Dude, I love Watchmen. I never seem to go with the mainstream on anything, but I tend to agree with most people that it just might be the best comic book ever. As a result, I’m looking forward to March 6 next year—the date that the Watchmen big-screen adaptation opens—with a mixture of excitement and dread. But one thing that’s piqued my interest in the flick even more is the announcement that they’re holding a Watchmen filmmaking contest, asking fans to create “Veidt Enterprises” TV commercials that could end up in the feature film.
The deal is, you have to make a 15-, 30- or 60-second ad that looks like it’s from 1985, featuring certain products from the movie. You can download the visual materials from the contest’s website, edit it all together with your own footage, upload it and then (ah, the downfall) others vote on your work. You have until June 2 to get your ad online.
The prizes are pretty decent—the 40 finalists with the most votes win signed posters from director Zack Snyder; the top five finalists win High-Definition Canon Vixia HG10 camcorders; and up to 20 of Snyder’s favorites will win $1,000.00, and possibly be included in the feature film. I smell a DVD extra in the making with this one….
Now, put all that aside—let me ask you: Do these ads qualify as fan films? Why or why not? Split some hairs with me in the comments section.
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