The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

[Alexander]

The thread on the recently released "Hulk" movie got me thinking about the upcoming "League" film, starring Sean Connery. Many people that I've spoken to were'nt aware (and probably didn't care all that much, frankly) that the "League" was a comic book series first. For those here who have never read the comic, here's a little primer:

What is the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?

It is the late 19th century. The British Government, fearful that the Empire is endangered, authorizes British Intellegence to form a special task force to deal with special threats. MI5 head M dispatches agent Campion Bond (an ancestor of the more famous 007) to assemble such a team. Bond contacts divorcee Wilhemina Murray (formerly Mrs. Jonathan Harker) who recruits a Hindu sea captain who calls himself "Nemo" (believed dead since the Mysterious Island affair). Murray and Nemo travel to Cario in search of former adventurer Allen Quartermain, who has become an opium addict. With Quatermain in hand, Murray and Nemo then make way for Paris in search of an English doctor who is believed to be hiding there. With the aid of one M. August Dupin (best known for solving the Murders in the Rue Morgue), they find Dr. Henry Jeckyll and his hulking alter-ego, Edward Hyde. With Jeckyll/Hyde in captivity, then then travel to a girl's boarding school (its students include one Pollyanna and a girl named Rebecca from Sunnybrook Farm) to investigate a series of supernatural attacks. The attacks prove to be the work of Hawley Griffin, aka the Invisble Man. With Griffin, the League is complete.

So, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen consists of:

Mina Harker (Dracula)

Allen Quartermain (King Solomon's Mines)

Captain Nemo (20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, The Mysterious Island)

Dr. Henry Jeckyll/Edward Hyde (The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde)

Hawley Griffin (The Invisible Man)

Once assembled, the League is gathered to their secret headquarters in the British Museum, and informed that a Royal Lunar Expedition has been sabotaged. The secret of powered flight, the element Cavorite, has been stolen by Dr. Fu Manchu. Bond dispatches the League to recover the stolen Cavorite. After infiltrating the Doctor's underground lair, they find the Cavorite and return it to Bond, who then gives it to his boss, M. But M (who Mina Murray is convinced is Mycroft Holmes) turns out to be none other than the Napoleon of Crime himself, Professor James Moriarty! Moriarty, it turns out, wants the Cavorite to power is own airship in an attack on his rival, Fu Manchu. The League then finds itself caught between the two warring factions, in an attempt to save London.

That was just a synopses of the FIRST six issue series. The current series has the League fighting off Martian invaders...

As for the movie, I don't know if any of the comic's plot will show up. I know that Quartermain has been made the leader of the League (rather than Mina), and that they have added both Tom Sawyer and Dorian Grey to the line-up. Has anyone heard anything more? Does the comic sound intreguing at all?

[Jad]

The comic is great! A lot of fun! Written by Alan Moore, who also penned The Watchmen, revitalized The Swamp Thing, and did exhaustive research for his book on Jack the Ripper, the epic "From Hell" (yes, the movie that starred Johnny Depp. Haven't seen it, but the book was great).

Can't say enough about how I enjoy this guy's writing, and yes, they are all comic books. But don't let that stop you.

Edited June 21, 2003 by Jad

[The Mule]

Don't get your hopes up for the movie, I fear.

Word on the street: Total disaster. I know someone who was called in to help with massive last-minute reshoots--including recasting one of the actors--less than eight weeks before release. Seems everyone involved just wants it to be over with and out of their lives.

First clue I had that the studio (Fox) wasn't happy with it are the trailers. Have you seen them? All Sean Connery and NO MENTION of what the story is about or who the "league" is. Looked to me like they were hiding the story from the public because test-screenings told them all those Victorian-era fictional characters were a turn-off.

Smells like a flop and, worse yet, a BAAAD movie....

[Guest Mnytime]

Don't get your hopes up for the movie, I fear.

Word on the street: Total disaster. I know someone who was called in to help with massive last-minute reshoots--including recasting one of the actors--less than eight weeks before release. Seems everyone involved just wants it to be over with and out of their lives.

First clue I had that the studio (Fox) wasn't happy with it are the trailers. Have you seen them? All Sean Connery and NO MENTION of what the story is about or who the "league" is. Looked to me like they were hiding the story from the public because test-screenings told them all those Victorian-era fictional characters were a turn-off.

Smells like a flop and, worse yet, a BAAAD movie....

Yea, I have heard the same thing. Though not the part about a new actor.

Though I don't see how they can shoot footage with a new actor only 8 weeks before it's release. The person they are replacing must not have had much intereaction with anyone else. Unless they only show back shots of the others heads. That way using anyone else as a stand in for the real actors.

