PS If you costume turns out great, submit to Strutta’s Halloween Costume contest and join Hugh Hefner with a Playboy Bunny, Ghostbuster and three variations of Johnny Depp characters among others …

Watchmen’s Rorschach

Maybe you’d want to go as the anti-hero from Watchmen, Rorschach. All you’ll need is a couple pieces of clothing and the the mask.

Image from GreatWhiteSnark.com

The hardest thing about this costume will be getting the mask right. It has this special inkblot-looking design to it, and is pretty much the main focus of this costume (everything else is pretty standard clothing.) You can order the mask online from a hobby store or from eBay (although they probably won’t ship in time for Halloween…) or try to do it yourself (all it takes is patience.)

For this costume, you will need:

• A small-brimmed brown fedora hat
• Brown overcoat/trench coat
• Purple pinstriped pants
• Purple ribbon (band) for hat
• Brown or black loafer shoes
• Purple joker gloves or brown leather gloves, but purple is more suitable
• White, beige, or lemon color scarf (no fringe)
• Watchmen Rorschach costume mask (This can be made by using white thin fabric, cheesecloth, or bed sheet material along with a black marker.)

Putting it together can be a pretty daunting task, and since I’m no expert on this particular costume, I suggest that if you run into problems, just Google it. I found this particularly helpful forum thread on WatchmenComicMovie.com that gives you some tips for your costume.

Zombieland’s Tallahassee + other Zombie costumes

Zombie costumes are a staple of this holiday. It’s one of the classic “easy costumes”, just like putting a sheet over your head and calling yourself a ghost. But if done right, being a zombie or zombie killer can be damn frightening!

You’ll want as much fake blood and make-up you can get your hands on! When doing scars for your costume, remember to put the scars on first, and then apply the make-up. Doing this will blend the scars with your face and body parts.

Oh, and don’t be afraid to rip up some of that old clothing. =D

If you want to be on the other side of things, and be a zombie hunter, then that’s doable as well! Here’s what you’ll need to dress up as Tallahassee, the ultimate zombie-killer from the movie Zombieland:

• The hat. This is the most important part of the costume. Any similar-looking hat will do, but if you want the real deal, check out Real Deal Brazil’s Recycled Tarp Hats (which is what Woody Harrelson actually used in the movie.)
• The shades. You can get the shades at pretty much any drugstore sunglasses tree.
• The necklaces. Wood beads, chains, metal or fake-bone pendants. Any kind of dollar store or cheap jewelery story should be good for this.
• Leathers. If you really need to, you could probably pull this off with a jean jacket, but if you wanna go more authentic looking, look for heavy leather (but look for jackets with not too much sheen, and more motorcycle-style than bomber.)
• V-neck T. Maroon is what you should aim for, but any dark V-neck T should do.
• Belt. Something with a big metal buckle.
• Jeans. Keep these simple: no designer holes, etc. Just simple Levi’s work best. To add some more feel, rub your hands in charcoal and then rub them on your jeans.
• Weapon. Get some kind of holster, or, if that’s not doable, just walk around with some kind of toy gun.
• Boots. Cowboy, not biker, style.
• Additional fun props: Jack Daniels bottle, box of Hostess Twinkies, banjo, long-handled pruning shears.

Alright, that should be enough to get you going. Happy Halloween!~

More Costume ideas on MovieSet.com

Indeed a treat for romantics and poetry lovers, “Bright Star” may well be a joy forever marking Campion’s return to Cannes after her 1993 Palm d’Or winner, “The Piano” Tracing the love story between a young Keats and his Hamstead neighbour, Fanny Brawne, Campion never losses sight of period details. Scenes of Brawne with a fine needle and thread, Keats with his pen and paper creating poetic pleasure that much after his death helped the world realise his genius and the passion between the two only restrained by the rigid social mores of the day have been frozen on frame with a classic touch.

Photo: Seoul Times

Biteback: at Cannes
The Sunday Times, May 24, 2009
By Richard Brooks

I admired Bright Star, the story of the love affair between John Keats and Fanny Brawne, but was not smitten. Well acted, well directed and well shot, it lacked a point. I was amused when its producer, Jan Chapman, told me she was determined not to make a costume drama. What? Brawne (Abbie Cornish) parades in about 30 different outfits. I know she was a good seamstress, but she was only 18 and her mum was widowed, with two other youngsters to bring up. How was this not a “frocks” movie?

Dispatch from Cannes
Las Vegas Weekly, Thu, May 28, 2009
By Mike D’Angelo

Heavyweight auteurs mostly fail to thrill at the world’s top film festival, {snip} But in the end, despite its endless parade of auteurs, Cannes 2009 served up only a handful of truly memorable movies, none of them masterpieces. The first few days, in particular, were a long haul, as even the better films tread exceedingly familiar ground. Campion, who hadn’t made a feature since 2003’s critically reviled In the Cut, received respectful notices for Bright Star, her portrait of the doomed relationship between Romantic poet John Keats and his muse, Fanny Brawne, but seeing this once-ferocious filmmaker (even In the Cut has its queasy moments) reduced to a genteel literary biopic only made me sad.

