Broken Frontier

And so it begins...

I was in the bookstore last week when I saw a stack of V for Vendetta graphic novels on – of all places – the new release table. Emblazoned across the top of the front cover was the legend: "Now a Major Motion Picture." Which isn't entirely true, since the movie isn't really finished yet, but that's beside the point...

Then I was in the movie theater today when I saw the new poster for the aforementioned V for Vendetta movie. Emblazoned across the top of it was the legend: "An uncompromising vision of the future from the creators of The Matrix trilogy."

My wife had to hit me on the back to stop me from choking. Then she had to restrain me before I broke the glass on the case and tore the poster into pieces so that countless other people would not be poisoned by the sight of the thing.

Then, as we drove home, I really started to get upset. I mean, the poster doesn't even credit Alan Moore (or David Lloyd, for that matter). In fact, if I didn't know any better, I would think, first, that those Wachowski Brothers had actually made a new movie (when in fact they only wrote the script for V) and, second, that they had created this movie as much as they created The Matrix Trilogy.

But then I came to my senses and I remembered: this is Hollywood we're talking about after all. And once you buy another writer's work (the purchase price which, in this case, has been reported as a whopping $8,000), you can say whatever you bloody well want to. You can even claim the "uncompromising vision" of your source material as your own.

Those of you who have been following this mess already know the real reason Moore's name isn't on the poster: because he wanted it removed. Not only has he completely disassociated himself from the movie version, he has pulled all his remaining work from DC comics – as punishment, some might say. But we'll get to that in a minute.

According to the anonymous reviewer over at AintItCoolNews.com who read the script and posted his opinion, Moore's actions are justified. He claims the Wachowski's script is a steaming pile which hardly ever comes close to Moore's original story. His review prompted a counter-review by J. Michael Straczynski who claimed the script was a "work of freaking genius."

According to David Lloyd, speaking at the V for Vendetta panel at Comic-Con last month, Moore removed his name because he won't be satisfied with anything but a literal translation. Frankly I'm surprised Lloyd would make such a comment as I don't think script quality is at all the only reason Moore wanted his name removed. For one, producer Joel Silver not only claimed this year would be the 100th anniversary of the gunpowder plot (instead of the 400th anniversary), he also claimed that Moore was very supportive of what the Wachowski Brothers had done. Moore very quickly demanded that these "blatant lies" about his position be rectified to his satisfaction. When they weren't, he pulled his name, his support and his stuff from DC.

Sounds pretty severe, doesn't it?

I hope you'll recall one of my first columns where I talked about this problem of adaptation and I said that movies aren’t comics and comics aren't movies. I repeated that fantastic quote from James M. Cain where he said Hollywood hadn't ruined his books because "they're on the shelf, right there."

The same can be said for V – as my trip to the bookstore proves. But apparently Alan Moore doesn't agree. Apparently Mr. Moore believes that a lousy film version of one of his comic books has a negative effect on his reputation as well. I must admit that I'm wondering just a little bit if he isn't right after all.

Think about it. Maybe the people who saw the movie version of From Hell said, "That was awful, I certainly wouldn't want to read anything else by that Alan Moore." If they didn't say it after From Hell, then they certainly must have after League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

So by pulling his name completely off the project, perhaps he does take himself out of the circle of blame. If the movie is bad, we can blame the Wachowskis. On the other hand, if the movie is good after all, won't people praise those Matrix creators for *their* uncompromising vision of the future?

I guess what this really points out is how little control even a superstar writer like Moore has over his work. I wonder if any of you remember a film called Stephen King's The Lawnmower Man. A couple of clever producers bought the shortest story out of King's Night Shift collection. Then they ditched the story completely, came up with something totally different and slapped Stephen King's name above the title. Of course, this was in the day when his name above the title meant something, but King was so upset by the abuse that he made sure no one could ever desecrate his work like that again. Other writers – such as Dean Koontz – have gone to similar lengths to protect their work.

But in the end, I can't help thinking it's just a little bit like a Chinese finger trap: the harder you pull, the tighter it gets. In order to control your work, you have to be a giant name. But in order to be a giant name, you have to publish a lot which you can't control.

No wonder Hollywood should be so anxious to associate themselves with something as uncompromising as Alan Moore's work. No wonder that all they should do is compromise it until it becomes a pale and flaccid imitation of its source. Let's hope that somehow this isn't the case with V.

Meanwhile, all we can do is remember, remember the fifth of November, and meet back here then to see what we think.