Tag Archives: Watchmen Movie

13
The Rock Brings the Smack Down to the Watchmen

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I knew Zack Snyder’s Watchmen movie would have a drop in box office over the weekend, but I didn’t expect the feature film to drop a whopping 67% from its debut a week ago.  Watchmen was only able to bring in $18.1 million over the weekend, while Disney’s Race to Which Mountain, debuted with $25 million.

“This drop falls within the norm for big and highly anticipated movies,” Warners exec VP of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein said.

Pointing to several examples, Goldstein noted that “The Incredible Hulk” fell 60% in its second weekend after opening to $55.4 million. That film cumed $134.8 million domestically. “Sex and the City” fell 63% in its second frame on its way to cuming north of $150 million domestically.

While this may be the norm for Warner Bros. a 67% drop means there are a lot of people aren’t seeing the movie.  Could this be due to the subject matter getting an R rating, a plot mainstream audience won’t/can’t understand, the graphic violence, or does this mark a significant decline in interterest in comic book movies?  If it is, that could really be bad for the movie industry, as there are a plethora of comic book adaptations currently grinding their way through the Hollywood machine.

via Variety

25
Watchmen Talkback: Your Turn

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Perhaps you’ve heard of this highly hyped Watchmen movie that opens today. Perhaps you were one of the fortunate masses, who stood in line for hours, only to wide up sitting next to that big sweaty smelly guy, who ended up dripping nacho cheese on your arm, but on the plus side offered you some of his Junior Mints, but you got to see the film before anyone else (although that other big sweaty smelly guy in front of you was blocking half the screen). Perhaps you were the big sweaty smelly guy who was annoyed by that person sitting behind you, who constantly complained about the smell, and the nacho cheese sauce that has ruined his cardigan.  Or perhaps you were the nacho cheese, and the only thing going through your head was, “Oh no, not again.”  In any case, here’s your chance to talk about the film; what worked, what didn’t, and why you are (or aren’t) going to see it again.  Oh, and feel free to be all spoilery, ’cause if you haven’t figured it out yet, that’s the name of the site Russell.

image via Ctrl+Alt+Del

4
Yup, Another Watchmen Feature

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I think things are slow today because everyone is in line for the Watchmen movie.  For the rest of you, here’s yet another Watchmen feature from CineMax.

Look at it this way, after Sunday, all this Watchmen stuff will disappear, and the Intarwebs will be a quiet, quiet place.

6
DC Steps in to Fill the Hole Left by Watchmen

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With all the hoopla surrounding the upcoming Watchmen movie, and with the realization that newcomers to the Watchmen series, are going to be left asking, “I’ve read this awesome series and have seen the movie, what’s next?” DC Comics has announced it’s After Watchmen campaign.   The campaign features a selection of $1.00 comics to be given away or sold at conventions and comic book shops.

More After the Jump >>

4
Who Watches the Watchmen on IMAX

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I wish there was an IMAX theater near here that would show the Watchmen movie.  This visuals for this film look so slick and jaw dropping, that I would love to see it on a screen the size of a building.  Of course, I’m not sure I want to see Doctor Manhattan’s wang in IMAX, but you have to take the good with the bad.

via MTV Splash

3
Watchmen Details Emerge

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Details are beginning to emerge on the settlement between Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox over the Watchmen movie.

The film will still open on March 6

  • Warner Bros. will pay between $5 million and $10 million in the $1.4 development fees Fox claims it invested in the movie when it had the rights. The rest of that load will cover the legal fees.
  • Fox gets a percentage of gross sales – somewhere between 5% and 8.5%.
  • Fox also gets a percentage of gross for any sequels or spinoffs. I don’t know if that includes video game revenu or not.

“Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox have resolved their dispute regarding the rights to the upcoming motion picture “Watchmen” in a confidential settlement. Warner Bros. acknowledges that Fox acted in good faith in bringing its claims, which were asserted prior to the start of principal photography.

Fox acknowledges that Warner Brothers acted in good faith in defending against those claims. Warner Bros. and Fox, like all “Watchmen” fans, look forward with great anticipation to this film’s March 6 release in theatres.”

For the fans, everything is back to normal, which means we get to line up to see the film and hope that it rocks as hard as we hope it will.

via Variety

14
Major Spoilers Poll of the Week: Watchmen vs. the DCU II: FIGHT!

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As the battle for the fate of the Watchmen movie plays out in the courtroom, we’re pitting the Watchmen characters against the Charlton characters that inspired them.  This week’s battle features Doctor Manhattan taking on Captain Atom.

FIGHT!

Doctor Manhattan vs. Captain Atom

View Results

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6
New Frontiersman Site Launches, Nod to Fox?

