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Zack Snyder and Quint have a brief conversation about WATCHMEN! Pirate storyline! Rorschach! More!!!!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I was one of the select few who was granted a one on one interview with Zack Snyder. I think Devin from CHUD snagged one as well, but one of the concessions of doing a 1:1 instead of a roundtable interview was that I only had about 5 minutes.
Luckily for me, Snyder's excited about this project and loves to talk, so I was able to squeeze out a few more minutes with a little conversational final question. Enjoy and look out for the sound-o-text links!!!
Quint: So, you've come a long way since BUTT-NUMB-A-THON.
Zack Snyder: Yes indeed. Yes indeed.
Quint: Actually, we were sitting in this room talking about WATCHMEN last year at COMIC-CON. Now you have a cast.
Zack Snyder: Now I have a cast. I've got some sets built. I keep trying to make them spend money, because I figure the deeper in they are they can't go back. (laughs)
Quint: That's right. My two biggest concerns were addressed in the Q&A… about the period and the pirate story. The pirate story in particular… I can see that being the most obvious…h2>
Zack Snyder: Cut…
Quint: Yeah, but it means so much to the story.
Zack Snyder: Absolutely and I feel the same way. It's funny, because you know one of the biggest proponents of the pirate story is Debbie, my wife. She fights for it, because basically I'm in production and because we're trying to figure out who's going to pay for the pirate story… is it going to be marketing… is it going to be home video… I think the studio's approach right now is like "look, we're spending too much for this movie anyway, because we don't even know who's going to go see it…" and so…
Quint: One thing that the studio's aren't doing, and this is a big argument, like the HARRY POTTER fans are saying, "there's so much material in these books and you're only shooting a feature, but why don't you do something like Peter Jackson did with LORD OF THE RINGS and you have the expanded DVD?"
Zack Snyder: Not to mention the fact that I think Peter also… because when he releases a DVD, the movie's an hour longer... It's not like "Oh… some bonus material…" It's like another movie, which is kind of how I've been trying to go with the studio and saying "look, even if the pirate movie, the pirate part of the story exists on DVD only…"
Quint: And you can plan for it going in, so you can shoot it to integrate seamlessly.
Zack Snyder: We've done that. I've got the script that gets it in and out. I have all of the ends and outs (written). I have all the stuff and it's not like it's hard for us to do, so they're really quite interested in it. It was funny, because the original script… you know, I was trying to get the pirates story as small as I could, because I felt like it was palpable, but now they're like "It could be a little bit more." I'm like, "Yeah there's plenty more." I was actually, and I don't know if we will do it since I haven't talked to him about it yet, but I was going to try to get Dave [Gibbons] to pen the rest of it.
Quint: Oh yeah?
Zack Snyder: Because if you've ever seen… Have you ever seen it laid out? Some guy took the pirates story and just made it's own comic and used every piece of voice over as a separate panel and kind of put it together and it's cool, because it's missing a lot of course, but it could easily be…
Quint: Filled in… That's awesome… Well Gibbons' poster was great.
Zack Snyder: He did a good job.
Quint: I love that it's just a cover.
Zack Snyder: Yeah, just a cover.
Quint: Just a new cover.
Zack Snyder: When Dave and I talked about it, we went back and forth about it a little bit and he sent me a couple and I'd send them back and go "what about this?" and "oh I want to see that 'God is real and he's American'." He just kept messing with it and when he got it colored, we were like "oh my god, it looks like a cover…"
Quint: So how long are they going to let you make this thing? Do you know?
Zack Snyder: I shoot from the 17th of September to the end of February, so it's quite a long shoot. It's like a hundred days.
Quint: How long for the finished product?
Zack Snyder: I don't know. I don't know. We have a script, right? Then when I draw the movie over, I change the whole thing around. I just do… you can't help it. I'm drawing and I'm like… because I have the graphic novel over here and I have the script over here, I'm like "Oh no, I need that piece of voice over from the thing" or "I need…" So I'm about to do another rewrite and we'll see, but it's long.
Quint: I wanted to talk a little bit about working with the actors and especially with Jackie, because Rorschach as written, when he puts the mask on they even have a different kind of font… colored voice box… squiggly lines and stuff, so how are you guys going to approach that?
Zack Snyder: I don't know. I think we're going to play around a little bit and try to figure out what's going to be cool. It's funny because, have you ever seen the documentary THE MINDSCAPE OF ALAN MOORE? It's a new documentary and in it Alan does a dramatic reading of Rorschach's voiceover and I was like "gosh, maybe we should use that as sort of the model for tone and stuff like that, because who would know, right?"
