Back in November of 2007, Comic Related was introduced to an individual who works in the film industry. This individual, who called herself Cassandra Faust, has been good enough to share four first hand reports direct from the set of the Watchmen film. Ms. Faust has been working as an extra during the filming and offered a great summary of what she witnessed. We're pleased to share her fifth set report today and Ms. Faust has our sincere, continued thanks...
THE END IS NIGH
Part II
by
Cassandra Faust
We’re now less than a year from the film’s release and the countdown to the first trailer is officially underway. It’s going to be a long year boys and girls. But the film should be more than worth the wait. In the meantime, all good things must come to an end and as I file my final reports from the set of WATCHMEN I turn my focus to the much-debated ending of the film.
Now I wish I could say that the squid will be rearing its ugly head, but I can’t report what I don’t know. What I do know, because I was there, was that the reaction shots of the two Bernards to “an energy discharge” appearing in the skies over New York City (just as they are realizing they have the same first name) were shot and some of us extras were enlisted to help with the gawking. Of course what we were looking at was a red circle high up on a mammoth green screen as a reference point. People climbing out of their cars, hurried pedestrians stopped dead in their tracks, folks standing in the middle of busy intersections and huge wind machines all give this moment the drama it deserves. Even Dr. Malcolm Long was amongst the gawkers and he joins the Bernards staring up at the sky.
Although I did not see this one particular aspect of the scene shot, it was fun to see Zack Snyder, at one point, demonstrating to his crew while they were staging the beginning of the discharge sequence how the two Bernards were to step into the street awestruck and then for the older Bernard to try to protect young Bernard from the blast we all know is coming. As with everything else in the movie, his acting out of the scene matched the novel perfectly.
This fan truly hopes the squid will be making an appearance in the film. But if Zack Snyder and company decide to omit the squid in favor of an ending that incorporates everything else from the climax of the novel, then I have faith they can pull it off. From what I saw filmed, they captured most of how the scene originally plays out and, considering Hollywood’s track record for making nonsensical alterations, this would be the best we could hope for should the squid not make the cut. We’ll have to wait and see.
Well, friends, the end is truly nigh. Just one more report and you can catch it here next week. Don’t miss it.
Page last updated on April 14, 2008