12 posts tagged “zack snyder”
Well under rather mysterious circumstances Watchmencomicmovie.com have today released photos of what most of the Watchmen cast will look like in full costume.
Apart from a rather odd looking getup from Veidt (Ozymandias) (little boy playing dressup in B&R/Spartan wear) and Nite Owl's rather strange interpretation of the cowl from the book (visual metaphor for his impotency?) everything looks rather impressive, especially Rorschach, Silk Spectre and of course, Rorschach. For some reason Snyder has run them through his favourite desaturation mode which makes it hard to make out some of the details, especially in the case of Rorschach's famous purple pinstripe trousers and cravat. But on the whole, I think fans can breath a collective sigh of relief. Check them out below, and here's the original link to the source
Nite Owl played by Patrick Wilson
The Comedian played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Veidt (Ozymandias) played by Matthew Goode
Rorschach played by Jackie Earle Haley
One of the parents of arguably the greatest comic book story in history (Watchmen), Dave Gibbons, poses infront of Dollar Bill's costume. Note the blood and bullet holes from that poor schmuck's demise, his cape getting caught in a revolving door while trying to foil a robbery, opening him up to a hail of gunfire. I can't believe the level of fidelity involved in this production. Litte or no modernisation or hippification; it looks exactly like it does in the book, corny, but all the better for it.
Check out the pic below and click here for the first part of Mr Gibbons, exuberant set report.
Oh and check out this look at the door to the Rimrunner bar. Nothing spectacular, but it is where Rorschach likes to conduct the openings to many of his investigations. What's cool is that this came as an exclusive to arguably the best Watchman message board from the production itself. With any luck more exclusives will be following:
Trying not to give myself a cerebral hernia through geekgasm, but the Watchmen is honestly my Star Wars and seeing such beautifully resonant production photos like these is very exciting and quite frankly, very reassuring (check out the newstand, the gorgeous colours of the Gunga Diner). And though it may not be the full on, perfectly composed, and detailed character pic I wanted, that's Rorschach goddammit. Check below for the pics, and click here for their source at the official Watchmen site .
Ok, thought I'd do an update (regurgitation in the case of some of the casting comments) on the rumoured, and practically official casting for the Watchmen movie:
IESB.net is making the confirmations, and what with ComiCon just round the corner, I think you can take these with more than just a pinch of salt:
Adrian Veidt/Oxymandias- Matthew Goode- Great, great choice in my opinion. If they had to go star, I would have said Pitt over Law, but this is a real surprise, and as you'll see from the rest of the list, and as I've already stated, seems to cement that idea that Snyder is going with talent over glamour. Goode was great in Match Point (hated the film) and The Look Out.
Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan- Again great. Ever since Jesus' Son Crudup's been an actor of versatility, charisma and magnetism. He's got the look too.
Patrick Wilson as The Nite Owl- Another surprise. Only seen him in Little Children with Kate Winslet, and he's great in that. I know people have been clamouring for Cusack, but Wilson's got the same everyman quality, but without the Hollywood. This can't turn into just some Hollywood glamour flick. It's story, not faces.
Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach- Annnother surprise. And a fellow Little Children star. Funnily enough, also a former child star, tipped for a greatness that never really came. He was pretty mesmerising in the aforementioned film, and though he's hardly the spit, it's all about the presence onscreen, and Haley has that in spades.
Malin Ackerman as Silk Spectre- Who is she? Outside of her boobs out in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle I have no clue. She's Swedish and blonde.....Let's hope she blew Snyder away in the audition. On the back of the other castings, I'm still confident. and Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach.
Say what you will about Snyder, there's real commitment in these castings (if they are actually official), and in interviews he really seems to nail the essence of the story. I just hope the look doesn't depend too much on this heavy green screen and concentrates on a more realistic mise en scene. As a huge fan of the source, I really don't see the point in the endeavour, but after flicking back over some of my favourite moments, I do get a little giddy thinking of Rorschach jumping out of the fridge, the climax and the jailbreak all depicted onscreen.
Looks like we'll have to wait till ComiCon in a couple of weeks time to say for sure, but CHUD.com seems pretty confident that......
Seems the Rorschach Journals viral site is updating regularly with new morse code embedded in the code.
