Holy crap, it's Rorshach!

[mrbasehart]

I wonder how much of the pirate story we'll see in the final movie...

[gbeenie]

So is "Niteowl" = Batman? And "The Comedian" = Joker?

The Watchmen characters were originally going to all be characters from Charlton Comics, whose characters DC had just acquired. Early in the writing process, Alan Moore was informed that DC had plans for the characters, which precluded their use in Watchmen. So, Moore just came up with pretty analogous characters, and soldiered on.

Night Owl = Blue Beetle
The Comedian = Peacekeeper
Rorschach = The Question
Dr. Manhattan = Captain Atom

[gbeenie]

I wonder how much of the pirate story we'll see in the final movie...

I'm willing to bet it was the first thing that got jettisoned.

[Raven]

This pic aside, I'm intrigued and I don't know a lot about the Watchmen.  I'm even a little bummed that it's still a year off though. 

[mrbasehart]

I wonder how much of the pirate story we'll see in the final movie...

I'm willing to bet it was the first thing that got jettisoned.

Well, there's the shot of the newsstand and the boy reading the comic, so I think there'll at least be a reference to it.  Probably just for fans of the GN though.

[Compound]

So they're still setting it in 1985?

Yep.

I wonder how much of the pirate story we'll see in the final movie...

I'm willing to bet it was the first thing that got jettisoned.

Yes and no.

From here:

Gerard Butler Talks Black Freighter
Exclusive: On The Watchmen DVD extra!
Gerard Butler Talks Black Freighter    
It's been rumoured for a while now, but Gerard Butler has confirmed to Empire that he will be lending his vocal talents to the animated Tales Of The Black Freighter short that Zack Snyder is planning as a companion piece to Watchmen.

The Scottish actor had been linked with a role in Watchmen for a long time, but when nothing materialised, it seemed likely that he wouldn't be linking up with his 300 director on next year's eagerly-awaited blockbuster.

But, when Snyder hatched plans to film the Tales Of The Black Freighter comic-within-a-comic that tells the tale of a castaway's mental and physical deterioration and damnation as he tries to intercept a ghost freighter headed for his hometown, and include it on the Watchmen DVD, Butler's name surfaced once more.

So, it isn't in the film... but it's either going to be on the DVD or sold separately, ala Gotham Knights or Animatrix. (I've heard that in a couple of forums.)

[a pretty girl is like]

So they're still setting it in 1985?

Yep.

I wonder how much of the pirate story we'll see in the final movie...

I'm willing to bet it was the first thing that got jettisoned.

Yes and no.

From here:

Gerard Butler Talks Black Freighter
Exclusive: On The Watchmen DVD extra!
Gerard Butler Talks Black Freighter    
It's been rumoured for a while now, but Gerard Butler has confirmed to Empire that he will be lending his vocal talents to the animated Tales Of The Black Freighter short that Zack Snyder is planning as a companion piece to Watchmen.

The Scottish actor had been linked with a role in Watchmen for a long time, but when nothing materialised, it seemed likely that he wouldn't be linking up with his 300 director on next year's eagerly-awaited blockbuster.

But, when Snyder hatched plans to film the Tales Of The Black Freighter comic-within-a-comic that tells the tale of a castaway's mental and physical deterioration and damnation as he tries to intercept a ghost freighter headed for his hometown, and include it on the Watchmen DVD, Butler's name surfaced once more.

So, it isn't in the film... but it's either going to be on the DVD or sold separately, ala Gotham Knights or Animatrix. (I've heard that in a couple of forums.)

To me, the fact that they're adding the Black Freighter issue as a dvd extra is an admission of how much the book has been gutted.  The next thing to go will be the Mars issue.  There's no way Zack Snyder will take the time to explain quantum physics in a tent pole picture.

League Redux.  Hooray?

[BathTub]

I don't get that vibe at all.

[Junkyard]

To me, the fact that they're adding the Black Freighter issue as a dvd extra is an admission of how much the book has been gutted.  The next thing to go will be the Mars issue.  There's no way Zack Snyder will take the time to explain quantum physics in a tent pole picture.

League Redux.  Hooray?

It seems to me more like they're admitting that they just couldn't find a place for it in the film. I mean, seriously, would it fit?
Pardon the vicious tone I'm taking here, but: Of course fucking not.
LXG didn't put a spectacular airship battle in the film's extras, I robot didn't put a story about two troubleshooting robot mechanics trying to talk down a malfunctioning megalomaniac AI in their special features, and in fact no one has to my knowlege put something in their DVD extras to make up for their gutting a book.

I don't know how this film'll turn out, and I barely care. But stop just grabbing at straws. They won't put a random pirate story in a superhero movie because it would be ridiculously bad for pacing and pander only to the people who are die hard fans of the book, and the publicity photo of the bad(ish) guy shows him with a weird crotch. Seriously, what else you got at this point? At least wait a bit before descending on the film in a fanboy/girl rage.

[gbeenie]

So they're still setting it in 1985?

Yep.

I wonder how much of the pirate story we'll see in the final movie...

I'm willing to bet it was the first thing that got jettisoned.

Yes and no.

From here:

Gerard Butler Talks Black Freighter
Exclusive: On The Watchmen DVD extra!
Gerard Butler Talks Black Freighter    
It's been rumoured for a while now, but Gerard Butler has confirmed to Empire that he will be lending his vocal talents to the animated Tales Of The Black Freighter short that Zack Snyder is planning as a companion piece to Watchmen.

The Scottish actor had been linked with a role in Watchmen for a long time, but when nothing materialised, it seemed likely that he wouldn't be linking up with his 300 director on next year's eagerly-awaited blockbuster.

