‘Watchmen’ Showrunner Says Comic Writer Alan Moore Put a 'Curse' on Him
HBO’s Watchmen, written by Damon Lindelof, airs this Sunday.
The series is adapted from the graphic novel by writer Alan Moore.
Moore has been vocal about his disapproval of any adaptation.
The saga of comic writer Alan Moore and TV writer Damon Lindelof continues. The latest turn? Lindelof, the creator of such landmark television as Lost and The Leftovers, believes that legendary comic writer Moore has "placed a curse" on him.
Previously, at the Television Critics Association press tour (earlier this year), when asked about his reaction to Moore’s request not to associate his name with the new Watchmen, Lindelof got a little animated.
“I do feel like the spirit of Alan Moore is a punk rock spirit, a rebellious spirit, and that if you would tell Alan Moore, a teenage Moore in ’85 or ’86, ‘You’re not allowed to do this because Superman’s creator or Swamp Thing’s creator doesn’t want you to do it,’ he would say, ‘Fuck you, I’m doing it anyway.’ So I’m channeling the spirit of Alan Moore to tell Alan Moore, ‘Fuck you, I’m doing it anyway.’”
Fuck you, Alan Moore? Bold move. Lindelof was, of course, half-kidding (“That’s clickbait, guys! Clickbait!”). Alan Moore (responsible for work like V for Vendetta, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Batman: The Killing Joke) may be one of the most prolific comic writers ever. And Lindelof remains in reverence of Moore’s opinions, which he recently told Vulture has kept him up at night.
He also said Moore has been on his mind for other reasons. “I’m about to say something very ridiculous,” he told Vulture, “but in all sincerity, I was absolutely convinced that there was a magical curse placed upon me by Alan. I’m actually feeling the psychological effects of a curse, and I’m okay with it. It’s fair that he has placed a curse on me.”
Moore has been known to distance himself from filmic adaptations of his work. (He has also been known to place curses on other directors, himself a practitioner of magic.) Still, Lindelof seemed somewhat miffed about Moore’s apathy for his project. (Even before the started filming, HBO’s president of programming Casey Bloys said Moore was “not thrilled.”) “I don’t think that I’ve made peace with it,” Lindelof said back in July.
Watchmen’s end credits will not use Moore’s name, but instead say “co-created for DC by Dave Gibbons.”
Despite his partner’s qualms, however, Watchmen illustrator Dave Gibbons agrees that Lindelof very much is channeling the spirit of the graphic novel. As he told Entertainment Weekly: “I don't think it's gonna be what people think it's going to be . . . I've been resistant to the comic book prequels and sequels, but what Damon's doing is not that . . . While it's very reverential and true to the source material (by which I mean the Watchmen graphic novel that Alan and I did), it's not retreading the same ground, it's not a reinterpretation of it. It approaches it in a completely unexpected way.”
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