I just got done reading Devin’s latest over at CHUD and came away even more excited about Watchmen. I may have a brain aneurysm any minute now. Now take all these details simply as rumor for now since Warner Bros. hasn’t yet confirmed it but it’s hella interesting if its all true.
You might remember earlier this month we reported the Moviehole.net story that – after much speculation – the “Tales of the Black Freighter” segments were in fact going to be filmed, primarily for Watchmen‘s DVD release. Well hell’s bells, it looks like it will not only be filmed, but according to Devin’s reporting, it will be animated.
And here is where the WGA strike enters the story. “The Black Freighter” segments apparently haven’t been scripted, at least not scripted to director Zack Snyder’s intentions. So they need a script. The WGA strike kind of puts a kink in things though, doesn’t it. But here, ladies and gents, is where the International Alliance Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) comes into play. See, animation writers apparently are not members of the WGA. For some kooky reason they belong to the IATSE and the IATSE isn’t on strike. Boo-yah!
The next item in the story is that this animated version of “The Black Freighter” would actually be released on DVD when Watchmen is just heading into theatres, Animatrix-tyle. Devin wonders if this whole thing would confuse fans since the “Freighter” tale has absolutely nothing to do with the Watchmen story other than providing layers thematically. I’m wondering the same thing. Would this simply be a hip in-the-know sort of release? It sounds way too expensive for it to be just that. Maybe snippets would appear in the actual Watchmen movie itself and then Warner Bros. could plug: If you want to see the ENTIRE “Black Freighter” story in full, be sure to head on over to your local Best But to …” etc.
The article has one more interesting rumor tablet that is worth quoting:
Readers of the comic know that writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons packed Watchmen with background and back story detail that creates a rich and rounded world, including text pieces at the end of every issue. A number of the text pieces take the form of excerpts from Under the Hood, the memoirs of Golden Age crime fighter Nite Owl, telling his own history and that of the original hero team The Minutemen. Picture this concept: while doing promotion for the book, Nite Owl appears on a newsmagazine show which profiles him, his career and his friends in The Minutemen. Just such a newsmagazine show is being filmed, and it’s being done in period early 60s style, reflecting the release date of the book in the Watchmen universe. Apparently this will be a full hour long.
What this really tells me is that the Watchmen DVD will be as anticipated an event as the film’s actual release, kind of like those LOTR extended editions because this Nite Owl media stuff would definitely be in the “special features” portion of any Watchmen disc. And I can definitely see small portions of these “interviews” in the background of Snyder’s movie, maybe even featured briefly.
Whew! I’m sure there’s enough Watchmen news or rumor to satiate even the most rabid fan for now. You can read Devin’s article right HERE