Cannes. “Bright Star”
“The Daily” on IFC.com, 05/15/2009
By David Hudson

“Jane Campion has put herself in line for her second Palme d’Or here at the Cannes film festival with a film which I think could be the best of her career; an affecting and deeply considered study of the last years in the short life of John Keats [Ben Whishaw], and the ecstasy of loss which suffuses his love affair with Fanny Brawne [Abbie Cornish] – a love thwarted not due to illness, but to a pernicious web of money worries, social scruples and irrelevant male loyalties.” The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw: “Campion brings to this story an unfashionable, unapologetic reverence for romance and romantic love, and she responds to Keats’s life and work with intelligence and grace.”

“Refreshingly, ['Bright Star'] is free of the hysterics so often associated with films about writers and deftly avoids the distracting surface tendencies that can plague British period pieces set in the 18th and 19th centuries,” writes Time Out London’s Dave Calhoun. “It’s also remarkable in its lightness of touch: the film barely tries to persuade us that Keats is a valid object of this girl’s affection or that he is a fine literary talent; we are left to learn both incidentally. They’re wise choices, leaving Campion to concentrate on character and emotion rather than any special pleading about genius and its offshoots.”

Cannes 09 ‘Bright Star’ Press Conference with Abbie Cornish
MovieSet.com Cannes coverage, Monday, May 18, 2009
By Phillip Nakov

We sat down for a chat with Abbie Cornish this week at the 62^nd annual Cannes Film Festival to chat about her role as Fanny Brawne in Jane Campion’s latest work “Bright Star“. The movie is about the life, love and work of the famous English romantic poet John Keats.

As she draws near the table, she sits down slowly exhales. She is wearing a dainty lace top that looks delicate and light atop a darker black under shirt. I noticed immediately she is back to a lighter hair color as she was dark haired for the movie.  She smiles as we start to chat about working with Jane Campion, what it meant to her to accept this role and what she expects on the set of her next movie with Zach Synder which she starts shooting in June.

{snip}

Q: So what’s coming up next for you?

A: My next film is going to be “Sucker Punch.” Directed by Zach Snyder. He did ‘300′ and the ‘Watchmen‘. It’s totally different to anything I‘ve ever done. It’s going to be a little wild and a little crazy.

Q: Have you started already?

A: No, I start in June.

Q: Who will you be playing?

A: I play the character of Sweet Pea. Essentially it’s the story of five girls in the 1950’s who get together and try to escape a psychiatric ward. They are all in this thing and they are all like let’s get out of here. The interesting thing to me is that the films Zach has directed he hasn’t written. They haven’t been his concepts from the beginning. This is the first time he’s ever made a concept film that he wrote. I am interested to see what he does with it. I think he has an incredible talent in regards to contemporary cutting edge cinema. I think he is a bit of the master at the action sequences.

More on MovieSet

Jane Champion’s ‘Bright Star‘ stars Abbie Cornish, Thomas Sangster and Paul Schneider. Not much is know about the movie yet, but you can check out some stuff at the Official Page and in the vidcast “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Bright Star and Cannes Wrap-up – Behind the Scenes #42“.

Abbie Cornish Press Conference Photo Credit: MovieSet.com-  Actress Abbie Cornish smiles with director Jane Campion at press conference for ‘Bright Star’ - movie about poet John Keats

As we come to the end of the Cannes Film Festival, we are gonna do a quick re-cap on the top stories we covered at the Festival.

For those that missed the great coverage, check out this post to see the progress of the festival, as well as the awards and winners.

Our team at Cannes is very proud to captured some amazing footage of one of the best film festivals in the world!

The full list of winners follows. You can log on to Official Cannes Festival site to watch the press conference and photo call following the closing ceremony festivities in Cannes.

To check out exactly what each prize means, and more info about the festival itself, check out The Substream Filmlabs’ Cannes Video.

• Palme d’Or (Golden Palm): “The White Ribbon,” by Michael Haneke (Austria)
• Grand Prize: “A Prophet,” by Jacques Audiard (France)
• Jury Prize: “Fish Tank,” by Andrea Arnold (Britain) and “Thirst,” By Park Chan-wook (South Korea).
• Special Prize: Alain Resnais
• Best Director: Brillante Mendoza, “Kinatay” (The Philippines)
• Best Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds” (United States)
• Best Actress: Charlotte Gainsbourg, “Antichrist” (Denmark)
• Best Screenplay: Feng Mei, “Spring Fever” (China)
• Camera d’Or (first-time director): “Samson and Delilah,” by Warwick Thornton (Australia)
• Best short film: “Arena,” by Joao Salaviza (Portugal)

Here’s an introduction to the films we had an opportunity to cover, including press conferences and interviews with filmmakers and actors.

