Fri Jun 27, 2008 7:19PM3 comments ›
Fri Jun 27, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Editing Challenges Trouble 'Watchmen' and Other Movie News
Zack Snyder tries to shave some of three-hour movie
Fans have long wondered how any director could condense Watchmen into a feature-length film (I always liked the suggestion of doing it as an HBO miniseries), and now director Zack Snyder is feeling that pinch.
The Geek Files blog has a comprehensive entry about Snyder's difficult editing task. The current length sits at an epic three hours, and this is already after the Black Freighter storyline and other material has been excised into a wholly separate film that will come out as a companion DVD.
[Snyder] added: "I've lost perspective on that now, because to me, the honest truth is I geek out on little stuff now as much as anybody. Like, people will go, 'We've got to cut. You don't need that shot of Hollis Mason's garage sign.' And I'm like, 'What are you talking about? Of course you do. Are you crazy? How will people enjoy the movie without s**t like that in it?'
"And we had Dave Gibbons in there, too, and he would draw on our books, and it was just sick cool.
"And so then you come back from that experience, and you go to the studio, and the studio's cool, don't get me wrong, but they don't love it like we do. Right? It's like just a movie, like, 'Oh, we have this movie, Watchmen, and it's ****ing long.' Like, 'What are these superheroes? They look crazy.' So you have that experience. So for me, right now, I'm in the middle of that."
Snyder has already said he is planning a 4hrs 30mins Director's Cut DVD edition of the movie. There will also be a companion DVD called Tales of the Black Freighter, based on a background story depicted within the panels of Watchmen.
There's also some other comics movie news:
The New Jersey Star-Ledger reports some anecdotal evidence that successful films are boosting sales of actual comics at shops.
And the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers an early look at Wanted and another article on the best and worst comic-to-film adaptations.
Jump to comments (3) 
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Comments (3)
Anonymous (12:29 PM on Sat Jun 28, 2008)
Reminds me of Peter Jackson when he was working Lord of the Rings.
russ carreiro (12:43 AM on Mon Jun 30, 2008)
4 hours and 30 mins? Sorry but thats PBS documentary long. No way is that going to work. A 3 hour Superhero movie is probably in big trouble too. I am struggling to see that comic made into a movie. Its just too much going on in it to do it right but I hope this guy can pull it off. Should be interesting anyways.
Paul1963 (5:06 PM on Mon Jun 30, 2008)
Russ, have you read Watchmen? There's an awful lot of story there, which is why the idea of doing it as an HBO series was kicked around (among fans, at least--I have no idea if it was ever considered by anyone who could actually have made it happen). Snyder has a hell of a job to do there, squashing it all down to a running time the studio (and the theaters) can live with, without turning it into something that's Watchmen in name only. We don't want another League of Extraordinary Gentlemen here.