Even than this new actor could not be involved in much of the CGI shots since it takes more than 8 weeks put those shots together.

Though I have seen a trailer that had more than Connery. Not much more but a couple of the other members of the League. I believe it was Dr. Jeckyll/Mr Hyde and Nemo.

Edited June 21, 2003 by Mnytime

[RDK]

The first trailer showed the entire cast, but the concept and story was vague. In short, it was a disaster. The new trailer focuses on Connery and is better for it - though it still makes little sense to anyone not familiar with the comic book. "LXG" indeed! (as if someone might mistake it for a cool X-Men flick)

[J Larsen]

I try to avoid piling on, but I have to say this movie looks like it's going to be about as good as The Phantom.

[RDK]

Heck, The Phantom wasn't half bad. LXG looks to me more like The Avengers or Wild Wild West.

[J Larsen]

Heck, The Phantom wasn't half bad.

!!!

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one!

[The Mule]

Yea, I have heard the same thing. Though not the part about a new actor.

Though I don't see how they can shoot footage with a new actor only 8 weeks before it's release. The person they are replacing must not have had much intereaction with anyone else. Unless they only show back shots of the others heads. That way using anyone else as a stand in for the real actors.

Even than this new actor could not be involved in much of the CGI shots since it takes more than 8 weeks put those shots together.

From what I was told they were digitally erasing an actor, shooting the new actor in front of a green-screen, and stripping the new guy back into the frame. Lord knows how much that cost...

Just saw a different trailer for it and it was only slightly better and still pretty oblique when it came to what the movie is. You can see Fox's marketing department struggling with how to position it in the marketplace. First they were calling it "LXG" in a vain attempt to get some of that "X2" magic to rub off on it. Then they were calling it "The League," which is just silly. Now it's some mish-mosh of all of them. My 10 year old son actually laughed when the narrator said, "THE LEAGUE!"

Not a good sign...

[Alexander]

Well, I saw it tonight.

And it was pretty good. Not nearly as bad as "From Hell", which was a disaster of Biblical proportions. Some elements of the comic were kept, but the film was about as subtle as punch in the nose. Some of the best things in the book are never stated. Like just what happened to Mina when she was "ravaged by a foreigner" a year before. The film hits you over the head with it. Quatermain is no longer an opium addict. Griffin, the Invisible Man, is now called "Skinner" for some bizarre reason. Both Nemo and Hyde (who are brutal in the comic) are toned waaaaay down for the movie. One of my favorite lines in the comic would have been great in the film, but they didn't use it:

Nemo (mowing down opponents with a machine powered harpoon gun): "Come forward! Come foreward men of England! Tell the Gods that Nemo sent you!"

But it was a fun ride, and I would see a sequel, if they made one. I give it one thumb up. Not nearly as bad as I had feared.

Edited July 14, 2003 by Alexander

[The Mule]

But it was a fun ride, and I would see an sequel, if they made one. I give it one thumb up. Not nearly as bad as I had feared.

Ain't gonna be one with that opening weekend...

[Jim Dye]

This movie is under the Disney umbrella. Eisner and his copyright facists promote this film, which is a new work using characters entirely from the public domain.

Edited July 13, 2003 by Jim Dye

[Alexander]

This movie is under the Disney umbrella. Eisner and his copyright facists promote this film, which is a new work using characters entirely from the public domain.

I fail to see your point on this.

[Saint Vitus]

This movie is under the Disney umbrella. Eisner and his copyright facists promote this film, which is a new work using characters entirely from the public domain. 

I fail to see your point on this.

I think the point is Disney has made money by taking advantage of characters and stories in public domain and, at the same time, by aggressively protecting the intellectual property "created" thanks in part to the the works in public domain.

With this movie, for instance, Disney is making money off Tom Sawyer and Captain Nemo. Good luck to the next fools that attempt to do the same thing. Disney lawyers are waiting for ya.

Edited July 14, 2003 by Saint Vitus

[RDK]

Uh, LXG was made and released by 20th Century Fox not Disney.

[The Mule]

This movie is under the Disney umbrella. Eisner and his copyright facists promote this film, which is a new work using characters entirely from the public domain. 

I fail to see your point on this.

I believe what Jim is trying to suggest is that the evil studios (in this case he mistakenly cites Disney) have made a film out of public domain characters in order to secure the copyright on said characters so that others will not be allowed to use those characters in any film project without studio permission. If I am correct in that assessment, Jim demonstrates a woeful lack of knowledge of copyright law.

Indeed, as stated in the article below from the LA Times, several of the characters in the graphic novel were NOT public domain as the filmmakers had to change the name of "The Invisible Man" to "An Invisible Man" and they did not have permission to use Sax Rhomer's Fu Manchu character so he was dropped. In any case, the only thing 20th Century Fox has secured the rights to is "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" not the public domain characters contained within.