1) The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The ‘Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus‘ is a fantastical morality tale, set in the present-day. Dr. Parnassus with his extraordinary traveling show “The Imaginarium” offers to members of the audience an irresistible opportunity to enter their universe of imaginations and wonders, by passing through a magical mirror. But Dr. Parnassus is cursed with a dark secret. An inveterate gambler, thousands of years ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr. Nick, in which he won immortality.

Centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr. Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his daughter reached her 16th birthday, she would become the property of Mr. Nick. Now it is time to pay the price…

Watch the Press Conference with Terry Gilliam and Actors.

2) I Love you Phillip Morris

The true story of an ex-cop, ex-husband, ex-insurance swindler, ex-model prisoner and eternal lover of cellmate Philip Morris (Ewan McGregor). Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) will do anything to avoid being separated from the man of his dreams. Which means not rotting away in prison.

How far can one go for love? Quite far if you believe the incredible story of Steven Russell, an escape artist whose romanticism gets the better of him. Based on the book by Steven McVicker, this jail-house, dark romantic comedy.

Read the Ultimate Review by Phillip Nakov

3) Agora

As the Roman Empire declines, philosopher and astromomer Hypatia struggles to preserve scientific knowledge amid the clash of zealots in Alexandria, whose rising Christian population grows increasingly militant toward Jews and worshipers of the Egyptian gods.

Check out the Press Conference with Rachel Weisz and Director Alejandro Amenabar

4) Disney’s A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens’ timeless tale of an old miser who must face Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet-to-Come, as they help to bring kindness to his otherwise cold heart. The Ghosts remind him of the man he used to be, the hard truth of what the world is today, and what will happen if he does not strive to be a better man.

Jim Carrey plays four separate roles in this updated version of A Christmas Carol. Carrey portrays Scrooge, as well as the three ghosts (Past, Present, and Yet-to-Come). His dynamic character roles keep the four characters as diverse as being played by four actors. Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future trilogy) has his chance to dabble in telling a story through the windows of time, as he directs the long-awaited remake. In theaters Nov. 6, 2009.

Check out this sneak peak teaser footage of the movie, showing off some of the CGI and the Press Conference with Jim Carrey and Robert Zemeckis and some Stills of the Premiere.

5) Bright Star

“Bright Star”. The movie stars Australian Actress Abbie Cornish, Thomas Sangster and Paul Schneider. Not much is know about the movie yet, but you can check out some stuff at the Official Page.

London 1818 is the year, a secret love affair begins between 23 year old English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, an outspoken student of fashion. This unlikely pair started at odds; he thinking her a stylish minx, she unimpressed by literature in general. It was the illness of Keats’s younger brother that drew them together. Keats was touched by Fanny’s efforts to help and agreed to teach her poetry. By the time Fanny’s alarmed mother and Keats’s best friend Brown realised their attachment, the relationship had an unstoppable momentum. Intensely and helplessly absorbed in each other, the young lovers were swept into powerful new sensations, “I have the feeling as if I were dissolving”, Keats wrote to her. Together they rode a wave of romantic obsession that deepened as their troubles mounted. Only Keats’s illness proved insurmountable.

Take a look at this clip from the Press Conference in Cannes.

For everything Cannes Remember to check out the Cannes 2009 Sitelet!

Au revoir !

From Phillip, our man on the Crossiette ….

And that wraps it up for us and the whole MovieSet.com crew from here in the south of France. It has been a terrific, fast-paced and exciting two weeks. We’ve seen so many great movies, some not so great and some that we just wondered how they ever got made. There is no other festival like it in the world.

We thank the Festival de Cannes press accreditation committee for welcoming MovieSet.com so graciously at this year’s festival. We hope you have enjoyed our coverage of the 62^nd Annual Festival de Cannes (Cannes Film Festival) as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.  The response has been tremendous from around the world and so till next year.

As she draws near the table, she sits down slowly exhales. She is wearing a dainty lace top that looks delicate and light atop a darker black under shirt. I noticed immediately she is back to a lighter hair color as she was dark haired for the movie.  She smiles as we start to chat about working with Jane Campion, what it meant to her to accept this role and what she expects on the set of her next movie with Zach Synder which she starts shooting in June.

Q: Welcome, so, how is the festival? Having fun?

A: A lot of fun. It’s been a lot of really exciting. Showing the film the other night was the best feeling.

Q: Is this your first Cannes?

A: It’s my third. The first time in competition. The first time I was back packing throughout Europe.  Laughter. I had a film that was being sold here. I got myself a little badge and would sit in the theater and watch three films a day all week. Then I went and travelled through Europe. The second time was for Summersault which was in Un Certain Regard.

Q: How is this different that from the first time when you were a backpacker?

A: Well, I remember being on the Croisette and I remember watching Cate Blanchett walk down the red carpet. (Laughter). So it’s a little bit weird that I did that.

Q: Have you heard from your friends and family back home? They must be tremendously supportive?

