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

[Juggernaut33]

I think length had everything to do with it.

I don't think so. The problem with Grindhouse was that people didn't want to see two movies and lots of trailers. That's as simple as that.

 

[matrix_ghost]

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?

Doubt it.
For starters Watchmen is meant to be a single movie.It isn't a sequel or based on a universally read property.
Movies like The Dark Knight or Lord Of The Rings have a built in fanbase that clearly gre and grew as people realised that the movies were taken seriously instead of a half assed attempt.

Watchmen clearly is known only to geeks and comic book readers.
Artistically the 3 hr. cut is what we all want , but commercially the studio would rather settle for a cut that is aound 2-2.5 hrs.

 

[matrix_ghost]

I don't think so. The problem with Grindhouse was that people didn't want to see two movies and lots of trailers. That's as simple as that.

3hr running time , hard r rating and let's face it and let's face it , Grindhouse is something that only geeks/filmfans know about.
The general public doesn't know anything about it and to them it really looks like a dumb thing.

Geeks are growing slowly and slowly but to this day they still don't have enough strenght to make or break a movie.

 

[Cinemaman]

Grindhouse was supposed to be a parody on those crappy B-flicks from 70s. I myself couldn't sit and watch it after the Death Proof, as it really sucked.

Now about the runtime. Does anybody remember how damn long were such successful money makers as Titanic, Lawrence of Arabia, LOTR trilogy, and Forrest Gump?

 

[RDK]

Last draft I read was around 130 pages. No way was it a 3 hour movie then. If this is an early cut, 3 hours is not unusual - but it should easily be able to be trimmed to 2' 20" or so. You guys should feel lucky if it reaches 2 1/2 hours. As usual, lots of fan boy talk with no idea how the movie biz works...

 

[Sentinel X]

Why can't they keep the director's cut...4.5 hour movie and just split the film in two...ala, The Kill Bill movies.
So they'll have Watchmen vol.1 released than a few months later Watchmen vol. 2, I think thats the best thing that way the fans and the director are happy (they get their full movie, no cheating) and the studio is happy (if the first one is good that only means more money)

 

[Cinemaman]

Why can't they keep the director's cut...4.5 hour movie and just split the film in two...ala, The Kill Bill movies.
So they'll have Watchmen vol.1 released than a few months later Watchmen vol. 2, I think thats the best thing that way the fans and the director are happy (they get their full movie, no cheating) and the studio is happy (if the first one is good that only means more money)

No f***ing way! I hate this idea since Tarantino decided to use it with his Kill Bill, and now he uses it with every his new project.

I just hate the fact that I will need to wait several months more to watch the second part, and it would now way work with Watchmen

Besides, most of that 4.5 hrs version can be easily left out, as sometimes directors notice that certain moments don't fit in their movies and chose to cut.

 

[Cinemaman]

Last draft I read was around 130 pages. No way was it a 3 hour movie then. If this is an early cut, 3 hours is not unusual - but it should easily be able to be trimmed to 2' 20" or so. You guys should feel lucky if it reaches 2 1/2 hours. As usual, lots of fan boy talk with no idea how the movie biz works...

More than often many changes are brought up during the shooting, and still there is no guarantee that everything will stay as it was planned during the editing, so I wouldn't be surprised if these 130 pages turn into 150-180 minutes.

 

[matrix_ghost]

Why can't they keep the director's cut...4.5 hour movie and just split the film in two...ala, The Kill Bill movies.
So they'll have Watchmen vol.1 released than a few months later Watchmen vol. 2, I think thats the best thing that way the fans and the director are happy (they get their full movie, no cheating) and the studio is happy (if the first one is good that only means more money)

You obviously need a bigger budget. With Tarantino it's different sinc his movies are usually made relatively cheap. He has this ******ed idea ( yes i really feel it's an ******ed idea) that CGI sucks and should never be used in a movie. Well that pretty much saves you millions of dollars.

