Film News: Zack Snyder on Terry Gilliam's Watchmen; BBC Three goes online-only, and more

ZACK SNYDER: TERRY GILLIAM'S WATCHMEN WOULD HAVE BEEN "COMPLETELY INSANE"
Last week, producer and director Joel Silver spoke out about visionary director Terry Gilliam's plans for the ending of his cinematic version of the classic Alan Moore / Dave Gibbons comic, Watchmen. Talking to Coming Soon, Silver outlined the planned ending of the Sam Hamm-penned script for the long-mooted adaptation, which was to be helmed by Gilliam.

"What he did was he told the story as-is, but instead of the whole notion of the intergalactic thing which was too hard and too silly, what he did was he maintained that the existence of Doctor Manhattan had changed the whole balance of the world economy, the world political structure. He felt that THAT character really altered the way reality had been. He had the Ozymandias character convince, essentially, the Doctor Manhattan character to go back and stop himself from being created, so there never would be a Doctor Manhattan character. He was the only character with real supernatural powers, he went back and prevented himself from being turned into Doctor Manhattan, and in the vortex that was created after that occurred these characters from Watchmen only became characters in a comic book," comments Silver.

He continues: "So the three characters... they're all of the sudden in Times Square and there's a kid reading a comic book. They become like the people in Times Square dressing up like characters as opposed to really BEING those characters. There's a kid reading the comic book and he's like, 'Hey, you're just like in my comic book.' It was very smart, it was very articulate, and it really gave a very satisfying resolution to the story, but it just didn't happen."

After Silver's comments, in which he also offered the opinion that the Glliam version would have been "a much, much better movie," Watchmen director Zack Snyder hit back, telling the Huffington Post that he made his version to save fans from "the Terry Gilliams of this world." He continues: "If you read the Gilliam ending, it's completely insane. The fans would have stormed the castle on that one. I would not have grabbed something from out of the air and said, 'Oh, here's a cool ending' just because it's cool.'"

He goes on to say: "Honestly, I made Watchmen for myself. It's probably my favourite movie that I've made. And I love the graphic novel and I really love everything about the movie. I love the style... it was a labour of love. And I made it because I knew that the studio would have made the movie anyway and they would have made it crazy." 

So what do you think – was Snyder Watchmen's saviour, or its doom? Would the Gilliam version have worked, or would it have outraged fans even more than the Snyder version's much-despised sex scene, or its joyless, slavish adherence to the source material? Tell us in the comments below!

WATCH: ANDRE 3000 STARS AS JIMI HENDRIX IN NEW BIOPIC
We've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of All Is by My Side, the forthcoming biopic about the life of Jimi Hendrix starring Outkast's André 3000 (or André Benjamin, as his mum knows him) as the sex and drugs-powered guitar legend. This week, the first clip of Benjamin as Hendrix surfaced online. The film does not feature any original Hendrix compositions, as the musician's estate refused to give their blessing to the film. Instead, Hendrix is seen playing covers of songs by The Beatles and other artists. It is one of the films premiering at this year's SXSW festival. 

BBC THREE TO BECOME DIGITAL-ONLY CHANNEL
In a shock announcement this week, the BBC have detailed plans to migrate their BBC Three channel on to online and digital streaming platforms, taking it off air – a decision that many claim will result in programmes funded by UK TV license-payers being watched more and more by a non fee-paying audience. The channel, which was the spawning ground for a whole host of successful BBC dramas and comedies, including The Mighty Boosh and Little Britain, will be axed from TV as part of a sweeping set of cuts implemented by BBC Director General, Tony Hall. 

The BBC News service points out that this is a complete about-face from Lord Hall, who last year commented that he would not consider closing any of the BBC's channels. However, he appears to have changed his mind, explaining the decision to axe BBC Three as a broadcast channel by claiming that BBC is a 'youth' brand, and that "increasingly, it's thought the youth audience are switching to accessing content online. They're watching in their bedrooms and watching on tablet devices."

Celebrities and former BBC Three stars who made their careers on the channel's shows have leapt to its defence. The BBC reports that stars including Jack Whitehall and Matt Lucas are voicing their objection to the decision, with Whitehall commenting: "I really hope reports that the BBC may kill BBC3 are just rumours. [Their] support of new comedy in particular is vital!" Matt Lucas also added: "This would be really bad for new comedy. Like, REALLY bad... Little Britain, Gavin & Stacey, Torchwood, Being Human, [The] Mighty Boosh, Pramface, Ideal... BBC3 is the home of new comedy [and] drama." The hashtag #SaveBBC3 is now trending on Twitter.