A: Yeah. The Family is pretty proud.

Q: Did you love any poetry before going into this project and did you already know about John Keats ?

A: Actually I didn’t know them about John Keats. I had heard his name. But I didn’t know about his poems, I didn’t know about his life. After I read the film I remember jumping onto he net and checking it out.  And when we made the film it was quite beautiful to be exposed to this incredible poet. I mean he really is amazing.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your approach for selecting a role? What are the elements, whether it’s the story or the director or the cast?

A: Well it’s important to me it’s always the story and the character. And the director. Those are the three most important elements… then the cast and whose producing it also plays a part. You have to want to play that character. You have to want to put that story on screen. And you have to be in safe hands. It’s really important.

Q: Can we talk about that scene towards the end of the movie when Fannie breaks down when she hears of Keats’s death. Up till then she’s been very repressed since she is a 19^th century girl, but that’s a very impactful scene. Can you talk a little about that?

A: I think anyone who has ever lost someone that they love in their life understands that and I don’t think, I don’t feel like I need to explain it.

Q: Was it hard to prepare for or anything?

Then we experience a long, pregnant and quite pause. It’s as if she was contemplating how to best respond without being evasive.

A: No. No. It was difficult to do. But now, I didn’t prepare for it.

Q: What did you find was most surprising about working with Jane or what did you find most surprising that you didn’t expect to learn or have drawn out of you?

A: For me it was the rehearsal process. I was really frightened about how long it was. Three weeks of rehearsals is a lot. I was like how do you rehearse this for three weeks? After week one I was ready to go shoot the film. I think I had thought about the film so much and [processed it already. I didn’t want to sit in a room and over talk it and over analyze it. As an actor I like to just go it as long as the research is all there. So I kind of thought, gosh three weeks. During that time we learn a lot of each other. We went through every single scene in the movie. By the time we shot I know all my lines even the whole movie. You knew exactly what Jane wanted and what she was searching for and what she wanted to explore and she wanted to get across on to the screen. You kind of let go then of over analyzing the script or the dialogue.  That was a difference experience for me but that is unique to Jane. That is how she likes to work.  She likes intensity and focus and concentration.

Q: So what’s coming up next for you?

A: My next film is going to be “Sucker Punch.” Directed by Zach Snyder. He did ‘300′ and the ‘Watchmen‘. It’s totally different to anything I‘ve ever done. It’s going to be a little wild and a little crazy.

Q: Have you started already?

A: No, I start in June.

Q: Who will you be playing?

A: I play the character of Sweet Pea. Essentially it’s the story of five girls in the 1950’s who get together and try to escape a psychiatric ward. They are all in this thing and they are all like let’s get out of here. The interesting thing to me is that the films Zach has directed he hasn’t written. They haven’t been his concepts from the beginning. This is the first time he’s ever made a concept film that he wrote. I am interested to see what he does with it. I think he has an incredible talent in regards to contemporary cutting edge cinema. I think he is a bit of the master at the action sequences.

Q: So that is the secret behind your character? What’s your angle?

A: (Laughter) Well, she is actually sane. (More laughter) Even though she is in a psyche ward. She’s in with her younger sister. They ran away from home but her younger sister got into trouble and chucked in. So she went in with her to try and look after her and get her out. My character is in there just looking to surviving and looking after her.  And so it’s kind of cool to have this same girl in this totally wacky world. She is pretty strong. She is like the mother of the gang. Like she is the one who looks out for everyone. She is like the gang leader in a way.

Q: So it comes out next year? Yeah.

A: I think yeah, end of next year. But it’s going to be fun and it’s different. It’s going to be very physical. The film kind of switches in and out between reality and this kind of dream like world. So we have to train for it and learn martial art.

Q: So were those hands embroidering?

A: You know on the close up? Their not my hands. I said to Jane I don’t know if I want the pressure. I could have done it but also I didn’t want the pressure of having to make the perfect stich. That close up and so we’ll just get someone who is an expert to do it.

Q: Was is different to play with dark hair. Did it affect your play?

A: In a weird way, yeah. If I leaned forward what I would see and my peripheral vision was dark. And it makes a difference. It does. Even though hair styles and everything is slicked back. It’s not me.

Q: Will you be going to Comic-Con this year? Zach is typically down in San Diego in July.

A: (Laughter) Oh I don’t know… right… well we’ll probably be down there.

Q: Who are the co-stars?

A: Jenna Malone, Emily Browning, Jamie Chun and Vanessa Hudgens.

Interesting assortment.

Well, we look forward to seeing some behind the seeing some behind the scenes action as soon as it becomes available.

With that our visit with Abbie was over. We wished her all the luck with “Bright Star” at the festival and we look forward to seeing her in her next new film ‘Sucker Punch‘. This next project is expected in theaters in 2011.

Check out tons of production stills from Bright Star at the Sitelet, as well as our video coverage of the press event.

