March 2011 ~ The Blog of OA

3/31/11

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively Interviews from CinemaCon

3/31/2011

Both Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were on hand today at CinemaCon in LasVegas to receive awards and help start the big push for the Green Lantern film. Audience members got to see ten minutes of footage that has generated some very positive reactions, footage that fans will get to see this weekend at WonderCon.

Cinemablend caught up with the two actors to talk about the Green Lantern movie.

Source: Cinemablend

3/31/2011

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Blake Lively at today CinemaCon event

Today was the day that Warner Brothers had the floor to present their slate of 2011 films with two high profile films in the last installment of the Harry Potter series and Green Lantern. Blake Lively was on hand to get her award and she brought ten minutes of film from the movie with her. Photos taken of Lively reveal a new Green Lantern logo may be used for the film.

After the panel let out a number of tweets from people like comic book artist Kevin Maguire and editors from major film sites like Collider and Slash Film indicate that the film has come a long way since the first trailer back in November. Only one negative reaction has been found, someone comparing the film to Howard the Duck, but this is not a credible source given some of the tweets found on his account.

Alex Billington from Firstshowing.net provided the following description:

We saw 4 scenes. First was Abin-Sur piloting his ship and being attacked by Parallax - was awesome. Then he ends up on Earth, next scene was Hal talking with Abin while he was dying. Scene seemed choppy, but he gives him ring. Next was him saying oath for the first time, then he goes to Oa immediately. Then we see him talking with Tomar-Re on Oa with Geoffrey Rush's voice and a GREAT looking very 'alive' CGI costume that looks MUCH better than the first trailer. Then we saw Sinestro addressing the Green Lantern Corps down in the core of Oa. Not fully finished but was great. Lots of other alien GLs seen there as there's a huge crowd of thousand of GLs and lots that people will totally geek out about. Won't spoil which ones. That was it plus a little montage of extra footage. I think it looks awesome, way way more excited than I was before this. Expect to see all of this footage at WonderCon, as it seemed hand picked for Green Lantern fans.

One other piece of information coming off of tweets about the presentation is that people attending WonderCon this weekend will be treated to the same ten minutes of footage that the people at CinemaCon have seen today. No one has yet reported any additional official casting announcements confirming Geoffrey Rush as Tomar-Re or Michael Clarke Duncan as Kilowog.

Geoffrey Rush is Tomar-Re

3/30/2011

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Oscar winning actor Geoffry Rush has signed on to provide the voice of Tomar-Re in the Green Lantern movie according to an exclusive report by the Los Angeles Times. Warner Brothers is expected to make an official announcement on Thursday, possibly in connection with their Green Lantern presentation at CinemaCon. This will be the second film for the summer of 2011 for Rush, who will reprise his role as Barbossa in the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.

Source: LA Times

First Green Lantern Movie Poster Surfaces

3/29/2011

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With CinemaCon starting today it was only a matter of time before images of Green Lantern promotional posters began to emerge. Tonight the first image surfaced on the Internet, albeit not a high quality one. The original uncropped image showed blurry images of other posters of Ryan Reynolds in a couple of other poses, but they weren't clear enough to bother including. More pictures will likely appear over the next few days as will commentary from people who get to see some of the film's footage when Green Lantern is highlighted at Warner Brothers' panel on Thursday.

3/29/2011

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We got a double shot of the War of the Green Lanterns with part one debuting in Green Lantern #64 and part two in Green Lantern Corps #58. With a number of Green Lanterns still on Qward I wondered how the events of part one would play out with Parallax returning to the central power battery and taking control of almost every Green Lantern in the universe. This issue continues the first act well by moving the characters to where they need to be for the war to truly start.

The Story-

Similar to how Green Lantern #64 started, we have a couple of pages spent telling any potential new readers what they have to know about Kyle Rayner and John Stewart before we jump into the story proper. In this case it's Kyle comparing his tenure with the ring to Johns and ending with him being a bit insecure about himself.

Ganthet opens up a portal back to our universe and the Green Lanterns pass through it to Oa only to find the bodies of the Alpha Lanterns floating in space with all of their internal power batteries ripped out. It was interesting to see Boodikka there seeing as she just got trashed by Doomsday over the in Justice League book and Cyborg Superman was returned to life. The group of Lanterns have arrived on Oa not long after Parallax re-entered the central power battery and within moments everyone but Ganthet, Kyle and John are completely under his control.