THE RUMOUR MILL: HUGH JACKMAN PREDICTS WOLVERINE RE-CASTING, BRYAN CRANSTON REGRETS NOT BAGGING LEX LUTHOR ROLE, BRYAN SINGER AND VINCE GILLIGAN TEAM UP 
Hugh Jackman has spoken out this week about the inevitability of him being replaced as the actor portraying the Adamantium-clawed superhero Wolverine in the X-Men movies and their spin-offs. Talking to Digital Spy, Jackman reveals that he believes 20th Century Fox considered re-casting his iconic role in the process of making X-Men: First Class, saying: "I'm sure they had the discussion. They didn't mention it to me, obviously!"

Although appearing saddened that the role would at some point pass to a younger actor, Jackman comments: "Look, that's inevitable, man. Anyone who thinks they're indispensable in this business is fooling themselves. But I feel unbelievably blessed to have this part. I never thought in a million years I'd get to play him seven times... Every day I walk on the set with the claws and the hair, I thank my lucky stars. I don't take any of it for granted... I'm sure by the way, that it won't always be my decision to always be here. At some point, someone will close the door on me." Jackman plays Wolverine for the seventh time in the upcoming, Bryan Singer-helmed X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Sticking with superheroes, Breaking Bad and Godzilla star Bryan Cranston has spoken out about his regret at missing out on the role of Lex Luthor in next year's Batman vs. Superman. Speaking to American shock jock Howard Stern, Cranston talks about the swell of fan support for his mooted casting, saying: "I was not involved in any of that whatsoever. Oh, oh, I would have welcomed it."

A joke circulating around the internet in the wake of Zack Snyder's casting of The Social Network's Jesse Eisenberg in the role suggested that the director had been misheard when he asked his minions to get him "that Heisenberg guy". Snyder was keen to quash that rumour, telling the LA Times: "We're casting according to what's happening in the script. We're hoping that leads to enough originality, enough perspective on what we’re doing that you get something fresh and exciting. I understand the canon. I’m not crazy. I know what these characters need [to come] from a mythological standpoint. I think Jesse is going to be an amazing Lex. Let's not forget he was nominated for an Academy Award. It’s not like I just grabbed my friend to play the guy! This guy's the real deal."

In related news, X-Men director Bryan Singer and Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan will soon be working together. Singer is tipped to be the director of the pilot episode of Gilligan's new show Battle Creek, according to Deadline. The show, a police procedural about two detectives with an 'odd couple' relationship working in Battle Creek, Michigan, will be written by Gilligan, and overseen by showrunner David Shore (House). Dean Winters will star in the new show, which rumour has it has already been comissioned for a full season, sight unseen. Whether or not it can rival the majestic power and depth of recent TV hit True Detective, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, remains to be seen.

TRAILERS: TRANSFORMERS 4, AFFLICTED, PARTICLE FEVER
A quick round-up of trailers – here's some more Mark Wahlberg and Dinobot action in this summer's premium bloated special effects extravaganza from much-maligned, moron-bait director Michael Bay, possibly the most vilified filmmaker in the world after Zack Snyder and Roman Polanski. Seriously though, robot dinosaurs, and nary a hint of Shia LaBoeuf... what's not to love? Watch the first extended trailer below.

Next, a film that bears heavy traces of the influence of the excellent 'found-footage' superhero movie Chronicle, but with a twist of supernatural horror to the 'discovering my powers' storyline. Friends on a trip to Paris discover that one of their number has developed superpowers after a one-night stand with a mystery woman... but with great power comes freaky rolled-back eyes, skin festering with weird cracks and scabs, and a tendency to Hulk out and break stuff. 

And finally, just to balance out the stupid, here's the trailer for a new documentary about the people and projects at the Large Hadron Collider. Particle Fever was shot in the run-up to the discovery of the elusive Higgs boson – if you're into shots of old dudes and uber-geeks explaining stuff that's really, really difficult to understand, or if you're just seeking some reassurance that they aren't about to destroy the planet by creating a miniature black hole, this will be essential viewing.