Watchmen Sequel

I've been hearing all this stuff recently about a possible sequel/series to the original Watchmen.

You know, as long as the contracts square up, DC is totally within their rights to make a sequel & take advantage of the prospect of a franchise for these characters.

The question is: will doing so, without the input of Moore/Gibbons, hurt the brand? I mean: hurt the brand with people who will matter, people who will spread negative word-of-mouth on this project?

That's the question.

I mean, even if someone like Grant Morrison stepped up on the plate for this. Morrison would look like a xxxxx writing a sequel to Watchmen that Moore didn't approve of. It'd be big shoes to fill for anyone. It's like me announcing I was hired to write Persepolis 2. It sucks, it feels cheap.

Here's how'd I do it:

You put out one book for each character, either a mini-series or a one-shot. Put them out one week after another, like an event:

Week One: Ozymandias
Week Two: Dr. Manhattan
Week Three: Silk Spectre
Week Four: Rorschach
Week Five(?) Nite Owl

That way, you spread the blame around to four or five writers, it doesn't seem quite as egregious as hiring one guy to do "Watchmen 2."

Then from there do an overall "event," but don't call it "Watchmen 2."

The key is not to say this is an official sequel to "Watchmen." Just put all this stuff out and gauge fan reaction. If they threaten to burn down DC: pull back. If not, sign Morrison/Quietly on "Watchmen 2."

Please understand, I'm not advocating this course of action. I'm very fine with there never being a sequel to this classic series.

But I'm just saying, for sake of argument.

/Watchmen Babies.
//Watchmensch.
///oh fuck it, here's a hat tip to Bleeding Cool's take as well.

Watchmen Movie Writer Compares Audience To Attempted Rape Victim

Hey fanboys and fangirls:
guess which one in this picture is supposed to be YOU?

Watchmen scribe David Hayter recently posted an open letter to fans, urging them to get out and watch the movie again. How does he convince the skeptical that Watchmen indeed is the film of the decade, the one they were "waiting for?"

"All this time, you’ve been waiting for a director who was going to hit you in the face with this story. To just crack you in the jaw, and then bend you over the pool table with this story. With its utterly raw view of the darkest sides of human nature, expressed through its masks of action and beauty and twisted good intentions. Like a fry-basket full of hot grease in the face. Like the Comedian on the Grassy Knoll. I know, I know...

You say you don't like it. You say you've got issues. I get it.

And yet... You'll be thinking about this film, down the road. It'll nag at you. How it was rough and beautiful. How it went where it wanted to go, and you just hung on. How it was thoughtful and hateful and bleak and hilarious. And for Jackie Earle Haley.

Trust me. You'll come back, eventually. Just like Sally."

Wow.

Hayter then posts a clarification:

"First off, let me apologize for my metaphor. I am certainly not advocating violence against women of any kind. My sole intent was to reference one of the most complex, controversial and interesting issues in the story imho -- The nature of the relationship between Sally and the Comedian, and likening that complexity to some people's reaction to the film. It was meant more in the spirit of speaking to those who are truly entwined with the heart of the story -- A horrific act, that ends in a love story. I sincerely apologize for any offense."

So I should relate to this movie the way a woman relates to a love-hate relationship with an attempted rapist?

Wow.

That's exactly what I'm looking for in a movie. One that "hits me in the face, cracks me in the jaw, and bends me over a pool table."

"You say you don't like it. You say you've got issues. I get it."

Fuck you. Seriously.

I was pretty forgiving about possible issues of misogyny in the film up to the point I read this pathetic plea to fans. The whole open letter makes nauseous, actually:

"You have to understand, everyone is watching to see how the film will do in its second week. If you care about movies that have a brain, or balls, (and this film's got both, literally), or true adaptations -- And if you're thinking of seeing it again anyway, please go back this weekend, Friday or Saturday night. Demonstrate the power of the fans, because it'll help let the people who pay for these movies know what we'd like to see. Because if it drops off the radar after the first weekend, they will never allow a film like this to be made again."

Remember, Watchmen screenwriter David Hayter doesn't believe in "raping your childhood," folks. Because you really "want it." Just like Sally Jupiter did.

This guy couldn't carry Alan Moore's jockstrap.

Comments off, because of the "Hayters."

"Watchmen" Critics Inspire Passionate Response By Fans (NSFW)

I just finished reading a looooong comment thread on a conservative movie critic's website regarding her review of Watchmen. The reviewer, Debbie Schlussel, starts off by saying if you are going to see "Watchmen," "...you're also probably a moron and a vapid, indecent human being." She says that the movie was marketed to kids, and goes on to list, in detail, every gory scene in the movie.

