# Watchmen Trailer!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 18, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891 "2008-07-18T00:21:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/101 "2008-07-19T08:47:36Z")
Wow! Was amazed the first time I saw this in a tiny youtube sort of box on my computer. Even more impressed when I played the HD version on the cinema display full screen at the apple store. And totally blown away now that I saw it tonight before the Dark Knight film on the big screen. Looks great. And lots of fun shouting “naked blue men!” before Dr M appears. I’m glad they sort of kept his genitals intact. It would have been nice to see the bloodstained happy face pin though. Awesome Rorshach (sp?) mask. Had to watch it carefully to actually see it changing. And awesome crystal palace. So far everyone looks fairly young and fit. I hope they do the aging aspect well. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/102 "2008-07-19T09:55:46Z")
With regards to the running length, I don’t see that as as fundamental problem as it would be with a novel adaption. It was only a 12 issue miniseries and they aren’t including the Pirate stuff. I could easily read the entire graphic novel itself in the running time of a movie. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/103 "2008-07-19T10:12:41Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] > [@](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by shy guy > I really can’t see how they could possibly cut out… > > The original Nite-Owl getting beaten to death by an angry mob. That’s not how I remember it: He was killed by a bunch of street punks (probably hopped up on KT-28s), no? On Halloween, when he opened the door thinking they were trick-or-treaters. [/QUOTE] Actually, you’re both rightit was a little of both - on Halloween night an angry mob of knot heads (on Katies, no doubt) - who were pissed off when they heard that Nite Owl (2) had released Rorschach from prison - so they went to get him, not realizing that Hollis Mason was Nite Owl (1), not (2) ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/104 "2008-07-19T14:25:39Z")
Never mind the whining, wanking fanboys – wait until somebody says that Ozymandias’ basic plan is a ripoff of “Heroes”! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/105 "2008-07-19T14:59:40Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Jesus, someone pulled the mod alarm quick on that one. I told him to fuck off with his accusations, i.e. stop calling me a wanker/whiner/wailer/cryer/screamer, a prerequisite of which, by the way, was him calling me all of those things. But I guess his words technically aren’t as naughty, depending on who you ask :rolleyes:. [/QUOTE] At no point in my post was your name even mentioned, nor any pronoun referring particularly to you. I didn’t call you anything. You adopted the martyr’s mantle all on your own. I posted a complaint (prompted by a question from another poster) about the extreme fanboys and whiners. You decided I was talking about you. Even if I WERE talking about you, I didn’t drag that connection into my post explicitly. Since I was talking about a general classification of the public (of which you may or may not be a member), it was not a personal insult that would need to be confined to the Pit. And as far as “pulling the mod alarm”, I wasn’t the one who did it. I read the post you made, shrugged and went to bed. Maybe it was just a post that would attract a mod, being, as it was, a pretty basic violation of board rules. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/106 "2008-07-19T15:19:33Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] I don’t blame Alan Moore for being pissed at the film adaptations of his work. How would you like it if people judged a book you wrote by a movie like _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_? How many people do you think assumed the book was as bad as the movie was and not worth reading? _Watchmen_ is a classic of the genre. But after next year what people will think about when they hear _Watchmen_ will be the movie. If the movie sucks, people will think _Watchmen_ sucks. Moore knows that the reputation of his book could be ruined forever by a movie he had no control over. [/QUOTE] Yes, but mostly among the Teeming Millions who, in the absence of the movie, would never have heard of the book anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/107 "2008-07-19T15:27:19Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I just hope they don’t chicken out with ending. It would cause the biggest fanboy revolt since they saw Greedo shooting first. [/QUOTE] There was a piece in _Entertainment Weekly_ in which one comment indicated (clearly enough for anyone familiar with the story, but not spoilery for anyone who isn’t) that they didn’t chicken out. I assume you’re referring to the decision that Ozymandias can’t be brought to account, right? The EW piece had a generic comment on sticking to the original “the bad guy goes unpunished” ending, though that still leaves the question of whether the very last bit with Rorschach’s diary shows up. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/108 "2008-07-19T15:31:51Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] At no point in my post was your name even mentioned, nor any pronoun referring particularly to you. I didn’t call you anything. You adopted the martyr’s mantle all on your own. [/QUOTE] I am reminded of a joke from _Hammer & Tickle_ (a collection of secretly circulated anti-regime jokes from the old Soviet Empire): Attempting to defend himself against a charge of subversion, Ivan attempts to explain that his writings were actually a satirical attack on the capitalist West. “Silence!” the judge snaps. “Your work clearly describes ‘tyrants’ and ‘thugs’ and ‘oppressors of the people’. This Court knows exactly whom you meant to insult!” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/109 "2008-07-19T16:40:13Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] And I admit, I’d never before made a connection between the title and Jon Osterman’s father’s profession. **It might not have been intentional on Moore’s part** , but the guys who made this trailer are milking the hell out of it. [/QUOTE] My bolding. Of course it was intentional on his part - the guy is the _ne plus ultra_ of anal reteniveness - I’ve just reread _From Hell_, and the notes at the end let you know this in no uncertain terms. The man does his homework, and agonizes about every single damn panel. _Watchmen_ is a comic that has one chapter be as completely symmetrical about the middle as possible. You think a little thing like a main character’s father’s profession wouldn’t be carefully chosen? I’ve always thought the profession of _Heroes_’ Sylar was a tribute. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/110 "2008-07-19T23:12:08Z")
[QUOTE=MrDibble] I’ve always thought the profession of _Heroes_’ Sylar was a tribute. [/QUOTE] Considering the sheer quantity of Watchmen references in that show I’d bet on it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/111 "2008-07-20T02:46:31Z")
Saw _Dark Knight_ tonight and, much to my chagrin, they _didn’t_ show the _Watchmen_ preview before it. Gah! ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/112 "2008-07-20T14:30:40Z")
Holy… [The Comedian Shooting the Vietnamese Girl After She Slashes His Face](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1445107456/tt0409459) [Nite Owl and Silk Spectre Busting Rorshach Outa Jail](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1210226432/tt0409459) [A “Golden Age” Comedian Menaces down on the Original Silk Spectre](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1461884672/tt0409459) A mutant lynx, and my head’s gonna explode. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/113 "2008-07-20T14:37:15Z")
Moore talks > [@](#): > > I would rather not know [anything about the movie. Snyder] may very well be [a nice guy], but the thing is that he’s also the person who made 300. I’ve not seen any recent comic book films, but I didn’t particularly like the book 300. I had a lot of problems with it, and everything I heard or saw about the film tended to increase [those problems] rather than reduce them: [that] it was racist, it was homophobic, and above all it was sublimely stupid. I know that that’s not what people going in to see a film like 300 are thinking about but…I wasn’t impressed with that… I talked to [director] Terry Gilliam in the '80s, and he asked me how I would make Watchmen into a film. I said, ‘‘Well actually, Terry, if anybody asked me, I would have said, ‘I wouldn’t.’’’ And I think that Terry [who aborted his attempted adaptation of the book] eventually came to agree with me. There are things that we did with Watchmen that could only work in a comic, and were indeed designed to show off things that other media can’t. > **[Watchmen Creator Ignores Movie](https://gizmodo.com/watchmen-creator-ignores-movie-5026980)** > > While the collected population of the internet seems to be wetting itself in excitement about the trailer for Zach Snyder's version of Watchmen, one man ---
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/114 "2008-07-20T16:12:55Z")
