The Official "Watchmen" Movie News & Discussion Thread (Possible Spoilers)

[BatKid]

Watchmen Cast Confirmed!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
July 25, 2007


Warner Bros. Pictures has confirmed the cast for Watchmen, the big screen adaptation of the seminal DC Comics limited series.

Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode, Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan ("Grey's Anatomy") and Malin Akerman will star in the Warner Bros. movie, which Zack Snyder is directing. Larry Gordon, Lloyd Levin and Deborah Snyder are producing.

Set in an alternate America, Watchmen follows costumed hero Rorschach, who is living a vigilante lifestyle because most masked heroes have retired or been outlawed. While investigating a murder, Rorschach learns that a former masked-hero colleague has been killed, prompting him to begin investigating a possible conspiracy.

Haley will play Walter Kovacs, aka Rorschach, who ignores the ban on costumed vigilantes.

Crudup will play Dr. Manhattan, a superpowered being with godlike powers and temperament.

Akerman will play Laurie Juspeczyk/the Silk Spectre, who is involved with Dr. Manhattan -- but that relationship begins to fall apart as he becomes more disconnected from humanity.

Goode will play Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias, a costumed adventurer who retired voluntarily, disclosed his identity and built a large fortune. He hatches a plot to avert a global catastrophe he believes will be caused by Dr. Manhattan.

Wilson will play the Nite-Owl, a crime-figher who uses technical wizardry and has an owl-shaped flying vehicle.

Morgan will play the Comedian, a cigar-chomping, gun-toting vigilante-turned-paramilitary agent.

Watchmen was created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

Shooting is set to start in the fall in Vancouver, with Snyder employing many of the filming techniques he used for his boxoffice success 300.

[Hanshotfirst113]

It's best to ignore what Moore thinks in this case. His opinions on film adaptations are a bit slanted.

Valid, but if someone had tried to turn my work into LXG the movie with Sean Connery, perhaps my opinion would be a bit slanted too .

My concern here is Snyder. Watchmen is a nearly impossible thing to adapt to film. 300 worked because it was a direct page-to-film translation; he did a great job adapting the graphic novel directly into film form, but there was nothing else to it. Keep in mind that the portions of the film that weren't originally in the book were its only real failings as an adaptation.

Yes, but remember how short 300 was and how long Watchmen is; this is where I grow concerned.

Watchmen is steeped in the graphic novel form, structurally and visually, and, as I said, is essentially impossible to adapt directly.

Also a possible worrying point that it'll be blue screened and added later, because that seems to be the trend, and worked in 300 and Sin City, so maybe it'll be the idea here.

Shooting is set to start in the fall in Vancouver, with Snyder employing many of the filming techniques he used for his boxoffice success 300.

And this does nothing to assague me.

The story would need to be shortened and re-worked significantly, and so many elements of it would need to be abandoned simply because they couldn't work on film.

Witness: V for Vendetta. That's why I'm going with Alan Moore here: this beast is nigh-on unadaptable. Look at V: while and enjoyable film, so much of what made the graphic novel daring was simply not fit for a mainstream film. They were both graphic novels, written very strictly for the graphic novel format, and they are largely incompatible with film in some senses, IMESHO.

The best thematic elements of the story would have to be completely removed for the story to appeal to a mainstream film audience.

Exactly my feeling; like VFV and LXG, there would be considerable pressure to dumb down the story into a simple action film (especially with the director of 300, the most mindless film ever made, attached). That's what makes me so shaky about this prospect.

I can't see a film adaptation working even with the most masterful of filmmakers behind it, let alone a director with such a minimal and unimpressive record.

Moore's unwillingness to associate with the projects in any way might be a big negative here, since his input could be useful in his saying what he wants. Save for the writers of the first two superb X-Men films, and the fact that Gordon and Levin have Hellboy under their belt (For which del Toro was largely responsible for the success of, IMESHO, of course I'm biased), I'd say that Snyder's minimal and fun but unimpressive resume and the producers of slam-bang action films are not the best names to attach to what is essentially a very philosophical work. Then again, a very philosophical work doesn't work real well as an action film, which is what this is clearly indended to be. Thus the paradox. *sigh*

[BatKid]

Also a possible worrying point that it'll be blue screened and added later, because that seems to be the trend, and worked in 300 and Sin City, so maybe it'll be the idea here.

Snyder has already explicitly stated it will be shot for real.

Moore's unwillingness to associate with the projects in any way might be a big negative here, since his input could be useful in his saying what he wants.

That's ridiculous. Arguably, THE most important part of adapting the work, is to first UNDERSTAND the source. That in itself, does not require the input of the creator.

