Screen Rant » watchmen

DC Comics Launching ‘Watchmen’ Prequel Series [Re-Updated]

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:57:05 +0000

[Re-Update: Read on for Alan Moore's thoughts on the Watchmen Prequel Series and Covers of the Prequel Comics!]

Few things in media today are held sacred, from remakes and reboots of popular TV shows and movies, to the practice of mining a franchise until every last gem of profit has been pulled loose.

In that sense, it’s not surprising to learn that reports from last year were accurate, and that DC Comics is going to be ~~bastardizing~~ revisiting Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ seminal graphic novel, Watchmen, in order to create a series of prequel stories, set within the Watchmen universe and featuring some of the iconic Watchmen characters.

Read on for details on the prequel series, which has been titled Before Watchmen:

This summer, DC Entertainment will ...

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Complete Comic-Con 2011 Movie Panel Schedule

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:39:56 +0000

The 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International is just about here, which means that we (and a few of you readers) need to start plotting our itineraries and map routes that will help navigate the mad halls of the San Diego Convention Center in time to make all of those highly-anticipated panels.

This post will detail the movie-related panels that will held at Comic-Con ’11. You can find schedules for any of the TV-related panels over on our official Comic-Con ’11 Coverage Page.

The panels posted below are ones we’ll be scrambling to attend. Most of them are of course related to movies, but there is always room for some comic-related stuff too – after all, comics and movies are like close cousins these days .

That said, included in the list ...

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30 Awesome Minimalist Superhero Posters

Anthony Ocasio — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:33:04 +0000

We here at Screen Rant wanted to celebrate the upcoming summer movie season – particularly the release of Iron Man 2 – by taking an unconventional look at some of the most iconic superheroes in the entertainment industry.

Over the past few months, you may have caught some of our “SR Picks” which highlighted various artists’ interpretations of Quentin Tarantino films, Star Wars and popular television series. Today, we’re stepping out from solely presenting these wonderful posters and taking the initiative to create some of our own.

For the past three nights, I put my need for a good night’s sleep aside in order to present you, the reader, with literally dozens of superhero posters with a unique, minimalist twist.

Some may be more obvious than others, but hopefully you’ll have no problem identifying each and every comic-book icon represented. If, for some reason, you’re not a ...

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10 DVD/Blu-ray Audio Commentaries You Have To Hear

Mike Eisenberg — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 23:07:14 +0000

While most people buy a DVD or Blu-ray and first watch the movie, some go straight for the commentaries. This may sound strange to you, but once you start listening to the directors, actors, and producers speak about their film, you get a chance to not only learn about the filmmaking process, but have a few laughs as well.

Considering many of you may be in the dark about this wonderful gem hidden in the depths (just change the audio track) of your DVD or Blu-ray, I’m here to enlighten you as you continue on your path of movie-watching greatness. So, let’s take a look at my ten favorite commentary tracks that I think you have to hear.

10) Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt – ...

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Confirmations & Denials on Batman 3, Watchmen 2 & Superman

Rob Keyes — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 04:28:20 +0000

In the last two weeks we were subjected to some news regarding director Christopher Nolan and what was reported to be his involvement in another Batman film, rounding out his trilogy, and more interestingly, his involvement in the next Superman feature.

This news was epic for a lot of reasons, but mainly as it potentially laid down the beginnings of what would be a foundation for the DC Universe coming to silver screens in full force, much like it currently does over at Marvel Studios.

If Nolan was involved in the Superman project, that would mean he was no longer interested only in his Batman universe and keeping it isolated. With Green Lantern coming out, at Batman 3 and a Superman reboot could throw out some cross-over opportunities that could lead into more character films ...

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Avatar Leads 2010 Saturn Awards Nominations

Ross Miller — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:03:09 +0000

Today marks the day when the nominations for the 36th Annual Saturn Awards are given out. In case you’re not familiar with them, they are given out by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (they also include TV shows and stage productions) so as a reader of Screen Rant I believe they’re right up your alley .

The awards will be given out on June 24th, so we have over four months to speculate and choose the nominees we’d give the award to. The categories range from the usual Best Film (separated into Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction etc) to Best DVD release and Best DVD Special Edition.

Keeping in line with all of the rest of the major awards, films like Avatar, The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds have ...

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Rumor Patrol: Watchmen Sequel In The Works?

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:14:56 +0000

Bleeding Cool ran a post yesterday stating that DC Comics is moving forward with a sequel, prequel or spin-off to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ classic literary graphic novel, Watchmen.

Now this isn’t necessarily a new topic: since the Watchmen graphic novel was first released, people have been whispering, speculating or (in the case of geeks) losing sleep over the thought of DC Comics trying to build upon the brilliance of Moore and Gibbons’ complex tale of superhero morality. However, that anxiety hit a new high when Zack Snyder’s Watchmen movie was released last year, and rumors of a Watchmen 2 are yet again rearing their ugly heads.

According to Rich Johnston over at Bleeding Cool, the situation is this: DC Comics President and Publisher, Paul Levitz, stepped down from his position recently, and Levitz – despite a major ...

