Watchmen Casting Announced

[Margalis]

Conceptually LOTR is an adventure series. That's not some sort of insult. I know people are going to hate that characterization of LOTR but I'll stand by it - no it isn't *just* an adventure but that is the primary appeal. There are elements of commentary and allegory in the story but that is far from the central focus. Can we not get into the holier-than-thou I must not have read the books BS? I've read them a few times, thank you.

Watchmen is not a big adventure book. There is very little action for the sake of action and the main plotline is not superheroes having some sort of adventure, fighting baddies and such. Most of the action in Watchmen is incidental and there isn't that much to begin with.

The actual plot of Watchmen is not particularly complicated; it isn't plot-driven. It isn't an epic adveture full of character archetypes and grand battles. It's a story about people, attitudes, the state of the world and the state of comics.

I'd be amazed if Rorschach comes off as anything other than some angry ass-kicker. Hollywood is good at certain things; introspection is not one of them.

[Samwise]

no it isn't *just* an adventure but that is the primary appeal [to me].

In other words, when you read the books you focus on the adventure, because that's what appeals to you.  There's nothing wrong with that, since there's no one "right" way to read and interpret a work of fiction, but the fact that you personally focus on the 5% of the book in which something is fighting something else doesn't mean that the book itself is action-packed or that action is the central focus.  (It certainly wasn't the central focus as far as the author was concerned, anyway.)   I stand by my earlier statement:

I'm pretty sure anyone who describes LotR as "action packed" is ... skipping lots of parts each time they read the books.

Rest assured that there are also people out there who skip through Watchmen each time they read it so they can get to the bits where Rorschach is beating the shit out of someone.  (Those are my favorite bits, I confess.)  You could make a Watchmen movie that was nothing but Rorscach beating the shit out of people, maybe change the ending around a bit so that it was less of a downer, and a large segment of the population would love it.  You probably wouldn't, since it sounds like that's not the focus of the book for you, but that's life as an angry fanboy.  Welcome to our club.   

[Margalis]

no it isn't *just* an adventure but that is the primary appeal [to me].

Not, it isn't the primary appeal "to me." It is the primary appeal. LOTR is an epic adventure - you disagree? Watchmen is not an adventure story. Read the summaries of them on Wikipedia, Amazon or any other site. LOTR helped define "high fantasy."

You could make a Watchmen movie that was nothing but Rorscach beating the shit out of people, maybe change the ending around a bit so that it was less of a downer, and a large segment of the population would love it.

That has absolutely nothing to do with what we are talking about. You *could* make a movie that was nothing but Rorscach beating the shit out of people, but it wouldn't be a Watchmen movie. In the story itself Rorscach beats the shit out of people what? Two or three times? Your movie would be 20 minutes long if it stuck to the source material at all.

LOTR is an adventure story - again that isn't an insult, and no it isn't *just* an adventure story, but that is what it is. The main plotline of the books is an epic quest. Watchmen is not an adventure story, if you want a cool comic adventure there are a hundred better choices. That's not what made Watchmen an award-winner.

I'm not saying the LOTR movies were great either. (I thought they sucked honestly) I'm just saying it translates to movies better. Not perfectly but better.

[stu]

The thing about Watchmen is that almost every issue concentrates on a different character with only the Tales of the Black Freighter  to pull everything together. So how do you translate that into film? Also, the comic used a helluva lot of newspaper articles and magazine advertisements to strengthen the plot and give background. Not really the sort of stuff that will translate so well to film. I am looking forward to the project being made, but I'm really trying not to expect a whole lot from this flick.

[Samwise]

Not, it isn't the primary appeal "to me." It is the primary appeal. LOTR is an epic adventure - you disagree? Watchmen is not an adventure story. Read the summaries of them on Wikipedia, Amazon or any other site. LOTR helped define "high fantasy."

