Saturday, October 31

• Green Lantern Will Be Heavy on Visual Effects

  

  The superhero Green Lantern is not as well-known as some of DC Comics' other characters like Superman and Batman, but Warner Bros. is banking on director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) and lead actor Ryan Reynolds changing that when the live-action Green Lantern movie hits theaters.

  So far, Reynolds is the only actor cast in the movie, and principal photography isn't expected to begin until March. However, that doesn't mean that work on the movie hasn't already begun. In a recent interview with Empire, Campbell said that there will be roughly 1,300 visual effects shots and that "the process" of coordinating all of those shots is both "daunting" and "mind-blowing." He said that most of the effects revolve around the source of Green Lantern's super powers, stemming from his power ring.

  It's energized by a battery on the planet of Oa, which taps into the willpower of everyone in the universe. From that ring you can form constructs. So if you got into a fight, you could form a giant fist. Or a fighter plane."

  
  

  Posted 10/31/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Martin Campbell | Ryan Reynolds | Green Lantern

Friday, October 16

• New Edge of Darkness Trailer

  Director Martin Campbell's (Casino Royale) latest film, Edge of Darkness, marks the return of Mel Gibson as a leading man, his first such performance since M. Night Shyamalan's Signs in 2002.

  Based on Campbell's BBC mini-series of the same name, Darkness tells the story of veteran policeman Thomas Craven (Gibson), who obsessively investigates the shooting death of his daughter on their front steps. In the process, he uncovers far more than he bargained for.

  Edge of Darkness was written for the screen by Academy Award-winner William Monahan (The Departed) and also stars Ray Winstone and Danny Huston.

  
  
  Next Showing: Edge of Darkness opens January 29, 2010

  Posted 10/16/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Danny Huston | Mel Gibson | Ray Winstone | William Monahan | Martin Campbell | Edge of Darkness

Friday, August 28

• Bradley Cooper Explains How He Lost the Green Lantern Role

  

  Bradley Cooper admitted that losing the Green Lantern role was difficult, but during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien Cooper explained that he's past the rejection:

  I did get a chance to try out for it, which was amazing to even get a chance. Ryan Reynolds got it — who, by the way, if I was directing the movie, I would cast him. He's perfect. He actually looks like a superhero.

  Cooper did get to audition for director Martin Campbell, but Cooper's performance shared too much with another famous superhero for him to get the part:

  I couldn't not do Christian Bale's Batman when I was doing the audition. I don't know what it was! I put a mask on and the director was like, "Okay Bradley, be regular and talk." And I was like, "Yeah, got it... [in a deep, gravely Batman voice] listen, Sally, we're going to have to take your family away if you don't listen to me!" At one point, I actually walked back and saw it, because they have it on the monitor while you're auditioning. I saw a little clip as they were rewinding it, and I thought, "Oh my god, that can't be." It looked like a Saturday Night Live sketch! I was like, "Oh, I'm not getting this! Now I can really do my Batman! Who gives a s***?"

  No need to feel pity for him, though, as Cooper is far from hurting for work after the success of The Hangover. His next movie, All About Steve, opens September 4.

  
  

  Posted 08/28/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Bradley Cooper | Martin Campbell | Green Lantern

Friday, July 24

• The Flash and Aquaman Movies Moving Forward

  

  DC is finally taking steps to make movies about their Justice League characters the way Marvel has been making ones about its Avengers. THR reports that DC partner Warner Bros. has brought in three DC comics writers to help consult on several titles, notably Geoff Johns, who has written both The Flash and Green Lantern comics. He's prepared a treatment to guide screenwriter Dan Mazeau's use of the characters. Johns will also produce the movie, which still has no director attached.

  Johns spoke about the movie adaptation at the San Diego Comic-Con, though his words were brief. The movie is apparently about, well, speed:

  We're caught up in a world that's obsessed with speed these days. Texting, faster downloading… We're always looking for ways to speed things up, it can be hard to slow ourselves down.

  As a very popular Green Lantern writer, Johns was happy to give the Ryan Reynolds casting his seal of approval:

  It's great, he's got the swagger for early Hal [Jordan, a.k.a. Green Lantern], definitely. And Martin Campbell directing ... I'm psyched about it.

  With Reynolds' current zeal for superhero roles, and the fact that he was cast in the part in 2005, he could take the role of Flash as well.

