Watchmen Movie Panel from Comic Con 2008
August 1, 2008
Latest movie news from Comic-Con, Twilight, Tron 2, Watchmen
July 27, 2008
From NYTimes:
Brad Bird, who directed both “Ratatouille” and “The Incredibles” for Pixar Animation Studios, worked for years on his own version of “The Spirit” after leaving the California Institute of the Arts. Mr. Bird has said in the past that he thought the project best suited to hand-drawn animation, an approach very far from the live-action, computer-assisted, star-driven approach taken by Mr. Miller.
Just before the “Spirit” presentation, Universal Pictures warmed up the hall with a glimpse at its “Wolf Man,” a horror spectacular that stars Benicio Del Toro and is set for release next April.
Earlier in the day Zack Snyder, the director who turned Mr. Miller’s “300” into a surprise hit, teased the crowd with a glimpse at his rendering of yet another of the comics world’s sacred texts, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s “Watchmen.” The film is set for release in March by Warner Brothers, in association with Legendary Pictures, the combination behind “The Dark Knight.”
“It’s weird to have, like, a bible for the movie,” said Mr. Snyder, who for more than a year has been treading a fine line between fidelity to the truly dark source material and conventional entertainment value.
Mr. Snyder has repeatedly said he would lean toward a faithful rendering. But he said on Friday that he sometimes fretted about whether remaining true to the Moore-Gibbons vision would drive people to “slit their wrists and call it a day in the theater” when the film was finally released.
Mr. Gibbons, who shared the stage on Friday, said he wished that Mr. Moore — who has stood apart from the project — shared his own joy at seeing the film finally made after several failed attempts.
There was certainly no wrist-slitting here, just rapt attention paid to the extended trailer, with its depiction of dark and damaged superheroes. Mr. Snyder told the crowd to look especially for R-rated touches, which are highly unusual in the generally PG-13 rated superhero genre. There certainly were some, notably in a scene where an outsize blue hero, Dr. Manhattan, sends some fleeing Southeast Asian combatants to a nasty death.
In a fashion note, black T-shirts and bluejeans emerged this week as the definitive comic-book look. Mr. Miller wore them, topped by his usual fedora. Mr. Snyder — who was wry, but a little more prone to ramble on than in the past — did the jeans-and-T thing, too. So did Patrick Wilson, a “Watchmen” star, and Samuel L. Jackson, the villain in “The Spirit,” as did Thomas Tull, chairman of Legendary Pictures, and Alan F. Horn, president of Warner Brothers Entertainment. The two executives, whose companies have much riding on the picture, sat in front-row seats, keeping one eye on the fans, another on their hand-held devices.
Elsewhere at the convention, vampires lurked. In the wake of Thursday’s screamfest reception for Summit Entertainment’s coming “Twilight,” a sad-looking young man passing out leaflets outside the convention center said he represented “Vampires for Equal Rights.” Late that night, HBO got on the bloodsucker bandwagon with a presentation for “True Blood,” its modern-day vampire show, with Anna Paquin. The series is also scheduled to sponsor the annual Saturday-night masquerade, promising still more sunlight-deprived men and women in black.
What passes for big news around here also happened late Thursday, when the Walt Disney Company surprised the crowd with brief scenes from “Tron 2” — or “TR2N,” as the teaser had it. The movie is a much-rumored but hitherto unconfirmed sequel to Disney’s 1982 film “Tron,” about a hacker sucked into the world of computers that, in those days, were almost big enough to have accommodated the star, Jeff Bridges — who also shows up in the new one.
Zack Snyder VS Studio on Watchmen final cut
July 26, 2008
From Variety:
High above the exhibition hall at Comic-Con, Warners was conducting interviews Thursday for Watchmen in advance of their anticipated Hall H show-and-tell on Friday. Zack Snyder is currently battling with Warners over the ultimate running time of the movie, which is three hours. He’s trying to cut it down, but doesn’t want to lose a character like Hollis, a guy who gets murdered about half way through. “”I’m not ready for that yet. If Dark Knight got two and a half hours, Watchmen should get fifteen minutes more,” he pleads. “I’m trying to be reasonable.” Snyder is caught between the Scylla and Charybdis of the studio’s commercial demands and the fans who love the comics. A movie has to reach beyond the faithful, remaining accessible to mainstream moviegoers.
Thanks to his success with 300, Snyder was able to sell Warners on a faithful adaptation of the Alan Moore mid-80s classic graphic novel. All the previous adapters changed something fundamental, he points out, like updating it to the war on terror. He sets his in the 80s, cast unknowns, and insisted on an R rating. “I wouldn’t know how to do it otherwise,” he says. “Fans should thank 300 because there’s no way they would let me do it, no way, I’ve taken full advantage.”
But the studio still thinks Watchmen is too “too long, too sexy, and too violent,” says Snyder. For him, “that’s a reason to go. That’s the why. If you take that out you take out the why.” Otherwise it’ll just be another “watered down version of Watchmen, and then you might as well make another superhero movie. There’s a million characters out there you could do instead.”
