WATCHMEN‘S RORSCHACH: BORN OF TERRIBLE METAL

So. Unless you live under a rock, chances are you’re aware that the movie adaptation of Watchmen opens tomorrow. The reviews are decidedly mixed and I’m still not convinced it won’t suck, but it’s already apparently making a ton of bank in ticket pre-sales, so, uh, yeah, people wanna see this bitch I guess.

Anyways, this week iTunes had some members of the cast do their celebrity playlist thing. A few actors chose a few metal songs – Patrick Wilson (who plays “Nite Owl II”) has some Van Halen and Extreme songs, Malin Akerman (“Silk Spectre II”) has some Nine Inch Nails, Jeffery Dean Morgan (“The Comedian”) was apparently pals with Layne Staley and included “Rooster” in his mix, etc.

But Jackie Earle Haley – the Oscar nominated actor playing the ultimate right wing sociopathic fascistic badass, Rorschach – created a list that is almost entirely comprised of metal.

Terrible metal.

Here’s Haley’s list… along with his explanations of why he chose the song – all of which are just quotes from Watchmen:

1. Static-X, “Black and White” – “The Abyss Gazes Also.”
2. Disturbed, “Down with the Sickness” – “Some nice flowers.”
3. Green Day, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” – “You quit.”
4. Incubus, “Out from Under” – “Never!”
5. Linkin Park, “No More Sorrow” – “…whores and politicians…”
6. Metallica, “All Nightmare Long” – “I believe I shall take my exercise.”
7. Foo Fighters, “My Hero” – “…like my father, or President Truman.”
8. Loscil, “Rorschach” – “…October 12, 1985.”

At the risk of sounding like a total fanboy, I’d like to take this opportunity to suggest that Rorschach would hate this list. Why? Well, for one thing, it’s all pussy music. For another thing, I think Rorschach’s personal politics would probably rule out listening to metal altogether, even if he is a complete head case (and prone to incredible violence). And, finally, Rorschach’s dialogue in the comics suggests he doesn’t like homosexuals, so obviously he’d never tolerate Chester Bennington.

ANYWAY, I’m guessing Haley didn’t actually listen to any of this music to get himself “in character,” since “All Nightmare Long” had not yet been released when Watchmen was filmed. Still, this list suggests that Haley does listen to metal, even if it is truly heinous shit.

-AR