Watchmen news...

This just in...

http://scifiwire.com/2009/02/watchmen-will-come-in-long-extra-long-and-really-extra-long.php

When Watchmen hits theaters on March 6, it will run about 2 hours and 37 minutes. But that will be only the first of several versions of the movie, which is envisioned for eventual home-video release on DVD and Blu-ray disc, director Zack Snyder and his wife/producer Deborah Snyder told reporters on Wednesday in Beverly Hills, Calif.

After the theatrical and IMAX release of the movie will come a "director's cut" home-video release, whichrestores scenes cut from the theatrical release and will run about 3 hours and 10 minutes, Zack Snyder said in a group interview. "There's a lot more like just connective tissue," he said.

"The 3-hour director's cut version ... will be released actually as the first release of the DVD, probably around Comic-Con of this year [in July]," Deborah Snyder added.

Next will come a Blu-ray release that will have a special feature in which Zack Snyder pops up in video boxes on demand during a scene to illustrate the behind-the-scenes process of making the shot. "It's like a director's commentary, but it's actually him, and there's all these like boxes, right?" Deborah Snyder said. "They'll play the movie, and he'll point to a scene, and then they'll deconstruct the scene on all these monitors behind him ... where you can see, you know, the green-screen version of it or, ... if it's Dr. Manhattan, you can see some great effects."

Accompanying the March theatrical release is the DVD release of the companion animated movieTales of the Black Freighter, an adaptation of Watchmen's comic-within-a-comic.

Finally, in the fall will come the "ultimate Watchmen cut," which will interpolate the Black Freighter into the movie, much like the graphic novel incorporates it into the book's narrative, including special scenes shot to take viewers into the animation and out of it again. That version could run as long as 3 hours and 25 minutes, Zack Snyder said. "It's pretty ginormous," he added.

"[For] that version of the movie, ... when we were up there [in Vancouver], we physically shot the ins and outs scenes at the newsstand that go into the movie," Zack Snyder said. "There's ... scenes where our characters pass the newsstand, and then we pick up action at the newsstand that gets us into ... The Black Freighter. And then ... shots where you, like, go into it, and then it comes to life, and you start following the Black Freighter story. And then come back into the movie."

And after that? Special commemorative packaging? Discs packaged with the graphic novel? "I know that they're planning a lot of things," Deborah Snyder said. "And I did see—I'll share it—I did see these, like, crazy Rorschach cases and Owl Ship cases that may come. I mean, it's kind of insane, some of the things. ... There's also some other material. There's a really great documentary that we've been working on ... that talks about vigilantism, and it talks about [real] people, ... like, it talks about Bernhard Goetz, and it talks about the Guardian Angels, and it talks about also some people that are dressing up and going out and fighting crime, like in the country, like, that's what they do. Like one's a bounty hunter. It's pretty interesting. So there are some fun things."

Looks like I'm going to have to up the Home Equity loan just to get the whole thing on DVD. On the other hand, Deborah Snyder sounds like a real piece of work. It's funny I don't recall seeing her at any of the Mensa meetings.

Jesus how many cuts of Watchmen are there is at least 682 described in that reading.

And I will watch every one of them.

Anyone concerned that the length might affect the box office take? Or did The Dark Knight completely blow that theory out of the water?

No i really dont think that the length will affect the BO if people are gonna see it they will see it no matter how long it is. TDK pretty much killed any worries that a films that's 2 and a half hours long cant perform.

I think I'll wait for the boxed set to buy it, as I did the Lord of the Rings and Matrix films. I'm all for cool tie-ins and marketing synergies, but picking all the different versions and addendums and errate up piecemeal will just drive me insane.


Watchmen Babies: The Valentine Gives Also television special

Yeah, I'll be waiting for the complete shebang. No point shelling out for all the other versions. If I needed another fix by July, I'm sure it will still be on IMAX and will cost me less than the DVD. And the running time won't matter, except for the fact that there are less showings during the day. It's almost getting to the point now where you expect a blockbuster to be two and a half hours long.

Deborah Snyder is Zach Snyder's wife and I believe she is also a producer on the film.

Meanwhile, I watched the Zach Snyder-directed video of My Chemical Romance's contribution to the soundtrack before a showing of Friday the 13th today. I don't care if they love the graphic novel but they should have not been put on the soundtrack (in short, the song sucks and the video is nothing special). Instead, the soundtrack should be a 1985-centric soundtrack featuring New Order, Billy Idol and other New Wave and punk talents from the era.

... Or better still, the Dylan original. Even some Elvis Costello or something else that was mentioned in the novel.

Billie Holiday?

hmmm, possibly. At least a few of the songs mentioned in the comic are on the soundtrack. Pity there's no Iggy Pop or John Cale.