Today CNN.com asks, “Will anyone watch the ‘Watchmen’?” Answer: Not-so-friendly partners Warner Bros. and Fox hope so. They’ve got a $100M+ bill to pay, and they’re betting your bladder will hold out for 160 minutes. But while I can’t imagine everyone wanting to run out and buy their kids Veidt or Rorschach action figures — or pirate comics — I also can’t picture empty theaters come March 6th.
As GWC listeners already know, Watchmen isn’t something that I read regularly for fun. It’s a great piece of work, summed up brilliantly by Dr. Manhattan-for-a-new-generation Billy Crudup in today’s CNN piece: “‘Watchmen’ is a kind of thrilling thought experiment. What would people who dress up in costumes to fight crime actually be like? Well, they’d probably be fetishists who lived on the fringe of society. They’d all be a bunch of freaking lunatics.”
And that they are. Unlike most superhero stories which embue ordinary people with extraordinary powers in order to help us explore what it means to be valiant and heroic — and the price one pays for such deeds — Watchmen plumbs the depths of humanity (and some might say beyond), showing us the nastiness that we all know lies just beneath the surface of government, politics, law, and order. Viewed without the goggles of faith we don for Batman, non-powered superheroes become simply “costumed vigilantes” who do bad things for (sometimes) good reasons. And powered superheroes lose touch with their humanity, becoming the indifferent Gods their power makes them.
I’ve said many times that I might not see Watchmen if for no other reason than the fact that after reading the graphic novel I was depressed for a number of months. But of course as it approaches, I feel like I’m driving past a grisly car accident. We all want to speed up and pass it by because we know we’ll be worse off for seeing what’s there.
But we all take a look.
For what it’s worth, I think that take on the movie would make Alan Moore happy.
Will Anyone Watch The ‘Watchmen’? [CNN.com/EW]
Fable II, after the fateful day in the spire and the defeat of Lucien, is quite entertaining. I really didn’t think it was going to be. After all what can one actually accomplish after saving the world and defeating the most evil man in the land? As it turns out there’s some badass left to the game yet. There’s even one item that makes playing without a dog at your side almost worth it. I’m not kidding.
My quest to vanquish the storyline in Fable II was achieved last night. Lionheart (my character) was proclaimed “Hero” throughout the land and the forces of evil were turned back from the path of ultimate doom. Yes, it is quite a tale but that’s not the story I wish to tell you.
As you can see Lionheart is brave and fearsome however it was not she who saved the land. Yes songs were sung and statues erected in her honor – it was not this hero that summoned the courage to lift Albion out of its fog of despair.
This is the face of the hero I speak of, seen here with his trusty companion Lionheart. As with many stories what actually happened was a little different than the bards sing it. No statues of Old Smeller stand to his bravery. No children dance about chanting his name as if it were a ward against evil. No, he is simply forgotten. Even though it was he who gave his life for the world that it might live – not Lionheart.
I tell you this not as a spoiler, for your quest will be different than mine. Each must follow his own path as is the Fable way.
It is just a reminder that when the fate of humanity hangs by a gossamer thread above the fire of damnation itself – there is no greater champion than the strength of a dog’s heart.
Old Smeller 12/25/08 – 01/04/09
He lived a lifetime in a few days but left everyone he met better for having known him. You are the truest friend to us all.
You will be missed.
We’re watchin’ X-Men 2 (Electric Boogaloo) this week! Highlights: we talk free-will vs. suffering, question Xavier’s motives in building cerebro, address some Wolverine morality and Professor X-isn’t-a-dick carry-overs from last week, hate on Stryker, love on Iceman, enjoy our momentary hope for a “fastball special” when Colossus and Wolverine meet in the hall in X2, speculate on Mystique’s mass-simulation limitations, compare Wolverine’s warning to Pyro to waking up after a night of partying with Tara Reid, and take lots of listener calls.
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Whether you love or hate the voice of Sendhil Ramamurthy — the actor who plays Mohinder and laid down the introductory voice-over throughout the first two season of Heroes — you may hear a new voice in season three: that of “an Australian Aboriginal actor in his fifties.” BuddyTV reported last week that series creator Tim Kring is said to be seeking such an actor “to appear in multiple episodes as a storyteller with great wisdom and a soft, soothing voice.”
BuddyTV also floated rumors that NBC may bless the third installment of Heroes with upwards of thirty episodes. One thing’s certain, though: Heroes will return September 15th.
Crown, a unit of Random House, paid a reported $3 million up front for a forthcoming “alternate history trilogy” to be authored by Heroes creator Tim Kring and writing partner Dale Peck. The New York Observer reports that an “industry source” told them “the book is set in America and runs from the 1960s to the near future. The protagonist is a man named Chandler Forrest whose participation in LSD experiences administered by the CIA has given him superpowers.”
It seems Crown bought the trilogy based solely upon a 25-page treatment and “what was described as a video trailer that editors had to log on to a web site to see.”
(Thanks to drustar for the great CC-licensed photo.)
Tim Kring/Dale Peck Trilogy Sold To Crown For $3 Million [NY Observer]
As reported by the Associated Press (and all ’round the ‘net), Gary Gygax passed on this morning. He was 69, and is survived by a large family. This is where most writers would insert either a humorous bit of RPG-speak or relate their own D&D-playing-teenager experience, I’ll just state the obvious:
Gygax indirectly affected my life and millions of others in a positive way.
If you have a moment or two, maybe you can share a little about how he affected your life in comments.
(Thanks, tanstaafl!)
Update: Blogger and all-round good guy Wil Wheaton put a post out setting Gygax’s life in context. Don’t miss the excerpt from Wheaton’s book detailing his introduction to the world dice-and-paper RPGs.
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