One of the trickiest aspects of a Watchmen movie is Rorschach's secret identity. In the book, you're kept guessing as to who is under that shifting mask -- and when you find out who's really under it halfway through, it's a nice little shocker. He's not the badass you expect, for one, nor is he a stranger. The real Rorschach has been there all along.

In a fantasy world, the casting could have remained secret, making it one hell of a surprise when his mask is taken away. But this is the real world of movie casting and marketing, and so a name and face has to be attached ... and really, it's just another reminder you should read the book so you can enjoy the surprises firsthand.

Even so, a glimpse of the man under the mask has surfaced on JoBlo, who snagged a screencap from G4. Apparently, G4 was busy showing the people at home all the coolness of Watchmen while the rest of us were camped out at ComicCon -- and one of the things they revealed was Jackie Earle Haley without his face. For devotees of the book, it should be reassuring, especially as I heard people wondering aloud how Zack Snyder planned to "fix" the bald Haley. (Count me impressed on the greasy detail of his clothes.) For those new to the story, steer clear, especially if you're in the middle of the book. (This means you, Mom. I know you haven't even read past Under the Hood.) The photo appears after the jump.

Watchmen opens March 6th, 2009.

Last year, bit by bit, we got casting notices for the uber-drama Winged Creatures, which collected a powerful group of actors -- Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning, Jackie Earle Haley, Guy Pearce, and Jeanne Tripplehorn. Now a trailer has finally hit the Internet, which you can see above.

As the trailer outlines, the film follows a group of people who suffer post-traumatic stress after a random shooting at a Los Angeles diner. Talk about a soul-sucker. The trailer alone should steal some of the wind from your happy sails, but it looks like it will be in the most worthy way. Initial buzz at IMDb has pegged the film to be a 9.1/10, so this could be one of those heavy, challenging dramas worth our time and energy. The film premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, but a release date is yet to be set.

One day after the latest Martin Scorsese/Leonardo DiCaprio film, Shutter Island, got sold to some European territories, they've added even more irresistible cast members. There's already Leo, Patricia Clarkson, Michelle Williams, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Kingsley. Now The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Max von Sydow, Emily Mortimer, and Jackie Earle Haley have signed on for roles.

Based on Dennis Lehane's novel, the film is a period piece about two U.S. Marshals (DiCaprio and Ruffalo) in 1954 who investigate the disappearance of a murderess from a hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island in Massachusetts. "Chaos ensues for the two as they encounter a web of deceit, a hurricane, and a deadly inmate riot that leaves them trapped on the island." Von Sydow will play a hospital physician, and it looks like Clarkson is not the one who will get to play Rachel Solando -- it will be Mortimer. As for Haley, it looks like he'll be making the most out of his post-Watchmen uber-tough physique (the man is an absolute powerhouse these days) -- he'll be playing an inmate. Production will begin March 6.

In the midst of all the speculation regarding the big-screen version of Watchmen, the musical score probably wasn't all that high on the list -- but it can be just as important. As any moviegoer knows, sometimes the music can make or break a movie (for a good example of how music can ruin a flick, look no further than The Perfect Storm or The Last Samurai). ComingSoon.net is reporting that Tyler Bates has been signed to compose the score for the film.

As any fan-boy can tell you, Watchmen is Zack Snyder's adaptation of Alan Moore and David Gibbons classic graphic novel. The story is set in a fictional New York in the 80s where "masked vigilantes" have affected the events of everything from the Vietnam War to Watergate. Over the last year, the rumors flew fast and furious about the cast until Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson were all officially announced.

Tyler Bates started his career back in 1993, when he wrote the music for a sci-fi B-movie called Blue Flame. By 1997, he had already released his own album with his band Pet, but the album failed to become a hit and he has been in the movie business ever since. Bates has a long standing relationship with director Zack Snyder, having done the score for 300 and Dawn of the Dead. Snyder was quoted as saying that Baker's Bates' score for 300, "...moves the film into mythology cauterizing the images as you view them, making them something they could never be alone." So, I guess he is looking for the same kind of magic for the equally mythic story of Watchmen.

Bit by little bit on his blog, Zack Snyder has been pulling back the curtain to reveal his big-screen vision for Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen. Last up was some shots of Gibbons' visit to the set, and now Zach is sharing some storyboards that he made for the film -- two pages that feature Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley). As he explains it: "Alongside the graphic novel, I always keep a copy of my storyboards with me on set." He goes on to explain how they're a vital part of his process to envision how the film will look from beginning to end. This vision, from all that has been shown thus far, and nibbles I've seen that are yet to come, looks like it will definitely be bringing Watchmen to life. Stay tuned! Maybe next time we'll get to finally see Nite* Owl's ship.

It seems pretty definite to me: Patrick Wilson is playing Nite Owl (aka Dan Dreiberg) in Watchmen. In an interview with Coming Soon.net/Superhero Hype!, Wilson does everything but actually confirm the rumors. But he comes pretty darn close. Basically, through his wording of answers and his questions to the interviewer (Max Evry), he insinuates that he's doing the movie but that he's unsure if he's allowed to talk about it -- though he claims he's never been told not to. What he does mention is that the script is phenomenal writing and that the project is really exciting stuff. He also says he should be respectful and wait until everyone is on board and there is an official announcement. So, yeah, he's been cast.