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Hollywood’s 10 Biggest Social Media Success Stories of 2009

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 04:00:00 +0000

The following post was contributed by guest writer by Jeffrey Appelbaum. Jeff is a managing director at Buzzpoint, a social media firm in Los Angeles that specializes in creative online strategies for entertainment and technology companies.

2009 was a record year for Hollywood at the box office. According to the Nielson Co., total box-office receipts from the U.S. and Canada tallied more than $10.6 billion, which is approximately an 8 percent increase over 2008’s record of $9.791 billion. Not too shabby for a down economy.

The year’s slate included not only the usual surplus of sequels and adaptations (Transformers, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, etc.), but some Cinderella stories that defied all financial expectations (The Hangover, Paranormal Activity). However, while 2009 will certainly be remembered as lucrative year at the box office, it’s also ...

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The Top 10 Movie Moments of 2009

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:57:49 +0000

Every site you go to these days has a list of their top 10 best movies of the year. But how many time can you look at slight variations of the same lists you only semi-agree with?

Besides, ranking entire movies is a big job. After much debate on the subject, we here at Screen Rant have decided that, in the end, a year in movies is perhaps best defined by specific movie moments that are now and forever burned into our collective memory.

So, without further ado, here are our picks for those 2009 movie moments which audiences collectively remember as being unforgettably awesome, hilarious, moving, inspiring or are otherwise just plain enjoyable…

(By the way, there will be some spoilers in the items below since all the movies in ...

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2009 A ‘Milestone Year’ For Movie Profits

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:16:45 +0000

I groaned out loud back in August when I found out about the record-breaking summer 2009 box office profits. Now we’re hearing new projections stating that when New Year’s Eve rolls over into New Year’s Day, the movie industry will have crossed a box office milestone, with profits predicted to exceed the $10 billion mark.

I’m sure we’d all be happy that our favorite medium was thriving in the midst of sharp economic downturn – that is, if so many movies hadn’t turned out to be crap this year. Now, the only thing I’m wondering (and you should too) is: “What lesson will Hollywood take from this?”

Variety is the publication cracking open the profit prediction. If you go back and read our Summer 2009 box office analysis, it ...

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‘Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut’ In Stores November 10th

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:54:06 +0000

Ever since Watchmen came out we’ve heard tale of an “ultimate cut” that would offer fans the TOTAL Watchmen experience, including the full-length director’s cut of the movie, with the added bonus of having animated segments from the Tales of the Black Freighter tie-in film spliced in with the live-action footage, much in the same vein as was done in the original Watchmen graphic novel.

Back in July we gave you some early details about the extras Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut would offer, but now you can find out for yourself as this super-special edition is slated to hit stores everywhere next week!Amazon is pre-selling both the DVD and Blu-ray versions of Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut for around $30. You can take advantage of that low price by going
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2009 Scream Award Nominations

Ross Miller — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:37:08 +0000

The nominees have been announced for the fourth annual Scream Awards, held every year by Spike TV. The decisively more “fan-friendly” award ceremony (compared to the Oscars) honors films from the sci-fi, fantasy, horror and comic-book genres of movies, TV shows and comic books. The awards are described as, “the first and only global event of its kind,” to honor those genres.

The Scream 2009 nominees were chosen by the Advisory Board of Hollywood and Genre Leaders, a list which this year includes the likes of Wes Craven, Roland Emmerich, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Eli Roth and Zack Snyder, plus many more. The event will be taped on Saturday, October 17th this year at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, and will air on Spike TV ten days later on Tuesday, October 27th (check for local times).

Along with ...

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‘Matrix’ Producer Says His ‘Watchmen’ Would’ve Been Better

Kofi Outlaw — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:09:10 +0000

Producer Joel Silver (The Matrix Trilogy) recently gave an interview at the premiere of The Good Son Orphan, in which he talked about how he would’ve done Watchmen differently (read: better) than director Zack Snyder did.

Now, we at Screen Rant are not trying to start any fire where there is no smoke: Silver was NOT condemning either Watchmen or Snyder as a filmmaker – rather he was simply stating what his creative vision was for the film and how it was different from Snyder’s slavish recreation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ original graphic novel.

If you’re interested to hear about the movie that would’ve been Joel Silver’s Watchmen, keep reading.At the risk of starting a beef where there is none, I’ll simply pass on a quote Joel Silver gave to Cinematical:

I ...

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Watchmen: Ultimate Collector’s Edition Details & Deleted Scene

Kofi Outlaw — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:34:19 +0000

So for some time now Watchmen director Zack Snyder has been saying there would be two versions of Watchmen released on DVD/Blu-ray: a directors cut, featuring the full-length version of Watchmen not shown in theaters, as well as an “ultimate edition” of the film, which would include the full-lentgh film interwoven with the animated Tales of the Black Freighter side-story, just like in the original graphic novel.

After learning that Watchmen: The Director’s Cut will be coming to DVD/Blu-ray (and three movie theaters) this month, we now have the first details of what Watchmen: Ultimate Collector’s Edition will be all about, as well as a highly-anticipated deleted scene from the full-length film: Check out the death of Nite Owl!It’s funny, last week I wrote a post about the new scenes ...