"MOVIES

Heroic effort?

Audiences are the last hurdle for a beleaguered "League."

By John Horn

Times Staff Writer

July 14 2003

Movie premieres usually are cause for celebration. But Stephen Norrington, the director of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," was in no mood to party at his film's Las Vegas unveiling. In fact, Norrington didn't even attend, having decided to turn his back on Hollywood. Asked on premiere night about his no-show director's whereabouts, star Sean Connery told the Las Vegas Sun: "Check the local asylum."

Norrington's agent says the British filmmaker didn't go nuts, but you couldn't fault the director for wanting to keep his distance.

An ambitious adaptation of an admired graphic novel, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" suffered more bad luck, volatile chemistry and ill-fated decisions than most movies in recent memory, from scenery-destroying floods and unusable special effects to on-set battles between director and star. With $17 million of the film's budget committed to Connery, the producers didn't have the resources to hire other familiar faces to round out the cast. Then, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" was thrown into the middle of the summer movie season, a battleground so competitive that underachieving works can be killed off in their first night in theaters.

Opening directly against "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," a movie overflowing with young talent and pricey visuals, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" nevertheless managed to survive its first test with the public, generating relatively strong ticket sales of $23.2 million its first weekend, according to estimates Sunday. That left it in second place, though far behind "Pirates," which grossed $46.4 million from Friday to Sunday.

But like a wild-card team that triumphs in the first round of the playoffs, "League" faces tough competition ahead.

There is no shortage of big summer titles yet to be released, including a sequel to the police yarn "Bad Boys" opening Friday. Said Bruce Snyder, 20th Century Fox's domestic distribution chief: "Every weekend, there is another event coming."

Looking back, some connected with the movie consider it a miracle it got this far.

"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" cost $95 million, a relative bargain in a season where "Hulk" and sequels to "Charlie's Angels" and "The Terminator" cost an average of more than $150 million apiece. That does not mean "League" was not risky. If a movie of its level were to fail completely, it single-handedly could slash a studio's overall summer profits. The blow would be particularly painful to Fox, whose three previous summer movies — "Down With Love," "Wrong Turn" and "From Justin to Kelly" — were all washouts.

In its genesis, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" looked like a brilliant idea. Comic book cognoscenti revere writer Alan Moore and illustrator Kevin O'Neill's graphic novels about a Victorian band of crime fighters. Executives at Fox, the studio behind the comic book smash "X-Men" and its sequel, were equally excited. In a show business world addicted to superheroes like "Spider-Man," the stories delivered an array of fascinating — and even recognizable — characters.

Drawing on some of the more enduring fantasy and adventure figures from literature, the "League" tales are populated by H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain, Jules Verne's Captain Nemo, Bram Stoker's Mina Harker, H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man and Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

"But as brilliant as the graphic novel is, it is not a movie," said the film's screenwriter, James Dale Robinson, who also is a top comic book author. "And unfortunately, the reading level of the world has declined, so [introducing the literary characters] was something that had to be dealt with head-on."

Crafting a new plot wasn't Robinson's only writing challenge. Fox couldn't get the film rights to all of Moore and O'Neill's characters, so The Invisible Man is now known as An Invisible Man, and a Fu Manchu character was dropped.

The film's original script called for the turn-of-the-century League to prevent a flesh-eating poison gas from being introduced into New York's fledgling subway system. "But after Sept. 11, [the studio] said, 'You know what? This could actually happen,' " Robinson said. The setting was moved from New York to Venice, Italy; the poisoning angle was replaced with a plot involving a mad bomber.

To help attract American audiences to a movie mostly populated with 19th century Europeans, Fox asked that an American character be added. The result is Agent Tom Sawyer (Shane West), who also gives the film some youth appeal. "Agent Sawyer came about as the result of a stupid studio note that turned out to be brilliant," says Don Murphy, one of the film's producers.

Hiring Norrington was a calculated wager on a movie of this scope. He previously had directed the much more modestly budgeted "Blade," a 1998 comic book adaptation that was a solid box-office hit. But a colleague said the director, who declined to be interviewed, was uncomfortable working with large teams of actors and crew and bristled under studio supervision.

After "Blade," Norrington's next movie, "The Last Minute," was a tiny project with a smaller team, over which he had more control, serving as its writer, director, producer and co-editor. The film, however, never was released theatrically. "Stephen is incredibly creative," said another "League" producer, Trevor Albert. "He just doesn't love the pressure of a big group of people. The rewards don't outweigh the negatives."