This will be sad news to both John Cusack and his fans, who have been hoping the actor would get the part of Nite Owl. But Wilson isn't a bad choice for the part. And Watchmen loyalists (and Cinematical commenters) are already happy enough that Keanu Reeves apparently turned down the part of Dr. Manhattan. We still have to see if the Jude Law rumor is also true (director Zack Snyder nearly confirmed him and Reeves, but now that Reeves is out, who knows?), and we still await some word on the rest of the characters' casting. We are getting some more rumors, though. According to AICN's 'Moriarty', the new front-runner for Dr. Manhattan is Jason Patric. According to actor Paddy Considine (in the forum part of his site), the part of Rorschach has gone to Jackie Earle Haley. And somewhere, while writing about these other two rumors, film ick has gotten the idea that Thomas Jane will be playing The Comedian. So when are we going to hear something about the part of Laurie (aka Silk Spectre 2)?

Jeanne Tripplehorn (the hottest wife on Big Love? I say yes.) and Embeth Davidtz have joined the extremely talented cast of Winged Creatures, which we brought you a bit of news on last month. Winged Creatures -- is this some sort of badass flying monster fest? Sadly, no. "The story follows the witnesses to a brutal murder suicide in a fast food restaurant as they cope with the aftermath of the incident and how they affect the people who help them along the way." Also in the film: Kate "I'm More Attractive Than You" Beckinsale, Forest "I Have An Oscar Now!" Whitaker, Jackie "Damn you, Whitaker!" Earle Haley, Dakota "Creeps Me Out" Fanning, and Guy "Good Lord, LA Confidential Was Awesome" Pearce. The film will be directed by Rowan Woods.

Not sure what to make of this character description, but Davidtz will play "a wife suffering from migraines who places her husband's needs above hers." Guess that means she doesn't use the old "Not tonight honey, I have a headache" excuse? Tripplehorn is playing Fanning's mother, who tries to help her daughter get over the tragedy. If Dakota Fanning were my daughter, I think I'd be the one asking her for help and advice. She seems a good deal smarter than me. Hopefully we'll get more details on the plot soon, but I will say I'm intrigued as to what could cause a "brutal murder suicide in a fast food restaurant." Must have been that breakfast cutoff time. When you've got Egg McMuffin on the brain, a Big Mac ain't gonna cut it.

While Jackie Earle Haley's first stint in Hollywood wasn't followed by a crazy, tumultuous life of drugs and tabloids, it wasn't particularly shnazzy either. There's not much that can humble a star more than following fame in The Bad News Bears and one of my most-watched films of the 80's, Breaking Away, with stints that included pizza delivery. I'm sure he didn't think he'd make his way back to Hollywood and get an Oscar nomination almost straight-away. Last September, Scott suspected that we'd be seeing a lot more of Mr. Haley, and that definitely seems to be the case.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, he is continuing his impressive return with 3 more, quite varied, features. First, he gets a bit of his sporting past with Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro, the basketball comedy that also stars Maura Tierney, Woody Harrelson and André Benjamin. In the film, he'll be a fan and winner of a basketball-throwing contest. He's topping that role with a part as an abusive husband/angry father in the big-named ensemble piece Winged Creatures with Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning, Forest Whitaker and Guy Pearce. Then, to continue to change things up, Haley will take a spot in the Buddy Bolden biopic, Bolden!, where he will play a corrupt judge involved in brothels and harsh Battles Royale.

While all of this official word slides in, there are also rumors floating around that he might take a role in the upcoming Zack Snyder film, Watchmen. That's right, it seems that the buzz right now names both Haley and Simon Pegg as possible actors to take on the role of Rorschach -- who happens to be the main character. If the Bad News alum nabs this as well, I have a feeling he won't ever be delivering pizzas again.

I haven't yet read Tom Perrotta's Little Children, the book writer/director Todd Field and Perrotta adapted together into the film of the same name. It is on my reading list -- I generally like to read the book a film has been adapted from, especially if I really liked the film, which is certainly the case with Little Children. When Field introduced the film at Telluride, he noted that when he and Perrotta set out to adapt the book, they weren't looking to just cut-and-paste the book into a film, but rather to create something entirely new based on the book as source material.

Over at 10 Zen Monkeys, Destiny has an interesting piece up on some bits from the book -- some sexy, some just fairly intense -- that were omitted from the screenplay, and questions whether the film would have been better with them in it. The post has a lot of spoilers, so if you haven't seen the film, you might want to hold off reading it until you get a chance to catch it. If you have seen the film, though, it's interesting to read and to imagine what the film might have looked like with these scenes in it.

Little Children was nommed for three Academy Awards, including one for adapted screenplay, and went home empty-handed. Why do you think that happened? Was the competition too tough? The film and the characters too dark and unlikable? Personally, I would have liked to see Jackie Earle Haley take Best Supporting Actor -- it's not easy to imbue an unrepentant pedophile with a sense of humanity and make the audience feel empathy for him, but Haley (along with Phyllis Somerville, who turned in a deeply moving performance as his mother) managed to accomplish that feat.