[QUOTE=yojimbo] Moore talks > **[Watchmen Creator Ignores Movie](https://gizmodo.com/watchmen-creator-ignores-movie-5026980)** > > While the collected population of the internet seems to be wetting itself in excitement about the trailer for Zach Snyder's version of Watchmen, one man [/QUOTE] As long as we’re listening to Moore, here are a few short interviews that are quite fascinating. [Moore on religion](http://youtube.com/watch?v=Cam2kK7J_8k) [Alan Moore talks about Watchmen](http://youtube.com/watch?v=qKebCtCTbCA) [More Alan vids](http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=AlanMooreVids) ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/115 "2008-07-20T16:13:13Z")
> [@Alan Moore](#): > > I talked to [director] Terry Gilliam in the '80s, and he asked me how I would make Watchmen into a film. I said, ‘‘Well actually, Terry, if anybody asked me, I would have said, ‘I wouldn’t.’’’ And I think that Terry [who aborted his attempted adaptation of the book] eventually came to agree with me. Funny, I’ve never read or heard Moore’s opinion on this matter yet we completely agree (first sentence of post #96.) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/116 "2008-07-20T16:20:07Z")
A couple of things that worry me: First, there’s no almost no dialog in the trailer. The images look pretty and it’s a rush for a _Watchmen_ fan to see them live, but that doesn’t say whether the movie will be any good or not, just that it will have good effects. Second, in the prison photo **bubastis** linked to, Nite Owl looked like a young man in good shape, not the middle aged has-been he is in the comic. It seems to me they’re undermining one of the most powerful and interesting ideas of the comic: What would happen if time and aging were incoporated into a superhero universe. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/117 "2008-07-20T16:50:55Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia] A couple of things that worry me: First, there’s no almost no dialog in the trailer. The images look pretty and it’s a rush for a _Watchmen_ fan to see them live, but that doesn’t say whether the movie will be any good or not, just that it will have good effects. Second, in the prison photo **bubastis** linked to, Nite Owl looked like a young man in good shape, not the middle aged has-been he is in the comic. It seems to me they’re undermining one of the most powerful and interesting ideas of the comic: What would happen if time and aging were incoporated into a superhero universe. [/QUOTE] And the dialog there is is slightly incorrect. Rorschash’s line is actually "…and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout ‘Save us!’ And I’ll look down, and whisper ‘no.’ " You mean no salient gut distorting his costume like in the comic? That’s true and I noticed it as well. But maybe it’s just the new costume that makes him look better than he really is. There is too little footage to judge yet. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/118 "2008-07-20T17:12:31Z")
[QUOTE=Gozu] And the dialog there is is slightly incorrect. Rorschash’s line is actually "…and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout ‘Save us!’ And I’ll look down, and whisper ‘no.’ [/QUOTE] Yah, that could be troubling, insofar as it suggests they’re toning down Rorschach’s craziness. But maybe not - that line was originally one of Rorshach’s thoughts, narration from one of the first pages of the book. If the movie isn’t using narration, and wanted to get that line into dialog, then “the world” is just a bit snappier than “the whores and politicians”. It also gets the same point across - that Rorshach is past giving a damn. ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/119 "2008-07-20T22:10:16Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Excellent] Yah, that could be troubling, insofar as it suggests they’re toning down Rorschach’s craziness. But maybe not - that line was originally one of Rorshach’s thoughts, narration from one of the first pages of the book. If the movie isn’t using narration, and wanted to get that line into dialog, then “the world” is just a bit snappier than “the whores and politicians”. It also gets the same point across - that Rorshach is past giving a damn. [/QUOTE] Also, it’s a green-band (“Approved for all audiences”) teaser trailer, so the “whores” etc. may have been cut from the dialogue or re-recorded for purposes of the trailer only. It’s hard to say. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891/120 "2008-07-20T22:44:37Z")
[QUOTE=SisterCoyote] Also, it’s a green-band (“Approved for all audiences”) teaser trailer, so the “whores” etc. may have been cut from the dialogue or re-recorded for purposes of the trailer only. It’s hard to say. [/QUOTE] Good point; I remember there was a green-band trailer for the movie _Superbad_ that included several bits that I think were filmed specifically for the trailer, with cleaned-up dialogue. Raising the question – what will the rating be on the movie? Can we possibly hope for an R? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watchmen-trailer/456891.md?page=7)