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Watchmen movie news

 
  

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PatrickMM
05:09 / 19.07.08
Re: The Dialogue, it's not so much the lines themselves as the delivery. It feels very much like the 300 make every line an anthem style of speaking, and not like the way people outside of a movie speak. But, you're right, it is only two lines, so it may be a bit early to jump to conclusions.
 
 
Keith, like a scientist
05:25 / 19.07.08
oh my. Everyone needs to see this trailer on the big screen. It's pretty epic in a theater. And... I kid you not, the atmosphere of the music works perfectly with it. I was really impressed. The theater just hums.

I can only hope they keep that atmosphere through the entire film.
 
 
The Natural Way
09:36 / 19.07.08
Some of the visuals are really nice, particularly the kissing and the Mars stuff, but I have to disagree with Cameron - I think you can judge the film on the basis of those few lines of dialogue, because we've already seen one stupid, hammy film by this guy already, and the actor's delivery is dead on on that count. It's hard-boiled to the point of parody. And I hate all that slo-mo fight scene shit. And does the Smashing Pumpkins' track presage a score littered with rock music? And...

I just think the things I hated about 300 will dog this film too. Overwrought, MTVified, teenage bollocks.
 
 
This Sunday
09:48 / 19.07.08
When has preview music ever meant a thing to the film? Seriously?

Most major studio films, the preview has a borrowed score. It's pop music or it's Elfman or Williams. There are, what, eight films a year who have previews set to music from Nightmare Before Christmas? Doesn't mean it's going to appear in the film.
 
 
Jack Fear
11:20 / 19.07.08
Actually—to be 100% serious for a moment—I think the preview music is a very smart choice. Using a musical cue that's indelibly associated with another superhero film—in fact with one that exemplifies all that's worst about the genre—shows us, I think, that Snyder's got more on his mind than a straight adaptation of WATCHMEN the comic; such a thing would, frankly, be both impossible and pointless, given that much of the impact of WATCHMEN the comic stems from its use of the format.

What Snyder's doing, I think—I hope—is using the tropes of the superhero movie to comment on the superhero-movie genre. The sculpted-rubber costumes—very different from the costumes in the comic, but very like the costumes ubiquitous in other superhero movies—seem like more evidence of this. Using the Smahing Pumpkins track would seem to inidicate further that WATCHMEN the movie is going to be about superhero movies, in the same way that WATCHMEN the comic was about superhero comics—i.e., a satirical deconstruction of the subgenre.

(P.S. to Adam A.: There's the way to hate on BATMAN AND ROBIN, by the way: If you say "It was a crass, lazy hackwork, reeking of cynicism," that just shows that you've got working eyes and a functional critical sense. If, on the other hand, your stated reason for hating the film is "ZOMG Teh Ghey cootiez!!!1!", it tends to show you in a less-flattering light. Just sayin'.)
 
 
This Sunday
11:43 / 19.07.08
is using the tropes of the superhero movie to comment on the superhero-movie genre

He's mentioned that as a specific intent, already, hasn't he? As well as doing History of Popular Film?
 
 
netbanshee
12:13 / 19.07.08
I think that we all have to hold into account that Watchmen is also a complete unknown to much of the public sitting down and seeing the trailer for the first time. Unfortunate as that is, I think that the trailer did a good job of touching on some moments from the story and provided visuals that were appealing to both diehard fans and newcomers.

Case in point, when I went to see The Dark Knight, I could hear some comments from some post-high school kids behind our group wondering out loud what this movie was. What's this? No instantly recognizable characters? Looks a little campy. What's that weird spaceship thing coming up from the river? Things like that.

A few people from our group turned around and urged them to read the graphic novel before the film hits and even said that as good as the Batman film we were about to see probably is, it's story won't compare to this one.

Those dozen shorts that clay bear mentioned sound great. Hopefully they will enroll newcomers into this world and get them thinking a bit more critically about what a comic book narrative can be.
 