Recently we've had:
"SAW GREBERID AND YZJEPCSKU 40.754950073.988058 AN AFFAIR PERHAPS"
Seemingly pointing to a location in Manhattan (7th Ave and 40th street) that was either a random comic book store named Midtown Comics or more probably the location of The Gunga Diner where Dan Dreiberg and Laurie Juspeczyk are seen leaving by Rorschach...Which explains the anagrams in the morse code.
I've just noticed this new one, at least what I think is a new translation:
"GET CZAR DEN SKY TO CONTACT ME"
Czar Den Sky obviously being an anagram of Zack Snyder. Ouch. Does suggest this is a fanfict. Or part of a confuzzle by Warner Bros.
It also kind of gels up with a new e-mail I got from the Rorschach Journal site in response to this:
Warner Bros new Whore.
Still weeping over Bluetights.net?
NDC
Expecting nothing in return, I got this:
bluetights went nowhere.
should have picked michael.
get snyder to contact me.
.ЯR.
Well, we'll have to wait and see....
Hahahah I crack me up....
Anyway, a tipster over at Comics2Film.com, has noticed that beneath the code to the Rorschachs Journal viral site there is a mysterious morse code sequence, an example of which can be seen here:
-- .- -.-- -... . / -.-- --- ..- .----. ...- . / ..-. --- .-. --. --- - - . -. / .... --- .-- / .-- . / -.. --- / - .... .. -. --. ... .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.-
These sequences have been changing and the site has been keeping us up to date. The list so far:
"Thanks for emails.
Will reply soon.
The veidt method is a lie" Veidt being Ozymandias, the villain/hero of Watchmen.
Today a new one has been uncovered (see above) and a tipster has sent in the translation:
"MAYBE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN HOW WE DO THINGS..."
All interesting allusions to Watchmen and all fascinating little nuggets that are forming the most interesting bit of viral activity for a film that I've seen in a long time.
Well, hoax or not, a day later and this inane little e-mail:
Subject: Dear 'Loquacious' Lunatic
Twas I that tossed the Comedian like a fat drunk in a back alley bar.
Whattya gonna do about it?
Mr Nada Yourbeesnees
I get this:
you did not kill blake.
know who did.
admitted it to me.
.ЯR.
Nice to see someone is making the effort to maintain a viral, and it's certainly one of the more interactive. Let's see if we can't help it along.
The rumour mill spins, and reports become as insubstantial as the hot air spouted in Hollywood daily. According to AICN the news that Keanu Reeves had turned down a role as Dr Manhattan in Zack Snyder's Watchmen adaptation is not entirely true. He actually priced himself out of the movie. As Moriarty goes on to say, the new favourite for the role is not Billy Crudup, but Jason Patric, a far better choice than Reeves to my mind. Check out any film he's done, and you'll see the same balance of stillness and menacing presence, that makes him perfect for Manhattan
Now, what about Rorschach? Well, this bit of news comes via CHUD, and a report that suggests their roving
The actual confirmation apparently comes via Paddy Considine's official website, in a comment that suggests he was pursuing the role himself; news that is a little disappointing as he'd have made a very interesting Rorschach. It certainly seems more concrete than previous rumours, and as AICN reports, if everything pans out, it will make an onscreen reunion with Haley playing unlikely partner to 'Little Children' co-star, Patrick Wilson's, Nite Owl.
Although this is the meat to my delectable Hollywood pie for today, AICN caps their report with a tantalising suggestion of who could be playing The Comedian, the bigoted super patriot who takes a scraper swan dive in the film's opening scene:
The Comedian’s still up for grabs, too, but they’ve looked at everyone from Ron Pearlman to Nathan Fillion for the role. Right now, it sounds like there’s one actor who Snyder likes for the part, but I’m not at liberty to divulge his identity yet. Let’s just say it’s a “punishing” choice, and the actor brings a lot of comic book credibility to the role if he ends up playing it.
So that's Thomas Jane (or Dolph Lundgren ;) ) then.....
Whatever your thoughts on these choices, and we haven't got as far as the female characters yet, it's proof positive that Snyder and, most surprisingly, WB are not going for the easy lay. Wilson and Hayley both have performance over pomp and anyone who's seen Jane in Stander knows he can act. As for Patric, well I'm a huge fan, especially for smaller films like Geronimo and Narc. Strangely enough it's this rumour more than the others that I hope becomes truth fairly soon.
Once again, ComiCon awaits, and by then I'm sure Watchmen fans can sigh sweet relief.....
