Snyder on WATCHMEN

By: News Editor
Date: Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Source: Wizard Universe

Wizard Universe recently caught up with director Zack Snyder and talked with him about WATCHMEN.

When asked about his recent success with 300 and any latitude he thus might have with making WATCHMEN, Snyder responded, "WATCHMEN is going to be R-rated and when you make an R-rated movie it has the potential for failure, or the potential for failure is higher. It’s difficult for them to get a handle on why the movie would be cool when the superheroes are flawed. It’s an indictment of American foreign policy and authority in general. [With] all of the crazy themes in Watchmen, [they wonder] why that’s even good or something people would want to see. I don’t know. I still say [300 is] like a student film on steroids. We shot that movie in a freaking warehouse in Montreal. It was hard and no one thought the movie was anything. When people talk about WATCHMEN like, 'Oh, Snyder has a free hand with WATCHMEN,' that’s just not the case."

In terms of a budget for the film and also marketing, the director told Wizard, "My point is when it comes to WATCHMEN and how much money we’re going to get, you have to ask what the appetite is for an R-rated movie as far as the budget goes. With WATCHMEN, from a marketing standpoint and as a filmmaker—the movie and the marketing are the same thing to me—I think, 'Okay, what shots are going to be in the trailer? What images can tell people to come to see the movie?' If you don’t look at your movie that way, you’re naïve to the process. Unless you don’t care at all about success and you just say, 'You know what? I’m making an art film. If no one goes and sees it then f--- them! I don’t care.' On the other hand, if you ever want to make another movie, then you’re in trouble if you don’t look at it from the standpoint of, 'What are the images I need here?' Dr. Manhattan walking through Vietnam 200 feet tall, the Comedian riding with the 50-caliber rifle and shooting at the Viet Cong and burning out the village…"

Production on WATCHMEN will begin in September. Click here to read the full interview with Zack Snyder.

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Comments/Responses

mckracken • Jun 19, 2007, 12:52am •

well Zack, just as long as the images that you stick into the freakin trailer actually appeared in the graphic novel, nobody will be upset with you.

just dont stick the ending into the trailer and you'll be ok....

... well no, not really, see those Watchmen fans are incredibly brutal and they'll eat you alive either way, so dude, you're basically screwed. Get over it and make the damn movie already.

faefrost • Jun 19, 2007, 01:51am •

I wish someone had the common sense to do Watchman as it needs to be done right, instead of the overblown hollywood mess.
Follow the examples of such stunning works as Band of Brothers, From the earth to the Moon and the Sporanoes. Do it as an R rated HBO miniseries. Each episode a full no comercial hour. 12 episodes, each 1 to 1 to the original source material. The fans get 1 piece a week perfectly paced, the same way they originaly got the books all those yeats ago.
Sometimes Hollywood thinks too big when going small will tell a better story and get them more money,

LAgrrl • Jun 19, 2007, 02:30am •

Zack Zack Zack thwapt! doesn't he know better than to talk about commercial concerns in an R rated "art" movie? (comics are art right? well some of them are and Watchmen is one of them imnsho) I loved his Dawn of the Dead remake but really, who wants to hear that the Director of one of the most beloved intellectual comic books of all time is mainly thinking about -- how to make money.

Uhg.

Dumbest Interview Ever.

SinisterPryde • Jun 19, 2007, 03:23am •

This is going to be one of those films where you can either separate it from the source material and enjoy it as is, or you are going to hate it. The graphic novel is dense and there is no way he is going to be able to do it real justice.

No, the only way to enjoy this movie is going to be looking at it as being "inspired by" rather than "based on". I myself am looking forward to this. Zack's a good director and I trust him to make a good movie. Just not a faithful one.