Quint: Is it dramatically different when… because in the books…
Zack Snyder: Well, he's reading it as his VO, so I would imagine that would be his voice…
Quint: But in the book when he has the mask on…
Zack Snyder: You imagine that he's more...
Quint: Yeah and then when he has it off, it's like he literally does lose his identity, like he always seems to be talking just as concise, but without the…
Zack Snyder: The rasp or whatever it is…
Quint: Yeah or whatever that squiggly line is.
Zack Snyder: I love that, because they also refer to it in the most obscure way, so you're not exactly sure. It'll be fun. I don't know, we're going to have to play with and see… but we're certainly aware of it.
Quint: I'm bugging Warner Brothers… I'd love to see the sets.
Zack Snyder: Oh yeah absolutely, it's so fun. My office, I'm going to try to shoot a still for my myspace page in my office up there if they'll let me, because it's like my whole wall is like owl ship, like hovering over the riots… a huge painting like with all of the fires and people rioting and it's like all this crazy… I just sit in there and go like "this is insane…" I had my friend, who's an illustrator, he did a painting for me, because we're doing a series of paintings… sort of just inspirational things that have nothing to do with the movie, but it's a shot of the… you know the Enola Gay?
Quint: Yeah.
Zack Snyder: Well, it's flying away from Hiroshima and you can see the mushroom cloud behind it… it's a beautiful painting, but instead of "Enola Gay," it says "The Ms. Jupiter" on it with a shot of Sally, in her Vargas… it's so cool…
Quint: That's so awesome.
Zack Snyder: It's such a geek out…
And that's it. Not bad for 6 minutes. Got a lot in there.
Still early days yet on this one. Hard to tell how it's going to be, but Snyder has earned some trust and his casting is pretty spot on.
I've done some awesome intervies in the last 18 hours… but I'm so tired. Will post more tomorrow!
Readers Talkbackcomments powered by Disqus
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July 29, 2007, 4 a.m. CST
Release this late in the year!
by ivehadsex
Because if he pulls it off It is an oscar contender. No way it can't be with this source material.
July 29, 2007, 4 a.m. CST
I have total faith in this man.
by ivehadsex
Can't wait to see these characters come to life.
July 29, 2007, 4:07 a.m. CST
Mr Snyder? Please, Please, Please...
by Marwood 1974
...don't fuck this up horribly. Ta.
July 29, 2007, 4:11 a.m. CST
Nice job Quint
by Dolph
But you could have let the voice-change issue drop faster!!!
July 29, 2007, 4:19 a.m. CST
FILMING the pirate comic?
by kiddae
I really don't get that. Will it become a TV show in the narrative? Yes, it has a very strong function in Watchmen (the comic), but it's hardly a NECESSARY part of the story. I'd concentrate more on making sure the endpapers for each issue make it into the movie in some form (TV interviews, documentaries etc.). Some pretty vital info in there.
July 29, 2007, 5:15 a.m. CST
Alot of faith in him now
by messi
As great as Greengrass is. It would have been Greengrass' Watchmen whilst this is shaping up to be Watchmen.
July 29, 2007, 5:18 a.m. CST
Rorschach's voice always sounded like boba fett
by messi
in my head, and reading other boards, it's the same to other people. I'm glad Quint brought it up. Everyone has this idea that Rorschach talks in this monotone drone voice.
July 29, 2007, 5:56 a.m. CST
Yeah, will it be a pirate comic?...
by Dolph
Or will the media change?
July 29, 2007, 6:56 a.m. CST
this is not going to work
by MTXX
This is not going to work out. Snyder is undoubdetly a visual talent, but at heart he's really af 15 year old fanboy, he's SO out of his depth here, he won't be able to handle the humanity of the piece. The Greengrass version sounded much more interesting. Paul Greengrass is a grown up artist with his own unique view of the world. I'll look forward to Greengrass' film about Baghdad's Green Zone, but I have no real interest in an immature fanboy doing a carbon copy of Watchmen. Snyder's only artistic 'vision' seems to be 'it should be just like the book' - I'm sorry, that's not going to work out, unless you got a director who's a genius at handling the human elements. Also, the only way to really capture the eerie atmosphere of the book would be to slow a lot of the key scenes down and do them in a majestic Kubrick-meets-Peter Greenaway style. And you won't have the time to do that unless you make the movie 6 hours long. Snyders film most likely be like the book, except it'll be like like skipping through the book on fast forward.
