How Zack Snyder (Just Barely) Got ‘Watchmen’ to the Screen

[FlawlessVictory]

Don't be suprised if there are more cuts.... Robinov stated he'd like to get it around TDK time... 2:25ish or so... they can easily chop off another 8-10 minutes.

Except that TDK is actually 2 hours and 33 min, Watchmen is at 2 hours and 35 min.

 

[Mercurius]

well, i'm tired of playing this game, but i will repeat that the squid is a bit too much to swallow, that is most likely why it was changed. I shed no tears for the squid or the artist island. To me at least, it is a c- level subplot that is easily forgotten.

edit.

 

[Mercurius]

Well, I'm tired of playing this game, but I will repeat that the Squid is a bit too much to swallow, that is most likely why it was changed. I shed no tears for the squid or the Artist Island. To me at least, it is a C- level subplot that is easily forgotten.

Now we are talking.

That's exactly what I suppose the execs (and possibly Snyder, but that's uncertain) thought, without the care of considering what was Moore's intention in putting the "C- level subplot" inside Watchmen.

Oh well; anyway.

 

[Nivek]

Well, FYI, I am not a big fan of Moore and his use of 8 sub-plots in his work. Sometimes it allows you to discover new details and added depth, other times it comes off as pointless filler. I enjoy the guys work, but he loses me with some of these details his fans tend to push like it is an essential plot point, when in the big picture, it added 5 pages of filler to meet the publication requirement.

 

[Brick]

:facepalm

How is that?

 

[The Battousai]

How is that?

The reference to McCarthy and "No Country For Old Men" was made due to the fact that both NCFOM and Watchmen are adaptations based on a single story, and that despite the departures made from the source material the film version of NCFOM turned out to be great. The point is that such changes don't necessitate the lessened quality of the adaptation.

He simply used the author's name again to make a different point regarding the "300 sequel" business.

 

[Brick]

The reference to McCarthy and "No Country For Old Men" was made due to the fact that both NCFOM and Watchmen are adaptations based on a single story, and that despite the departures made from the source material the film version of NCFOM turned out to be great. The point is that such changes don't necessitate the lessened quality of the adaptation.

He simply used the author's name again to make a different point regarding the "300 sequel" business.

Have you read actually read No Country? Because that's actually a very close adaptation. He was probably better off referencing PKD and Blade Runner.

And yes i understood the point he was making. I just didn't see the need to use the same name twice.

 

[Solidus]

Though Blade Runner was an absolute classic.

It was not as close adaptation of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" compared to No Country.

Blade Runner had a lot of differences even with some main plot points, like Deckard trying to buy a real Sheep with each bounty.

 

[Brick]

Though Blade Runner was an absolute classic.

It was not as close adaptation of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" compared to No Country.

Blade Runner had a lot of differences even with some main plot points, like Deckard trying to buy a real Sheep with each bounty.

Yeah i think Blade Runner would of been a much better comparison. A film that deviates heavily from the source material but has gone on to be seen as a classic in its own right.

 

[Evil Twin]

And yes i understood the point he was making. I just didn't see the need to use the same name twice.

Why bring up another name if the example is still valid and it's fresh on Snyder's mind?

 

[Evil Twin]

Yeah i think Blade Runner would of been a much better comparison. A film that deviates heavily from the source material but has gone on to be seen as a classic in its own right.

Except, as far as we can tell, the Squid is the only significant deviation, other than omission, from Snyder's adaptation. Other than the climax of Veidt's plan and a montage to set the historical context, where does Snyder deviate significantly? We can go pages on where Ridley Scott's film deviates from Dick's source material.

 

[Brick]

Why bring up another name if the example is still valid and it's fresh on Snyder's mind?

I admit that i'm being silly but it just annoyed me for some reason.

 

[Gilpesh]

Except, as far as we can tell, the Squid is the only significant deviation, other than omission, from Snyder's adaptation. Other than the climax of Veidt's plan and a montage to set the historical context, where does Snyder deviate significantly? We can go pages on where Ridley Scott's film deviates from Dick's source material.

Wow. Keep telling yourself that buddy.

 

[Evil Twin]

Wow. Keep telling yourself that buddy.

And, do you care to say what else is different, rather than omitted, from the movie, which none of us have seen.

As far as we know, other than the opening montage, the movie opens up like the book. Manhattan's Mars sequence is supposedly intact. Rorschach visits Moloch several times and is captured by the police. Nite Owl is impotent, has a dream involving nuclear explosions, clears his head by dealing with a tenement fire, and has sex is intact. Rescues Rorschach from prison. The two Bernies are intact. Etc.

Yeah, things have been omitted. The Black Freighter for one. The fighting lesbians. And likely some stuff here and there. The first two hours is going to play like a very faithful adaptation of WATCHMEN. Some deviations and flourishes here and there, but plotwise and dialoguewise it will match up with issues 1 to 11 fairly closely. And the latter half of issue 12.

Other than perhaps SIN CITY, there's really not been a comic adaptation that's been so faithful. And that's even including non-superhero material like GHOST WORLD, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, ROAD TO PERDITION, and AMERICAN SPLENDOR.

