Archive for Watchmen
Rich Johnston over at ComicBookResources.com has a theory about the Watchmen legal issues and their relationship with the old Batman tv series. Apparently, Fox owns all of the original footage from that particular Batman TV series. However, Warner Bros. owns the trademarks on the characters and won’t play nice with Fox on the series release.
Sources tell me that Fox want the 1960s Batman TV series. Currently Fox own the TV footage, but Warner Bros own the characters and trademarks, via their ownership of DC Comics. The rights to a DVD release have been held up for a long time now, and this case looks like it may be the instrument to release them.
Oh, Fox will get a wodge of cash as well - many millions of dollars it seems. But it seems they also want the rights to release the Adam West-starring Batman on DVD, something long denied fans of the series. And Warners will get the “Watchmen” film, to release as planned.
There were comic fans who threatened Fox boycotts over what they saw as their scuppering of the Watchmen movie. Looks like they may soon have cause to thank Fox for this action.
Source: Comic Book Resources
The studios are having all kinds of legal issues over the first Watchmen film and it’s future release. So, while they’re doing that, they have plenty of time to think about a sequel…right?
In a recent interview with MTV News, Patrick Wilson who plays Nite Owl in Watchmen talked about the possibility of a Watchmen sequel.
“It’s all been talked about,” laughed Wilson. “Financially, they like to do that. But all of us, [director] Zack [Snyder] included, all go, ‘How on Earth could you do a sequel or prequel?’”
“Even the guys from ‘300’ might have had a sequel,” said Wilson. “It’s the most ridiculous option. It’s sort of a financial way to protect the studio, and I would do the same thing.”
“Certainly, artistically, I can’t fathom how it would happen,” said Wilson. “But hey, if Alan Moore writes it, I’d love to read it.”
Check out the source below to read the entire article.
Source: Splash Page MTV
Since Seth Green — he of “Robot Chicken,” “Family Guy,” “Austin Powers,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” — is no stranger to geekdom, it should be of no surprise that he is a major fan of comics. He’s got one of his own, but he also likes to read “Booster Gold” and “Common Grounds.” That’s why it would have been a dream come true if he could have had a part in “Watchmen” — as a certain masked man.
“I would have tried to pull off Rorschach,” Green said. (And he’s not the only one — both Jude Law and Simon Pegg also coveted the part.)
Then, looking down at himself, Green admitted, “But I probably don’t have the height for it.” What about special effects? “I can be 5′6″ with lifts, so maybe.”
What was it about Rorschach that he wanted to explore?
“Rorschach is not cute,” Green explained. “His character was all about duality and giving up human emotions and becoming this vigilante antihero. He’s a very complicated character.” (Jackie Earle Harley would agree, having recently told MTV News that Rorschach has an “attacking complexity … I just kept staring deeper and deeper into complexity.”)
“I just love that book,” Green said. “It’s so revolutionary. And it was one of the first times that it treated superheroes with such gravity, and really got into the public sentiment surrounding them. That’s what gave rise to ‘Identity Crisis’ and everything that came after. Everything that is relevant in comics was spawned from ‘Watchmen,’ and that’s why it’s such a touchstone.”
Green just hopes that “all this political B.S.,” i.e. the 20th Century Fox lawsuit doesn’t “tie up” the movie from being released in March. “I’ve been waiting more than 15 years for this movie,” Green said. “It’ll be like the comic, but bigger. I’m very, very excited to see that.”
Source: Splash MTV News
Despite the fact that working on a green screen while wearing a bulky motion capture suit shouldn’t be comfortable for any actor or actress, for Billy Crudup, who stars as Dr. Manhattan in the upcoming “Watchmen” film, it was almost second nature.
“I look like a 40-year-old jackass, which is kind of what I am,” joked Crudup.
However, despite the high-tech aspects of filming his character — a glowing, blue-skinned, usually naked hero with god-like powers — Crudup explained that not everything was filmed using sensory-depriving sets or wearing a bulky suit. “Just the Mars stuff,” he said. “While it was a big portion of the story of the third part of the movie, it was only probably a couple weeks that we were on rocks and a big blue or green screen room. Most of it was on normal sets and me on a very strange motion capture sequence.”