As you can imagine, the response was swift and severe.

Personally, I don't believe Watchmen was marketed to children. I also don't agree with her assessment that if you watch the film, you are an indecent human being.

Here is a sample of the responses to her post:

"IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A WHOLESOME FAMILY FRIENDLY MOVIE YOU DUMB BITCH. DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE SEX SCENES JUST BECAUSE NOBODY WANTS TO DO IT WITH YOU."

"I am a 17 year old female and I freaking love Watchmen I am a comic book nerd and I am not twisted I have always watched cartoons Yes voilent ones and read oh you guessed it voilent comics too I am not messed up for life I get high grades at school and I have normal friends but you know what I'm stuck with stupid self loving bitches like you telling me that what I like is wrong."

"this is one of the rare times i wish i lived in communist china where cunts like you got aborted with a coat hanger."

"hey fuck you you dumb cunt! if you can say what you want about the greatest movie of all time i can tell you that you are i dumb fuck who doesnt know shit about comic books! they didnt make this movie for people like you or little kids! they made it for comic book nerds like myself who enjoy graphic violence and swearing and rough sex scenes! so shove it up your dick hole! fuck you!"

"Someone needs to call the nice men in white coats on this bitch."

"I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THIS TWAT EXISTED UNTIL I HEARD ABOUT THIS REVIEW. I'LL CANCEL MY ACCOUNT NOW AND REMOVE HER FROM MY WORLD. JUST NEEDED TO LET HER KNOW WHAT A VILE CUNT SHE WAS."

"I'M SURPRISED THAT A CUNT AS BIG AS YOU WOULD BE SO OFFENDED BY A BIG BLUE COCK"

"Do the world a favor and sterilize yourself you dumb, mouth-breathing cunt."

"But seriously, you need to get punched."

"STOP BANNING ME BECAUSE I DISAGREE WITH YOU, YOU STUPID FUCKING CUNT."

and so on.

This reminds me of the opening of another Watchmen review by a female critic:

"Hey, fanboys. Yeah, you guys, the ones who flooded my inbox with e-mails after I trashed Zack Snyder's "300," wishing birth defects on my unborn children and suggesting that perhaps my husband isn't _ ahem _ keeping me satisfied."

If you go on the film site Rotten Tomatoes, there is usually a thread attacking every negative review of Watchmen:

"The plot made little sense to you becuase your stupid and old. It was not made for you. It was made for my generation full of intelligent young people."

"It's obvious that some of you cant handle the greatness of this film (or refuse to enjoy it for no apparent reason)"

"Stupid people have a hard time following the film "Watchmen." Certainly anyone who found this film too "talky" falls into that category. I'm gratified that not everything (including action/fantasy genre) is being made just for RETARDS any more. Let the lowest common denominator go to stupid, cheap, ****ty movies. Let the budgets go to nifty fare like this"

"You Suck!"

"You sir are a fool with the intelligence of a pile of excrement."

"you are a turd minus the brown"

"stfu guy. man i hate reviewers who think they need to use rarely spoken words by anyone in an attempt to validate his opinion. freakin jerk offs at the wall street journal"

"Reviews like this are unfair and unjust..
They should be removed when EVERYONE disagrees with them."

This literally goes on for the majority of the negative Watchmen reviews on eleven pages.

I guess it just goes to show that some people passionately love this graphic novel and movie.

Watchmen Condom "Sexist?"

Concerning the Watchmen movie giveaway condom, Annalee at the Bitch blog writes:

"While most blogs seem to be talking about this clash between the ideals of the comic series and the commercialism of this promotional item, I was first struck by the overt connection being made between sex and comics. The idea of the "fan boy" has been a topic that I have personally been really interested in lately, so seeing this opportunity for guys to essentially have sex and think of themselves as a superhero* is especially intriguing.

Some may think that a feminist discussion surrounding this condom is a little played out, since the idea that comic books are frequently a boy's club isn't exactly groundbreaking (neither is the notion of men being protectors). However, this does seem especially interesting, right?"

However, Ned at Manolith puts it all in perspective:

"Like most of America, I have a boner for the new Watchmen movie. Yup. I am so excited to see it, I have a boner."

Is there anything sexist about this promotional Watchmen condom? Is a certain gender being discriminated against? Is there a statement being made?

Or is it just that this blue Dr. Manhattan condom sufficiently deals with the massive fan boner?

(of course, women can't have boners, typically. so where does that leave them in this equation?)

(I'm all about giving away free condoms, btw. They are expensive. Though I have my doubts about that blue one.)

