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Watchmen's Cinematographer Larry Fong Interviewed

by Alex Billington
April 27, 2008
Source: ComicUS.it

In the last 24 hours we've covered three of the most highly anticipated movies of the next four years: The Dark Knight, The Hobbit, and now Watchmen. Zack Snyder's cinematographer Larry Fong was recently interviewed about Watchmen and spoke a lot about the film's look and feel as well as experiences on the set and more. Like Guillermo del Toro before this, it's a great interview that I highly suggest for anyone looking forward to Watchmen. Included below are a few of my favorite parts and quotes that should get fans excited. You can read the rest over at ComicUS.it or stick with what you'll find below.

One of my favorite parts is the answer Larry gives when asked about how the crew dealt with the pressure of adapting one of the greatest comic masterpieces. This is why I love Zack Snyder and why I know he was perfect guy to finally adapt this.

"Firstly, Zack is more of a fan than any of the critics will ever know. He didn't just jump on the bandwagon when Hollywood decided to travel down that road. He grew up on comics and graphic novels. From the day I met him he was always talking about, and even drawing, comics and characters that I never heard of. He was the first one to make me aware of Frank Miller. Everyone involved with 'Watchmen' already had, or soon gained, great respect for the material and took it very seriously...and yes, we were very aware of the fans and felt a responsibility to them as well...being fans ourselves."

Speaking of the graphic novel, another important part of the production was how integral the actual novel was during the filming process. For those who might have been worried that it was just tossed aside after they wrote the script, that was definitely not the case. Even Larry, the cinemaographer who makes every frame of the movie look the way it does, confirms that it was very important.

"The graphic novel was definitely the 'bible' of the show. I'd have to say the production design, props, and wardrobe probably drew more directly from the material visually. Although people sometimes think of a graphic novel as 'cinematic', in truth we have a fixed aspect ratio that cannot be changed, as well as numerous other factors....not to mention the translation from 2D to 3D is not absolute. As a side note, Dave Gibbons visited the set and seemed to be quite ecstatic as far as I could tell."

The last bit that I can't help but point out is the answer to a question of "what impressed him the most" during the filming. His answer: "The production design was fantastic. Alex McDowell, whom I was thrilled to finally be working with, took things so far beyond what I could have imagined that the mind reels." You've seen it before, but go take a look again! Not only have we featured numerous photos from the set, but we also ran a behind-the-scenes video on the sets that was just incredible. At the very least, I think people will walk out of Watchmen being amazed at the production design and the look of each and every scene. But then again, we hope we walk out absolutely blown away by everything in it.

Make sure to head over to ComicUS.it to read the entire interview. Besides a few more featurettes and minor details, I think things will be all quiet on Watchmen until the San Diego Comic-Con in July. We'll be sure to bring you whatever updates we can until then. Watchmen, directed by Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, 300), will arrive in theaters on March 6th, 2009.

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