Watchmen Video Diary: Making Doctor Manhattan

Fans have been holding their breath to find out whether or not the film adaptation of Watchmen would open on time, due to a nasty little legal situation between Warner Brothers and Fox. But it appears for now that the film will release on March 6, 2009.

Which, unfortunately, is still far enough away that fans are chomping at the bit for peeks at how the classic graphic novel will look on screen. Ever since the mindblowing trailer people have been scrounging around for more. And in an era where The Dark Knight has completely redefined what a movie that’s “just based on a comic book” (please note my massive sarcasm) can do, Watchmen has some big shoes to fill.

But now, Scifi.com has released a “making of” video showing some of the special effects going into the creation of Doctor Manhattan. The video shows the motion capture techniques used involving actor Billy Cudrup, as well as some other techniques employed when the character had to be massive or multiples of himself.

At this point, the film is boasting awesome looking special effects, an awesome cast featuring stars such as Jeffrey Dean Morgan and direction by Zach Snyder, who not only successfully remade Romero’s classic Dawn of the Dead (though, you didn’t set it in Monroeville, Zach. I take issue with that. Pittsburgh IS the zombie survival capital of the US, you know! We’ve gotta have some claim to fame) and conquered Frank Miller’s 300, but also has a strong devotion to bringing Alan Moore’s groundbreaking work to screen. Oh, yeah, and this group of dorky comics fans who call themselves are My Chemical Romance covering “Desolation Row” by Bob Dylan for the film’s soundtrack. That’s something too.

So, after seeing the new footage, what are your thoughts on Watchmen? Do you think it’s going to successfully translate to screen? Or is Alan Moore’s intent and message doomed to be lost behind flashy graphics?