Green Lantern Animated Series to appear at New York Comic-Con
“Green Lantern: The Animated Series” will be among the properties promoted by Warner Bros. Television at New York Comic-Con next weekend. Stars and producers of Nikita, Green Lantern: The Animated Series and MAD will appear on Saturday, October 15 and Sunday, October 16.
The world premiere of the first episode of “Green Lantern: The Animated Series” (coming soon to Cartoon Network) will be presented by Bruce Timm during the show’s panel session.
Click past the cut for the full Warner Bros. Television schedule at NYCC.
- Matt Price
Batwoman #1 and other DC Comics’ The New 52 week 3 reviews
The beautiful art of “Batwoman” was a highlight of the third week of DC Comics’ The New 52, which also featured new launches for “Batman and Robin” and “Green Lantern.”
Green Lantern’s Blake Lively goes beyond damsel in distress
Blake Lively in "Green Lantern."
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — “Gossip Girl” star Blake Lively pilots a jet and runs an aircraft company in “Green Lantern,” so she’s more than a damsel in distress.
Carol Ferris is the love interest of Ryan Reynolds’ Hal Jordan, who becomes Earth’s Green Lantern. But Lively, promoting the film at a recent news conference, said her character goes beyond a typical girlfriend role.
Green Lantern interview, Man of Steel news, Junkfoodclothing.com T-shirt giveaway
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CROWE MAY PLAY JOR-EL
Academy Award-winning actor Russell Crowe is in negotiations to play the role of Jor-El in “Man of Steel,” Variety is reporting.
Zack Snyder is directing the film for Warner Bros., which stars Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent. Jor-El, played by Marlon Brando in 1978′s “Superman,” is Superman’s father on the planet Krypton.
RYAN REYNOLDS DIDN’T GET TO WEAR SUPERHERO SUIT, EXACTLY
Green Lantern doesn’t have to worry about dry cleaning his superhero suit.
“In the mythology of the film, the suit is made of pure energy,” said Ryan Reynolds, who plays Green Lantern. “So there’s no actual suit, because that would burn. What I’m wearing is a motion-capture suit, with tracking marks and tracking dots and those sorts of things. It was a little bizarre. I sort of looked like a crash test dummy who lost his Volvo.”
The suit became especially difficult to wear as filming continued into August in New Orleans, he said.
But Reynolds said he was impressed when he first saw the suit in motion in test footage about six weeks into shooting.
“It was just incredible to see that thing in motion and moving around,” he said.
VALIANT COMICS PLANS COHERENT, INTERCONNECTED UNIVERSE
New Valiant Comics executive editor Warren Simons said some of the company’s “most beloved characters” will be key to the relaunch.
“There are a number of great characters worthy of the spotlight, including X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Harbinger, Archer & Armstrong, Eternal Warrior, Rai, Ninjak and Shadowman, to name a few,” he said.
He said the coherent Valiant Universe will be among the selling points for the new line.
“Jim Shooter, Barry Windsor-Smith, Bob Layton and all the talented writers and artists who first introduced the Valiant characters built a three-dimensional universe that readers could dive into headfirst,” he said. “They did this with a set of great ideas that we intend to honor and update. Chief among these is a coherent universe with strong interconnectivity and clear continuity.”
REVIEW FILE: Kirby Genesis #1, Flashpoint: Wonder Woman and the Furies #1, Alpha Flight #1
Comics read in 2011: 791 Still to go: 1220
Ryan Reynolds faces fears in “Green Lantern”
Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Unlike another superhero from DC Comics, Green Lantern doesn’t get to duck into a phone booth and open his shirt to reveal his superhero costume beneath.
“In the mythology of the film, the suit is made of pure energy,” said Ryan Reynolds, who plays Green Lantern. “So there’s no actual suit, because that would burn. What I’m wearing is a motion-capture suit, with tracking marks and tracking dots and those sorts of things. It was a little bizarre. I sort of looked like a crash test dummy who lost his Volvo.”
The suit became especially difficult to wear as filming continued into August in New Orleans, he said.
But Reynolds said he was impressed when he first saw the suit in motion in test footage about six weeks into shooting.
“It was just incredible to see that thing in motion and moving around,” he said.
Green Lantern movie review
“Green Lantern” introduces a new comic-book superhero to the cinematic pantheon, and while at points the hero is flying high, overall the film can’t maintain that altitude.
Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft. Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), Hal’s wingman and onetime girlfriend, is being trained to take over the company.
Hal is following in the footsteps of his father, also a pilot, who died in a training accident.
Hal is supposed to be the best, most fearless pilot around, but he also has a knack for running from responsibility.
When a dying alien that’s a member of the intergalactic peace force, the Green Lantern Corps, must quickly find a replacement, his ring seeks out Hal, the earthman who seems to best exemplify the spirit of the Corps.
Whisked away to Oa for training by a bevy of aliens including Tomar-Re, Kilowog and Sinestro (Mark Strong), Hal thinks he might not be up to the task. Returning to Earth, he considers quitting.
Meanwhile, an old friend of Hal’s, xenobiologist Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard), has been asked to examine the alien’s body. He’s the son of a senator (Tim Robbins) who also has ties to Ferris Aircraft.
What the government doesn’t know is that Abin Sur had been partially infected with the fear-being Parallax, and now Hector’s infected as well.
Hal must prove to the Corps he has the right stuff, especially once Parallax sets his sights on Earth.
The film is a mix of different summer hits — “Top Gun,” “Independence Day,” and even a bit of “Star Wars.” Unfortunately that’s true for both the positive and negative aspects.
The Green Lantern’s planet of Oa is beautifully rendered, and the alien species that make up the Corps are immaculately designed.
However, the film runs into pacing and editing problems once Hal returns to Earth.
Despite quite a bit of exposition throughout the film, there are places where it’s not clear why or how Hal has gone from one scene to another. Furthermore, parts of the film’s conclusion seem to come together too easily.
Still, for Green Lantern fans, seeing the world of Oa, Green Lantern Corps trainer Kilowog, and Hal Jordan reciting the Green Lantern Oath will cover over some of the film’s flaws. Reynolds is a charming Green Lantern, and Strong is a driven Sinestro, both of whom would be good to see in films again if “Green Lantern” does well.
Given that at one time, the plan was to make “Green Lantern” as a Jack Black comedy vehicle, Warner Bros. and director Martin Campbell (“Casino Royale”) deserve credit for delivering a film that stays true to the conception and spirit of the DC Comics character.
– Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
MOVIE REVIEW
“GREEN LANTERN”
PG-13/ 1:45/ 2 ½ stars
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Mark Strong, Peter Sarsgaard, Blake Lively.
(Intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action)
Green Lantern’s Mark Strong says he resembled comics’ Sinestro
Mark Strong as Sinestro in "Green Lantern."
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — London-born actor Mark Strong (“Sherlock Holmes”) portrays the magenta-hued militaristic point man of the spacebound police force the Green Lantern Corps in the movie “Green Lantern,” which opens Friday.
The film, based on the DC Comics series, features the first Earthman to join the Corps. Cocky test pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) finds himself at the forefront of intergalactic peril when a dying alien gives him a ring and lantern that give him the power to create anything he can imagine.
Sinestro, as played by Strong, doesn’t think the Earthman can cut it.
“He’s a kind of military commander, and he’s kind of a hard taskmaster,” Strong said at a news conference for the film. “He doesn’t believe the humans have the right to be Lanterns. So he’s very strict, and very arrogant, and a great character to play.”
Sinestro has a long history in the comic books. Created by writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane, Sinestro first appeared in 1961′s “Green Lantern” No. 7. Strong wasn’t aware of the history before the film, however.
“When I read the comics originally, I knew nothing about Green Lantern,” Strong said.
But Strong said his physical look as relating to the comic-book character played into his casting.
“I heard that (director) Martin (Campbell) wanted me to play him because I look like Sinestro,” Strong said. “I’ve never quite known how to take that, whether it’s a compliment or not. But when I saw the way he looked, and the iconic imagery of it, I just thought that it would be amazing. And I’m glad we stuck to the comics, the way he is in the comics. He was great fun to play.”
The visual look for the original character was based on David Niven; Hal Jordan was visually based on Paul Newman.
Even though Strong may have resembled the alien without makeup and prosthetics, he still had to go through a painstaking process including glue and appliances to become Sinestro.
“I didn’t have it quite as bad as Peter (Sarsgaard, who plays Hector Hammond), but we did share experiences of getting addicted to that glue,” he said. “It was the end of the day that was the worst. ‘Bye, bye, great day everyone,’ and then you spend about an hour taking it off.”
While those who have read the comics know something of the future of the Sinestro character, Strong said in the film “Green Lantern,” Sinestro’s a leader and a man of strong beliefs.
“In this one, he’s a hero,” Strong said. “He’s the head of the Green Lanterns. He believes in the corps more than anything else.”
- By Matthew Price
From Wednesday’s The Oklahoman
Travel and accommodations paid for by Warner Bros.
X-Men 4 rumors; Sterling Gates and Rob Liefeld on Hawk and Dove; Green Lantern events
“Green Lantern” celebration set at Toy & Action Figure Museum
Green Lantern toys are on display at the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley.
Green Lantern, an intergalactic peace officer who stars in comic books from DC Comics, has probably his highest profile ever this month.
Ryan Reynolds will star as Hal Jordan, Earth’s defender in the Green Lantern Corps, in the movie “Green Lantern” opening Friday, June 17.
The Toy & Action Figure Museum, 111 S Chickasaw St. in Pauls Valley, is celebrating the release with a weekend-long event starting Saturday, June 11.
Geoff Johns will still helm “Green Lantern” after relaunch
The DC Source blog and the Associated Press report that Geoff Johns, DC Comics’ chief creative officer, will remain at the helm of the “Green Lantern” title when the title is relaunched in September.
“It’s building off the Green Lantern stories I’ve done since ‘Rebirth,’” he told The Associated Press about the series, which is set to start in September and features art by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy. “Taking it in a very new direction that we’ve never seen in ‘Green Lantern’ before.”
The character of Green Lantern will be featured in the Ryan Reynolds movie opening June 17. Johns, who was heavily involved with the Green Lantern film, may have an opportunity to snare new fans of the character with this relaunch.
Three other Green Lantern books will launch in September:
“Green Lantern: The New Guardians,” starring Kyle Rayner. That’s written by Tony Bedard and illustrated by Tyler Kirkham and Batt.
“Red Lanterns,” featuring Atrocitus and his fellow Red Lantern Corps members. It’s written by Peter Milligan with art by Ed Benes and Rob Hunter.
“Green Lantern Corps,” featuring Guy Gardner and John Stewart. It’s written by Peter J. Tomasi and illustrated by Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna.
Johns hasn’t revealed exactly where Hal Jordan will be in all of this, though Jordan is part of the relaunched “Justice League” that Johns is also writing.
- Matt Price