That happens to be the aspect that a lot of people (fantasy fans and fantasy authors alike) have glommed onto, but that does not mean it's the primary appeal to everyone, or that the author intended it primarily as an action/adventure epic, or that an action movie is necessarily the only possible way to adapt it to film.  The main characters in the books by and large spend more time singing than they do fighting, and that was a very important aspect of Tolkien's vision of Middle Earth, but it isn't an aspect that has been carried over as much to other "high fantasy" works, nor to the most recent (and most successful) movie adaptations.  So it goes.  It doesn't alter the original books any.

I agree that a movie which was nothing but Rorschach beating the shit out of people wouldn't really be a Watchmen movie.  Then again, I think that a movie where the main characters almost never sing isn't really an LotR movie.  It's a generic action/fantasy flick inspired by LotR, and a pretty decent one as far as those things go.   And you could do the same thing with Watchmen.  There's plenty enough action there to spread out into an hour worth of screen time.  Just add in a few flashback scenes of the "golden age" so we can see the heroes at their top form, and stretch out the fight scenes from the book.  Take the "assassination attempt" on Ozymandias -- make it twenty ninjas instead of one guy with a gun, and do a big long Matrix lobby scene sort of thing where he beats all of them up in slo-mo.  The moviegoing public will eat it up with a spoon.  The couple of panels that show the Comedian's death in the beginning could be blown up into a five-minute sequence at least.  Rorschach's flashbacks, his harassment of Moloch, maybe an added scene or two showing him beating up a purse-snatcher in defiance of the general ban on heroes, his time in prison... shit, that's almost a whole movie by itself.

If you can take the short story "A Sound of Thunder" and turn it into the movie "A Sound of Thunder," you can pretty much turn anything into anything.

(edit) All that said, I actually have some faith that they'll try to stick a bit closer to the source material than that.  I thought Snyder did a pretty good job on 300.  Watchmen is going to be tougher, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here.

[Margalis]

I remember seeing previews for that, didn't know it ever actually came out.

I don't think we disagree all that much, I just have much lower expectations.

[Samwise]

I keep my expectations permanently low, so I'm never disappointed.

[Tannhauser]

After '300' I am also giving Snyder the benefit of the doubt.  I want this movie to be soooo good, please please make it so.

[Evildrider]

Not to hot on the cast, in general.  I think they are gonna have to work the story a bit so that it doesn't become boring on screen.  Although Zack seems to have a good grasp on what he wants.. so there's hope for the movie to be good.

[shiznitz]

I read The Watchmen book last month, having heard about it for the first time with all the movie talk. While all the backstory was good to read, I am not sure how central it needs to be in a movie.  Looking forward to the attempt.

[stu]

I found this tidbit at AintItCoolNews.com which goes over how the Tales of The Black Freighter subplot will be handled.

Looks like it's going to shot and added as an extra for the DVD release.

[Sauced]

Careful observers saw it here first when I posted it 4 months ago.   

[stu]

 

[stu]

  Some new production set pics. Dated Nov 26th

[Teleku]

Wow, well, they are certainly doing a good job of recreating the comic world/style by the looks of those screen shots.

[Velorath]

Looks like the Black Freighter DVD extra is going to be animated now.

[Velorath]

[Moosehands]

I keep my expectations permanently low, so I'm never disappointed.

Minor complaints about released pictures:

Nite Owl needs more brown, less Batman.

Ozy should be all gold and white, no black at all.

[HaemishM]

Does Ozymandias look squished somehow?

[Moosehands]

I think some of it is the camera angle, and some of it is Matthew Goode being kinda slender and stuffed into a muscle suit so his head winds up looking too small for his body.

[Tannhauser]

Comedian looks kick ASS.

[Samwise]

Moosehands gets a cookie. 

And yeah, the Comedian looks really kickass.  Too bad he's a relatively minor part.

[Mazakiel]

I dunno if I'd call his part minor really, he's in some pretty memorable flashbacks. 

