"At Midnight, All the Agents": Production/Set Leaks

[sad lieutenant]

An extra from the set of Watchmen provided a set report to the discussion thread on IMDb. I didn't know people actually posted on that site. I'll just quote him -- dude goes by the monicker Dracenstein (which I'm tempted to rag on a bit, but don't feel like pooping where I eat my hot pockets!).

His initial post:
SPOILER ALERT: I worked on Watchment today as a background actor. They were filming the prison cafeteria fight scene. We filmed it at Riverside Hospital in Coquitlam, BC. It's an actual working lunatic asylum in real life and is still used today. Jackie Earl Hayley was hilarious. He's so tiny but so full of energy. After every take he'd go running up to the director Zach Snyder and watch his last take. Both Zach and Jackie were like kids having the time of their lives on set despite all the other crew being all stressed about everything. I played a prisoner in the cafeteria line who watches the unsuing [sic] altercation and the hot oil scalding of another inmate. We were on set for 15 hours and the one scene we filmed probably won't last more than a minute in the final cut.

In response to a question, he provided a bit more info:
Jackie's wearing a red wig with dyed eye brows to match (his hair looked very real to me). The prison outfit is a gray pair of cotton dockers type pants with a grayish/blue cotton button up shirt along with suede slip-on shoes.

he made a third entry, explaining that he's not really a Watchmen fan and that the smell of rancid cafeteria food was appalling. Oh and he said he read the whole script, and Veidt -- just kidding.

[War Party]

Sounds great to me, if it's true.

[Motown Marvel]

cool.

[Luchastyle]

pretty awesome. sounds legit to me. need to tell that guy to register here. maybe he'll be called back for more scenes.

[Carmine Falcone]

I want pictures of Haley as Kovacs. Badly.

[sad lieutenant]

Originally Posted by Carmine Falcone

I want pictures of Haley as Kovacs. Badly.

I wonder if they're using the same set for the other scenes that take place in the prison? Pic of Nite Owl maybe?

[WalterKovacs]

im not gonna lie this sounds so hardcore

[Yurka]

Originally Posted by sad lieutenant

An extra from the set of Watchmen provided a set report to the discussion thread on IMDb. I didn't know people actually posted on that site. I'll just quote him -- dude goes by the monicker Dracenstein (which I'm tempted to rag on a bit, but don't feel like pooping where I eat my hot pockets!).

His initial post:
SPOILER ALERT: I worked on Watchment today as a background actor. They were filming the prison cafeteria fight scene. We filmed it at Riverside Hospital in Coquitlam, BC. It's an actual working lunatic asylum in real life and is still used today. Jackie Earl Hayley was hilarious. He's so tiny but so full of energy. After every take he'd go running up to the director Zach Snyder and watch his last take. Both Zach and Jackie were like kids having the time of their lives on set despite all the other crew being all stressed about everything. I played a prisoner in the cafeteria line who watches the unsuing [sic] altercation and the hot oil scalding of another inmate. We were on set for 15 hours and the one scene we filmed probably won't last more than a minute in the final cut.

In response to a question, he provided a bit more info:
Jackie's wearing a red wig with dyed eye brows to match (his hair looked very real to me). The prison outfit is a gray pair of cotton dockers type pants with a grayish/blue cotton button up shirt along with suede slip-on shoes.

he made a third entry, explaining that he's not really a Watchmen fan and that the smell of rancid cafeteria food was appalling. Oh and he said he read the whole script, and Veidt -- just kidding.

Sounds awesome

[Steelsheen]

man i am so grinning from ear to ear on this

[Captain Carnage]

A red wig AND dyed eye brows to match?

VERY real looking hair? Not just real but VERY real?

Sweet Jee-SUS... this is just SO hardcore and awesome! I mean, a brown door-jam a few weeks back was one thing, but THIS...


Just goes to show how truly wrong Alan Moore is about Hollywood and their treatment of his work.

Zack Snyder. You are a God Among Insects. Recognise.

[Carmine Falcone]

Originally Posted by Captain Carnage

A red wig AND dyed eye brows to match?

VERY real looking hair? Not just real but VERY real?

Sweet Jee-SUS... this is just SO hardcore and awesome! I mean, a brown door-jam a few weeks back was one thing, but THIS...


Just goes to show how truly wrong Alan Moore is about Hollywood and their treatment of his work.

Zack Snyder. You are a God Among Insects. Recognise.

*barf*

[Antonello Blueberry]

Originally Posted by Captain Carnage

Zack Snyder. You are a God Among Insects. Recognise.

Sarcasm, my dear old friend.
I tought you die-hard fanboys would have been happy with Snyder, a fan drone whose idea of artistic integrity match yours.
Replicate the book without any grain of intelligence, seems to be his same motto.

[Captain Carnage]

Well spotted, Ant... unlike some others.

