League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Movie

[Jim Hoffman]

Saw this under the 'coming soon' section of the foxmovies website

http://www.foxmovies.com/index1.html

Seems like comic books are becoming blockbuster movie material, just in the last year or two. Is this because comics are more acceptable mainstream, or because their becoming more sophisticated? (Aimed at adults)

[Anonymous]

Seems like comic books are becoming blockbuster movie material, just in the last year or two.


Where were you for Superman I-IV, the Batman series, Men in Black, X-Men, Blade, etc., etc.?

[Peter Frazier]

Uuuh, I suppose you haven't seen any of the Batman movies, or X-Men, or the Phantom, or any of the other superhero movies that have spewed out in the last ten years.
As for them being 'sophisticated'- I don't think so.

Edit- you go to see what your daughter's crying about and someone else always manages to get their response in first. Bugger.

[Gordon Cameron]

There have been comic book movies for years but it does seem to be reaching a fever pitch at the moment. H'wood is snapping up every comic book property it can find. Especially after Spiderman became a megahit. In addition to upcoming Hulk, Daredevil, League etc. movies, there are Fantastic Four and Wonder Woman projects floating around, though I don't know how close (if at all) they are to being produced.

[Anders Hallin]

Thank god we won't see Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman because if that happened I would have to kill myself. Repeatedly. With a mallet.
I've never read Wonder Woman by the way, would it work as a movie in this day and age?
I guess if a geek in pajamas was box-office gold anything can happen.

[GMicek]

Seems like comic books are becoming blockbuster movie material, just in the last year or two. Is this because comics are more acceptable mainstream, or because their becoming more sophisticated? (Aimed at adults)

I just figured it's because Hollywood is desperate for franchises.

[Gordon Cameron]

Yes, Hollywood is *always* desperate for franchises. And understandably so -- there's some value in having a recognizable brand name. (If the sequel/s suck, though, eventually the franchise's value will be diminished.)

[Jim Hoffman]

There have been comic book movies for years but it does seem to be reaching a fever pitch at the moment. H'wood is snapping up every comic book property it can find. Especially after Spiderman became a megahit. In addition to upcoming Hulk, Daredevil, League etc. movies, there are Fantastic Four and Wonder Woman projects floating around, though I don't know how close (if at all) they are to being produced.

That's along the lines of what I was thinking. The Batman movies have been around for awhile, but they were a leader of the pack.. there weren't a bunch of comic book movies to choose from.

[Brian Rucker]

A friend that went to see X-Men clued me in on this, since I clued him in to the comic, and it does look like fun. Victorian steampunk high adventure with: Alan Quartermain (imagine Indiana Jone's dad - played in fact by Sean Connery), the real Captain Nemo (Western educated Sikh rebel and mad scientist complete with a kickass Nautilus sub), Mina Harker (now a vampiress courtesy of Dracula), Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde (the original Hulk), and an immoral and scandalous Invisible Man. Two new characters are the immortal assassin Dorian Gray (Batman without a conscience and twice as cruel it sounds like) and Secret Service Agent Tom Sawyer (a roughneck investigator and crack shot from Missouri).

Not just another hero movie if they do this right. Who wouldn't want to see these legends working together in a high spirited, high adventure, setting? Other characters in the novel included an ancestor of James Bond, Sherlock Holmes (in flashbacks), Moriarty and the dreaded, demonic, Fu Manchu.

This could be the surprise summer action blockbuster (coming from a guy that knows nothing about movies but everyone, including a couple grandmothers at my office, are all excited about this. Some for the literary characters and some because of Sean Connery's role while others just like the special effects they've seen).

[DavidCPA]

Thank god we won't see Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman because if that happened I would have to kill myself. Repeatedly. With a mallet.
I've never read Wonder Woman by the way, would it work as a movie in this day and age?
I guess if a geek in pajamas was box-office gold anything can happen.

Hey Buster! What's wrong with Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman? Do you have no appreciation for her late '90s syndicated classic?

-DavidCPA

[Anders Hallin]

Hey Buster! What's wrong with Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman? Do you have no appreciation for her late '90s syndicated classic?

-DavidCPA

*cough*
Read this thread (http://www.quartertothree.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1737&highlight=xena)..

