Snyder now battling to edit movie down from 3 hours....

[X-Maniac]

Snyder spoke at the Saturn Awards in LA on Tuesday when he picked up his award for 300 (best action adventure thriller).

He's now trying to trim his three-hour first cut of the movie....

Director facing 'impossible' task of trimming three-hour Watchmen movie

ZACK SNYDER, the director of upcoming superhero movie Watchmen, says he is now battling to edit down the first cut of the movie from its marathon length of three hours.

Snyder said: "It's impossible. The balancing act for me is, you want the movie as tight as possible for, I don't know why, I guess so people can enjoy it.

"But for me, the hardest part is just, when is it not Watchmen anymore? I don't think that's a danger, but it's a thing that I am trying to be the gatekeeper of while other forces conspire to say: No. Length, length, length. Playability."

source: http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/thegeekfiles/2008/06/watchmen.html

Saturn Awards full details: http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/thegeekfiles/2008/06/-new-york-monster-movie.html

 

[Bubastis]

We have to do something. This film can't be any shorter.

Guys, anybody here who knows anything about the movie Serenity or the show Jericho knows that something can be done.

We gotta start thinking. Petition? Not extreme enough? start throwing out ideas.

 

[X-Maniac]

I think three hours is about the maximum, it worked just about okay for LoTR, though it was a test of bladder control. Otherwise, bring back the intervals/intermissions and have refreshments half way through!

Try contacting Snyder via the official website, perhaps? Start an online petition - whether that would influence a studio is another matter, but it will show you if people are bothered about the editing or not...

 

[JackMercy]

You guys and gals have seen Mr. & Mrs. Snyder's video interview at the Saturn Awards? I think you may notice that he wants your participation...

Make your feelings known about the cut of the film and your support of Zack's vision! Get organized, and tell all of your friends.

You have a big event coming up where you can possibly make a difference!

I cannot make this any clearer...

Petitions aren't a bad idea either, but a creative show of solidarity might get even more attention...

People will be watching...

 

[Bubastis]

I can't go to ComiCon, but we need to start a petition, and a thread about getting this done.

 

[Retroman]

It's understandable that the studio are wary of releasing such a long cut.

WB want to make money on their huge investment but the movie doesn't have much box office draws in the cast and the running time may turn people off seeing it. However i think for Watchmen they should make an exception because the story is so dense and complex.A truly epic tale that deserves more time to unfold than other comic book movies.

 

[EternalMaster]

Fitting Watchmen into one movie... already difficult. Making it less than 3 hours... ridiculous.

If a 3-hour long movie is good, people will go to see it. If a 2 and a half-hour long movie is mediocre, not many people will go to see it.

Quality trumps length. Especially in a movie like this with some action/violence to spice things up for the average movie goer.

 

[ABongHalloween]

hopefully no matter what happens we'll atleast get a 3 hour dvd, he might wimp out on the theatrical release tho...

 

[Dr. Manhatten]

Can't blame WB on this since they're taking a big financial risk with this. Hopefully there's a happy medium at least

 

[StorminNorman]

This movie should be released at about 2 and a half hours in theaters - the fanboy epic version should simply be a DVD release.

 

[StillTheKing]

2 and a half hours for theater release is good IMO

Bring on the 10 hour dvd release!

 

[The Guard]

I do not understand why people act like WATCHMEN will have been gutted if it is under three hours...you're not going to get EVERYTHING into a three plus hour cut of it anyway.

 

[Evil Twin]

I'm betting people are going to be surprised by just how much of WATCHMEN will be packed into 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Somewhere along the way someone brought up doing it as 12 hour long episodes on HBO and people bought into that mythical vision without ever asking "is there really 12 hours of WATCHMEN?"

One of the great things about WATCHMEN is that a lot of information is conveyed visually. That's something that will serve the adaptation well.

 

[The Guard]

Exactly. It's absurd to believe that the core story of WATCHMEN needs more than three hours to work.

 

[Hellstormer]

There have been long 3 hour blockbusters before (LoTR comes to mind). I don't think its ridiculous to do a 3-hour movie or even a 2 1/2 hour movie. The story's gonna get trimmed down as it is and we can always expect a mega loaded Special Edition DVD.