July 29, 2007, 7:10 a.m. CST
by kwisatzhaderach
Great post. i agree completely. The human interest in 300 was non-existent, completely swamped by the green screens and wooden acting. Greengrass's version would have been something to behold.
July 29, 2007, 7:29 a.m. CST
Would've prefered Greengrass, but....
by lost.rules
We gotta root for Snyder. This will probably be the only Watchmen movie will ever get. I think he's got the right attitude, and enthusiasm for it. I just hope Warner Bros. gives him enough money. Hurm...
July 29, 2007, 7:31 a.m. CST
Oh, and the pirate story isn't pivotal.
by lost.rules
That would be the end papers. So help me God, they better not cut those out. Under the Hood is beautiful writing.
July 29, 2007, 7:58 a.m. CST
Still no confirmation from him on...
by TELF
Who's playing Ozy?

Pretty important, Quint?
July 29, 2007, 8:02 a.m. CST
Make Max Shea an animator...
by Will_Dearborn
and turn the "Black Freighter" stuff into a '60s-style cartoon. Utitlize the different medium.
July 29, 2007, 9:35 a.m. CST
This is the one comic book movie of 2008 I'm dreading.
by rbatty024
Snyder is too much of a meathead to figure out Watchman. The guy takes material and simplifies it to idiocy. I truly hope he stays as close to the source material as possible, because any changes he makes will almost certainly dumb it down.
July 29, 2007, 10:17 a.m. CST
You Idiots. Greengrass' version was too different
by messi
it was on the war on terror and changed too much. Watchmen not Greengrass' watchmen. You got the book anyway if you want the nifty details. I want it played out.
July 29, 2007, 11:17 a.m. CST
Hey Quint
by Phimseto
Any chance you can follow up with Snyder about one point? Snyder said that there'd be a role for Gerard Butler in the Watchmen film but so far...no Gerard Butler! Any chance we'll see him in the pirate sequence?
July 29, 2007, 11:29 a.m. CST
Dead on, rbatty024
by Sandinista
Just look at this Snyder guy speak! He's a complete moron! You know why Alan Moore hates these adaptations? Well for one thing he doesn't sound retarded when he speaks! THIS IS THE GUY THAT'S DIRECTING THE MOST ANTECIPATED COMIC BOOK MOVIE OF ALL TIME: My office, I'm going to try to shoot a still for my myspace page in my office up there if they'll let me, because it's like my whole wall is like owl ship, like hovering over the riots… a huge painting like with all of the fires and people rioting and it's like all this crazy… I just sit in there and go like "this is insane…" This is going to be a veeeery bad movie.
July 29, 2007, 11:31 a.m. CST
Just imagine Alan Moore
by Sandinista
saying "and like, it's insane dude!" and you will know why I think this movie will suck balls.
July 29, 2007, 11:49 a.m. CST
Glad "Sandinista" Isn't Writing The Screenplay
by imrjl
Why not grow up and give Snyder a break?--he obviously takes the material seriously and even if you don't care for the way he speaks, I'll bet he passed Grade 9 English ('cause the word is actually spelled "anticipated", Comic Book Guy). Careful or Jay and Silent Bob will come and getcha...
July 29, 2007, 11:49 a.m. CST
by jfp2007
Watchmen is not the most anticipated comic book movie of all time. Maybe less than 1% of the movie going populace have even heard of it. The only way this movie will succeed at the box office is by having kickass, 300-quality trailers. Those trailers are what brought people into that film, and the super high quality of 300 are what brought them back and started the word of mouth machine. I've read comics for almost 20 years and had never even heard of Watchmen until last year, so the regular movie theater audience isn't going to anticipate anything because none of them have heard of it before. None of them had heard of Sin City or 300 before, either, but those kick ass trailers and/or visual styles are what brought them in (and Sin City was nowhere near as successful as 300 because of the black and white).
July 29, 2007, 11:51 a.m. CST
Snyder's films so far
by Charlie Murphy
have been fun geek fluff, essentially. Watchmen is a whole new beast. Sure, you can be a comic fan and think watchmen is the best thing since sliced bread and sunshine, and sure you can know how to point a camera at good looking people, but that might not make you the best person for this job. That said, if Snyder could FINALLY be the one to get this off the ground, he must be doing something right. Keeping the source material is a must, which he will. The pirate stuff was always interesting, but hardly necessary. The end pieces, however, are a MUST. Having Dave Gibbons working closely instills confidence. I have my hopes and doubts about this one, like I've had for every adaptation ever made. We'll just have to wait and see.