Different thing with Watchmen where you need CGI. And the longer the movie , the more money you'd need to spend. The studio has given Zach Snyder $ 100 million to work on watchmen and also has given him quite some freedom to make the movie as he sees fit. In order to spend more of the budget on the movie , Zach even cast no A-list actors.
Yes you could say that everything so far as been good , but that isn't a guarantee that the general public will embrace the movie. 300 was different because it really was hardcore-testorone fueled mayhem that every guy wants to see.
Watchmen isn't like that . It is a risky project and the last thing you want as a studio is the first movie bombing , meaing that there is no chance for the sequel to succeed.
That is why the studio is cautious of their investment.

Besides we are still getting the Watchmen we want when the final dvd will hit the stores.

 

[TNC9852002]

I'm sorry, but 3 hours is a bit too much for a single feature, even in my books. The average viewer starts getting restless and a little fatigued after the 1 hr 40 minute mark.

I think the movie should stop at the 150 minute mark or so.

-TNC

 

[Ryudoz]

You obviously need a bigger budget. With Tarantino it's different sinc his movies are usually made relatively cheap. He has this ******ed idea ( yes i really feel it's an ******ed idea) that CGI sucks and should never be used in a movie. Well that pretty much saves you millions of dollars.

Different thing with Watchmen where you need CGI. And the longer the movie , the more money you'd need to spend. The studio has given Zach Snyder $ 100 million to work on watchmen and also has given him quite some freedom to make the movie as he sees fit. In order to spend more of the budget on the movie , Zach even cast no A-list actors.
Yes you could say that everything so far as been good , but that isn't a guarantee that the general public will embrace the movie. 300 was different because it really was hardcore-testorone fueled mayhem that every guy wants to see.
Watchmen isn't like that . It is a risky project and the last thing you want as a studio is the first movie bombing , meaing that there is no chance for the sequel to succeed.
That is why the studio is cautious of their investment.

Besides we are still getting the Watchmen we want when the final dvd will hit the stores.

A sequel to Watchmen would only be the second worst thing to happen behind the earth exploding.

 

[Sentinel X]

No f***ing way! I hate this idea since Tarantino decided to use it with his Kill Bill, and now he uses it with every his new project.

I just hate the fact that I will need to wait several months more to watch the second part, and it would now way work with Watchmen

Besides, most of that 4.5 hrs version can be easily left out, as sometimes directors notice that certain moments don't fit in their movies and chose to cut.

Hmm, how do you know this. Zack said leaving it at 3 hours is the most he feels the film can be cut and the studios want more. I'd rather watch the whole film then and there but I feel its better to sacrifice that than quality. Film studios are known to butcher the hell out of films until they become hardly noticable.

You obviously need a bigger budget. With Tarantino it's different sinc his movies are usually made relatively cheap. He has this ******ed idea ( yes i really feel it's an ******ed idea) that CGI sucks and should never be used in a movie. Well that pretty much saves you millions of dollars.

Different thing with Watchmen where you need CGI. And the longer the movie , the more money you'd need to spend. The studio has given Zach Snyder $ 100 million to work on watchmen and also has given him quite some freedom to make the movie as he sees fit. In order to spend more of the budget on the movie , Zach even cast no A-list actors.
Yes you could say that everything so far as been good , but that isn't a guarantee that the general public will embrace the movie. 300 was different because it really was hardcore-testorone fueled mayhem that every guy wants to see.
Watchmen isn't like that . It is a risky project and the last thing you want as a studio is the first movie bombing , meaing that there is no chance for the sequel to succeed.
That is why the studio is cautious of their investment.

Besides we are still getting the Watchmen we want when the final dvd will hit the stores.

Oh, I was under the impression that he had already completed the filming and the movie is practically done since hes already talking about 4.5 and 3 hour edits of the film. And if everything is basically a wrap I only see studios spending extra money for the marketing. If the film is bad than the second won't do well but if its good it'll make more than the first. There is no way Im sitting through 4.5 hours in a film, thats too much....3 hours yes, 3 and a half okay but up that and I'll wait for DVD.

 

[ant3ros]

Too bad movies can't have intermissions like play theatres, that would solve the problem :P

 

[david icke]

A sequel to Watchmen would only be the second worst thing to happen behind the earth exploding.

Yeah, but in this case MG was referring to a 'sequel' if Watchmen was split into two movies like 'Kill Bill'.

