Watchmen Casting Announced

[Samwise]

This reminds me a bit of that book thread where that one guy insisted on reading the book in a way he didn't like, and then criticized the book because he didn't like the way he read it.

 

[Margalis]

I still don't see how I could know that the material was supplemental without having read it first. It's only supplemental in retrospect.

This reminds me a bit of that book thread where that one guy insisted on reading the book in a way he didn't like, and then criticized the book because he didn't like the way he read it.

Reading a book straight through from front to back is how I normally do it. 

Your opinion though is that it shouldn't be there at all because this is a comic, and stuff that isn't comics has no place in it.

I believe that when you have more text in non-comic form than you have in comic form that's a tacit admission that you are more interested in writing plain text than a comic book. In League 2 I would say this is clearly the case, given how voluminous the supplemental material is compared to the main material. It's a text adventure with a comic tacked on.

Edit: Last post on this topic. Sometimes people have different opinions. Imagine.

[schild]

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/39720/scans/set/capinhas-watch2_1.jpg
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/39720/scans/set/capinhas-watch3_1.jpg
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/39720/scans/set/capinhas-watch4_1.jpg
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/39720/scans/set/capinhas-watch_1.jpg

[Lantyssa]

This reminds me a bit of that book thread where that one guy insisted on reading the book in a way he didn't like, and then criticized the book because he didn't like the way he read it.

 

I see what you did there.

[Samwise]

This reminds me a bit of that book thread where that one guy insisted on reading the book in a way he didn't like, and then criticized the book because he didn't like the way he read it.

Reading a book straight through from front to back is how I normally do it. 

Actually, the guy I'm referring to in the other thread wasn't you.  But you were in there ripping on him.  Which is why I  .

[Ironwood]

That sounds like a fun argument to have been part of.  Was I there ?


Now would be a bad time to say that it actually WAS me, of course...

[Margalis]

I was ripping on him mostly because he was being needlessly confrontational and taking his Politics hate out on people in that thread.

[Samwise]

It still amuses me.  And no, I think you were lucky enough to be absent that day, IW.

Back to the topic at hand: anyone heard anything about the Fox lawsuit?  Are they going to kill this movie?  Please say it ain't so.

[Velorath]

It still amuses me.  And no, I think you were lucky enough to be absent that day, IW.

Back to the topic at hand: anyone heard anything about the Fox lawsuit?  Are they going to kill this movie?  Please say it ain't so.

WB has invested too much money in filming Watchmen to not just pay Fox out if it comes down to it.  They went through something similar when they did the Dukes of Hazzard movie.

[Lantyssa]

Someone paid money to ensure the release of that... movie?  I hope is wan't more than pocket change.

[UnSub]

It would be a "Big crutch" if it were essential reading to understand the story, rather than bonus material which adds backstory. 

LOEG: Black Dossier had large, large chunks of different reading material that often interrupted the flow of the story.

Of course, it ends with a giant voyage to the meta-narrative of storytelling, which also ruined a perfectly good comic.

[Velorath]

It would be a "Big crutch" if it were essential reading to understand the story, rather than bonus material which adds backstory. 

LOEG: Black Dossier had large, large chunks of different reading material that often interrupted the flow of the story.

That was more or less the point, in that the narrative was mostly just there as a frame for all the background information (or at least that's generally how it was marketed before release).  Supposedly it also serves as a bridge from vol. 2 to the still upcoming vol. 3.  Can't say I've picked Black Dossier up though, as I'm not a big enough fan of LOEG to want to put out money for a book full of backstory.  If it were something similar, but for Top 10 I probably would buy it and enjoy it.

[UnSub]

Some of the LOEG material presented is  - I loved the German and French versions of the LOEG team who were just so much nastier than the British.

But a lot of it is extraneous. It just goes back to the point above that sometimes it appears that Moore doesn't believe comics can deliver when he keeps going off to other media in order to get his point across.

[Velorath]

But a lot of it is extraneous. It just goes back to the point above that sometimes it appears that Moore doesn't believe comics can deliver when he keeps going off to other media in order to get his point across.

That's like saying if a novelist decides to make a movie, he doesn't believe books can deliver.  Different forms of media have different strengths and weakness.  If someone wants to play around with different forms of media, where's the sense in saying "no, you're a comic writer, you can't do that."?

Black Dossier was meant to be extraneous.  It was "here's a bunch of random stuff I came up with for hardcore LOEG fans to flesh out the world a bit more".  Again, that's why I never even entertained the idea of buying it.  Hell, the thing was supposed to include a vinyl single of Alan Moore singing.  Complaining about that is like complaining The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, or the Planet Hulk: Gladiator Guidebook, don't tell stories and rely on blocks of text.

It's a shame due to the stuff included that the book had to be shrinkwrapped, because people who are buying it without knowing the contents and expecting a single narrative are obviously going to be disappointed.

[UnSub]

That's like saying if a novelist decides to make a movie, he doesn't believe books can deliver.  Different forms of media have different strengths and weakness.  If someone wants to play around with different forms of media, where's the sense in saying "no, you're a comic writer, you can't do that."?

No, it's like a novelist dropping a movie in the middle of his book for people to watch so they can find out how some sub-plot was resolved. Or a movie going, "If you want to understand this character, please watch this interpretive dance session before we continue".

Also, nowhere did I see anything saying the Black Dossier was some sort of side material - I'm not saying it wasn't said, but I was watching out for it to see when it was released and never saw a "this is canon, but it's not really important" signal.