And also, I provided this quote once:
"Personally, I haven't actually been upset about anyone dying since.. well.. Xena."

I'm not to keen on Lucy Lawless as an actress though.


And about The League, if they're making Quatermain the leader, I'm going to be upset :(

[Brad Grenz]

Quatermain was better as the reluctant, decrepid opium addict. But Mina's vampiness is going to be overt, so maybe that makes up for it? Nope? Didn't think so. Actually the full trailer in front of X2 looks better than the teaser from a little bit back. So maybe it'll turn out. I am a little peaved about the Tom Sawyer addition, part of the comic's charm was its impenetrable Britishness.

[Toddy]

I can't see how the movie could even remotely resemble the comics. Idiotic addition to appease the American audience aside, you just know that they're going to lighten everything up and make some sort of half-assed buddy adventure flick. It'll be From Hell all over again.

[Brian Rucker]

I'm sure it's made by Hollywood and things will get lightened up or moved around. That still doesn't mean it won't be a fun film. The director is evidently responsible for Blade which, while very commercial, wasn't exactly a Disney flick.

[Casper]

I was almost in this movie (they called the day before I was supposed to work and said that the part had changed and they were going to have a stuntman do it). The word here in Prague is that it was an INSANE shoot. Lots of personal problems and infighting. Anyway, I'm sure it'll be fun to go and see.

Something that I'm finding interesting is the number of movies that are being made that are groups of similar characters from different source material all being put into one story. League is one (I guess X MEn would be the first, but since they were all in the comic together it's not as surprising), and the movie Van Helsing just finished shooting here. There are some pretty strong rumors that Terry Gilliam is going to do "the brothers Grimm" here (which I can't WAIT to audition for!). I guess the people that write the movies must be pretty hard up for story material.

Oh, and Hellboy is going really well...

=)

Brian

[VegasRobb]

Maybe it was me, but the trailer moved much too quickly and I wasn't really able to get a grasp about what was going on or what the movie was about.

Seemed like alot of flash and not too much substance and that's too bad because I'm pulling for it to be a hit.

[Dave Long]

I think it's going to bomb out horribly.

--Dave

[Bub, Andrew]

There's an interview with Alan Moore at the Onion AV Club where Moore basically says he doesn't care what they do to his stories (he pockets the cash and looks the other way - sounds sensible to me). He'll never watch the movies, he hasn't seen From Hell, so anyone going to LXD (or whatever they're calling it) expecting it to be remotely like the comic is in for a shock.

It could be good. I mean, stranger things have happened and there are plenty of good films that veered off wildly from good source material (The Running Man, The Shining), plus, the concept is still just plain brilliant, but it isn't on my list as a "must see" by a long shot.

[Fjollefjumpen]

[So maybe it'll turn out. I am a little peaved about the Tom Sawyer addition, part of the comic's charm was its impenetrable Britishness.]

I totally agree with this.

But on the other hand, apart from Hollywod`s repeated failiure to turn quality material into good movies, there`s no reason to expect the worst. I remain the optimist till proven otherwise

[Thierry Nguyen]

From two separate interviews:

"Well, I'm a bit cranky about these things. I tend to be very mistrustful of the whole idea of 'adaptation'. I think if something works well in one medium, there is absolutely no reason to suppose that it's going to be improved by translating it to another medium. Now, there are exceptions of course, I mean, there are an awful lot of very good stage plays that have made great films. It's less easy to think of good books that have made good films. With regard to the works of mine that have been adapted for cinema, I wish the projects well - and I certainly have nothing but respect for the various talents involved in them - but I don't have any interest in actually seeing the films, because the resemblance to my work will only be coincidental. With the best will in the world, (with the best directors and the best talent in the world), you can't take a book like From Hell which is 4 or 5 hundred pages long, which has immensely lengthy appendices and which takes you probably six hours to read - even if you miss the appendices... You can't take that information and cram it into a two hour film. You're obviously going to have to take out quite a lot of it, you're probably going to take out the stuff which - for me - distinguished From Hell from all the other Jack the Ripper books out there. It's not really anything that I'm interested in. Cinema is not my favourite medium, and so I tend to leave them to get on with doing their film, and I, I'll just stick to doing my books."