First off, The Watchmen which opens March 6th with midnight screenings all over. Check out the interviews with Watchmen’s Head Sculptor Jack Gaureau who discusses the creation of the futuristic battleship and weapons. The guys also discuss the possibility of a Watchmen sequel based on the Tales of the Black Freighter or Allan Moore’s Minutemen.

Next up, clips from The Horsemen with Dennis Quaid – a thriller directed by Jonas Akerlund about a detective tracking down mysteries which seem connected to the fabled four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Finally, The Highwayman – the story of a young farmer in England who becomes a robber. The film was a true DIY indie project and Eric celebrates by reading some of the poem which inspired the story while channeling inebriated Orson Welles.

Contest

Win an double-sided autographed Max Payne poster signed by Mark Wahlberg and a bevy of other cast and crew from the film. Send email to contests@movieset.com with “I Want Max Payne” in the subject line.

More about the Watchmen Contest with Shaun Eric’s explanation video. Enter at watchmen-contest@movieset.com.

See Movieset Watchmen Contest! Watch to Win

Need more help? See Watchmen Movie Contest Update plus Helpful Hints

Need another hint? Keep an eye on the sign by the cash register ;-)

Early Watchmen movie contest feedback suggests that the contest is tough! We agree – the answers are pretty obscure unless you are a super-fan of The Watchmen.

Contest Info

Like Nietzsche says, “What does not kill me, makes me stronger.” So with this in mind, here’s a few clarifications:

1) the trailer before the video is not *the* video – watch the whole video after the trailer to spot any references to The Watchmen

2) there are 16 total references and you only need 5 to enter – Note: some clues are even clickable to help find more info

3) to enter, write down the references you spotted and email the list to watchmen-contest@movieset.com – along with your name, mailing address and birthday

Contest Hints

To make the contest easier for new fans of The Watchmen, we’ll offer 1 reference answer per day for the rest of the week. That means you only have to spot a couple yourself.

Today’s answer is: Ticking clock is like the Watchmen Armageddon clock

Remember, you can also enter by mailing a postcard with your info.

More Watchmen

The movie is released in North American on March 6, 2009 but reviews of the Watchmen and bonus content abound at fansites and plus info about Watchmen at IMDB.

Check out the official Watchmen movie site and the MovieSet Watchmen Sitelet for more than a dozen behind the scenes Watchmen video clips, and heaps of stills to explore – plus the complete synopsis, blog posts, news and cast & crew listings from this highly anticipated movie.

The Watchmen – In Theaters March 6th

Enter to Win

1) Watch this video clip carefully for all Watchmen references
You must find at least 5 of the 16 clues to qualify to win. Note: some references are clickable hidden interactive elements – spot them all to score the best prizes.

2) Enter the Watchmen contest

Enter between February 20, 2009 and March 16, 2009. Registration is free. By entering, you agree to abide by the MovieSet, Inc. contest rules.

Include:

• Watchmen reference clues from the video, and
• Name, street address (to mail your prize), email address and date of birth

Send by:
Email to watchmen-contest@movieset.com
or
Mail an envelope containing a 3×5 card with your name, street address, e-mail address and birthdate postmarked by March 16, 2009 and received no later than March 19, 2009.
Send to:
MovieSet, Inc. Attn: Watchmen Contest
254 Market Street
Venice, CA, U.S.A.
90291

3) Wait patiently

We’ll randomly choose the winners from the qualified entries and inform the lucky fans on or around March 19, 2009.

Rules

By entering, you agree to abide by the complete MovieSet, Inc. contest rules including: Limit one (1) entry per person/email address/household per day. If more than one entry a day is received from any person/email address/household, all subsequent entries may be disqualified. Entries generated by script, macro or other automated or mechanical means are void. All entries become the property of MovieSet and will not be acknowledged or returned.

Prizes

The big truck backed up to the loading dock laden with unique memorabilia, including:

Grand Prize: 1 MyVu Personal Media Viewer – ARV $300

More awesome prizes:

• 1 WATCHMEN: THE ABSOLUTE EDITION by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (Hardcover) – ARV $75
• 1 WATCHING THE WATCHMEN: The Definitive Companion to the Ultimate Graphic Novel by Dave Gibbons, Chip Kidd, and Mike Essl (Hardcover) – ARV $40 (This book will be autographed by
  Dave Gibbons!!!)
• 1 WATCHMEN: THE ART OF THE FILM by Peter Aperlo (Hardcover) – ARV $40
• 5 WATCHMEN: THE FILM COMPANION by Peter Aperlo (Soft cover) – ARV $19.95
• 5 Watchmen Soundtrack CD – ARV $15.99
• 5 Women’s Tee – ARV $20
• 5 Men’s Tee – ARV $20
• 5 Cap – ARV $15
• 5 Tattoos – ARV $ .50
• 5 Button – ARV $ 1
• 5 Condoms – ARV $2

More Watchmen Stuff

Watchmen News:

• ‘Watchmen’ director Zack Snyder discusses his latest comic book adaptation
• Kevin Smith says Snyder pulled it off with Watchmen
• Watchmen Director Zack Snyder Discusses Challenges Of Taking Comic To The Big Screen
• Watchmen sneak preview screened to online press

The Soundtrack from the Watchmen features 11 classic artists and the new My Chemical Romance cover of Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row”. Available for download & on CD and vinyl March 3rd.

