The Watchmen

[Silver Moon]

Could it be done? And do it justice? I say yes. Obviously there would be significant changes, with a different pacing and lots less detail, but I think you could still preserve the tone and basic plot of the original.

As for casting, I see Rorschock as the piviotal character, providing verbal narration throughout the film rather than a written journal. The only two actors I see who could do the part justice are John Malcovic or Gary Oldman.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

Unfilmable.

I'm afraid I have to agree with Wormwood here. This thread got me thinking about Watchmen again, so I went back and read the trade paperback (for the umpteenth time) this week. I found myself paying closer attention to the tiny details, finding new meanings in things like the pirate comic, and again being blown away by how well-constructed the comic was, in terms of art layout, panelling, and even, for lack of a better term, camera angles. I'm afraid that without these details, these nuances, the overall impact of the story will be lessened. It will certainly be lessened by changing the amazing ending; that's really the only way it could have ended satisfactorily. It was that or WWIII.

Note to Hollywood: Not everything should or even could be made into a film. When you say, "This would make a great movie. We only have to change the ending. And get rid of this character, people won't identify with him. And change this character into a woman, we need more women to boost our box office," then you've already betrayed any pretext of art. Go find a property closer to your vision, or heaven forbid, actually come up with something original on your own.

Note to Alan Moore: You are already thought of as one of the greatest comic writers that ever lived. Stop letting Hollywood tarnish your image for a fast buck. Even a big evil company like Marvel makes movies more reverent to the originals, and respectful of their fans, than yours have been.

 

[Starman]

How many of the comics Moore has written do you think he actually owns? I'm sure it is few to none. You can chalk up the it's-popular-let's-make-it-a-movie attitude to the companies that own the rights.

Starman

 

[Viking Bastard]

He owns the rights to everything in the ABC universe (with the
artists), that he's been writing for the last couple of years.

tLoEG, Promothea, Tom Strong, Tommorow Stories, Top Ten all that...

 

[Silver Moon]

I dunno, I still think they could pull it off, and with a 2 1/2 hour running time, but the original ending would have to remain intact. The key would have to be the Rorshock character, with the story told with his ongoing narration, and the flashbacks at the appropriate places.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

They are going to need a bona fide GENIUS of a director and DP if they want to pull this off. Someone who can render the visual nuance and tone of the comic, who isn't going to shoot it like "another comic book movie".

I think Ang Lee pulled off something like this in The Hulk, but I'm not sure he'd be my first pick. Steven Soderbergh might do it justice; I heard his last movie sucked, but I'm thinking more along the lines of his work on Traffic and Ocean's Eleven. I'd add Darren Aronofsky and Christopher Nolan to that list as well.

 

[Viking Bastard]

Terry Gilliam.

Accept no substitute.

 

[Starman]

He owns the rights to everything in the ABC universe (with the
artists), that he's been writing for the last couple of years.

tLoEG, Promothea, Tom Strong, Tommorow Stories, Top Ten all that...

Well, I'm always glad to see an artist in control of his own creations. It will be interesting to see how "LXG" compares to the comic.

I think it would be pretty cool to see Watchmen handled as a TV mini-series (maybe HBO?). That would be a good way to include all of the minor details that make it the masterpiece it is.

Of course, they need to keep the ending intact.

Starman

 

[Viking Bastard]

Actually, after some digging, I found out that Wildstorm owns the
TV/movie rights to the ABC properties. Moore gave it up in exchance
for complete creative control and ownership of the characters/universe.

Anyway, now that he's retiring from mainstream comics (again)
after he finished his runs of tLoEG, Promothea and Top Ten (the
rest of the ABC titles don't have much of an ongoing storyline
going on, but I might be forgetting some of the titles) he'll end
the ABC universe with a bang. Large crossover/maxi-series event
that'll feature a apocalypse of some kind that'll end the whole line.

Ever wonder how Moore's version of Crisis would've been like?

 

[Starman]

Actually, after some digging, I found out that Wildstorm owns the
TV/movie rights to the ABC properties. Moore gave it up in exchance
for complete creative control and ownership of the characters/universe.

Well, that explains some things.

Starman