A Discussion with Zack Snyder at the Watchmen Preview
November 6th 2008 21:21
(image courtesy of Matt's Movie Reviews)
Last night, a hushed giddy crowd was treated to a few select scenes of "Watchmen", the adaptation of Alan Moore and David Gibbon's seminal comic book series.
I read the graphic novel several years ago; like many others, I was shocked that a comic book, usually the object of scorn and derision, could invoke so many literary concepts... "Watchmen" was packed with symbolism, themes, thoughtful writing and structured like a great novel.
Like many others last night, I was wary when I heard that there would be a film adaptation... for years, they've been trying to get this off the ground, with directors like Terry Gilliam and Darren Aronofsky attached to the project, but backing off, claiming that the graphic novel was unfilmable.
Younger fans perked up when Zack Snyder was announced as the director; Snyder successfully knocked out the "Dawn of the Dead" remake as well as the adaptation of Frank Miller's "300". He's a known geek, an energetic director that cruises around to comic book conventions, answering questions and signing books.
The preview that I saw last night confirmed my thoughts: this was going to be a ramped-up, deadly explosive treatment of Moore's work, with the movie looking incredibly close to the original comic book, but with the in-between scenes packed with hard-hitting action.
Snyder spoke to the crowd, and stressed that he fought to keep the movie as faithful to the comic book as possible - though that meant cycles of negotiations. Warner Bros. originally planned to update the movie, bringing it to 2008, with the War on Terror and George Bush.
Luckily, we won't see that film. Instead, Snyder is probably one of the few directors in Hollywood with enough influence to reign in those giggling, lunatic studio executives.
After the preview, I had the opportunity to speak with Snyder, along with several other reviewers. Snyder spoke about the difficulty of the shoot (too many montages), how he'd love to do a Miller-"Dark Knight" adaptation, and how he manages to sneak his son into his films.
When it came to me, I cleared my throat:
"One of the most powerful aspects of 'Watchmen' is how our heroes can so easily turn into villains... the release of the film is timely, with a George Bush presidency and a militarily aggressive America in the world. With the dawn of a new president, does this make 'Watchmen' less effective, or is there still a culture of fear that can appreciate the film?"
Snyder took a moment, and clearly said that he hoped that Obama would "usher in an era of contemplation", that the new president would mean an America that would think before acting, and respect the consequences in the world.
He noted that "Watchmen" uses the media as a particularly devastating form of satire... through the graphic novel, the mainstream media and the medium of photography are used constantly - he's used similar themes in the film, which we saw in the preview.
The media is "pervasive", he said, and they have a terrifying influence on people's perceptions, which has not waned over time. The Cold War was an era of threatened destruction, and the threat was enough to keep people in a state of fear.
"Watchmen" takes place in the 80s, in an alternate history, where a scientist becomes a superhero through an experimental disaster, is given the name Dr. Manhattan, then wins the Vietnam War for America.
As a result, Nixon stays in power, the Cold War reaches new heights of fidgety tension, as Dr. Manhattan keeps the peace by his very existence on American soil.
My next question suggested that the weight of this period is waning for younger generations:
"Given that the demographic for 'Watchmen' is likely to be my age or younger, is there some lessened emotional impact from the setting of the film? For example, I know that Nixon was a bad guy, I know that the Vietnam War was a bad thing - but I was only a kid when the Cold War ended and I can't really feel the same emotion about the events that the previous generation did."
Snyder quickly pointed out that, though we now think of Nixon as a villain, in reality, he was just a man. Somehow, over the course of history, and countless academic debates, the humanity of Nixon evaporated, and we're left with the symbol of the villain.
It's an important point - the film and the graphic novel both use Nixon as a symbol of maniacal presidential power, similar to how George W. Bush is likely to be remembered, instead of treating him with the thought and consideration that the other characters get.
Similarly, Snyder noted, the Cold War, though it has lost its power, still exists as a symbol of a time when people actually worried about the destruction of the world. In the film, the superheroes are effectively castrated by the Cold War; they're used to fighting actual villains - robbers, thieves, people that you can beat up and leave for the police. Snyder observes that:
"The Cold War is an uncontrollable entity, one that the superheroes can do nothing about."
To make the same movie on the War on Terror would be "watered down", Snyder continues. With the Cold War, there was Mutually Assured Destruction, nuclear armageddon, the end of the world. The War on Terror, in comparison, does not have that on the board as a final endgame - unless the terrorists are working for KAOS, Dr. Claw or Cobra Command.
Snyder was quickly ferried to the next set of interviews, leaving us with the plague of having more questions. I quickly wondered how exhausting it was for a director to come and answer questions from veritable armies of fanboys and angry geeks - but realized the effectiveness of the approach.
By letting us have access to Snyder, instead of some slick executive from the studio, who had read the one-pager about "Watchmen" in the limo between doing lines and arguing with his divorce lawyer, they gave us the director himself. This preview was about reassurance, that the most awe-inspiring comic book would not be treated with flippancy and disdain, but would, instead, be as faithful to the original, while still giving audiences a shockingly good time.
*the first image is from Moldova.org and the second image is from I Watch Stuff!
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Comment by Movie Mall
Strange Corridor
Movie Catcher
The Invisible Sky
The questions were deep, just like the book ...
It's got the respect it deserves.
Thinking about it, and everything that has happened just recently, yeah, it probably would've been perfect to release it a month or two ago ... still very much in the throws of Bush's reign as president, but anyway...
I'll certainly be watching when it's released.
And looking forward to seeing it at home too, in geek mode, with my book in hand, matching up the scenes with the movie ... hehe ... sad but true.
Well done mate.
Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by David O'Connell
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Comment by ShaunK
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Comment by Cibbuano
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Shaun, thanks for reading! You're right - we're stuck with the adaptations, whether I like it or not... Snyder definitely comes off as someone that fights for faithfulness to the original, though I wonder what Gilliam's version would have looked like?
Comment by Movie Mall
Strange Corridor
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Though I've always been a fan of the superhero world, graphic novels never really registered with me until I saw 300 and then heard about what the director was going to be following it up with.
It sounded really interesting, so I went out and bought my first graphic novel, Watchmen, and was blown away by it.
Of course, we won't know for sure how well Snyder does with the movie until it is released, but there's no doubt he's got a real passion for the material and a perceived passion to keep the film as close to the book as possible.
Comment by Cibbuano
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I strongly recommend Frank Miller's "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" and the "Sin City" books. You'll love them!