About the Watchmen Movie

A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, “Watchmen” is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the Doomsday Clock—which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union—moves closer to midnight.

When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the outlawed but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion—a disbanded group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers—Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future.

Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the Watchmen?

Watchmen” is directed by Zack Snyder (“300”) and produced by Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin and Deborah Snyder. The screenplay is by David Hayter and Alex Tse, based upon the graphic novel co-created and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and published by DC Comics. Herbert W. Gains and Thomas Tull are the executive producers, with Wesley Coller serving as co-producer.

Playing the film’s core group of “Masks,” the adventurers at the center of the story, are Malin Akerman (“27 Dresses”) as Laurie Jupiter, aka Silk Spectre II; Billy Crudup (“The Good Shepherd”) as Jon Osterman, aka Dr. Manhattan; Matthew Goode (“Match Point”) as Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias; Carla Gugino (“Night at the Museum”) as Sally Jupiter, aka Silk Spectre; Oscar® nominee Jackie Earle Haley (“Little Children”) as Walter Kovacs, aka Rorschach; Jeffrey Dean Morgan (TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy”) as Edward Blake, aka The Comedian; and Patrick Wilson (“Little Children”) as Dan Dreiberg, aka Nite Owl II.

Joining Snyder behind the scenes were director of photography Larry Fong (“300”), production designer Alex McDowell (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”), editor William Hoy (“300”), costume designer Michael Wilkinson (“300”), and visual effects supervisor John “DJ” DesJardin (“The Kingdom”). The music is by Tyler Bates (“300”).

Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures present, in Association with Legendary Pictures, a Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin Production, a Zack Snyder Film, “Watchmen,” based on the award-winning graphic novel.

“Watchmen” will be distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures and internationally by Paramount Pictures. The film has been rated R by the MPAA for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language.

Ahead of the much anticipated March 9, 2009 release of Watchmen Warner Brothers has decide to provide fans with some more images from the film. Of particular interest is a comparison using cells from the graphic novel compared to shots from the film.

Above we see at left: A frame from the graphic novel “Watchmen” of Karnak in the Antarctic as drawn by “Watchmen” co-creator Dave Gibbons. On the right: Karnak in the Antarctic in Warner Bros. Pictures’, Paramount Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure “Watchmen,” distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Below are larger versions of each graphic novel cell followed by the still from the film:

Karnak-exterior-2: A frame from the graphic novel “Watchmen” of Karnak in the Antarctic as drawn by “Watchmen” co-creator Dave Gibbons.

Karnak in the Antarctic in Warner Bros. Pictures’, Paramount Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure “Watchmen,” distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

For more freshly uploaded graphic cell and still comparisons as well as videos, more stills, news and blog posts check out the official Watchmen page here at MovieSet.

Word is spreading this afternoon that representatives for 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. are trying to work out a deal that would do away with the upcoming trial by federal judge over whether Warners can release the superhero film Watchmen on March 6. The lawyers for both sides have met with Judge Gary A. Feess and told him that their talks have been “productive” and wish to continue to meet over the weekend.

This is a reversal in the tone that Warner Bros. presented before when the company that made the film said that they will do battle against Fox’s claims that they have an ownership in the film rights. Something’s changed. Did Fox’s side indicate what they want to get and the WB lawyers thought it wasn’t that bad after all or does Warners now think that, after hearing Feess’ earlier ruling that Fox’s documents indicate that they have some ownership, the best idea is to settle now before any decision is made that could prevent the film’s release in two months? It sounds right now like Warners blinked, doesn’t it?

During the holiday season we’ve been taking some much needed vacation time but also keeping an eye on entertainment news that is breaking and there’s one story that’s emerged as a biggie. On Christmas Eve the judge presiding over the ownership of the Watchmen movie issued a statement saying that he found sufficient grounds to grant 20th Century Fox a stake in the ownership of the picture. Up to that point no decision had been made as to whether Warner Bros. had complete ownership of the film. You can read our past coverage of this trial to learn the details as to why Fox is contesting the ownership of the film, but right now it’s suffice to say that after WB has spent upwards of $150 million dollars to make Watchmen, Fox is now in a legal position where it stands to claim financial compensation for the film.

Judge Feess’ early ruling, as well as the mention that he would proceed with a trial in January over the Watchmen ownership rights, wasn’t the kind of X-Mas eve news Warners wanted to hear. After the Christmas holidays were over, yesterday Warners released a brief statement on their current position with the lawsuit. “We respectfully but vigorously disagree with the court’s ruling and are exploring all of our appellate options,” the studio said in its release. “We continue to believe that Fox’s claims have no merit and that we will ultimately prevail, whether at trial or in the Court of Appeals.”

