The rumors surrounding Watchmen began even before shooting did, most of which centered on what might become of the book's ending. If you haven't read it, I won't spoil it for you (though you need to go out and buy a copy right now), but suffice to say, it's pretty dark. It's so dark that every fan is convinced it's unfilmable -- and certainly, the leaked scripts suggested that many scriptwriters felt the same way.The rumors persist despite several reports to the contrary (including one from an extra that leaked months ago), but now Patrick Wilson is setting the record straight. He talked to the MTV Movies Blog and literally laughed off rumors that the film has a happy ending. "Ha! I have to say, if you know how much Zack believes in it, you wouldn't believe he would go that far from the graphic novel. I don't know how those rumors start, but that'd be a stretch!"
The only scary part is that it is up to the studio to decide what to cut out of the film -- but even if crucial character bits land on the cutting room floor, Wilson explains that they tried to smash the detail in wherever they could. They've added "little lines here and there" to flesh out the character's backstories, as things have been cut by sheer necessity. And hey, the little details are what the book is for. It's the essentials, like that jaw-dropper of an ending, that have to stick to the page.
Watchmen opens March 6th, 2009.
1. That's good to know. I'm happy to hear that, for now. I mean, like you said, the studio is able to put cuts and stuff into the movie.
Posted at 4:24PM on Jul 17th 2008 by V.M.L.