`Watchmen' aims to answer typical superhero films
SAN DIEGO (AP) - JUly 25, 2008 "The Owl Ship's got to have an eight-track," Snyder says.
"There's also a coffee maker. That's really important to the Owl
Ship."
Snyder, whose adaptation of the graphic novel "300" grossed
more than $200 million, says directing "Watchmen" isn't a job he
would have sought, but it's one that suits him fine: Staying true
to a beloved story that dismantles the superhero archetype.
"These modern superheroes, like Iron Man, Batman and Superman,
they're our mythology and (author) Alan (Moore) sort of
deconstructed that mythology and said no, they're us," Snyder
says. "Other superhero movies - 'Iron Man,' 'Batman' - they're
like a mishmash of all the different mythology."
Snyder says his adaptation of Warner Bros. "Watchmen," slated
for release next March, is more true to the source material than
was the Oscar-winning "No Country for Old Men."
He sticks to the story because of the complex concepts involved,
he says, such as exploring superheroes' ethical and moral
challenges.
The story "deconstructs heroes. ... It kind of takes it all the
way," Snyder says. "How far do you take this superhero thing? Do
you take a cat out of a tree or do you create world peace? That's
really the dilemma that they face. Superman has the ability to go
to all the world leaders and say, 'I will kill all of you if you
don't behave.' He could do that, but why doesn't he?"
Snyder showed a bit of never-before-seen footage to the more
than 6,000 fans who gathered Friday for a panel featuring the
"Watchmen" cast. The clip, an expanded version of the trailer
that plays before "The Dark Knight" in theaters, is at once
stylized and realistic - and definitely dark.
It opens with Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), then briefly
introduces each of the Watchmen: Dan Dreiberg (Patrick Wilson)
before he assumes his Nite Owl identity, Dr. Manhattan (Billy
Crudup), the cigar-chomping killer Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)
and the elder and younger incarnations of the sexy Silk Spectre
(Carla Gugino and Malin Akerman). It ends with the Comedian
surrounded by shattered glass as he is thrown from a window.
Illustrator Dave Gibbons, who co-created "Watchmen" with
Moore, said seeing his vision come to life "is just the stuff of
dreams, really."
"What really did it for me was the Owl Ship," he said. "To
stand inside the Owl Ship... and to smell the Comedian's cigar, to
have the Comedian slap me on the back and proudly show me his
guns... I was completely thrilled."
Comic-Con opened Thursday at the San Diego Convention Center.
"Watchmen" is set for release in March.
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On the Net:
http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/
hhttp://www.comic-con.org/