Fox quickly countered with its own statement. “We are gratified by the recognition of our rights in the Judge’s order, which speaks for itself,” read the studio’s response.

Here’s my take on what this means, right now: Feess has given Fox a strong foothold to go on the attack and gain some kind of money from the creation of the Watchmen movie. Warners is concerned but I’m guessing that nothing short of an unprecedented ruling issuing Fox complete ownership of the movie — and that’s not going to happen — would delay the studio from releasing Watchmen on 03.06.09. The best case result would be Fox and WB settling out of court, but judging from the way Fox has been handling this case and after the disastrous box office year it’s had in 2008 (Marley and Me’s $53 million dollar opening weekend notwithstanding), the company is placing itself in a position where it wants to see this case all the way through.

The case will now advance to a trial by jury starting January 20.

Less talk. Here it is:

On the 6th of every month the people running the official Watchmen movie website release another behind-the-scenes video showing us another slice of how they made the movie. For December we have the opportunity to look at some of the film’s more important props as well as “easter eggs”, fleetingly short scenes or even solitary items positioned in a scene that fans of the Watchmen graphic novel will ID.

If you’ve read Watchmen then you know that there is no shortage of places where the Watchmen filmmakers can embed these easter eggs. From the old newspaper headlines framed on the walls in The Comedian’s apartment to the fake magazine covers on the newsstand outside the Institute for Interspacial Studies, these tiny nods to the fans are scattered in abundance throughout Zack Snyder’s movie.

Another facet that’s covered in the latest video journal is the grappling gun of Rorschach, the masked vigilante who’s Watchmen’s equivalent to Batman. You get to see how Snyder pulled off Rorschach pulling himself the three or so dozen stories to Comedian’s broken apartment window.

Go here to watch the latest Watchmen video journal and then click what format is your favorite.

Deborah Snyder, producer and wife of Director Zack Snyder, spoke to Sci Fi Wire about the running time of Watchmen:

“We’re getting really close,” producer Deborah Snyder said in a telephone interview on Nov. 18. “We’re at two hours and 35 minutes.”

Director Zack Snyder added: “The movie’s pretty long … compared to 300, which was an hour and 58 minutes. The director’s cut [of Watchmen] is about three hours and 10 minutes long. It has even more than the theatrical version, as far as the detail that gets even closer to the graphic novel.” [more at source]

For more on Watchmen check out the official MovieSet sitelet for the film.

Set for release on March 6, 2009, Watchmen is based on the most critically hailed and best-selling graphic novel of all time. It’s set in an alternate 1985 where costumed superheroes exist but have been outlawed, the most powerful human being is a blue-skinned American with godlike powers and the world is on the precipice of nuclear obliteration — and then someone starts to kill off the heroes. It’s a fantastic book and director Zack Snyder seems to have nailed the look of it. But will it be faithful to the comic?

Behold the second trailer and judge for yourself:

If you want to compare this latest trailer to the first one release this past summer, hit MovieSet’s Watchmen sitelet.

Yesterday 6 new character posters were released to various news organizations and come to you here at MovieSet via movieposteraddict.com.

Check out Dr. Manhattan (not a member of the Blue Man Group) below with more after the jump:

Not sure why, but the last one is my favorite.

Three upcoming 2009 releases had new material shown during the broadcast: Watchmen, the remake of Friday the 13th and Twilight. And by God, I’m going to show them to you because that’s how I roll.

First up, Watchmen. There’s a few new nice moments in this footage including one of Rorschach leaping up into The Comedian’s apartment, Dr. Manhattan dissassembling a tank using his powers and Nite-Owl and Silk Spectre kissing while a nuclear bomb goes off in the background. Director Zack Snyder certainly seems to be following almost exactly to the comic book’s imagery:

Next comes the first real footage from Friday the 13th. If you know your Jason Voorhees then you’ll probably find that the only real difference between the old F13th and this new one is that Jason now can move fast, which in my opinion ain’t a sacriligious thing to do.

And bringing up the rear is Twilight. Again, some new stuff intermixed with footage we’ve already seen from the trailer:

I’ve been reading reports on various movie websites about a special screening that took place last night on the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles for Watchmen. In attendance was the film’s director, Zack Snyder, to introduce the 25 minutes of early footage. And the good news is that the reports across the web by my fellow online collegues are very positive and surprise, surprise, Watchmen might just turn out to be a great movie experience.

The first footage seen contained the first 5 or so minutes from the start of the movie. The story kicks off with the murder of a 60-year-old man in his New York apartment. This dude is The Comedian, one of this world’s costumed superheroes, and in his case I mean an assassin on the government payroll. After an unknown intruder breaks into The Comedian’s apartment and a fistfight breaks out, the Comedian is tossed by his assailant out through one of his apartment’s windows to his death on the street below.

