Filmonic » Green Lantern

Martin Campbell on the effects of Green Lantern

Liam — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:25:00 +0000

We haven’t really heard much from Green Lantern director Martin Campbell, which could be because he’s been busy with pre-production and sorting out where to shoot, as the film recently moved out of Australia due to rising cost. Well Empire (via Coventry Telegraph) caught up with him this week, and he spoke about the visual effects that will be in the movie:

“It’s daunting,” he said. “Just the process, something like 1,300 visual effects shots, it’s mind-blowing, quite honestly.”
Campbell said that a lot of the effects shots work will concentrate on the Green Lantern’s 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.”

Campbell’s previous films such as Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro and Golden Eye haven’t relied heavily on special effects, so he will be walking on new territory with Green Lantern. Ryan Reynolds will be suiting up in around 4 months time and it is expected the film will shoot in New Orleans, Mexico or Canada.

Green Lantern no longer filming in Australia

Liam — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:26:51 +0000

For a few months now we’ve been hearing that Warner Bros. may have to move the Green Lantern production out of Australia as the rising Australian dollar has blown out production costs. Now it has been confirmed by THR that Green Lantern indeed be will be looking for a different country to film in.

The falling U.S. dollar has forced Warner Bros Pictures to reassess the viability of shooting a number of projects in several countries, after confirming Friday that its pulling production of “Green Lantern” out of Australia.
The studio said that “the current global economic situation, including fluctuations in currency valuation and overall costs,” forced the decision, in a statement issued through agency Screen NSW. “We have also had to reassess film projects in other countries as well,” it said.
On Friday the Australian dollar hit a 27-year high against the U.S. dollar, closing at 95 cents, a 30% decrease in value for the greenback since the shoot was announced six months ago, and which would reportedly add over $20 million in cost to the production.
“After working closely with our partners at the NSW Film and Television Office (Screen NSW) and examining every scenario, we have decided to move the production of ‘Green Lantern.’ We are extremely grateful for the assistance we have received from the NSW Government, Fox Studios and the NSW filmmaking community,” the statement finished.

Warner Bros. are apparently thinking of filming in either Mexico or Canada. Ryan Reynolds recently said that filming will begin in 5 months time, so hopefully they will get everything sorted so the film doesn’t get pushed back again.

Reynolds says Green Lantern is 5 months away from shooting

Liam — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 11:31:20 +0000

Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern was originally set to begin filming next January in Australia, however there was recent talk that Warner Bros. would move the production to Mexico as things don’t cost the same as they did a year ago and to continue with the Australia shoot would have added another $20 million to the production costs. Nothing has been confirmed yet, although Ryan Reynolds recently appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and confirmed filming is still on track for a January/February shoot.

From Splash Page:

Though Reynolds insisted that he had to stay quiet on the details of the upcoming “Green Lantern” adaptation, he did reveal one important bit of information – a rough timetable for filming.
“I’m 4-5 months away from beginning shooting,” Reynolds told Fallon, musing that the consequences of leaking additional information could be severe.
“It’s crazy, it’s the only job I’ve ever had that I’m not allowed to really talk about. I think there’s like a representative from Warner Brothers who I’m sure is following me around ready to blow-dart me if I say a single word,” said Reynolds, “I probably have a chip in me somewhere, like if I start talking about it, I’ll just pass away.”
Though Fallon himself didn’t seem very familiar with the concepts or powers behind Green Lantern, Reynolds was able to set him straight in terms of what the movie would encapsulate.
“A lot of [the film] is sort of like a space epic and some of it is on planet Earth,” said Reynolds, “[Green Lantern] has this ring and he’s been chosen to have this power and the ring can kind of create anything that his will or his imagination can conjure up.”

He also said that at this point playing both Deadpool and Green Lantern “makes you just like an Internet hero, nothing really more than that”.

Green Lantern casting details

Liam — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:16:35 +0000

We’ve known that Ryan Reynolds will be playing Hal Jordan in Green Lantern for a while now, however we have yet to hear any details on other actors and actresses joining the film. Well SpoilerTV managed to get hold of a casting call that is being sent out to casting agencies, and below are the other main characters that will appear in the film.