Die-hard fanboy though I undoubtedly am (and proud), Snyder's approach to adaptation which you so rightly identify raises one or two issues as far as WATCHMEN and the intelligence that a work such as this demands is concerned:

a). just how do you replicate a book like WATCHMEN on film in its entirety, with all the content included and every subtle nuance and myriad complexity of style and presentation intact? You can't.

b). so if you can't produce a direct copy (and, quite frankly, why would you want to attempt the pointless?) and an adaptative interpretation will fall way short of the original... why bother at all?


Y'see, I'm pretty much the type of die-hard fanboy who thinks Snyder et al should just leave the thing alone and let the original be, same as it ever was these past twenty-something years. Any film version, from anyone, will only ever be meh at best.

But I'll still come here an' argue with y'all fer *****s 'n' giggles 'cos, well... I can.

[Antonello Blueberry]

The same can be said for most of the books over 200 pages turned into movies.
You simply can't put everything into a movie, it's a different medium. That's why they're called adaptations. Even Lord of the Rings didn't put everything in the movies.
I still laugh when I remember fanboy telling the movie would have been an unfaithful disaster, since they came to know Jackson had axed Tom Bombadil from the script.
I've started reading the Tse version of November 2006 and it tries too hard to cram stuff from the book in the dialogues, they become too heavy, but sometimes it's necessary to give the background of this alternate version of 1986.
Strangely enough I found in a line by Veidt something I suggested here and on the AICN boards, like one year and an half ago after reading the former draft.

[Shifty]

Originally Posted by Captain Carnage

But I'll still come here an' argue with y'all fer *****s 'n' giggles 'cos, well... I can.

Everyone get comfy for the next two years...

[Katsuro]

Originally Posted by Captain Carnage

b). so if you can't produce a direct copy (and, quite frankly, why would you want to attempt the pointless?) and an adaptative interpretation will fall way short of the original... why bother at all?

To give those who dont read comic books a chance at experiencing such a great story. To the general audience, they wont be thinking "this isnt' as good as the book. They left out those lesbians at the newspaper stand!!!". To them it'll just be a good story, and maybe it'll inspire them to pick up the book. That's why bother.

[Captain Carnage]

Meh.

Lesbians do not concern me, Katsuro. I want that Black Freighter ship, not excuses.

[StorminNorman]

Honestly I skip over the Black Freighter every time I re read Watchmen

[waylayer]

Originally Posted by Katsuro

To give those who dont read comic books a chance at experiencing such a great story. To the general audience, they wont be thinking "this isnt' as good as the book. They left out those lesbians at the newspaper stand!!!". To them it'll just be a good story, and maybe it'll inspire them to pick up the book. That's why bother.

<claps like a happy-go-lucky seal> Wait, all seals are happy. Anyway...

I had heard of Watchmen for years but never saw a reason to push myself to actually purchase and read it (I'm not really into comics anymore).

That is until I heard about an upcoming movie and visited that old simple website put up by Paramount when they were producing it a few years back. Still, I purchased Watchmen in late '05 but didn't bother to read it until April '06 when on business in India. I had packed both Watchmen and The Chancellor Manuscript (coincidentally also being made into a movie), and I finished with the latter before diving into Watchmen.

What's my point (besides boring you, the reader)? I'm not always entirely sure, but if it wasn't for the rumors of the movie I would not have even bothered to pick up and read Watchmen in the first place. Others in the future will likewise follow suit either based upon the news of the impending movie or after seeing the film itself. As a bonus fun fact, I still have not fully gained back the 8 pounds that were stolen from me while in India (my bowels exploded similarly to the alien squid's psionic discharge in downtown Manhattan, causing almost as much devastation).

[Katsuro]

Originally Posted by Captain Carnage

Meh.

Lesbians do not concern me, Katsuro. I want that Black Freighter ship, not excuses.

Then read the book. You just said you have no desire to see this in movie form, so i'm not sure why it concerns you. Let the average movie-goer and the more open-minded fans enjoy their shortened film version of the story, and you can just not see it and keep enjoying the book.

[Captain Carnage]

Sigh. Another wasted Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back reference, then.

You just don't get the same calibre of fanboys these days...

[Lobster Charlie]

Don't worry, CC---I got it.

Originally Posted by StorminNorman

Honestly I skip over the Black Freighter every time I re read Watchmen

So do I. But it'd be nice to see it on film, maybe a DVD extra?

[cryptic name]

Originally Posted by StorminNorman

Honestly I skip over the Black Freighter every time I re read Watchmen

same here.

but i reread all the lesbian dialogue 3 times over.

[brobdingnag]

Originally Posted by Captain Carnage

Sigh. Another wasted Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back reference, then.

You just don't get the same calibre of fanboys these days...

I stood in line at the Glennwood Theatre for three hours to see Star Wars in 1977. It was probably the single best time I ever had at the movies besides Fellowship of the Ring. I can appreciate your Darth Vadar reference but that line is hardly an iconic moment from the film. I probably wouldn't have gotten it and I have seen that movie dozens of times.