July 29, 2007, 11:55 a.m. CST
Terrible director.
by hypnotron
I don't get the sense this guy is intelligent enough to do justice to the Watchmen. We need a heavy intellect filming this movie. My hopes for it are really, really low. The dialogue in 300 was the most embarrassing I have ever heard in a movie. I am shocked they let this guy loose on Watchmen. The best thing we can hope for now is that WB close down the movie until they find a decent director!
July 29, 2007, 11:59 a.m. CST
by Charlie Murphy
you're exactly right about the trailers. i had a post way back when watchmen was just starting to brew with snyder on board, and i said back then that the marketing will make or break this movie. plain and simple. in the weeks leading up to 300's release, every time i stopped in my LCS, there were guys buying the 300 hardcover. guys who had never stepped foot in a comic shop before. skater guys who asked "do you have 300?" or "is 300 a comic book?" or "I bought 300 thinking it was a novel, but it's actually a comic book!" the point is, those bad ass trailers got people interested enough to seek out the source material. watchmen needs the exact same thing. if people get out there and buy watchmen, they'll know that it's a long, LONG epic, and not a non-stop action romp, and hopefully they'll realize that it's a well-written, beautiful piece of work, and go into the movie expecting such. MARK MY WORDS--- Watchmen's trailers will make or break its box office.
July 29, 2007, 12:17 p.m. CST
september 17th
by erockwilly
its out of our hands and being shot. whew. i don't think anyone should ever make this movie but i'm excited to see it.
July 29, 2007, 12:27 p.m. CST
"his casting is pretty spot on"
by newc0253
really Quint? "spot on"? i know there's a temptation when you want a film to work to believe that the light shines out of the director's ass, but really? maybe the casting of mostly unknowns will work but at this stage it seems hard to say one way or another.
July 29, 2007, 1:11 p.m. CST
Snyder will pwn all of the doubters and haters
by Lando Griffin
Tis true
July 29, 2007, 2:01 p.m. CST
of COURSE the black frigate is cut, are you on crack?
by where_are_quints_hobbit_set_reports
Come on Quint! Great interview, but advocating for the black frigate storyline is madness. Why bust Snyder's balls about that?
July 29, 2007, 2:36 p.m. CST
The black frigate works because of intertextuality
by Gwai Lo
But only in the comic. It's stuff like black freighter that makes Watchmen a meta-comic, or post-modern, or whatever.. It comments on the medium.. There are equivalents you could use in film (like having little clips from a serial) but with so much material to cover I wonder why bother?
July 29, 2007, 2:46 p.m. CST
by monsterforge
Holy crap... yeah. I had never really thought of Waits as Rorschach's voice, but that really hits the nail on the head. And yeah, he does look just effed up enough to be a crazy guy under a hood. HRMMMM.
July 29, 2007, 5:48 p.m. CST
fuck the Pirate story
by Rupee88
I'm the biggest Watchmen fan out there, or close, but I think it'd be retarded to try to put the pirate story in there. It is an obvious move and thank goodness they are going this route.
July 29, 2007, 8:34 p.m. CST
I was at The Watchmen Pannel...
by Redfive!
The only thing synder said that I didnt agree with is Billy Crudups face would be CGd into a CGI Manhattan...Via Davy Jones. If anything Manhattan NEEDS to look like the character in the book via Silver Surfer NOTHING ELSE.
July 29, 2007, 10:14 p.m. CST
What happened to Tom Jane
by #1 Zero
The AICN post about the casting of this said that the Comedian was played by the guy that Katherine Heigl fell in love with on Grey's Anatomy who in turn died about a year ago. To me that is just weird casting, people talk about the trailers and advertising being important but I think you need some at least well known actor to star. Jackie Earl Haley compared to the rumors or demand of Paddy Considine and Simon Pegg is also a bit of a leap.
July 29, 2007, 10:23 p.m. CST
"I'm so tired..."
by Bronx Cheer
Damn it, every time I read one of Quint's stories he's whining about lack of sleep. Take a fucking nap or strap on a sack, man! Quit yer moanin'!
July 29, 2007, 10:49 p.m. CST
pirate story can go.
by captainCAPSLOCK
complain all you want, but you know it's true...a feature film will work out fine without it. i'd rather they found a way to work in the extra news-style stories at the end of each issue.
