I think there’s nothing more to say watchmana groundbreaking 12-issue comic mini-series from the writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons This revolutionized the superhero genre and the comics industry. While the 2009 live-action adaptation was a noble attempt, it didn’t quite do justice to the source material. Fifteen years later, Warner Bros. is taking another stab at adapting the superhero epic with a new two-part animated film.
We had a chance to chat with some of the cast and crew Watchmen: Chapter 1 Includes producer/director Brandon Vietti There are also voice actors Katie Sackhoff (Silk Ghost II) and Titus Welliver (Rorschach).
Taimur Dar: During your career at Warner Bros. you have worked on some major projects, but directed an animated adaptation watchman It has to be the next level. When this opportunity comes to you, do you need to take time to think about it or do you say yes immediately?
Brandon Vietti: This was a quick “yes” for me. I’m always up for a challenge. I love the depth of the material watchman Stories, layers and complexity. I’m always looking for those layers. Anything I try to do I try to achieve as many levels and heights of complexity as possible. Every time you read it you’ll discover a new layer and something different in the background. I love that kind of craftsmanship. This is an inspiration to me. watchman Always an inspiration to me. Opportunity to adapt book into animation [was] My answer is simple because I enjoy the challenge of trying to create this level of complexity.
Dahl: I think the nature of Alan Moore as a creator cast a big shadow on him. Therefore, it is sometimes easy to forget watchman Credit goes to artist Dave Gibbons, too. Can you talk about the experience of having Gibbons work on this animated adaptation?
drive: First of all, I think he’s one of the best people I’ve ever met, and he was very helpful in our early discussions about the book and our approach to the material. [He was] Very supportive along the way. For our art team at Warner Bros. Animation and our animation studio, Studio Mir, adapting Dave’s art was a huge undertaking, but also a lot of fun. For many of us, it’s like going back to school. Dave’s art is so solid, powerful and beautiful. Many of us had to up our art game to find a way to try to replicate what he did so seemingly simply in World. watchman This book and his entire career. For many of us, going to the Dave Gibbons School while making this film was a gift.
Dahl: It’s self-evident watchman Is it a comic or something? godfather It’s to go to the cinema. It’s safe to assume that you have read or are at least familiar with watchman Before working on this project?
Katie Sackhoff: hundred percent. I went to a lot of comic book stores as a kid. I remember when Guardians first came into my hands. I remember thinking to myself, “What the hell is this?” Books like this are a game changer. As comic book fans grow older, they expect comic book content to grow older with them. That’s why this graphic novel is so successful.
Dar: Titus, as an unabashed collector of Sideshow Collectibles, I have a strong feeling that this is the case for you as well.
Titus Welliver: hundred percent. A friend of mine gave this book to me as soon as it came out. I have been a comic book collector since the 60’s. I left comics. I got a copy watchman. It completely fried my circuit board. Shortly after, that friend gave me The Dark Knight Returns. That’s when I realized the universe had completely changed. Like everyone else who loves it watchmanI place it alongside great works of literature. It happens to have great illustrations. This is very substantial. When I got the call about a role in the movie, I asked my manager, “Who is it?” [He said] “He’s wearing a mask.” I said, “They’re all wearing masks.” He said, “It’s like a painting or something.” I asked, “Is it a Rorschach test?” “He said, “Yes. Yes, that’s it. I had to stop to exhale and scream like I had just won the Miss America contest. I’m happy to be a part of it. I think the animators, producers, and director did an incredible job in rendering the book realistically.
Dahl: Because watchman It’s too dense and obviously you have to cut some things out. So I was surprised to see that you were able to incorporate the Black Freighter comics into the movie. I’d love to know what the production process for the black freighter sequence was like?
drive: This is such a beautiful texture that Moore and Gibbons brought up in the original work. We really wanted to try and deliver on that. Our writers helped us adapt thisJ. Michael Straczynskicame up with some really good ideas to integrate Black Freighter [and] How what happens in the comics echoes what happens in the story and our characters. It was fun for me to figure out a way to incorporate the visuals and even the narration of the book into the filmmaking that had a poetic resonance as we told the story.
Our comic artist is Francisco Francavilla. He does an excellent job of capturing the intent of the comic pages drawn by Dave Gibbons in the original book. But we had to adapt the page layout to fit our movie production. That’s why we brought in Francesco, who I think has a very classic comic book style that I think fits the Black Freighter material very well. We put a lot of effort into it in our art department, so when we get those nice camera close-ups on those comic book pages, you’re going to see the printed dots that you would see in comic books from the 1980s. You can see the pulp, so it feels like a real comic book experience. This is a big goal that the entire project adapts to watchman Maintain the comic book reading experience even if you’re watching an animated movie.
Dahl: An important aspect of Silk Ghost is her relationship with her mother. Does this have a deeper meaning for you now that you have a daughter yourself, Katee?
Sackhoff: I love my mother. My mother is a wonderful, strong, complex woman. I tried desperately not to be my mother. I am my mother and my father. The goal is to be a positive, not a negative. My mom always said to me, “You’ll never know how much I love you until you have kids.” It’s true. I love my children. It didn’t even occur to me that this was possible. I was consciously aware that I was going to screw her over. At some point in her life, I was going to do something that would require years of therapy. I had no idea what it was and I was trying desperately not to. I just hope she grows up and stops being compared to others. Laurie and her mother are going through something so complicated. Constantly comparing yourself to your mother, feeling uncomfortable in your own skin, and never feeling enough. and the self-fulfilling prophecy of the relationship she was in, but she didn’t feel like it was enough. It’s so tragic.
Dahl: On the surface, Rorschach appears unhinged, but he’s actually a complex, layered character. As an actor, can you find the humanity in your characters?
Welliver: He is the product of and survivor of severe mental and physical abuse and trauma. It was in this context that he developed his own form of justice. He is insane. Another reporter asked me if I thought he was crazy. I said I wouldn’t insult the character by calling him crazy. There is a profound clarity about this character. While he is “unhinged” to some extent, his compass does have a very clear direction.
Dar: Despite being set and published in the 1980s, I think it’s safe to say that watchman More relevant than ever. Did the current world landscape resonate with you during the making of this piece? watchman Animated movie?
drive: I think so. I think we all had that in mind when we were making the film. There are certainly recurring Cold War headlines in comic books that echo the headlines we see in our own newspapers today. Of course, many of the characters, and many of the events surrounding them, are echoing in today’s headlines. We’ve heard the saying before: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” This resonated while making this film and re-exploring this ’80s story.
Sackhoff: Very interesting. I often encounter situations like this when filming battlestar galactica The prevalence of 9/11 in our minds and the themes we touch upon. It’s no different. I find that for me as a performer, if you’re exposed to this stuff, it becomes all too real. Not for this battlestar galacticabut it’s all happened before, and it will happen again. We should learn from history and sadly we continue to repeat the same mistakes. You’re right, it makes no difference. This is why art like this continues to be topical and popular, because we continue to make the same mistakes we made in the 80s.
Welliver: Full disclosure, I don’t. But I discovered this when I read that the book was dealing with real-world problems. But it’s timeless because it’s really about the human condition. These people have superpowers and they’re pushing for what they think is right, but it’s been corrupted, and that’s why I think it becomes more timeless. In this day and age, the world we live in now feels very turbulent, just like it did when I was a kid in the 60s. I’m very aware of the protests. Every night there was news about the Vietnam War and Kent State University. This is very familiar. This book will always be relevant.
Watchmen Chapter 1 It’s available now on digital platforms, online in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray, and in major retailers on August 27.
