What if ‘Watchmen’ Sucks?
People seem to be ignoring this possibility
Photo: Warner Bros.
Now don’t get me wrong with that headline, I want Watchmen to be phenomenal just like the rest of you, but with all the talk it is hard to wonder what it will be like if the movie just isn’t any good.
Over at SCI-FI they have up a new interview with director Zack Snyder and his wife Deborah (producer) where they talk about how the film has now been shortened slightly from the previously reported 2 hours and 43 minutes. “We’re at two hours and 35 minutes,” Deborah told the site.
Zack added, “The movie’s pretty long … compared to 300, which was an hour and 58 minutes. The director’s cut [of Watchmen] is about three hours and 10 minutes long. It has even more than the theatrical version as far as the detail that gets even closer to the graphic novel.”
But things don’t end there, “The Black Freighter version of the movie that we’re working on–which has the ins and outs of the Black Freighter comic book woven through it, with an animated version of the Black Freighter–will be about three hours and 40 minutes,” Zack said. “So there’s a huge epic version of Watchmen, which will probably come out after the movie’s theatrical release, for hardcore [fans].”
We already knew this last tidbit as it has been revealed Warner Bros. is already in the stages of prepping a triple-dip DVD/Blu-ray release with a variety of cuts and special goodies to keep consumers coming back. On top of that there will be the video game, I assume toys and a variety of other marketing tie-ins. However, I can’t help but remember how it has taken two decades to get this film made because there wasn’t anyone that seemed to be able to get it right. A mild stir was started online when word that the ending had been changed made the rounds proving loyal followers don’t want a single thing changed.
Tonight I also noticed over at SlashFilm, Peter Sciretta has a commentary up asking why the “epic” version is going to be relegated to home video. “Why doesn’t Warner Bros hold theatrical digital screenings of the ‘Epic Version’ in a handful of the major cities after the film has been in theaters for a month or so?” he asks. It’s a valid question, but I can’t help but wonder what folks will be saying if Watchmen hits with a relative ho-hum or, heaven forbid, a resounding thud. Will they still want to go see it again? Hell, what if it never hits at all? Or at least not on March 6.
Am Law Daily has up a story that takes a look at the current lawsuit over the film between Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox in which they say they have “never read two motions for summary judgment as different as those filed by legal teams for Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox.”
The two sides filed their motions Tuesday, and the suit will come to a head during a hearing on Dec. 15 - a hearing that could derail the unveiling of a movie that comic book geeks have waited two decades for.
The two sides take very different strategies in their motions filed this week. Warners comes out firing, saying Fox, even if it did once own a right of first refusal, gave it up by not exercising it for more than a decade while three different studios batted around possible Watchmen projects. They characterize Fox’s suit as a last-minute attempt to attach itself to a film that looks like it will be a hit. But later in their motion, the studio says it’s willing to accept a partial summary judgment ruling. What that means is unclear; it could mean that Fox will end up with a percentage of distribution rights or that Warners will pay Fox an unknown amount to secure full rights to the movie.
Fox, on the other hand, is going for a home run. They ask for nothing less than the sole right to produce Watchmen and distribute it in the U.S. and abroad.
I really can’t imagine the backlash Fox would suffer from fanboys should this lawsuit end up delaying the release of Watchmen. Personally I don’t think that will ever happen and expect some deal will be reached, but just imagine. Would fans boycott X-Men Origins: Wolverine as a result? Fox certainly isn’t in the highest of favors after a rather dismal 2008 and the last thing they need is a reason for the vocal fanbase to get really upset.
Obviously I offer up this article as a devil’s advocate kind of deal, but it is just starting to seem like all the hype is building up for a major let down. On top of that a triple-dip DVD/Blu-ray is certainly a task of putting all the eggs in a basket and hoping every single one of them hatch. Then again, I remember recently telling someone how stupid the majority of the collector’s edition DVD sets actually are as they only supply you with more cardboard than you had before, but whatever the biggest package for Watchmen is, that will be the one I want if the movie turns out to be as good as I hope it will be.
I guess I too am setting myself up to potentially be my own personal victim. Oh well, I guess that’s the price of high expectations and unabashed anticipation. We have just over three months left before we find out.
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