If you’re someone like Nicholas Reed, you know all about the upcoming Warner Bros. movie Watchmen, directed by Zack Snyder and based on Alan Moore’s famously awesome comic book, and scheduled for release on March 6, 2009. If you’re like Nicholas Reed (and I’m only picking on you because you have near-daily tweets on the watchmen), you will know that last year, after filming wrapped, 20th Century Fox decided to bring down a lawsuit on the Dub, stating that they had the film rights to the Watchmen comic; they were acquired in 1986. If you’re Nicholas Reed, you want everyone to listen to your bands. But I digress.
How exactly this big gaping hole got missed by any of the execs at WB boggles me, because it’s in plain lettering that Fox did acquire the film rights back in the 80′s and WB shouldn’t really be making this movie. But then again, why Fox decided to wait until after Warner finished filming to file the—oh wait. I forgot, money’s involved somehow. Fox didn’t have to actually create the movie and now they’re contending that they, at the very least, have the right to distribute this film awesomeness ‘splosion. I mean, anyone who’s really into comics is looking forward to this, and that number is [shockingly] growing, so this movie will make a killing at the box office. And that’s all they really want. All the returns with the least investment.
The biggest wrinkle in the saga is that now the movie probably won’t even make its March 6 release, while the fate of the Watchmen hangs dubiously in the hands of the law. People are really mad. Some stay hopeful, and according to the LA Times, Warner Bros’ dukes are still up.
And the saddest thing is, all of the people who really want to see the movie are just stuck in a waiting game. And all we really want to do is enjoy a movie. And all they ask is that Fox and WB put aside their slings and arrows and let the movie release.
We humbly request, please?
This has become, as I thought when the whole Fox thing first came up, a gigantic pissing contest. Whoever blinks first loses, etc. This movie will be coming out on March 6th, I can pretty much guarantee that. The only question is whether Fox’s logo will be prominent at the beginning of the film or not. They stand to gain NOTHING by delaying the opening, because all that will do is piss off about half the people who want to see it, and god help them if they block the release entirely. S’practically throwing money away.
Then again, this is Fox we’re talking about, and that studio has made nothing but terrible decisions in almost every facet of their movie division for the past few years, so… who knows?
I have a feeling Fox has no problem pissing off the general moviegoing population. And that sure sucks because that just means we are stuck waiting.
I hope you are right. I do not want to wait until whenever to see the movie.
Thing is, pissing off the people means less people see the movie, means they make less money, regardless of who releases it. There’s been a lot of hype and anticipation over this film, much of it by people who have NO IDEA what Watchmen is or what it means. If it’s delayed, or god-forbid shelved in favor of Fox making it’s own (which will undoubtedly be tinkered with more, as that is how Fox rolls apparently), the audience will lose interest and not show up. They HAVE to know this.
Because if they don’t, that means Fox… is pretty much everything everyone says they are. And despite all evidence of such, I don’t think any studio is dumb enough to throw money away over a grudge.