Then the film kicks into the opening title sequence and we catch up with 50 years of alternative history, a what if montage of visuals showing what may have happened if superheroes existed. This sequence wowed those that saw it and it should open the concept to the average person who hasn’t been previously exposed to the ideas of Watchmen in its original comic book format.

Next came a sequence showing the blue-skinned character of Dr. Manhattan (played by Billy Crudup) as he sits naked on Mars reflecting on his origin as the world’s most powerful being. If I’m messing up your head by saying this guy is blue and on Mars, don’t sweat it, it’ll all make sense when you see the movie.

The last sequence showed two of the heroes breaking out one of their friends from prison. Nite Owl and Silk Spectre (Patrick Wilson and Malin Akerman) are running through the prison fighting off convicts and trying to make their way to Rorscharch (Jackie Earle Haley). I was there on the set last year when they filmed these scenes and I saw the actors wearing their superhero costumes and punching stuntmen. Every bit of what I saw looked awesome and I’m jealous as hell that the peeps in L.A. got to see what the finished product looked like.

Barring any fallout from the lawsuit launched by 20th Century Fox against Warner Bros., Watchmen is set for a March 6, 2009 opening. I’ll be there opening night.

Warner Bros. has been doing a terrific job of building up anticipation for its superhero movie to end all superhero movies, Watchmen, by releasing regular video journals showing us behind-the-scenes footage from the production. The sixth and latest journal doesn’t disappoint either. Director of Photography Larry Fong explains how he filmed Watchmen and how its approach to a serious storytelling of superheroes lent itself to a one-camera production.

Along the way we have interviews with producer Deborah Snyder and director Zack Snyder as well as quick glimpses of the Batman-esque hero Rorscharch breaking some fingers to get information as well as the motion capture suit that Billy Crudup wore to achieve the CGI blue-skinned superman, Dr. Manhattan. It’s cool stuff kiddies so watch and count the days down until March 6, 2009.

Already film industry bloggers like Nikki Finke have begun wild speculation over what this will mean. Realistically, I can’t see it mattering to a hill of beans for any of us. Watchmen the movie will get released on March 6, 2009 regardless of the Fox lawsuit. The wheels in motion now for the movie’s publicity and hype machine cannot be stopped now and Fox knows it. The best that they can hope for is for Warners’ lawyers to try and buy out their interest in the movie, essentially go away money. That’s what I’m guessing will happen. Fox may hum and haw over the dollar figure but in the end the hype machine is also working against them too. Can you imagine the backlash that Fox would face from fanboys if the release of Watchmen were delayed due to their legal claims (which haven’t as yet been determined)?If Fox thought that it was having a lousy summer with bombs like X-Files 2 and Meet Dave, let’s see how they fare when a legion of Watchmen fans get upset and decide to take it out online.

Mark my words: some money will change hands but in the end it will be Warners that stands to reap the success of Watchmen.

Kevin Smith has seen Watchmen and apparently he likes it – a lot. At least that’s what I gather from his review:

I saw “Watchmen.” It’s f***ing astounding. The Non-Disclosure Agreement I signed prevents me from saying much, but I can spout the following with complete joygasmic enthusiasm: Snyder and Co. have pulled it off.

Remember that feeling of watching “Sin City” on the big screen and
being blown away by what a faithful translation of the source material
it was, in terms of both content and visuals? Triple that, and you’ll
come close to watching “Watchmen.” Even Alan Moore might be surprised
at how close the movie is to the book. March can’t come soon enough. [source silentbobspeaks.com]

Even though Smith has been called a comic book movie fanboy he hasn’t let me down yet. We’ll take this early review as an even bigger reason to see the film. Personally, I have yet to read the graphic novel, something I’m shamed continuously about by Patrick. So much so I begged my wife for a copy for my birthday a few weeks ago. She got it for me, I just haven’t read it yet. Here’s a picture I just took of it with my handy dandy iPhone:

Perhaps I’ll put down the World of Warcraft and pick up the book this weekend…  Oh my God, I’m a nerd.

For more Watchmen content check out the official MovieSet sitelet for the film.

Watchmen takes place in a world almost like our own but where some vigilantes decided to dress up in costumes and fight criminals on their own. One, the blue-skinned Dr. Manhattan, was created as the result of a bizarre scientific mistake and has become the world’s most powerful being. But the genius in the Watchmen story is that rather than focus solely on the fights, the political and social ramifications of the presense of these superheroes causes huge ripples in civilization. What would have happened to 60 years of Cold War history if America had a superhero that could turn all of the Soviet Union missiles into nothingness in the blink of an eye? Watchmen elevates the superhero genre into a serious piece of drama with its plausible depiction of a world on the brink of nuclear armageddon and what it would take to pull us back from the brink of extinction.

It doesn’t matter if you’re already a fan of Watchmen or if this is your first exposure to it, come visit MovieSet’s Watchmen page and watch the new trailer, then check out the photos of the cast and sets. Watchmen arrives in theaters next March.