But as to the pictures in general, while Ozymandias does look a bit young, these pictures could be what they all looked like in their prime before they retired.  Ie, buff Night Owl for flashback purposes, pudgier guy for the 'modern' scenes.  I know that some of the other characters, namely the first Silk Spectre, will have their appearance changed with prosthetics throughout the time periods.  Adding some padding under Owl's shirt to show he's softened a bit would be a pretty minor thing. 

And as a final tidbit I read recently, apparently if the studio's pleased with how the Black Freighter stuff can be cut into the regular movie, it could make it into the theatrical version, at least in parts. 

[Lantyssa]

It's amazing how impractical looking comic heroines' clothes are in the comics when brought to live action.  Yeah we all knew it, but it looks really silly now.

[Hoax]

It's amazing how impractical looking comic heroines' clothes are in the comics when brought to live action.  Yeah we all knew it, but it looks really silly now.

She has heels on, fucking lulz

[Venkman]

This is going to get me flamed something fierce I'm sure, but I've never heard of this. So I read up some at IMDB and came away thinking "dystopian The Incredibles". Which, honestly, is right up my alley.

Sorry-wise it's interesting, but based on this thread alone (and the 20 years in the making comment from Zack), it sounds like there's a cult. What's the draw? Should I go grab the book people are mentioning?

[Mazakiel]

In a word:  Yes. 



Ultimately, it's been an influence on a lot of more modern stuff, good and bad.  Like you mention yourself, The Incredibles is a recent example.  I'd mention one or two others that come to mind, but throwing them out there would kinda be spoilierish if you're really interested in picking up the book.  It's also a damn good book on its own merits, though. 

[stu]

You owe it to yourself to read Watchmen. The work is a benchmark title.

[Velorath]

This is going to get me flamed something fierce I'm sure, but I've never heard of this. So I read up some at IMDB and came away thinking "dystopian The Incredibles". Which, honestly, is right up my alley.

Sorry-wise it's interesting, but based on this thread alone (and the 20 years in the making comment from Zack), it sounds like there's a cult. What's the draw? Should I go grab the book people are mentioning?

I can't speak as to how much someone who isn't particularly into comics will get out of it.  It's a great story, but much of its praise is due to its effect on comics and how it utilized the medium.  Ask virtually anyone who is into comics what their favorite stories are and Watchmen (and Dark Knight Returns) will probably in the top 3 of about 95% of the people you ask, so I wouldn't really say it's a cult following (unless you're of the opinion that comics in genreral are a cult following).

[Samwise]

So I read up some at IMDB and came away thinking "dystopian The Incredibles". Which, honestly, is right up my alley.

When I saw The Incredibles, I thought "wow, that was like a Disney version of Watchmen."  So, yes.

[stu]

A.V. Club has a new Alan Moore career overview.

Primer: Alan Moore

[UnSub]

You owe it to yourself to read Watchmen. The work is a benchmark title.

... and, as a benchmark title, it's been copied numerous times in various ways. Any modern comic reader could quite easily be disappointed in reading it for the first time.

I wasn't - I read it at the right time, on the heels of a lot of Image / Wildstorm titles that had made up my comic reading - but some people are. They read Watchmen and go, "Is that it?".

That said, I'd recommend reading it. As very minor spoilers, it's a title where the characters are mosly human and the idiocy of being an unpowered costumed superhero is brought into the spotlight without the bearest hint of comedy. Damn it if Rorschach (sp?) isn't awesome though.

[Phildo]

I only read it for the first time about 7 or 8 months ago and loved it.

[HaemishM]

Reading Watchmen is a rite of passage for anyone serious about comic/genre fiction. It is a masterwork that is only diminished because so many are copying it these days. Yes, you owe it to yourself to read the comic before seeing the movie.

[Raguel]

Not to spoil things for Darniaq, but am I the only one who thinks the Comedian is Moore's best character in Watchmen? (as opposed to favorite: my faves are Nite-Owl and Rorschach.) When I first read Watchmen, I was really examining my personal beliefs, so Rorschach's "origin" really got to me. Now that I'm a bit older I still  over