Under The Hood

[RemixSprites]

How do you expect the Hollis Mason book excerpts to be put into the film? Do you expect that it will be omitted completely from the film and passed out to ticket-buyers as a pamphlet? Or will it be completely scrapped?

I would say that the pamphlet idea is worth a try.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

Hollis Mason could mention it. But that's about it.

 

[RemixSprites]

You don't think that the pamphlet would be practical?

Something similar was done with the Pokemon movie (Ugh.) when they gave out the special trading cards.

I'm just hoping something is done about Under The Hood.
If the excerpts weren't in the graphic novel, he wouldn't be nearly as well-rounded and

Spoiler

I wouldn't have felt so badly when he was brutally murdered in the story.

 

[StorminNorman]

I would rather them give out the Black Freighter with the ticket, instead of the book. Yes - the book gives more depth to the old Minutemen, but it is not necessary to the main plot.

 

[RemixSprites]

That could work.

Unless, of course, Snyder wins the fight to put it into the film. If not, it could still end up on a possible extended cut of the film released on DVD. If either one of these possibilities happen, I don't see why they can't just hand out Under The Hood pamphlets.

 

[Roughneck]

I think they should do pamphlet and put out a full sized book at the same time as the film

 

[Shifty]

Just incorporate it onto the film's website. All of the special material between issues should be put on the website.

 

[sad lieutenant]

Just incorporate it onto the film's website. All of the special material between issues should be put on the website.

I think we'll see something more in that direction... There is no "Under the Hood" in Tse's script. All we get in the movie in terms of the texts that Moore inserts into the narrative voice in the original is Rorscach's journal. And Hollis' beat-down is approached in a flimsy manner -- as are all events post prison-escape and pre-Karnak.

 

[The Guard]

What part of "adaption" don't people understand? That said, some of Under The Hood can be found in Hollis Mason's discussion with Dreiberg at the beginning of the Alex Tse script. A nod to the book will be fine. A mention by Laurie or Sally, and a shot of the jacket and title.

 

[Shifty]

It would be cool if they could make a talk show interview with Ozy (David Letterman) or have news reports (Walter Cronkite) on the Keane Act etc. on their website. Fans or new people to the Watchmen universe can dive into the "archives" and see how things are different in that universe.

 

[brobdingnag]

Under the Hood and the Black Freighter can and should both be dumped for the movie. Neither one is neccessary to move the story forward. That doesn't mean that they can't be given nods. I would still include the kid at the news stand and show him reading the comic. It would be easy to make references to Hollis's book through a TV ad or a newspaper spot about it being on the NY Times bestseller list or something similar. What fan's are going to have to come to grips with is that there will have to be a LOT cut from the book from the movie. It isn't just going to be a couple of things like Bombadil or the Scouring of the Shire for LOTR. The cuts should come primarily from the end of chapter stories.

 

[Captain Carnage]

brobdingnag has hit the nail on the head. In the draft that's increasingly heading nearer towards being filmed, the Black Freighter and Under The Hood indeed only get scant references... the kid reading the comic a couple of times in the background, mention of Mason's memoirs in passing.

Which, admittedly, is only to be expected. Quite how you would integrate these sections of Watchmen seemlessly into a movie escapes me... by design, they are so anti-cinematic and perfectly designed for the medium in which they were created and released that their effective translation to film is nigh on impossible.

In all, there are surprisingly few major cuts in the script from that as appears on the page... it's the arbitrary changes that have been made that alters the nature of the characters and skews the tone and impact of the story overall. Seemingly unnecessary changes in dialogue, the renaming of the hero groups, the changed nature of the disaster, and the death of a character (Veidt) who's survival at the end of the book was a major part of the moral dilemma it instilled in the reader and which made Watchmen such a unique, and brave, comics experience.

None of these changes would appear to be for the sake of running time or to provide for more cohesive, flowing story development on screen... it just smacks of dumbing-down in order to aim the movie at an audience that the film makers and/or the studio don't reckon will be smart enough to appreciate the story as it exists in its original form.

Which is just downright condescending and insulting to the intelligence of the potential audience out there, in my view. And which will leave us with just another dumb superhero movie geared towards the opportunities for merchandising in the end.

