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Arr! TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER gets a green-light! The WATCHMAN DVD is already bad@$$!!!

sound cool by keekthesneek	Oct 31st, 2007 05:55:59 AM

I like this news by batmans_pants	Oct 31st, 2007 06:02:36 AM
although I don'y think that the Black freighter story may be too much for the general cinema going puiblic in terms of time issues and pacing. But as an additional feature on the DVD, to watch the Watchmen in it's entirety will be super-cool for those who love the book - myself included.
The Watchmen by hechtal	Oct 31st, 2007 06:07:55 AM
I am pleased by this.
It won't be in the movie... Where's the good news? by Cotsos	Oct 31st, 2007 06:09:27 AM
What's the point of making it, of you're not going to put it inside the movie...
oh good by bob oblaw	Oct 31st, 2007 06:18:46 AM
at least it'll be filmed!
Great news ... except for the studio by chrth	Oct 31st, 2007 06:35:44 AM
Because all the geeks are going to skip the bigscreen and wait for the DVD.
Good news but get it in the movie!!! by Evil Hobbit	Oct 31st, 2007 06:36:24 AM
That would be spectacular!
They just didn't want to show a little black kid reading... by seppukudkurosawa	Oct 31st, 2007 06:37:28 AM
I know their game. Fuck 'em, the rascist bastards.......... The main thing is that they keep the Doc Manhattan on Mars section intact, that's the key to the movie.
That's awesome by Mockingbuddha	Oct 31st, 2007 06:38:01 AM
But I still want to see the books ending filmed, I agree that it would be nearly impossible, but if it was done right imagine the pay off! Just the sheer craziness of it. I can remember the first time I read Watchmen, when Doc M gets to Manhattan at the end, the feeling was just amazing horror. To me the whole thing is cheapened if you take that out.
Shouldn't it be animated? by PackyMcCracken	Oct 31st, 2007 06:49:02 AM
Really, in the context of translating a graphic novel into a file, the "comic-within-the-comic" should be an animated cartoon.
file = film by PackyMcCracken	Oct 31st, 2007 06:50:12 AM
why isn't there an edit feature here?
Good by Knuckleduster	Oct 31st, 2007 07:09:21 AM
My trust in Snyder is growing like a penis in Jessica Alba's presence. Well, until I see the first production stills or trailer; then I'll probably be disappointed again...
They can't put it in the movie by mascan42	Oct 31st, 2007 07:14:11 AM
unless they want the movie to be over 3 hours long. It's the most tangential storyline, and thus the easiest to cut for running time. Would you prefer they left that in, and cut out something more central to the main story?
Beat me to it, PackyMcCracken . . . by Nice Marmot	Oct 31st, 2007 07:28:21 AM
. . . the fans know it's a comic within a comic. Why would it be live action, just like the rest of the movie? Should be animated. And I would bet anything we'll be able to see it included in the movie on the DVD. Funny, I can't help but think of Tom Bombadill and the scouring of the Shire. Would freak to find out those were actually filmed.
Works Better As A DVD Extra by Sean38	Oct 31st, 2007 08:07:34 AM
Including the Black Freighter stuff on the DVD is perfect. It'll give you a REASON to buy the DVD (aside from owning the movie) and it'll keep that segment from bogging down the film, which, let's face it, it would. Works GREAT in the graphic novel, but not everything that worked in the novel would work in the movie.
more accord for Packy by vaterite	Oct 31st, 2007 08:41:36 AM
I'm not sure that Kill Bill Style anime would work well for the tone of the piece, but maybe something more like an animated Howard Pyle painting. And hey, if Zack's fighting for it, I'm sure they can work it into the story in surprising ways I'm not original enough to figure out.
Both DVD versions out at the same time. by UltimaRex	Oct 31st, 2007 09:12:52 AM
Both DVD versions out at the same time. Both DVD versions out at the same time. You hear me, WB? BOTH DVD'S! AT THE SAME TIME!!!
Oh great...WATCHMEN gets a pod-race sequence by JeffManSixtyFo	Oct 31st, 2007 09:21:05 AM
FEH
Looks like Gerard Butler will have some free time... by Abin Sur	Oct 31st, 2007 09:30:06 AM
I think we've found our pirate.
Alan Moore has probably already denounced this by SpyGuy	Oct 31st, 2007 09:40:54 AM
Honestly, is there anything that could make that guy happy?
will this movie work? by Gatsbys West Egg Omlet	Oct 31st, 2007 10:06:36 AM
seems to me that in order to have mass appeal (sell tickets), they will have to change/shorten/lighten up/increase the action of the story. and therfore they will loose the built in geek audience that a movie like this should be made for. i'm hopeful, but i won't be suprised if this ends up tanking, one way or another.
"I wonder how much money Warners is going to put into this segme by halcyonseven	Oct 31st, 2007 10:31:41 AM
$25. Whoop-de-fuckin'-do.
You don't need the Black Freighter in the movie at all by slone13	Oct 31st, 2007 10:45:53 AM
And fuck Alan Moore. The guy's turning into moore and moore of a grumpy asshole every day.
SpyGuy by seppukudkurosawa	Oct 31st, 2007 10:47:38 AM
