First I encountered an interesting interview that Alan Moore did of Brian Eno on a Bittorrent site I frequent. I thought it was an odd combo so I felt compelled to download it. It was apparently from a BBC radio 4 show called Chain Reaction in which a figure from the entertainment industry is interviewed and then has the responsibility of conducting their own interview for the next show. Really neat concept. I tried to find a recording of the show where Alan Moore was interviewed but could only find a clip where he claimed that the Killing Joke was his worst work. Which surprised me, but other statements I've read imply that he finds the whole concept of Batman ridiculous.
Then, today, an article on Boing Boing popped up that claimed that Alan Moore has sworn off DC and has pulled the third volume of the League of Extraordinary Gentleman from the publisher. In fact, the article they link to has a lot more interesting information as well. I knew that he had decided to have his name removed from all film adaptations, but apparently he has refused all money they offer him as well. Through this article I found a transcript of his Chain Reaction interview (without the Killing Joke statements I had listened to earlier)
To make things even more interesting, He was apparently sued by 20th century fox because they felt his LoEG was ripping off some America screenwriter.
From the article -
"after the films came out, I began to feel increasingly uneasy, I have a dwindling respect for cinema as it is currently expressed." This came to a head when Alan Moore was sued as part of a suit against 20th Century Fox for plagiarism of the screenplay "Cast Of Characters" which bore heavy resemblance to the movie version of "The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen" starring Sean Connery.
From the interview transcript -
So, I said, right, that's it, no more Hollywood films. And if they do make films of my work, then I want my name taken off them and I want all the money given to the artists. I thought, God, that sounds principled (audience laughs) and almost heroic! (audience laughs) Then I got a phone call from Karen Berger the next Monday, she's an editor at DC Comics, and she said, "Yeah, we're going to be sending you a huge amount of money before the end of the year because they're making this film if your Constantine character with Keanu Reeves." I said, "Right, OK. (audience laughs) Well, take my name off of it and distribute my money amongst the other artists. I felt, well, that was difficult, but I did it and I feel pretty good about meself. Then I saw David Gibbons who I had done "Watchmen" with and he was saying, "Oh Alan, guess what, they're making the 'Watchmen' film." And I said, with tears streaming down my face, "Take my name off of it David. (sniffles)" (audience laughs) "You have all the money." Then I got a check for the "V for Vendetta" film. It was just, this was within three days!
Despite his noble efforts. He is still having trouble stopping his name from becoming a Hollywood selling point.
From article -
Earlier in the year, Moore received a call from "V For Vendetta" writer/producer and "Matrix" director Larry Wachowski, but told him politely, "I didn't want anything to do with films and had no time this year, being in the middle of work, my day job, writing, I wasn't interested in Hollywood."
Shortly afterwards, Alan Moore was made aware of a press release sent out covering a press conference producer Joel Silver and the cast had held.
In this press release, Joel Silver, as well as announcing that the release date November the 5th 2005 was the 100th anniversary of Guy Fawkes attempt on Parliament, instead of the 400th anniversary, also said of Alan, "he was very excited about what Larry had to say and Larry sent the script, so we hope to see him sometime before we're in the UK. We'd just like him to know what we're doing and to be involved in what we're trying to do together"
Alan felt, basically, that his name was being used in vain. Not only had he expressed the opposite to Larry, but his endorsement was being used as a selling point for a movie - the reason he'd requested his credit and association be dropped from all of these movies.
Poor guy. I will make it a point not to pay money and add to the box office statistics for any of these upcoming films. Of course, that doesn't mean that my curiosity won't compel me to view them through slightly less legal means.
EDIT A mysterious anonymous person pointed out that I had misread the article. Moore wasn't sued by 20th cen fox. He was sued with them. My mistake. The error above will remain because I don't want to seem like I was hiding the fact I made a mistake.
-Brandon