But despite the fact that Dr. Manhattan gets the CGI treatment, not everything in the film will be aided by computer. After all, Zack Snyder managed to build a full scale replica of the Owlship, which Splash Page got a personal tour of at this year’s San Diego Comic Con.
All giant, superhero vehicles aside, one burning question remains for those who have read the “Watchmen” graphic novel — will Dr. Manhattan remain pants-less, and if so, did Crudup go commando for the role? “I did all my shots in the nude so if you see anything, it was totally me. It was totally me.”
Source: Splash Page MTV
The strategy of being cheap and eschewing top-tier filmmakers came back to bite the studio: Although Fox has been the envy of many for its remarkable box office consistency and profit margins, many producers, agents and managers have been less than charmed. Complaints about the studio’s tendency to lowball talent — particularly writers — and Rothman’s micro-managing of productions have become widespread. A broad spectrum of reps say they are reluctant to place clients on Fox projects, citing a talent-unfriendly atmosphere. Two recent productions, “Babylon A.D.” and “Wolverine,” were rumored to have gone through Fox’s on-set maelstrom.
On the eve of the film’s release, “Babylon” helmer Mathieu Kassovitz publicly claimed the studio ruined his longtime passion project. “Wolverine” helmer Gavin Hood was nearly fired, according to sources, because of squabbles with the studio, and two backup directors were in place before Richard Donner — who is married to the film’s producer Lauren Shuler Donner — flew to the Australian set to smooth things over. At the time, Fox insisted that Richard Donner was on-set because he is a producer on the film. However, current credits for the film list various producers, but Donner is not one of them.
* The ‘Australia’ domino effect. Fox’s “Australia” was delayed by bad weather and Russell Crowe’s exit. When Hugh Jackman was cast, that in turn delayed “Wolverine,” which had been targeted for this summer (which could have significantly changed the studio’s summer tallies). So the studio moved pics like “X-Files” into summer slots, rather than the fall, which would have been a better fit.
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o (Film) The X-Files
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n Development snags. While the studio is bullish on its late-2008 and ‘09 slate, it simply didn’t have the pictures to move into the summer vacancy created by “Wolverine’s” delay.
Further compounding Fox’s summer woes was a backlash last month from the fanboy community, which is incensed by the studio’s lawsuit over Warner Bros.’ right to make the film “Watchmen.” Fans of the graphic novel have threatened to boycott Fox films like “Wolverine” if Fox’s legal maneuverings prevent the film from opening on schedule March 6 — though most consider that unlikely.
But if there were any lessons learned from summer 2008, Fox doesn’t appear to be altering its course. Producers, agents and managers see business as usual on the Century City lot, with the only exception being a drastic strategic makeover for Fox partner New Regency, which is moving into more highbrow fare. One agent says former Fox exec and current Regency co-chairman Hutch Parker has made it clear to the community that he is looking forward to working with the kinds of directors he never could at Fox and that Regency will now be the filmmaker-friendly part of the Fox family.
Parker told Daily Variety last week, “We want New Regency to be a first stop for top-flight filmmakers.”
More than one option
* (Co) Daily Variety
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* (Co) Daily Variety
To be fair, Fox’s repeated mantra is that market share is less important than profitability, and the studio’s investment on many of these pics was relatively low. “Meet Dave” was co-financed with Dune and New Regency, while “Mirrors” and “Space Chimps” were fully financed by third parties.
Though Fox has no plans for a major overhaul, the studio has scheduled a strategy meeting to assess the status of its superheroes, a group sorely missed this summer. On the agenda, Fox will mull the possibility of more “X-Men” spinoffs, including a young-X-Men project as well as “Deadpool,” based on a character played by Ryan Reynolds in “Wolverine.” The studio is even considering reviving the “Daredevil” property.
“I don’t see Fox changing anything,” says producer-manager JC Spink. “Just because it didn’t work this summer doesn’t mean they should change anything. Everyone has an off season. But look at how many summers in a row it has worked for them.”
And on paper, the year-end looks good with “Australia” and “Marley and Me,” and so does next summer, with the studio releasing no fewer than three tentpoles: “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” on May 1, “Night at the Museum 2: Escape From the Smithsonian” on Memorial Day weekend and “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” on the Fourth of July weekend.
Source: Variety