Watchmen: New footage, same old problems

First, the good news: Warners have released a new Watchmen featurette with director Zack Snyder introducing the main players in everybody’s favourite parallel universe superhero apocalypse drama. Check it out here:

Now, the bad: The legal proceedings between Warners and rival studio Fox, who also claim to own the rights for the original Watchmen story, show no sign of cooling off. The New York Times is reporting that the whole affair seems to have devolved into a playground spat between the two entertainment giants. On the one hand Fox are of course a sister company to The Times and I would hate to see my colleagues defeated, on the other hand I know that Warners’ Watchmen movie  is more or less finished and I am positively aching to see it.

 Common sense suggests that the two parties will reach some sort of accommodation that preserves Watchmen’s rapidly-approaching March release date. Having said that, he current financial crisis might discourage Warners from splashing out a generous cash settlement to purchase rights that they believe they already own. If the March deadline is missed, a new slot would have to be found in distributions schedules and that’s not always easy. If you’re looking for a silver lining, the lawyers win either way.

 
Below is the Japanese trailer for Watchmen, which features some new snippets you won't have seen from the English-language versions:  Treasure these clips , if talks break down they’ll be your only chance at on-screen Watchmen action for quite some time.

Bonus: Manga Watchmen drawings that you'll never, ever understand...

EDIT: A resolution to the Fox case?

Comments

[Hy]

There are actually two old problems: the wrangling between Fox and Warner Bros., and the old problem of race discrimination. In all of the clips and trailers I've seen of the movie, there have been no non-White faces that I could see. Even in a scene where there's some kind of serious altercation in a prison, zero non-White faces. What kind of alternate America is that? Ronald Reagan's?

[Denis]

It looks far far too clean.

[Evan]

No non-whites? Read the book. There are two entire story arcs featuring black people.

[Allan Cavanagh]

The legal wrangle will give Snyder time to take out the references to Watchmen as the name of the aborted group and dub Crimebusters in instead.

[James Simm]

@ Hy

hahaha nice comment!! i really like the bit where you say that even in prison there are no non white faces implying that prison is only full of non whites!! so basicly dude you sound rascist yourself!!! haha idiot

I love when people read to hard into things and then completely make a fool of themselfs with stupid comments!!

[Giles Stafford]

@ James Simm

You know what I hate James? People who fail to make their points in a polite manner. It's quite easy to point out other peoples 'mistakes' in a more diplomatic way without resorting to calling individuals you don't know 'idiots' or 'stupid'. you may run the risk of coming across a little smug and childish. Hy posted a valid point but may have delivered it badly, that's all.

[Dude]

"Even in a scene where there's some kind of serious altercation in a prison, zero non-White faces. What kind of alternate America is that? Ronald Reagan's?"

No black people in prison?Sounds like the very definition of an alternate America.

[James Simm]

@ Giles Stafford

okay Giles your right i could have been more polite and diplomatic and i am sorry i was not! but the comment made by HY was ridiculous and for you to say it is a vaild point is also ridiculous as he said he is baseing this view on only the clips or trailers he has seen!

So why tanish the film with the racist brush at least wait until you have seen the film where you can be sure of your facts!! also if the film does not contain many other ethnic groups does that make it racist ?? If this is the case does that mean Boyz 'N the Hood is racist??

[Beast]

In the arts section of todays times (09-01-09)Watchmen was refered to as "Frank Miller" graphic novel. Why do people assume that if its a graphic novel that Frank Miller wrote it? Someone even tried to tell me today the Miller directed 300. What is the worlds obsession with the man?

[DaTruth 82]

Both HY and James have valid points:

1. Comic books are notorious for 'whitewashing' the worlds in which their characters exist.

2. HY clearly wasn't implying that jail is the one locale in which you'd expect to particularly find black people. Large prisons by their very definition hold a large populace. By default, even if there are no black Watchmen, at least one person within a large prison would be of color.

3. For the Boyz in Da Hood reference: its depiction was realistic, not racist.

While there simply is not a high white population in south central LA, it is absolutely inconceivable to believe that there would be no people of color within an entire city; especially one as diverse as New York.

I love super hero and comic book movies to pieces, but I never go into them with the expectation to see anyone with a brown face - unless they're the token brown person of the movie.

That's just the reality of the world in which we live.

[TMK]

"What kind of alternate America is that? Ronald Reagan's?"

Close enough ... Nixon's.

[Mark]

Hy: It's not that there is no black people around: But they play a less dynamically dramatic, more moving role. They're too important story-wise to throw around in the trailer, and too emotive to do any of the action-y stuff that they'd want to show.

You presented your point quite reasonably, and did not deserve the response you got.

[wrighty]

I'm a long-time affic.....afic....fan ;) of the novel (bought it when it arrived....there was hype then too....got mine signed by messrs Gibb and Moore :) ) and the clips look fabulous, everything that was promised.....for once, God's speed to the lawyers for a speedy resolution!!

[Mr. Ree]

I noticed that the Japanese trailer showed very little of Dr. Manhattan. Perhaps that name is a sore spot for the Japanese? If so, will the character's name be changed in the Japanese release of the film?