Entertainment Weekly has published an article talking about Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen in which the possible movie is mentioned as well. The magazine claims that Warner Bros. Pictures is now in talks to pick up the project after it was dropped by Paramount Pictures. The mag asked the creators and influenced talent about the movie:
In the late ’80s, producer Joel Silver (The Matrix) tried to make a film adaptation with director Terry Gilliam. Robin Williams and Richard Gere were rumored to be interested. But the project imploded primarily over budget, and the end of the Cold War deprived Watchmen of its political relevance. But in 2001, the comic found new life thanks to a zeitgeist-mining script by David Hayter (X-Men). Paramount was set to roll earlier this year with The Bourne Supremacy’s Paul Greengrass at the helm — until a regime change at the studio sent it into turnaround. Still, says producer Larry Gordon, ”We have every reason to believe we will eventually make the movie.” By the way, Moore doesn’t mind: He’s adamantly opposed to Watchmen’s adaptation for artistic, business, and personal reasons — a position that hardened after Fox’s limp 2003 version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen — and plans to give any film royalties to Gibbons.
GIBBONS
I remember meeting with Joel Silver, who wanted to cast Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dr. Manhattan: ”He’s gonna be Arnie!” We said, ”Well, he’s got the physique, but the German accent…” He said, ”Doesn’t matter!” It didn’t come to anything with Joel.
SAM HAMM (first Watchmen screenwriter)
I was coming off writing Batman when I was asked to take a whack at it. I thought it too unwieldy to compress into two hours. The comic really is a spectacular piece of architecture. Trying to replicate it [was]just impossible.
HAYTER
What I pitched to Larry was actually a miniseries for HBO. But it would have cost $100 million. When I mapped it out as a two-hour movie, I looked at how Peter Jackson broke down The Lord of the Rings. My first draft was 178 pages, which was encouraging; it told me a screenplay was actually possible. One thing that has tripped up Hollywood is the Cold War setting, when there was a sense of impending doom. With 9/11, unfortunately, we got it right back again. So we did update it.
MOORE
David Hayter’s screenplay was as close as I could imagine anyone getting to Watchmen. That said, I shan’t be going to see it. My book is a comic book. Not a movie, not a novel. A comic book. It’s been made in a certain way, and designed to be read a certain way: in an armchair, nice and cozy next to a fire, with a steaming cup of coffee. Personally, I think that would make for a lovely Saturday night.
The full article is available in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
