Production of Watchmen (2009 film)
Watchmen is a 2009 film based on the twelve-issue graphic novel series of the same name created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins, published by DC Comics between 1986 and 1987.
Filming started in 2007, and following deals with two of the previous companies involved in the development—Paramount Pictures was responsible for international distribution rights after budgetary issues in 2004, resulting in a lawsuit by 20th Century Fox.
[3] Gordon and Silver moved the project to DC Comics' parent company, Warner Bros., where Terry Gilliam was attached to direct.
In October 2001, Gordon and Universal Studios signed screenwriter David Hayter to write and direct Watchmen in a "seven-figure deal".
[11] In July 2003, Watchmen producer Lloyd Levin announced the completion of Hayter's script, which he called "a great adaptation [...] that absolutely celebrates the book".
[12] Ultimately, Hayter and the producers left Universal over creative differences,[13] and in October 2003, Gordon and Levin expressed interest in setting up Watchmen at Revolution Studios.
[16] In July 2004, it was announced Paramount Pictures would produce Watchmen, and they hired Darren Aronofsky to direct Hayter's script.
[17] Eventually, Aronofsky left to focus on The Fountain, and Paramount replaced him with Paul Greengrass, with a target release date of summer 2006.
[19] To publicize the film, Paramount launched a now-defunct Watchmen teaser website[20] that had a message board as well as computer wallpaper available to download.
[22] Gilliam read Greengrass's revision of Hayter's script and liked it, but told the director he did not think the studio would greenlight such a dark film.
[24] When Brad Grey took over as Paramount's CEO, Levin feared potential budget cuts, so he made plans to move the project outside the UK in an effort to save money.
[31] After spending a couple of weeks deciding whether he wanted to direct the film or not,[32] Warner Bros. officially announced Snyder’s hiring on June 23, 2006, with Alex Tse attached to write the script.
[33] Drawing from "the best elements" from two of Hayter’s drafts,[34] Tse’s script returned to the original Cold War setting of the Watchmen comic.
[36] Snyder kept the ending from one of Hayter's drafts, which simplified details of the conspiracy within the story, because he felt it would allow more screen time to explore characters' backstories.
[49] Comic book artists Adam Hughes and John Cassaday were hired to work on character and costume designs for the film.
300 associate producer Wesley Coller portrayed Rorschach in a costume test, which Snyder inserted into a trailer that accompanied the release of 300.
[39] Although he intended to stay faithful to the look of the characters in the comic, Snyder wanted Nite Owl to look scarier and Ozymandias to possess authentic Egyptian attire and artifacts.
[39] Ultimately, Oyzmandias, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre changed most from the comic, as Snyder felt "audiences might not appreciate the naiveté of the original costumes.
The apartment also echoes the film The Man Who Fell to Earth, with a book prop named Masterpieces in Paint and Poetry and a tennis courtroom with similar wallpaper.
He planned to visit the shoot for a week during each month, and view assembly cuts of scenes to begin rough composing.
Snyder wanted a scene where Nite Owl and Silk Spectre rescue people from a burning building to have a more traditional superhero feel, so Bates implemented a four to the floor guitar rhythm.
[63] My Chemical Romance, whose members are fans of the comic, covered Dylan's "Desolation Row" for the first half of the closing credits.
This set will also include My Chemical Romance performing "Desolation Row", as well as thirteen tracks from the Tyler Bates score.
Moore clarified for Graydon, "I didn't design it to show off the similarities between cinema and comics, which are there, but in my opinion are fairly unremarkable.
"[46] Moore expressed discontent over the choice of the director, saying that he "had a lot of problems" with the comic book 300 and that, while he had not seen it, he had heard that Snyder's film adaptation was racist, homophobic, and "sublimely stupid".
[74] Snyder asked Gibbons to draw up a storyboard for the film's altered ending, which the comics' colorist John Higgins also returned to work on.
[76] On February 14, 2008, 20th Century Fox brought a lawsuit against Warner Bros. that alleged copyright infringement on the Watchmen film property.
Warner Bros. claimed that it was originally unaware of either deal, and that in 2005 Fox had declined to produce the Hayter screenplay that formed the basis of the production.
[79] Producer Lloyd Levin revealed in an open letter that in 2005 both Fox and Warner Bros. were offered the chance to make Watchmen.
[82] The settlement awarded Fox up to $10 million in development costs and legal fees, plus worldwide gross participation scaling from 5 to 8.5 percent.
