Save Our Watchmen!

Don't Mondays just suck sometimes? Empire is disappointed to have to report that the long-awaited cinematic adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's Watchmen appears to have struck a snag. Due to budgetary issues revolving around paltry government-sponsored tax breaks (Damn you, Tony Blair!), producer Lloyd Levin is currently considering moving the production away from its current home at Pinewood Studios; But all is not lost the production is still apparently on track for a summer 2006 release. The problems arrived recently after the studio equivalent of a Cabinet reshuffle on March 1st, where the big chair at Paramount was allotted to new chief Brad Grey. Paramount has had concerns about the movie's $120 million budget for sometime, and has been looking at ways to cut costs - moving it away from the UK would seem to be one way to reduce that budget to less than nine figures. If by some amoeba-sized chance you're reading this, Mr Grey, Empire implores you to step up and smooth the way for this potential masterpiece to be brought to fruition! (Which has nothing to do with the fact that Pinewood is just down the road from us.) Levin told our good friends at Screen Daily that they were being forced to look at alternatives to shooting here, due to "the expense of shooting in the UK with the exchange rate and the loss of certain rebates