Alan Moore Still Not Interested

[Mercurius]

I just think he comes across as a pompous to assume that this is a situation thats similar to the others and then people denounce the damn flick like some others are.

That's a way of seeing it, of course.

 

[etrigan69]

I just think he comes across as a pompous to assume that this is a situation thats similar to the others and then people denounce the damn flick like some others are.

Why can't you see that though? With every other book that has been converted, it has lost a lot in the translation. Even V which is probably closest so far.

From Hell was nothing like the book. They should have just changed the title and saved themselves some money.

 

[The Guard]

The man doesn't believe his stuff can be accurately translated to film. He clearly intended for them to be read as comic books. I don't have an issue with Moore being upset about the translation of his books, but I agree that he's not doing himself any favors by staying out of the creative process entirely. In reality, though, no studio is going to make an Alan Moore project into a completely faithful one. They like the concepts, not the content. No studio is going to give him carte blanche, and he'd probably rather just write new comics than work on films of old ones.

That said, I think WATCHMEN is the best shot he's ever had at having his work adapted faithfully.

 

[Rez]

Am I the only one who thinks that a 12 hour Watchmen would have been beyond excessive, possibly even padded?

While the idea of a 12 part series- especially lining up with each hour of the clock- is a nice one, I just don't see an hour's worth of material in each issue. Maybe half hour episodes for a 6 hour miniseries, but even then I have my doubts. I for one am glad that we're getting a single film out of this- how good it is remains to be seen, but it was definately the right way to go.

 

[The Guard]

I've never thought a 12 hour WATCHMEN was necessary. Possible, but not necessary. It can easily be condensed into a slightly longer-than-average movie without losing most of the elements that people love so much. And so what if all the "side" stories are not found within? That's the point of having it to read as a comic book. It's two completely different mediums.

It's not generally possible to make a profitable movie out of being slavishly faithful a lot of comic book miniseries, simply due to their length and content. Take V FOR VENDETTA. I rather enjoyed the movie, but not because it was a perfect adaption of the graphic novel. I enjoyed what V FOR VENDETTA got right in relation to the comic, and some of the new elements it brought to the story. It was definitely not "Alan Moore's V FOR VENDETTA: THE MOVIE" on any level, but I enjoyed the experience.

Moore doesn't believe his stuff can be accurately translated to film. Not because it doesn't have cinematic elements, but because he clearly intended for them to be read as comic books. I don't neccessarily agree with him, I just don't think it can be translated exactly. I don't have an issue with Moore being upset about the translation of his books, but I agree that he's not doing himself any favors by staying out of the creative process entirely. In reality, though, even if he was involved, no studio is going to make an Alan Moore project into a completely faithful one. They like the concepts, not all the content. No studio is going to give him carte blanche, and he'd probably rather just write new comics than work on films of old ones anyway.

That said, I think this WATCHMEN project is the best shot he's ever had, and likely will ever have, at having his work adapted faithfully.

 

[The Mighty Wind]

Not every movie based on his work is of LXG quality, this has potential to be really good, he judges way too soon.

I'm sure he is a little interested. It's impossible that someone is not interested to see his own creation come to life. Otherwise he really is not human.

His work did come to life, in the pages of a comic. While I will be seeing Watchmen, I fully support Moore. He created something that was meant to be consumed in a certain way, and now it is being told and consumed in an entirely different one. He's an artist first and foremost, and no matter how good the film is, it will not be able to be taken the way Moore intended simply due to the translation of medium. Someone who takes his art and integrity far more seriously than cash and exposure is someone to be admired.

 

[The Mighty Wind]

I'm sorry, Alan Moore is an awsome writer and I love his books like WM, LXG, and VFV, but he's really f***ed up. Now, I can understand why with LXG and partially with V, but he really has to see how Zack has created his world of Watchmen; it's truely perfection.

The comic portion maybe, but so much of the comic can't possibly make it to the film. The Black Freighter, the magazine articles, the autobiography excerpts. I'm sorry guys, the story can be told, but it means that a lot of people are consuming Moore's art in a way it isn't meant to be. And I'm sure if the movie is faithful enough and he does get around to seeing it he might change his mind, but how can you blame and artist for trying to keep the integrity of their works intact?

 

[Mercurius]

His work did come to life, in the pages of a comic. While I will be seeing Watchmen, I fully support Moore. He created something that was meant to be consumed in a certain way, and now it is being told and consumed in an entirely different one. He's an artist first and foremost, and no matter how good the film is, it will not be able to be taken the way Moore intended simply due to the translation of medium. Someone who takes his art and integrity far more seriously than cash and exposure is someone to be admired.

