Wondercon 2009: Even More Sex and Violence in 'Watchmen' Director's Cut
With Watchmen due in theaters next Friday, fans are now setting their sights on the film's Director's Cut, believed to be getting a theatrical release in July. "That's the hope anyway," director Zack Snyder told us today at San Francisco's Wondercon 2009. Playing his cards close to his vest, Snyder continued, "I don't know. They're saying right now New York and LA. I don't know, I have no idea, but they mentioned it as a thing. I said, 'That's cool. It'd be great.'"
Snyder was more certain, however, about the scenes that will be a part of the Director's Cut, and those scenes seem to contain a good deal sex and violence that may have been too much for the R rating of the theatrical release.
Referring to one of the tamer scenes to be reinserted, Snyder commented, "There's a big sequence on Mars between Laurie and Manhattan, the whole thing about 'You're sleeping with him?' That whole, 'I'm a puppet that can see the strings.' That whole thing." But when asked what scenes of violence will make it into the Director's Cut, Snyder remarked, "There's a little more Rorschach. A couple more hacks into the head of the child killer. Actually a piece comes off, and it's pretty hardcore. Because then Dan sees that Hollis Mason [the first Night Owl] is dead on the TV, and he beats up that [guy] in the bar. He knocks his teeth out, he really beats the crap out of him, in a horrible way."
Watchmen graphic novel artist and co-creator Dave Gibbons, also a guest at Wondercon this weekend, added, "The thing I really like about the scene is the way Rorschach taps him on the shoulder and says, 'Dan, c'mon, not in front of the civilians.'" Gibbons stated that the amount of freedom Snyder and co. were given by Warner Brothers to make their film adaptation of his classic comic was similar to that given to him and writer Alan Moore by DC Comics when they first created the Watchmen saga back in the '80s.
When asked how the level of nudity will be upped in the Director's Cut, Snyder replied, "That shot, where they're walking to the top of the stairs coming to the glass house, it's pretty intense."
Dan Drieberg himself (a.k.a. Night Owl II) joined Snyder and Wilson, and offered his own take on the unique way in which Watchmen handles sexuality, in both its theatrical and Director's Cuts: "Sexuality is such an important part of this movie, in every character -- whether it's a lack thereof, or wanting to please sexually, or my fetish aspect. For every character, sexuality is so important; and thank God, because I think that's ultimately the most basic human element there is."
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