had a serious go at).

DG, it wasn't all shot in front of a green screen! It was shot mostly on practical sets!

i know, i read the production blog from time to time. still looks weird tho. that shot of dr manhattan blowing up a viet cong looks like some 1996 command and conquer cutscene

> would love to hear deeznuts explain how this movie is inherently superior to the comics by virtue of its being a movie

-- Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, July 17, 2008 7:59 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

Music is also inherently superior to sculpture.

ok haven't seen trailer but stills look fucking awesome

the only good I can see coming of this is that maybe Dave Gibbons got a lot of money

My status is still intrigued but skeptical. Only universally stinking reviews will stop me checking it out out of curiosity, though.

we get it dude. you dont like it. xp

Another link for the trailer:
http://io9.com/5026402/watch-how-faithful-watchmen-will-be

I, like Shakey Mo, love this trailer and I will be first in line.

i always imagined theire outfits to look way rattier/homemade/not like batman begins

"I guess I look pretty Devo, huh?"

yep

top marks for manhattanpants

omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg

As my wife likes to remind me, I am quite often way too cynical for my own good. So as far as this movie goes, I've decided to just geek the fuck out and enjoy it.

love the nipples on the Ozymandias suit

I loved that B&W still that was released a few months back but I absolutely hate the trailer. Eh, I'll still see it.

why is Ozymandias wearing nipple-plated leatherwear rather than the greco-egyptian shit his entire persona is centered on

seriously so much wrong, you guys are on crack

"You can't even turn the pages on this movie!"

It's, like, metatextual, Shakey. Like how the comic was a comic about comics, the movie is a movie about movies. Therefore the "modern" (i.e., 1985) heroes in the movie have costumes more like current movie heroes, just like how 1990s Batman costume was so much different from Adam West costume.

Yes, it's anachronistic. So is Richard Nixon in the White House in 1985. Deal.

this can't be bad! rorschach's mask moves! oooooooooh

Some panels that correspond with the stills blueski posted above:

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/4835/watchmen1up7.jpg

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/2829/watchmen2xv6.jpeg

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/7523/watchmen3qw5.jpeg

Like how the comic was a comic about comics, the movie is a movie about movies.

does not compute

Uh, ok. I guess not, if you're determined to be dumb/stubborn/whatever.

you might note that I'm not complaining about anachronisms - which are crucial to the "alternate reality" theme of the story - I'm complaining abotu STUPID SHIT that is in there for no reason and has nothing to do with the character other than "oooh we need to have the bad guy in black. leather. with nipples. wouldn't that be cool."

saying its a movie about movies is a gross misrepresentation - its a movie about a comic book about comic books. unless they've completely re-written the plot.

I wonder if this will be worse than V For Vendetta was.

Snyder has exlicitly stated that Ozymandias has nipples because of the Clooney-era Batsuit, in the spirit of recontextualization that Pancakes mentions. Like it or not, it's definitely not them trying to be "bad guy in scary outfit" or whatever.

Er maybe it's because designing a costume that an actual guy has to actually wear is different from just drawing one? The metal looking collar and cuffs he has in the book look quite impractical; they're still there in the movie, just a bit more realistic. And maybe on screen a poncey purple robe really doesn't look like an effective superhero costume.

xp.

i thought homeboy had nips in the comix

http://www.flytecrewblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/watchpeanuts.jpg

okay I would watch that 24/7

Linus as the Comedian is rather inspired

I wonder if this will be worse than V For Vendetta was.

I wouldn't think it was possible but Snyder looks set to prove me wrong.

ref'ing Schumacher Batman films = stupidest excuse I've ever heard

I think Shroeder should be Manhattan and Charlie Brown the Night Owl. Of course that makes Pigpen Oz which makes no sense at all.

so in the spirit of "recontextualization" did all the Minutemen don costumes cuz they were inspired to fight crime by Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer? Or was it more of a Dolph Lundgren-as-the-Punisher thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen_(film)

In December 2006, comic book artists Adam Hughes and John Cassaday were confirmed to work on character and costume design for Watchmen. Costume tests were being done by March 2007. 300 associate producer Wesley Coller played Rorschach in a costume test, which Snyder inserted into an R-rated trailer for 300. Although he intended to stay faithful to the look of the characters in the comic, Snyder intended Nite Owl to look scarier, and wanted Ozymandias to possess authentic Egyptian attire and artifacts. Nite Owl and Silk Spectre changed most from the comic, as Snyder felt "audiences might not appreciate the naiveté of the original costumes. So, there has been some effort to give them a (...) modern look — and not modern in the sense of 2007, but modern in terms of the superhero aesthetic". Snyder also wanted the costumes to "comment directly on many of today’s modern masked vigilantes": The Ozymandias costume, with its molded muscles and nipples, parodies the costumes in Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997). Set designers selected four Kansas City sculptors' works for use in the set of Dr. Manhattan's apartment after discovering their works on the Internet.

So, it looks like everyone's right! It's meta-commentary on modern superhero costumes and an attempt to pander to the audience with glossier costumes. You may now make out.

test marketing indicated widespread nipple parody approval

ref'ing Schumacher Batman films = stupidest excuse I've ever heard

Yeah because it's not like THOSE had any impact on the culture, right?

so in the spirit of "recontextualization" did all the Minutemen don costumes cuz they were inspired to fight crime by Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer? Or was it more of a Dolph Lundgren-as-the-Punisher thing.

Jesus Christ, Shakey, he's keeping the thing set in 1985, he's keeping the 1940s "Minutemen," by all accounts he's keeping the ending, what the hell is your problem here? The "recontextualization" amounts to dealing with these characters in the medium in which they're appearing, which is NOT A PIECE OF PAPER in case you hadn't noticed. If you want this movie to be even remotely watchable, Oz's costume from the comic simply would not fly. Maybe on some mid-budget Sci-Fi Channel original, but not here.

I mean, "OMFG OZYMANDIAS HAS NIPPLES THIS MOVIE IS RUINED" puts the dumbest Star Trek fanboy shit to shame.

Anyway, in the trailer scene where Dr. M appears in the cafeteria, you can definitely see some blue wang, so there's that.

Also:

http://www.toshistation.com/images/watchbabies1.jpg