[CAROL FERRIS]
26-32, a smart and attractive woman with an MBA. She started as a pilot and now runs Ferris Aircraft. She is a work-a-holic…FEMALE LEAD
[DR. HECTOR HAMMOND]
27-35, Character actor who is austere and impersonal, he is real “scummy.” He is a pathologist and also the son of a Senator.
[SINESTRO]
Mid-30s to Mid-40s, he is smart, tough, intimidating and in great physical shape.
[ABIN SUR]
Mid-30s to mid-40s, he is a great warrior.

Do any actors or actresses spring to mind when you read these descriptions?

Bradley Cooper on his Green Lantern audition

Liam — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:00:36 +0000

Before Ryan Reynolds landed the Green Lantern gig he had to fight off competition from Bradley Cooper and Justin Timberlake. When the three contenders were revealed I was rooting for Cooper as Reynolds already had Deadpool in the works and Justin Timberlake is…Justin Timberlake. Now that time has passed Bradley Cooper has finally spoken about his audition, and according to him even he would have hired Reynolds over himself.

From Splashpage:

“I did get a chance to try out for it, which was amazing to even get a chance,” Cooper told O’Brien. “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.”
“I couldn’t not do Christian Bale’s Batman when I was doing the audition,” he laughed. “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!’ By the way, that’s the worst Batman [impression] ever. I apologize.”
When he saw actual playback footage from his audition, Cooper said that his Bale-inspired take on Jordan was laughably bad.
“At one point, I actually walked back and saw it, because they have it on the monitor while you’re auditioning,” he remembered. “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—?’”

Green Lantern having money trouble?

Liam — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:42:05 +0000

We haven’t heard anything about Green Lantern since is was announced that Ryan Reynolds would be suiting up to play the lead. We were told they were planning on filming in January next year, so one would assume they were busy working on the script and sorting out other pre-production duties. However, according to Inside Film the film may have hit a snag.

Green Lantern’s proposed Australian shoot is understood to be under threat after the rising Australian dollar has blown out production costs.
Warner Bros is understood to be negotiating with the NSW State Government to receive a higher level of concessions in an effort to claw back between $US15 and $US25 million in value eroded by the currency gains.
The value of the Australian dollar has climbed by more than 16 per cent since the State Labor government announced the deal to film at Fox Studios in mid-April. The big-budget Hollywood blockbuster was expected to create around 500 local jobs, including 100 performers and 200 crew.
While most offshore productions lock in finance when a project is green-lit, it is understood that ongoing work on the Green Lantern script delayed that move. Pre-production on the film was originally scheduled for July and filming for November.

Nobody from Warner Bros. has commented on this so no word yet on whether this is true. Although I doubt they would come out and reveal they are having money troubles. Funnily enough it was Australian tax breaks (or lack of) that stuck a nail in the Justice League movie’s coffin. But that wasn’t so bad as the movie sounded horrible. Green Lantern on the other hand is sounding far better, especially as they have Casino Royale director Martin Campbell on-board.

[The image above isn't from the film, it's just very cool fan art]

Ryan Reynolds talks about playing both Deadpool and Green Lantern

Liam — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:52:55 +0000

A few weeks ago it was announced that Ryan Reynolds would be suiting up to play the Green Lantern having beaten off competition from Justin Timberlake and Bradley Cooper. However, earlier this year we saw Reynolds play Wade Wilson aka Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and we soon learned that a spin-off featuring Reynolds as the character was in development. One guy playing two superheroes in two different franchises for two rival comic book companies (Marvel vs. DC). How could this be!? Will it work? Well Reynolds doesn’t have a problem with it:

From Entertainment Weekly:

“There’s no rule that says you can’t play two different characters in two different comic book universes. There’s so many interesting comic book characters out there, I would love to do others.”

