Tag: Green Lantern

Green Lantern may have a future on the big screen, but likely not with the same director. Despite the big-budget superhero movie’s disappointing box office performance so far, Warner Bros. executives still want to find a way to make a sequel work. Bringing superheroes from its DC Comics unit to the big screen is a top priority for the studio, and executives believe that the problem with “Green Lantern” was in execution, not concept. They even have ideas on how to turn things around next time. “We had a decent opening so we learned there is an audience,” said Warner Bros. film group President Jeff Robinov, pointing to the film’s box office debut of $53 million. “To go forward we need to make it a little edgier and darker with more emphasis on action…. And we have to find a ...

There’s never a dull moment for Hal Jordan. In a narrative set immediately after the events of the new “Green Lantern” film, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters video game sees the test-pilot-turned-intergalactic-superhero once again tasked with saving the universe. Hero Complex contributor Mike Winder recently chatted with Rise of the Manhunters writer and comics veteran Marv Wolfman — author of “The New Teen Titans,” “Crisis on Infinite Earths” and “The Tomb of Dracula,” among other titles — about the villainous Manhunters, communicating across the galaxy and writing for video games versus comics. HC: What’s the basic premise of Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters? MW: Hal Jordan was a test pilot — which has been part of the DC mythology since 1958 — and as a test pilot he was always the sole person in ...

As the summer ramps up with a slew of testosterone-fueled action hero flicks such as “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “Cowboys & Aliens,” here’s a gallery of 18 women from the big screen who can do everything their male counterparts can, and often in heels and lipstick. – Noelene Clark twitter.com/noeleneclark RECENT AND RELATED: LaBeouf on Megan Fox’s absence (photos) Rough-edged LaBeouf says he’s ready to grow up LaBeouf: New “Transformers” is best 3-D film ever Bay wants you to forget last “Transformers” Bay: “There’s a lot of poison on the Internet … whatever” “Avatar” sequel will dive into the oceans of Pandora Bay talks about Shia LaBeouf’s dark moods Cameron: ‘Avatar’ is my most personal film Bay’s payday? $75 million … and counting

An impetuous young pilot finds himself on an intergalactic adventure and he learns of a powerful force at work in the universe. On his quest to learn more, he finds himself standing in front of a tiny, shriveled, alien who is as cryptic and old as he is brightly colored. No, this isn’t the Jedi universe, it’s “Green Lantern,” the new Warner Bros film, which features the blue-skinned Guardians of the Universe. “They are the Yodas of this story, though, aren’t they?” The question was asked by Oscar-winning costume designer Ngila Dickson who worked closely with the film’s art department to find the mien of this council of diminutive elders (who existed, by the way, in DC Comics for two decades before George Lucas took moviegoers to the swamps of Dagobah). One challenge for the filmmakers was to steer audiences thoughts away from ...

Why did Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush sign on to portray Tomar Re, the wise alien in “Green Lantern” who looks a bit like a reptilian chicken? “When the role came up they asked if I was interested and they told me about him but I wasn’t sure so I told them to send the artwork with the script,” said  Rush, who turns 60 in July. “I saw the artwork and I liked it. I identified with the torso.” Um, huh? “Yes, I identified with the torso, the look of him,” Rush said with a chuckle. “That was enough at this point because I have some expertise in this. I felt experienced enough after doing an owl in ‘Legend of the Guardians‘ and a Koala in ‘Magic Pudding‘ back in Australia and a pelican in ‘Finding Nemo‘ to make the call. ...

Overall, Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times goes against the early critical opinion of Warner Bros.’ “Green Lantern,” saying “it works in fits and starts as its disparate parts go in and out of effectiveness, but the professionalism of the production” makes it watchable in a “comic book kind of way.” Far from high praise, it’s not as scathing as the New York Times’ review or that Rotten Tomatoes’ score. Starting with Hal Jordan himself, Turan’s take on Ryan Reynolds seems positive; he says that “Reynolds can handle most of what the script by Greg Berlanti and Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim and Michael Goldenberg throws at him. The problem is, not all of that stuff is worth doing.” Turan goes on to point out that the visual depiction of the planet Oa, “home base of the Lanterns and their ...

The glowing green ring of Green Lantern can give shape to any imagined object, but that only created a hardship for the design team on the new $200-million Warner Bros. film: How could they come up with one piece of jewelry that lived up to that sort of cosmic mystique? Ngila Dickson, who picked up an Oscar for her work in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” said that for years in the comics the ring was an object of solid green and there was a sleek surface to it like a solid, carved hunk of some sort of alien-world emerald. She opted to go in a different direction with a metal band that holds a green gem to the hand like some authority symbol of antiquity. She looked at royal jewelry from various cultures and eras.  The final product is “an object ...

From the instant “Green Lantern“ met the public at Comic-Con International last year, fans have been grumbling about the look and tone of the DC Comics adaptation. Now that the film’s release is only hours away, reviews are finally hitting the web — and they’re not great. (The movie has a paltry 24% rating on Rotten Tomatoes as I write this.) With so much judgment already, is it possible for “Green Lantern” to get a fair shake? Those involved with the movie seem to think so. At the movie’s premiere in Hollywood Wednesday night, director Martin Campbell said he wasn’t worried that negative energy would hurt box-office prospects. Meanwhile, Reynolds, who stars as Hal Jordan in the film, says he’s understanding of the scrutiny that comes along with turning a popular brand into a film. “I think it gets the absolute right shake,” he ...

When it comes to his movie set, filmmaker Martin Campbell is a talented tyrant in search of silence. “It isn’t pretty when a cellphone rings,” says Daniel Craig, who played James Bond for Campbell in “Casino Royale.” “People leave puddles when Martin comes after them.” So you can imagine the angst last summer when a shrill beeping interrupted work on “Green Lantern,” the Warner Bros. project that arrives in theaters this week as the most expensive superhero film in a summer packed with them. “Not good,” star Ryan Reynolds muttered as the bleating fire alarm filled the New Orleans wood frame house that had been rented for an emotional family scene. The culprit, it turned out, was the mist being pumped into the home to lend a suffused, sentimental burnish to the footage, and crew members scrambled up the cherry ...

As the imperious, florid-faced Sinestro, actor Mark Strong is a scene-stealer in “Green Lantern” and with a chuckle he said he thoroughly enjoyed submerging himself in the alien role despite the rigors of the makeup process and risks of digital effects. “I’ve learned that I’m the kind of actor who loves transformation,” Strong said last year during a break from fight and flight training on the film’s Louisiana set. “Wearing someone else’s clothes, someone else’s hair, somebody else’s face, that’s very interesting to me and I think it’s because I come from the theater. When I was in drama school I played 70-year-old characters and it was the accumulation of makeup and costume and wigs that allowed me to do that and find the performance. If you approach that digitally also, it’s not any different to me. In fact it’s exciting because it’s new and offers so much possibility. You ...