  Aquaman has less development to report, but, considering the superhero's usual exclusion when discussing DC movies, was a happy surprise. Thus far, the closest thing to an Aquaman movie has been the brief, fictional Aquaman "movie" scenes shot for HBO's Entourage series, but with Warners searching for a good aqua-story and Leonardo DiCaprio's production company working on it, signs are positive that a real Aquaman will be made.

  While DC's progress is hardly in line with Marvel's definitive slate of Avengers movies, it is a step in the right direction. Until they arrive in theaters, however, comic fans can only dream of a day when both Justice League and Avengers movies battle for box office dominance.

  
  

  Posted 07/24/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Martin Campbell | Ryan Reynolds | Dan Mazeau | The Flash | Green Lantern | Justice League: Mortal

Tuesday, June 16

• Green Lantern Screenwriter Offers an Update

  Green Lantern co-screenwriter Marc Guggenheim spoke to SciFiWire and updated the status of the movie's script and casting issues. Guggenheim had just delivered a new draft of the script, which he says focuses on the first Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, and how he becomes part of the Green Lantern Corps.

  You know, there's no desire on anyone's part to completely change the character and just call this other character Green Lantern and try to ... draft off the name recognition. This is all about "How do we bring the best version of this character to the silver screen?" We've drawn heavily from ... a lot of different sources in terms of the comic books.... The character ... is several decades old, so ... we've really had an incredible amount of source material to cherry-pick from.

  While Guggenheim says no decision in casting has been made, he did address some of the recent rumors that had either Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) or Chris Pine (Star Trek) cast in the lead role.

  They're all false. I mean, they're all false insofar as we haven't chosen anyone yet. They're still in the negotiations, you know? There's a lot of names being talked about, and there's a lot of people being met, and a lot of ... actors reading the script. But if you read online [that] Pauly Shore's been cast as Hal Jordan, I can guarantee you we have not cast anyone.

  Pauly Shore? Did Guggenheim perhaps mean Brian Austin Green, who's been openly campaigning for the role? In any case, note that while Guggenheim didn't exactly agree to Shore, but he didn't say no either. So, there's a chance! Keep your fingers crossed, Pauly!

  Green Lantern starts shooting this summer in Australia and arrives in theaters on June 17, 2011. Martin Campbell will direct the production.

  
  

  Posted 06/16/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Bradley Cooper | Chris Pine | Pauly Shore | Martin Campbell | Brian Austin Green | Marc Guggenheim | The Hangover | Green Lantern | Star Trek

Monday, May 11

• Green Lantern, Sucker Punch Get New Release Dates

  Warner Bros. has decided to delay two upcoming movies, moving possible superhero franchise Green Lantern to June 17, 2011, while Zack Snyder's Watchmen follow-up, Sucker Punch, has been moved from October 2010 to March 25, 2011. The change for Sucker Punch may have come from the recent cast changes, but Green Lantern is now poised to compete with Marvel's big summer, opening a month after Thor and Spider-Man 4, but a month before First Avenger: Captain America.

  Clearly, Warner Bros. is feeling confident about Green Lantern, and perhaps they wanted to give director Martin Campbell more time to cast the lead role. With rumors of Bradley Cooper surfacing, Latino Review reports that Shawn Roberts has "auditioned several times" for the part. Roberts just wrapped Campbell's Edge of Darkness, but it may be long-rumored choice Sam Worthington, who has not only Terminator Salvation and Avatar opening this year, but Clash of the Titans in 2010, that Campbell may be holding out for. Worthington told Moviehole:

  I've been talking to Martin Campbell about [Green Lantern]. It's one of those things where they're still doing the script. I said, "Give me a script. Let me have a look at it." I like Martin a lot. I met him on the Bond stuff, and I like his work, but the second step is, "Is it a movie that I'd go and see?"

  Moving Green Lantern to 2011 sure gives Worthington some time to think about it.

  
  

  Posted 05/11/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Bradley Cooper | Shawn Roberts | Martin Campbell | Sam Worthington | Zack Snyder | Green Lantern | Sucker Punch | Watchmen | Spider-Man 4 | Clash of the Titans | Thor | First Avenger: Captain America | Avatar

Thursday, March 19

• Green Lantern Starts Rolling in September

  Looks like the adaptation of Green Lantern is doing better than "moving forward." It's going into production. Apparently, the movie will start shooting in mid-September in Australia. Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) will direct the movie, which is based on the DC comic book about a test pilot named Hal Jordan who receives a ring of limitless power.

  This is good news for DC, who only has few comic book movies in the works (Suicide Squad, possibly Wonder Woman, and another Batman movie whenever Christopher Nolan is ready to make one). DC is also vying to compete with Marvel, who has several Avengers movies in the works.

