Links from the past, given to you in my future…
A slideshow gallery of Ralph McQuarrie paintings for Star Wars. (Link will go direct to a Flickr slideshow; click here if you’d rather see the set.)
If you like that, you’ll probably like Concept Ships, which is a blog all about… concept art. Of ships.
Superhero Nation: a website all about writing, and writing superheroes in particular. A lot of the advice seems aimed at a certain kind of superhero writing, but there’s good advice here regardless.
If you’re worried about the Watchmen movie, feel free to read this and see all your fears realised. Assuming you’re one of those people who basically feel that things should never be adapted, ever.
#1 by welshtroll at July 1st, 2008
Good link to that Watchmen article Rockjaw.
What is it with the whole “lets convert this comic into a film” desire that has overcome hollywood?
A friend and I were talking about the Watchmen movie recently and come to the conclusion that it’s bound to have a different ending or tacked on additional scenes to give a warm “Hollywood” ending.
The other thing that bugs me is content, Watchmen is dark and has some very adult themes running through-out. Will these be retained or will the publishers aim for a pg/12 rating to gain a bigger market share when it’s released, thus needing to
In all, it’s really sad to see good work turned into commercial non-sense for the pursuit of more or our hard-earned cash.
Now if they ever plan to movify Sandman, I’d have to hunt them down. hehe.
#2 by Rockjaw at July 1st, 2008
Think you might have gotten the wrong end of my stick there mate (ooo-err). I actually think a Watchman movie is a good thing, but I also realise that there’s no way any adaptation can ever be a perfect match… something which that article’s writer didn’t seem to grasp.
I’ve been tracking Watchmen’s development under Zack Snyder and actually I think we might be pleasantly surprised. Apparently very few elements have been dropped completely. The ending is intact, as I understand it (don’t want to elaborate in case there’s a Watchmen ‘virgin’ out there).
He’s fighting with the studio a bit over running time, but is aiming for a three-hour plus movie, and knows it’ll be definitely an adult film. (After Wanted – rated ‘R’ in the US, and 18 here – opened with over $50m this weekend I think it’s safe to say superhero flicks with adult content are seen as a bit safer, now.)
We’ll see next March. But from what I’ve seen, I think Watchmen could be pretty damn good.
#3 by welshtroll at July 2nd, 2008
I’m only going on the pictures I’ve seen released and information I’ve read, I do hope that the rating will be keep at an adult audience as you suggest it may, and that the ending will remain intact.
I think my main worries came from the fact that Nite Owl’s costume in the film, appears to have him looking more like Batman, but then thats only from the publicly released images so who really knows.
As you say we’ll find out next year.
#4 by SuperheroNation at July 3rd, 2008
Hello, Stephen! Thank you for posting to our writing website. I had a tricky question about our website that I think you might be able to help with. “A lot of the advice seems aimed at a certain kind of superhero writing,” you said. I have two guesses which kind it is you are referring to. If it’s “mainstream-and-commercially viable superhero stories,” then I’m a total idiot and please disregard this!
However, I’m unfortunately more confident that it’s a type of grossly inappropriate writing aimed at an internet cult that we also refuse to name (lest we come up in their Google queries and ruin our bounce-rate).
I was dimly aware that being associated with said group might be a problem when I tried designing a science-fiction character to make fun of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but it seems to come up uncomfortably often. Could you suggest any ways we might emphasize the, uhh, mainstream and wholesome nature of our website? This has been a very trying problem for us and I would greatly appreciate your help.
Thanks again!
Yours,
SuperheroNation-at-gmail-dot-com
#5 by Rockjaw at July 3rd, 2008
Hello, Superhero Nation! Good news: you’re a total idiot! (Well, you did say you were. :p )
I was indeed referring to mainstream types of stories. Honestly, it kind of surprises me that it’s your focus. I think it’s fine, but for me, it’s just more the kind of thing you generally see in comics these days; most superhero fiction I’ve seen tends to be more ‘hard-edged’.
I can’t figure out what else you feel you’re being associated with! The site’s tone and focus seemed pretty obvious to me. Drop me a line at [rockjaw] at [my company, ncsoft] //dot\\ com if you’d like to share.
#6 by Shadowe at July 3rd, 2008
Well, just wanted to point out that I’ve been spending most of my (admitedly boring) day at work reading the “Improve your writing” guidelines on Superhero Nation, and I am impressed. And taking notes. Like a madman.
I think it’s safe to say that my writing will see some drastic improvements in the near future (if/when I actually find the time to write anything more than a very short story).
Thanks, Rockjaw, for pointing us in this direction.
#7 by SuperheroNation at July 3rd, 2008
Well, uhh… I think I’ve never been quite so pleased to have called myself a total idiot, then.