Hello,
I am gravely concerned about the current fate of Warner Bros.' Watchmen. It seems that there is confusion as to who really owns the rights. It is my understanding that Lawrence Gordon bought the rights back in 1986 and brought the project to 20th Century Fox. Than he allegedly brought the project over to Paramount than to Universal and finally over to Warner Bros. I don't really need to tell you who at one point was attached when this was at each one of these studios but it is pretty cool to look up on Google.
Anyways, onto my problem. 20th Century Fox threw a copyright suit at Warner Bros. saying that they indeed own the rights to Watchmen. How could have Warner Bros. made a fucking Watchmen movie without owning the rights?! I mean come on this sounds all a little fishy to me. Movie studios pay people for these concerns and I'm sure such a high profile big budget film would have been red flagged if someone noticed "Hey, you know what we don't own the rights!"
So I hate to come off as a conspiracy theorist in my 2nd post, but I just don't buy this whole case. The judge in CA said that there would be a trial set for January and than throws out a ruling a day before Christmas I think and says "20th Century Fox indeed owns the rights and should be in on distribution." I may not have the correct quote but that's pretty much the gist of it. Of course, internet message boards went berzerk and threatened to boycott all of 20th Century Fox's films for 2009. It even crossed the minds of many that 20th Century Fox may recut the film to get a more lucrative PG-13 or never release Zack Snyder's version.
So we wait and see what happens. I have a firm sick-to-my-stomach belief that this is all showbiz hooha to create publicity for a film that is about to come out in 2 months. Honestly, I do. I feel that there's been a somewhat quiet buzz surrounding the film. Too quiet and the studio wants loud screams and every internet message board running rampant. It looks amazing to me and I have read the graphic novel this past summer and I really loved it. It was a tough read. I don't know how Snyder is going to pull this one off, but I can't wait to find out.
So how do you sell an almost 3 hour movie about superheroes? Do you depend on the diehard fans of the novel that have been waiting for a film adaptation for the past 23 years? How many people fall into this category? Is it enough to make this a bona fide blockbuster like last summer's phenomenal film, The Dark Knight? Maybe, but the film is rated R and unconventional but not really. It's almost like that hip "indie" band you like and want to tell everyone about. It is a tough sell and this buzz regarding the copyright lawsuit is helpful. If this draws out and it does get released on March 6th, than more people will be hearing about this historic lawsuit and hopefully be interested in the final product. I think.
So this finally brings me to the point of this post. Is this really all smoke and mirrors? I can't really tell for sure. Why would 20th Century Fox wait until the film was wrapped and about to released and finally speak up? They know which movies are being greenlit at other studios. Maybe they just want a piece of the pie. I don't know about anyone else but that makes me angry and sick that a studio can just sit back and let another studio make a film out of their own pocket and pull this sleazy shit to get some profits. Who the hell does that in their right mind without pissing off a certain group of people(fans of the novel)? {excuse me I stepped out to catch a 715 The Day The Earth Stood Still.....ok back }
Ultimately, I think you could say and I'll tell you that I may be falling into that trap by talking about this right here on the internet. I will be there on opening day in IMAX.
Question: What do you think of all this? Does anyone else feel that this film looks much better than any film being released this summer? I do. The Summer of 2008 is quite possibly the best summer for motion pictures that I can recall.
Thanks,
Kristofor
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