Inside the Watchmen’s Owl Ship at Comic-Con
July 25, 2008
Smashing Pumpkins in the Watchmen Trailer
July 21, 2008
From MTV:
What compelled Zack Snyder, the, um … watchman … behind “Watchmen” to use the track? Was it because there’s that shot in the trailer of a guy (I’m sure he has a name, but seriously, people, the last graphic novel I read involved the name “Jughead”) falling from the sky that vaguely resembles something Batman might do? Is “Watchmen” sort of like watching “Batman & Robin” in slow-motion — much like how listening to “The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning” is somewhat of a stretched-out version of the original tune? Here’s what Snyder had to say:
“Smashing Pumpkins we picked for a couple reasons. For one, I felt like in mood, it was correct for what we were trying to do. We were trying to sort of get at the unwashed masses who don’t know anything about ‘Watchmen’ and find something provocative that makes you go, ‘What is that?’ … And then, also, I felt like the song itself spoke a little to the ‘Watchmen’ world. And then on the third hand … it will create controversy a little bit in the fanbase because they’re going to be like, ‘Wait, is that going to be in the movie? That ain’t 1985!’ ”
All good reasons, we suppose. But it doesn’t answer the bigger question: Did he have any idea that Corgan wrote the song expressly for that other nocturnal superhero?
Zack Snyder Reveals Secrets In ‘Watchmen’ Trailer
July 18, 2008
Watchmen Movie Trailer
July 17, 2008
1940’s picture of The Minutemen from Watchmen
May 27, 2008
What we have below is a photo that the Minutemen took - Who are the Minutemen? Well in WATCHMEN - it was the first TEAM of superheroes that formed in 1939 and pulled a BEATLES in 1949. In the pic below you’ll see the classic SILK SPECTRE and NITE OWL… you’ll see CAPTAIN METROPOLIS, MOTHMAN, SILHOUETTE, COMEDIAN, DOLLAR BILL and with the noose… HOODED JUSTICE.
- From AICN
Warner Hopes to Revive Its DVD Sales, Watchmen DVD News!
May 26, 2008
Retail’s love affair with the DVD is on the rocks and Warner Brothers Entertainment would like to patch things up.
Faced with a decline in DVD sales, Warner Brothers, part of Time Warner, is planning an unusual effort around its upcoming adaptation of the popular graphic novel “Watchmen.” Directed by Zack Snyder and set for a March 2009 release, the big-budget movie tells the story of a group of retired superheroes who are tied to a conspiracy that could change history.
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.
Warner, the No. 1 distributor of DVDs, bills the effort as a way to renew retail excitement for little silver discs now that the once-booming market has matured.
After years of blistering growth, domestic DVD sales fell 3.2 percent last year to $15.9 billion, according to Adams Media Research, the first annual drop in the medium’s history. While it is still a blockbuster business, any decline is cause for concern because DVD sales can account for as much as 70 percent of revenue for a new film. Results for the first quarter this year were mixed, with overall sales flat but notable softness for some new releases like Warner’s box office hit “I Am Legend.”
- From NYTimes
Hey kids, you too can play with Rorschach and the gang!
April 16, 2008
Watchmen Video Journal
April 6, 2008
What if Charles Schulz created the Watchmen?
March 31, 2008
The Watchmen’s Rorscach, Jackie Earle Haley, Speaks!
March 6, 2008
“We all want to see this movie. Getting to sit behind that monitor and see shot after shot…it was really looking cool,” Haley exclaimed. “Everything that Zack was doing was just so inspired by the book. All of the elements from production design, to costuming, to makeup - it was looking really badass. I can’t wait to see what he does with it with all the CG work that has to be done.”
Part of that, of course, is Rorschach’s mask itself, a moving kaleidoscope of ink blots that needs to be digitally inserted. Of the mask, Haley said wearing it was “incredibly motivating for the character.”
“It was incredibly confining,” he said. “It was get warm and sometimes fuzzy in there.”
Via MTV Movie
One Year to Midnight: Who Watches the Watchmen?
March 6, 2008
“Here we are, officially one year and counting until the release of Watchmen on 03.06.09. Being a fan that follows production blogs, I know that the time a film is in post can often seem like an eternity with interesting bits of information few and far between. So to help pass the time, here is your first look at some of the Watchmen characters.”
Tales Of The Black Freighter to be on Watchmen DVD
March 1, 2008
“It’s been rumoured for a while now, but Gerard Butler has confirmed to Empire that he will be lending his vocal talents to the animated Tales Of The Black Freighter short that Zack Snyder is planning as a companion piece to Watchmen. The Scottish actor had been linked with a role in Watchmen for a long time, but when nothing materialised, it seemed likely that he wouldn’t be linking up with his 300 director on next year’s eagerly-awaited blockbuster. But, when Snyder hatched plans to film the Tales Of The Black Freighter comic-within-a-comic that tells the tale of a castaway’s mental and physical deterioration and damnation as he tries to intercept a ghost freighter headed for his hometown, and include it on the Watchmen DVD, Butler’s name surfaced once more.”
Via EmpireOnline
Watchmen Wraps! Movie VS Comic! Not bad. Will Rock?! Yes! (too much coffee)
February 20, 2008
Director Zack Snyder says the movie has wrapped and posted a still. Here’s a comparison of the Movie VS the Alan Moore classic graphic novel. We vote yes to this thing will Rock!
Via Watchman site
Who Watches the Watchmen? Maybe not us…
February 12, 2008
