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Alan Moore Doesn’t Care About The Watchmen
Alan Moore is a puzzle to me. I would have sex with a squash to have a career and following like he does. His ideas are the stuff that makes a comic book writer a legend. And then his stuff gets made into movies. Now with the result of the League of ExtraOrdinary Gentlemen, I am not surprised that he lacks any faith in the transition of his stories to film.
CinemaBlend quotes Moore:
”I got a piece of paper—they must’ve learned something from the V for Vendetta debacle. I got a piece of paper a couple of months ago saying, “I, the undersigned, hereby give you permission to take my name off of the film and to send my money to Dave Gibbons.” So I sent that back to them all signed and sealed, which means that now I don’t have to rant and spew about the film.”
So why is he ranting anyways? I have never really understood that.
I know you take your chances when you turn your creation over to a movie studio to make it into a movie. So yeah, I get why he gripes about it. That part I get. But not all of his books made to film have been bad. V for Vandetta was great, and it doesn’t seem like it would be much to make Watchmen into a movie as it almost seems written to be one.
He whines and gripes about it so much that he has even gone as far as to forfeit his profit shares and even asked for credit to him be removed from the film.
What would it take to make him happy?
Maybe Watchmen will kick ass and Well…in Hollywood they’ll say that Alan Moore’s small heart grew three sizes that day! And the minute his heart didn’t feel quite so tight, he whizzed with his story through the bright morning light and he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast!
And he… …HE HIMSELF…! Alan Moore carved the roast beast!
I can hope.
As for “why is he ranting anyways?”, Joel Silver kept claiming he gave the thumbs up to V for Vendetta when did not. And he got sued for League of ExtraOrdinary Gentlemen, some one claimed he stole the idea for the movie from him, and was hired to write the comic so WB could make the movie, stupid bullshit.
So, it’s not really surprising he doesn’t care or want anything to do with the films from his work.
The League comic was a wilstorm book in 99 and was something Moore wanted to do for a long time. He wasn’t hired to write the comics so that WB could make the movie. The comic came first and it inspired the movie. (story had nothing to do with the book story)
You would think that if they were butchering his works (which they didnt with V) that at very least he would be after their money over it but he just walks away.
“The League comic was a wilstorm book in 99 and was something Moore wanted to do for a long time. He wasn’t hired to write the comics so that WB could make the movie. The comic came first and it inspired the movie.”
I know, someone claimed that. The whole thing is on his wiki page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Moore#Disputes
Alan Moore is an Artist. He’s very passionate about the comics he writes. V may have been good pop corn fair but it was not what he wrote. I believe that V was an anarchist in the comic and not necessarily working for the benefit of the common man but in the film he is a freedom fighter. That would be enough to make me angry had I created the comic.
And no matter how good the film may have seemed, the idea that a people should stand up for or show support for their individuality and freedoms by wearing identical masks is more than a bit ridiculous.
Alan Moore has had a very long and negative relationship with DC comics over the rights to Watchmen. To the point that when Wildstorm was bought by DC, Alan Moore insisted his checks be issued by a fourth party just so he wouldn’t have to see the DC logo on the check.
He’s pissed at the way he’s been treated by the comics industry. He has pride in his work and doesn’t feel a movie adaptation needed. But because of the contracts he signed in his early career he has no say in what gets made into a movie or not.
I don’t think he deserves to be compared to the Grinch who stole christmas.
I think one of the things he’s (justifiably) annoyed by is that V for Vendetta is considered to be a successful adaptation of his work. I personally believe that’s a terrible film but beyond that objectively the film goes out of it’s way to bastardize the novel. It aspires to no crime so great as being conventional, both as cinema and entertainment and as politics.
@ “and it doesn’t seem like it would be much to make Watchmen into a movie as it almost seems written to be one.”
really? Alan Moore doesn’t think so, in fact he’s called Watchmen unfilmable. I don’t think I agree it’s unfilmable but certaintly its a difficult adaptation. Rodney, I really think you take another look at Watchmen.
Moore has said before that he’s uninterested in the medium of cinema. He’s at best ambiviliant about his work being adapted and he’s not looking to be won over.
The fans should just accept it. He’s a curmudgon and it’s part of his genius.
Moore writes comics, not movies, because he simply prefers that medium.
When a comic is turned into a film, it’s as if people are saying, “This comic book isn’t good enough on its own. It should be upgraded into a film.”
I’m sure Moore wouldn’t personally see this as an “upgrade”. A comic book or graphic novel should be acceptable in its intended medium. It shouldn’t need to be changed in order to attract a wider audience.
