It's official!
It's official!
Well - they will no doubt jettison the pirate sub-plot and concentrate on making it a "who is killing off the superheros" mystery... which is fair enough.
They may decide to do the whole story in a more linear way rather than having all the origin-story flashbacks - again fair enough, tho i'd hope that they do something to keep Dr Manhattans skewed time/world view intact.
But... but... Darren Aronofsky... he's proved he can do non-linear weirdness and multiple character / story thread movies... so...
Like Alpha says, we wil have to wait for the casting news.
Watchmen Movie
The Stax Report: Script Review of Watchmen
A look at David Hayter's adaptation of the graphic novel classic!
September 09, 2004 - Stax here with my reaction to the screenplay for Watchmen! This 134-page third draft by David Hayter (Black Widow) is dated 9/26/03. It is an adaptation of the Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons graphic novel classic. After initially being set-up at Revolution Studios, the project is now based at Paramount Pictures with Darren Aronofsky attached to direct. Hayter had wanted to direct but the powers that be decided otherwise. Aronofsky's next project is The Fountain so there's no word yet on when Watchmen might film. (For my dream cast, click here.)
Some SPOILERS follow but if you know the comics ...
Like the comic it is based on, Watchmen takes place in an alternate reality where superheroes really do exist ... that is until changing times and legislation turned the public against them. Our protagonists include: the withdrawn, chubby Daniel Drieberg (a.k.a. Nite Owl); the psychotic vigilante Walter Kovacs (a.k.a. Rorschach); second generation superheroine Laurie Jupiter (a.k.a. Slingshot, although she was Silk Spectre II in the comic); the god-like Dr. Manhattan (p.k.a. Jon Osterman); the brilliant, wealthy Adrien Veidt (a.k.a. Ozymandius); and the cynical, blackhearted Comedian (a.k.a. Edward Blake).
It is the murder of Edward Blake that kicks off the plot to Watchmen. The mystery of who is out to get the ex-heroes propels the narrative forward but it is the deconstruction of superhero mythology that has made Watchmen intriguing for the last two decades. As Rorschach ruthlessly pursues the truth behind Blake's death, Dan and Laurie are gradually pulled back into their old crimefighting ways and fall in love. Laurie had been involved with Dr. Manhattan but, as both the comic and this draft show, he is no longer capable of behaving like a true human being.
The quest for Blake's killer uncovers a conspiracy concocted by Pyramid Developments, a far-reaching organization seemingly out to ignite World War III (and given the perilous state of the world of Watchmen that's not too hard to do). But when the mysterious enemy manages to take both Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach out of the picture, it forces Dan and Laurie to suit up again and confront the individual they believe is behind it all. Can they accomplish this before a catastrophic tragedy befalls America?
That's Watchmen in a nutshell but Hayter's script, like Moore and Gibbons' comic, works because of its rich, complex characters. Hayter has penned an amazingly faithful adaptation of the graphic novel, jettisoning the pirate story-within a-story, many of the news vendor cutaways, and updating the tale to 2005 without losing the meaning and power of the original tale. Indeed, it was wonderful to see how many images, lines of dialogue, and entire scenes were kept intact from the comic.
Watchmen may seem like it took a simple approach to adapting the comic but that's deceptive; I can only imagine the many tough decisions that were made of what had to be to cut. Hayter has compressed the narrative down to its core elements, remaining true to the nature of the characters (especially Rorschach) and captured its essence while rearranging events and excising subplots and minor characters.
But there were some issues I had with this draft that I can't discuss these without issuing yet another SPOILER WARNING.
I've always had a problem with the end of the graphic novel and I had similar issues with the ending of this draft. Without revealing too much, I will say that the identity of the secret enemy remains the same in the script as does their motivation but the actual catastrophe is different. I always thought the comic book collapsed under its own weight, ending with a James Bond-esque mea culpa by the villain and slowed down by exposition and flashbacks. While I've always liked the villain's Utopian agenda and their ends-justifies-the-means-approach, the logic and purpose of their actions no longers seems as persuasive post-9/11, given how quickly the sense of unity and purpose that stemmed from that tragedy evaporated.
Much of the mystery villain's backstory is no longer present in this draft, which robs them of their mystique and zany delusions of historical grandeur. This lack of development of the villain – a case of stripping the character of too many of their comic booky qualities – is arguably the weakest part of this draft. That said, this new approach to wreaking Armageddon was less convoluted than the one used by Moore and Gibbons but it still had some holes in it.
Overall, though, David Hayter has managed to accomplish what so many fanboys thought impossible: he has written a faithful and entertaining adaptation of a work almost universally considered the very best its medium has to offer. Despite my nitpicks with some of the changes and alterations made, I commend Hayter for not betraying the graphic novel and its fans. Here's hoping that Paramount might actually let us someday watch the Watchmen. - STAX
Jude Law Shows Interest in Watchmen
Source: Empire Online
August 12, 2004
Empire Online spoke to "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" star Jude Law who says he's a big Watchmen fan...
With that in mind, we mentioned that Law — with his dashing good looks, blond hair and movie star charisma — would be perfect for the role of Adrian Veidtaka Ozymandias, a former superhero and the smartest (and richest) man in the world, who becomes a key player in Watchmen's twisting plot. So we told him that there was a movie on the way, directed by Aronofsky.
"Darren Aronofsky? I'm on the phone NOW!" said Law, clearly excited. "Adrian Veidt, King of Kings!" And then, as if to show off his Watchmen fanboy credentials, he whispered conspiratorially. "I'm tattooed with Rorschach, did you know that?"
Simon Pegg Up for Watchmen Role?
Source: UGO
September 27, 2004
In an interview with UGO, "Shaun of the Dead" writer and star Simon Pegg says he may be up Rorschach in director Darren Aronofsky's adaptation of Alan Moore's Watchmen, written for the big screen by David Hayter. Here's the interview clip:
SIMON: Yeah, I've just read a book called Blankets [by Craig Thompson], and I just reread Watchmen because I got sent the screenplay.
UGO: Did they send it to you to maybe play a part?
SIMON: We know the producer, Lloyd Levin, and I told him I was interested, so he sent it along as something to think about. I would just love to play Rorschach.
UGO: What superpower would you want to have?
SIMON: Flight.
Originally posted by Mr Zero
I remember reading that they replace the "Spoiler:- which I guess makes a kinda sense....
giant alien" with some sort of "death ray from the sky"I'm just not sure if the USofA is ready just yet for a movie with
Spoiler:
Manhattan getting deep fried...
I think it will be an interesting film if done right but I also think it is a risky film as well. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens.