Alan Moore's V For Vendetta: The Movie!

[3RA1N1AC]

the wachowski bros (of "The Matrix" fame, 'course) are producing a movie adaptation of alan moore's old comic book "V For Vendetta." very little info available so far, except that natalie portman is playing one of the lead roles. natalie portman is kinda not my idea of a good actress... she's kind of got that "all the acting skills of a wooden plank" thing going on, like kee-noo reevz? it's only at its pre-production stage thus far, so who knows how the rest of the cast will fill out.

will be interesting to see how people react to a movie where the hero is a "terrorist" since the word has become a much more emotional word than it was in the 1980s (when the comic was originally published). think guy fawkes meets orwell. i guess they're playing it safe by having "V" fight against german nazis. you know. it's easier for audiences to accept the premise of nazis winning WW2, than fascism spawned from england's own politics. it's wussing out on the political aspect 'cause the comic was definitely a warning about the direction that thatcherism/reaganism was leading us in (ahem... usa patriot act?), rather than some "what if???" fantasy about hitler.

maybe it could turn out okay-ish. or it could just end up being a steaming pile of gunfights and car chases.



imdb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/

a V For Vendetta fan site (you can see some of the comic's artwork in the "gallery" section): http://www.shadowgalaxy.net/Vendetta/vmain.html

a little discussion of the script: http://www.scifimoviepage.com/art_vendetta.html

part of an interview with alan moore, about the comic book: http://216.239.63.104/search?q=cache:hyRCTyG1xBYJ:www.salon.com/books/int/2004/07/22/moore/index1.html&hl=en

[mogadishu]

very cool. I love his comics. I also agree about portman being a bad choice, but like you said, it could work out like keanu reeves in the first matrix. Worst actor ever, but great movie.

[Snee]

I like the comic, but the fact that they've already begun to alter the story doesn't bode well :(

Regarding Portman, I can't really see her as a good choice for this movie, but as an actress she's not entirely hopeless.


Maybe I'll just wait for Watchmen, if they ever sort that one out. There's a comic adaptation that has to be interesting.

[3RA1N1AC]

i reckon it'll be a very long time before one of his stories reaches mainstream cinema without having all of its blood drained out by Hollywood first. but that's alright as far as i'm concerned: the comics were written and drawn in such a cinematic fashion that once you've read 'um it's as if you've just watched a fantastic movie. trying to make movies out of them is almost redundant anyway. not to say that i won't sit down and watch movies based on Alan Moore comics... of course i will gladly watch every single one, at least out of curiosity. :P

this quote from Moore, in an interview by The Onion, probably says it best:

"Well, perhaps "butchering my baby" is a bit extreme. After all, I would not allow anyone to butcher a baby of mine, no matter how much money they were offering me. I think that there is... I mean, obviously, if someone takes up an option on one of my books, it's a great deal of money for me and the artist. It wouldn't be anything that I'd rapidly turn down. I suppose that the way I keep all that straight in my head is by keeping this kind of detachment, and by realizing that the film and the book are very different entities. Apparently, someone asked Raymond Chandler once what he thought of Hollywood ruining all of his books. And he took them into his study and pointed up to the shelf where they all were, and he said, "Look, they're there. They're fine. They're okay." That's the attitude I have to take. The film hasn't ruined my book."
i think that's a healthy point-of-view. he's a great writer and even if they only ever make crap movies from his stories, i can't begrudge him trying to finally make a little money... since i don't imagine he ever got rich off his comics.