July 29, 2007, 11:01 p.m. CST
Rorschach's voice: N. Grantham Zombie from Creepshow
by xavier masterson
But with a bit of a hiss and a little less gurgle.
July 29, 2007, 11:20 p.m. CST
I liked 300
by Bass Ackwards
But its hard to get behind Snyder, I mean 300 was basically him seeing Sin City, jumping up and going "What Frank Miller comic can I do that with?!" He still made a cool film sure, but between remaking a film and riding the coattails of Rodriguez and Miller its hard to have a lot of faith in him as a creative force. Adapting Moore is gonna be a lot tougher than Miller, I'm just hoping Snyder's got it in him.
July 30, 2007, 12:19 a.m. CST
Streaming audio from the WATCHMEN roundtable:
by TheRealRatigan
Questions can be hard to make out in places, but worth listening to for the answers, as Snyder touches on a lot.
 http://www.comingsoon.net/audio/snyderwatchmen.mp3
July 30, 2007, 12:21 a.m. CST
by TheRealRatigan
Snyder confirms the cast here, including Goode as Veidt, but the post linking to this file at SHH! was dated Friday, so something may have changed before the panel on Saturday.
July 30, 2007, 4:08 a.m. CST
Ingmar Bergman has passed away!
by Rasputin77
July 30, 2007, 4:10 a.m. CST
by messi
if 300 had the worst dialogue you have ever heard then you need to watch more films you fucking idiot.
July 30, 2007, 4:11 a.m. CST
Charlie Murphy
by messi
Most trailers make or break any movie. What you mean to say, is that the trailers will be the deciding factor in HOW big the movie is. Like 300. The reason why 300 was a mega opening was because of the trailers.
July 30, 2007, 7:27 a.m. CST
by hypnotron
If you think 300 is good dialogue - you need to watch more films you fucking idiot.
July 30, 2007, 9:12 a.m. CST
Your argument has no merit dumb cunt
by messi
i never said it had good dialogue. but you say it's the worst dialogue you ever heard, i could hundreds of movies with worse and truly atrocious dialogue. that means you need to watch more movies. think you fucking dickhead.
July 30, 2007, 10:18 a.m. CST
Re: Messi - The Revenge
by hypnotron
Soap operas have better dialogue than 300, network TV shows have better dialogue than 300. 300 had no depth whatsoever, it was a shallow and vapid piece of eye candy. I do however think Snyder would be a fantastic director of commercials. The acting in 300 was abysmal and devoid of emotion. The only vision Snyder had for that movie was eye candy and in that sense it succeeded. I don't want Watchmen to become a movie of stilted dialogue spoken with little conviction and compensated for with lavish action sequences. I would rather the set pieces played down and all the real effort go into capturing the subtle themes and making the performances do justice to Alan Moore's great work. Ideally Ridley Scott would have been helming this movie. Still if 300 a proxy by which you defend good writing, there is no point me further responding to anything you say. You function on a low frequency.
July 30, 2007, 11:10 a.m. CST
Black Freighter as dream sequence...(spoilers)
by Kevin Holsinger
This is the way I've long thought the Black Freighter could be handled...Dr. Long (guy who analyzes Rorshach) is repeatedly meeting with a mystery figure (voice is distorted, and this person is never shown on screen)who is having the same nightmare over and over again. The Black Freighter tale is the nightmare.

 Over the story, Dr. Long's patient discusses the dream. Then you get to the end. Ozymandias hints to Dr. Manhattan that he's been having this dream about the Freighter, and anyone with reasonable intelligence in the audience realizes he was the one talking to Dr. Long.

 This all becomes incredibly ironic because Ozymandias is having nightmares due to guilt over the massacre he's about to cause...a massacre that involves the death of the very psychologist he's telling the dream to.

 The last time you see the Freighter is when Nite Owl II is dreaming about it, due to his guilt over covering up for Ozymandias and rationalizing the murder of Rorshach (who gets shot by Greedo, if memory serves).
July 30, 2007, 11:38 a.m. CST
Well I'm NOT writing the screenplay
by Sandinista
and so what if I fucked up "anticipated", at least I won't be fucking up Watchmen. And don't get me wrong, I want this thing to work, and I was confident just about till I heard this moron Snyder speaking. And to the guy who's been reading comics for 20 years and never heard about Watchmen till last year, well, sorry dude, but have you been reading the wrong comics!
