Category: Fanboy

Keep a Keene Eye on Things.



Speaking of public service announcements, and in keeping with the Cronkite-era Dr. Manhattan report of a few weeks ago, the Watchmen powers-that-be offer up The Keene Act and YOU, a 1977 government safety video on the predatory costumed vigilantes in our midst. To be honest, I like the idea better than the execution, but good on them for tryin’.

Zack vs. the Calamari.

“I think I just have a natural operatic aesthetic. I can’t help it. People have said to me, when they talk about the graphic novel, about how it’s gritty and real, and I always go, ‘Yeah, you realize also though that a lot of that book takes place on Mars.'” By way of a friend, Watchmen director Zack Snyder talks with the NYT about the recent lawsuit, the challenges of adaptation, The Dark Knight, Alan Moore, transient cephalopods, and other matters. (I’d really skip this one if you haven’t read the book and want to go in unspoiled.) “In the end, all I would hope is that geek culture, this movie gives geek culture a little bit of cred.“

Also, for the record, I could honestly care less about the lack-of-squid issue that’s riled up the purists. The squid was a means to an end (and a riff on the wildy convoluted Dr. Evil-ish plots and goofy villains like Starro one tends to find in Golden Age comics), not the actual point of the graphic novel. In fact, I’d say the absent Scouring of the Shire from PJ’s LotR trilogy is a much more glaring omission, in terms of changing the actual meaning of the story…and those turned out ok, didn’t they?

Crom, Rahm, Zom, (Info)com.

Some fun links by way of other quality blogs:

  • “‘Wonder Woman? That’s not even Marvel,’ Obama responded before storming out of the press room. ‘Who are you people?‘” According to the venerable newshounds of The Onion, purported fanboy Barack Obama is apparently having trouble relating to his new cabinet. [Via LinkMachineGo.] “Added the president, “For the love of Crom, am I the only one here who wants to keep the U.S. technologically competitive?’“

    I found this exchange particularly funny: “Gates told reporters he may have gotten off on the wrong foot with the new president, citing an occasion when Obama asked him what he knew about 1984’s Secret Wars, a 12-issue limited Marvel release. Gates then handed a visibly confused Obama 1,400 classified pages on covert CIA operations in El Salvador. Later, the defense secretary attempted to find common ground with Obama by making casual references to the comic book Spawn. But the 44th president reportedly brushed him off with an abrupt laugh, saying, ‘no one in [his] administration likes Spawn.‘”

    Well, sorry to hear of the dilemma, Mr. President. Perhaps (*cough cough*) hiring some progressive-minded fanboys (fanboy-minded progressives?) might’ve alleviated the situation…

  • “The electronic signs, which usually warn motorists of traffic detours, instead included warnings such as ‘Caution! Zombies Ahead!’ and ‘Nazi Zombies! Run!!!’” By way of Liam at sententiae et clamores, some enterprising Austin wags hack the local road signs in preparation for World War Z. “The signs also instructed motorists to ‘run for cold climates.’” Well-played, y’all.

  • “You are standing in a nightclub. There is a guitar here.” Also via LMG, check out the original version of Guitar Hero from 1982. (Yes, text–adventure humor will always get some love here at GitM.)

    • Bell Tolls for Tintin. | Unicorn Rising.


    Word comes down today that (as rumored way back in 2004) Jamie Bell will replace Thomas Sangster as Tintin, and Daniel Craig will play the fearsome Red Rackham, in Steven Spielberg’s forthcoming The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, first of the planned mo-cap trilogy. Moreover, Shaun of the Dead scribe Edgar Wright has given Stephen Moffat’s script a polish. (As reported earlier, Andy Serkis is Captain Haddock and Wright’s usual brothers-in-arms are Thomson and Thompson respectively.)

    Hmm. With Spielberg’s first film likely covering Unicorn and Rackham, I wonder if PJ’s contribution will involve Destination Moon/Explorers on the Moon or The Seven Crystal Balls/Prisoners of the Sun. And Toby Jones is now among the cast too, it seems…Professor Calculus?

    Why So Sockious?

    “Did I ever tell you how i got these sock-monkeys?” I guess this post probably isn’t in my best interest, as y’all will just further diminish my slim chances of scoring this year’s exceedingly cool victory swag, but nevertheless: Web Goddess’s annual Oscar contest is now live, and check out this year’s prizes! Huzzah to Kris on this pair of Gotham’s finest. (It’s just too my bad my grim view of Slumdog will probably kill my entry this year.)

    King of Kings.

    “It doesn’t take a genius to see the world has problems. We can do so much more. We can save this world…with the right leadership.” If you haven’t been by there recently, the official site for Zack Snyder’s Watchmen has added extensive quotes and mini-trailers for each of the main characters. It’s particularly good to see/hear more of Ozymandias — Except perhaps Doc Manhattan, Matthew Goode as Veidt was the character I’ve had the most worries about.

    Also of note, Jackie Earle Haley’s Rorschach delivers his first journal entry (“Dog carcass in alley this morning. Tire tread on burst stomach…“), and the oft-quoted line from the trailer — “the world will look up and shout ‘save us!’” — has been restored to its original form.

    Update: The final poster is released. Bit of a cut-and-paste photoshop job, to be honest. But I suppose it’ll do until the trouble gets here.

    The Transformation is Complete.


    Not to be the skeleton at the feast during this cheery festival of bipartisanship, but I seriously doubt I was the only person out there who saw EX(!)-veep Cheney wheeled out this morning and thought of this. Sorry, Dick: Bedford Falls needed a change, and it’s George Bailey’s time now.

    Update: “The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski? The bums will always lose!” TNR’s Jonathan Chait finds another apt analogy in Jeffrey “Big” Lebowski.

    Tales of the New Frontier.

    Taking a page from all the viral shenanigans accompanying The Dark Knight, the WB marketeers recreate Rorschach’s favorite mag, the New Frontiersman, for Zack Snyder’s forthcoming Watchmen. Hrm. It doesn’t seem nearly as right-wing as I remember. Must investigate further.

    Update: As part of the site above, a March 1970 NBS news broadcast celebrates 10 years of Dr. Manhattan.

    Delivered from the Blast.

    The clock is ticking: As expected, Fox and WB have settled their dispute over Zack Snyder’s Watchmen, thus clearing the way for the March 6 release. “Fox…will emerge with an upfront cash payment that sources pegged between $5 million and $10 million…More importantly, Fox will get a gross participation in “Watchmen” that scales between 5% and 8.5%, depending on the film’s worldwide revenues. Fox also participates as a gross player in any sequels and spinoffs, sources said.“

    Sequels and spinoffs? I don’t think so…how awful would those be? Then again, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the forthcoming prequelish Watchmen: The End is Nigh Double Dragon game and, as the graphic novel predicted, the inevitable Watchmen action figures. (Archie and Bubastis sold separately.)