If Deadpool will be as close to the source material as they are saying it will be then Reynolds will have a scarred face and a mask, which would reduce the problem (if there is one). At the moment I can’t really see a problem, but that is probably because the films are just getting started. Would people be fine with Robert Downey Jr. playing a DC superhero while still playing Iron Man? How about if Christian Bale became Captain America or another Marvel equivalent? (It won’t happen, i’m just using it as an example).

Ryan Reynolds is the Green Lantern

Liam — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:25:50 +0000

Well that didn’t take long. This morning it was reported that Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds and Justin Timberlake were in the running to play the lead in Green Lantern, and now according to Variety Reynolds has emerged victorious.

Ryan Reynolds has landed the coveted role of “Green Lantern,” getting the starring role in Warner Bros.’ live-action film based on the DC Comics hero.
Martin Campbell will direct. The studio is still working on the picture’s budget, but production is expected to begin in January.
The news caps off a memorable summer for Reynolds, who played Deadpool in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” a performance that prompted Fox to begin development on a spinoff film. Reynolds followed that by starring opposite Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy “The Proposal,” which crossed the $100 million mark this week.
Warners and Campbell chose Reynolds, who vied for the superhero role along with “The Hangover” star Bradley Cooper and Jared Leto. The momentum built for Reynolds in the last week, as he was the only actor whose option was extended.

Personally I was backing Bradley Cooper, simply because Reynolds will probably be set up for the next few years with Deadpool and it’s not fun when you have one actor hogging multiple superhero roles. But I suppose he can do both as Green Lantern is gearing up for filming in January and Deadpool doesn’t even have a script yet.

Are you happy that Ryan Reynolds got the role? Would you have preferred a different actor that didn’t make Warner Bros. final 3?

Warner Bros. deciding over Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds and Justin Timberlake for Green Lantern

Liam — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:54:21 +0000

Yesterday AICN posted news that Justin Timberlake was apparently screen testing for Green Lanturn and that he is one of the guys that Warner Bros. have been seriously considering for the role. A few hours later The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the news, but they added two other names into the mix, Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) and Ryan Reynolds (X-Men Origins: Wolverine).

Warner Bros. is about to decide who will wear the super-powered ring in “Green Lantern,” the studio’s latest DC Comics tentpole movie.
Along with director Martin Campbell and producers Donald De Line and Greg Berlanti, Warners has spent the past five months searching for the actor to play Hal Jordan, the hot-shot Air Force pilot who is chosen by a dying alien to be his successor in an intergalactic police force known as the Green Lanterns.
This week, the race narrowed to Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds and Justin Timberlake. The clock is ticking on the decision as the holding deal the studio had on the actors expired Monday, meaning the three are now free to accept other offers.
The studio ordered up two rounds of screen tests with Cooper, Reynolds and Timberlake. Other actors in the early mix included Michael Fassbender, Henry Cavill and Jared Leto.
Apparently, De Line, Campbell and the studio each had a different favorite among the three finalists, making it difficult to come to a consensus.

If I were to pick one out of the three it would be Bradley Cooper. While I like Ryan Reynolds he has Deadpool on the horizon and playing two superheroes in two different franchises wouldn’t be ideal (although maybe it would be for him $$$). Justin Timberlake will forever be Justin Timberlake, and while he may be a safer option for Warner Bros. due to his worldwide appeal and fame, it’s probably not the right option.

Fan made Green Lantern trailer

Liam — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:52:29 +0000

Youtube user jaronpitts has created a rather cool trailer for Green Lantern. We won’t be seeing the actual movie for another 2 years so fans can keep going back to this if they need their fill. The trailer uses footage from Planet of the Apes, Serenity, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Stardust, The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Fountain, Superman Returns, Iron Man, Star Trek, G.I. Joe and…Bedtime Stories (to name a few).

This is my vision for a Green Lantern movie with Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan. He won’t be Hal for real, but all the more reason for a fan trailer!

Update: Nathan Fillion has seen this and updated his Twitter with the following:

I LOVE THIS! this guy rocks! Thanks for that.

Thanks to terry and movieboy for letting me know!