The Rise of the Nerd

Music and Marketing for Watchmen

Originally, James Cameron had intended on working with prolific movie composer Brad Fiedel, who had previously worked with on the Terminator series, to create the score for Watchmen. However, Fiedel surprisingly refused, suggesting Philip Glass as a better fit for the material. His contention was that the heavily minimalist influences in Glass’ work were a better fit for the chronic tone of much of the film, especially with regards to Doctor Manhattan and his relation to time and fate. Cameron was initially taken aback by such a move on Fiedel’s part, and skeptical from what he knew about Glass that the composer would sign on. “’I can't shake the idea that no matter how good the script is, no matter how good the production values are, no matter how timely the message and complicated the moral dilemma... I can't shake the idea that Glass would score for what's, at its most basic level, an action movie based on a comic book. He seems too highbrow’”, Cameron said when relating then the story later. “Then Brad smiled and said “Hey man, the guy scored fucking Candyman. You can get him”. Glass would indeed sign on.

However, it was estimated by producer Joel Silver that maybe a little less than half of all the music onscreen would be credited to whoever the film’s composer would be. The idea was to help make the film function as a cultural touchstone and a dark parody of the 20th century, lots of popular music would be used. Many songs from the past several decades would be used in the soundtrack, with the “ending point” being the 1980’s. In the end, the rights were bought to fourteen different songs, though only twelve of them would make it to the screen (the unused tracks, “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House and “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archies, would be included on the Music of Watchmen CD). Some critics would actually complain about the overuse of the popular songs in the soundtrack, saying they were distracting in some parts. Roger Ebert would opine in an otherwise positive review that he found the score by Glass more interesting anyway. However, the placing of “Where Is My Mind?” by The Pixies over the ending with Seymour at The New Frontiersman possibly deciding the fate of the world, leading into the credits, was regarded as a strong decision, creating one of the most iconic single movie scenes of the 1990’s.

The first teaser actually appeared at the premiere of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park one June 11, 1993. However, as filming had not yet completed, it was a very simple trailer- some narration from Rorschach on a black screen, interspersed with very short, almost subliminal clips from the film, with Philip Glass’ “Prophecies" playing in the background.. Also thrown into the mix was, in bolded white letters, the text “From Director James Cameron- Based on the Graphic Novel by Alan Moore and David Gibbons- Arnold Schwarzenegger- Kurt Russell- Sharon Stone- WATCHMEN- Summer 1994”. A more complete trailer was ready by the winter of 1993, but for what it was, the original teaser was very effective. It was so confusing, it got people asking questions- leading them to the comic for answers. DC would note that sales of the graphic novel spiked throughout 1993 and 1994.

Which led to the question of secrecy on the project. Studio executives wanted everything to be previewed for the trailers to be released in early 1994. This included the actor playing Rorschach, Mark Hamill, and the appearance of the Squid. While Cameron allowed Mark Hamill’s identity to be known prior to Watchmen’s release, he was adamant that the Squid not appear. He knew that the comic was becoming more popular, so more people would be aware of the nature of the climax, but he wanted the revamped design of the giant monster to be a surprise, along with its rampage in New York. Cameron eventually won out on this matter.

As the film was geared for a mature audience, no toys would be produced in the wake of its original release. However, Capcom did develop a beat ‘em up game based on Watchmen for the Sega Genesis video game console, which was released in July of 1994 to a mixed reaction. Marketing was accomplished in other, more unique ways. Posters were made for each of the main characters, with the Rorschach poster in particular - featuring the masked vigilante walking out of the shadows with a huge smear of blood across his chest, the words "This city fears me. I have seen it's true face" - becoming very popular on it's own in the mid-1990's, especially on college campuses. Blood-stained smiley pins became ubiquitous in comic shops. In many theaters, the poster for the film was simply a paper replica of the Doomsday Clock from the graphic novel behind glass. Each day closer to Watchmen's premiere, it was moved just a smidge closer to midnight. However, the biggest tie-in ploy was DC reaching out to Moore and Gibbons to write more comics set in the Watchmen universe, which led to a surprising eventual outcome.

Watchmen’s Release

Watchmen finally hit theaters on July 1st, 1994- incidentally, exactly three years after the premiere (but not the wide theatrical release) of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Cameron’s last picture. Well, perhaps it wasn't incidental. The July 4th weekend was, and remains, a very lucrative time to debut a movie. Fox’s multi-million dollar marketing campaign had been in full swing by then, and the summer of 1994 was popularly described in the press of “The Summer of Watchmen” . In late June, one small comic shop owner in Manhattan described the scene outside his store and among his clientele. “We had people packing in my shop, flustered people, asking me what this Watchmen shit was all about. (I) Pointed them to the (Watchmen) rack. In the week or two leading up to the premiere, thing had to be reloaded like three times a day. The streets outside my store, and there was an RPG (role-playing game) joint right in front of my place, so yeah, was littered with posters. (It) Was like a scene outta the comic, y’know, right after the Squid hit… Yeah, some of my more regular regulars saw The Crow like five times just to see the five-minute trailer.”

Opening weekend box office was $59 million dollars, or, to again compare to T2, nearly $5 million more than the opening weekend of Cameron’s last directorial effort. It especially did well in the lucrative 18-35 male demographic, who made up nearly 60% of the audience. Competitors for the same weekend premiere, including Baby’s Day Out, Blown Away, and fellow superhero flick The Shadow were absolutely swamped, and all would continue to do poorly throughout what remained of their run. Going into the second weekend, though, would be the big challenge, because the competition had upped the ante.

On July 6th, Forrest Gump, a dramedy directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, and Gary Sinise was released. It revolved around the tale of a mentally challenged Southern man (Hanks), who inadvertently inserts himself into most of the major historical events of the latter part of the 20th century. Its sympathetic lead character was probably meant as a focal point for all the experiences of the Baby Boomer generation as a whole. In fact, the similar premises of Forrest Gump and Watchmen would actually strike critics as fitting: both were about fictional characters making their own implicit commentaries on the 20th century. Indeed, it’s fairly common to hear Watchmen referred to as a “darker Gump” or Forrest Gump as “a more light-hearted Watchmen”. However, long-term academic musings were not the top priorities of studio execs. Everyone waited in bated breath to see if Watchmen would be competitive its second weekend, against real competition.

And it did. The superhero extravaganza pulled in $30 million in its second weekend, or a less than 50% drop from its first weekend. While Gump pulled in a respectable $22 million that weekend to generally positive reviews, a second-place showing in its first weekend would hobble its performance throughout the rest of the year. The other two films debuting that weekend, Angels in the Outfield and Spanking the Monkey were crushed by the competition.

Though the common misconception in the controversy surrounding the notorious 67th Academy Award controversy was that Watchmen had crushed Forrest Gump in the box office by comparison, a quick internet check would reveal that Gump actually out-grossed Watchmen in the international box office by nearly $100 million by the end of both of their theatrical runs. This is because Watchmen performed incredibly strongly in its first few weeks, mainly the month of July, before tapering off, while Forrest Gump was the metaphorical “little engine that could” doing consistently well enough for a prolonged period of time throughout the year, making up for time lost at the beginning. As it stands, though, Watchmen would become the movie that defined the summer of 1994, at once both dark social commentary, and spectacular popcorn fare. That is, in the opinion of some critics…



Watchmen’s Box Office

Domestic: $256,958,954
Foreign: $219,308,749
Total: $476,267,703
 
Dennis: So what happened between you and the studio that kept you from making the fourth Batman movie?

Sam: Well, after the huge success of Watchmen they wanted the Batman movies to be darker, more edgy, and filled with all of those adult themes that people loved in Watchmen. I tried to do that with Batman: The Caped Crusader. They thought it would have done better if it was even darker, but I disagreed. I had other movies I had been putting off to make the Batman movies, so I decided that if they wanted their overly gritty Batman, they could do it without me.

Jon: And they got Roland Emmerich for it, and clearly it all worked out for them.

(Audience laughs)

Sam: That movie...(laughs) That movie just told me that I made the exact right choice. I'm glad Liam got his way out of it too. I think everyone realized that the studio had just lost it.

Dennis: What about your buddy Bruce Campbell...he was in that movie.

Sam: Bruce...he realizes now. He just loved the role of Greg so much, when the offered to give him that part again...he said he had to. I told him to go for it. Had I had any foresight...I would have told him to stay far away from that movie.

Dennis: I'd advise everyone capable of thought from staying away from that movie.

(Audience laughs)

Jon: What do you think of the new Batman movies?

Sam: David Hayter...I've actually met with him a few times and he's a fantastic man...and I love the new Batman movies. Norman Reedus is a fantastic man too, and he's certainly a great Batman...

-Excerpt from The Stewart and Miller Show, Comedy Central, 10/18/09
 

Penelope

Banned
Batman: 2025
Plot Summary

The Gotham Nuclear Power Plant goes critical, killing three random workers. Meanwhile, Terry McGinnis (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in a bed with a prostitute, who is implied to be Helena Kyle. After paying her, he leaves, and heads to work. Here, he is barraged with insults about his recent breakup with his longtime girlfriend, Liz Boone (Angelina Jolie). He is a rookie cop for the Gotham Police Department. When Terry comes into report that the police station coffee machine is broken again, he discovers that Bruce Wayne (Dennis Quaid) has come into report something. Terry says hello to him, and the two begin talking. Terry even takes his lunch break to continue a conversation with him. Deciding that Terry is a good cop, Bruce invites him back to Wayne Manor. After more boring discussion of Gotham politics and crime and corruption, Terry discovers that Bruce is Batman. Bruce becomes extremely angry, despite Terry’s attempts at flattery. Several references to the past three Batman films are made, but ultimately, Terry is evicted from Wayne Manor.

After heading home, Terry finds a ransom note. His dad has been kidnapped by a mysterious group of criminals, who are mostly black and Mexican. Terry gets angry, and heads to the site with the money. Unfortunately, his dad is already dying, and the criminals kill him, and then take the money from Terry. Terry is knocked out, and only left with a small clue of where the criminals have gone. Following this clue, he quickly goes to Wayne Manor, and steals Batman’s gear to help him take on the criminals. He murders the criminals mercilessly, despite their pleas for mercy. It is at this point that Bruce contacts Terry over the suit voice communications system. Bruce purposefully cancels all suit mobility functions, and they have a debate about murdering people. Eventually, Terry comes around, and interrogates the last surviving criminal. The criminal tells him something about “Derek Powers” before he is shot by a sniper who shows up out of nowhere.
Meanwhile, Derek Powers (Jeff Goldblum), a Gotham business magnate, is overseeing the cleanup of the Gotham Nuclear Power Plant. His assistant, Greg (Bruce Campbell) is a former criminal who has cleaned up his act and now has a visor to give him his vision back. Three bodies are retrieved from the power plant, and all of them have been reduced to skeletons, glowing bright green from radiation coverage. No one is worried about this, except for Powers. Greg comforts him by claiming that it is perfectly normal. Powers demands continuation of the cleanup and heads back to his office.

At this point, Terry takes off for the Powers Nuclear Plant, while Bruce attempts to convince him to stop. Eventually, he deploys robot drones which nearly send Terry flying out of the sky. However, Terry makes it, and crashes into the offices next to the power plant. Fighting his way through the offices, a dramatic chase scene ensues when Terry goes after Derek Powers. This chase sequences reaches its climax as a large radioactive waste pipe explodes above Powers, showering him in toxic fluids. Terry, horrified, retreats back to Wayne Manor, distraught with guilt. But back at the Powers plant, Derek Powers has survived thanks to Greg’s quick thinking. However, he glows a bright green constantly, and both requires, and emits radioactive materials. Upon this discovery, he declares himself a new breed of human, and adopts a new name. Blight!

