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Shell Beau Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 03:46 PM
Original message
Anyone want to see Watchmen?
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camera obscura Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 03:47 PM
Response to Original message
1. I love the graphic novel it's based on but
I fear some of the subtleties will be lost in the transition to film.
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Fire Walk With Me Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 03:52 PM
Response to Original message
2. Yes, with trepidation that the essence shall be lost.
Casting Owl as a thin man, for instance. Part of the attraction of that particular character was that he had to rise above his fear and self-doubt in order to be/become a hero. Looks like that won't be happening in the film.
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semillama Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 04:47 PM
Response to Reply #2
8. Actually, the actor who is playing Dan Dreiberg put on 25 lbs for the film
The costume is slimming, of course.

but read about the cast (from the wiki page on the film - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen_(film)) and see if that doesn't change your mind a bit.

" * Jackie Earle Haley as Walter Kovacs / Rorschach: A superhero who continues his vigilante activities after they are outlawed.<4> Unlike the other five principal actors, Haley had read the comic and was keen to pursue the role when he heard he had become a favorite candidate among fans.<5> He and fourteen friends put together his audition, where he performed scenes from the comic.<6> Haley "almost went nuts" trying to reconcile his understanding of complex human behavior with Rorschach's moral absolutism, stating the character made him wonder if people generally just make excuses for their bad actions.<7> Rorschach wears a mask with ink blots that morph to reflect his emotions: motion capture markers were put on the contours of Haley's blank mask, for animators to create his ever-changing expressions.<8> Haley found the mask "incredibly motivating for the character" because of its confining design, which heated up quickly.<9> Small holes were made in the mask for him to see.<8> Haley has a black belt in Kenpō, but described Rorshach's attack patterns as sloppier and more aggressive due to the character's boxing background.<10>

* Patrick Wilson as Daniel Dreiberg / Nite Owl II: A retired superhero with technological experience.<4> John Cusack, a fan of the comic book, expressed interest in the role.<11> Snyder cast Wilson after watching 2006's Little Children, which co-starred Haley. Wilson put on 25lbs to play the overweight Dreiberg.<5> He compared Dreiberg to a soldier who returns from war who is unable to fit in with society again.<12> Wilson said the fight style he was instructed to give Nite Owl was "heavy handed and power coordinated".<10>

* Malin Akerman as Laurie Juspeczyk / Silk Spectre II: A retired superheroine. Akerman described her character as the psychology and the emotion of the film due to being the only woman among the men. The actress worked out and trained to fight for her portrayal of the crimefighter.<13> Akerman's latex costume and wig, which often stuck into the latex, did not permit a lot of protection when performing stunts, and she often bruised herself during filming.<10> Ackerman pronounced Juspeczyk as "Juice-peck-it".<14>

* Billy Crudup as Dr. Jon Osterman / Doctor Manhattan:<15> A superhero with genuine powers who works for the U.S. government. The role was once pursued by actor Keanu Reeves,<16> but the actor abandoned his pursuit when the studio held up the project over budget concerns.<4> As well as playing Osterman in flashback as a human, for his post-accident scenes as Dr. Manhattan, Crudup is replaced in the film with a motion-capture CG version of himself. During filming on set, Crudup acted opposite his co-stars, wearing a white suit covered in blue LEDs, so he would give off an otherworldly glow in real life, just as the computer-generated Manhattan does in the movie. Crudup had to keep thinking of the character in the comic, because he felt ridiculous in the suit.<6> Crudup deemed it fortunate he did not have to wear prosthetics or fit into a rubber costume like the other actors though, and would remind them of this when they made jokes about his appearance.<5> Snyder chose not to electronically alter Crudup's voice for Manhattan, explaining the character "would try and put everyone as much at ease as he could, instead of having a robotic voice that I think would feel off-putting".<17>

* Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias: A retired superhero who has since made his identity public. The role of Ozymandias was originally connected to actors Jude Law and Tom Cruise (who Snyder felt would have been better as Manhattan),<16><10> but they left the project behind due to the studio's delay in handling the budget.<4> Snyder said Goode was "big and tall and lean", which aided in bringing "this beautiful ageless, Aryan superman" feel to the character.<5> Goode interpreted Veidt's backstory to portray him with a German accent in private and an American one in public; Goode explained Veidt gave up his family's wealth and travelled the world, becoming a self-made man because he was ashamed of his parents' Nazi past, which in turn highlighted the themes of the American Dream and the character's duality.<18> Because of the German-born depiction of Veidt, Goode pronounced his surname as "Vight".<19>

* Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Edward Blake / The Comedian: A superhero who is commissioned by the U.S. government. Prior to Morgan's casting, producers Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin met with Ron Perlman to discuss portraying the Comedian.<20> When reading the comic for the part, Morgan stopped when he saw his character was killed off three pages in. When telling his agent he did not want the part, he was told to continue reading it and find out how important his character was.<5> Morgan found the role a challenge, explaining, "For some reason, in reading the novel, you don't hate this guy even though he does things that are unmentionable. <...> My job is to kind of make that translate, so as a viewer you end up not making excuses to like him, but you don't hate him like you should for doing the things that he does."<21> Morgan asked Snyder if the Comedian could swear more in the script.<10>

* Stephen McHattie as Hollis Mason / Nite Owl: The first vigilante to take up the mantle of Nite Owl.<2>

* Carla Gugino as Sally Jupiter / Silk Spectre: A retired superheroine, mother of Laurie Juspeczyk and the first Silk Spectre. Gugino's character ages from 25 years old in the 1940s to 67 years old in the 1980s, and the 37-year-old actress wore prosthetics to reflect the aging process. Gugino described her character's superhero outfit as an influence of Bettie Page-meets-Alberto Vargas. The actress donned the trademark hairdo of the character, though it was shaped to be more plausible for the film.<22> She also posed for the Alberto Vargas-style pin-ups of her character and a painting meant to be done by Norman Rockwell, which she enjoyed because she was fascinated by Vargas.<23>

