Watchmen

[Russkafin]

Has anyone here read Alan Moore's "Watchmen"? I just finished reading it, and I think it is one of the most brilliantly written things I have ever read in my life. There is so much depth to the story. Moore creates such a complex backstory and continuity to each character and to their relationships as the story unfolds, that by the time you have read the whole thing, you feel like these are characters you have been reading about for years, like Batman or Superman.

For anyone who hasn't read it, if you like The Dark Knight Returns you will love Watchmen. It is the same kind of dark, make-you-think kind of story that you will not stop thinking about after you've read it. There is a character called Nite Owl who is similar to Batman, and Hollis Mason (the original, retired Nite Owl), is kind of like Bruce Wayne is in Batman Beyond... only not as grumpy. :) The whole story is about a conspiracy to kill off masked vigilantes and start a new world war, but it is so much more complex than that, that I can't even begin to explain it. Anyway, I was wondering what other people thought of it who have read it, and I just really wanted to reccomend it to anyone who likes comics and has not yet checked it out. It's fantastic!

[Calhoun07]

I bought the trade paper back so I would stop wearing out my comic books. It's a awesome series. I also highly recommend From Hell if you liked his work on Watchmen.

[The Guard]

From Hell is great. On another note...this is a good time to plug my Watchmen website, which has a couple movie scripts, links, and character bios...

http://www.angelfire.com/oh5/daveworld1/WATCHMEN.html

[Ricochet]

All of the heroes in Watchmen are supposed to be based on real heroes, I think. Who are they? :confused:

[Russkafin]

Guard,

I just took a look at your site, it's really cool. I'm glad to see someone has made a site about Watchmen. I just glanced at the page-by-page analysis, man oh man, I can't wait to look through that in greater depth.

I also downloaded the two scripts you had posted, I haven't read them yet, but a Watchmen movie would be so amazing. I'm just afraid that it would not do it justice, since the scope of the story is so big. It would take a director who had really read and understood the story (Joel Schumacher, stay far away!!!) I wonder how it would work as an animated mini-series?

Also, for casting... how about Adam West as Hollis Mason? I can't decide if that'd be too corny or not, but as I was reading the story I found them to be so alike, I was hearing Mr. West's voice in my head when I read Mason's dialogue. I like all the picks you made for the cast on your site, especially Burt Reynolds as the Comedian. Do you know if Wizard ever did a Casting Call for Watchmen?

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by Ricochet
All of the heroes in Watchmen are supposed to be based on real heroes, I think. Who are they? :confused:

The heroes from Charlton comics, Blue Beetle, Question, Captain Atom, Peacekeeper, and I forget who else at this moment.

[pencilsharp]

The heroes from Charlton comics, Blue Beetle, Question, Captain Atom, Peacekeeper, and I forget who else at this moment. Good call, I first read Watchmen back in '89 and had never even made the connection. 'Course, I also volunteered for four years in the Army, so what does that say about my brain function? :confused:
BTW, I've read the book about... oh... a few skillion times, and I honestly don't see how it can be knocked down to two hours without gutting it. I'll check the treatments The Guard posted on his site and see how it's been tried. The most obvious drop would probably be the "pirate comic" material, yet that would leave out quite a bit of the undercurrent.
One more thing... (famous last words... :) ) I would love to see what Square Studio (Final Fantasy) could do with this... CGI would add still another layer of symbolism to the technological aspects of Watchmen.

Audi!
~pS~

[The Guard]

Adam West as Hollis Mason isn't bad at all! The Minutemen were a little more corny, more flashy than the second generation heroes. As was Adam West. As for the scripts...Sam Hamm's is well...great until the end. He used a major cop out. Mine...I tried, I really did, to do Moore's work justice. I focused more on the second generation heroes, but make no mistake, it is WATCHMEN. Read it. You might just like it. That site has cast suggestions and how I'd like to see them portrayed if my movie was ever made. Anyway...thanks for checking it out.

[The Guard]

Just reread the post previous to mine. Here's what I did.

I dropped the Minutemen flashbacks, although the Minutemen play a small part. I jettisoned much of the backstories of the doctor and the newspaper man. It just wasn't important to the story I was trying to tell. I focused on events from Rorschach's view, and also Nite Owl's. I kept most of Rorschach's backstory, although I dropped his childhood history. I kept most of the Dr. Manhattan stuff, but I did some major trimming on the Mars thing. Still powerful though. AND THERE IS NO LAME TIME TRAVEL AT THE END. I KEPT THE MAJOR EVENT INTACT. HINT HINT. Anyway...the script times at about 2 and a half hours. Best I could do folks.

:)

Feel free to email me with comments or questions.

THEGUARD13@aol.com

[The Guard]

Ok...I realize this is my third straight post, but...this is very near and dear to me. If anyone knows how to get this out to people that would enjoy it, feel free to pass it along. I don't care if my name is attached. I just want people to see what Watchmen could be. Sounds arrogant. But I spent a long time on this, well before I found out Hayter was doing one. The thought never entered my head to try to get it made. I mostly need feedback. You see...I'm working on something else. Something I created, all by myself...and I want it to be perfect. Therefore, I need feedback, suggestions, criticism...

[pencilsharp]

Jeez-O-Peet...
I'll admit off the bat that I haven't read both treatments thoroughly yet, but Sam Hamm's version reads JUST like a Hollywoodized Watchmen would. Y'know, once upon a time, I thought Hamm was a pretty good writer. However, I can see that he's forgotten rule numero uno for good film adaptations: Don't force a happy ending!!!
Guard, I'll be looking over your treatment later tonight, from the few pages I've glossed over, it looks infinitely better. Of course, no offense meant :p , but being smacked in the forehead with a white-hot manhole cover would be preferable to more Sam Hamm...
Anyways, Happy Turkey Day, kids!

[Ricochet]

Originally posted by calhoun07


The heroes from Charlton comics, Blue Beetle, Question, Captain Atom, Peacekeeper, and I forget who else at this moment.

I love Charlton heroes. I gotta look into this. Thanks! :D