"I think the anecdote that I usually tell, when asked that question, I fall back upon the great Raymond Chandler, who was once asked by a dinner guest if he wasn't terribley distressed at how Hollywood had ruined and destroyed his books. And Chandler raised his eyebrows in surprise, took this guest into the study pointed up at the bookshelf, where there was, you know, 'Farewell, My Lovely', 'The Long Goodbye', all the rest of them, and said "Look: there they are, they're perfectly fine, they've not been destroyed, you know, my books are OK, thanks for asking". And.. that is the attitude. I mean, like, to me, the films have got a coincidentally similar title to my books - that may be their *only* resemblance, so the actual entity that is my book, I don't feel has been damaged at all."

[Fjollefjumpen]

Not that I particularly disagree with Alan Moore`s arguments concerning the problems of adaption to one medium from another: but this is maybe just another way of saying: "I`d like to make extra money without doing any actual work, and better yet, I don`t even have to take responsibility concerning the quality of the outcome"

[Sean Tudor]

I think it's going to bomb out horribly.

--Dave

We saw the trailer for "The League" before X-Men 2 started. I know nothing about this and it seemed most of the theatre audience had no idea either. At the end of the trailer everyone (including myself) in the theatre laughed. It probably wasn't the correct reaction but I and everyone else thought it was some sort of Wild West knockoff comedy.

[Dave Long]

Just for the record, I do want to see LXG. There's too much cool stuff there not to go. It'll probably end up like Reign of Fire. Some people will see the fun in it and many will laugh it off. These sci-fi/period/fantasy movies typically don't do well at the box office, big stars or not. People (you know, the ones that suck) just don't get it.

--Dave

[Tom Chick]

Isn't the LXD sound bite Sean Connery saying, "The game is on"?

Given those Jeopardy skits on SNL, I cannot think of a more unintentionally hilarious Connery line.

-Tom

[Tyjenks]

Isn't the LXD sound bite Sean Connery saying, "The game is on"?

Given those Jeopardy skits on SNL, I cannot think of a more unintentionally hilarious Connery line.

-Tom

I'll take Anal Bum Cover for $200.00, Alex.

That's "An Album Cover"

[Bub, Andrew]

The Rapists for $200

Sigh... That's therapists...

[balut]

"Does it WORK, man??" (as he points out the category "The Pen is Mightier....")

[Luke M]

Wait, someone said Tom Sawyer is in this? You can't be serious. What's his super power? Gettling lost in caves? Spotting steamboats? Surely I've misread something in this thread.

I hope this one turns out. I just love weird ass steam punk/dark character stuff.

edit:Well, ok, I answered my own question. But still, why does the American crackshot have to be called Tom Sawyer?

[Thierry Nguyen]

Issue #5 of LOEG Volume II came out yesterday. Very twisted issue.

Hyde is one scary fucker.

[Brad Grenz]

Wow, 5 came out? I haven't waited that long for a new issue since Fray #7!

[SimplyCosmic]

... asked by a dinner guest if he wasn't terribley distressed at how Hollywood had ruined and destroyed his books.

Try talking to someone about Heinlein's Starship Troopers being a good book without them automatically thinking about the movie, no matter how many times you explain that it's completely different.

[Idar Thorvaldsen]

[So maybe it'll turn out. I am a little peaved about the Tom Sawyer addition, part of the comic's charm was its impenetrable Britishness.]

I totally agree with this.

But on the other hand, apart from Hollywod`s repeated failiure to turn quality material into good movies, there`s no reason to expect the worst. I remain the optimist till proven otherwise

ELL... EXX.. GEE! Oh, how we laughed. And there's a car.

"Mr. Hyde, you are hurting my hand, sir, and I will not allow that. I should be grateful if you release me."

...

"Thank you."

With that, who the hell needs overt vampiric powers?

[Met_K]

The Avengers 2: League Of The Extraordinary Suck.

Seriously, guys. I'm surprised no one's chimed in on this yet. It's taking the same basic principle, a good story (well, maybe not with Avengers) and turning it into an American suckfest.