WatchmenComicMovie.com Forum

DC Comics tries to trade Watchmen rights for writer's permission to milk franchise.
http://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/072110-watchmen-rights-alan-moore.php

Finally a main site news update. Sorry it had to be this...

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Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music - George Carlin

I can't believe how people can be so sleazy sometimes

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It's upsetting, if understandable, that DC and Warners are still trying to milk the Watchmen franchise. But I find the rest of the story rather comforting. Trying to settle a twenty-year-old feud is a pretty drastic step for DC to take, after all. They wouldn't have bothered if they thought they could hire someone else without getting crucified for it.

Of course, we must also consider Dave Gibbons, who has explicitly stated on multiple occasions that he'd want to "leave well enough alone" in regard to Watchmen. Now that DC has been reminded that their bridge with Moore is still burned, will they want to risk burning another one?

I'd be very surprised if this new rejection hasn't put DC on notice, especially now that word about it has gotten out. If they were treading on eggshells about the Watchmen franchise before, just imagine how cautious they're going to be now.

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This is truly a madhouse. And I'm the lunatic running it. I've spent three years wondering if I should be proud or ashamed.

I'd always thought that one positive thing about the film's disappointing box office was that we wouldn't have to worry about this kind of milking. --SIGH--

It pains me to read about Alan Moore having a lot of unpleasant memories connected to Watchmen. I have a lot of respect for him for putting his money where his mouth is and turning down the offer. He didn't even accept any money from the movie. Gotta respect that. He's a true artist.

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"Computer unnecessary."

Indeed, despite Glycon and his John Constantine wannabeing

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I gotta admit Moore really is an artist turning down money for rights to Watchmen. Watchmen is a perfect story all on its own if they milk it anyway, they would be completely missing the point on why it was awesome in the first place. We already have a mess in sueprheor comics already, we don't need that to be on Watchmen.

Matt Fraction's twitter page has a few humorous thoughts on the subject...

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Wow.
Currently reading an interview in which Moore goes into stunning depth about DC and his relationship with Dave Gibbons. It's fascinating, and kind of heart-breaking:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/09/09/ ... tantimedh/

Personally I find it hard to believe that Gibbons would allow DC and WB to use him as a pawn to get at Moore. He was so nice to me, a random guy from the internet, that I seriously doubt he'd do anything to put his friendship with Alan on the line. Maybe he was trying to do Alan a good thing. Maybe DC/WB aren't the total bad guys they're made out to be, and maybe they were offering Moore the rights and/or a significant amount of money because they felt morally obliged to, not legally.
Still, it's thoroughly interesting stuff.

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Thanks for sharing, AYB.

I'm really not sure what to make of all this. I'd be interested to hear the other side of the story from DC or Uncle Dave.

It's not exactly a secret that Alan Moore has been horribly treated by DC and Hollywood, but I wonder how much of that is on them and how much is on him. Did DC approach Steve Moore out of manipulation and spite or was it because they knew he was friends with Alan and could thus be trusted to adapt Watchmen respectfully, with minimal fan outcry? Is it hypocritical to claim apathy regarding a certain project and then demand to be thanked for donating the royalties from it? Would this whole thing have gone more easily if Alan just got with the times and started playing ball? Would that be a game worth playing for him?

To me, this all adds up to a man who got way more than he bargained for. I don't think he was or is capable of mentally or emotionally coping with the success that Watchmen attained or what success really means in this day and age. It's also interesting to note how his first response to any conflict is apparently to distance himself from it entirely, going so far as to disavow all of his friends who are currently working at DC.

The long and short of it is that Alan Moore wants to be left alone so he can continue writing great works of art in peace. Unfortunately, to paraphrase Emerson, "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door." Whether you like it or not.

Or, to put it much more succinctly, "I don't mind being the smartest man in the world. I just wish it wasn't this one."

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This is truly a madhouse. And I'm the lunatic running it. I've spent three years wondering if I should be proud or ashamed.

A possible scenario/factor is the similar name. I'm sure there are loads of people who've read Alan's name in a magazine like Entertainment Weekly but can only faintly recall it, so seeing a novel called WATCHMEN by a man called Moore would make them think it was the original, perhaps.
At any rate I seriously doubt they'd use a dying man as a bargaining chip. That's how Alan perceives it, so for him that's the reality, but I don't think Dave or anyone else would agree. Would be interesting to see what Steve Moore himself has to say.

One thing I definitely take issue with is how Alan has seemed to obsess over an off-hand comment that just happened to be relayed to him. He admits that Dave just happened to say it, it wasn't meant for him. And yet he keeps on coming back to it as if it was.

I really feel sorry for Dave, stuck in the middle of all this.

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Interesting read. Moore wanting (or maybe expecting) Gibbons to call him and thank him for the money comes off as being a bit petty.

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