Some films are blessed from the day the cameras start rolling. "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" was not among them. Having made "The Matrix Reloaded" and "Tears of the Sun" back to back, an exhausted Monica Bellucci dropped out of a co-starring role in "League" at the last minute, to be replaced by the unknown Peta Wilson. Epic rainstorms and floods in the Czech Republic destroyed $7 million in sets — including, as luck would have it, a submarine — and delayed production for three weeks.

Hoping to position the movie as a classy, Indiana Jones-style adventure, Fox didn't hesitate to sink most of its cast budget into Connery's salary. The studio had scored with Connery's 1999 drama "Entrapment," and the Scottish actor gave "League" instant credibility. But with so much money committed to the 72-year-old veteran, the film's makers say there was little left for the rest of the ensemble. So while "Pirates of the Caribbean" features the red-hot heartthrob Orlando Bloom ("The Lord of the Rings" films), "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" has the more obscure West ("A Walk to Remember").

A complicated effects sequence using a scale model of Venice did not turn out as envisioned. That forced the filmmakers to frantically scramble for a new effects shop, finding one only at the last minute because almost all were engaged making other summer movies.

As his quip at the premiere suggests, there was no love lost between Connery and Norrington, and they fought frequently during the film's making, according to numerous people who worked on the film. "Stephen is an immensely talented guy who comes from a visual effects background," said producer Murphy. "He's extremely good with action and visual effects. I'm not sure he's necessarily a people person."

Soon after "League" filming was completed, Norrington wrote a letter to producers who had been developing new projects for him, informing them that he would no longer work in Hollywood.

That wasn't Norrington's last walkout, according to two people who worked on "League." They say Norrington supervised editing only three of the film's seven reels. While Norrington did offer some post-production input and suggestions, they said, he opted out of some of the traditional roles played by directors during a film's editing — adding new visual effects, presenting the film to the studio, and incorporating or fighting the studio's notes. "League" was shepherded to completion by Paul Rubell, nominated for an Oscar for his editing work on "The Insider."

"He was really happy with the way things were going," Murphy says of Norrington. "But he never would have been ready by July 11. He never believed the July 11 date was real. He never believed the hard financial budget number was real. He couldn't be bothered by limitations. And the studio is only concerned about limitations."

For its part, Fox says Norrington fulfilled all of his editing duties.

The behind-the-scenes dramas didn't deter the studio from sticking with a summer release date. The floods and visual effects problems meant the filmmakers had to race to complete the movie in time.

A number of people who worked on the film and even some Fox executives said that the film's release date would injure "League." Several people said they beseeched Fox to move the film into the fall, which sometimes can be a better time for movies that have more adult appeal. But Fox already has "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," its big Russell Crowe epic, opening Nov. 14.

Fox also says that "League" is not competing with "Pirates of the Caribbean." Rather, the studio says, its film offers a highbrow alternative for discriminating moviegoers looking for an original film, not a sequel or a film that began life as a theme park ride. So far, the release date does not look like a mistake. (Considering all the obstacles, from the floods to the fights, some people who worked on the movie believe it turned out remarkably well and are quite proud of it.

"The studio wanted something a little bit flashier, more of a summer movie," screenwriter Robinson said. "Stephen wanted something that was more introspective. I was relieved to find out that even though the complexity of the characters had been whittled down, the shadings of those complications still remained."

Times staff writer Patrick Goldstein contributed to this story."

[Jim Dye]

OK Fox, not Disney. It is still funny to me that the major studios support a group (MPAA) that lobbies for endless extensions to the term of copyright in this country. At the same time, one of the studios promotes a film which features many characters that are now in the public domain. Ironic, no?

I never said anything about securing rights to characters now in the public domain. Where do I show my lack of knowledge of Copyright?

[The Mule]

OK Fox, not Disney. It is still funny to me that the major studios support a group (MPAA) that lobbies for endless extensions to the term of copyright in this country. At the same time, one of the studios promotes a film which features many characters that are now in the public domain. Ironic, no?

I never said anything about securing rights to characters now in the public domain. Where do I show my lack of knowledge of Copyright?

Your original post was so oblique (other than an over-eager attack on Disney) that it was hard to determine just exactly WHAT your point was and I STILL don't see your point.

Yes, the film industry and others are lobbying hard to extend their copyrights but what does that have to do with LXG? Fox had to PURCHASE the rights to the material from Alan Moore and, as I pointed out, several of the characters in the graphic novel were NOT in the public domain.

Where's the irony, really? It's not like they got access to the underlying rights to LEAGUE for free.

[Jim Dye]

I guess I have a strange sense of irony.

You should know that calling a post Oblique is considered a compliment on this board.

[The Mule]

You should know that calling a post Oblique is considered a compliment on this board.

lol, indeed, I do....