Ditto (at last!).

 

[The Guard]

The comic portion maybe, but so much of the comic can't possibly make it to the film. The Black Freighter, the magazine articles, the autobiography excerpts.

And so what? A Batman movie doesn't include everything about Batman, does that make it a wasted effort? While those things are a clever tie-in, they are simply not integral to the reason the film project will exist: the main story and themes of WATCHMEN. They're just welcome additions to it, with the same kinds of ideas and themes expanded on in a practical manner.

I'm sorry guys, the story can be told, but it means that a lot of people are consuming Moore's art in a way it isn't meant to be.

I don't think people are thinking something through, and that's this: Via the movie, his original work is undoubtably being exposed to thousands upon thousands of people who will never have heard of the graphic novel and would never have bothered with it before. Which means more people will almost certainly discover the graphic novel and it's many, many attributes. How is this a bad thing?

 

[TheVileOne]

Without Moore this movie wouldn't even be happening. So he can say whatever he wants.

 

[The Mighty Wind]

And so what? A Batman movie doesn't include everything about Batman, does that make it a wasted effort? While those things are a clever tie-in, they are simply not integral to the reason the film project will exist: the main story and themes of WATCHMEN. They're just welcome additions to it, with the same kinds of ideas and themes expanded on in a practical manner.



I don't think people are thinking something through, and that's this: Via the movie, his original work is undoubtably being exposed to thousands upon thousands of people who will never have heard of the graphic novel and would never have bothered with it before. Which means more people will almost certainly discover the graphic novel and it's many, many attributes. How is this a bad thing?

1) Batman's pulp fiction for the most part, a far cry from serious art, as much as I love my Dark Knight.

2) And thousands more will forever think of Watchmen as they saw it in theatres/on DVD without once reading a page of Moore's work.

 

[ThatDamnNinja]

1) Batman's pulp fiction for the most part, a far cry from serious art, as much as I love my Dark Knight.

2) And thousands more will forever think of Watchmen as they saw it in theatres/on DVD without once reading a page of Moore's work.

Thousands more? Millions more will think of Watchmen as they saw it in theaters or DVD without reading a page of the original. Thousands more who otherwise never would have read the comic WILL because of the movie.

And I'm guessing the number of people who would otherwise have read the comic, but didn't because of the movie, will probably tally in the double-digits.

 

[etrigan69]

You guys keep saying that Moore hates the idea. I don't think so. I may be wrong but isn't it creator owned? When DC pissed him off he pulled back on the figures. I am all but sure if he didn't sign off on the movie it wouldn't be happening.

He may not care for the creative process or being involved but I think hate the idea is way too strong.....

 

[Comic Book Boy]

You guys keep saying that Moore hates the idea. I don't think so. I may be wrong but isn't it creator owned? When DC pissed him off he pulled back on the figures. I am all but sure if he didn't sign off on the movie it wouldn't be happening.

He may not care for the creative process or being involved but I think hate the idea is way too strong.....

Alan Moore (sadly) does not own the rights to WATCHMEN.

And yes, he absolutely HATES the idea of a movie. Do some research, he felt the same way about his other adaptations.

 

[brobdingnag]

Alan Moore (sadly) does not own the rights to WATCHMEN.

And yes, he absolutely HATES the idea of a movie. Do some research, he felt the same way about his other adaptations.

He doesn't hate the idea TOO much. It was totally in his power to never have the film made, but he traded the rights to his work in exchange for someone else paying for its publication. If he wants to find someone to blame for the poor translations to film of his work, he need look no further than the nearest mirror.

 

[the amazing fro]

Hey a least he cares about his work being raped by Hollywood

unlike other creators *cough* Millar *cough*

 

[brobdingnag]

Hey a least he cares about his work being raped by Hollywood

unlike other creators *cough* Millar *cough*

What an odd thing to say given that there isn't even an argument that Sin City was the most true to source material comic book movie ever made.

 

[DoctorJones]

the amazing fro is talking about Mark, not Frank.

 

[The Guard]

Thousands more? Millions more will think of Watchmen as they saw it in theaters or DVD without reading a page of the original. Thousands more who otherwise never would have read the comic WILL because of the movie.

And I'm guessing the number of people who would otherwise have read the comic, but didn't because of the movie, will probably tally in the double-digits.

I suppose. But if someone's interested in the comic, they're interested in the comic. I'm sure the movie will have an impact on WATCHMEN's overall popularity.

1) Batman's pulp fiction for the most part, a far cry from serious art, as much as I love my Dark Knight.

