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Watchmen Movie Trailer Is Out
I forgot to mention the other bit of exciting comic book movie news this week: DaSpudMan noted that the Watchmen trailer is out — from the Director of 300, which spawns mixed feelings at our office. But it looks pretty good.
I have fond memories of my first boyfriend reading me the Watchmen, and many scenes in the trailer looked like they were taken right from the comic panels so I should be excited--but I don't know...
The Comedian didn't look like quite like the vicious rascal I had hoped he would (but I only saw him for a few seconds so we'll see.)
Ozymandius's costume looks completely different (I miss his purple one!), and Silk Spectre's costume is pretty generic looking.
Nite Owl looks too much like Batman. (Sure they are similar characters, but very different also. I feel Nite Owl is not a very "dark" character, and making him into a 2nd rate Batman would not be doing his character justice.)
Also I thought Rorshach's voice was a more distinctive monotone. He sounds just like any random guy whispering in this.
And they didn't show any footage of the "vintage" comic book characters (i.e. the first generation Watchmen) so bummer on that.
But based on the production clips it seems like the director is really trying to be true to the story and look of the comic, so as long as they don't change the ending I don't see that it could be THAT horrible, no matter if Alan Moore has already disowned it (he disowns like ALL his movie adaptations, doesn't he?)
That said, I still wish Darren Aronofsky had taken over the directorial reigns.
Btw, is Smashing Pumpkins doing the soundtrack or is that just for the trailer?
Careful What You Wish For....
If you'd seen The Dark Knight, you'd have seen this trailer.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
Who watches the Watchmen trailer?
Oh, right. That would be us.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
The trailer for Watchmen got the E.T. treatment.
Just in case you were afraid that the character on screen was going to shoot you, his gun has been replaced by a walkie-talkie.
I saw the Trailer during the midnight showing of Batman, and though I've never read the comic, It looked amazing.
Hey now. Read the comic, otherwise you may actually watch the movie without a sense of bitterness and outrage. :)
Those who believe the Internet is private,
find their privates are on the Internet.
tells me they don't have a lot of faith in this movie. February and March are typically dumping grounds for films that got made but nobody has confidence in.
Dog is my co-pilot.
That what you saw was Meet the Spartans.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
It IS changing.
Try the HD one if you can't make it out.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/watchmen/
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
This is an important aspect that I think is critical for successful adaptations. The writer/developer/director needs to understand and capitalize on the advantages of the medium, rather than simply regurgitate the material in the same form as it was received.
The Watchmen did some interesting things by supporting the main comic format with letters, articles, and prose in order to flesh out the background of the world. In a book, brevity can be sacrificed for extensive levels of detail. In a movie, you've got the full focus of the audience onto the screen in order to present the director's imagining of the story. This can enable an inspired accounting of the material, but is a double-edged sword since he must take the reins of imagination from the audience and guide it in the most entertaining fashion possible in a 1.5-2.5 hour timespan. He's armed with both visual and auditory effects to bring the story to life...as long as he has the budget.
There are particular advantages and disadvantages to each medium that really need to be taken into consideration to provide the most entertaining experience possible. The presenter must recognize what was used in the original medium and what must be done to successfully execute the material in the presenter's medium. If the best aspects of the comic fail to carry over to the movie he'd damn well better find another way to make it succeed or it's just a cheap knock-off that never needed to be made in the first place.
In this particular case, the Watchmen is some pretty heavy material in a dense comic-book form. He's already been supplied with the storyboards, but he'll need to nail the right look and sound, while preserving the key aspects of the storyline. The storyboard should carry over fairly easily, but he won't have the supporting stories and reading material, which he may need to replace by squeezing in brief and/or subtle moments of insight in the course of the movie.
Most importantly, the movie better not have a happy ending.
When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.
c. s. Lewis
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/watchmen/hd/
Beauty is in the beholder of the eye.
Although I certainly didn't put 2 & 2 together enough to realize this when reading, Ozymandias gives a hint of his attitude when he repeatedly compares himself to Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great wasn't called that because he was a great guy. He was called that because he ruled a vast piece of territory and brought prosperity to those he ruled. He achieved that rule by killing lots of people who hadn't done anything wrong other than oppose being ruled by him.
Doesn't sound promising, does it?
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
You know, it suddenly occurs to me that Rorschach is the closest thing in Watchmen to a classic comic-book character; four colour morality, only kind of in the opposite direction. Where Superman is always good and right, Rorschach is the mirror image of that; black and white, the negative side of utter uncompromise.
And he dies for it. It's all a metaphor for the old style of comics being killed off for being utterly unable to adapt.
Or something.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
You know, it suddenly occurs to me that Rorschach is the closest thing in Watchmen to a classic comic-book character; four colour morality, only kind of in the opposite direction.
Rorschach is a Psychopath, attempting to compensate by becoming rule-bound (and doing it poorly). Moore has the personality dead-on.
(It's interesting that the inspirations for Rorschach were apparently Steve Ditko's "Mr. A" and "The Question" - attempts at Objectivist superheros. Objectivism is a philosophy that starts from pure selfishness and derives the nonaggression principle and motivation for other behavior traits that keep its adherents within the law and make them people who, while often not likable, can be gotten along with. As such it's accessible to psychopaths. Teaching Objectivism to career criminals, motivating them to adopt its behavioral ruleset as a compensation, may be the only consistently successful rehabilitation program that has ever been studied.)
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way