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knyne
01/14/09

In reply to Got A Question For Alan Moore?
OK gang--I believe I can break it down for you as to why Alan lives in a state of high piss-off. Alan Moore is a genius. I know, I know; it's a term bandied about to describe any half-assed purveyor of anything; from Adultery to Zoology (forgive me, Mr. Mencken). But by any measure of quality, Moore is certainly one of, if not the greatest, creators of comic literature in the history of the art. He's responsible, along with his illustrators, for the high-water marks of the form. Genius, as a rule, does not suffer fools gladly. He's living on a slightly different dimensional plane than the rest of us.

He cares deeply for the quality of his art, and when he sees the crapfest which have been every single one of his film adaptations, he becomes understandably incensed. He's also been screwed over by the big companies, little companies, colleagues, mouth-breather fanboys, high sheriffs, and the ever-present censorship christitard asswipe brigade. I'd be a little miffed myself.
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Illyria
01/14/09

@knyne: I agree with most of what you said but VfV was a good adaptation for this age and time despite the few artistic liberties they took. It wasn't really that much of a crapfest as much as The League and Constantine was. He's my favourite comic book writer but that doesn't mean that I'll bow down to every single BS line that comes out of his ass. Because a lot of the time he seems to talk exactly from there.
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knyne
01/14/09

@Illyria: I understand your point. I tend to be very (sometimes overly) forgiving of the gifted. Moore has said unkind and outrageous things, but I believe it's part and parcel of the sublimely talented; however, I don't think you should toady. Your view is well taken.

My problem with V for Vendetta is manifold: Transforming Evey's character from a waifish semi-urchin to an far more self-satisfied career woman dilutes the character and removes some of the motivation required to drive her decisions; the loss of the Helen Meyer, Derek & Rosemary Almond subplot; the lack of the grand epic sweep needed to see the UK fall into anarchy; and the chopped up exposition of the Larkhill visit by Eric Finch. That said, Hugo Weaving was brilliant and I enjoyed the updated mass media manipulation presented in the film.
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braak
01/14/09

@knyne: Also, I thought Moore hadn't seen VfV, or any of the other adaptations. He took his name off of that one because Joel Silver had misrepresented his enthusiasm about it at a press conference, or something.

Alan Moore may be a genius, but he's also kind of a madman.

Which, I guess, lends credence to the proposition.
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RBeetlea
01/14/09

In reply to Got A Question For Alan Moore?
Dear Mr. Moore, how angry are you?
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Grey_Area
01/14/09

@Angryrider: Awesomely Angry.
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Grey_Area
01/14/09

In reply to Got A Question For Alan Moore?
"Sir, are you Amazingly Awesome or just Awesomely Amazing? I've got a twenty riding on it.

Also, would you please sign my beard?"
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artguy1111
01/14/09

In reply to Got A Question For Alan Moore?
Why are you so offended about film adaptations of your work. Never in the history of cinema has a film trumped it's novel counterpart....if anything it peaks more interest in the book and makes them all realize how much better your writing is, and why are you so awesome?
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Grey_Area
01/14/09

@artguy1111: "Never in the history of cinema has a film trumped it's novel counterpart."

The Godfather. But yeah, freak occurrence.
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braak
01/14/09

@Grey_Area: Also Jaws. And, apparently, Die Hard. But it is pretty rare, agreed.
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braak
01/14/09

In reply to Got A Question For Alan Moore?
Also: Is it true, Alan Moore, that you wrote and sing the song, "March of the Sinister Ducks"?

I've yet to see any kind of concrete sourcing on that one.
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Rasselas
01/14/09

In reply to Got A Question For Alan Moore?
Why are you so awesome? What is it like being so awesome? Do you eat Awesome Flakes for breakfast every day or only on days when fresh-baked Awesome Muffins are sold out?
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geekgrrl
01/14/09

In reply to Got A Question For Alan Moore?
i have a question for io9. where does "Alan Moore knows the score" come from? i first heard it referenced in a Pop Will Eat Itself song and intially thought he was a soccer announcer. time has not quelled my befuddlement.
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Mount_Prion
01/14/09

@geekgrrl: Whoa. I thought PWEI was a band invented purely for my solipsism. They exist for other people?
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Plague
01/14/09

@Mount_Prion:

Beaver Patrol RULES.
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Andrew Beck
01/14/09

@geekgrrl:

It comes from that Pop Will Eat Itself song (Can You Dig It?). The song just lists things from pop culture that they like. It has lines like:

"We dig Marvel and D.C"

and

"We dig Optimus Prime and not Galvetron, We dig The Leader of the Pack and the Do-Run-Run, Spinderella and Bruce Lee, The Bad and the Ugly,

V for Vendetta, and Into the Groovy"

and finally

"Bruce Wayne auf weidersehn, Dirty Harry, Make my day,

Terminator, hit the north, Alan Moore knows the score"

I've just always thought of the song as a nerd anthem. Plus it has samples from The Warriors. You really can't go wrong with that.
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geekgrrl
01/14/09

@Andrew Beck: yeah, but the way they parroted pop culture throughout the song, i figured "Alan Moore knows the score" had to be a pre-existing meme. if it is, i'm too lazy to look it up.

@Mount_Prion: hell yeah bitch! my sister turned me onto them way back when. i can't hear "Def.Con.One." without thinking of her and giggling.
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Mount_Prion
01/14/09

In reply to Got A Question For Alan Moore?
Alan, are you a wizard? What rank is your fireball?
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Smeagol92055
01/14/09

@Mount_Prion: There are some who call him... Tim.
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crashedpc - Haifisch
01/14/09

@Smeagol92055: *Taps for 1 damage*
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Illyria
01/14/09

In reply to Got A Question For Alan Moore?
I hope someone asks why he won't pull his head out of his ass. I mean don't get me wrong, he's brilliant and The Watchmen and V for Vendetta are my all time favourites. And I totally get why he despised the film adaptations of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Hellblazer (Constantine) but V for Vendetta was a brilliant adaptation in my opinion. I loved all the artistic liberties they took in that movie and sometimes they're necessary. That doesn't make them bad.

I haven't heard anything about the Watchmen film adaptation and whether he despises that, probably does knowing him. It's just annoying as hell. As brilliant as he is, he has the ego of the world combined.
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Dr Emilio Lizardo
01/14/09

@Illyria: Yeah, somebody should ask him "If you hate avery adaptation of your material that has ever been created, why do you keep selling off the rights?"
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braak
01/14/09

@DrEmilioLizardo: A bunch of them he didn't get a choice with; DC owns the rights to Watchmen, for instance.
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goldfarb
01/14/09

@braak: the point of V for Vendetta was changed in the film...

and his issue with Watchmen, as stated in interviews many times, is that the comic was written with that medium in mind, the story and how it is executed are dependant on the structure/form/limitations/unique opportunities only available in comics - so to adapt it to film rejects many of the, to Moore/Gibbons, essential elements of the work. The point, I think, is not that the makers of Watchmen will fuck it up (see From Hell, LoEG, VfV) but that it's not supposed to be a movie at all.
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braak
01/14/09

@goldfarb: I liked the point of the film better. Based on Moore's interviews, the point of the comic was so specific as to be dated; you needed to shift the focus in order to make the content relevant.
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goldfarb
01/14/09

@braak: well that's fair I guess...many seemed to agree with you, for me the change to freedom fighting super hero from fascist fighting anarchist just left me flat, made the whole thing ordinary and in the end generic and derivative.

and the McTeigue/Wachowski 'house style' was inappropriate IMO...
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Moff
01/14/09

@goldfarb: I liked the V movie, and while obviously Moore has a right to his own opinion about how they changed his comic, it does seem weird to me that he, of all people, thinks any story can only legitimately be told one way.
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Plague
01/14/09

In reply to Got A Question For Alan Moore?
sock worshipper?
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goldfarb
01/14/09

@Plague: a typical internet misunderstanding:

"He shows me his altar to the Roman snake god Glycon. "He was exposed as a glove-puppet in the second century"."

- [www.guardian.co.uk]
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Moff
01/14/09

In reply to Got A Question For Alan Moore?
Oh, I hope someone asks where he gets his ideas. Whenever I read an interview with an author or go to a reading with a Q&A, I always hope someone asks that.
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Davio
01/14/09

@Moff:

I like what Terry Pratchett does: He starts every Q&A with: "The answer to your first question is a corner shop near charing cross." Which of course answers the first question...

On a completely non sci-fi related note, I met the author Mal Peet today, and he was completely awesome!
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braak
01/14/09

@Davio: Was it Harlan Ellison that used to say that he got them from a mail-order supply company in Indiana?
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