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One of my favorite moments of 2008 was all the viral marketing that sprang up around the various movies and major events in comics.  Even though the Watchmen movie is in turmoil at the moment, that hasn’t stopped the viral machine from launching The New Frontiersman website to hype the movie.

The New Frontiersman is Rorschach’s newspaper of choice, so why not have a website dedicated to this bit player in the movie?  The website is only a dummy page at the moment, but it may spring to life as the release date (whenever that might be) draws near.

I’m not all that much into those inkblot tests, but does that look like a smiling fox to you?  Could this be yet another dig at 20th Century Fox by Warner Bros?  The domain is registered to the Picture Production Company out of the UK, which creates viral campaigns for a variety of companies.  The company does list Warner Bros. as one of its clients.

via The New Frontiersman

2
80′s and 90′s Batman Flicks Arrive on Blu-Ray

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batmancollection.jpegWarner Home Video has announced the complete “pre-Nolan” Batman films will be released on Blu-Ray on March 10, 2009.  This is really close to the Watchmen movie release date, and may be a further snub to 20th Century Fox and its desire to release the Adam West Batman movie on DVD.

The collection inlcudes

Batman (1989) – Jack Nicholson is The Joker, who emerged from a horrible accident as a maniacal criminal. Michael Keaton is the Caped Crusader, who emerged from a childhood trauma to become a masked crimefighter. Kim Basinger is Vicki Vale, the talented photojournalist desired by both men. And Batman is the movie, the all-out spectacular directed by Tim Burton, set to songs by Prince and a music score by Danny Elfman, and an Academy Award(R) winner* for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Anton Furst and Peter Young).

Batman Returns (1992) – Gotham City faces two monstrous criminal menaces: The Penguin (Danny DeVito), bizarre and sinister, and Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer), slinky and mysterious. Can Batman (Michael Keaton) battle two formidable foes at once? Especially when one wants to be mayor and the other is romantically attracted to Bruce Wayne? Like the groundbreaking 1989 original, Batman Returns is directed by the wizardly Tim Burton. And like the first blockbuster, it’s a dazzling adventure that leaves you breathless.

Batman Forever (1995) – Riddle me this, riddle me that, you’ll find adventure on the wings of a bat! Brace for excitement as Val Kilmer (Batman), Tommy Lee Jones (Two-Face), Jim Carrey (The Riddler), Nicole Kidman (Dr. Chase Meridian) and Chris O’Donnell (Robin) star in the third formidable film in Warner Bros.’ Batman series. Joel Schumacher directs and Tim Burton co-produces this thrill-ride of a movie that thunders along on Batmobile, Batwing, Batboat, Batsub and bold heroics. Hang on!

Batman & Robin (1997) - George Clooney plays the Dark Knight, facing his deadliest threat yet: cold-hearted Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and venomous Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). Batman has more than Gotham City to protect: the youthful eagerness of crimefighting comrades Robin (Chris O’Donnell) and Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone) puts them frequently in harm’s way. New special effects include a wild sky-surfing sequence and Mr. Freeze’s outrageous arsenal of ice-blasting weapons. Joel Schumacher directs.

Yes, you read that correctly, Batman & Robin is included in this hi-def collection so you can see those bat-nipples clearly.  The Blu-Ray versions of these movies are going to be available as a collection only (smart move on Warners’ part) for $130.

via Warner Home Video

7
Japanese Watchmen Trailer Features Nixon, Kennedy, and Castro

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If  you want to find out more about the politics featured in the Watchmen movie, check out the Japanese trailer for the film.

Holy. Crap.  Nixon looks scarier than ever! Still can’t wait to see this.

Thanks for the tip Simon!

4
Watchmen Movie Ruling Favors Fox

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This might be one more reason not to see the 20th Century Fox Wolvering movie when it arrives.  In a ruling by Los Angeles federal judge Gary Allen, his honor saw fit to release an intial ruling that says Fox owns a copyright interest in Warner Bros. Watchmen movie.

“Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the ‘Watchmen’ motion picture,” the ruling said.

Yikes.  Considering that Fox’s original motion was set up to keep Watchmen from being released on March 6, this puts a big damper on the film. While I agree Fox is looking out for Fox, and has every right to protect their interest, and Warner Bros. should have done its own due diligence in making sure this passed around property was 100-percent theirs, it still sucks big time.

Now before everyone starts getting in an uproar over this ruling – a full 25 days before the January 20th trial was to begin – Fox is more than likely looking for a big payment (pay off) on what is sure to be the biggest money maker Hollywood has seen since The Dark Knight. More than likely Warner Bros. and Fox will reach some kind of agreement in which Fox gets a huge sum of the profits from the film.

However, if an agreement is not reached and the film does indeed get shelved, it will be one of the biggest Hollywood blunders since the motion picture industry began, and will be a case that will be examined in detail and discussed in many a copyright class for future lawyers.

via Variety