July 30, 2007, 2:23 p.m. CST
by ludmir88
July 30, 2007, 4:55 p.m. CST
It's pointless to expect the film to be perfect...
by Brundlefly
'Watchmen' is, as Alan Moore has stated, written expressly for the comic medium. Moore has gone on record as saying that it's unfilmable. That's not to say that a good film couldn't be formed out of the elements in the graphic novel but even if Jesus directed the fucking thing, I doubt it's going to satisfy all the fanboys. 'Watchmen' is one of my all-time favourites but I simply don't expect Snyder to nail it completely. There's always going to be some element that was unfairly left out or badly handled in the translation to screen. That said, I have every bit of faith in the fact that Snyder will give it his all. Personally I think that the Black Freighter stuff won't work in a film narrative - again because Moore didn't write it intending for it to function as a cinematic plot device. The comic is unfilmable but that's not to say that it can't be made into something else, something that's a DIFFERENT interpretation but also great. I just hope Snyder doesn't interpret the comic as a shitty half-assed, film noir 'X MEN'....
July 30, 2007, 5:03 p.m. CST
12 Part HBO TV Show
by hypnotron
That would make it filmable and the Black Freighter could easily be included in each episode... I seriously think it would have been a better approach, they could have got Snyder in to direct one of the episodes, maybe the Mars section. It is such a shame they didn't do it this way, with production values as high as Rome.
July 30, 2007, 10:57 p.m. CST
Did they have to holler that much in 300?
by Doc_Strange
Every single piece of dialogue was yelled or screamed. I dreaded every time there was a moment of silence it would be followed by uncontrolled yelling. "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!". That was the whole movie. That and too much man ass. Lame.
July 31, 2007, 7:49 a.m. CST
Cloverfield/01-18-08 teaser poster up
by themanlikedavestrikesback
Head on over to www.empireonline.com to check it out. Good job AICN is on the ball isnt it.
July 31, 2007, 8:57 a.m. CST
by Cobbio
"300" was a fantastic film, in my opinion, mostly for its vivid artwork and beautifully filmed action sequences. Snyder's cost-conscious attention to detail propelled the movie past even the most optimistic projections, which was great, and with the DVD coming out today, even more so.
 Snyder seems like a smart and humble guy who makes good decisions. I'm excited for "Watchmen."
July 31, 2007, 9:01 a.m. CST
Re: hypnotron
by Cobbio
You can complain about the dialogue in "300" all you want, but about 50 percent of it was taken from Frank Miller's graphic novel, so you're basically saying Frank Miller's dialogue sucks.
 Which I think many people here would have a problem with, including me.
July 31, 2007, 9:21 a.m. CST
A glimmer of hope...
by Bloody Jay
"300" captured the tone and content of the graphic novel almost exactly, where he wasn't adding new content (which was the only problem with that movie). This was because "300" is an extremely short graphic novel - Snyder didn't have much to work with. Watchmen has enough content to fill probably two feature-length movies. Additionally, I get heart from the fact that he said this movie would be more "Se7en" than "Sin City". If he was going to make it action-oriented, he wouldn't have said that.
July 31, 2007, 11:22 a.m. CST
Frank Miller's dialogue sucks.
by hypnotron
Not even 50% of the dialogue in 300 was good. Maybe the most pointless comic adaption of all time. Luckily Alan Moore writes great dialogue! I do want this film to be good, I have been a Watchmen fan for decades...300 inspires no confidence in me that this guy can do a good job. I think he will make it look good, but if it is anywhere near the superficiality of 300 this serves no purpose.
July 31, 2007, 12:50 p.m. CST
hypno, I wouldn't say Frank Miller's dialogue sucks...
by Transmetropolitan
If you have a problem with 300 then that is fine, but what about the dialogue in the sin city novels, or DKR... his new stuff sucks but Miller is a good guy who wrote some good stuff.
July 31, 2007, 1:06 p.m. CST
fuck, this movie is gonna suck
by BurgerKing
Snyder is great visually, but his movies lack depth, you can't argue that so far. Most of the interviews he does he just blatently says "I don't know" to a lot of the important questions, like what Rorschach sounds like, how can you cast someone if you don't know what kind of character you want? On visuals alone? Snyder doesn't seem to know much about what he's planning to do, he seems to just think "well, when production starts, we'll figure it out then" he should be getting a grasp on this in pre-production before he's overwhelmed with this project during production. The pirate story isn't super important, but adds alot of the drama and mirroring chaos between those two worlds, the end papers reveal alot of the background, and they will likely be cut too. If not, we can just hope for some flashbacks or something. Also, I have a question: are they making this based on David Hayters script? Please say yes, because if it's as amazing as they say it is, they better not dare make a Watchmen movie without it.