Afterward, Liz Boone is shown to be at her house, working through paperwork for Powers Inc. Terry arrives in the Batsuit. Terry tells her that her boss is working in crime and that he's dangerous, and that he needs an inside agent to figure out his plans. Liz asks if Batman is her ex-boyfriend, Terry McGinnis. Terry responds “No...I am Batman...Beyond.”

After this, Blight calls to his office Anarky (Macaulay Culkin) and Lady Shiva (Lucy Liu) to discuss his plan to turn Gotham into his new breed of human, and uses them as an army to put Blight into power. Anarky agrees to plant the explosives in the nuclear reactor and Shiva agrees to kill Terry without causing a “ruckus”. Anarky agrees to find a way to get Terry to attack him so Shiva can pretend to be Terry's ally. Anarky spies on Terry and sees him spending time around Bruce Wayne. When Terry heads out to a store to buy dinner for himself and Bruce, Anarky kidnaps Bruce and writes a note to Terry telling him where to meet to retrieve Bruce. Terry arrives to a rooftop where Bruce is tied up. Anarky attacks Terry and the two fight for a while before Bruce breaks free and ends the fight by delivering a roundhouse kick to Anarky's face. Anarky gets back up to continue fighting, but is shot through the chest as he stands up. Anarky manages to mutter “Bombs...in...the reactor...tomorrow...” before dying.

Following this, Bruce and Terry head to Arkham, to speak with “an old friend of his”. It turns out that this old friend is the Joker (Nicholas Cage), who is now ill with brain cancer. The Joker’s brief cameo tells the duo where Lady Shiva’s hide out is. The two set out for the hide out after they speak with the Joker some more.

Bruce takes an immediate disliking to Shiva, but ultimately decides to work with her for the greater good. Shiva invites Terry back to her headquarters to discuss how to take down Blight. Instead, Shiva seduces him. After the seduction, Bruce barges in to reveal that she is an assassin, just before Shiva strikes a killing blow. A fight sequence begins, from which Terry and Bruce escape.

Back at Wayne Manor, Barbara reveals that only some of the bombs have been deactivated, and some are on a different frequency that she cannot jam. Soon after, part of the reactor explodes. Radiation begins leaking into town, and people run across town trying to escape it, while Terry and Bruce head towards the city to stop Blight.
Liz places an old Batman memorabilia flag on top of her roof, and Terry notices this. He goes down to her house, and it’s discovered that she has figured out where Blight is hiding: The Wayne Enterprises tower. Terry and Bruce immediately head towards the tower.

Immediately upon arrival, Blight begins a monologue explanation of his plan, and reveals he has captured Liz. His plan, to turn everyone into the city into a “metahuman” like him, begins with Liz: she is hooked up to several devices which will pump the “Blight serum” into her. Bruce fights Blight, but during the battle, Blight is able to wound him, infecting Bruce with massive amounts of radiation. While Bruce wins the fight, the damage is already done, and Bruce is dying of radiation poisoning very quickly. He stumbles around, but is able to stop the serum before collapsing to the ground.

Terry, who has in the meantime saved Liz, goes to Bruce’s dying body. Bruce proceeds to give a powerful speech about his one rule: to never kill. Terry agrees with Bruce, and Bruce, with his dying breath, passes the mantle onto Terry. Blight, beaten, reveals to Terry that he knows his identity, and that he ordered his father’s death. It was done to cover up his earlier reports of the power plant’s dangerous nature. Terry immediately goes berserk, and begins wailing on Blight. Liz grabs a gun, and shoots Blight. Terry has a big “No!” moment, yelling to her “We never kill!!” However, it is already too late, for Blight says that much of the populace has already been infected.

Barbara quickly is able to manufacture an antidote, and the Wayne Tech building is filled with radiation and reduced to ruin. Terry and Liz barely make it out, and Barbara is able to deploy her serum just in time.

Liz wakes up in bed with Terry, days later. They discuss his “We never kill” comment earlier, to which Terry replies: “I keep my promises”. Gotham is seen to be rebuilding. The Wayne Enterprises Tower is shown to be under reconstruction. Later, Terry is in the batsuit, and a futuristic hologram of the Bat Signal is projected over Gotham. His cape flutters in the wind.