  A casting decision on Hal Jordan has yet to be made. However, IESB reports that Star Trek's Chris Pine is on the "short list" of candidates.

  
  
  Next Showing: Green Lantern opens December 17, 2010

  Posted 03/19/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Chris Pine | Christopher Nolan | Martin Campbell | Green Lantern | Casino Royale | Batman 3 | Wonder Woman | Star Trek | The Avengers

Wednesday, February 25

• Warner Brothers Sets Release Dates for Green Lantern, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, and More

  ERCBoxOffice reports that Warner Bros. has announced official release dates for several movies, including the DC Comic adaptation of Green Lantern, which just recently nabbed director Martin Campbell, and will arrive December 17, 2010, months after First Avenger: Captain America and Thor have hit theaters. So instead of competing with Marvel's comic book movies of the summer, Green Lantern will attempt to capitalize on the success or failures of Marvel's Avengers movies.

  Not that Warner Bros. isn't trying to compete with Marvel's Avengers movies, just not with Green Lantern. Instead, Christopher Nolan's Inception will go head-to-head with Thor on July 16, 2010, with Josh Brolin as DC's gun-for-hire Jonah Hex following less than a month later on August 6. The Avengers will also get some competition from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II when they both open on July 15, 2011.

  With Green Lantern set as Warner's December blockbuster or 2010, Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is set for this year, bumped to December 25 rather than the original release date of November 13.

  Other notable movies include The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier's Clash of the Titans which will fight for box office dominance on March 26, 2010, while Zack Snyder's Watchmen follow-up, Sucker Punch, an action movie with an "all-girl" cast that Snyder describes as "crazier than anything" he's ever done, opens with a "definite" R rating on October 8, 2010.

  
  

  Posted 02/25/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Guy Ritchie | Christopher Nolan | Josh Brolin | Louis Leterrier | Martin Campbell | Zack Snyder | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | Thor | The Avengers | Sherlock Holmes | Green Lantern | Jonah Hex | First Avenger: Captain America | The Incredible Hulk | Watchmen | Clash of the Titans

Thursday, February 19

• Green Lantern Enters New Stage of Development

  Green Lantern has gone through many stages of development: announced, then "next", then "on-hold" and "not on-hold", and now, "moving ahead". Co-screenwriter Michael Green told SciFiWire that "'Green Lantern' seems to be moving ahead."

  Green has previously said that Warner Bros usually "inch" their way to making movies, but says that director Martin Campbell is now officially Green Lantern's director, not just in talks. Said Green:

  They have a director attached to it now and seem to be moving forward, they being Warner Brothers. And I hope they do, because, as a fan of [the character and title], I just want to see the movie. I love the material. I was fortunate enough to get to adapt something that I've loved for a long time.

  
  

  Posted 02/19/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Michael Green | Martin Campbell | Green Lantern

Friday, February 6

• Green Lantern Gets New Director, Script Update

  Green Lantern has already been announced as "not on hold" by screenwriter Marc Guggenheim, but recent developments show the movie is getting close to being made. While co-screenwriter Greg Berlanti has previously been slated to direct, Variety reports that Martin Campbell, director of Casino Royale, is in talks to direct the movie instead.

  Michael Green, the third co-screenwriter of Green Lantern, explains: "Warner Bros. doesn't do greenlights the way a lot of places do. They sort of always inch towards it, so there's never a day where they're like, 'Boom! Magic bomb! We're greenlit!' But we've had very good conversations with them. From what I'm told, they really like the last script we gave them and are hoping to find a way to make it, which would be thrilling," Green told IGN.

  As for the script details, Green did reveal that the movie will concern original Green Lantern Hal Jordan. "I can't give too many spoilers, but the idea is to introduce a new character to an audience that is probably not familiar with him. So we start at the beginning with Hal Jordan."

  Will Green Lantern tie in to the on-again off-again Justice League movie? Said Green: "The only mandate such as it is was, 'Any references you want to make to expand the DC world, we would enjoy,' which is one of the better notes you can get. It's like, 'Oh, more candy? Please!' They opened up the DC toy box on that, so it was fun. It's definitely tied to the familiar DC universe."

  Which means that DC is still trying to set up a Justice League to rival the 2011 Avengers movie.

  
  

  Posted 02/06/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Greg Berlanti | Michael Green | Martin Campbell | Marc Guggenheim | Green Lantern | Justice League: Mortal | The Avengers | Casino Royale