Anyone else feel ZS isnt the man for the job?

[jamieroberts1]

Now im not here to flame, not at all this is a serious thought iv been having for a while. Here goes dont flame till you read it all

I found 300 to be very style over substance it looked great and all but i didnt give a toss about the characters in it, the action was excellent and the CGI, scenery and epic scale of battles was spot on eveything about 300 the GN that needed to be translated from print to screen was done so.

I LOVED 300!!! But Watchmen aint nothing like 300

The only similarities in 300 and Watchmen is that they both started life as GN's

Watchmen is a story that unfolds at an incredibly slow pace and builds up piece by piece with all the stories of each character intertwining towards the end, the pay off (in New York) comes right out of the blue and the only reason it works is because you know a good deal about each character, so you feel their pain when they have to choose between the greater good (world peace) and the truth (mass murder of 3 million people) The details of what happens in New York doesn't matter and if they change that then fine. The point is we have to feel the same way about the on screen characters as we did about the novel characters when the **** hits the fan so to speak, and im not sure ZS is gonna get us there.

As for CGI, action and scenery well all this comes as second tier stuff, the CGI used is gonna be good standard stuff Dr Manhattan, Mars few other things, there isn't a large amount of action but im sure we will get some good stuff from Rorschach, as for scenery, its set in New York an alternate NY but still the same place. As with 300 im sure all this will be spot on but my point is none off this matters if the characters aren't has-been, drunk, womanising, blue, ashamed, cancerous, atomic, raping, psychopathic HEROES - Remember these are the good guys but they are more ****ed up than villains in other "superhero" films because they have real problems and its these problems that make them so appealing and believable i hope they can get it all in in under 3 hours otherwise they should give up now.

Few more points.

Veidt CANNOT die the whole reason this book hit me and im sure many others hard in the gut when finished is that this guy kills 3 million people for what he is convinced is for the best but then must be left wondering have i done the right thing for the rest of his days, You see the look on his face when Dr M says "nothing ever ends"

In all honesty i don't think this can be made into a 2-3 hour film, but if they gonna do it anyways may aswell give it their best shot!

 

[Clobberin' Time]

As much as I think Snyder will deliver the goods, I can't help but think that original draft Paul Greengrass would've been more suited.

I'm still gutted that Paddy Considine is no longer in the running for Rorschach, which would've been the case had Greengrass still been attatched.

Ah well.

 

[Kebab gud]

you do know that Zack Snyder has done more then just 300 .. and that 300 ws the only one of his movies that was done in that style...

 

[ThatDamnNinja]

you do know that Zack Snyder has done more then just 300 .. and that 300 ws the only one of his movies that was done in that style...

Zack Snyder has literally done one other film; that film being Dawn of the Dead.

I personally think Snyder is right for the job, not because the stylistic approach in 300 is what I want for Watchmen, but because he is so clearly committed to maintaining the integrity of the comic. Being a good director with love and respect for the source material is really my only requirement. Sam Raimi hadn't done anything that showed he was the right man for Spider-Man (I mean, aside from making good movies, but lots of guys have made good movies), but he has the talent and the reverence for the source material, and it shows.

But I do understand your concerns...

 

[MaskedManJRK]

Well, the interviews we've seen, he's certainly got the idea of the movie right and is fighting the studio for it.

 

[cookiva]

The only reason im perfectly fine with him is that he is fighting to keep BF and other parts of the novel intact. I know he will push to make it into a good adaptation.

 

[Captain Carnage]

...whilst changing the attack at the end, making Dr Manhattan the scapegoat, and killing off Adrian Veidt.

Can't have everything, I guess...

 

[cookiva]

How many of the scripts have kept the end intact? Tell me that....

 

[Captain Carnage]

Depends on what you actually term the ending.

If we're talking the hoaxed 'alien' invasion - none. Niche, nada. Zip.

And from Hayter through to Tse, they've all killed off Veidt, be it Death By Owl-a-rang (Hayter) or Squished By Owlship (Tse's).

But ALL of 'em DO keep the final panel of the comic intact - Seymour reaches for Rorschach's journal, "I leave it entirely in your hands", FADE TO BLACK... so it's not ALL bad.

 

[cookiva]

Yeah, thats the thing. None of them have kept the only thing thats needed in it. Veidts ending.

 

[jamieroberts1]

As much as I think Snyder will deliver the goods, I can't help but think that original draft Paul Greengrass would've been more suited.

I'm still gutted that Paddy Considine is no longer in the running for Rorschach, which would've been the case had Greengrass still been attatched.

Ah well.

Paddy Considine is class! Dead mans Shoes is the best british film of last 20 years

 

[jamieroberts1]

Zack Snyder has literally done one other film; that film being Dawn of the Dead.

Exactly the original Dawn of the Dead is one of my favourite films all because of the characters, Peter, Fly-boy, Roger and Fran all living as normal as possible in a mall full of zombies...I love that film, The remake however...

I say again im not a hater i wanna trust the guy, but i dont and if anything the replies here just made my case stronger.

 

[CARNAGE-COMETH]

Yeah, thats the thing. None of them have kept the only thing thats needed in it. Veidts ending.

If they don't keep Veidt alive and end it the way the book did then the movie and story will lose all its coolness. Everything that made that story great to me was the Volume 12 and the ending.

