WATCHMEN Movie Discussion (SPOILERS allowed)!

[The Mike]

Wow....Larry Gordon grab your ankles and prepare for WB's wrath. I would not want to be him right now....

 

[IrishJedi]

Soundtrack news! https://www.watchmenmusic.com/

There will be a limited-edition 12" vinyl (yes, vinyl!) release on 1/27 of the My Chemical Romance "Desolation Row" single!' It's available to pre-order today and will be limited to a total of 3,000 copies.

On the B-side will be a track from the score by Tyler Bates, "Prison Fight".

In addition, the website says that both the soundtrack and score will be available on the 24th of Feb. Yes, there will be TWO albums. They'll be released separately as Watchmen: Music From the Motion Picture and Watchmen: Original Motion Picture Score according to the press release.

 

[Darth Waller]

Vinyl picture discs? That's very 80s.

 

[CelticPredator]

I cant wait to hear the score....I hope Tyler Bates didnt steal again...

 

[IrishJedi]

I cant wait to hear the score....I hope Tyler Bates didnt steal again...

We have a snippet on WCM now. It sounds very 80's and very awesome: https://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/watchmen-movie-soundtrack.php

 

[IrishJedi]

The latest on the legal battle, from Reuters. Apparently, a deal might be finalized as early as today (Wednesday).

In short, it basically portrays what we all assumed... Larry Gordon is a moron, Fox are a-holes who play dirty, and the judge is an arrogant ass:

No heroes in messy 'Watchmen' litigation
January 14, 2009, 12:21 am

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - When the "Watchmen" litigation finally is settled between Warner Bros. and Fox -- and all indications point toward that happening as soon as Wednesday morning -- the studios will issue flowery statements noting the respect they have for each other and how they look forward to putting this dispute behind them.

Don't believe a word of it.

Business is business, of course, and the studios -- however often they position themselves as fiercely independent -- always will have interlocking interests and agendas. But the "Watchmen" case has opened an unusually deep and festering wound, and, at least for Warners and the film's producers, it hurts bad.

How else to explain the rare public blame-gaming that has erupted since U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess' stunning Christmas Eve ruling giving Fox a distribution right in the comic book adaptation, which Warner Bros. is scheduled to release on March 6. (Warner Bros. picked up the project after Fox dumped it, but not all the legal loose ends were tied up.)

First, producer Lloyd Levin unloaded on Fox for showing little interest in the property until it realized it might be able to win the lottery through legal maneuvering. He argues in a widely circulated open letter that as recently as 2005, Fox production execs passed on the project and called the script a "piece of s---" in an internal e-mail.

"If Fox had any say in the matter, 'Watchmen' simply wouldn't exist today, and there would be no film for Fox to lay claim on," Levin writes, echoing the fanboy blogosphere, which largely has painted Fox as the villain in this case. "It seems beyond cynical for the studio to claim ownership at this point."

Then Larry Gordon, the film's other producer and, ironically, the former head of Fox, took aim at his own attorneys. Gordon's litigation lawyers wrote to Feess that the whole fiasco might be traced to a "unilateral mistake made by his counsel" at Jake Bloom's law firm, home to some of the town's top dealmakers. The existence of a 1991 quitclaim agreement, which gave Fox a right of first refusal if Gordon or anyone else decided to make " Watchmen ," apparently was not known to lawyer Tom Hunter when he was negotiating Gordon's 1994 turnaround deal with the studio. In his deposition, Hunter blamed Fox business affairs execs for sending him a chain-of-title report that failed to include the 1991 agreement. Still, producers pay their lawyers 5% of their earnings to, you know, keep track of these kinds of things.

Gordon and the Bloom firm understandably are defensive because they are staring at a fat indemnity claim from Warners, whose own finger has become increasingly outstretched. The studio argues in court papers that it could go after Gordon "for all damages Warner Bros. suffers as a result of Fox's claims," not exactly chump change considering that a settlement could total tens of millions of dollars depending on how well the film's release goes. The Bloom firm's insurance carrier likely is becoming as familiar with "Watchmen" as the most hardened comic book geek.

Yet for all the blaming going around, a more productive question is whether there are lessons to take away from one of the nastiest studio showdowns in years.

First, if there was any doubt, the era of common courtesy between the studios is long gone. The minute Fox saw a loophole, its lawyers jumped through unabashed. This isn't uncommon: Just last month, Warner Bros. TV sued CBS for millions in profits from "Two and a Half Men." But studio-vs.-studio litigation typically settles quickly or is moved to private arbitration. Now, thanks to its bold litigation strategy, Fox stands to pocket millions from a movie Warners spent $150 million to make and market and Fox never wanted much to do with in the first place.

