Alan Moore Still Not Interested

[CaptainGenerica]

And I also don't understand the quote in his signature. Surely the only people whose interests aren't at stake would be political apathetics, because they have no interests.

 

[rogue trooper]

Miracleman, also my Moore, preceded Watchmen by 4 years.

And for me that took on the superhero mythology and turned it in it's head just as much as Watchmen ever did (not as clever as Watchmen was, but still the first truely 'adult' take I'd seen on the mythos).

I would put Moore's Captain Britain and Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow along in that category too.

 

[The Battousai]

So happy Alan Moore is boycotting this tripe!!

Ah! The child who endlessly sucks upon Mr. Moore's proverbial teat - I hope it's a satisfying meal.

 

[deathfromabove]

And I also don't understand the quote in his signature. Surely the only people whose interests aren't at stake would be political apathetics, because they have no interests.

you are right. its an assinine quote from the former ceo of pan am airlines and no doubt he is referrring to monetary interests. liberal ideas are usually the ones that are immediately at stake.

besides i have a better quote from a better man

"The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out the conservative adopts them."

- Mark Twain

 

[Prefix]

I would put Moore's Captain Britain and Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow along in that category too.

I wouldn't. They are just good stories, not really defining moments in comic history.

 

[rogue trooper]

I wouldn't. They are just good stories, not really defining moments in comic history.

.......oh I know that. What I really meant is that, just like Miracleman(or Marvelman), they were stories that pushed superhero drama a bit before Watchmen came along.

 

[Heretic]

Since we're talking about Watchmen being THE book that turned comics into a respected adult art form, I figure that someone should mention Maus.

Watchmen is the greatest superhero comic ever though (IMO)

 

[cerealkiller182]

Maus is good but its one of those books where I wonder why it was made into a comic instead of a novel. Its quite a compelling story without the animal illustrations

 

[Mercurius]

Maus is good but its one of those books where I wonder why it was made into a comic instead of a novel. Its quite a compelling story without the animal illustrations

I disagree. The point is exactly the depiction of people as animals. Those animals.

 

[rogue trooper]

I wonder how would Terry Gilliam(Brothers Grimm, Twelve Monkeys), who at one point was going to direct Watchmen in the late 80's or early 90's and was convinced by Alan Moore not to make the film because it would be impossible to do, would feel now that the movie is being made and about the new pictures shown. Would he change his view on the project?

 

[cerealkiller182]

I dont see the big deal about it being "unadaptable" because it was made for comics. Arnt all comics? Isnt that the point of an adaptation? To change a story to fit another medium.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

I wonder how would Terry Gilliam(Brothers Grimm, Twelve Monkeys), who at one point was going to direct Watchmen in the late 80's or early 90's and was convinced by Alan Moore not to make the film because it would be impossible to do

That's not entirely true.
Terry would have made the movie if they had found the financial backing.
The exchange between him and Moore is fun, as are true Terry's statement about a mini-series being better suited to explore completely the story, but he would have done the movie if he could.

 

[Mr Superior]

I dont see the big deal about it being "unadaptable" because it was made for comics. Arnt all comics? Isnt that the point of an adaptation? To change a story to fit another medium.

Its because Watchmen is a one-off story with a beginning, middle and end rather than a 40 year old serial to draw influences from, and the story was specifically written in a way that took advantage of the comic book format.

 

[CaptainGenerica]

Its because Watchmen is a one-off story with a beginning, middle and end rather than a 40 year old serial to draw influences from, and the story was specifically written in a way that took advantage of the comic book format.

The fact that Watchmen is a one-off story doesn't hold water. Almost everything that's been adapted into a movie has been a one-off story. Think of any book or play that's been made into a movie.

As for your second point, honestly I think the "comic book format" argument is way overplayed. What can comic books really do that movies can't? They have panels as a visual medium... that's pretty much it. Use of panels was a nice little gimmick for Fearful Symmetry, but it didn't add much to the story, themes, message, or any of that. The story is what's being adapted, not the comic book.