I would argue this one vehemently, at least in terms of Batman's potential (It still has yet to be fully or even remotely close to fully realized on film), but how is this even relevant to the point I made? I'm simply saying, leaving some parts out of a story doesn't mean the most relevant and interesting parts of the story don't have some value.

2) And thousands more will forever think of Watchmen as they saw it in theatres/on DVD without once reading a page of Moore's work.

Who cares? Wait, don't tell me, you're another one of those "But the general public will think THIS is the definitive version of (insert story here)! PANIC!" people. No, I doubt it. But are you?

The general public doesn't tend to care about such things. Most people don't go around wringing their hands and going "Wow, now THAT's the definitive version of this or that". They just want to be entertained.

The fact is, WATCHMEN will be getting more exposure than it would have. More people will discover the story and the concepts and the characters, and the work itself. And like all great art, those who want to see it as significant will, and it will still probably divert and entertain those who don't care for such things in the first place. Much of what made WATCHMEN so great is likely to be brought to a whole new generation, some of whom will undoubtably discover the graphic novel.

 

[TheVileOne]

You make it sound like Watchmen didn't already start a revolution in the industry which it did.

One thing Moore did a while back was prevent DC Direct from making action figures for the comic. DC Direct however is going to make action figures for the movie. They've been wanting to do them for a while.

 

[brobdingnag]

You make it sound like Watchmen didn't already start a revolution in the industry which it did.

One thing Moore did a while back was prevent DC Direct from making action figures for the comic. DC Direct however is going to make action figures for the movie. They've been wanting to do them for a while.

Just exactly what revolution did it start?

 

[Shifty]

The fact is, WATCHMEN will be getting more exposure than it would have. More people will discover the story and the concepts and the characters, and the work itself. And like all great art, those who want to see it as significant will, and it will still probably divert and entertain those who don't care for such things in the first place. Much of what made WATCHMEN so great is likely to be brought to a whole new generation, some of whom will undoubtably discover the graphic novel.

As I posted in the Graphic Novel Subforum:

“Big Figure” For Graphic Novel
Watchmen movie adaptation helps boost trade paperback sales in 2007

Regardless of how faithful Zack Snyder’s movie will end up being to the original comic, there’s one thing most fans are happy about — that the movie will get more people to read and recognize the genius that is Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen.

According to sales figures released by Diamond, one of the largest comics distributors in the U.S., it certainly seems like that is the case.

Please note that the following sales numbers below are estimates, and only covers the direct market served by Diamond. It does not include newsstands, book stores or overseas markets.

As of November 2007, the Watchmen trade paperback, distributed by DC Comics, has sold approximately 58,168 units year-to-date. That’s more units than any other trade paperback in 2007 so far.

To put those numbers in perspective, during the same time period, Marvel's Civil War sold 44,714 units and IDW’s 30 Days of Night sales came in at around 31,270 units. Alan Moore’s highly anticipated The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier sold an incredible 20,711 units in November 2007 alone.

Watchmen’s biggest sales month came in August 2007 on the heels of July’s Comic-Con announcement of Warner Brother’s planned movie adaptation helmed by Zack Snyder. That month, the trade paperback was in rank #13 with 3,617 units of reorder activity. Watchmen’s sales rank during all the other months of 2007 averaged at around the #57 position with 1,928 units of reorder activity.

News of Watchmen’s increased sales activity might be bittersweet to some fans who would prefer that the rights of the graphic novel revert back to its creators — Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. According to the deal they signed with DC back in 1985, this can only happen after the comic has been out of print for 18 months. The graphic novel’s cult status combined with the fact that a major Watchmen motion will be released soon, makes it very unlikely that this will happen in the near future.

1.11.2008
Source: Sales figures gathered form Comic Book Resources

 

[Super_Ludacris]

Why can't you see that though? With every other book that has been converted, it has lost a lot in the translation. Even V which is probably closest so far.

From Hell was nothing like the book. They should have just changed the title and saved themselves some money.

Because again for the billionth time.....This movie is more hyped than the other titles and all the news has been about how they (at the very least) attempting to be faithful ( certainly much more than the other films).

 

[The Guard]

You make it sound like Watchmen didn't already start a revolution in the industry which it did.

Pardon? What have I said that implies that?

 

[Mercurius]

Just exactly what revolution did it start?

I'm starting to have some difficulty in believing you actually READ the book.

He was the first to treat superhero characters with the depth one is used to in novels (and good ones).

It's even quite difficult to name another writer of the same medium who has reached Moore's complex writing. I myself can't, for instance.