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What’s New in Watchmen: The Director’s Cut

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:16:41 +0000

Merrick over at Ain’t It Cool News has a reader named “Ulysses” who reportedly has seen Watchmen: The Director’s Cut, which is set for release on Blu-ray this month, and even a limited run in theaters.

So what’s new in Watchmen: The Director’s Cut? Keep on reading if you want to know the answer to that question, but needless to say, anything you read is going to be a SPOILER. Here are just a few of the new scenes that “Ulysses” noticed in Watchmen: The Director’s Cut [SPOILERS!!!]:

At the end of Rorschach’s search of the comedian’s apartment. Two cops enter, he knocks one of the cops out and jumps out the window as the other cop is firing his gun at him.
Rorschach has more dialogue from the comic with Dr. Malcom. Also in his story ...

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Watchmen Director’s Cut Will Get Limited Theatrical Run

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:11:13 +0000

Collider recently had a chance to speak with Watchmen director Zack Snyder at a Warner Bros. promotional event for the 300 and Watchmen: The Director’s Cut Blu-rays. After the event, Collider had a chance to sit down with Snyder and talk a little bit about Watchmen.

The big reveal: Watchmen: The Director’s Cut will be getting a limited theatrical release this July! After all the debate about whether Snyder’s film was a fantastic achievement or a flaming disaster, Watchmen fans (or those still on the fence) will have a chance to get the full experience that Snyder intended – that is, if they live in the right city.

Watchmen: The Director’s Cut is putting the “limited” in “limited theatrical release”. According to Snyder, the three-hour cut of the film will only be shown “the weekend before ...

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Watchmen Director’s Cut Blu-ray Details Revealed

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:04:04 +0000

A while back, director Zack Snyder promised fans that the DVD/Blu-ray versions of Watchmen were going to be packed with extras, including a director’s cut of film which would run almost thirty minutes longer than the theatrical version.

Well, The Blu-Ray Blog has gotten hold of the details regarding the forthcoming release of the Watchmen Director’s Cut Blu-ray. For those who still care are keeping track, feel free to take a look and see how closely the Watchmen Blu-ray is living up to Snyder’s promise.

Who watches The Watchmen? Facebook, baby. According to The Blu-Ray Blog, the Watchmen Director’s Cut Blu-ray is going to push Blu-ray’s BD-Live function to new heights, by allowing Watchmen watchers to synch their Facebook friends network with BD-Live, “allowing for interactive community-screening and commenting.”

Now, as someone who ...

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Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up – April 17, 2009

Niall Browne — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:11:13 +0000

In this Weeks spell check busting installment: Matthew McConaughey is an Exchange Student; Heffalump writer Spiliotopoulos will write Bekmambetov’s Wanted 2 – will Angelina Jolie be involved? Megan Fox is Crossing over; John Carter of Mars is Chabon and which one of the Watchmen has Morning Glory for Star Trek’s Abram?

1. Matthew McConaughey’s production company J.K. Livin is producing a comedy called Exchange Student. According to The Hollywood Reporter:

“The story revolves around two exchange students, one who ships out from the U.S. and one who comes in, who experience new environments in very different ways: One has the time of his life, the other goes off the rails. The tenor of the project is described as a family comedy with wry overtones a la Wes Anderson.”

Mike Vukadinovich will write a script from the idea that originated with “Bongos” McConaughey, who may also take a role in the film.

The Sahara ...

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Watchmen Writer Penning ‘Battling Boy’ Adaptation

Ross Miller — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:41:01 +0000

Hot off the heels of co-writing Watchmen, Alex Tse has just been signed on to adapt the upcoming graphic novel Battling Boy. The source material was written and illustrated by Paul Pope back in November and it’s about the son of a god who is sent down by his father from the top of a mountain to rid the giant city of Monstropolis of a plague of beasts.

The rights were recently picked up by Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B, and the film will be co-produced by Paramount Pictures. This is only part of an overall deal between the two companies to bring a slate of adaptations to the big-screen including Eat, Pray, Love (directed by Ryan Murphy), The Killer, The Black Hole (both David Fincher projects) and World War Z (set to be directed by Quantum of Solace helmer Marc Forster).

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Zack Snyder Talks ‘Watchmen’ Box Office & The Director’s Cut

Ross Miller — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:44:35 +0000

Although certainly not a box office failure, Zack Snyder’s graphic novel adaptation Watchmen did perform a lot worse than people were hoping and expecting. It had a solid but not-as-good-as-it-could-have-been $55MM opening weekend, dropped by almost 70% in its second weekend, and a month later it has only made $104MM in the US ($172MM worldwide).

Was it the R-rating? The 160-plus minute runtime? The violence? The hard efforts of Snyder to keep close to the source material at every point and turn (some would say far too closely)?

We’ll never know for sure.

Recently, while accepting his 2009 Director of the Year Award at ShoWest, Snyder had the box office disappointment brought up, and gave his thoughts on how this would affect the possible theatrical release of the Director’s Cut of the film:

“The thing about Watchmen is it’s a lot ...

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