From Printed Page To Silver Screen #4

Welcome Geniuses, one and all, to another edition of Printed Page to Silver Screen. I know I’ve had a bit of a lengthy hiatus and I do apologise but we will dive right back into the thick of things. There have been a few rumours surfacing and some hot Watchmen footage. The next big release is ‘The Spirit’ and we’ll touch on that in this edition also.

I would like to start with something that Kingdom touched on in episode 7 of the HGC and that is Watchmen and the footage that has been released. For this of you that missed the Scream awards footage or just want to see it again I’ve stuck the video below.



Firstly I’d like to say that this film looks frickin awesome!! However with the rumours of the change to the ending and the way some of it has been filmed, like Rorschach’s movements and Nite Owl’s ability to leap from his aircraft. I am getting slightly worried about how closely they are sticking to the comic. These guys are not supposed to have any real powers yet Both Rorschach and Nite Owl seemed able to leap and run like I expected only Ozymandias to be able to do.

One of the Major rumours to surface of the last couple of weeks and something that was touched on in episode 8 of the HGC is Mark Miller’s (Wanted and Kick-Ass) idea for another Superman reboot. He has said that ‘The Dark Knight’ has shown that a superhero movie can be done with a serious and gritty take and he wants to do the same for Superman. His idea is to do an 8 hour epic split over three films, much like Lord of the Rings.

Straight away that gets me thinking that if they can’t even get a 2hr film right what the hell would an 8hr epic be like, shouldn’t they just concentrate on getting the basics then develop it from there? However I did read the interview with Miller and his idea seems kind of interesting.

"I want to start on Krypton, a thousand years ago, and end with Superman alone on Planet Earth, the last being left on the planet, as the yellow sun turns red and starts to supernova, and he loses his powers."

This leaves so much scope to work with but is that too much scope? Even with 8hrs could he really do it justice? I have my doubts. What do you think my fellow Geniuses? Now from one DC legend to another or more precisely a Vertigo one

Jesse Custer, Preacher. Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition and Jarhead) had been attached to direct. Careful thought needs to go into this. They almost made a T.V series of Preach but it was put into turn around and View Askew only made it to the casting stage but was tagged with a $25 million budget. Hopefully they won’t try to squeeze the whole thing into a single movie and they will give the characters their due attention but it’s Hollywood so you never know!

Who would you cast as Preacher, Cassidy or Tulip? I know that James Marsden (Cyclops) was attached to the View Askew production to play the lead, I personally hate that idea but id like to hear your suggestions on who should be in these roles.

And finally, The Spirit. With Miller’s adaptation coming next month I’ve done a fair bit of reading on the character, who I have to admit I had never read until news of the movie being made and again I’m not sure about some of the changes they have made for instance they are letting us see the Octopus. I will cover the film in detail when it is released this side of the pond but for those of you who can’t wait her are a couple of trailers.