July 31, 2007, 1:10 p.m. CST
mars and antarctica still in?
by BurgerKing
I read a Snyder interview somewhere else where I thought he said Mars and Antarctica were cut, I couldn't believe this to be true, could anyone else confirm/deny?
July 31, 2007, 1:25 p.m. CST
by hypnotron
You are right, I loved DKR as much as Killing Joke! I care so much that this film is good to the point of not wanting it to be made if it isn't going to do justice to the original work. 300 was the least important of the comic adaptions, Watchmen, to my mind, is the most important of them all. It has great depth, requires intelligence to appreciate and the greatest pay-offs in the comic are dramatic, in my humble opinion.
Aug. 1, 2007, 1:07 a.m. CST
Give this fucker a break, already.
by micturatingbenjamin
Jesus the Jew. Everyone calm down, get yourself some clams casino, and check the temp gauge here. I saw 300 in IMAX...The story was light, but who the fuck cares, when it the plot is essentially all to set up the battle scene, setting up the conflict? All of the dialogue, the backstory, and the 'raped politics' sub-plot all seem to serve the whole KICKASS WAR SCENES.
I read the comic. It's a great comic visually, and the story is pretty much the same. Miller's art accentuating a balls-to-the-wall battle. Both get the job done without being the 'greatest thing' either medium has ever seen.
Snyder's not a bad director. He knows what to spend money on when the story calls for style over substance.
Give the guy a fucking break, here. If all you ever saw from Sam Raimi was fucking CrimeWave, would YOU trust him with fucking Spider-Man? Fuck no. Snyder's new, give him a fucking break, already. I have faith because the guy's enthusiastic about the flick enough to want to share it.
300's dialogue fucking OWNS Batman and Robin's. I mean, shit. And, secondly, We're a month out from the principal photography, which I suspect will be the effects heavy shit, giving this guy some time to decide on what Rorshach is gonna sound like...I think using an anaolg of fucking Moore's reading (Snyder's suggestion, BTW) sounds like the guy has a good fucking head on his shoulders.
Long story short: Give the guy a fucking break, already.
Aug. 1, 2007, 3:34 a.m. CST
its actually going to happen
by hank quinlan
Wow. They're making it. And no. Im not pumped. They should never make this movie. I liked Dawn of the Dead. 300 didnt blow me away like everyone else. I think Snyder is a smart guy with some talent. But its always the same way you feel when they make your favorite book into a movie. Its forever attached to it. And usually thats what people think of it. Frankly, that cast didn't get me excited. I think there was some thought put into it. But besides Wilson as Night OWl nobody else felt right. Haley is NOT how I pictured Rorshach. If anything he looks TOO seedy. Hey im glad for the guy. Who would have EVER thought he's get such a comeback. But Rorscach wasn't a scum bag and he had an inner strength. For all his amorality, he is ultimately the voice of justice in the story. This movie is going to break my hear isn't it? Just watching it...knowing its good but not great. I'll give Snyder a shot. I hope he knocks it out of the park but...
Aug. 1, 2007, 8:35 a.m. CST
Not that impressive for 6 minutes.
by Jakes Nel
We find out there's probably no pirate story and Snyder doesn't know what to do with Rorschach's voice. Wow. Oh, and Zack's having fun... I like the guy. I liked 300. But Greengrass would have been a better choice, and less concerned with what's 'cool'.
Aug. 1, 2007, 8:46 a.m. CST
Oh, and folks...
by Jakes Nel
...let's just all make peace with the fact that the film will not (and cannot) be the same as the book. Moore's work is very literary in nature (unlike Miller). Changes will have to be made. It has to be a good film first, and a good adaptation second.
Aug. 1, 2007, 2:34 p.m. CST
I dunno Jakes....
by Damned if I can login
I would venture that the film really can't be good unless the adaptation is good....and if one considers the machine's track record with adaptations, the bad *far* outweigh the good.
I'll betcha a hundred bucks this one will fall in to the latter category. Just too complex of a story to be subjected to the normal adaptation process of dumbing things down to the lowest common denominator.
It needs a giant spider....yeah....and some polar bears fighting with a buncha robots....yeah....
Aug. 1, 2007, 5:12 p.m. CST
Yo, Jakes
by micturatingbenjamin
Hey, I think he said he hasn't decided on what to do not 'he doesn't know' what to do. Big difference. It's the difference between 'I don't know if I want pizza or hamburgers for lunch' or 'What do I want on my pizza?' The fact is, he wants to do something that's reminiscent of Alan Moore's READING of Rorshach. Can't do much better, in my honest O.