 
CameronStewart
14:06 / 19.07.08
Using a musical cue that's indelibly associated with another superhero film

See, this I think is a bit of a reach. I didn't even recognize the song at all when I heard it, let alone make an association with Batman and Robin. I don't think it's indelibly associated with that film at all, at least not in the way that, say, Misirlou will always be known as "the Pulp Fiction theme." It may have been a wry, deliberate choice of music (although I actually doubt it, I think it was chosen more for mood than anything) but I don't think that anyone hearing that song is meant to recognize it as a song from the Batman and Robin soundtrack (because actually, it isn't, it's a remix that appeared as a B-side) and then contextualize it with how terrible B&R is and take it as a satirical critique of previous superhero films. That's just too huge a leap for me.

The song works great in the trailer, even if it's from the wrong decade. I'm assuming that it won't appear in the film.
 
 
FinderWolf
14:12 / 19.07.08
Snyder has commented (responding to fans' complaints that the Ozymandias superhero costume looks silly and looks like it came out of BATMAN & ROBIN) that he is fully aware that it looks like something from BATMAN & ROBIN and that everything he does in his Watchmen movie, he does with awareness and intent. So basically, it sounds like the Ozy costume looks a bit silly to reflect, perhaps, a point in Ozy's life where Ozy realizes this 'superhero' thing is a rather silly way to go about solving the world problems, and that perhaps there are other, more direct, ways, that don't involve dressing up in an outlandish rubber costume... (and that reading is pretty much justified by the graphic novel text). While I am in agreement with many fans that the one casting choice which looks a bit off is that of Ozy, I am keeping a very open mind and figure that Snyder must have cast that actor for some solid reasons. (I think it's Matthew Goode, from MATCH POINT, right? He certainly gave off a good 'upper crust, educated, privileged, sort of superior' vibe in that film)
 
 
CameronStewart
16:18 / 19.07.08
The Dialogue, it's not so much the lines themselves as the delivery. It feels very much like the 300 make every line an anthem style of speaking,

I still don't know how you can get that from essentially one line of dialogue. And it's Rorschach narrating from his journal, which with all its "dead dog in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach...evil must be punished and I will never rest, even in the face of armageddon" stuff is pretty over-the-top to begin with.
 
 
CameronStewart
21:29 / 19.07.08
the Movie Website has been properly launched. Pretty great picture of the Comedian on the front page. If you click around a bit the pictures shuffle to emphasize different characters.
 
 
CameronStewart
21:37 / 19.07.08
Snyder on the reasons for use of the Pumpkins song in the trailer:

“Smashing Pumpkins we picked for a couple reasons. For one, I felt like in mood, it was correct for what we were trying to do. We were trying to sort of get at the unwashed masses who don’t know anything about ‘Watchmen’ and find something provocative that makes you go, ‘What is that?’ … And then, also, I felt like the song itself spoke a little to the ‘Watchmen’ world. And then on the third hand … it will create controversy a little bit in the fanbase because they’re going to be like, ‘Wait, is that going to be in the movie? That ain’t 1985!’ ”
 
 
The Natural Way
11:15 / 20.07.08
I still don't know how you can get that from essentially one line of dialogue. And it's Rorschach narrating from his journal, which with all its "dead dog in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach...evil must be punished and I will never rest, even in the face of armageddon" stuff is pretty over-the-top to begin with.

Because he's seen 300. Honestly, that's where all the worry comes from. Can you not see why this might worry some of us? The point is, yes, the dialogue is lifted from the comic and it always sounded a bit corny and overdone, and that makes it even more important that a director like Snyder, who has a reputation for big, dumb, hammy stupidness, shouldn't get his hands on it.
 
 
Poke it with a stick
11:56 / 20.07.08
a director like Snyder, who has a reputation for big, dumb, hammy stupidness, shouldn't get his hands on it.