1.Veidt has to live

2.Psychic Alien has to blow up New York killing some and puting fear of aliens in the survivers

3.Rorshach has to die

4.Dr. Manhattan has to be the one that kills him

5.Night Owl and Silk Spectre have to **** and go with the flow of Veidts plan

6.The threat of nuclear war has to end and the world has to find world peace

7.Rorshachs Journal has to be the last shot for revealing the truth of what the heroes did to bring world peace


If all of these things don't get put into this movie above all other things in the movie. Then to me ZAK SNYDER IS THE WRONG MAN for the job. But if Zak Snyder puts all the complete ending the way it should be. Then he is the RIGHT MAN for the job. The ending to "Watchmen" is what made this graphic novel so great IMO. To change even one thing would destroy the rest of the story and movie for me.

Zaks only got one shot to make this right, if he does he will be a hero and if he doesn't then lots of loyal fans will call him Joel Shoemacher. It's really a tough spot he is in but I think he is perfect to direct this movie. He just has to keep the ending the same even if he has to go above the writers and producers.

Screw the studio and do it right Snyder.

 

[Cinemaman]

Snyder is an amazing visual director, but he really needs more time to develop himself as a great storyteller.

BTW, I thought he did a great job with characters of his another movie, Dawn of the Dead

 

[Caliber]

Well, the interviews we've seen, he's certainly got the idea of the movie right and is fighting the studio for it.

That why I believe he can do it. He gets it and is fighting to do it right.

 

[Clobberin' Time]

Paddy Considine is class! Dead mans Shoes is the best british film of last 20 years

Good man, another 'Dead Mans Shoes' fan, eh.

How great would it have been to see Paddy in that role?

Not wishing to stray too far off topic, but have you seen his performance in 'A Room for Romeo Brass'?

I'm sure this film will be amazing none-the-less, but with Paddy's inclusion, I think it would be nothing short of immense.

 

[Rezzo]

From the interviews I´ve read and scene he definitely sounds like he will deliver

 

[Sandman138]

I'm up in the air. On the one hand, when he says stuff like "It's more Dr. Strangelove than Fantastic Four" I feel good and since he actually set it in the eighties and is going to keep Nixon and all the important political stuff intact I think he understands how to make this movie. However, that there has been no assurance that Veidt will not die, I'm iffy. I love his casting choices, but I wish he would address concerns over changes that really matter rather than try to figure out how to keep the Black Freighter in the movie.

 

[jamieroberts1]

Good man, another 'Dead Mans Shoes' fan, eh.

How great would it have been to see Paddy in that role?

Not wishing to stray too far off topic, but have you seen his performance in 'A Room for Romeo Brass'?

I'm sure this film will be amazing none-the-less, but with Paddy's inclusion, I think it would be nothing short of immense.

One beat, two beat three beat, sugar beat. Four beat, five beat, six beat, wheat-a-beat. Seven beat, eight beat, nine beat, heartbeat. My heartbeat, my heart is beating for you.

****ing funny that film.

 

[Slipping_Halo]

The interviews I've read and the faithfulness with which 300 was made makes me like Snyder and feel that he will do a pretty good job.

On the other hand, a pretty good job isn't good enough for Watchmen. This movie needs to be AMAZING. The film adaptation needs to do for comic book movies what the graphic novel did for comics, that's what it needs to be. My friends who LOVE Watchmen have expressed concern over Snyder's lack of skill in the drama department. They worry that he won't be able to portray the humanity of the characters as well as he should, and I worry about that as well.

Also, the rumors about Keanu Reeves as Dr. Manhattan put a sharp one in my left tit. I'm glad he turned the role down because he's so not right for it that it's disgusting, but just the fact that it was offered to him scares the daylights out of me and puts some doubt in me about Snyder's abilities.

I was going nuts about Bryan Singer for Superman Returns and everything I heard seemed to be good news. Even the horrible suit didn't totally trump my excitement, but then I saw the movie. We won't know until we see it, so I'm not judging, just expressing concern. This is like The DaVinci Code, you only get one shot at doing this and if you screw it up it's over. The DaVinci Code sucked despite a great cast and an award-winning director at the helm when it could have been a great movie. I fear Watchmen is under the same blade and Snyder may not deliver the goods.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

I haven't seen any of his movies. But his enthusiasm for the material is promising.

 

[Lobster Charlie]

ZS has the right attitude, that's for sure. Watchmen is going to be one of the most difficult adaptations to date. I am less worried about Snyder than I am about Hollywood, who manage to screw up (IMO) more than they "get it right."

 

[Rez]

His Dawn of the Dead is a great film, an amazing mix of character and action full of great acting that doesn't pull any punches. I mean, come on. Dead babies? Chainsaws? Dead babies being killed by chainsaws? Everyone getting killed? This movie was fantastic.

And then, 300. How much more perfect does he have to get? The point is, it was a perfect adaptation of the story. Sure, characters didn't mean a damn thing, but that's because the whole story was one big visual love fest. And that's what we got.

The ONLY thing I'm worried about is the ending, and even if the end turns out badly, if the rest of the movie is good, I think it's safe to say that the bad came out of studio pressure and the good came out of the man who helmed the damn thing. I'll be happy so long as we get an alternate ending integrated into the film on DVD.

 

[Comic Book Boy]

Someone should just ask him at Comic-Con if he is going to keep the ending intact.

 

[RDK]

...whilst changing the attack at the end, making Dr Manhattan the scapegoat, and killing off Adrian Veidt.

Can't have everything, I guess...

I hope they change the ending in the film; Moore's ending was the worst part of the comic!