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 In 1986, writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons unleashed a dark, complex and groundbreaking work called WATCHMEN on an unsuspecting comic book audience accustomed to unsophisticated, primary-coloured heroics. In 2009, director ZACK SNYDER and his wife, producer DEBORAH SNYDER, now wait anxiously as three years spent adapting the ‘impossible to adapt’ graphic novel for cinema nears it’s culmination – release upon a mass audience still new to the idea of a superhero movie for adults. CHRIS HARMS speaks to the filmmaking partners about the challenge of adapting the most critically acclaimed graphic novel of all time.
Zack Snyder shifts slightly in his hotel chair, looking mildly disheveled today on the wrong end of a flight from L.A. As others have noted, he’s an odd combination of jock and geek, muscled but dressed like he’s been playing Warcraft for 12 hours. Hair laced with grey, the 43 year-old looks as though the time spent directing feature films – including 2004’s Dawn Of The Dead and 2007’s 300 (his first graphic novel adaptation) – have taken a toll. By contrast, Deborah Snyder – his wife, producer and partner in production house Cruel & Unusual Films – is tailored, quick and alert. They seem to epitomise the archetypical creative/administrative partnership.
Together the pair have nurtured, developed and coaxed Watchmen to the silver screen. A feat long considered either impossible, or at least unlikely to maintain the integrity of a book considered by many to be a sacred text.
Watchmen proposes an alternate history to the one we know – a world where costumed vigilantes exist, yet have been outlawed; where America is about to engage with the USSR in nuclear war, and where fear, violence and paranoia are the norm. It covers ground from the1940s to 1985, features an array of ex-masked heroes – including the only super-powered being, Doctor Manhattan – renegades, criminals, and even Richard Nixon, who has escaped Watergate to remain President. Rich in metaphor, symbolism and psychological verisimilitude, the graphic novel is a bona fide post-modern masterpiece, and consequently it’s no surprise the film version remained in development hell for nearly 20 years.
To the Snyders’ credit, the 151-minute, big budget epic about to be released in cinemas is for the most part as faithful an adaptation as one could hope for given its translation from a very different medium. Apart from a modified ending (albeit a contextually sound one), and elements added by Snyder to give the film his stamp (an operatic, almost grand guignol amplification of violence and sexuality), those familiar with the book will have to admit that the existence of the movie is an achievement in itself.
Assuming that every fan of the book will see the film – it’s a safe bet – I firstly ask Zack and Deborah a question no doubt foremost in the minds of Warner Bros. studio executives: how do they expect the general public to respond to this dark and bloody vision of an alternate Earth?
"I think the one thing it has going for it in terms of mass consumption, or at least mass appeal, is that it’s about superheroes," offers Zack. "That’s the doorway in. I think that when Alan Moore wrote the graphic novel, he was trying to get the comic book audience to open their minds. Like, ‘I’m gonna F you up with this.’ And now, because superheroes as a subject have permeated pop culture as the thing that you just do – ‘oh, let’s go to the superhero movie’ – what’s interesting to me is how that person comes out of the movie. Some will be mad. Some will nonplussed…"
"But hopefully they’ll be blown away like people were when they read the graphic novel," says Deborah.
With The Dark Knight now the second highest grossing movie of all time, acceptance is growing that superhero films can be a serious proposition (Zack respectfully describes it as a "straightforward movie made in a sophisticated way"). Of course, The Dark Knight had Batman – a character familiar to multiple generations. Characters like Watchmen’s Rorschach, Nite Owl II, and Silk Spectre II are known primarily to fans. And herein lies one of Watchmen’s most interesting aspects – it’s a complicated fan film, as Snyder freely admits, made with an enormous budget and released on a mass audience. So just who is it mainly aimed at?
"...because superheroes as a subject have permeated pop culture as the thing that you just do – ‘oh, let’s go to the superhero movie’ – what’s interesting to me is how that person comes out of the movie"
"I’m interested to see how mass culture takes the movie, but I’m more interested to see how that substrata of internet intellectuals who enjoy art, film and music … if those guys get the movie, that’s who I really hope understands what I’m trying to do," says Zack. "There’s always going to be people who just take it exactly as it is – ‘oh, it’s just a superhero romp with extra violence … and a weird ending’ (laughs). But for me it’s really about so much more than that."
"I do think we underestimate mainstream audiences a lot, however," adds Deborah. "To give them something that’s smart, something to think about – far too many times I go to a movie and I’m entertained, but afterwards I won’t think about it. And to me, with Watchmen – whether you like it or not, whether you think it’s too violent, too sexy – whatever it is, if it gets you thinking and talking about it afterwards, then we’ve done our jobs."
Without a central character to identify with a la Batman, Watchmen works more as an ensemble piece, each major player given significant screen time. The Snyders opted to cast lesser-known actors for their abilities rather than box office draw, including 27 Dresses’ Malin Akerman (Silk Spectre II/Laurie Jupiter), and Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach/Walter Kovacs) and Patrick Wilson (Nite Owl II/Dan Dreiberg) of drama Little Children. "That was really important to us when casting the film – it lives and dies by the characters and their arcs and what they go through. And if you don’t have those performances, and have it not believable…" says Deborah.
