What's Alan Moore's Problem?

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Samuel T. Cogley, Aug 11, 2008.

  1. Samuel T. Cogley

    Samuel T. Cogley Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Hold still, Jim.
    I disagree.

    We all learn from our experiences (or we should, anyway). It's entirely possible that he has learned over time that certain decisions were mistakes based on how they ultimately turned out.

    Or, he could just be a crabby bastard who cashed in early on and now he pees in everyone's cornflakes whenever he's given the opportunity.

    Hell, he has two strikes in his favor. He's old, and he's an artist. I'd be disappointed if he wasn't a crabby bastard.
     
  2. Lapis Exilis

    Lapis Exilis Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Memo
    Alan Moore to Zach Snyder

    "But I don't think of you."
     
  3. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Alan Moore is a gentleman and a scholar - I've meet him a number of times and it's always a pleasure. He still lives in his local area and does good works for local causes.


    So he gets crappy at big business - so what! We need more people like that, not more corporate drones.
     
  4. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It's never been about them affecting them the sales of his graphic novels - no idea where you that strange concept from.
     
  5. Out Of My Vulcan Mind

    Out Of My Vulcan Mind Vice Admiral Admiral

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    For the sake of accurateness: the deal where he sold the film rights for LXG would of course have been a lot more recent since the comic only began publication in 1999, but it still most likely would have been a deal made before he'd seen the results of any film adaptations of his work. It was the one-two punch of From Hell in 2001 and LXG in 2003 that soured him. He's never seen V for Vendetta, but has read the screenplay.

    According to Don Murphy he tried to get Moore involved in protecting his work and guiding it in a way he saw fit in the adaptation to film, even offering to let Moore write the screenplay for From Hell, but Moore had a "just give me the money and don't talk to me anymore about the film" attitude.
     
  6. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I actually own two posters that he did as an artist - one in the 1990s and the other back in the 1980s. Both were special things to raise cause for social causes.
     
  7. Dream

    Dream Admiral Admiral

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    I loved the joke the Simpsons did about this a while back. Crazy Moore! :lol:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Notice the Lost Girls poster in the back. ;)
     
  8. Noname Given

    Noname Given Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Oh, please, give me a break. He KNEW what would happen to his properties once he sold the movie rights (and believe me, in te 1970ies and 1980ies, there were A LOT of examples he could look at and watch on TV and in the theatres of the day). It's just a fact tht the money offered was TOO GOOD to pass on; and now that he fells he probably has enough, he now does the whole 'I'm OUTRAGED!(tm)' stchick (much like Harlan Ellison - who's mde a good deal of money off of the whole 'Gene Roddenberry destroyes my 'City on the Edge of Forever' script, and acting shocked and surprised as IF it were the first script he ever sold for TV, and was thus 'unaware' of how that industry worked - which is BS as he sold a number of scripts previously to shows like 'The Outer Limits', etc.)

    he's just a raging hypocrite (imo); a;though I do applaud him if he IS at least donating a share of proceeds to charities).
     
  9. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

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    He initially felt he could sell the rights and then ignore what was done with them (which isn't the case with Watchmen, because he doesn't own it), but after his experience with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where he ended up getting sued by some other screenwriters, he became very bitter about Hollywood.

    I've heard that he liked Timm and DeMatteis adaptation of For The Man Who Has Everything on JLU (Timm specifically approached him to ask permission to do it, something that wasn't legally necessary).
     
  10. ancient

    ancient Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Some people are just not celebrities and handle fame in a pissy manner. Albert Einstein was angry about being famous, for example. Not everyone is an attention whore. That might make him appear more harsh than he actually is in person, much like Ellison. A lot of people like that are walking PR disasters, but are actually nice people to meet personally.

    Moore seems to be grumpy about the movies getting made, and that's his right, even if he let it happen by signing a contract years ago. People do make mistakes, you know. He hasn't really been overly critical, but he's also not fawning over other people making different versions of his stuff. It might seem a little selfish, but that's ok by me, especially if he is simply redirecting money towards charity.
     
  11. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I would gladly buy a Watchmen Babies comic. :)
     
  12. Yassim

    Yassim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Who are the comic writers of the 70's and 80's who retained creative control of their own properties?

    Moore just answers the question's he asked. He's never campaigned against the movies, he's never written an "I got screwed" book like Ellison, and as far as I can see, he's still politely answering the same questions time and again.

    Which part of removing his name from a movie to which he didn't contribute is hypocrisy? He didn't see a penny off V for Vendetta, and he won't take anything for Watchmen.

    (I did enjoy your accusation of hypocrisy, with applause for his charitable donations, though. That's big of you.)
     
  13. Out Of My Vulcan Mind

    Out Of My Vulcan Mind Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Actually, I think Moore and Gibbons did own the film rights to Watchmen and sold them. If DC had owned the film rights then they would've automatically gone to WB. That wasn't the case. The film rights were first sold to Fox, then went to Paramount, and only landed up at WB after Paramount put the film into turnaround.
     
  14. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    It's worth pointing out that, as far as I know, Moore has never tried to stop any of the films from being made. He's never sued anyone or backed out of a prior agreement.

    That doesn't mean he's obliged to endorse every film based on his work. Or take part in all the media hype.

    If he chooses to keep his distance from Hollywood, he's within his rights to do so.
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2008
  15. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    :guffaw: :guffaw:
     
  16. Goliath

    Goliath Vice Admiral Admiral

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    :)
     
  17. Cary L. Brown

    Cary L. Brown Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Ah, but there's the rub in the case of "Watchmen." Alan Moore isn't the SOLE CREATOR of Watchmen. Dave Gibbons was a co-creator.

    The result of which is that Moore has stated that his share of any proceeds from this film will go to Gibbons.

    Odd, certainly, but it makes his point quite clear. Gibbons gets the money... and Moore gets to keep his own "conscience" clear over the film. For Moore to refuse to allow Watchmen to be made, he'd essentially be taking food out of the mouths of Gibbon's children.

    So, while Moore may be an odd guy, he's got a sense or honor and morality which he's applying here.
     
  18. Ethros

    Ethros Vice Admiral Admiral

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  19. Admiral Buzzkill

    Admiral Buzzkill Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Why is this the standard response on this board whenever someone posts about a disputed subject in a mature, nuanced or openminded way?
     
  20. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

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    He actually did do the withholding thing for a while, albeit on a smaller scale, to Alan Davis, his collaborator on Marvel UK's Captain Britain; since the rights only applied to the UK, the transfer of any creations to Marvel proper required consent. Marvel initially reprinted some of his stuff in America, apparently unaware that consent was required (Chris Claremont, likewise, was planning on using some of the characters in Uncanny X-Men, operating under the assumption that since Marvel had published it it must be usable); Moore was annoyed by this mistake and forbid any further reprints, which led to a prolonged estrangement between him and the artist, Alan Davis, who thus couldn't get royalties for his work (Moore eventually allowed a trade printing a couple of years ago, which has since gone out of print).