‘Watchmen’ will be ‘like an earthquake’ at Comic-Con

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Who could be happier these days than Lawrence A. Gordon?

‘At my age, to be working with two truly brilliant young directors? It’s a real honor, I have to tell you.’ The 72-year-old producer was referring to Guillermo del Toro (‘Pan’s Labyrinth’), who just happens to have the No. 1 movie in America right now with ‘Hellboy II,’ and Zack Snyder (‘300’), now in post-production on ‘Watchmen,’ which is nothing less than the Holy Grail of fanboy films.

‘The trailer for the film will be on ‘The Dark Knight,’ which is exciting for everybody,’ Gordon said. ‘And at Comic-Con, it’s going to be like an earthquake when people see what Zack has done and what he’s bringing. He has done a magnificent job. Wait until you see this film.’

The ‘Watchmen’ panel at the International Comic-Con in San Diego is Friday, July 25, at 11:55 a.m., in Hall H. The movie is due in theaters in February. I was on the set in Vancouver late last year and everything I saw suggested that ‘Watchmen’ was going to do for comic book films what ‘GoodFellas’ did for Mafia movies, which is to introduce a complex, gripping masterpiece that transforms an entire genre.

Snyder told me then that it was going to be more than three hours long with an R rating. Gordon said now that he though it would come in under the three-hour mark, though he added: ‘We haven’t finalized everything, but over three hours? I don’t think so. No matter what, it’s going to a great success. The fanboys are not going to let us get away with anything less.’

Gordon is no stranger to success or genre flicks. His career is pretty astounding. Check out this short list of the films he’s brought to the screen: ‘The Warriors’ (1979), ’48 Hrs.’ (1982), ‘Predator’ (1987), ‘Die Hard’ (1988), ‘Field of Dreams’ (1989), ‘The Rocketeer’ (1991), ‘Waterworld’ (1995), ‘Boogie Nights’ (1997), the ‘Lara Croft’ films (2001, 2003) and Del Toro’s two ‘Hellboy’ movies (2004, 2008). (Gordon was also an executive producer on the wonderful ‘Hellboy Animated’ features, which you should check out if you haven’t.)

One last word from Gordon before he had to hang up: ‘I’ll see you down in Comic-Con. Be sure you don’t miss that ‘Watchmen’ panel.’

-- Geoff Boucher