Watchmen trivia: 59 facts about the Zack Snyder film

Watchmen is a 2009 film made by Zack Snyder and it is an adaptation of the famous graphic novel created by Alan Moore.

So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about this film!

1. Watchmen is a 2009 American superhero film
2. It is directed by Zack Snyder
3. It is based on the 1986–87 DC Comics limited series of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
4. It stars an ensemble cast of Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson
5. A dark satirical and dystopian take on the superhero genre
6. The film is set in an alternate history in the year 1985 at the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union
7. As a group of mostly retired American superheroes investigates the murder of one of their own before uncovering an elaborate and deadly conspiracy
8. While their moral limitations are challenged by the complex nature of the circumstances
9. From October 1987 until October 2005, a live-action film adaptation of the Watchmen series became stranded in development hell
10. Producers Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver began developing the project at 20th Century Fox
11. Later moving it to Warner Bros. Pictures
12. The sister company of Watchmen publisher DC Comics
13. And hiring director Terry Gillian
14. He eventually left the production and deemed the complex comic “unfilmable”
15. During the 2000s, Gordon and Lloyd Levin collaborated with Universal Pictures, Revolution Studios and Paramount Pictures to produce the film
16. Directors David Hayter, Darren Aronofsky and Paul Greengrass were attached to the project before it was cancelled over budget disputes
17. In October 2005, the project returned to Warner Bros.
18. There Snyder was hired to direct
19. Paramount remained as its international distributor
20. Whereas Warner Bros. would distribute the film in the United States
21. However, Fox sued Warner Bros. for copyright violation arising from Gordon’s failure to pay a buy-out in 1991
22. Which enabled him to develop the film at the other studios
23. Fox and Warner Bros. settled this before the film’s release
24. With Fox receiving a portion of the gross
25. Principal photography began in Vancouver, September 2007
26. As with his previous film 300, Snyder closely modelled his storyboards on the comic
27. But chose not to shoot all of Watchmen using green screens and opted for real sets instead
28. It had its world premiere at Odeon Leicester Square on February 23, 2009
29. The film was released in both conventional and IMAX theaters on March 6, 2009
30. And grossed $55 million on its opening weekend
31. And over $185 million at the worldwide box office
32. The film polarized fans and critics
33. The style was praised
34. But Snyder was accused of making an action film that lacked the subtlety and wit of the comic
35. A DVD based on elements of the Watchmen universe was released
36. Including an animated adaptation of the comic Tales of the Black Freighter within the story voiced by Gerard Butler
37. And a fictional documentary titled Under the Hood
38. Detailing the older generation of superheroes from the film’s back-story
39. A director’s cut with 24 minutes of additional footage was released in July 2009
40. The “Ultimate Cut” edition incorporated the animated comic Tales of the Black Freighter into the narrative as it was in the original graphic novel
41. Lengthening the runtime to 3 hours and 35 minutes
42. It was released on November 3, 2009
43. The directors cut was received better than the theatrical release
44. Watchmen received a strongly polarized reception from both audiences and critics
45. Some critics gave overwhelmingly positive reviews for the dark, cerebral and unique take on the superhero genre, faithfulness to the source material, the mature themes and storyline, the visual style and cinematography, the performances of the cast and the visual effects
46. Others derided the film for the same reasons
47. As well as for as the R-rating, the running time, and the complex narrative, for being too confusing and difficult to follow
48. On Rotten Tomatoes, Watchmen has a 64% approval rating
49. Based on 302 reviews
50. With an average rating of 6.33/10
51. The site’s critical consensus reads, “Gritty and visually striking, Watchmen is a faithful adaptation of Alan Moore’s graphic novel, but its complex narrative structure may make it difficult for it to appeal to viewers not already familiar with the source material”
52. By comparison, on Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating reviews from mainstream critics, the film has a score of 56 out of 100
53. Based on 39 critics
54. Indicating “mixed or average reviews”
55. CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade cinemagoers gave the film was B on an A+ to F scale
56. And that the primary audience was older men
57. Watchmen was nominated for one award at the 2009 VES Awards, seven awards at the 36th Saturn Awards, and 13 awards at the 2009 Scream Awards
58. The film was also pre-nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
59. Although it did not make the final shortlist