No pictures, no images, no funny captions or hyperbolic nerdgasms. Just a little bit of disappointment for a weird turn of events that I think might actually be a little damaging overall to whatever those involved were actually hoping for. So as many of you may already know, David Hayter (one of the writers on Watchmen) recently made a little statement about the reaction so far on said film, which I find a little premature and possibly damaging… You know, scratch that. I’m not really going to parse words here. This was a stupid and actually kind of childish jump-to-conclusions response to a middling level of controversy that was handled with all of the tact of a rampaging 11 year old jerk. You heard it here first, folks: David Hayter is a fucking douchebag. Wow, it’s kind of funny that when I decided to jump in and post this entry, I meant to be a lot more understanding and kind of analytical about it, but there really is no excuse for this amount of arrogant grandstanding. Especially by one of the people who should kind of be relishing the sheer amount of uproar his work has created in the geek world as a whole. Look, I’m not saying that a public statement for the purpose of addressing the differing opinions and urging a second look was a bad idea at all. There were probably about eleventy different classy ways to attempt such an idea, however, and David Hayter told those approaches to shut the fuck up. At every level I really hope that this cat simply took the initiative to be a jerk on his own, without any corporate urging for marketing purposes. Because if Warner Brother’s had even a little bit of sign-off on this little tirade, and decided to just let it roll, I’ve just lowered my estimation of that company to nearly what I think about Fox Studios.
As I said, I really don’t oppose the idea of addressing the controversial difference of opinion outright in an effort to generate more buzz at all. In fact, I can think of half a dozen ways in which an action such as this could actually have been quite a coup. But by essentially telling people that they should be grateful for the opportunity to see a violent, odd film that apparently doesn’t “puss out”, and that they are assholes for bitching about it… and then to tell them that you “get it” if they just don’t like it, but that they don’t have a reason to call the film out… What the fuck was this guy thinking? Dude, just tell the people that whatever their opinion, the movie is causing a stir and it needs to be caught on the big screen. Tell the people that the only way to have an adequate leg to stand on is to judge it for themselves, and that anything being talked about this much clearly deserves to be judged objectively. But don’t you fucking dare tell people that they don’t have a right to their opinion just because people put a lot of work into something. And definitely DOUBLE don’t you dare act like a manipulative kid who wants a toy by BLAMING the fans for a possible lack of nerd-film in the future, all dependent upon whether they get the stick you seem to think they have in their ass, immediately out. You can’t just threaten people into changing their tune on something you created by setting up the logical fallacy that it’s so good, they’re just not getting it. But they damn sure better if they ever want to watch anything they like again. That is purely calculating, manipulative HORSE SHIT. And David Hayter (and anyone who signed off on this statement) should be fucking ashamed of themselves. Have a little integrity, for christ’s sake. This is some pretty low-down dirty pool, even for people in the movie industry. Let the work stand on it’s own if you respect it so much. This little rant just sounds like desperation, and strengthens your case not one iota. If anything, this simply gives lots of credence to those who do their level best to tear the film down no matter what, and alienates people who might otherwise have been on the fence because the first association they have with the film will forevermore be some douche with a goatee threatening their film-viewing future with a bullshit argument. Yeah, I don’t know about you, but I don’t really have fond memories of things I was threatened into. People don’t need to be hit with a stick right off the bat (hur hur hur). Especially when they aren’t even yet aware that there is a carrot out there for them, or that there was even something they were doing which would necessitate guidance by either method. Way to poison the well, asshole. And this is coming from someone who spent a lot of time trying to find a way to tell people that, yes, they need to experience it for themselves. Maybe more than once to grasp the whole of the heady mixture that has been thrown together.
In closing: Does anyone remember when a little film called HULK (2003) came out, to a similarly mixed level of reviews? Yeah. At least then the people involved embraced the controversy. Take a fucking page from the book you puppet tool. Have just a little grace and dignity next time, and maybe realize the difference between sticking up for your work, and calling people ungrateful when maybe they’re not as into it as you might like.
Hey, if they’re talking about you, you must be worth talking about. Better luck next time, dickhead.
