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Joe Mayer
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Posted: 24 June 2006 at 1:57pm | IP Logged | 1  

Also on V for Vendetta, Moore had all of his share on money directed to David Lloyd.

This is from an MTV interview that I Googled.

MTV: Could you see "Lost Girls" being made into a film?

Alan Moore: I don't see how adapting it to another medium makes any sense at all. But that's me. I am a little cranky sometimes. And it wouldn't be fair of me to say no if Melinda [Gebbe] did want to see "Lost Girls" made into a film. My position is, I don't want my name on it and I don't want the money. But also, how would they get actors of any quality to appear in a hard-core sex film? We'd need Judi Dench for it, and I don't think she'd do it. But I really doubt that any of my comics can be [successfully] made into films, because that's not how I write them.

http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/interviews/m/moore_alan_060 315/

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Brandon Carter
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Posted: 24 June 2006 at 2:17pm | IP Logged | 2  

Why did Steranko want his name removed from X-Men?

 

Edited to add It's post 250!  One quarter of a way to 1000!  Wheeeee!

 



Edited by Brandon Carter on 24 June 2006 at 2:20pm
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Jacob P Secrest
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Posted: 24 June 2006 at 2:46pm | IP Logged | 3  

 Joe Mayer wrote:
This is from an MTV interview that I Googled.

That's the one I was looking for!

Up a few posts I made reference to that interview, just couldn't remember
where I read it.

Thank you.
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Deepak Ramani
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Posted: 24 June 2006 at 2:48pm | IP Logged | 4  

 John Byrne wrote:
So more owns none of the material that has been brought to the screen? He did not have the power to simply say "No"?

Of course he could have said "No," but he didn't because of his previous views on making films of his work (quotes below).

 Jacob Secrest wrote:
I seem to remember him saying that if Melinda Gebbie wanted to make a Lost Girls movie, he wouldn't stand in her way, he just wouldn't want his name on it, he feels that the movie in no way affects his comic, so
basically, he just doesn't care, and as long as they leave him alone, he'll
be happy leaving them alone.


Yes, Moore has said this (quote below).  I think Moore's views on his name being associated with it have changed dramatically since V For Vendetta where he felt that the director was dishonestly claiming Moore's approval of the script which, as far as I know, Moore never game.  (More like Moore gave the go ahead for the project and then chose not to be involved.)

Anyway, here's a link to an interview I found, on MTV of all places, which has some discussion of the issue (including a confirmation of what Jacob wrote above):

http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/interviews/m/moore_alan_060 315/

 Alan Moore wrote:
I don't see how adapting it to another medium makes any sense at all. But that's me. I am a little cranky sometimes. And it wouldn't be fair of me to say no if Melinda [Gebbe] did want to see "Lost Girls" made into a film. My position is, I don't want my name on it and I don't want the money. But also, how would they get actors of any quality to appear in a hard-core sex film? We'd need Judi Dench for it, and I don't think she'd do it. But I really doubt that any of my comics can be [successfully] made into films, because that's not how I write them.

[. . . .]


My position used to be: If the film is a masterpiece, that has nothing to do with my book. If the film is a disaster, that has nothing to do with my book. They're two separate entities, and people will understand that. This was very naive because most people are not bothered with whether it's adapted from a book or not. And if they do know, they assume it was a faithful adaptation. There's no need to read the book if you've seen the film, right? And how many of the audience who went to see "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" thought, "Hmmm, I've really got to go read 'The Odyssey' "?

When you're talking about things like "V for Vendetta" or "Watchmen," I don't have a choice. Those were works which DC Comics kind of tricked me out of, so they own all that stuff and it's up to them whether the film gets made or not. All I can do is say, "I want my name taken off of it and I don't want any of the money." I'd rather the money be distributed amongst the artists. But even though [the filmmakers] were aware that I'd asked that my name be taken off "V for Vendetta" and had already signed my money away to the artist, they issued a press release saying I was really excited about the film. Which was a lie. I asked for a retraction, but they weren't prepared to do that. So I announced I wouldn't be working with DC Comics anymore. I just couldn't bear to have any contact with DC Comics, Warner Bros. or any of this shark pool ever again.

I also seem to remember Moore saying that he used not to care about the movies in comparison with his own works, but I haven't had much luck finding quotations.  I suspect that they may be in the two interview books that came out a few years ago, but those are boxed away somewhere in my house for now.  In the meantime, I found an old Guardian article (preceding From Hell)that quoted Moore as follows:


 QUOTE:
"I haven't seen the From Hell movie yet. I might see it when it comes out on video," he says, boiling the kettle. "I kind of figured from the outset that it wasn't really fair of me to expect the film to be anything like my book. I've tried to keep an emotional distance."

Anyone's guess whether that means he "doesn't care" or not.  Finally, here's an excerpt from an interview in the Onion A.V. Club from 2001:

 Alan Moore wrote:
I mean, obviously, if someone takes up an option on one of my books, it's a great deal of money for me and the artist. It wouldn't be anything that I'd rapidly turn down. I suppose that the way I keep all that straight in my head is by keeping this kind of detachment, and by realizing that the film and the book are very different entities. Apparently, someone asked Raymond Chandler once what he thought of Hollywood ruining all of his books. And he took them into his study and pointed up to the shelf where they all were, and he said, "Look, they're there. They're fine. They're okay." That's the attitude I have to take. The film hasn't ruined my book.

Again, I have no idea whether "emotional detachment" is meant to be that Moore doesn't care what they do to his book.  I take it that way myself, but I can easily understand reading it differently.