* Matt Frewer as Edgar Jacobi / Moloch the Mystic: An elderly rehabilitated criminal, known when he was younger as an underworld kingpin and magician.<24>

* Niall Matter as Byron Lewis / Mothman: He is not a main focus of the storyline, but appears in flashbacks, at one point reduced in his later years to fragile sanity, unnerving the second Silk Spectre. He is regarded fondly by most of the Minutemen, and the first Nite Owl sends the second to visit him, uncostumed, on his behalf.<25>

* Dan Payne as Dollar Bill: A first-generation crimefighter who caught his cape in a revolving door during a bank robbery and was shot to death. Payne is a fan of the comic and shot his scenes over four days, both for his cameo in the theatrical cut and the fictionalized DVD documentary.<26>

* Danny Woodburn as "The Big Figure": A dwarf crime boss whom Rorschach put in prison.<27>"
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Fire Walk With Me Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 10:49 PM
Response to Reply #8
17. Oooh, thank you very much for posting that. This gives me hope...
Also: "..made him wonder if people generally just make excuses for their bad actions."

Absolutely yes. In our "society:, hypocrisy and selfishness are utterly astonishing in their depth and justification.
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PVnRT Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-18-09 07:37 AM
Response to Reply #8
21. Morgan asked if he could swear more in the script
That is too fucking awesome for words. The Comedian does need to say "fuck" more often.
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Tyrone Slothrop Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 03:53 PM
Response to Original message
3. Yes, but only to see how bad it's going to be
I'm a big fan of the graphic novel -- and I really don't see how you could make a decent movie out of it. There's so much going on and so many different layers; I could see it working as a 10-12 hour miniseries, but not a 2 hour movie.
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PVnRT Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 04:23 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. As long as Dr. Manhattan doesn't kick Bubastis off a cliff
shouting THIS....IS....MARS!!!!
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tigereye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 04:19 PM
Response to Original message
4. my husband wants to...


:hi:
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DS1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 04:24 PM
Response to Original message
6. Nope
All comic book'd out, thanks.
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sasquatch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 04:44 PM
Response to Original message
7. Yes & yes
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Orsino Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 04:58 PM
Response to Original message
9. Yes.
I don't love the graphic novel, but I like it a lot. A movie done correctly will be a nice character study, along the lines of X-Men. I'm not a fan of costumed superheroes in general, but am interested in these particular ones.
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Strong Atheist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 05:00 PM
Response to Original message
10. Nah. I read the comic years ago. That was
depressing enough...
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 05:17 PM
Response to Original message
11. Not really.
Movies from graphic novels tend to be an exact copy of the graphic novel. Which is normally OK, but with this graphic novel you've got, basically, a murder mystery.

And I already know who done it.

So I'm not getting that excited.

Plus, rumors say they've gotten rid of the giant squid. Which was the best part.

I'm much more looking forward to the Bone movie that's supposedly in production.
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ACTION BASTARD Donating Member (765 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 06:56 PM
Response to Reply #11
12. Yes, the giant squid is out.
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Fire Walk With Me Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 10:50 PM
Response to Reply #12
18. what what what?
what!?
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Fire Walk With Me Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-18-09 12:52 AM
Response to Reply #12
20. fuck fuck fuck fuck.
fuck.

Deal-breaker. How could they be so...words fail me (although I'm willing to offer vast amounts of them on this subject).
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Deep13 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 07:02 PM
Response to Original message
13. At this point any change I find in the car or laying around...
...will be used for basic expenses.
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Greyskye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 07:29 PM
Response to Original message
14. I wasn't familiar at all with Watchmen
But the trailers and the buzz were intriguing, so I just picked up the graphic novel from Amazon. I'm impressed so far, but am really wondering how they're going to pull the movie off.

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bigwillq Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 07:37 PM
Response to Original message
15. No
Those kind of movies don't really interest me.
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nickinSTL Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 08:56 PM
Response to Original message
16. I'll see it eventually...
my wife and friends plan to go to the first showing at midnight...they're huge geeks. I'm just a low-level geek :evilgrin:

My wife is really excited, she LOVES the graphic novel, but does worry about it...

The worst thing she's heard about it, is that they changed the end...:wtf:
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AlCzervik Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-17-09 10:52 PM
Response to Original message
19. i'm sure i'll rent it.
My daughter is dying to see it so she and her friend can go sans me the oppressor and fun remover.
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Blue_Tires Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-18-09 08:37 AM
Response to Original message
22. if anything, i'll see it to figure out all this 'greatest comic ever' talk....
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semillama Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-18-09 10:19 AM
Response to Reply #22
23. To figure out the greatest comic ever talk, you should actually read the comic
My wife, who doesn't like to read comics, is obsessed with the comic after reading it. It's quite possibly the best argument for why comics should not be denigrated as a form of art and literature. It's not just that it's a fascinating study of morality in society, the role of heroes, and ethics, but how the comics form is actually the superior way to tell the story, working better than it would as a straight novel or as the movie.
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LanternWaste Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-18-09 10:52 AM
Response to Original message
24. High hopes, low expectations...
High hopes, low expectations...
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Yes We Did Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-18-09 10:56 AM
Response to Reply #24
26. Best way to go into a movie.
I have been avoiding every advertisement. I don't want another Irobot experience. I watched everything for that one and was so disappointed... cuz I watched everything, including the 1 hour making of...

Never again.
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Lost in CT Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-18-09 10:53 AM
Response to Original message
25. It looks fun and big screen worthy.
And I need a good action film after all those non-action films this winter.
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