New Watchmen Stills Up

Warner Brothers has posted stills featuring some of the main characters from the upcoming Watchmen film. They look quite faithful to the designs in the comic, aside from the DARK, DARK, DARK coating applied to virtually every comic book movie costume and set since Batman.

It's a nice look, but the book's a riff on old silver age characters, so I don't think it's as appropriate here. I don't know if you need fully saturated colors on spandex, but I think the once-innocent/fallen from grace contrast is integral to the concept.

To be honest, though, production design is the least of the challenges. Watchmen is a really dense, multi-layered story. While I don't think any story is unfilmable, this is certainly a ambitious assignment for a movie.

I was talking with a friend of mine today, and I'm wondering if a television mini-series might have been the way to go. You could go into more detail with six hours (or more) than you can with two. How's this for geeky? A TV mini-series. Twelve one-hour episodes, one a week, the final one airs at 11:00 PM - midnight. I'd buy that for a dollar!

Remake OTD: The Illustrated Man

VARIETY: Zack Snyder to direct 'Illustrated'
Filmmaker also producing redo for Warners By DIANE GARRETT - Posted: Tue., Aug. 28, 2007, 5:32pm PT

Warner Bros. has tattooed Zack Snyder's name on its redo of "The Illustrated Man."

The helmer, busy prepping "Watchmen" for the studio, is attached to direct and produce the remake based on Ray Bradbury's collection of short stories by the same name. "Watchmen" scribe Alex Tse will tackle the screenplay.

The collection, first published in 1951, is narrated by a mysterious man with living tattoos that predict the future. Rod Steiger starred in the title role for the 1969 bigscreen adaptation, distributed by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts; Claire Bloom co-starred.

Di Novi Pictures and Snyder's shingle, Cruel and Unusual Films, are producing the remake. Denise Di Novi, and Deborah Snyder, the helmer's wife and producing partner, are also producing, along with Frank Darabont. Cruel and Unusual's Wesley Coller and Di Novi's Alison Greenspan are exec producing.

Snyder and his wife signed a first-look deal with the studio in the wake of his success with "300" (Daily Variety, Jan. 30). They are producing "Illustrated Man" through Cruel and Unusual.

Di Novi's shingle has produced numerous films at the studio under its production deal, including "Nights in Rodanthe."