More news on the Watchmen case, and an observation.

Despite having been paid $320,000 to pass up their rights to Watchmen way back in 1991, 20th Century Fox are still pressing ahead with legal proceedings on the Watchmen dispute. The whole mess is set to get just that little bit uglier, with Universal also becoming embroiled in the mess because one of the producers of Watchmen, Lawrence Gordon, tried to shop the project there too. Those discussions took place with, it is claimed, “Fox’s express knowledge.” According to Fox's lawyers it’s because Gordon failed to keep Fox in the loop on these later negotiations that they are pursuing the claim. That’s how it reads in the New York Times, anyway. You might want to take expert legal advice before quoting me on that though, because from where I sit, that appears to make no sense at all.

Variety are reporting this morning that the trial is set for January 6, 2009. That’s worryingly close to Watchmen’s projected March release date. Warners seem as confident of success as Fox, so one assumes that post-production work on the superhero epic will continue through these dark, uncertain times.

On a brighter note - I was skimming through my rather beaten-up Watchmen trade paperback last week, thinking about how various shots in Zack Snyder’s ‘super-trailer’ married up with Dave Gibbons’s original frames from the book and something struck me that I’m surprised not to have seen anywhere before.

Look at the real names of the main characters, the remains of the Crimebusters: Dan Drieberg (Nite Owl), Sally Juspeczyk (Silk Spectre), Jon Osterman (Dr.Manhattan), Adrian Viedt (Ozymandias) and Walter Kovacs (Rorschach). Notice anything? Compare with the secret identities of the Justice League of America: Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Barry Allen, John Jones, Diana Prince, Hal Jordan, Oliver Queen, Arthur Curry, Carter Hall. Have you ever heard a WASPier bunch of names? By contrast Alan Moore has (with the notable exception of the thoroughly dislikeable Comedian) honoured the polyglot melting pot culture that makes America such an interesting place. In the Justice League, even the people from a different planet sound like Ivy League lettermen. It’s a small thing, I know, but it’s nice to just geek out for a minute to take our minds off the circling jackals of the legal system, now isn’t it?