While I agree that he makes Scrooge seem sparky at the best of times, you can't deny that he's been given short thrift when it comes to adaptations of his work. From Hell, a work so dense and unique, that Moore even went to the lengths of reading entire books simply to research a minute detail on the corner of a single panel, had its balls cut off by the brothers Hughes. Maybe if they showed Heather Graham with a few more missing teeth, they might have been on to something, but instead we got a Hammer Horror Whodunnit version of Alan Moore's masterpiece. It wouldn't even be fair of me to point out what a momentous fuck-up The League of Gentleman movie was, either. I don't know why people get all snarky at Alan Moore's disappointment in the adaptations of his work. Even if Jeff Smax were turned into a lunchbox or something, it still reflects on the guy who created the character. Why the fuck should Moore simply play dumb when his work's being desecrated? Sure, he shouldn't have signed the release forms, but maybe he wants more people to read his work- it's not like he's the only artist to ever have suffered from that condition. The fact is, Zack Snyder is NOT the right man to bring Watchmen to the screen. If that sounds like fanboy whiney bitching, then so be it. Sure, he seems to genuinely dig the material, but if enthusiasm always translated into a good movie, then most of us rabid fanboys would have a Lawrence of Arabia or Citizen Kane under our belt by now.
seppukudkurosawa by Knuckleduster	Oct 31st, 2007 11:19:05 AM
I absolutely agree. Moore has been fucked over so many times it's a disgrace. Even V For Vendetta (while a better attempt than From Hell and that shitheap called "LXG") wasn't what it was supposed to be. The truth is that Moore's work is far too literary and will always be best appreciated in its original form. His comics just aren't as cinematic in design as someone like Frank Miller's. Of couse that doesn't mean it's impossible to make a goos Moore adaptation, but look at the directors involved so far; the guy who made Blade, the Hughes brothers, the man who was assistant director on the Matrix movies and now Snyder? I enjoyed 300, but Watchmen seems way beyond him. Hope I'm wrong, though.
When I say "goos Moore adaptation"... by Knuckleduster	Oct 31st, 2007 11:28:20 AM
...I actually mean good Moore adaptation. It's my own little secret code. really...
You know what I'd love to see by Bloo	Oct 31st, 2007 11:32:16 AM
in a futrue League book, Tom Swayer, hanging upside down, gutted not that I hate tom Sawyer, he's probably one of my favorite literary char. and no offense to Shane West who did a great job in that role in the movie, but it just didn't work for the league I'd also like to see Don Murphy hanging upside down, gutted...in comic book or real life, wouldn't bother me either way
Folks. You are missing the bad news here. by NoahTall	Oct 31st, 2007 11:41:15 AM
Warner Bros loves the stuff they've seen coming out of production so far. That means a wisecracking Owl is cruising through the city blowing up criminals cars with his "Owl Cannon". Meanwhile Manhattan has saved a reporter who was falling from an airliner whose wing he just welded back on with his "Radiation Vision" If this movie were anything like the book then the studio would be threatening to pull funding because "Audiences don't want to see a bunch of old people talking about some other old person that was killed. They want action, explosions, and sex."
Hrrmm by General Crom	Oct 31st, 2007 11:44:19 AM
So someone said that they wouldn't be filming the end of the movie- who said this? That's the whole story- how can they not film the end with the giant monster in the city? Americans actually HAD the fucking watchmen happen to them- only on a smaller scale. I would hope that the movie draws those parrallels.
Why anybody thinks this will be good is beyond me by WWBD	Oct 31st, 2007 12:22:18 PM
Zach Snyder has never directed anything of depth. In fact when he adapts material of depth he has a history of dumbing it out (Dawn of the Dead).
Why the ending is good and bad by badboymason	Oct 31st, 2007 12:33:33 PM
It was great at the time, but hasnt history proved that a huge catastrophe in downtown NY DIDN'T unite the world - so the moral ambiguity would be lost today...
Really nicely said, Knuckleduster. by seppukudkurosawa	Oct 31st, 2007 12:45:13 PM
If a creator-centric medium like comics can barely contain Moore (see the last issue of Promethea), then I don't expect a movie adaptation to do the job. Still, like you said, it all depends on the talent involved. So far, the scripts involved have just made a muddy mess of adapting his work (V for Vendetta, though admittedly, it did [i]try[/i]), or otherwise simplified out even the most basic of allegories he was gunning for (From Hell). What an Alan Moore adaptation really needs is a script written by someone as literate and knowledgeable as Alan Moore. You know who I recommend? Why not the great Druid himself? In reality, it'd probably end up being rewritten by some MOR Hollywood hack with a CV full of daytime TV, and also Moore's more likely to write twenty more books about Northampton than venture within a thousand miles of Hollywood, but it's always fun to imagine.
try by seppukudkurosawa	Oct 31st, 2007 12:46:17 PM