As for Moore's thoughts on the movie, yes he does think that the story should only work in it's print form. However, he did state that if there ever was a movie to be made, David Hayter's script is as good as it's going to get to translating the material. The very same script that Snyder is working on, with minor changes here and there.

[Hanshotfirst113]

Snyder has already explicitly stated it will be shot for real.

Then they'd better get a very good production designer and DOP . In all seriousness, though, that is very reassuring.

That's ridiculous. Arguably, THE most important part of adapting the work, is to first UNDERSTAND the source. That in itself, does not require the input of the creator.

True, but it sure helps.

As for Moore's thoughts on the movie, yes he does think that the story should only work in it's print form. However, he did state that if there ever was a movie to be made, David Hayter's script is as good as it's going to get to translating the material. The very same script that Snyder is working on, with minor changes here and there.

As I say, in spite of my misgivings about Snyder and the producers, the writers are an excellent choice, so again, I agree.

[Noukon]

Valid, but if someone had tried to turn my work into LXG the movie with Sean Connery, perhaps my opinion would be a bit slanted too .

Moore hated the very idea of adapting comics to film before anyone touched any of his work. He's a crazy old coot. A brilliant coot, of course, but a coot nonetheless.

Yes, but remember how short 300 was and how long Watchmen is; this is where I grow concerned.

Also a possible worrying point that it'll be blue screened and added later, because that seems to be the trend, and worked in 300 and Sin City, so maybe it'll be the idea here.

There are a lot of things to worry about here, more than simple length. The story's complexity and the way it's structured to perfectly suit the form of sequential art leaves it nigh unadaptable. I do hope to be pleasantly surprised, since I'm sure the story could be turned into a good movie (albeit totally different from the novel), it's just that I don't see Snyder as having demonstrated the skillset to essentially create a movie from scratch with themes and ideas as thick as those in Watchmen.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

*sigh*

I'm not too terribly optimistic about this, but I'll try to go in with an open mind.

Adapting Watchmen to a single film seems like a very tough job. A trilogy would work better, but even then...

There's just so much to Watchmen that simply can't be adapted. I can't see a film even coming close to capturing the spirit of Watchmen, and without that, what is it? It loses what makes Watchmen stand out so much.

Watchmen is pretty sacred ground, so I'd hate to see an adaption that didn't do it justice.

[Young Justice]

Watchmen has a big story, but if you take off the Pirates part, you have decreased the content a lot, and maybe you could work with that.

The Pirates part is very interesting in the Graphic Novel, adds a lot of depth to it, but it's not essential. I think it could have been taken off without much damage.

[BatKid]

There's just so much to Watchmen that simply can't be adapted.

Like what?

I can't see a film even coming close to capturing the spirit of Watchmen, and without that, what is it? It loses what makes Watchmen stand out so much.

If Moore himself can find joy in reading Hayter's script, and says that it's a good adaptation of his own story....I think that's saying a lot.

[Hanshotfirst113]

Like what?

I think that it's more a case it being so gritty and wildly radical that no major studio would have the guts to actually put a lot of it into the film.

If Moore himself can find joy in reading Hayter's script, and says that it's a good adaptation of his own story....I think that's saying a lot.

I'm very pleased with Hayter (X-Men and X2 are excellent), it's the producers of the likes of Tomb Raider, Predator 2, Die Hard 2, and Timecop (And his partner who worked on V for Vendetta and The Matrix Reloaded) and the director of 300 and Dawn of the dead on a project of this level or moral, political, philosophical, and stylistic complexity. Then again, I'm not sure if there's any living director who could handle it. I do think that some things will need to be changed for the adaptation though, I just fear it becoming:

FROM THE PRODUCERS OF DIE HARD AND THE DIRECTOR OF 300 AND DAWN OF THE DEAD, THE LEGENDARY GRAPHIC NOVEL COMES TO LIFE IN THIS SUMMERS MOST ACTION-PACKED THRILLER!

On the other hand, without even a trailer to judge by, we don't even know about the visual look, so we're just shooting in the dark at this point.

[BatKid]

I think that it's more a case it being so gritty and wildly radical that no major studio would have the guts to actually put a lot of it into the film.

This is a large part why I'm thankful 300 was a blockbuster success. Usually, when a director directs his next picture off a runaway hit, the studio completely gives him control.

This is exactly what's happening now, and is a large reason why after all these years of failed attempts, Watchmen is finally happening.