3/29/2011

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The Latino Review has a rumor up on their site claiming that Michael Clarke Duncan is in negotiations to voice Kilowog for the upcoming Green Lantern film. The rumor is completely unsubstantiated at this point in time, but it is not the first time his name has been connected to the role and it could be nothing more than fantasy casting.

Source: Latino Review

3/29/2011

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With it being too quiet for Green Lantern fans and there not being much official information out there the fan community has gotten downright pessimistic about the chances that the film will not only be good, but be good box office. Today the Los Angeles Times has an article online address some of those issues and getting some explanation from Warner Brothers Motion Pictures President Jeff Robinov. The article also reveals that the next trailer should debut soon and will be seen on the big screen preceding Thor in early May. While that may be sacriligious to some, it makes perfect sense since that is one of the target audiences that needs to be reached.

According to Robinov the scope of the special effects and the added process of readying the film for 3D put the production side of things out of synch with the marketing part. "We are on a learning curve in getting 3-D materials and marketing materials on the same schedule," Robinov said. The advertising campaign "has been delayed strictly from production."

The promotional engine is kicking in this week and hopefully in full force as Green Lantern will be one of the films that Warner Brothers highlights at Cinemacon, the convention for theater owners, and WonderCon where Green Lantern will play a big part of the fan experience. With some of the film's stars in attendance and the world premiere of Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, WonderCon would be a natural place to show a new trailer, perhaps placing it in front of the animated film. Green Lantern's presence at CinemaCon seems downplayed at least initially with no photos of a film display showing up alongside the other three superhero film displays on websites covering the event.

Addressing the so-so response to the first trailer his past November, the area of unfinished post production once again entered the equation according to Sue Kroll, Warner Brothers worldwide marketing president. She was confident the reaction would be different for the second trailer.

"Part of the reason the response to the first trailer was lukewarm was that the big-scale sequences weren't ready to show, and we suffered for it," she said. "We can't afford to do that again."

Source: LA Times

Green Lantern Movie Merchandise Arriving in Stores

3/28/2011

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While the Green Lantern movie action figures won't start appearing on store shelves for another month, some household items are starting to slowly appear in department stores across the country. Some Walmarts have Green Lantern movie towels available and boys swim suits. Tonight I found these twin bed sheets for my nephew at my local Target for $22.

Packaged on the store shelf

I spread the flat sheet out so you can see what it looks like. The fitted sheet looks the same but the blue background is white on the fitted sheet.

3/28/2011

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Graphic Audio has a history of doing a great job bringing a lot of DC Comics biggest stories to life with full cast recordings complete with sound effects and original scores - or as they put it they make "a movie in your mind", and they do it really well. I have a number of their recording including all three of the major Crisis events and I love them because they add a whole new dimension to some of my favorite books from DC history.

Today they released an audio version of Green Lantern: Sleepers (Book One), the first book in a trilogy by Christopher Priest, who wrote part of the Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn miniseries. The first book stars Kyle Rayner, with the others featuring Alan Scott and Hal Jordan. Book One is described as follows:

Kyle Rayner is a member of the Justice League of America and a space-traveling super hero who wields one of the most powerful forces in the known universe: a Green Lantern power ring! But Kyle has a problem. His girlfriend has taken a liking to a man who will soon become the most powerful villain Earth has ever faced. Only Green Lantern can face the challenge of this invading evil, as it attempts to destroy humanity and take over the planet!

Graphic Audio's production has a running time of six hours and can be purchased online from their site in MP3 format for $12.99 or on CD for $19.99, although as a new release you can purchase it for $13.99 for a limited time. You can listen to a sample on the website for the release. The remaining parts of the trilogy will be released over the course of the next several months.

3/28/2011

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I know March seems like a long month, but boy did it sure feel longer waiting since Green Lantern #63 knowing it was the eve of the War of the Green Lanterns! Parts one and two came out this week with the simultaneous release of Green Lantern #64 and Green Lantern Corps #58 to help get the stage set for the next big Green Lantern saga. The stage has been set to redefine the origins of the Green Lantern Corps and much of what we know about the Guardians of the Universe.

The Story -

Salaak and a group of Green Lanterns are en route to find Hal Jordan and bring him in for his treasonous acts of partnering with enemies of the Corps. The issue starts with a nice one page overview of Hal Jordan's career, from the famous to the infamous and gives any potential new reader all they have to know to enjoy the story. Meanwhile Hal and the New Guardians continue to explore the Book of the Black, with Sinestro taking a keen interest thinking about how the book could be used to advance his agenda.

Will the Real Parallax Please Step Forward?

3/27/2011

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Since word got out that Parallax was going to be the big bad in the Green Lantern movie instead of Legion as it was in the early drafts of the script, fans have been wondering what kind of design the filmmakers would be going for with the look of the fear entity. A while back Pietro Filipponi from the Daily Blam shared some concept art that showed a very scary primal looking version of Parallax, but today Rich Johnston over as The Bleeding Cool put an image up of Parallax today that shows a decidedly different version that is very similar to one of the toys that was accidentally leaked during the New York ToyFair. Johnston's image also is that of a toy that is not the final product so it remains to be seen exactly whether it will look closer to the new image or the original concept art.

Sources: Bleeding Cool, Daily Blam

top: Bleeding Cool's toy image. bottom: Concept art courtesy of the Daily Blam

3/27/2011

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Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, Blake Lively as Carol Ferris

March 28th kicks off the annual CinemaCon (formerly ShoWest) at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, a convention put together by the National Association of Theater Owners. The convention is often used as a jump-start for the summer movie season with many product presentations and early screenings of movies that theater owners hope will bring audiences to their local cineplex. Awards are also given out acknowledging the starts of today and tomorrow who have an impact on the film industry and this year they are honoring Ryan Reynolds as their "Male Star of the Year".

Variety spoke with Reynolds about the upcoming Green Lantern movie, observing that while he plays the titular character, he considers his role to be a small part of the overall film.

"On a movie that's coming out on a size and scale like this, you realize how insignificant the actor is. I'm an important cog in a very large machine. I was on a greenscreen stage with a hundred other crew members, and it's those people whose efforts created what will later be known as the film."

Green Lantern to Begin Scoring in Two Weeks

3/26/2011

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Beethoven's got willpower

There hasn't been much news regarding the status of the upcoming Green Lantern film other than the movie previews in recent issues of the main Green Lantern title. With no movie posters hanging in theaters, no new trailer, and the rumors that the release date may be pushed back, there is an air of anxiety about the movie. Especially when the fan reaction to the recent Captain America trailer seems so strong and the only official news we are getting about Green Lantern comes from the merchandising of the film. However there are a couple of pieces of information out there if you look hard enough for them.

Award winning composer James Newton Howard is set to begin scoring of the movie sometime over the next two weeks. Howard is well known for his work on motion pictures like The Sixth Sense, The Dark Knight and I Am Legend. Stuart M. Thomas, who frequently co-produces with Howard, recently tweeted a few comments about their upcoming project and the image of Beethoven with a Green Lantern mask was confirmed to have been taken in Howard's room. Thomas has made a couple of comments on the immensity of the score and that he the visuals "look amazing." According to Thomas there was a sound effects and music meeting this morning including another proclamation that the "film is looking and sounding awesome."

Geoff Johns commented during this weekend's Megacon that the rumor of a second trailer airing in front of Sucker Punch was just that, a rumor, but that a second trailer is coming soon. He has seen a rough cut of the film and says that Kilowog looks incredible and Mark Strong's performance as Sinestro really steals the show. With over one hundred special effects houses working on the post production for the film it seems like the race is on to get the film done with less than ninety days left, but no one connected to the film seems concerned. There will likely be a lot of information forthcoming with the strong presence the movie will have at WonderCon and I'd be less than surprised to see a second trailer shown there.

3/26/2011

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My good buddies over at the Daily Blam have a new high resolution image from Warner Brothers of Abin Sur as he appeared in this week's issue 64 of Green Lantern.

Source: The Daily Blam

Video Review of the Toys R Us Early Bird Figure

3/24/2011

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I thought we'd try something different with this week's release of the Toys R Us Early Bird Green Lantern Movie action figure and put together a video review. This is my first attempt at making a video, so I hope I didn't do too bad of a job. I've also include some hi-res photos after the jump for anyone who wants to see a lot of detail - just click on the image to get the bigger version.