The point is that Moore appears to be attempting to make his comics more meaningful but using non-comic media, which to some people defeats the purpose. Gaiman generally doesn't resort to using non-comic media in order to tell a story in comic book form and he's done things that are just as deep as Moore's. Now, if Gaiman wants to turn his tales into books or into movies, he generally does just that.

Note: I'm fully aware that, with no Watchman info to speak of, we are now just passing time in this thread.

[Evildrider]

Studio War Involving ‘Watchmen’ Heats Up
By MICHAEL CIEPLY
LOS ANGELES — The legal brawl over “Watchmen” is about to get rougher.

Lawyers for Warner Brothers, which has already shot a movie of this graphic novel about the seamier side of superhero life, and lawyers for 20th Century Fox, which claims it owns the rights to the material, laid plans for a frenzied fight in a joint report submitted to the federal court here on Friday.

Fox has said it will seek an injunction blocking Warner’s planned release of the film next March. Warner has argued that Fox should not be allowed to stop the movie, after standing by while Warner and its partners on the film, Paramount Pictures and Legendary Pictures, spent more than $100 million on the production, directed by Zack Snyder (“300”).

In a summary of its position in Friday’s report, Warner said Fox “sat silently” as one of the producers of “Watchmen,” Lawrence Gordon, took the project “to studio after studio with Fox’s express knowledge.”

Fox, which filed a lawsuit in February, has claimed in its own filings that Mr. Gordon did not keep the studio apprised of his plans, as required by a 1994 agreement. That deal granted Mr. Gordon rights to “Watchmen” in “turnaround” — an industry term for arrangements under which producers can move a project from one studio to another under certain conditions.

In Warner’s version of events, Mr. Gordon, who is not named as a defendant in the Fox suit, actually offered the project to Fox in 2005, shortly before bringing it to Warner after years of trying to make the movie with Paramount. “Fox simply rejected it,” Warner said in the Friday filing.

On Friday Warner said Fox had gone so far as to grant it rights to the title “Watchmen,” which Fox had earlier registered with the Motion Picture Association of America.

Fox, moreover, was paid $320,000 by one of Mr. Gordon’s companies for rights to “Watchmen” as early as 1991, Warner lawyers said in the report. Fox has said that agreement was superseded by a later deal, under which Mr. Gordon was supposed to deliver a much larger buyout price that has never been paid.

The report also outlined conflicting requests for a trial date: as early as next June, if Fox has its way, or April, if Warner prevails.

Friday’s filing makes it clear that not only Mr. Gordon, but also Paramount, Legendary and even Universal Pictures can expect to be drawn into the fray. Universal had tried to make a version of the film in 2001, before Paramount took over. And though Paramount dropped its plans for the movie, it became involved as a partner when Warner teamed up with the director Mr. Snyder in the wake of the box office success of “300.”

[Samwise]

Cocks.

[Phildo]

Wonder what Fox expects to get out of this.  I really hope Warner has their legal paperwork together.

[Samwise]

Fox just hates humanity.  They have a long history of killing projects (even their own) for no apparent reason other than to spread misery.

[IainC]

Normally ina fight between TimeWarner and Fox I'd be breaking out the popcorn and wishing they'd both lose. With the Watchmen movie at stake hower it's more than  

[HaemishM]

Gaggle of douchetards.

[Evildrider]

I think the movie leg of Fox has just gone retarded.  They just need to admit they let go a hot property and deal with it.  Although, if Dark Knight hadn't of raked in so much cash, I doubt this wouldn't have been as huge a deal.

Note:  I think Fox is pretty much retarded all around, but they still manage to create and cancel some of the best shows on TV.

[Velorath]

I think the movie leg of Fox has just gone retarded.  They just need to admit they let go a hot property and deal with it. 

When your stable of Summer '08 releases consists of Meet Dave, Space Chimps, Babylon A.D., X-Files 2, The Happening, and the Rocker, you have to go looking elsewhere for money to pay the bills with.

[Samwise]

Note:  I think Fox is pretty much retarded all around, but t.  They still manage to create and cancel some of the best shows on TV.

Fixed for appropriate emphasis.

[Hutch]

Update from Schild's new writing gig site.

tl;dr:

The court date for this kerfuffle will probably be in 2009. The movie itself may be pushed back to 2010.

[Samwise]

 

[Phildo]

Muthafuggas

[naum]

Watchmen Heads To Trial Before Theaters

The judge presiding over the case, U.S. District Court Judge Gary Allen Feess, is clearly an avid fan of Watchmen director Zack Snyder's work; his setting a trial date of January 6th - exactly two months ahead of the movie's scheduled release date - was accompanied by a specific direction to Fox that they should not seek an injunction against Warners to stop the release of the movie in the meantime. In fact, pre-trial discovery and depositions have been expedited in order for everything to be ready for the courtroom at the start of next year (Fox could, of course, ignore this direction, or simply seek an injunction following the discovery phase).

[HaemishM]

Kick ass judge. 

[Velorath]

We knew it was coming eventually.  Alan Moore speaks briefly about the Watchmen movie and comic book movies in general.

[Samwise]

Wait, he's never actually watched any of the films based on his stuff?  His seething rage is all based on a hypothetical?

I guess in the case of LXG that's a good thing, since his head would probably have exploded.

[shiznitz]

Muthafuggas

There is no way a $100 million film doesn't see the light of day somehow. Just have to be patient.

[Velorath]

New teaser shown during Scream Awards, with a mix of new and old footage.  Link also shows the new poster.

[HaemishM]

Fuck yeah. 

[stray]

Good poster.. I'd want to see it, even if I didn't want to see it. ;)