Posted in: HBO, Preview, Trailer, TV | Tagged: Alan Moore, Aleister Crowley, bleeding cool, cable, damon lindelof, HBO, hex, magician, Magus, Regina King, spell, streaming, television, tv, Watchmen

"Watchmen": Damon Lindelof Thinks Alan Moore Might've Pulled a "Screamin' Jay Hawkins" On Him [OPINION]

Full disclosure: I've spoken to Alan Moore on the phone many times. We generally avoid talking about things that are stupid, because we would just sigh about how stupid they are. I have not brought up the Watchmen show with him or Damon Lindelof's interview.

[Ed. Note: Check out Bleeding Cool's review of Lindelof's "Watchmen" to see why it's already earned the right to carry the name of – and flip off – what came before it here]

Amidst all the PR onslaught to promote HBO's new Watchmen series, Damon Lindelof said he thought Alan Moore put a hex on him.

In an interview with Vulture, Lindelof said:

"I'm about to say something very ridiculous, but in all sincerity, I was absolutely convinced that there was a magical curse placed upon me by Alan. I'm actually feeling the psychological effects of a curse, and I'm okay with it. It's fair that he has placed a curse on me. The basis for this, my twisted logic, was that I heard that he had placed a curse on Zack [Snyder]'s [Watchmen] movie. There is some fundamental degree of hubris and narcissism in saying he even took the time to curse me. But I became increasingly convinced that it had, in fact, happened. So I was like, "Well, at least I'm completely and totally miserable the entire time." I should be!"

You wot, mate?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt8f1OBoOUE

Okay, I'm willing to give Lindelof the benefit of doubt. I assume he's just saying something entertaining for the interview. But it's bizarre that Hollywood people think Moore puts curses on them. The media has created a bizarre urban legend around him.  He hasn't bothered to dispute it because, well, he has better things to do with his time. And he probably thinks it's funny.

One of his best quotes is, "If you find yourself standing in shit, don't jump up and down on it to punish it. Just walk away."

These are not the words of a man who puts curses on people.

People Think "Watchmen" Writer Alan Moore Is An Evil Wizard

American fans appear to think that Moore is some kind of dark, sinister magus who puts curses on people. This comes from his talk of enacting rituals to invoke a snake god made from a sock puppet named Glycon. He knows Glycon is made-up. He spoke drily about the absurdity of the whole thing, but somehow people missed the humour of it all. That's the problem with printed quotes – you don't get the tone of sarcasm or piss-taking in his voice.

Somehow, this evolved into the rumour that he put a curse on Snyder's Watchmen movie. He didn't need to do anything of the sort – that movie's misfortunes were entirely due to the producers' carelessness and failure to do due diligence. They forgot to check that Fox already had rights to the movie when they began production.

He was unhappy they were making the movie and that led to the rumour that "He put a curse on the movie!" Lindelof thinks he's Voldemort! Either he's joking or the "hex" is a manifestation of his personal angst – or he's just telling an entertaining story about his plight as a writer.

It seems only Americans think he's this scary magus like Aleister Crowley. Maybe that's their excuse to write him off and marginalise him. Brits know that Moore is a writer living a life in England. He goes to the pub to see his mates, campaigns against library closures, speaks at schools about writing, helps organize care packages for the elderly during Christmas, and occasionally does book signings in London where the lines go around the block.

But that's not as fun as printing the legend, so print the legend the internet does.

As for Lindelof, you should read whole Vulture interview. It's an interesting conversation about his feelings of guilt, complicity and justification in the murky ethical waters of making a sequel to Watchmen.

And yes, the show is a sequel, not a "remix".

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!