Alan Moore On Today's "Edgy" Superheroes

"I have to say that I haven't seen a comic, much less a superhero comic, for a very, very long time now—years, probably almost a decade since I've really looked at one closely. But it seems to be that things that were meant satirically or critically in Watchmen now seem to be simply accepted as kind of what they appear to be on the surface. So yeah, I'm pretty jaundiced about the entire "caped crusader" concept at the moment."

Via Wired

"Watchmen" Writer Compares Fox To "Satan"

"Watchmen" movie writer David Hayter on 20th Century Fox:

“… My experience told me that they could shut down this movie, and lock it away in Rupert’s vault … and make it the most unseen desired cult movie of all time … but I was extremely concerned. Many producer friends of mine said the same thing as Alex - that they’re just going for money or whatever — but I was like, ‘Yeah, okay, but there’s something beyond money going on at that studio and it has to do with … Satan.”

Why is he such a Hayter?


Via Filmonic
Complete audio at Hollywood Outbreak

Watchmen: Not A Movie, But "A Miracle"

Quotes from Time Magazine's Nerd World blog regarding an advance screening of the film:

"Sitting in that screening room and watching the visual world of the Watchmen movie unfold was one of the most powerful experiences I've ever had. Not film experiences. Just EXPERIENCES."


"What will people who've never read Watchmen even think of this film? What will it be like for them to sit through these crazy, violent, colorful three hours and not recognize almost every line – almost every image? Will they be utterly baffled, bored, or totally love it? Is Watchmen even a good or bad movie? I have no idea."



"For me, Watchmen isn't a movie at all. It's a miracle the likes of which my 14-year-old self would never have believed."

Occasional Links: Mad Ideas, Watchmen, Star Trek, more

Current Internet-meme-du-jour, Carl Winslow.

Was this Dilbert cartoon from 2005 yet another Nostradamus-type prediction for our current financial crisis?


Steven Grant on Grant Morrison & Final Crisis:

"Anyway, at this point the one remaining major comics writer who has consistently clung to and through his work championed the cause of mad ideas is Grant Morrison, who packed FINAL CRISIS with more mad ideas per square inch than virtually all other "mad ideas" comics combined. Many of them are brilliant, in their context. But as I mentioned last week, it hits such a density it becomes a virtual black hole of mad ideas, with such a gravitational pull that story can barely escape it, and then only the edges of the story are visible. Story in FINAL CRISIS isn't story, as traditionally understood in western literature, and certainly not in comics; it's the event horizon of mad ideas."

Joss Whedon says there will be no Dark Horse comic book tie-in for his new TV show Dollhouse:

"You know, the science fiction of this is much more fiction than science. Ultimately it’s actors acting differently, which is not that - Something you really need to see drawn. There is, however, CSI comic books. So I guess everything could be a comic book. But I don’t feel it lends itself in the same way that my other fictions have."

Take a look at Donald Duck's Family Tree.



Would Alan Moore be cool about this Watchmen video game?

"I'm not going to spoil it for those of you who haven't read the graphic novel, but I can at least say that while Watchmen was all about miserable people dealing with their own personal crises, the game wisely takes place before the events of the book."

Oy.


Eddie Izzard set to appear in Day Of The Triffids remake for the BBC...with Jason Priestley and Brian Cox! Awesomeness!


CBS is streaming classic Star Trek (that's SHATNER TREK to you, none of that Picardo stuff) in HD on their website. Episodes include Turnabout Intruder, The Trouble With Tribbles, and Mirror, Mirror.

Just to show that fan discontent transcends just comics, pro wrestling fan takes the WWE to task and tells them to Stop The Crap. An interesting point made in the post?

"Want some free promotion? Get with the times. Allow us to embed your videos!"

A look at JLA T-shirts through the ages, with a focus on Firestorm. Found on the Firestorm Fan site, of course.
Finally, this Los Angeles promotional video from the 90s gives me hemorrhoids...and not in a good way!

I love the stuttering video effects in this. Made me want to smack that drink right out of Jack Wagner's hand.

Is This Silk Spectre Watchmen Poster Sexist?

Or is it simply playing with established comic book/pulp themes and tropes?

I think it's playing with established themes and tropes...in their pants!

Did You Like The Watchmen Ending With The Thingies?

(spoilers)

Some people don't like the ending at all. I know some people who hate it, feeling that Watchmen was brilliant right up to that point.

But it worked for me.

Inspired by this article in Newsarama about translating the ending of the original Watchmen graphic novel to the silver screen (or not).

