Easygoing Eyebeast Dintiradan Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Wait. Wait. What? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Actaeon Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Seems pretty self explanatory. Presumably, it will make money, although the film probably killed a lot of potential hype. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Enraged Slith Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I don't read comic books, so is this awesome in a 'J.R.R Tolkein has risen from the dead and is writing a new installment to the LotR world' way, or terrible in a 'J.R.R Tolkein's retarded grandnephew is writing a new installment to the LotR world where Frodo wields a Gunblade' way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Lilith Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Originally Posted By: Enraged Slith I don't read comic books, so is this awesome in a 'J.R.R Tolkein has risen from the dead and is writing a new installment to the LotR world' way, or terrible in a 'J.R.R Tolkein's retarded grandnephew is writing a new installment to the LotR world where Frodo wields a Gunblade' way? it is more like the second one than the first basically the entire point of Watchmen was that all of its main characters were awful, broken people and that the fundamental concept of a world protected by a handful of elite costumed heroes is irredeemably corrupt and the prequel looks like it's going to be "look at all these cool costumed heroes doing cool things!". basically except unironic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Alorael at Large Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 More importantly, this is part of the battle between Alan Moore and DC over his work. Moore is famously curmudgeonly about this, although not without reason. —Alorael, who from a quick look over the released information sees that Moore is unsurprisingly unhappy. DC has brought on real talent, though, not just hacks, so it's likely to be people trying to do justice to the source material, not just milk it for money. And Dave Gibbons, the artist, has given the project his approval. It's not obvious exactly how much it's a cash-in and how much it's a sincere homage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dintiradan Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 Think of it as JV making Avernum 0: The First Expedition. Or rather, someone with access to JV's IP making it instead. Like Alorael, I'm kinda torn. My knee-jerk reaction was DO NOT WANT, but there is talent behind this project. And having a prequel about the Minutemen was part of Moore's original plan. He's just unhappy about someone else executing it. (You could argue that this is part of an ongoing conspiracy to keep the Watchmen rights away from Moore. Under the original contract, the rights would revert back to him once sales dropped past a certain point. And thanks to the trade paperbacks, the movie, and now this, that ain't ever gonna happen.) I've been thinking about what makes superhero stories tick quite a bit lately (in a weird roundabout way, it's all Nioca's fault). Watchmen is hardly the only story with its theme, but I think the biggest reason Watchmen is better than, say, Kingdom Come, is that it has its own setting and characters, completely separate from any existing continuity. I don't think Watchmen would have been as successful had it been set in the DCU and been about people like Captain Atom and the Blue Beetle as originally planned. Limited series work out better if you can tailor the setting to fit the theme. Also, having original characters forces you to make sure their background and motivation is fleshed out, rather than having "Lex Luthor stole the cakes because he's Lex Luthor." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Actaeon Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 One COULD, in theory, compare it to someone making a film version of the Hobbit which requires two installments and, based on the trailers, includes Galadriel. Except that I'm pretty much willing to hop on the Jackson Train to Tolkien Town, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Lilith Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Originally Posted By: Actaeon One COULD, in theory, compare it to someone making a film version of the Hobbit which requires two installments and, based on the trailers, includes Galadriel. Except that I'm pretty much willing to hop on the Jackson Train to Tolkien Town, anyway. just remember, if you don't like it, don't bother throwing house bricks at the screen in protest: bad hobbits are hard to brick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dintiradan Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 At last Monday's D&D session, we decided that making a bad pun means you lose 50 XP. Keep this up, and you might have to roll up a new character account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Actaeon Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Originally Posted By: Lilith ...bad hobbits are hard to brick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice ex post slarto Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Even though Galadriel doesn't appear in the Hobbit, we know that she played a major role in at least two relevant events that take place during its tale: the meeting of the White Council and the subsequent assault on Dol Guldur that (1) drove out Khamul and the other two Nazgul in residence there, and (2) distracted Sauron so that he was unable to aid Smaug. Although it is peripheral to the main story, it involves Gandalf and relates to the battle against Smaug. So including Galadriel in the movie might be a very minor addition of tale, not an actual alteration of story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Actaeon Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I'm actually not as down on it as I've made out. Obviously, this adaptation is less the Hobbit in its original form and more as it relates to, and is sometimes retconned by, the Lord of the Rings. It will, for better or worse, be seen as a prequel rather than a stand alone pieces, which I think most people who've read both will agree is a gross oversimplification. It's a pretty big undertaking, really, to merge the mature world of the latter with the kid's book version of the former. It is, however, too late for anything else, and in any case it must be better than the previous adaptation. Really, I'm curious as to how they intend to include Frodo, who I calculate should be -33 at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dintiradan Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 I just realized something that should have been glaringly obvious. Watchmen is like 80% flashbacks anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Dikiyoba Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Yeah, Dikiyoba is having a hard time imagining what the prequels might contain that isn't already in Watchmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Alorael at Large Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 If Peter Jackson wants to milk Tolkien's legendarium, there's enough material to make films for decades. Not as fleshed out as LotR, obviously, but the Silmarillion is full of great heroes and epic battles. Also tragedy, which might be a little off-putting if he starts with the other Middle-Earth novel and tries out Children of Húrin. —Alorael, who sees the same problem with the Watchmen prequels. It's obvious that the characters have been up to a lot that's left out. But their background and motivations aren't left out, so what you get is, basically action. Action with compelling characters at best, but you know where and how they have to end up. There's not a lot of room for originality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Nioca Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Originally Posted By: Dintiradan I've been thinking about what makes superhero stories tick quite a bit lately (in a weird roundabout way, it's all Nioca's fault). Oh, suuure. Blame it on the guy who's not part of the discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Originally Posted By: Nioca Originally Posted By: Dintiradan I've been thinking about what makes superhero stories tick quite a bit lately (in a weird roundabout way, it's all Nioca's fault). Oh, suuure. Blame it on the guy who's not part of the discussion. Well, when you aren't here to defend yourself, it's easy to get the blame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Nioca Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Originally Posted By: Randomizer Originally Posted By: Nioca Originally Posted By: Dintiradan I've been thinking about what makes superhero stories tick quite a bit lately (in a weird roundabout way, it's all Nioca's fault). Oh, suuure. Blame it on the guy who's not part of the discussion. Well, when you aren't here to defend yourself, it's easy to get the blame. Huh. So does that mean I'm to blame for most of the general forum? The Six Degrees of Nioca Blame, so to speak? In that case, I'm half-tempted to take it as a compliment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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