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Plug Pulled On Watchmen Movie

Paramount has pulled the plug on its proposed film version of Watchmen, Alan Moore's celebrated superhero graphic novel, Variety reported. Producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin were taking the project, with British director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy) attached, out to other studios, the trade paper reported.
Watchmen came under heavy scrutiny in the wake of Paramount chief Brad Grey's surprise move to replace Donald De Line with Gail Berman as studio president in late March, the trade paper reported. De Line found out about the change while in London meeting with Greengrass about Watchmen and the need to cut its budget, rumored to be $100 million, the trade paper reported.
Paramount had been aiming for a summer start, but began releasing crews working on preproduction at that point.

Warner Picks Up Watchmen
Warner Brothers has picked up Watchmen, the proposed superhero movie based on Alan Moore's groundbreaking graphic novel, from Paramount, which had put the project into turnaround, Variety reported.
Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin are producing the movie, which has been without a home since spring. Paramount had been aiming for a summer shoot in London with British director Paul Greengrass, but budgetary concerns halted it. Watchmen was previously set up at Universal, where David Hayter signed a seven-figure deal in 2001 to adapt it, with an eye toward directing.
Warner is seeking a new writer and director for Watchmen. Once those slots are set, Paramount will have the option to co-finance the project.
Watchmen, by Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, took a postmodern look at superheroes and is counted as a major influence on the current generation of genre filmmakers.

Snyder: Watchmen Remains True
Zack Snyder, who will direct an upcoming film version of Alan Moore's seminal graphic novel Watchmen, told SCI FI Wire that Warner Brothers likes his take on the material, which goes back to the source for its inspiration, closely following the original 1985 setting and alternate-history American mileu in which Richard Nixon is still president. That faithfulness to the graphic novel, which has been famously considered unadaptable to film, ironically, provided the key to unlocking the script, Snyder said.
"That was the thing," Snyder said in an interview following a Nov. 8 screening of footage from his other upcoming graphic-novel adaptation, 300, in Hollywood, Calif. "What they tried to do is turn it into a movie. And that's not really how we approached it. ... [Co-writer Alex [Tse] and I were [like], 'What ... [about the] graphic novel do we love? Let's do that!' And I think that when we delivered that version of the script to them, and it was long, of course, ... it's not [a metaphor for the] war on terror, it's not like trying to be, like, bulls--t updated. You know, which gets confusing. And then Adrian [Veidt]'s story gets all, like, lost with that. So ... that was the thing that cracked it: Just going back to the source. Saying, 'OK, why does this work here?' It seemed really obvious. It was weird. ... It's pretty exciting. They're pretty excited."
The studio offered a few notes, but Snyder said that the draft was accepted pretty much as is. "We've shown ... Alex and my official draft to the studio," he said. "And I feel like they're really excited now. They feel like it's a movie, and they get it now, and they're into 1985, and they're into the Cold War and Nixon and all the cool bits. So we're really excited. We're doing another little bit of changes, and then, I mean, knock on wood, we'll get going."
One element that Snyder introduces is a title montage sequence that will walk the audience through recent decades of the alternate-history United States, starting with the Kennedy assassination and Vietnam War and taking viewers to the current day, which is 1985.
Snyder added that he was in a private airport during his travels recently and came across the real Henry Kissinger, who was traveling with his own entourage. Snyder said that he attempted to approach Kissinger to ask him to play himself in the film, but was blocked by Kissinger's wife from speaking with the former secretary of state.
Written from 1986 to '87, Watchmen is set in 1985 in an alternate-history United States in which superheroes, called "costumed adventurers," exist, the Cold War is threatening to turn into a nuclear conflagration, Nixon is president, and the heroes have been outlawed. When one of their number is mysteriously murdered, the others spring into action. The Hugo-Award-winning graphic novel, by Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons, is considered a landmark in comics and a heavy influence on films, books and comics since.

Snyder: Butler In Line For Watchmen
Zack Snyder, who is developing a film version of Alan Moore's seminal Watchmen graphic novel, told SCI FI Wire that he is thinking of enlisting Gerard Butler, the star of Snyder's upcoming graphic-novel-inspired 300, for a role. "He may" play a part, Snyder said in an interview at WonderCon in San Francisco on March 3. Which one? "I don't know yet, but he's fun, so I'm sure we can figure something out for him."
For his part, Butler said in a separate interview that he hasn't spoken with Snyder about Watchmen, but would eagerly sign on to work with the director again after his experience shooting 300.
Meanwhile, Snyder said that he doubts that Tom Cruise will sign on to the film, though he confirms having approached the controversial star for a role. Snyder's approaching Cruise for the key role of Ozymandias was first reported on C.H.U.D.
"I don't think Tom's going to do it," Snyder said. "I think he's busy and for whatever other reason. He does like the idea. He did like the concept. But, ... you know, we talked about it a lot. But I think in the end he's not going to do it. But [he's] still cool."
Written from 1986 to '87, Watchmen is set in 1985 in an alternate-history United States in which superheroes, called "costumed adventurers," exist, the Cold War is threatening to turn into a nuclear conflagration, Nixon is president, and the heroes have been outlawed. When one of their number is mysteriously murdered, the others spring into action. The Hugo-Award-winning graphic novel, by Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons, is considered a landmark in comics and a heavy influence on films, books and comics since.