At least that’s the view I understand Moore has. I personally have read Watchmen and look forward to the film.
Mulele has got his finger on what’s really going on. It’s got nothing to do with the movies really, but Alan Moore’s ownership or non ownership of Watchmen, and V For Vendetta, an issue he has with DC Comics since the mid 1980’s.
Watchmen and V for Vendetta SHOULD belong to Alan Moore, but they don’t. Alan Moore believes he was screwed out of ownership of these properties when promises made to him were never kept.
Alan Moore owns League as well as From Hell, but he allowed film versions to be made because he doesn’t want his collaborators, in this case Kevin O’Neil and Eddie Campbell, to be deprived of an income that he feels they deserve to have.
It’s true that V For Vendetta was a great film, but it was a very shallow adaptation at best, as it changes fundamental ideas behind the graphic novel. I can stand lots of changes in adaptations, as long as you don’t change the essence of who those characters are. The V and Evey in the V For Vendetta film, is not the same V and Evey as they were in the comic book. The book seems like a very faithful adaptation, but in fact, it is not as fundamental changes were made to their characters. I’ve a longer review of this, as well as From Hell, and why I think they didn’t work as adaptations, which is on the link by my name. For those interested that is.
“The book seems like a very faithful adaptation,”
The FILM seems like a very faithful adaptation, I mean.
“The only difference between myself and a mad man is… I am not mad!” Salvadore Dali
Seems a good quote for Moore as well. Incredible talent, but eccentric to say the least.
v for vendetta is a fucking terrible movie. unwatchably bad. a complete fucking load of shit i can totally understand that he has turned his back on hollywood
at least he puts his money where his mouth is and doesn’t accept the money. hes no hypocrite…..he has a ton of integrity.
I went to see v for vendetta with a lot of caution as i really like the comic but i knew the film had got good reviews so i went with my girlfriend. What i saw was a great film and as i film it is better then the comic in a lot ways and worse in others but as a film i thought it was wonderful and i have seen it over 6 times, my girlfriend on the other hand loves it and has now started collecting comics as i made her read the comic before she went to see the film.
On alan moore however in someways i am glad he doesnt want to be named on the films because i dont want hollywood to steal him from us like the bastards stole farnk but i guess now we can see him make good movies :( i hope
While I loved the ad campaign for ‘V For Vendetta’ (the posters rock!) I, like some commenters here, didn’t like the film all that much. In fact I hated the film, and was disappointed. LXG was more horrible than that, and it is almost sad to think it will mark (at least at this time) Sean Connery’s last on screen appearance since he ‘retired’ .
But like them or hate them, they are adaptations, and Alan Moore can spew venom until hell freezes over, it makes no difference. There are good adaptations and there are lousy ones. Think Alan Moore’s got it bad? Someone outta give author Dean Koontz a call. But while the film may be pieces of dung, what stops a person from going to the bookstore and getting the uncomprimised source material?
Dave Gibbons gave his blessings, the film looks amazingly faithful so far… Alan Moore created what is possibly the best graphic novel of all time and should be honored by Zach Snyder’s passion towards the project. If he didn’t want it to be made into a movie, he would have worked harder to prevent it.
As long as Doc Manhattan is done well, then we won’t have to worry. I can’t really put Billy Crudup’s voice with the character, I always read him as having a more echoing god-like voice.
“But while the film may be pieces of dung, what stops a person from going to the bookstore and getting the uncomprimised source material?”
If I’m not impressed with the movie why would I look for/at the source material. I love Alan Moore’s work but I still haven’t read V for the movie that was made.
I saw 2 of the Harry Potter movies before picking up the books. Now I am a bigger fan of the books, and I see the movies as a nice visual adaptation of them.
Same with Moore’s work. People will see the movie and hear the buzz about how the movie didnt stack up to the graphic novel and go get it.
Problem with Moore, and many comic book creators, the publisher retains the rights and “owns” it even though it has your name on it. They choose what to do with it and they authorize its creation.
Moore might have issues with his work being raped (rightly so) but you would think he would at least want his pound of flesh for it. They are willing to give him money even if the movie bombs. Its a small consolation prize, but it is something.
Moore stripping himself of any relation to the adaptations is just a statement. One that doesn’t benefit him either way.
Just sayin.
Actually Watchman is one of the more difficult comic books to make. Mostly because it utilizes the comic medium to its fullest. It is really a story that is designed for the comic book and to translate it to a film would lose so much information. Every page in the comic is designed to tell the story, either pictorial or through the dialogue bubbles. And there is a lot going on in the background of the drawings, and the covers are also part of the story. And all of the seemingly irrelevant parts in the back of the comic, that look like editorials that comic books publish, are actually, all part of the story. Its a big story and to captivate it entirely would be near impossible. I just hope its able to tell, minimally, a well told, intelligent story. But it wont be Alan Moore’s Watchman.