Meanwhile, an unidentified man speaks with someone in an office. After the man leaves, it’s revealed to be Greg! He takes off his glove, revealing a glowing, radiation infected hand as the credits roll.

-Plot summary of Batman 2025, batmanpedia.com
 
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Remember what I said about Crispus Allen? Multiply by a hundred.

I dunno, I still think it's more believable than say, Batman and Robin. I know Batman Beyond was late 90s (and this is early 200s, still need to get the wikiboxes up), but some of the ideas had been kicking around for a "sci-fi Batman" (and the concept is sort of based of the The Dark Knight Returns anyways, just with a new Batman). I know a lot of comic book and crtoon things get prepared way in advance, (The Walking Dead comic for example is planned out in detail for the next few years).

Yeah, I'll agree this one is a bit of a stretch (I don't think any of us intended this to be hardcore AH anyways).
 
I dunno, I still think it's more believable than say, Batman and Robin. I know Batman Beyond was late 90s (and this is early 200s, still need to get the wikiboxes up), but some of the ideas had been kicking around for a "sci-fi Batman" (and the concept is sort of based of the The Dark Knight Returns anyways, just with a new Batman). I know a lot of comic book and crtoon things get prepared way in advance, (The Walking Dead comic for example is planned out in detail for the next few years).

Yeah, I'll agree this one is a bit of a stretch (I don't think any of us intended this to be hardcore AH anyways).
it should be noted that batman beyond started out as a teenage batman show, and the future, sci fi, and Not Bruce elements were added later because having a teenage bruce wayne and all his villains go to school was really really stupid
 
it should be noted that batman beyond started out as a teenage batman show, and the future, sci fi, and Not Bruce elements were added later because having a teenage bruce wayne and all his villains go to school was really really stupid

From what I heard it was two ideas meeting up in a way sort of like the "You got your chocolate in my peanut butter" sort of way.
 
The Batman: 2025 synopsis sounds quite honestly like it would be terrible. Monologues, big no moments, and schlocky lines all out the wazoo. In fact, you've inspired me.

Reviews and Criticism

Batman: 2025 opened at #1, earning more than $73 million on its opening weekend. However, ticket sales dropped drastically thereafter, earning only $28 million on its second weekend and eventually totaling $138 million overall in the domestic market.

Batman: 2025 received generally mixed to negative reviews, earning a 32% "Rotten" rating on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. While Gyllenhaal's performance was widely praised, the script and characters drew criticism, and the new setting drew significant ire from longtime fans. Empire Magazine gave it two out of five stars, criticizing the lack of likable characters and a script which it called "Juvenile with pretensions of maturity... The heroes and villains both come across as saturday morning cartoon characters that want to be taken seriously by mature audiences."
The visuals were widely praised, drawing positive comparisons with Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, although Roger Ebert criticized them in his review, saying "Gotham of the future [...] doesn't know if it wants to be gritty or gaudy."
 
I hope that your Timeline version of Forest Gump is closer to the Book. OTL Forest Gump is one of the worst adaption of a great book ever. No one who read the book before they saw the movie, like the movie.

Looking Forward to what you are going to do with the Animated Series of Batman.
 
it should be noted that batman beyond started out as a teenage batman show, and the future, sci fi, and Not Bruce elements were added later because having a teenage bruce wayne and all his villains go to school was really really stupid

I always thought the best aspect of Batman Beyond was the initial setup: an aged Bruce Wayne has to build an augmented Batsuit to compensate for his weakening physical condition, and then episode 1 ends with him having to make the ultimate sacrifice: shooting to kill. That's enough to get Bruce to hang up the cape and cowl forever. I still think that's a great premise.
 
I always thought the best aspect of Batman Beyond was the initial setup: an aged Bruce Wayne has to build an augmented Batsuit to compensate for his weakening physical condition, and then episode 1 ends with him having to make the ultimate sacrifice: shooting to kill. That's enough to get Bruce to hang up the cape and cowl forever. I still think that's a great premise.
that was the opening scene, not the whole episode. he also never actually fires the gun
 
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