Fox To "Kill" Watchmen Movie?

From Variety:

"A judge has denied a Warner Bros. motion to dismiss 20th Century Fox’s lawsuit over Warners’ right to make a film based on the graphic novel "Watchmen."

Ruling is potentially a huge victory for Fox, which could wind up as a profit participant in the film, and could cost Warners millions considering the film’s box office prospects. However, Fox’s legal team says it isn’t looking for monetary compensation and instead wants to prevent the big-budget film from being released altogether."

See, this is what happens when you make films against the wishes of a self-proclaimed "magus"...

Still, if this lawsuit really does hold up or "kill" the movie, that's gonna piss a lot of fans off.

Could it really happen?

"Surprisingly, Fox said it would rather see the film killed instead of collecting a percentage of the box office."

Related post: Alan Moore And The Watchmen Curse

No, That's Not Beating A Property Into The Ground

The New York Times reported yesterday that a direct-to-DVD Watchmen spinoffs/tie-in is in the works: "Tales of The Black Freighter." That's right, the pirate storyline in the original graphic novel. Because pirates sell.

"The immediate goal is for the parallel release to help start a potential new movie franchise. As television advertising becomes less effective because of declining TV viewership, movie studios need to reach a mass audience somehow, and having what amounts to ads sitting on store shelves is seen as a crucial antidote."

I remember me and my friends were discussing Sunday over homemade sangria Alan Moore's strong negative feelings about movie adaptations of his work. Annnnd...this is probably why, you know.

But do you think this will help finally restart the pirate comic book genre?

Keanu Reeves: Man Of Integrity

Never let it be said that Keanu Reeves is not a man of integrity. He said no to a sequel to this:


And said no to this:


And said no to playing Racer X in this:


Way back when, he said no to this:


But a sequel to this?


Perhaps. A man has to have his priorities.

The Big Ten (Formerly Known As The Hot List)

Here are the ten biggest stories of the past week...

10. Tolkien Estate Sues New Line

9. Rogue Wolf Entertainment Acquires Cold Cut

8. X-Force #1

7. New Star Wars Cartoon

6. Tom Breevort's "Spider-Man Manifesto"

5. Matt Fraction On Iron Man

4. Fox Sues Warners Over "Watchmen"

3. DC Promises Never To Do "Countdown" Again

2. Writer's Strike Over

1. Steve Gerber & Stephane Peru

Alan Moore & The Watchmen Curse

First it was the original movie plans.

Then there were the action figures.

Now it's a legal battle with Fox over the new movie.

Alan Moore has made his feelings about a Watchmen movie known...

Could it be that the sheer will of his soul is keeping DC from making any more profit off his creation?

Or will Watchmen eventually be made, as V for Vendetta and Constantine before it?

Marvel's "The Twelve" The New "Watchmen"?

I bought Marvel's The Twelve #1 simply because I read artist Chris Weston's name on the cover. I knew nothing else about it. Then I noticed J. Michael Straczynski's name on the cover, and, given recent events, I was a little wary. But, in the end I enjoyed The Twelve #1 -- and I couldn't help think of a similar mini-series...

Spoilers

It was the death of swashbuckling character Blue Blade, reminiscent for me of that of The Comedian, that really sunk in the Watchmen comparison. Certainly Weston's art -- superb -- helped that connection along.

But, whether JMS's story has the texture and depth of Alan Moore's masterpiece remains to be seen. I think relating this tale about the dark side of Golden Age heroes to the DC mini The Golden Age -- or even the recent Grant Morrison arc of Batman with the "Batmen of many nations" storyline/murder mystery -- might be more apropos.

Worth a read.

Some preview pages from #2: (click for bigger)

"Mr. Moore, Can You Sign My DVD Of Watchmen Babies?"

Tonight's episode of The Simpsons, "Husbands and Knives," was an important one in the history of the series. It saw the closure of a Springfield landmark -- The Android's Dungeon.

Jack Black provided the voice of Milo, the uber-hipster proprietor of the new comic store Coolsville. He plays Tom Jones covers in Korean, gives away Japanese hard candies, and has indie icons like Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman, and Dan Clowes do in-store signings.

Unable to compete with the charismatic and egalitarian Milo, The Android's Dungeon's owner Jeff Albertson (better known as Comic Book Guy) must close his doors.

Is this a statement on the comic book industry in real life? Not so much if the Coolsvilles will supplant the Android Dungeons -- but will the publishers themselves transition out from Hardcore Fanboys to Hip Purveyors of Sequential Art Narratives?

And when will DC finally come out with "Watchmen Babies?"