And while we've been able to show plenty from "Tales of the Black Freighter" here at Splash Page, very little has been seen or heard about with regards to "Under the Hood" -- a pseudo tell-all book by Hollis Mason (a.k.a. Nite Owl I) which chronicles the rise and fall of the original Minutemen (highlights of which were very briefly touched on in the title sequence of "Watchmen"). Today, however, Warner Bros. has released a Q & A with "Under the Hood" director Eric Matthies, in which he discusses his approach to the adaptation, the cast, and his favorite scene from the animated feature.

While many fans who have read "Watchmen" recall "Under the Hood" being a straightforward narrative, Matthies decided to adapt the tale as the subject of a story revisited 10 years later in the fictional "The Culpepper Minute" TV news magazine within the world of "Watchmen," which the director felt was necessary in the hopes to make the story a bit more visual.

"We needed a concept that would not require a leap of faith, and that would not just be a book on tape," Matthies explained. "First, we were able to incorporate Larry Culpeper, and have him represent an outside voice speaking about both the memoir and the world in which it was taking place. And by having Culpeper revisit the story 10 years later, we were able to cover two different time periods and give the original piece greater perspective within the 'Watchmen' movie."

Matthies goes on to praise the actors involved with the project, each of which he claims brought a unique take to the feature.

"Stephen McHattie (Hollis Mason) was great -- he really got it and was able to really bring something special to that material," said the director. "It was obvious that he had read Under the Hood, and I think it was fun for him to be able to put some life behind those lines. Carla [Gugino] was amazing -- she and I probably had the most dialogue about the project."

And as far as his favorite moments captured within the documentary, Matthies explained, "I really had a lot of fun going back to recreate the footage from the 1930s of Mothman and Silhouette and those characters, having them in costume on the New York streets fighting crime -- and shooting it on 16mm with an old Bolex hand-crank camera. We mixed that footage with interviews we shot on high-def, which we treated in post-production. It gave the film a nice texture."

"Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter" is set to hit stores on DVD and Blu-ray on March 24.

Are you gonna be picking up "Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter" next week? Let us know in the comments.