I am generally a big fan of Moore's work, but his idea that DC stole Watchmen and V For Vendetta for him has to be one of the nuttiest ideas he's ever come up with.  I also think that there is some obvious tension between Moore's complaints that Vendetta was changed form his master vision and his actions with LOEG, LOEG2, and now Lost Girls.

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Dave Phelps
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Posted: 24 June 2006 at 5:14pm | IP Logged | 5  

From what I understand, he used to just gleefully cash the checks, ignore the film and that was that.  Someone who worked on From Hell (IIRC) posted on Newsarama (during the V For Vendetta to-do) that he offered him creative input on the film and Moore said no.

Then the League of Extraordinary Gentleman film came out.  Apparently there was an unproduced screenplay (or maybe it was a book) called Cast of Characters and the writers of it accused the film company (and Moore) of stealing their ideas.  The legal proceedings that followed (including hours of questioning him) left such a bad feeling with Moore that he decided that was it for him and Hollywood. Particularly since some of the things the CoC guys were suing over (like the use of Tom Sawyer) weren't in Moore's original work but rather changed for the movie.  So from then on he decided that he would take his name off the movie and give all the money to the artist(s).

One of his gripes with V For Vendetta was that he read an article which said he really liked the movie and was looking forward to it.  (As opposed to his true position of "no interest in ever seeing the film" and wanting no part of it.)  Since then he's made his true position abundantly clear...  DC was unable to get a public apology from the guy who made the original statement so Moore jumped ship from ABC (frankly, I think he was looking for an excuse) and has requested that his name be removed from the V For Vendetta tpb.

However, with pretty much anything he's done for DC, he has no control over whether the rights are sold.  He's entitled to a piece of the money, but he doesn't have a say as to whether a movie is made or not.  As for his other work, unless Hollywood wants to go after some of his old 2000AD stuff, there's not much left to go with.  Brought to Light and A Small Killing is all that comes to mind.

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Arvid Spejare
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Posted: 24 June 2006 at 5:26pm | IP Logged | 6  

I was just about to search for that Raymond Chandler quote.

Dave, with all that I'm afraid you've ended the whole "Alan Moore is a hypocrite" part of this thread...

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Deepak Ramani
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Posted: 24 June 2006 at 6:54pm | IP Logged | 7  

 Arvid Spejare wrote:
Dave, with all that I'm afraid you've ended the whole "Alan Moore is a hypocrite" part of this thread...


Hardly.  The specific accusation was that Moore complained loudly that changes were made to his works, and that his original intent was not followed, but he himself has not followed the original intent of the authors whose characters he has used.  (Even if you give Moore the benefit of the doubt on League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, I don't see any possible argument that Barrie would have wanted Lost Girls for Wendy.)

On the Newsarama thread that Dave mentions Rich Johnston explained that Moore saw a big difference because he was alive, while H.Rider Haggard, for one, was not.  I confess that I don't understand how that could possibly be relevant.

On V For Vendetta Moore signed away the rights to make the movie, and then declined to be involved in the production, when he was asked.  He's free to complain about how awful he thinks the movie is, but he should remember that he was offered a chance to help make it not awful.
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Jacob P Secrest
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Posted: 24 June 2006 at 7:08pm | IP Logged | 8  

He wanted nothing to do with the movie due to bad experiences in the
past, he doesn't think the movie affects his own work, so therefore
couldn't care less about what they do with the movie.

The problem with V is that the producers continually called him when he
had repeatedly said he wanted nothing to do with the movie, that is why
he started to complain about it.
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Dave Farabee
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Posted: 24 June 2006 at 7:35pm | IP Logged | 9  

For me, whether or not Moore is a hypocrite is largely a tangential issue to whether or not LOST GIRLS will have any merit. I try to keep artists and their art separate, as creative types have a long and honorable history of being assholes with difficulties applying their insights to themselves.

Fortunately, I suspect Moore's shakey assertions on copyright law and fidelity to source material won't factor into the qualities of a book like LOST GIRLS at all. For all practical purposes, it sounds like it's to be his treatise on human sexuality, and I feel very confident the guy's got something of merit to say on the subject.

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Dave Farabee
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Posted: 24 June 2006 at 7:48pm | IP Logged | 10  

 Dave Farabee wrote:
Got my copy on order. Looking forward to it more than any other comic in quite some time.

 John Byrne wrote:
Then you are a complete asshole.

Oh, and jumping back to this for a sec, can I ask what's specifically assholish about me wanting to read LOST GIRLS?

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Steve Horton
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Posted: 24 June 2006 at 7:54pm | IP Logged | 11  

Yeah, I really want to hear opinions on human sexuality from a guy who believes magic is real... :)
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Deepak Ramani
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Posted: 24 June 2006 at 7:56pm | IP Logged | 12  

 Jacob Secrest wrote:
The problem with V is that the producers continually called him when he had repeatedly said he wanted nothing to do with the movie, that is why
he started to complain about it.


I think David Phelps had it correct that it was the movie producers stating that he liked the movie (or screenplay or something), when in fact he didn't care about any of it.  I'm sure Moore felt that this was said as a way of getting his fans to see the movie with the idea that Moore approved of it.  He's perfectly justified to get upset about this treatment, and, under similar circumstances, I would be angry too.

Whether or not Moore is being a hypocrite by complaining about the changes really depend on what his specific complaint was.  Dave Farabee is completely correct when he says that none of this affects the quality of the work.

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