Looking at IMDB, this appears to be Snyder's 3rd film. Yeah, 300 was in there, but so was Dawn of the Dead - to say he's known for one particular way of doing things is like saying Steven Spielberg was known for doing shark films.

When and if Snyder has made a dozen films that all look like 300, then I'll agree with you.

Frank Miller, on the other hand...
 
 
This Sunday
12:28 / 20.07.08
(Must resist known for jumping the shark movies joke... Must maintain...)

I admit I'm still not the biggest Watchmen fan, but from the preview and random released pics that have revealed little narratively, I think it does look like a full world, mostly in terms of familiarity and from the pastiche, but I think the small details for the worldbuilding are there in force and it's going to be a better film for that. (If it isn't all in the preview, already, that is.)

It was also the best part of the comic, for me. The textures of life, the sounds and look of their streets, the brands they buy, what direction the headlines skew to.
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
12:28 / 20.07.08
Well, the remake of Dawn of the Dead was pretty dumb and hammy itself.

I am starting to suspect, however, that it may be hard to discover whether the dialogue is, as a whole, hammy or not until the film comes out.
 
 
wicker woman
04:07 / 21.07.08
The sculpted-rubber costumes—very different from the costumes in the comic, but very like the costumes ubiquitous in other superhero movies—seem like more evidence of this. Using the Smahing Pumpkins track would seem to inidicate further that WATCHMEN the movie is going to be about superhero movies, in the same way that WATCHMEN the comic was about superhero comics—i.e., a satirical deconstruction of the subgenre.

Along these lines, it might be worth mentioning that Ozy's costume has man-nipples.
 
 
dark horse
13:32 / 21.07.08
lol srsly? i don't care though i'm psyched to see this film! i hope hollywood doesn't fuck up mr moore's masterpiece.... there are new photos over at newsarama.com which look pretty rad though, the comediean looks badass.
 
 
FinderWolf
17:45 / 21.07.08
I know that many here on Barbelith get annoyed with excessive links to AICN; I feel that this interview with Matthew Goode, who plays Ozymandias, is worthwhile to list here. He talks about some specifics in director Snyder's approach, and throws in some odd stuff about Adrian Veidt's parents being Nazis (huh? I don't recall that from the graphic novel) and giving all his parents' money away (also don't recall that)... although all adaptations will certainly take some license with the source material, of course.

Goode talks Ozy.
 
 
Spatula Clarke
18:26 / 21.07.08
He actually says that the Nazi parents stuff is backstory he created for the character himself when trying to work out justifications and isn't referenced in the film.
 
 
FinderWolf
18:46 / 21.07.08
Right; I got that (I realize my post did not make my comprehension of that clear; anything but, moreover - my bad) - but it seems that he used as his starting point that Veidt gave away all his parents' wealth when he went on his travels around the world; I suppose that's an invention of his as well. I don't recall the graphic novel saying Veidt gave away his wealth before or during his world travels, but it may be there and I'm not recalling it...
 
 
Dead Megatron
19:37 / 21.07.08
No, that Ozzy gave away his parents money is mentioned in the book. At the end, when he tells his life and reasons for his dead servants,if memory serves me well
 
 
Keith, like a scientist
19:57 / 21.07.08
Goode seems like a cool guy... Getting a little insight into the working atmosphere with Snyder was interesting and a bit encouraging, especially surrounding the CGI aspect of the film. The writing and acting could be terrible, the plot confusing, but, for me, heavy CGI would definitely ruin it for me.
 
 
Triplets
21:15 / 21.07.08
that makes it even more important that a director like Snyder, who has a reputation for big, dumb, hammy stupidness, shouldn't get his hands on it.

