300 was on top of the box office.

 

Yes.

With over 70 million dollars this weekend.

I am excited about the success of 300.

If direct comic book adaptations can be successful, why not make more of them?

As long as they studios don’t think they should only do things by the well regarded Frank Miller.

Many comic book movies have been silly movies that barely made bank, were critically panned, and then forgotten about by the viewing public.

The works of the supreme comics genius Alan Moore come to mind.

1) Swamp Thing

2) Constantine

3) League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

4) From Hell

Or other disappointing projects like that terrible George Clooney Batman film.

These movies bought a successful comic, totally changed the film, and were left with a piss poor product as a result.

They ignored the fact that comics are already cinematic. Words and pictures. Films just move.

But recently there have been a few successful movies that borrow their story directly from the comic book, in one instance shot for shot.

Lets start with the less than perfect retelling.

V for Vendetta was heavily based off the graphic novel by the great Alan Moore of the same name.

It admittedly did alter the story slightly to make it more… capable of fitting into 2 hours, and more politically relevant today (rather than the 80’s when it was written).

But it stayed very very true to the source material, recreating several bits flawlessly.

I’m sure the studios who made crap like From Hell were shocked when an actual faithful version of a comic on film was successful.

Also, before this (by almost exactly a year) there was Sin City.

Sin City was not just a mostly faithful adaptation of Frank Miller’s comic book of the same name. It was a literal piece by piece depection of the comic on screen.

EVERYTHING IN THE MOVIE IS IN THE COMIC. A few minor bits of dialogue are cut from the film, and a few minor scenes. But NOTHING (to the best of my knowledge) is added.

The movie of Sin City is exactly what the comic was. And it did moderately well at the box office and did very well in DVD sales.

But these are two projects.

Two successful projects. But it’s possible that Hollywood studio execs could look at both of them and think they were flukes.

Random occurrences.

And then came 300.

300 is again as much as possible a shot for shot retelling of Frank Millers graphic novel.

I’m told it adds a few scenes, but artistically and story wise it’s the same as the comic.

And it farking cleaned up.

They’re wisest move was several months ago coinciding an add campaign for 300 with popular social networking site Myspace increasing its picture limit to 300 picture. It was 12 before. That got people’s attention as they associated something they had long clamored for with this Film.

The effects of this cannot be measured quantitatively of course, but I think the effects were profound. That was when every single person from the ages of 15-25 knew that 300 was an upcoming action film that looked pretty cool.

I digress.

There have now been three successful comic book films that are direct adaptations of comics without Hollywood execs getting their ill fated foolish hands on them and ruining the story.

1) Sin City

2) V for Vendetta

3) 300

So, how long before someone wises up and figures that Dark Knight Returns would work best exactly as it is?

How long indeed?

How long before The Killing Joke becomes a Batman Film, exactly as it is.?

Will you get to see an Animated Kingdom Come that does not veer from the story line or visual pacing and imagery?

Thanks to 300 you might.

Especially if you go out and buy another ticket for this weekend too, and the next.

Speak with your wallets.

If you want to see Transmet as some sort of faithful animated Adult Swim creation, go buy another ticket to 300.

Do you want to see another DareDevil movie, but instead one that faithfully recreates Frank Millers’ run?

Go buy another ticket to 300.

Do you want to see Sandman on screen?

Go buy another ticket to 300.

Do you want to see The Invisibles on the big screen?

So see 300 again.

If you want to see Watchmen as a faithful 12 part HBO mini-series, go buy another ticket to 300.

Go now.

-Michael Climek

This entry was posted on Monday, March 12th, 2007 at 9:35 pm and is filed under Comics, Media and Motion Pictures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.