And, certainly, I think it's fair to say that it's a much more faithful adaptation than BLADE RUNNER which only ran with the core concepts and a couple of lines of dialogue. Heck, it's probably closer to LORD OF THE RINGS in terms of faithfulness, which certainly had it's share of deviations, omissions, and invented subplots.

 

[JAK®]

Wow. Keep telling yourself that buddy.

But he's right. What else is so different?

 

[Gilpesh]

And, do you care to say what else is different, rather than omitted, from the movie, which none of us have seen.

I like how people throw that around. Besides many scripts being online, loads of trailers and commercials out, the art of Watchmen or visual companion is out.



And I'm skipping the whole changes rant again to just say, V For Vendetta. That's what Watchmen is going to be.

 

[the_tortel]

I like how people throw that around. Besides many scripts being online, loads of trailers and commercials out, the art of Watchmen or visual companion is out.



And I'm skipping the whole changes rant again to just say, V For Vendetta. That's what Watchmen is going to be.

I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say, thank you for enlightening us...

 

[Project862006]

gilpesh obviously has seen an early screening of watchmen LOL

 

[Doctor Jones]

I'm starting to wonder how everyone does know that The Guard has in fact read the shooting script for this film right? I believe what he says, and what he says is in themes in elements stays true to the GN. He's read the goddamn script people. None of us have. He has read it and analyzed it. And everyone else it throwing around these assumptions when they have surely read what he has said? Or I'm sure you're just ignoring the facts that he has pointed out that are more than just opinion.

 

[Hurm...]

I like how people throw that around. Besides many scripts being online, loads of trailers and commercials out, the art of Watchmen or visual companion is out.



And I'm skipping the whole changes rant again to just say, V For Vendetta. That's what Watchmen is going to be.

Yes, scripts that have scenes added, as well as dialogue, by Zack Snyder who tried to make the movie even more faithful to the book.

The Art of the Film and Film Companion have been released which show just how faithful this is to the GN, yes.

And Trailers and commercials which attempt to show the complexity of the movie within a 2 minute time limit, let alone 30 seconds.



One of the weakest arguments I have seen on here.

 

[redhawk23]

And I'm skipping the whole changes rant again to just say, V For Vendetta. That's what Watchmen is going to be.

you know besides the fact that the writers, directors, producers, actors, cinematographer, entire art and design and wardrobe crews, are all different than those that worked on V. Not to mention different source materials. Hell i doubt if they even have the same gafferss. Or Best boy. (ever wonder what that credit was about?)
As far as I can see that they have in common is that they are both being made by warnerbrothers and are based off something written by alan moore, so chances are, they will be very different films.

also many of the trailers, pics, books etc. support the idea, that with exception of the squid, this movie seems to follow the book very closely. And as snyder has said the squid was just a means to an end anyways.

Also snyder apears to have a passion for the story. We on this board act like we're the only ones who understand this book, this story, but you know other people have enjoyed it as well, many people love it as much as we do, and one of those people happenned to get hired to make it into a goddamned film.

 

[Gilpesh]

One of the weakest arguments I have seen on here.

That's cause arguments aren't strong when you have to argue with the entire board that is all Snyder crazy... "Hurrah, he kept Comedian shooting a pregnant woman! What's that about losing all the important significance of that an alien is the only thing that could stop humanity from fighting or it showing just how brilliant Veidt is to think of this random plan that actually works in the short term like cutting the knot?"

 

[The Battousai]

V For Vendetta. That's what Watchmen is going to be.

I'm sorry, but no.

 

[The Battousai]

That's cause arguments aren't strong when you have to argue with the entire board that is all Snyder crazy... "Hurrah, he kept Comedian shooting a pregnant woman! What's that about losing all the important significance of that an alien is the only thing that could stop humanity from fighting

Could you care to explain why this is the case?

or it showing just how brilliant Veidt is to think of this random plan that actually works in the short term like cutting the knot?"

You think it's random?

 

[Hurm...]

That's cause arguments aren't strong when you have to argue with the entire board that is all Snyder crazy... "Hurrah, he kept Comedian shooting a pregnant woman! What's that about losing all the important significance of that an alien is the only thing that could stop humanity from fighting or it showing just how brilliant Veidt is to think of this random plan that actually works in the short term like cutting the knot?"

Ah, but you see, that's not Snyder's fault. He busted his *** to keep it set in the 80's, for it to be rated R, and if it wasn't for him we would be watching the scripts that were written over how many decades. You really think he makes all the decisions? It's not his fault that the squid wasn't in, it could possibly be the studios fault, or even the fact that none of the scripts beforehand had the squid featured in them. The squid was never destined to be on film, so blaming Snyder in particular is foolish. What happens when you're in a situation like this? You create an ending that keeps the main values of the squid, but doesn't take up a large amount of the running time, either. This is a movie after all, the story HAS to flow for it to be successful. Whether the new ending is as surprising or not will be up to you, but the fact that Snyder decided not to forget about the world uniting after such a horrible disaster, is something we should all appreciate.