 

[CARNAGE-COMETH]

They should just have a small segment of the movie devoted to a narration of it read by Morgan Freeman.


joking.

 

[Sandman138]

I would rather them give out the Black Freighter with the ticket, instead of the book. Yes - the book gives more depth to the old Minutemen, but it is not necessary to the main plot.

You have got to be kidding me.

 

[Sandman138]

Anyways, I was under the impression that the montage sequence was going to cover most of what was in Under the Hood.

 

[sad lieutenant]

Why would they print up pamphlets and ****? The text exists: it's in the comic. To reprint the text does nothing to expand on the "universe" of the Watchmen, or pique interest in the film -- i.e. would have none of the hallmarks of a good viral campaign.

As a more viral approach, I would make a fake documentary -- rendered in post-production to resemble something produced in the 1980s, like a fake PBS special -- featuring an interview with Hollis Mason with him reading from his book... and faithfully reproduce those awesome photos in the original comic, including voice-over commentary from more peripheral characters from the universe (i.e. -- characters that won't even appear in the film).

This sort of stuff could be done for next to no money, and might be kind of awesome. Imagine if this stuff started showing up on youtube with no fanfare or explanation...

 

[Shifty]

Why would they print up pamphlets and ****? The text exists: it's in the comic. To reprint the text does nothing to expand on the "universe" of the Watchmen, or pique interest in the film -- i.e. would have none of the hallmarks of a good viral campaign.

As a more viral approach, I would make a fake documentary -- rendered in post-production to resemble something produced in the 1980s, like a fake PBS special -- featuring an interview with Hollis Mason with him reading from his book... and faithfully reproduce those awesome photos in the original comic, including voice-over commentary from more peripheral characters from the universe (i.e. -- characters that won't even appear in the film).

This sort of stuff could be done for next to no money, and might be kind of awesome. Imagine if this stuff started showing up on youtube with no fanfare or explanation...

Get the fans to produce there own Alternate 1970s/1980s material on YouTube (certain guidelines) and the winner wins a trip to the premiere.

 

[brobdingnag]

Get the fans to produce there own Alternate 1970s/1980s material on YouTube (certain guidelines) and the winner wins a trip to the premiere.

That is a great idea. The mind boggles.

 

[sad lieutenant]

Some time ago, on this forum, I pitched the following idea of how to make the most of the Watchmen "universe" -- i.e. things that wouldn't really work in the film, but could be used in a marketing campaign:

I would make a fake documentary -- rendered in post-production to resemble something produced in the 1980s, like a fake PBS special -- featuring an interview with Hollis Mason with him reading from his book... and faithfully reproduce those awesome photos in the original comic, including voice-over commentary from more peripheral characters from the universe (i.e. -- characters that won't even appear in the film).

Basically, I had the idea to render "Under the Hood" as an interview with Hollis Mason, and release it on the web before March 09 -- and include it on the DVD.


And today, the Devin at CHUD writes of "Expanding the Watchmen Universe"

From the article:

Picture this concept: while doing promotion for the book, Nite Owl appears on a newsmagazine show which profiles him, his career and his friends in The Minutemen. Just such a newsmagazine show is being filmed, and it's being done in period early 60s style, reflecting the release date of the book in the Watchmen universe.


Um... I have a couple of thoughts:

1) That's an awesome idea! I'm glad I had it months ago!
2) A humble request to Snyder and WB: Check, please!

 

[Mister Sinister]

A meta-fictional blog would be cool.

 

[Sun_Down]

Giving pamphlets to people in a dark movie theatre when they've come to watch a movie is just impractical and unneccessary. All they really need to do is mention it in reference to the incident between Black and Sally.

 

[Luchastyle]

yeah, that chud story is a cream dream. if we have the animated black freighter simultaneously released and then that hour long special for under the hood, man...that would be the absolute sh-t

 

[Shifty]

Think they would release any pinups of the original Silk Spectre aka Carla Gugino?

 

[Cousin Itt]

Think they would release any pinups of the original Silk Spectre aka Carla Gugino?

I hope they do.

 

[Overman27pj]

I'm betting that its a large part of the opening montage, with Mason's voice doing it, about the begining of masks.

They filmed the Dollar Bill scene right? The only place that is mentioned is in 'Under the hood'