Video:Dave Gibbons Interview - Watchmen at Comic Con 2008
with Rebecca MurrayDave Gibbons was clapping as enthusiastically as the crowd when clips from 'Watchmen' were screened at Comic Con '08. Getting Gibbons' stamp of approval meant a lot to director Zack Snyder and the entire cast of the much-anticipated movie.
Transcript:Dave Gibbons Interview - Watchmen at Comic Con 2008
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the 2008 San Diego Comic Con.
Dave Gibbons – Illustrator of Watchmen
That reaction from the fans out there shows that these guys did a good job with this, and obviously you think they did a good too, right?
Dave Gibbons: "Oh I absolutely do, and you know they're a tough audience – these comic fans in San Diego. I know because I've been in the audience many times myself. Yeah, to get their approval and their obvious kind of affection for it is a very powerful thing."
Have you heard anything from fans about the work saying they're a little leery about this, or have you only heard supportive things?
Dave Gibbons: "Well, I think because the fans are kind of possessive about the things they like, and I include me in that as well, there is this fear that they're going to take something that was kind of a jewel in the crown, if you like, and corrupt it and change it and misrepresent it to the larger world. There are bound to be misgivings, and obviously they are details that are different, and everybody's got their own favorite scenes that may or may not be in there. But I think the spirit of it is still very much intact. And the feeling I got from fans who've seen the trailers and the teasers is that they're just blown away by the fidelity of it, and how much how many of their favorite moments – even in what they've seen – are there."
And that color palette… Your color palette is in the movie.
Dave Gibbons: "Sure. I mean, the original comic was colored by a very good friend of mine called John Higgins and we went very much for a kind of palette of secondary colors – oranges and purples – and they have maintained that. They haven't done it like Dick Tracy where it was kind of garish, but I think the color balance is really important to the mood of it. You know, there is subliminal things about making an adaptation faithful and it's not necessarily just detail, but it is things like color palette, mood, even the sound could alter your perception of it."
Did you ever really think this was a movie that could come to life as realistically as this is coming to life?
Dave Gibbons: "No. I mean, over the years there have been attempts to make it into a movie. The thing that characterized Watchmen when Alan Moore and I were doing it way back was it was almost a sense of serendipity or fortunate coincidence. And I think the timing of this has got that feeling to me, that it's just come along at the right time with right director. And with the current spate of superhero movies, it's just the right time to deconstruct that. So I'm really happy with it."
Do you think audiences who haven't read Watchmen are going to understand what's going on? Does the world translate without seeing that graphic novel?
Dave Gibbons: "Well you know I think the thing is that when the comic book came out, it relied on the readers being familiar with the superhero in comic books. Nowadays because of the number of superhero movies there have been, the movie-going audience understands superhero movies so they will get the references. They will get the things without us having to explain them. They know about secret identities and underground headquarters and stuff like that so I don't think they'll have a problem. One of the things is as well that apparently the sales of the graphic novel have gone through the roof just based on this trailer, and that's a very heartening thing as well. I think people will read the Watchmen. There's also an animated version of it which is coming out online, which is available from the iTunes store which is the original drawings brought to life with animation. So I think through one way or another people will understand what Watchmen is about."