Saturday
16Aug2008
Carla Gugino Talks About "Brutal" 'Watchmen' Rape Scene
Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 11:46AM 
OK, so we know
Iron Man now has a
foursome between Tony Stark and three hotties
thanks to a deleted scene, and that's something new for a comic book movie. Well
how about
Watchmen's attempted rape?
Uh-huh, you heard me.
Carla Gugino, who plays Sally Jupiter/Silk
Spectre in the adaptation, told
MTV that filming the scene in which her
character is attacked by the Comedian (Jeffrey
Dean Morgan) was "brutal." Hooded Justice ultimately saves the day
and prevents the rape, but certainly the intention is there. And director
Zack Snyder wanted that intention to be very
clear.
“That was one of the things Zack said to me from the
start: ‘I really want this to be incredibly brutal. It’s not a turn-on kind of
story. It’s bad.’ It’s important that we did that," said Gugino. "I think
hopefully it will be really powerful.”
Showing the depth of the original graphic novel, the
scene is not just there for effect and it simply can't be thrown out, according
to the actress. She later has consensual sex with the Comedian, has their
daughter down the line (who's also vital to the film), and the rape
greatly and appropriately influences the psychology of Sally throughout the rest
of her story.
“It’s so informative of so many things thematically in
the movie and certainly in the graphic novel," Gugino argued. And while it
represents the kind of daring and maturity that sets Watchmen apart from
nearly everything else in the medium of superhero comic books, I have to admit
I'm a little surprised they are keeping it in the film, at least to the degree
that it appears they are. The movie is going to attract its legion of fans, of
course, but the buzz and the look of the film and its characters will also make
it a must-see for teens. I'm just a little surprised that Warner Bros. is giving
it the go ahead.
Then again, whether or not it stays as-is remains to be
seen, I guess. The studio could always clean it up for a theatrical run after
getting the results back from test screenings, and then put the storyline back
for the DVD release. I mean, look at the innocuous Iron Man "sex" scene.
Nothing brutal about that one. I'm not advocating any kind of cut, but studios
have been known to do strange things from time to time. We'll find out for sure how it's handled on March 6th.
Reader Comments (7)
They had better leave it in. If the studio comes in and messes with Zach's vision for the movie it would really suck. Why run away from it anyway? It is not like they are releasing it as a summer block buster.
Simple reasons to mess with it, Hotchman: rape as a seriously plot moment and psychological device linking a bunch of characters together pretty much pushes the film into "hard R" if not NC-17 terrain. Sure it's not scheduled as a summer blockbuster, but they want to recoup at least the cost of the film. An NC-17 won't get the distributorship to justify the cost associated with a big studio, relatively big cast, and effects heavy film. So, to the cutting room it may go.
It stinks but it's the business of film; and the business of film is precisely why some artists and writers migrate to graphic novels and plain ol' writing to have their say.
are u crazy dude thats a major spoiler about the duaghter u dont even find out till the 9th book and even then i was shocked u've probably ruined it for alot of ppl
It's really ironic that you illustrate an article about a brutal rape with a seductive overly-sexualized picture of the character. WTF. Thanks again, rape culture.
i think it was unnecessarily violent. i almost walked out. it's true that things like this happen in real life and that's terrible and unfortunate. you can give the emotion of a rape scene without going to those visual lengths. a little tact, please. there's a point where it goes beyond 'artful' to tasteless and vulgar.
That's the point. It was vulgar, horrifying, and disturbing. If you didn't feel those emotions, I'd be worried. But without that scene, the emotional aspect of that plot development would have been lost, as well as the drama of the moment when Doc Manhattan discovers that a man like the Comedian, a savage beast by any of our standards, was capable of having a daughter like Silk Specter II. I'm glad they left it in, and hope they don't remove it
y'r really nice guz