try by seppukudkurosawa	Oct 31st, 2007 12:46:21 PM

Damn cpu blitzing out on me again by seppukudkurosawa	Oct 31st, 2007 12:47:16 PM

"Great Subplot?" Really? by comedian_x	Oct 31st, 2007 01:39:21 PM
I skim over these sections every time I read it -- it grinds the comic to a halt.
Black Freighter will get the 300 treatment by Sad_Lieutenant	Oct 31st, 2007 01:50:18 PM
Slow-Mo, G. Butler, the works.
Casting the sailor by DEZDOONZ	Oct 31st, 2007 03:19:46 PM
I wonder if Gerard Butler could squeeze this role into his busy schedule. I think it'd be cool to see he and Snyder collaborating again, since missing out on playing the Comedian.
badboymason Spoilers by Neo Zeed	Oct 31st, 2007 03:23:34 PM
Spoilers. Of course, the catasphrophe in 9/11, didn't unite the world because it originated from this world. The ending to Watchman is brilliant because the threat intended to unite us all would not even come from world or look anything resembling human. For the first time humanity will set aside it's differences and be united by common enemy and fear. Even that silly movie Independence Day knew this.
RE: SNYDER IS THE WRONG DIRECTOR by DEZDOONZ	Oct 31st, 2007 03:34:00 PM
Maybe you guys are right. I was looking forward to Watchmen a whole lot more when Paul Greengrass was attached. And all the talk of rewrites has me worried. But, having enjoyed his Dawn of the Dead remake and 300, I think Snyder quite capable of giving us a film the honors Moore's and Gibbons' books while at the same time offering us something new; something that is not a shot for shot, panel for panel, word for word interpretation. I mean, I've already read the book.
badboymason ...oh yeah, and SPOILER by TheLordYourGod	Oct 31st, 2007 04:55:15 PM
I don't think that the turn of events since 9/11 has necessarily disproved the idea of unity. At the end of Watchmen, the newspaper publishers still clearly harbor resentment towards the Russians, saying they're "not allowed to say anything bad about their good ol' buddies the Russians." Just like in the real world, people united for a short time and then resentment grew.
awesome and unheard of, Snyder's the man by pipergates	Oct 31st, 2007 06:30:55 PM
who can actually make the comics into movies without having to "adapt" the material...if he can do Watchmen justice i wouldn't mind having him film the Incal. Or a real Judge Dredd movie. with Vinnie Jones, never taking his helmet off.
Anybody see the "Heavenly Sword" promo animations? by MCVamp	Oct 31st, 2007 07:06:48 PM
It was done in a pretty cool stylized CG, a 2D format with stark, bold lines and shadow. Very effective. Not sure where you'd see them if you didn't have a PS3. Anyway, that style could work for TOTBF and it might be relatively inexpensive to boot.
I know this is supposed to be 'for the fans' by Monkey Butler	Nov 1st, 2007 01:11:58 AM
and everything, but judging by this TB I'm not alone in thinking The Black Freighter was basically useless to the story of the comic. I know you're always going to have people that want every single panel filmed, but why not just have Viedt monologue the story to Dr M at the end? He mentions it briefly in the comic anyway, and having it spelled out like that would make much more sense on film. The problem with filming Watchmen at all is that so much of the appeal of the comic lies in the detail. All the 'behind the mask' stuff and the metafiction about the Black Freighter and the missing scientists just wouldn't work on film, not to mention all the symmetry of panels and stuff. Sure you can put the plot of Watchmen up on screen, but you can't put The Watchmen.
THE BLACK FREIGHTER WAS NOT USELESS by PervOmatic	Nov 1st, 2007 01:28:00 AM
Did you even read the fucking book? It was an allusion to the events taking place in the "real" world. Jesus fucking Christ on a turbo powered rocket sled, you don't even understand the fucking book itself.
Yes, it's plainly obvious that it was a parallel by Monkey Butler	Nov 1st, 2007 04:59:07 PM
to the main narrative. That doesn't make it useful in any way. Oh look, the caption from The Black Freighter fits into the 'real world' panel! Still shit.
"instead we got a Hammer Horror Whodunnit version of Alan Moore' by Immortal_Fish	Nov 1st, 2007 07:55:00 PM
...because it was more accessible to make money (despite whether or not it did). I don't like it any more than you, seppukudkurosawa. Decisions like this turned a 60-something, 5-foot, ugly person into a 6-foot, 30-something, chick magnet (X-Men's Wolverine played by Jackman) and the masses expect me to swallow how Singer was 'faithful' and the first two X-flicks were 'faithful' too. Sorry your pet adaptation was warped. Par for the course where comics are concerned.
The analogy is weighty because... by Immortal_Fish	Nov 1st, 2007 08:02:11 PM
You have to remember that this is an alternate reality where "real" superheroes took to the streets, which led to comic books being nothing like we know them now. Comics in that time stream were not about masked vigilante crime fighters. That it was an allusion/comparison/parallel to the Watchmen miniseries story being told was quite an innovative stretch, especially for the time it was published. PS: I think Moore is overrated, so do with the above what you will.

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Arr! TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER gets a green-light! The WATCHMAN DVD is already bad@$$!!!

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