But, when Snyder hatched plans to film the Tales Of The Black Freighter comic-within-a-comic that tells the tale of a castaway's mental and physical deterioration and damnation as he tries to intercept a ghost freighter headed for his hometown, and include it on the Watchmen DVD, Butler's name surfaced once more.

So, it isn't in the film... but it's either going to be on the DVD or sold separately, ala Gotham Knights or Animatrix. (I've heard that in a couple of forums.)

That is SWEET!

[gbeenie]

To me, the fact that they're adding the Black Freighter issue as a dvd extra is an admission of how much the book has been gutted.

Honestly, what were you expecting? There's no conceivable way of fitting the entire story of the book into a feature-length film.

[gbeenie]

To me, the fact that they're adding the Black Freighter issue as a dvd extra is an admission of how much the book has been gutted.  The next thing to go will be the Mars issue.  There's no way Zack Snyder will take the time to explain quantum physics in a tent pole picture.

League Redux.  Hooray?

It seems to me more like they're admitting that they just couldn't find a place for it in the film. I mean, seriously, would it fit?
Pardon the vicious tone I'm taking here, but: Of course fucking not.
LXG didn't put a spectacular airship battle in the film's extras, I robot didn't put a story about two troubleshooting robot mechanics trying to talk down a malfunctioning megalomaniac AI in their special features, and in fact no one has to my knowlege put something in their DVD extras to make up for their gutting a book.

I don't know how this film'll turn out, and I barely care. But stop just grabbing at straws. They won't put a random pirate story in a superhero movie because it would be ridiculously bad for pacing and pander only to the people who are die hard fans of the book, and the publicity photo of the bad(ish) guy shows him with a weird crotch. Seriously, what else you got at this point? At least wait a bit before descending on the film in a fanboy/girl rage.

[Tripe]

I am actually rather pleased that it will feature in some way. I was rather miffed that Storm Saxon was gone from V for Vendetta.

I perfectly understand the constraints that cause the loss of the comic within the comic, especially as there are ways to get the point of the pirate story across in more cinematicly friendly means.

When it's a graphic novel you can tease out the allegory longer and more meticulously.

Edit: Hmm well aparently the Laser Lass bits were still Storm Saxon, could have fooled me.

[a pretty girl is like]

To me, the fact that they're adding the Black Freighter issue as a dvd extra is an admission of how much the book has been gutted.

Honestly, what were you expecting? There's no conceivable way of fitting the entire story of the book into a feature-length film.

To me, the fact that they're adding the Black Freighter issue as a dvd extra is an admission of how much the book has been gutted.  The next thing to go will be the Mars issue.  There's no way Zack Snyder will take the time to explain quantum physics in a tent pole picture.

League Redux.  Hooray?

It seems to me more like they're admitting that they just couldn't find a place for it in the film. I mean, seriously, would it fit?
Pardon the vicious tone I'm taking here, but: Of course fucking not.
LXG didn't put a spectacular airship battle in the film's extras, I robot didn't put a story about two troubleshooting robot mechanics trying to talk down a malfunctioning megalomaniac AI in their special features, and in fact no one has to my knowlege put something in their DVD extras to make up for their gutting a book.

I don't know how this film'll turn out, and I barely care. But stop just grabbing at straws. They won't put a random pirate story in a superhero movie because it would be ridiculously bad for pacing and pander only to the people who are die hard fans of the book, and the publicity photo of the bad(ish) guy shows him with a weird crotch. Seriously, what else you got at this point? At least wait a bit before descending on the film in a fanboy/girl rage.

Truly, I wasn't expecting much.  However, if Zack Snyder expects us to believe that this is to be as true to the source material as possible then the Black Freighter has to be worked into the film proper.  It isn't just a random pirate story.  It's a storytelling conceit that ties together the themes and storylines  of all the different characters while being a completely meta representation of the individual reader's experience of reading Watchmen.

Frankly, I agree wholeheartedly that it doesn't fit in this movie adaptation.  I don't think it's possible with this particular film by this particular director.

And the two examples you gave (I, Robot and League) aren't very good examples simply because they bear little to no resemblance to the source material.

Also, I really don't mind the costumes.  They're quite pretty actually.  But that's superficial.  The Black Freighter section isn't.   

[Tyrant]

Truly, I wasn't expecting much.  However, if Zack Snyder expects us to believe that this is to be as true to the source material as possible then the Black Freighter has to be worked into the film proper.  It isn't just a random pirate story.  It's a storytelling conceit that ties together the themes and storylines  of all the different characters while being a completely meta representation of the individual reader's experience of reading Watchmen.

Frankly, I agree wholeheartedly that it doesn't fit in this movie adaptation.  I don't think it's possible with this particular film by this particular director.

And the two examples you gave (I, Robot and League) aren't very good examples simply because they bear little to no resemblance to the source material.

Also, I really don't mind the costumes.  They're quite pretty actually.  But that's superficial.  The Black Freighter section isn't.   

  I think it's safe to say that if they included every single element from the Watchmen graphic in the movie, you'd have a 5-6 hour long movie. What counts are the core elements and how they're represented in a film translation. I'm probably stating the obvious here, however. As an avid Watchmen fan, you won't see me complaining at all so long as what's really important to the story/characters makes it on film. Although it's too early to tell right now just from production stills and what not, I would say they're hitting the nail on the head visually at least. This bodes well for the rest of the movie, in my mind.

   That said, I don't percieve The Black Freighter to be a core element. Frankly, all the articles and book excerpts used in the graphic novel are the real glue that holds the story together, IMO. I'm not saying it's not an important part of the story, but the waters are very deep in this book and the movie has to be stripped down so the masses can digest it. What I believe we're going to see is a more action themed version of the story.

  Basically, I'm thinking this may be the Lord of the Rings debate all over again.