If anything, I'd say regular books are more difficult to adapt to movies than comic books. They're much richer in terms of detail, they make extensive use of the narrator's voice/perceptions as a device (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest comes to mind--another example of an "impossible" adaptation). They make use of poetic imagery to make the reader imagine things rather than just showing or telling, in long descriptions of scenery, or a person's appearance, etc. Relatedly, books can take pages upon pages to describe events that in real time (or movie-time) would pass by in a few seconds, to give insights into characters' minds, thought processes, or what have you.
Comic books by comparison are inherently cinematic, because they lack these things, and are explicit in what is shown, said, and presented.

 

[cerealkiller182]

^^^What he said but One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is a frickin fantastic movie

 

[terry78]

Every single graphic novel that has been turned into a movie has a beginning middle and end so that doesn't really fly. I'm starting to notice that a huge amount of flicks in the past several years have been based on graphic novels, but the only way most people would know is if the credits mention it.

 

[Agentsands77]

As for your second point, honestly I think the "comic book format" argument is way overplayed.

It probably is.

What can comic books really do that movies can't?

Comic books allow for much more complicated juxtaposition of images and text than films can. Films can do it to a certain degree, but in WATCHMEN and other stories, countless story threads are tied to one another on the same page in a way that would be confusing if transferred directly for film.

But the biggest problem with adapting WATCHMEN isn't so much that it's a comic book. It's just the sheer complexity of the material. Part of what makes WATCHMEN great is the sheer amount of detail he manages to pack into the story. It's possible that a great deal could be lost in the process of distilling the work into a 2.5 -3 hour film.

 

[CaptainGenerica]

Comic books allow for much more complicated juxtaposition of images and text than films can. Films can do it to a certain degree, but in WATCHMEN and other stories, countless story threads are tied to one another on the same page in a way that would be confusing if transferred directly for film.

That's true. Comic books can present you with a complicated layout and give you time to examine it and absorb all the information, whereas movies can't stop and wait for you to get it before continuing. I some things will certainly have to be altered in their presentation, but that's where adaptations have the potential to really shine, in my opinion.

But the biggest problem with adapting WATCHMEN isn't so much that it's a comic book. It's just the sheer complexity of the material. Part of what makes WATCHMEN great is the sheer amount of detail he manages to pack into the story. It's possible that a great deal could be lost in the process of distilling the work into a 2.5 -3 hour film.

This is a problem with adapting almost any book, really. So it's a cause for concern I suppose, but filmmakers have pulled off crazier things than Watchmen.

 

[Mercurius]

This is a problem with adapting almost any book, really. So it's a cause for concern I suppose, but filmmakers have pulled off crazier things than Watchmen.

I doubt much. Maybe filmmakers have pulled those out, but unsuccessfuly. I myself can't remember anything so hugely busy being made decently into movie.

Watchmen is indeed almost impossible to translate: every little detail plays a part in the whole scheme, and it has a meaning in the story being told (mostly because of Doc Manhattan).

Not to mention the important quotations from philosophy, physics, history, art, etc. that embody the tight-told tale.

It's scary.

 

[terry78]

Saying Alan Moore isn't interested in something is like saying the metric system is dead and gone. Which it is.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

Saying Alan Moore isn't interested in something is like saying the metric system is dead and gone. Which it is.

Where? In the civilized world we use the metric system...

 

[The Battousai]

Saying Alan Moore isn't interested in something is like saying the metric system is dead and gone. Which it is.

I think someone's calling - it's for you:

 

[The Guard]

WATCHMEN is not impossible to adapt. Every single element you see in it, including the "chapter excerpts" can be translated to film.

And they've come very, very, very close to getting it right.

Moore's comments have more to do with the FORMAT of the book in relation to film, and how there's all that "extra material", and the way that you don't have to read WATCHMEN in a linear manner, you can jump around, etc, than it does with him actually believing it cannot be filmed.

 

[mre]

Saying Alan Moore isn't interested in something is like saying the metric system is dead and gone. Which it is.

The Metric system is dead and gone?

Three nations have not officially adopted the Metric System as their primary or sole system of measurement: Liberia, Myanmar and the United States.

The rest of the world uses Metric.

 

[deathfromabove]

Saying Alan Moore isn't interested in something is like saying the metric system is dead and gone. Which it is.

so you are saying he is or should be interested? because the metric system is the most widely used system of measurement in the world.

oh, you're from indiana? that explains it...