As long as we can keep Snyder from directing a remake of this we can- oh shiiiiiiiiit
 
 
dark horse
22:33 / 21.07.08
what do people have against synder? i thought 300 kicked ass...
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
05:13 / 22.07.08
Essentially that they are not you, and they didn't, I think. 300 is an opinion-polariser, which many either loving it for its heavily stylised cinematography, balletic violence and fidelity to Frank Miller's original or not loving it, often for very similar reasons.
 
 
Imaginary Mongoose Solutions
05:42 / 22.07.08
I love 300 for the cinematography, the faithfulness to the book and the over-the-top violence. I hate it for the racism, the homophobia, and the transphobia.

I hope that it is the first set of attributes that he'll bring to Watchmen, I fear that it'll be the second.
 
 
Hallo, Paper Spaceboy
07:01 / 22.07.08
Which might be why I'm sort of psyched to see it, actually, Mongoose -- I'm curious to see how they handle the street-level human stuff, including the queer elements; the last Moore adaptation, V for Vendetta honestly surprised the hell out of me -- I very much had a whoa moment, in the theatre -- when Valerie's letter, in its entirety made it into the film. I was expecting Hollywood to entirely mishandle that. I have no idea if Watchmen will follow suit, but I'm at least curious about it, even if the end product dissatisfies. At the very least, if it replicates the very negative attitudes in those directions that fit with the time and politics being presented in the story...

(to be fair, V for Vendetta dumped most of the street-level human stuff for time concerns, so I'm expecting the same to be said for Watchmen but I do want to see what they do/don't include from the source in that regard -- in both stories, the street stuff is fairly integral, but things can be juggled).
 
 
revVrob
07:06 / 22.07.08
The reading of Rorschach's one line of dialogue in the trailer is exactly the same of Alan Moore's own reading of the line in the MINDSCAPE OF ALAN MOORE documentary. And I mean exactly the same. Almost copied.

SO regardless of all this maybe this and maybe that.... And no way to know how that line reflects on the rest of the readings... this one line at least is indicative of specific take from Moore.

RR,
 
 
Triplets
11:14 / 22.07.08
what do people have against synder?

I have nothing against him and I'm quite looking forward to his Rolex-sponsored adaptation of Watch-Man.

I was poking fun at the notion that "Snyder should be kept away from this film" even when he's, you know, he's been turning up to the studio at 9am for a while now.

But anyone with a grievance shouldn't stop moaning before the film even comes out. Never compromise guys. Never compromise!
 
 
H3ct0r L1m4
12:48 / 22.07.08
\\what do people have against synder?\\

the speed ramp camera effect, when it gets real fast before it gets in slow motion, you know. it kinda worked well for 300 but it's already a gimmick [not only from his movies, but a whole set of flicks from the 00s].

apart from making the action scenes cooler, it takes us out of them. Snyder didn't use it in DAWN OF THE DEAD and that movie had great action scenes.
 
 
dark horse
13:08 / 22.07.08
well fair enough if you don't like the style it was shot in... i don't get the homophobia, racism and transphobia (?) that Imaginary Mongoose Solutions talks about though... were there even any trannies in 300? do you mean the dude from the crying game?!
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
13:16 / 22.07.08
It's not that dude. It's another dude.
 
 
dark horse
13:24 / 22.07.08
man, i could have sworn it was that guy (girl?) but i just looked at imdb and it turns out you are right, west baltimore hausing project! not only that it seems xerxez was actually played by paolo from lost, i would never have recognised him (plus paolo was such a sucky character too man)....
 
 
The Natural Way
15:44 / 22.07.08
Yes, Dawn of the dead was very silly indeed. And even if it wasn't, I'd find it VERY difficult to believe the tonality, the cinematography, heck, just the overall approach would differ that starkly between 300 and another Snyder film. Directors whose films fail to echo each other stylistically are few and far between, with the only guy leaping into my head right now being Michael Winterbottom. My point is, whatever you thought of 300, it was a ludicrous, overblown, machomuscleshoutyman affair and, call me weird, but I don't think that works for Watchmen.
 
  

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