Watchmen

DBSnappa · **Posted:** Tue Aug 19, 2008 16:30

Sorry, I sent that from my iPhone and the lack of C&P can be a pain!
Link here

http://www.hollywood.com/news/Fox_Seeks ... nt/5295846

NervousPete · **Posted:** Tue Aug 19, 2008 16:32

I am world of shock.

Don't Fox know that they'd look mercilessly bad in the industry for doing this?

The Rev Owen · **Posted:** Tue Aug 19, 2008 16:35

I'm sure they don't want to block the release. They just want to force WB to hand over a percentage of the takings without having to have put any money into the film.

Grim... · **Posted:** Tue Aug 19, 2008 16:36

Quote:

Fox argues it acquired motion picture rights to the Watchmen graphic novel in the late 1980s, and that even though it relinquished certain rights to the material in 1991 it held onto the right to distribute the first movie.

I'm not that shocked, if that's true.

Grim... · **Posted:** Tue Aug 19, 2008 16:37

The Rev Owen wrote:

I'm sure they don't want to block the release. They just want to force WB to hand over a percentage of the takings without having to have put any money into the film.

That's why they left it so late.

Dr Lave · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 5979

The fucks want a slice of the pie then. Great.

Also - maybe a mod could pull a mind meld with this thread, I've rathered enjoyed the slow build up we've had over watchmen, and keeping it all in one place would be nice.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

Lave wrote:

The fucks want a slice of the pie then. Great.

Hmmm. I feel differently about this to everyone else.

Fox clearly paid Larry Gordon, the producer, something for the distribution rights back in 1991, and Gordon organised his turnaround notice in 1994. Those distribution rights, which Gordon then resold to Warner's in 2006, where not his to sell if he didn't follow the 1994 contract. There must be something in that line of reasoning or the initial judge would have tossed the case out.

In any event, none of this changes the film from our perspective, except that the release date might slip if they don't wrap up the wranglings quickly enough. I'm sure Fox and Warners will huff and puff and settle out of court $$$. HOWEVER note what reports of this case say: "the first film"? "Potential franchise film"? Oh shit.

Dr Lave · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 5979

Good point, I'm sure they've got a case, and it's crap like this that sent Moore nuts. But it does seem like they waited till it was finished before kicking off, which to me seems like a cynical money grab.

Rodafowa · **Posted:** Tue Aug 19, 2008 17:22

I'm not sure you can pin Moore being nuts on Hollywood.

And from what I remember, it wasn't contractual wrangling that put his nose out of joint re: film adaptations of his work, just that he doesn't want his name attached to stuff he's got no artistic control over and that generally comes out bearing little resemblance to the material that "inspired" it.

Grim... · **Posted:** Tue Aug 19, 2008 17:30

All merged.

CraigGrannell · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 1639

Rodafowa wrote:

And from what I remember, it wasn't contractual wrangling that put his nose out of joint re: film adaptations of his work, just that he doesn't want his name attached to stuff he's got no artistic control over and that generally comes out bearing little resemblance to the material that "inspired" it.

That and him being royally fucked over by DC and Hollywood regarding rights and levels of support.

GovernmentYard · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 5318

Bollock to all this shit, I'm waiting for the film adaptation of Lost Girls.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

This seems like a good time to mention that my boss has all 12 original issues of Watchmen signed by both Moore and Gibbons.

Peter St. John · **Joined:** 26th May, 2008 **Posts:** 298

Quote:

That and him being royally fucked over by DC and Hollywood regarding rights and levels of support.

He was none too happy about being dragged into court over LXG either, from what I remember...

tossrStu · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 1326

http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/08/15/kev ... stounding/

Quote:

At the Entertainment Weekly Visionaries panel at Comic Con, writer/director Kevin Smith was raving hard about the Watchmen footage which had premiered at the Con. After that I had a feeling that Zack Snyder, who was also on the panel, was going to show the film to Smith. And I was right. Kevin Smith has seen Watchmen. And while he couldn’t give the film a full review due to a NDA, he did have a couple things to say about the film:

“I saw Watchmen. It’s fucking astounding. The Non-Disclosure Agreement I signed prevents me from saying much, but I can spout the following with complete joygasmic enthusiasm: Snyder and Co. have pulled it off. Remember that feeling of watching Sin City on the big screen and being blown away by what a faithful translation of the source material it was, in terms of both content and visuals? Triple that, and you’ll come close to watching Watchmen. Even Alan Moore might be surprised at how close the movie is to the book. March can’t come soon enough.”

GovernmentYard · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 5318

You have to trust him really, don't you?

Dr Lave · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 5979

Goatboy wrote:

You have to trust him really, don't you?

Jersey Girl.

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

I'm only saying that because I don't want my hopes raised

GovernmentYard · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 5318

Jersey Girl was very good, so far as that sort of movie can be said to be good. Worth it for George Carlin on his own. The thing with Smith is everyone expects him to trump Clerks or the View Askewniverse mainstays as character writing but the likes of Jay and Randall are once-in-a-career penmanship, and Smith is too busy puching for interesting, fun and feasible rather than 'next career milestone'. Jersey Girl suffered from Bennifergate and perhaps from Smith not letting himself off the leash as much as necessary, but it is a reasonable thing to have in one's Smith DVD collection.

/edit

Alan Moore's a Watchman
'e wears a Watchman's hat
And when 'e saw the trailer
'e said 'wot the fuck was that?'

CraigGrannell · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 1639

Mm. When my wife and I watched Jersey Girl and the credits came up, our comment was "There's nothing wrong with that movie". It's not fantastic, and I've no pressing desire to go and buy the DVD, but it was definitely worth a rental.

Dr Lave · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 5979

Erm, I've not actually seen Jersey Girl (or Clerk 2 for that matter).

I just thought it was a good joke.

Sorry.

I just don't want to get my hopes up.

GovernmentYard · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 5318

Oh, it'll be fine. Moore wrote an unfilmable book in the eighties, just like Tolkien did in the fifties, and They couldn't have done 'Electric Sheep' Bladerunner-esque justice in 68. 2009 is plenty of time for cinema to accommodate the subtleties of Moore's text. Unfortunately I suspect things of paramount importance like certain character voices stand the greatest chance of not cutting the mustard.

Trousers · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 3073

They showed the Watchmen trailer at the cinema tonight and it looks pretty smart on the big screen to the extent that even the wife said "That looks ace".

Also you can make out Doc Manhattan's tadger in enormo-vision. Not that I was looking.

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Watchmen
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Be Excellent To Each Other

Watchmen Who watches the Watchmen?

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Watchmen
Who watches the Watchmen?