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'Watchmen' TV Series From Damon Lindelof in the Works at HBO [update: pilot ordered]

jetjevons

Bish loves my games!
Sometimes a dude strikes gold like Leftovers. Sometimes he's working on Cowboys & Aliens and Tomorrowland.

Let not act like Lindelof's track record is one to laud.

Its more what have you done for me lately. Lately he's given us The Leftovers. If that's a reflection of his TV writer/showrunner career trajectory I'm all in on Watchmen.
 

Slayven

Member
What could possibly go wrong?

before-watchmen-comics.jpg
 
The Leftovers is such a brilliant work of art that I feel second hand embarrassment for the played out Lindelof bashers in this thread.
 
If this more than a season, and I hope it isn't, we have to be getting before Watchmen material right?

Hopefully Lindelof isn't a slave to the material. Translate, don't copy.
 

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
Man, this is a hard one. On one hand an adaptation that understands the source material, unlike the Snyder film, would be nice. On the other hand Lindelof is a potential stake through the heart. Not sure what to think.
 

styl3s

Member
Nothing to redeem though!

Lost may have had a messy final season but it was fantastic for most of its run.
Lost and Leftovers are 2 of my favorite shows so i am in.

And yeah Lost was fantastic even in it's messy final season.
 
My take is that Watchmen isn't worth adapting unless it goes the extra mile. It was a comic that was a very specific and special reaction to comics before it. Snyder's version was a faithful adaptation that, by sticking so close, lost the soul of the material.

Lindelof has some duds, sure, but he is absolutely willing to betray the audience and do what he feels is necessary to tell the story he wants to tell, for better or worse (this approach payed off so, so much with The Leftovers), and that is precisely what a proper Watchmen adaptation would require. It needs to be a reaction to the current landscape of superhero television and movies, otherwise what's the fuckin' point.
 
Is this his reward for Leftovers?
I almost wonder if it's the opposite. The Leftovers was ratings poison for HBO, and not a cheap show to produce. The fact it got a third season at all is a miracle.

I almost wonder if Lindeloff agreed to put his touch on a big name project like this, in exchange for making that final season happen.
 

Fury451

Banned
My opinion on Lindelof changed for the better when I found out his script for Prometheus was not really used, was apparently coherent and explained things, and he wasn't at fault for that shitshow.

I don't like Lost, but it was pretty unique, and Leftovers was good.

Not sure where the hate for Lindelof is really coming from- he would probably do a great job with this.

I almost wonder if it's the opposite. The Leftovers was ratings poison for HBO, and not a cheap show to produce. The fact it got a third season at all is a miracle.

I almost wonder if Lindeloff agreed to put his touch on a big name project like this, in exchange for making that final season happen.

Doubtful, he probably jumped at the chance- Lindelof loves Watchmen and cited it as an influence in Lost.
 
My opinion on Lindelof changed for the better when I found out his script for Prometheus was not really used, was apparently coherent and explained things, and he wasn't at fault for that shitshow.

I don't like Lost, but it was pretty unique, and Leftovers was good.

Not sure where the hate for Lindelof is really coming from- he would probably do a great job with this.



Lindelof loves Watchmen and cited it as an influence in Lost.
Erm, what?

You mean Spaigts' draft.

Lindelof's draft is what you see on screen.
 

Fury451

Banned
Erm, what?

You mean Spaigts' draft.

Lindelof's draft is what you see on screen.

I thought I read something somewhat recently where his draft was used, but Scott ended up changing a lot of it in production anyway, leaving a lot more plotholes than intended. So he's responsible for expanding Spaigts' ideas but not necessarily for how they were utilized. Can't seem to find that now.
 
I thought I read something somewhat recently where his draft was used, but Scott ended up changing a lot of it in production anyway, leaving a lot more plotholes than intended. So he's responsible for expanding Spaigts' ideas but not necessarily for how they were utilized. Can't seem to find that now.
Bro, you can find Lindeof's draft easily. It's exactly as you find it on screen. Haven't got it in front of me right now, but I'm pretty sure it's the shooting draft.

Read it and literally weep.
 
This is true. In the deep dives into the finale's writing process we heard about how Tom Perotta (the author of the Leftovers novel) and the rest of the writers room talked Damon out of a (IMO) disastrous decision for the finale.

It's not that he's not a genius, he just needs anchored folks around him to bring him back to earth.

Pretty much this. I don't think he's a genius. He's a good writer with some good ideas, who if left to his own devices will frequently take those ideas in bad directions.

Folks are leaving The Leftovers entirely at his feet, and while he deserves much of that credits, it does not behoove to ignore the rest of what he's done. This'll live and die on the writer's room he puts together and if someone will be there to go, "No, that's a bad idea."

I thought I read something somewhat recently where his draft was used, but Scott ended up changing a lot of it in production anyway, leaving a lot more plotholes than intended. So he's responsible for expanding Spaigts' ideas but not necessarily for how they were utilized. Can't seem to find that now.

Nah, you can find Lindelof's script pretty easily.
 

Fury451

Banned
Bro, you can find Lindeof's draft easily. It's exactly as you find it on screen. Haven't got it in front of me right now, but I'm pretty sure it's the shooting draft.

Read it and literally weep.

Well then I was reading some old BS because that script is garbage.

I'll still give him The Leftovers benefit and hope it's not a fluke....
 
Do I think Damon Lindelof given 10-12 hours, a room full of his Leftovers favorites, and HBO's resources can do a better job of adapting Alan Moore's work than Alex Tse & David Hayter with 2 1/2 hours and Zack Snyder at the helm?

Yes. I do.
 
Do I think Damon Lindelof given 10-12 hours, a room full of his Leftovers favorites, and HBO's resources can do a better job of adapting Alan Moore's work than Alex Tse & David Hayter with 2 1/2 hours and Zack Snyder at the helm?

Yes. I do.

I mean, that's a given. Given two seasons though and nobody holding him back, I think Lindelof would find new ways to potentially mess it up. Like I said, depends on the room he builds.
 

Big-E

Member
So the leftovers isn't horrible? I got through half the first season and fell asleep during almost every episode.
 
I mean, that's a given. Given two seasons though and nobody holding him back, I think Lindelof would find new ways to potentially mess it up. Like I said, depends on the room he builds.

Well yeah, but have you read that interview he did with Seitz?

Dude now is not dude then, and dude makes mistakes still, but dude seems a lot more open to being pulled back becuase there isn't a second that goes by that he's not aware that he's going to have to pay penance on LOST for the rest of his fucking life.

That's a powerful engine.
 
Well yeah, but have you read that interview he did with Seitz?

Dude now is not dude then, and dude makes mistakes still, but dude seems a lot more open to being pulled back becuase there isn't a second that goes by that he's not aware that he's going to have to pay penance on LOST for the rest of his fucking life.

That's a powerful engine.


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They both suffered from a lot of the same problems, but Lost at least lasted longer before you realized they had no clue what they were doing (which in some ways made it worse). The Leftovers you could tell really early on that it would be a disaster.
 
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