Reasons: Part 1
June 17, 2007
Hello! Here are the 2 first reasons why we decided to create this blog. Please, mind any mistake and correct us if possible. Enjoy!
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Reason 1: It is impossible to adapt
What is the reason? They will never succeed. Specially in one single film. And if we get furder, we will see that a perfect transition from one medium to the other would be impossible to be 100% done. However, we believe that a series of films or a short TV series would suit better, since in those cases they could develop what made Watchmen become so good: the characters and their stories. Even though, one small part of what Alan Moore transmited in such wonderful way would be lost – but we understand that it always happens regardless the medium.
Understand that we are not that anything they would do with Watchmen would be a complete rubbish. Not at all! What happens is that you cannot squeeze all the series of stories of this graphic novel into two or three hours. To catch the smallest fraction from the spirit of it, would be necessary a series of films, like in Lord of the Rings series, or would you be satisfied in seeing Toolkien’s trilogy in one single filme of 3 hours?
About a small TV series, for example, we could get closer to what Moore’s and Gibbons’ works are. And we would be really satisfied with such, because in one series would be possible to develop all characters and their conflicts; their histories. The focous on action would be left to a second, third, maybe fourth plane, something that it is impossible to happen in a “super-hero” film where the climax must be reach quickly, otherwise you will bore the audience – specially in today hollywood films, where special effects are becoming more important than “interpretations”, which lead us to the next topic.
From IMDB:
Terry Gilliam: (http://imdb.com/name/nm0000416/bio)
“Has been off and on to write and direct a movie adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s graphic novel “Watchmen.” Gilliam has said he attempted to write an accurate screenplay but it would be “unfilmable”, but he would consider directing it if it were made into 10 or 12-part cable television series.”
Reason 2: Watchmen is not Spider-Man
Spider-Man and Watchmen are comics. Spider-Man does have characters who suffers from conflicts too. Spider-Man has a lot of stories and even though, we have three regular films and which succeed on getting the Spider-Man spirit. Then, why it would not happen with Watchmen, considering that Spider-Man started a long time ago?
Simply because they are completely different kinds of comics. While Spider-Man is focused in one single character and its
conflicts, Watchmen is focused in different characters. Besides, Paker’s dilemmas were developed during the years, basically in a second plane, while their villains and the problem to deal with his secret identity and his alter-ego are what really concerns him. The focus in Spider’s comics are in what happens, in the struggles, in walking through his webs within the buildings – not in what makes Parker be Spider-Man. And we are not talking about “big powers brings big responsibilities.” And, as it was already told, why Spider-Man has many years of stories, the only way to move it from the comics to the cinema is capturing a minimum from the comics. But it works only because the told reasons.
On the other hand, Watchmen, like a book, is a closed story. And in closed stories you have a completed development if characters and plot. There’s no space for “grab the essence and work over it”. You must, at least, have a fidelity with characters and make only small adaptations to the plot so it fits into cinema medium. And be careful. Really. Preferably with the concern of who created it (i.e: Hitchhickers Guide to The Galaxy and Sin City). And Watchmen does not have the approval from Alan Moore. Watchmen is not being writen by or with him. So…
Hey! What about 300? Well, lets say that in 300 the focus are on the battles. And we already heard from non-fanboys that it lacks of the comics spirits “why we are struggling”. Imagine, then, what the same director is about to do with Watchmen.
Spider-Man, the movie, is that kind which feets into the family entertainment genre, which means you will share with the hero his experiences; when it is an awful situation, you will be sad and will fight until the good part comes, which ends with family and friends gathered tasting the victory and confirming the proverb: “In the end everything will be okay. If things are bad, it means it is not over yet.”
Well, if Watchmen has a proverb it would be: “In the end everything will be okay. If things are bad, it menas that you were probably wrong about things ending okay.” Watchmen is a nihilist, materialist and cynical.
Now follows a description of a small capitalist/mark logic:
-People invest hundreds of million of dollars on films that will make hundreds of millions.
-Films that attracts people do make hundreds of millions of dollars.
-Films that does not attracts people does not make hundreds of millions of dollars.
-Many people (most of) does not pay forr nihilist, materialist and cynical films.
Then: a film which costs hundreds of millions of dollars cannot be nihilist, materialist and cynical.
Opening scene
June 10, 2007
Zack Snyder talked about the opening scene. He said it will be “very intence“, with a character called Comedian who “gets in a fight with a guy that we don’t know who it is, and [the Comedian] gets thrown out a window.” Like the comics. He forgot to say that.
In another webpage, it says they are trying to put things going on as soon as possible, so they can start shooting soon, specially because many [fanboy comment: wise] directors has turned off this project.
On another note, I’d like to add that we think they are going to make adaptations to the context, so it can fit into nowadays and look more conteporary. For those who never read about or read Watchmen, it was wrote and published when the Cold War was still happening. So many aspects of the paranoia present in the characters world would not make sense at all for today [b]watchers[/b] and possible readers. They are probably going to change that for “terrorism-like”.
And I heard about another cast rumors.
Keep watching.
Time!
June 5, 2007
Hello everyone!
We are really busy with college right now and we couldn’t update the blog so far. We hope we will be able to do so by the end of this week.
Cheers all!
No big news, reasons to come
June 1, 2007
As there isn’t any big news in the last few days, we decided to write the first 4 reasons why was this blog created.
So, keep watching.