Second, as much as studios devote hours of lawyer time to vetting chains of title, a simple misunderstanding can sabotage the whole endeavor. Boiled to its essence, the "Watchmen" case reads like an episode of "Three's Company." But instead of Jack Tripper inadvertently inviting two buxom dates to the same booth at the Regal Beagle, two studios have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars arguing over what likely was a simple misunderstanding between Gordon's attorneys and Fox business affairs.

And third, never underestimate the value of a quick and tidy settlement. From the beginning, Warners vowed to vigorously defend the case, even after it was assigned to Feess, the same judge who issued an injunction against its 2005 release of " The Dukes of Hazzard ." The Christmas Eve ruling surprised many in entertainment law circles, not only because it reversed Feess' earlier ruling that a jury should hear the case but also that it was only five pages long and devoid of major legal analysis. Feess still hasn't followed up his "short order" with something more substantive, yet Warners is forced to settle or face another possible injunction.

And Fox? Fox is just about the only one not complaining about this cautionary tale of a case.

Like I said, Fox absolutely ^^^^s and should be shunned by anyone who loves movies, Gordon should be shunned by Hollywood and out of a job, and Feess is yet another Federal circuit judge who uses his clout to expose what a petty person he is. They can all go pound dry sand until dead as far as I'm concerned.

But at least we'll get our flick on 3/6, and untouched.

 

[darthviper107]

Well, for Warner's sake I hope it does really good, the settlement with Fox will sting a lot but hopefully the movie will make loads of money and still give them a big profit.

 

[IrishJedi]

LAWSUIT. OVER.

https://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/011509-watchmen-fox- wb-lawsuit-dismissed.php

Key info:

Today, FOX and WB indeed resolved their issues and told Judge Feess so in chambers during their 3:30pm court appointment.

They have set up a hearing on Friday to present the settlement and have the case dismissed.

Details of the settlement have not been released, but it is said to includes a LARGE payment to Fox plus they get a percentage of the film's box office take.

FOX will not distribute the film and will not own any piece of the WATCHMEN property moving forward.

The studios are said to be drafting a release to announce the settlement.

And, for good measure:

 

[Memnoch]

And my birthday present from the film industry stays on track!

 

[Giant Chicken]

YAY!!!!

I am very excited about this news! I cant wait until March 6th.

 

[screamingmetal]

LAWSUIT. OVER.

https://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/011509-watchmen-fox- wb-lawsuit-dismissed.php

I'm soooo glad it's over but Fox should go %#!@ themselves.
If anyone plans on seeing a Fox movie like X-Men Origins Wolverine, please buy a ticket for another non Fox movie that's playing at the same time and hop into the X-Men Origins theater instead.

 

[karamazov80]

Fox were douches for doing what they did, but I think WB (and/or their lawyers) is equally to blame (and arguably far stupider) for not getting the rights shored up before diving into the Watchmen project. This was a really expensive lesson, so I hope that they learned it.

 

[IrishJedi]

HOLY MOLEY!!! Epic update on the official site tonight!:

https://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/

Tons of dialog, including Rorschach's opening Journal (and it's PERFECT)!!!!!

 

[scubasteve]

Are those clips from the score in the background for each character?

 

[IrishJedi]

Are those clips from the score in the background for each character?

Yep, that would be Tyler Bates' score... which is also sounding spot-on. Each character get's their own 80's synthesized theme and they're all perfect.

 

[McHavyck]

If anyone is interested Hot Topic has a pretty sweet Watchmen hoody. It's black with "Watchmen" in yellow running up and down on the left side.

On the back, also in yellow, it says, "Who watches the Watchmen?".

They also have a pretty kickass Rorschach t-shirt.

 

[CelticPredator]

The Comedian has the best theme by far. So Blade Runner-ish.

 

[IrishJedi]

If anyone is interested Hot Topic has a pretty sweet Watchmen hoody. It's black with "Watchmen" in yellow running up and down on the left side.

On the back, also in yellow, it says, "Who watches the Watchmen?".

They also have a pretty kickass Rorschach t-shirt.

And some cool posters as well.

 

[Dr.Mirakle32]

I kinda want to get the Dave Gibbons illustrated poster of the main characters in their movie costumes.

 

[IrishJedi]

I kinda want to get the Dave Gibbons illustrated poster of the main characters in their movie costumes.

I got that one as well as the Doomsday Clock one.

Also, there are 6 other posters Gibbons designed that will be exclusive to comic shops (or Diamond/Previews dealers) next month.