Movie News


WATCHMEN Close to Wrapping

Date: Monday, February 18, 2008
Source: Official Watchmen Site

It seems from the latest update at the official website that production is nearly complete on the big screen adaptation of Watchmen. Executive producer Herb Gains issued a blog on the film which will star Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode, Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Carla Gugino, Stephen McHattie and Matt Frewer. Director Zack Snyder lead the WB project, based on a screenplay by David Hayter and Alex Tse.

There may be a lot of post-production and CGI work to do from now to its March 2009 release but here's what Gains had to say on it.

As we approach the last days of shooting Watchmen -- yes, the end is nigh -- it's time to reflect on the whole Watchmen experience. I think back to January 2007 when I first met Zack and he walked me through his drawings for the title sequence. I remember my initial reaction was, How can we shoot all of it? Why do we have to shoot all that? And if we do, how do we shoot all of it? We spent the next two months scouting, researching and budgeting locations all over the world, including Australia, London, Prague, Spain -- at one point we even considered New York -- and, of course, Los Angeles.

I now sit in my Vancouver hotel room one year later, and guess what? We did shoot all of it -- every frame of it, and not just the title sequence drawings but all of Zack's drawings are now committed to film. The combination of modern-day technology and the level of artistic ability of so many people has made the Watchmen experience second to none. The spirit behind the making of this film was nothing short of total pleasure and love. As I wandered from room to room at the wrap party, there was not only a sense of accomplishment from everyone involved but a feeling of sadness that it's coming to an end. The one thing that remains for me is the anticipation and excitement of seeing the finished product, knowing that we've all worked on something very special.



Thank you Zack, for allowing me to be a part of it.

Watchmen will hit theaters March 6, 2009.


Fandango Logo
Comments/Responses
1 2 > >>
TKay42one • Feb 18, 2008, 12:43am •
Uh...didn't I just hear that there was some lawsuit from Fox over this and that they had to halt shooting or something? Or did I just assume they had to halt shooting on the movie?

mlaforcer • Feb 18, 2008, 01:22am •
That's right, you just assumed...The only problem here is the delay of the movie if it goes to court and one side wanting money for rights infringement...The one side says it owns the rights which is hard to believe since WB owns DC comics and Watchman is a product of DC but Fox says it's not so, so who knows but I am looking forward to this movie and hope there are no delays...

TKay42one • Feb 18, 2008, 01:32am •
Yeah, I'm really looking forward to this movie also...partly because it's a milestone in comic books, and partly because I'm too thick to understand some of it...lol. As for my first post, you know what they say...When you assume, you make an ass out of Uma Thurman.

AzuLTaLoN • Feb 18, 2008, 01:39am •
wonder what sonyman gonna think of this? he's big on dc.

Whiskeymovie • Feb 18, 2008, 06:28am •
Well, if anything, the delay will come when it comes to releaseing it, not filming it.....and I hope that doesn't happen. Although Zack Snyder only has like 2 movies under his belt, I have really enjoyed both of them, so I am curious to see if he can keep up his track record.

WISEGUY562 • Feb 18, 2008, 07:01am •
Although I liked Watchmen I still believe it's one of the most overhyped comic books out there. IMHO it was a decent mystery but as a superhero book I thought it sucked. You could've just as well have done pretty much the same story using cops or retired cops instead of trying to pass it off as a superhero comic book.
Having said that, I will be there opening day. Just because the story has to be condensed somewhat (eliminate a lot of the fat) and the way Snyder has done action sequences in the past has me intrigued and I'm actually highly anticipating this movie.

Hobbs • Feb 18, 2008, 01:31pm •
I go back and forth on this one...the comic was one of those revolutional series that came out in the 80's much like Frank Miller was to Batman. I recently pulled the graphic novel out and read it again and I don't know if there is enough there for a movie...or maybe there is too much there for a movie. I'm glad to hear they are cutting out the kid reading the comic part as i hated that but I still think its too long.

Who knows, maybe a two hour movie will be able to cut all the fat out and get it to move along better. The pacing in the comic book was very long. Either way I'll give Zach Snyder the benefit of the doubt. He did a fantastic job on 300 and Dawn of the Dead. In fact, I would have loved to see Snyder do the Terminator movie...granted I would take Santa Claus over McChicken right now. Anyone know his next project? I think he could do a good job with the escape from new york remake that is currently hanging in limbo.

Kerrith • Feb 18, 2008, 03:23pm •
WISEGUY,

Watchmen isn't meant to be read like a normal superhero book. It is a post modern deconstruction of the superhero genre. Superheros represent ideals. In post modernism there are no absolute truths. It is all about one's perspective. So, when you apply that to superheros it creates an interesting dynamic. Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? Who determines this? Do the bad guys know they are the villains?

When you start applying the same analysis to other comic books, interesting things happen. Could Batman be considered part of the problem rather than the solution to the crime problems of Gotham? What kind of oversight is there for the Justice League? When these issues are addressed in modern comic books it is due in large part to the influence of Watchmen on the current generation of writers and artists.

Filch • Feb 18, 2008, 03:52pm •
Watchmen? Am I the only person who thinks this book is over rated? Dont get me wrong I thought it was good, but I guess I'm too young to appreciatit for what it did for comics? I'm very curious to see how the pull off the ending, witch was some what weak IMO.

metalwater • Feb 18, 2008, 05:05pm •
I have read better story arcs in the George Perez and Marv Wolfman opus, The New Teen Titans...80s era The Legion Of Super Heroes and mid 70s and 80s era The X-Men. The Watchmen is a flawed work...very slow and ponderous at times...and certainly, it is not as daring as works that proceeded it by years, like Heavy Metal Magazine.

Wise Guy is right, it is over hyped. The only bit of innovation in the whole piece was the use of real political history mixed with a fantasized version of that history.

1 2 > >>
Login to post a comment!