I thought V was an alright film, but if Alan Moore really cared about how his work was adapted it would have made him comit seppuku, cause there is some major dumbing down going on.
He simply wants nothing to do with the movies, because they aren´t his work. The comics are his work. It really should be his choice. And if they ask him he will point out what he thinks is stupid.
He doesn´t really make much noise at all; to say that he whines and gripes is just not correct. And letting the movies get made for the artists´ sake is a gracious thing to do.
Man I don’t know why people are getting themselves all worked up over what Alan Moore has said.
He has NEVER liked any adaptation of his work and I can’t say as I blame him.
He has created some wonderful stories and some wonderful characters. It is very unfortunate that that most adaptations tank, but the fact of the matter is that the original stories are right there for the reading. Those characters never change. Those stories never change. A bad adaptation does not change the story at all. It stays just that.
A bad adaptation.
That doesn’t mean that it can’t be a good story on its own. How many times has Shakespeare been adapted, or Dracula, Frankenstein, or Eek! the Cat?
Ok maybe not so much Eek! The Cat but you get my drift.
Moore is so punk.
@”Moore stripping himself of any relation to the adaptations is just a statement. One that doesn’t benefit him either way.”
Rodney, is the concept of integrity really that alien to you? The guys wants to make his living creating great works not collecting residuals for intellectual property being watered down for focus groups.
And how can you not sympathize when someone says something like this:
“I love Alan Moore’s work but I still haven’t read V for the movie that was made.”
The unfortunate and frustrating fact is he’s more likely to be remembered for a movie he had nothing to do with and didn’t like than a book he wrote.
And for crying out loud the studio hired the team that brought us Transformers to do a pass on the script. I’m sure they’ll do a great job adapting Moore’s work, it’s a real mystery why he’s being so difficult.
Alan Moore is a cock who could care less if anything he makes gets turned into something someone else might enjoy. Let the dickshit cry about not wanting to be involved, he’s got the clout to pull a Frank Miller and make the movie himself, but he’d rather be stuck up like his fucking picturebooks about superheroes are somehow high art and cinema is below him.
All this from a site that thought the transformers was a good movie! Don’t waste your time or money on this movie. If you own the books re-read them, and if you do not, buy the books. This movie, if you love the books, will leave you thinking about what was left out, and what was changed to compensate for a mass audience. If you love movies, by all means go and see the movie. You will be missing out though by not reading the book.
I am amazed by how many studios by the rights to a book, and make a movie nothing like the book. Why?
Rodney, I’m curious do you have a review of V for Vendetta posted anywhere? I just really don’t get where you’re coming from on this.
@ oldnumber
While I generally agree with you, with a book you tend to have more characters, more side situations that weave into the bigger story, inner thoughts and the author can make some observations about a character. Most of this you can’t do in a film, where (the majority of the time) a filmmaker has 2 hours to “show” the story.
“Written to be one” eh? I will agree with you, that the art in the book does seem to have a certain cinematic element to it, but to claim that the book was written to be made into a movie is simply, for lack of a better word, ludicrous.
Let’s break it down.
First, let’s look at past renditions of Mr. Moore’s work. More specifically “V for Vendetta” Moore wrote the character as purely an anarchist and a terrorist interested in little more then the destruction of society. But in the re-write the character was changed to represent a patriot of “American” ideals so that the movie was more suitable for the palate of the average American viewer. Which, in the end does make sense because if the movie hadn’t been written as such, it wouldn’t have made any money. Alan Moore said it himself, “America isn’t ready for a terrorist hero.” The average American viewer simply lacks the ability to step back from emotion and bias in order to view a piece of literature or art critically. Which is also how Dan Brown managed to make so much money off of his largely over-rated “The Davinci Code”, because it was controversial and played on the emotions of America, but I’m getting off topic here. When you think of “V” imagine a band like Fall Out Boy or Avenged Sevenfold doing a cover of “Hey Jude” and then you will possibly get an idea of how Alan Moore feels about the re-writing of his comic books.
I am personally both excited for the release of Watchmen, excited yet terrified at the same time. There are so many key elements to the story and over all theme of the book that I am almost certain will be edited out in order for the film to become more suitably viewed by America as a whole. And as Watchmen is such a monolith towards Graphic literature being, on the whole, viewed as a genre of literature to be respected in a semi-serious context, this is a very grim notion indeed.