I'm very pleased with Hayter (X-Men and X2 are excellent), it's the producers of the likes of Tomb Raider, Predator 2, Die Hard 2, and Timecop (And his partner who worked on V for Vendetta and The Matrix Reloaded) and the director of 300 and Dawn of the dead on a project of this level or moral, political, philosophical, and stylistic complexity. Then again, I'm not sure if there's any living director who could handle it. I do think that some things will need to be changed for the adaptation though, I just fear it becoming:

FROM THE PRODUCERS OF DIE HARD AND THE DIRECTOR OF 300 AND DAWN OF THE DEAD, THE LEGENDARY GRAPHIC NOVEL COMES TO LIFE IN THIS SUMMERS MOST ACTION-PACKED THRILLER!

I completely understand the concerns. Right now, I'm placing a lot of faith in Snyder. Why? Because out of all the directors attached, he stands out the most as the one who wants to truly adapt as much of the story as possible. I don't know if you've seen his 10 minute interview about it, but it's clear as day this guy knows what he's up against, the themes and moral issues presented by this story.

It's a matter of whether he can nail the execution.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Like what?

Like all the prose back story and information that's present, and all the narration. It's pretty important to the Watchmen narrative, and I can't see it working in a movie at all.

[BatKid]

Taking out the Black Freighter storyline, you can fit a nice adaptation of the story into a 2.5 - 3.0 hour movie. It's most definitely not impossible.

[BatKid]

Zack Snyder Talks Watchmen!
Source: Edward Douglas
July 27, 2007


Filmmaker Zack Snyder (300), who is set to direct Warner Bros. Pictures' feature film adaptation of the award-winning graphic novel Watchmen, today announced the cast of the highly anticipated epic before 6,500 fans during a presentation at this year's Comic-Con International convention in San Diego, California. Watchmen will be produced by Lawrence Gordon (Die Hard), Lloyd Levin (United 93) and Deborah Snyder (300), with Herbert W. Gains serving as executive producer. The film is targeted for a March 6, 2009, release, which was revealed on a Comic-Con poster (see below).

Playing the film's core group of "masks," the masked adventurers at the center of the story, are Malin Akerman (upcoming The Heartbreak Kid) as Laurie Juspeczyk, aka Silk Spectre; Billy Crudup (The Good Shepherd) as Jon Osterman, aka Dr. Manhattan; Matthew Goode (Match Point) as Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias; Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children) as Walter Kovacs, aka Rorschach; Jeffrey Dean Morgan (TV's "Grey's Anatomy") as Edward Blake, aka the Comedian; and Patrick Wilson (Little Children) as Dan Dreiberg, aka Nite Owl.

A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the "Doomsday Clock" - which charts the USA's tension with the Soviet Union - is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion - a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers - Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity...but who is watching the watchmen?

Watchmen was originally published by DC Comics as a 12-comic book series between 1986 and 1987, before subsequently being collected into a trade paperback. It is the only graphic novel to win the prestigious Hugo Award or to be named among Time magazine's "100 Best English Language Novels from 1923 to the Present."

Snyder told the audience that the production is currently building sets in Vancouver, including a New York City backlot. They are going to shoot it visually like the graphic novel because that's important. They will take the drawings and film them even though they'll be using sets not green/blue screen like 300.

He said they wanted to cast real actors, not get a cast for marketing reasons, much like 300. He said he cast younger actors because there's a lot of flashbacks in the graphic novel and he didn't want to hire two actors for the parts. Instead he got actors in the middle to age them up and down depending on what's happening.

Dr. Manhattan is going to be a full 3D CG performance capture of Crudup though the old John is going to be Billy Crudup as he is. They are not going to have Crudup in blue paint like Blue Man Group. They'll have to do it CG to make him glow and to have him grow.

Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl will age a little and will be slightly older than in real life.

We'll see the Comedian, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, from 19 years old to his '60s, throughout his life, in Vietnam, etc.

300 and A History of Violence star Stephen McHattie will play Hollis Mason.

Snyder added he talks to Dave Gibbons all the time. "He's read the script and he's into it."

ComingSoon.net/SuperheroHype.com also talked to Snyder after the presentation and you can listen to the conversation here!

Be sure to listen to the audio. Snyder talks about defending his adaptation (aka fighting off the studio demands), and confirms that it will definitely be Rated R.

[Hanshotfirst113]

This is a large part why I'm thankful 300 was a blockbuster success. Usually, when a director directs his next picture off a runaway hit, the studio completely gives him control.

This is exactly what's happening now, and is a large reason why after all these years of failed attempts, Watchmen is finally happening.

I don't know about completely, but I applaud Snyder's passion, and it definately sounds like he's fighting tooth and nail to prevent Watchmen from becoming exactly what I fear it becoming, which I give him major credit for having the guts to do instead of taking the easy way out.

