WatchmenComicMovie.com Forum

[NOTE: This was taken from the "Watchmen as a new classic" thread. The thread went irreversibly off-topic at this point, so I split the thread and put the latter half here. --"Curiosity Inc."]



When I was in the 8th grade, the first Harry Potter book was released. It made the news because it was the biggest selling book for 5th grade students. Years later there were college students and adults alike lining up to buy the books. What happened? I understand enjoying something pointed toward a different demographic, but...man, the later books are thicker than most Bibles! Did she expect children to read those? She abandoned her first audience.

In a way, maybe she didn't. While those first books might have been aimed at a younger audience, that same audience would have grown up between each new release, and their taste would have matured. I think it makes sense for the books to mature along with the audience. Although, I've never read the books myself.

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"Heard them Walthers like to jump some" "As will you, with one in your elbow."

Expect?

I know tons of kids around that 5th grade average age who not only read it but wanted more!

i don't think she did... but they fucking did!

technically... she stayed with her first audience... with her character's and narritive maturing as the original reader did

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I grew up with Harry Potter, and I have to say, JK Rowling did a fantastic job of increasing the maturity to suit the kids/teenagers of my generation. At the beginning of the series, it was a fun read for me at age 6, and at the end, it was a fun read at age 16. I'm actually surprised they didn't put more of the series on there. Like, the entire thing? Because they're all undoubtedly classics. It's pretty much the most iconic children's fantasy series that will ever exist.

I'm very glad Watchmen made it that high on the list, and I fully support The Road and The Lovely Bones as well. Some great books on that list.

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Sorry to bump this thread at the same time as going off-topic but this had to be posted...

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i dont understand the harry potter craze..

at all...

i have read them btw im not just asying this from no-where

but i am willing to say that a strentgh of the books is that the writing gets more advanced as the series goes on and explores deeper, darker and more complicated concepts

this means that if you were the right age (for your personal reading level) when you started reading them then the books keep up with you, so that there is actually a reason to keep reading the thing and it doesent get "too basic" for you when you reach a certain age i personally think this is why jk rowling has managed to make such a ridiculous pile of money withs some books which imo dont quite live up to the hype

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"Never set up a company selling posters and diet books and toy soldiers based on himself. Never became a prostitute"

Hurm

Big fan here. I don't see it as the best literature I've read, but definitely a lot of fun and well-written, however basic and simple Rowling's prose may be. I am fascinated by the richness of the world and the characters, as well as the humanity given to them as well. They are also very well plotted.

If I have any problems with them is that the 5th and 6th one really struggled in finding themselves. They're great, but they go everywhere and don't really stay focused.

As for the movies themselves. The first two are okay, it was a joy for me to see the first one in theaters because it was so great seeing the book come to life, but on subsequent viewings, I became bored of it. It's not a bad film at all, but it's just boring.

Alfonso Cuaron did a brilliant job in the third one, Mike Newell's work on the fourth one, well, it was a good movie but it was too rushed and the fifth one, I was scared that they would butcher it considering the length of the book vs. the relatively short length of the film, but it's probably my favorite of the series next to the third one and did a really nice job balancing plot and character. And "Half Blood Prince" seems to be something pretty special and apparently, more focused than the book it was based on.

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My unofficial and offical work-> http://www.youtube.com/movieboyandco

Well, to AYB...

I believe it was the Greeks that said there are only like 4 themes in story telling, and everything else is just a variation on those reoccurring themes. So, based on that, "there are no new ideas." The same applied to Shakespear. Yet his works are considered great as well.

I personally, like Harry Potter. I didn't know wtf it was for a long time until a friends GF talked to me about it. I met her friend who was married with kids and she said she had gone to see the movies when they came out, not for the kids but for herself! lol

I asked, "isn't it for kids?" They said well, yes and no. Anyhow, I really wasn't interested then either because I am really against trendy things and Harry Potter (or Harry Punter as i like to call it) is VERY trendy.

What finally got me to read the book was when the 5th book (2nd to last i think) came out there was so much press coverage that i was like WTF?! And then how people got crazy at grocery stores to buy it i was like HMMM, i want to check it out to see wtf moms are fighting moms over.

So i read the first one and it was ok. Quick read. Then read more and more and liked it! hahaha

It's no LotR, but it's still fun. These books definitely require great imaginations and ability to suspend beliefs, or else they won't appeal to you. It also helps if you like to believe in wizards and witches etc etc. My favorite aspects of the books though, are how JR tries to show how they live amongst us. Which is pretty cool i think.

So anyhow, now I have all of the books and have watched the movies. And almost like always, the movies are never as good as the books. Hopefully these last few movies coming out will be better than the rest!

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You can never say never and never say always.

I'm a Potterhead. The Harry Potter series is definitely a classic. Just don't ask me to compare it to Watchmen, because my head will explode if I try to compare them. They're very different, but they're both awesome.

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moonwalkerwiz

I've read them all too. They're fun reads.

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Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music - George Carlin

the new movie's release date has been pushed back by over 6 months, from november to next summer.

warner brothers want a guarrenteed blockbuster for next year... unlike watchmen?

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Two words: Writer's Strike. The studios are in dire need of summer tentpoles for '09 because of the script shortage. It's too late to move Watchmen forward, so they're moving Potter.

To be honest, I don't really mind that much. I just can't bring myself to take the movies seriously, now that the book series has ended.

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This is truly a madhouse. And I'm the lunatic running it. I've spent three years wondering if I should be proud or ashamed.

No, they want two guaranteed blockbusters: one for the summer that everyone knows about, and one for the spring that'll catch word of mouth at schools (like 300 did).

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2009's going to be fucking awesome and all with Watchmen and Wolverine, but you got to admit, 2008 was THE BIG YEAR for superheroes. I loved everything Marvel and DC had to show.

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"It would be a stronger world, a stronger loving world, to die in."

-John Cale

2010 or 2011 could be pretty big depending on how things pan out.

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Yeah, 2010's going to be a fucking Marvel/DC billion dollar war. DC's going to roll out Green Lantern, Man of Steel (Superman sequel), and if they're lucky, JLA, though unlikely. Then, Marvel's going to roll out two highly anticipated films: Iron Man 2 and Thor. At this point, it's hard to tell who's going to "win" this epic duel. Although you have to remember, it depends on the quality of the films. Iron Man and Incredible Hulk came out and won over the box office, but the highly marketed carefully done Dark Knight turned the tables and gave DC the lead over the summer.

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"It would be a stronger world, a stronger loving world, to die in."

-John Cale

2010 is also to include the first parts of The Hobbit (being directed by Guillermo Del Toro) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (being done by the current dude, don't remember name). Also, the teaser trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is out!

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Um, after I finished reading Harry Potter (completely) I realized I really like the characters not the stories themselves so much, after the second book I was bored of the "Dursleys are jerks Voldemort tries to kill Harry Harry bests him Dumbledore gives a great life lesson next year" formula, I kept coming back because I loved the characters and me and my sister took them and made our own stories which I liked more, just because J.K. Rowling has so many things that are a lot like other classic Fantasy works that it is annoying and when Harry became "The Chosen One" that pissed me off...

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@RealSlimCAvery

a lot of today's fantasy works have a prophecy, to me it seems either they can't think of squat, or are simply going with the flow.

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