And to the guy who doesn't think Rorshach's a fricking creep, dude...He's the son of a prostitute, a dirt bag...a PSYCHOTIC dirt bag whose targets just so happen to be the evil elements of society. He was 'Dexter' before there was a Dexter. I think the guy looks goofy enough to elicit the same reaction in the books when Rorshach goes to prison.
 A sequence that MUST live up to the book to cement Rorshach in the minds of the movie going public. If Snyder understands that the telling of the tale in the comic was designed to showcase the venue of comics as well as tell a kickass story, we won't end up with another FROM HELL. Which was a good movie, but lacking the touch of a director like Peter Jackson who obsesses over the material, and wants to do right by the fans.
I wish this guy the best of luck, but I agree that this comic was NEVER designed to be a movie. Let's see what happens. You know the V for Vendetta movie boosted sales of the comic by quite a bit, maybe it will do the same for Watchmen.
Aug. 1, 2007, 11:08 p.m. CST
Fucking forums without any preview functionality...
by Damned if I can login
I just realised that I fucked up (yet again) when I said the adaptation would fall into the "latter category". Should've said the "former", or "first", or whatever would've implied the BAD adaptation category. Fuck me man...and double fuck this project...which is gonna make a buncha assholes gazillions of $$$$ but will do very little (or no) justice to a brilliant piece of comics history.
Do I sound like a stupid fanboy? GOOD! I hope so. Cause I just can't help it...the word "shitfest" just keeps coming to mind no matter what.
Aug. 1, 2007, 11:18 p.m. CST
Hey Micting-Benj....
by Damned if I can login
I agree when you say it was never designed to be a movie. But I *could* see it as mini-series that allows the exploration of the many subleties of the original.
And this is what boggles the mind...why the frag does a piece'o shite like "Taken" get the ulta-long mini series treatment when it could've been told in a 2-hr format, and something like Watchmen which *screams* for the multi-episode treatment gets the short version?????
Squeek, I *tell* you...mind boggling it is.
Once again...CASH.
"Hey we can make a whole lotta dough...fuck making something that could be brilliant...$$$$$$$$...."
Aug. 2, 2007, 4:01 a.m. CST
Carrot Top!!!
by nerdator
The only dude ugly enough to play Kovacs/Rorshach! Seriously...I think the pirate story/newsstand vignettes/under the hood segments would be better served as an "animatrix" style dvd released in anticipation of the movie. Then they could be intercut seamlessly in the ultra-geek-director's-cut edition of the DVD.
Aug. 3, 2007, 5:22 a.m. CST
hypnotron you fucking idiot
by messi
must be the only one in the world that thinks that soap operas have better dialogue than 300, 300 was supposed to be a tough guy movie, thats where all the yelling comes from, but you're probably a fat cunt pansy, it made you feel like one. I enjoyed the movie and NEVER said it had great writing, just that it wasn't as bad as you make it out to be which in your opinion was 'worst ever' meaning there is nothing worse than it, and that just is not true. Grabs some balls and stop being a dumb cunt.
Aug. 3, 2007, 1:59 p.m. CST
Not as excited by this as I was...
by Pawprint
Now that I have seen the cast.
 All too young I'm afraid. The guy who's playing Rorschach is frankly bollocks...
Aug. 3, 2007, 8:50 p.m. CST
by hypnotron
Low fucking frequency.
Aug. 3, 2007, 8:50 p.m. CST
by hypnotron
Low fucking frequency.
Aug. 3, 2007, 9:40 p.m. CST
thank god zach works in a VISUAL medium...
by robzass
...because I saw him at comicon and he is not very good with words. In fact I can almost bet money he failed English in highschool.
Aug. 4, 2007, 10:02 p.m. CST
I wish this was a 2-D animated series, not a film
by kirttawesomio
I think it would be great as an anime but not in the typical anime style, in Dave Gibbons style. His drawing style is perfect for animation. If you broke each book up into two episode you'd get a full season of 24 episodes. It could be a word for word translation of the book. Which, I think, it deserves. I don't think the 1.5-2.5 hour format fits Watchmen. Snyder will be forced to water it down.
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text:
Washington Papers Consolidated Index | G | Greene, Ray
From Edmund Randolph, 11 January 1794 [Presidential Series 15:56]+
– id. [1 reference]
– appointed to office [2 references]
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