I completely understand the concerns. Right now, I'm placing a lot of faith in Snyder. Why? Because out of all the directors attached, he stands out the most as the one who wants to truly adapt as much of the story as possible. I don't know if you've seen his 10 minute interview about it, but it's clear as day this guy knows what he's up against, the themes and moral issues presented by this story.

I've never seen the interview. This kind of reminds me of The Return of the King: "I don't doubt the strength of his heart, merely the reach of his arm." In spite of misgivings about Snyder's resume, it seems that he's very passionate about this and isn't just taking it on like another action movie; Snyder, whatever his skill level, seems to understand the importance of the piece and what it is, and that assuages much of my apprehension.

It's a matter of whether he can nail the execution.

Agreed.

Like all the prose back story and information that's present, and all the narration. It's pretty important to the Watchmen narrative, and I can't see it working in a movie at all.

You cannot film inner monologues.

Be sure to listen to the audio. Snyder talks about defending his adaptation (aka fighting off the studio demands), and confirms that it will definitely be Rated R.

Well, so far, his credit's good. I just hope that he can deliver.

Taking out the Black Freighter storyline, you can fit a nice adaptation of the story into a 2.5 - 3.0 hour movie. It's most definitely not impossible.

Extremely difficult though. I've only managed to get partially through the book before. Must get it from my library again.

[Bones Justice]

And Bones, to what in JLU are you reffering?

The Cadmus arc. They even had Batman quoting, "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" at the end. While the story wasn't a direct adaptation of Watchmen, much of the same themes and character types were there:

The Question = Rorschach
The Batman = Nite Owl
Superman (and The Watchtower; and The League) = Dr. Manhattan

And so on.

They even did the whole "we were attacked" conspiracy only they used the Watchtower laser (instead of what happened in Watchmen).

[Young Justice]

You cannot film inner monologues.

By Inner Monologues, are you referring about a character talking to himself as he is thinking? I think you can do that on film. A lot of noir movies are made like that. The last example I can think of is Black Dahlia.

[Noukon]

The Cadmus arc. They even had Batman quoting, "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" at the end. While the story wasn't a direct adaptation of Watchmen, much of the same themes and character types were there:

The Question = Rorschach
The Batman = Nite Owl
Superman (and The Watchtower; and The League) = Dr. Manhattan

And so on.

They even did the whole "we were attacked" conspiracy only they used the Watchtower laser (instead of what happened in Watchmen).

Funny bit of trivia here, in case you aren't aware of it: Watchmen was originally intended to star the Charlton Comics characters that DC acquired in the mid-eighties. When that didn't work out, the characters were renamed and slightly reworked to be original. (See this wiki article.)

So... Rorschach is The Question.

[Noukon]

By Inner Monologues, are you referring about a character talking to himself as he is thinking? I think you can do that on film. A lot of noir movies are made like that. The last example I can think of is Black Dahlia.

It's used sometimes in book-to-film adaptations (Dune is an example). It usually feels really trite, though, and kills immersion. Might work in a film as steeped in meta-form as an adaptation of Watchmen should be, though...

[Hanshotfirst113]

Funny bit of trivia here, in case you aren't aware of it: Watchmen was originally intended to star the Charlton Comics characters that DC acquired in the mid-eighties. When that didn't work out, the characters were renamed and slightly reworked to be original. (See this wiki article.)

So... Rorschach is The Question.

They always struck me as remakably similar.

It's used sometimes in book-to-film adaptations (Dune is an example). It usually feels really trite, though, and kills immersion. Might work in a film as steeped in meta-form as an adaptation of Watchmen should be, though...

Yeah, generally, I think that narration can be very stiff, though its success varies, but I'm not sure how it would function in Watchmen.

[Young Justice]

Funny bit of trivia here, in case you aren't aware of it: Watchmen was originally intended to star the Charlton Comics characters that DC acquired in the mid-eighties. When that didn't work out, the characters were renamed and slightly reworked to be original. (See this wiki article.)

So... Rorschach is The Question.

From Wikipedia, all the characters that inspired the Watchmen ones:

The Comedian (Edward Blake) is based on Peacemaker with elements of the Joker and Marvel Comics' Nick Fury. Doctor Manhattan (Jon Osterman) is derived from Captain Atom, while the first and second Nite Owls (Hollis Mason and Dan Dreiberg) are based upon Blue Beetle. Thunderbolt serves as the inspiration for Ozymandias (Adrian Veidt), while the Question and Mr. A do the same for Rorschach (Walter Kovacs). Finally, the first and second Silk Spectres (Sally Jupiter and Laurie Juspeczyk) are based on Nightshade with elements of Black Canary and Phantom Lady.[17][18]