 

[CaptainGenerica]

I'm betting people are going to be surprised by just how much of WATCHMEN will be packed into 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Somewhere along the way someone brought up doing it as 12 hour long episodes on HBO and people bought into that mythical vision without ever asking "is there really 12 hours of WATCHMEN?"

One of the great things about WATCHMEN is that a lot of information is conveyed visually. That's something that will serve the adaptation well.

I agree. I mean, it probably only takes me about three hours to read Watchmen cover to cover at a moderate pace. I think people really tend to overestimate how long it is.

 

[The Guard]

Yup.

 

[Katsuro]

Exactly. It's absurd to believe that the core story of WATCHMEN needs more than three hours to work.

Agreed, and the 4 1/2 hour director's cut is more than enough to include any and all subplots that are left out of the 3 hour version.

 

[Bubastis]

You know, the next Harry Potter movie, I'm fairly certain, is either three hours long or is in two parts, i forgot which. But if that movie does well at the box office and the response to this trailer is good I think there's still a solid chance of the three-hour cut.

 

[calibud]

Most of the people that will buy the inevitable extended DVD cut will be fans of the book anyway. And you guys were right, over 3 hours is really pushing the necessary length.
It sounds like WB wants it to be 3 hours, and Snyder thinks it'd be better to cut it down. Read the quote again. I think it's kind of odd, and backwards in terms of attempting to preserve the adaptation's integrity. He's not worried about the movie NOT being Watchmen, just about its "playability?" So he's been working on this movie for over a year already, and isn't concerned about trimming down his work to get more showings per theater? I don't get Snyder on this one.

 

[CrimsonMist]

I agree. I mean, it probably only takes me about three hours to read Watchmen cover to cover at a moderate pace. I think people really tend to overestimate how long it is.

I don't know. In a sense, i agree with you. The film doesn't HAVE to be as long as three hours, but right now that's what Snyder wants, and from the things we've seen, the detail and precision in this film should make it a grand 3 hours.

On the flip-side though, my movie theater currently charges 11 bucks a ticket. If they and the studios want my money, i want quality films and LONGER films. 2 1/2 is fine, The Dark Knight will definitely be worth the money and time. But three hours for 11 bucks? The experience in itself, to me, would be amazing. Grindhouse, in that sense alone, was amazing. Only it was 9 bucks when it came out. But still: 9 bucks for 3 hours(2 movies and fake theatrical trailers)?! Gimme more.

and what was the last epically long film you saw in theaters? I'd kill to experience something like that.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

They don't want our money. They want everyone else. Hence the problem. Grindhouse failed remember?

 

[CrimsonMist]

They don't want our money. They want everyone else. Hence the problem. Grindhouse failed remember?

Point taken, but i think the whole concept of Grindhouse just didn't get through to people. I don't think length had anything to do with it. But i might be mistaken.

But with the rising prices of movie tickets, i think problems may occur in regards to quality and length. Hell, the last 5 movies i saw, i saw using that Optimum Rewards card, simply because i need money to live. It's suddenly become a crazy idea to take a family to a movie because it's like 35 bucks(or more) for the tickets(if you have kids, whose tickets are like 6 bucks), and then even more for some drinks and popcorn. I see longer lines on Tuesdays(when tickets are free to Optimum Rewards members) than i do on opening days. It's getting a little crazy.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I think length had everything to do with it. There is material that people will sit through and more importantly at certain times of the year. In fall/winter the theater is about getting out of the cold more then anything at times. In the summer it is something you can occupy your kids with and to stay out of the heat. It is all about the lighter fair and not so heavy material.

People are not going to pack a theater for a film based on a graphic novel well known for its vulgar imagery, especially not for 3 hours. You could get away with 300 because of both the length and crazy date quality it may have had.

 

[KenK]

Anyone think WB and Synder will be at ease over releasing a three-hour cut of the film once The Dark Knight (which I think clocks in at over two-and-a-half hours) hits it big?