Exclusive: Behind the Scenes of “Watchmen”

Tomorrow is the opening of “Watchmen,” the much anticipated movie based on the comic books by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The film is directed by Zack Snyder, who did the ultra-stylized “300,” and tells the story of a group of ex-superheroes that comes together to solve the murder of one of their own.

My friend Melissa Remenarich-Aperlo worked as the first assistant editor on both films, and her husband Peter Aperlo wrote the companion books for “Watchmen.” He has some great insight and behind-the-scenes info that I thought would interest “Watchmen” fans. To learn more, go see the movie and check out Peter’s books: “Watchmen: The Official Film Companion” and “Watchmen: The Art of the Film.”

jimmacmillan.net: When did you first read “Watchmen,” and what was your initial reaction?

Peter Aperlo: I first read it when 300 was in post-production and they were approaching Zack about directing it. I had always been way more into sci-fi and fantasy novels than comic books, but I had just come off doing an adaptation of Frank Miller’s Ronin for Gianni Nunnari at Hollywood Gang and was reading more graphic novels and a couple of comic book series. This had always been held up as the Lord of the Rings of the comic book realm, and that seemed like as good a time as any to pick it up. It did not disappoint. It has a fully realized, self-contained world, brought to life with all the bits of backstory you find at the end of the chapters — stuff I absolutely devoured. It really made you think, “What if superheroes existed? What type of person would even want to be one? What would it have done to our world?” Here are these familiar-looking characters, but your expectations of them have been stood on their head. They seem so extreme and broken, until you realize they’re just real. That was refreshing. 

jimmacmillan.net: Has that reaction changed over time, or with the making of the movie?

Peter Aperlo: If anything, my appreciation for the depth and complexity of Moore’s and Gibbons’ work has only deepened over time. It’s not a book you read through once, put away on a shelf, and forget about. You read through it a couple of times, think you understand it, and then you pick it up one day and find something new that floors you. I really got that when I wrote the Film Companion and had to do studies of each character. You go in thinking it’ll be like peeling back the layers of an onion, but it’s more like looking for a bunch of needles in a haystack. Just when you think you’ve found them all, another one pricks you.

jimmacmillan.net: What was the hardest part about writing each book?

Peter Aperlo: The hardest part was the time crunch, coupled with the fact that I’d never written this type of book before. I couldn’t have finished them in time without the help of Eric Matthies. He directed the Under the Hood documentary found on the DVD, as well as producing the electronic press kit containing interviews with all the principal cast and crew. While I conducted a few of my own interviews, the vast majority of the quotes in the books come his transcripts. I’m eternally grateful to him.

jimmacmillan.net: What was the coolest thing you learned while writing them?    

Peter Aperlo: One story that kept coming up among the crew was that of the “Creepy House.” This was a location needed for the home of the child murderer that Rorschach investigates. They found a run-down house near Vancouver that fit the bill, but it was just too, well, creepy. There was even a pair of dogs living inside, with all the lack of hygiene that implies. In the end, the filmmakers decided it was easier and safer to recreate the house on the backlot, with the unsavory nature of the original greatly informing the set dressing.

jimmacmillan.net: What’s an insider-type thing to watch for in the movie — something that might be missed the first time around but caught in later viewings?

Peter Aperlo: There are a lot. The original series was meant to showcase what comic books could do as a medium, and the movie will showcase (among other things) the strengths of a technology like Blu-ray. It’s an Easter-egg hunt of sight and sound. Veidt’s wall of monitors at Karnak will evoke a few squeals from dedicated fans, as will a frame-by-frame search of the Owl Chamber. You also might want to pay attention to the name next to the cockpit on the bomber “Miss Jupiter.” Just saying.