Perhaps the biggest revelation of the finished film is the work of Billy Crudup. A flashback sequence to the 1950s shows scientist Jon Osterman’s accidental transformation into the blue-skinned, godlike Doctor Manhattan – a quantum being with near limitless power who finds himself disconnecting with lover Laurie, and by extension, humanity. For the film, Manhattan is primarily a motion-capture CGI character using Crudup’s expressions and movements. Impressively, the final product gives one of the best performances. "We were so lucky to have him," enthuses Deborah. "And he was totally out of his comfort zone, because he has never done anything like this. I mean, he’s a classically trained theatre actor."
Visually, the film is strikingly realized, with many elements of Dave Gibbons’ illustrated world brought to life in loving detail. While author Alan Moore publicly and controversially divorced himself from any film adaptations of his work (due in part to execrable versions of From Hell and League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Gibbons has been a vocal supporter of Zack’s efforts, even hosting a 20-minute preview screening at the recent New York Comic-Con on behalf of the Snyders. Zack’s gratitude in particular is evident. "Having Dave to go out there and say it’s an important film … it’s been invaluable. And the really neat thing for me was to see him see the movie … because he just came to me after and said ‘I don’t even know what to tell you – it’s like living in the story. It’s alive.’ And he’s not afraid to go out and say to people, ‘I had this experience and it’s awesome. You need to try it.’"
Even at 151 minutes, the theatrical cut of Watchmen can’t squeeze in every detail of the multi-layered story. A host of internet viral videos have been deployed to fill in some gaps, as Deborah notes. "There’s only so much we could fit in the film, but there’s all these other really great details that I think enrich the whole experience – so we’ve tried to do things to touch upon them or somehow include them." A companion DVD will also be released shortly after the theatrical opening, including the parallel allegorical story from the book, Tales Of The Black Freighter. Then there’s a three-and-a-half hour DVD director’s cut version to come... However the film ends up being received by the general public, there’s no denying the Snyders have gone to every effort within their ability to do the graphic novel justice. "It was always important to respect the source material, so that was its core," says Deborah.
Zack agrees. "The last thing I say on the Blue Ray commentary is ‘to sum up, you need to go out and buy the book, read the graphic novel, it’s worth it. This is 10% of the stuff that’s in it (laughs). You need to read it.’
"I think we’ve sold, since the first trailer to the release of the film, another two million copies of the book – just because it’s out there! And that’s gotta make somebody happy somewhere."
WATCHMEN opens in cinemas Thursday March 5. For a chance to win an array of fantastic Watchmen merchandise packs, check WIN STUFF for giveaways. For more information check out www.watchmenmovie.co.uk.
Get To Know Your Watchmen
 The Comedian / Eddie Blake (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) – originally a member of ‘40s masked hero team The Minutemen, The Comedian worked as a covert government agent until his retirement. His logo/calling card is the iconic yellow smiley face.
Rorschach / Walter Kovacs (Jackie Earle Haley) – when costumed heroes were forced into retirement by a government bill called the Keene act, Rorschach refused, and instead became even more violent and reactionary as a vigilante. He is so-named because of his mask – a latex that contains fluid, moving ink blots.
Nite Owl II / Dan Dreiberg (Patrick Wilson) – Dan Dreiberg adopted the name of the original ‘40s Nite Owl as a mark of respect. He funded his crime-fighting career and array of gadgets with an inheritance, but found himself without purpose or drive once the Keene act forced him into retirement.
 Silk Spectre II / Laurie Jupiter (Malin Akerman) – Daughter of the ‘40s Silk Spectre, Laurie Jupiter lives in the shadow of her mother and essentially took up the hero path out of parental expectation. She is the lover of Doctor Manhattan.
Doctor Manhattan / Jon Osterman (Billy Crudup) – In the ‘50s, scientist Jon Osterman suffered an accident in an experiment that saw him disintegrated and then reconstructed as a quantum being of near limitless power and the ability to perceive all points in time at once. After the accident he worked at the US government’s direction, but has become increasingly disengaged with humanity.
Ozymandias / Adrian Veidt (Matthew Goode) – Wealthy businessman and ‘smartest man in the world’, after retirement as a costumed hero, Veidt used his masked hero image as a profitable commodity. He is obsessed with Alexander The Great and the pharaoh Rameses II (Ozymandias in Greek).
The Squid – A creature of great importance to certain fans of the Watchmen graphic novel, although of no real concern to filmgoers who haven’t read it. For the record, Zack Snyder explains, "People always say to me – ‘you hate the squid!’ I don’t hate the squid, I love the squid. In the graphic novel I think the squid’s awesome, but it’s just difficult – that’s 15 more minutes of the movie that I would’ve needed to explain the squid."
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