On a final note, I just don't see an "R" rated super-hero movie doing that well at the box office. Super-hero movies, while enjoyed by a large demographic, are largely considered kiddie fare. Also, Watchmen is more than a little on the intellectual side. The last time that was done with a super-hero movie, it was a big turn off for audiences (Hulk).

ponyboy76 • Jun 19, 2007, 04:18am •

Well, LA, I don't think Zack was saying that it was all about the money, but he was being realistic in the fact that as a director of a big time movie, you`re going to need to look at the big picture. You are going to have to look at how to get the people in the seats. Yes, the fan boys will see it, because shit its freakin "Watchmen!", but we don't make up the masses. And alot of people have no idea who the hell the Watchmen are.
I agree with Sinister in that it will be tough to market a Rated-R superhero flick, especially something as deep intellectually as Watchmen. I also don't expect it to be some page for page homage to the book. I figure we`ll get most of the story and characters with a few changes here and there. Hopefully nothing too big, but it will be different then the story we all know and love.

shadowprime • Jun 19, 2007, 06:47am •

Faefrost's suggestion of a series is, I think, an excellent one... this is a case where I really don't see how you can make a movie and do justice to the source material. There is simply "too much" in there - the WATCHMEN series was, in my mind, the equivalent of at least several novels. I suppose you could strip away a lot of the stuff that focused on the backstory of individual characters, or greatly truncate that - like the issue where Rorschach finally lets his psychiatrist in on his "real origins"... but what a pity to lose all that amazing material.

Don't get me wrong... excited, hopeful, intrigued... but... hard for me to imagine how you condense something this rich and do it any kind of justice.

Shadow

rudewordsmith • Jun 19, 2007, 07:47am •

I agree with several of the posters who have said that this flick will, like most adaptations, be entertaining and good, but either loved or hated for superficial reasons. I don't see there being much of a middle ground, and I know that some people are going to flip their shit over any changes, no matter how small.

That said, I don't think Snyder is saying that his goal is to make a movie that makes money while sacrificing the story. Did any one read the article? He mentions how rough the marketing is going to be, as it is an R-rated superhero flick that is, at its core, VERY intellectual and dialogue/plot heavy.

Like Ponyboy said: Snyder is looking at the bigger picture, instead of the less important "Gee, how am I going to please just the fans of Watchmen?" Because, honestly, the guy has to stay in the game and a HUUUUGE failure could really kick him in the ass right now.

I think the flick is going to be great, because everything he's said about his take has been good news thus far.

TheDarkRaven • Jun 19, 2007, 07:48am •

I know it would probably never happen for a comic book movie, but why not take a page from Peter Jackson? It's certainly not easy, but get ONE massive storyline put together from the comics with as much in there as you can fit, then break it into two or three films.

Then Zack wouldn't need to truncate or eliminate so much... it would all fit seamelssly into the trilogy.

I doubt it'll happen for smaller projects, but one can hope.

furiousgeorge3000 • Jun 19, 2007, 07:51am •

I used to read comics, now i dont, but seriously all the comic fanboys need to stfu. Its a movie. its a different medium. its going to have to change for the new medium. only you fanboys want to see the printed word exactly translated onto the screen with no changes. if they did that they wouldnt need a director. i dont know why im even commenting, im sure some rabid fanboy is foaming at the mouth or some bs. its a movie get over it.

shadowprime • Jun 19, 2007, 08:51am •

Furiousgeorge:

I think there is a kernel of truth in what you say. You say it more combatively than necessary, IMHO, but there is some truth there nonetheless. Sometimes, there is just no pleasing "the fans"....

HOWEVER... there is a REASON movie studios decide to buy up established franchises, book series, and characters. That is, these projects, to some extent, get made because there IS a fanbase who cares about them, has interest in them, and who can be counted on to build audience and buzz. Moviemakers want these people to care, they COUNT on these people caring.

Now, that IS a double-edged sword. People who care have opinions. They have likes and dislikes. They have ideas on what are the essential qualities that made the original book/comic book/character iconic or interesting in the first place. Many care passionaltey. And yes, sometimes, that can lead to problems.

So, may I suggest that telling comic fanboys to ... shut the...er...well..to shut up... is a bit simplistic? If someone is impossible to please, sure, telling them so is reasonable. But suggesting that anyone with an interest in WATCHMEN should just shut up and swallow anythign put out there... well, that seems a bit much.

Shadow

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