If it's anywhere near as good as the book, folk won't notice the time passing , they could get away with a 3hr cut and have it as successful as any 2hr+/- cut. I hate this kind of thought from studios about shortening the cut to fit in more showings each day, it's an indication that they arn't confident in the movie's quality and staying power. This one will be a stayer if it works out creatively, folk will talk about it and go back to see it again.

 

[<borkis>]

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?

This is what I'm hoping for.

I don't understand why studios think that long movies can't make money, or are some sort of risk.

Let's take a look:
- LOTR (all 3+ hours)
- The Dark Knight (2:30)
- Spider-Man 3 (2:20)
- Titanic (3:14)
- Godfather (~3)
- Godfather II (3:20)
- Pulp Fiction (2:34)
- Schindler's List (3:15)
- Gone With the Wind (still waiting for the original showing to end)

Many of the all-time money makers and/or all-time classics were long movies. Yet studios still want to churn out 90 minute throw-aways. Even the Harry Potter movies which are aimed at oung children can manage to hold their attention for about 2:20. Someone needs to ninja kick these producers in the head already.

 

[kemo91]

I think a running time of 3 hours will DEFINITELY turn people away from seeing it. I don't know many people who will go see a 3 hour movie that they don't know anything about

- LOTR (all 3+ hours)
- The Dark Knight (2:30)
- Spider-Man 3 (2:20)
- Titanic (3:14)
- Godfather (~3)
- Godfather II (3:20)
- Pulp Fiction (2:34)
- Schindler's List (3:15)
- Gone With the Wind (still waiting for the original showing to end)

at Gone with the Wind. But really, most of these movies were big franchises that people knew about (TDK, Spiderman, LOTR, Godfather 2) and Godfather, Pulp Fiction, and Schindler's List all had pretty big name directors attached to them. Zach Snyder isn't that much of a big name compared to Coppola, Tarantino, and Spielberg. James Cameron also had many big hit movies that I'm sure gave him some leeway into making Titanic so long. Zach Snyder has 300. Not really the same

 

[Cinemaman]

^^^

Believe me, Coppola wasn't so famous before The Godfather. And Peter Jackson was just a B-movie maker before LOTR.

Snyder has enough chances to turn his work into revolution.

 

[kemo91]

^^^

Believe me, Coppola wasn't so famous before The Godfather. And Peter Jackson was just a B-movie maker before LOTR.

Snyder has enough chances to turn his work into revolution.

Well ya got me on Coppola, but LOTR was well-known to many people before the movies got made. I'm guessing more people knew about LOTR than they know about Watchmen, but I'm not sure

 

[kainedamo]

I'm sorry, but 3 hours is a bit too much for a single feature, even in my books. The average viewer starts getting restless and a little fatigued after the 1 hr 40 minute mark.

I think the movie should stop at the 150 minute mark or so.

-TNC

Many, many amazing movies hit the 3 hour mark, particularly before this generation.

Godfather, Schindler's List, Heat, many amazing films.

 

[redhawk23]

get a whole bunch of people in a park, and have them sit in a giant smily face formation for three hours lol

 

[redhawk23]

get a whole bunch of people in a park, and have them sit in a giant smily face formation for three hours lol

 

[Hellstormer]

OK we'll need 200 people to wear yellow shirts, 20 to wear red, and 50 to wear black. We'll meet tomorrow outside of the WB office.

 

[Cinemaman]

Well ya got me on Coppola, but LOTR was well-known to many people before the movies got made. I'm guessing more people knew about LOTR than they know about Watchmen, but I'm not sure

You didn't get my point. I was talking about Peter Jackson, not LOTR. PJ wasn't a maker of cheap B-movies, but after LOTR he became well-known. So it doesn't depend on the popularity of a director as long as the movie itself is good.

 

[kemo91]

You didn't get my point. I was talking about Peter Jackson, not LOTR. PJ wasn't a maker of cheap B-movies, but after LOTR he became well-known. So it doesn't depend on the popularity of a director as long as the movie itself is good.

Oh ok, I gotcha

 

[hYPE]

I truly hope we can get three hours of Watchmen!!! Man, I can see myself owning it on DVD as I write. haha!