The figure is still available online here.

3/24/2011

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The upcoming movie tie-in game, Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, is being released in 3D on the Xbox-360 and the Playstation 3 in addition to being Warner Brothers first Nintendo 3DS game. Ryan Reynolds does the voiceover work for Hal Jordan in the game which is scheduled to be released on June 7th, 2011. Gamers who have a 3D HDTV will be able to use the active shutter glasses that work with their television, while those who don't have a 3D television will be able to have a 3D experience by using the game's anaglyphic 3D technology and wearing the 3D glasses that will be available for the video game. The cover of the game has also changed to show Hal Jordan on the cover. The Nintendo versions will have a more animated look to the character design and that is reflected in a more cartoon looking version of the cover for their systems.

Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters is being developed for the Nintendo DS, 3DS and Wii by Gryptonite Studios, while Double Helix Games is handling the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 versions. Since the is being developed by two different studios it's likely the gameplay will be very different.

3/24/2011

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Mattel's Matty Collector site not only has a section set up for Green Lantern now, but they've offered some new images of upcoming products as well as outlined the retailer and online exclusives.

You don’t need a mystical ring to command a sneak peek at our toy line based on the upcoming Green Lantern film… here’s everything you need to know!

Because fans of Green Lantern span all ages, the product lines will be both kid and collector-focused. To see pics of just some of the toys in the vast universe of products, click here.

KIDS' LINE AT RETAIL

The line for kids will be in 4" scale. We have an incredible roster of toys with an array of features that lets them play out all their favorite scenes from the movie.

Two of the figure / vehicle combos

Figures and Vehicles Basic Figures. For the basic figures, each comes with a construct accessory and Power Ring. You’ll find the biggest selection of characters in this line.
Deluxe Figures. The “deluxe” figures will feature Battle Shifters™ that play on the “something from nothing” movie theme. Think plastic origami… a single touch makes it pop out into an aggressive weapon like a Gatling gun or a scorpion construct. There will be eight figures in the assortment and they’ll be in scale with basic 4" figures.
Figure/Vehicles. Kids are gonna LOVE the figures and vehicles that feature ring activation. The ring will transform vehicles from driving mode to an attack mode.
Galactic Scale™ Figures. Hal and Kilowog arrive as 10" Galactic Scale™ figures that have a light-up chest logo when you lift the arm. They also come with a light-up construct accessory with projectiles that snap onto their arms. Hal’s construct projects a Green Lantern symbol!

Green Lantern Animated Series Joins "DC Nation" on Cartoon Network

3/23/2011

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It was only a matter of time before Warner Brothers and subsequently DC Entertainment firmly allied themselves with the Cartoon Network. There's a long history of Warners partnering with the cable network to bring many animated projects to the small screen, and last years purchase of Marvel by Disney it was pretty obvious that the Cartoon Network and Warner Brothers would be looking to cement their relationship in a deal that would create an exclusive alliance. Warner Brothers and the Cartoon Network announced that deal at the network's "upfront" event that creates a dedicated home for future DC Entertainment endeavors in more than ninety nine million homes in the United States and more than one hundred sixty five nations around the globe.

Joining the returning Batman: The Brave and the Bold series and Young Justice will be the previously announced Green Lantern CGI animated series under the direction of animation legend Bruce Timm. A show description was included in the Warner Brothers press release:

Green Lantern: The Animated Series: Based upon the DC Comics super hero, the series is an all-new CG animated action series from Warner Bros. As Earth’s Green Lantern, Hal Jordan is used to being in dangerous situations—but he’s never faced anything like this! Set at the farthest reaches of deep space, Hal must face down an invasion from the Red Lantern Corps. Hal is soon joined by an all-new group of heroes on a mission to protect Guardian Space —and the Green Lantern Corps itself!

An interesting block of programming announced during the event is being called DC Nation. The press release description of the new endeavor describes DC Nation:

DC Nation: A multi-platform, branded block of original programming and exclusive content based on the DC Comics library of legendary character properties, DC Nation is developed in partnership with Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment. The all-new venture will harness the publishing, theatrical and television assets together for one powerful on-air block on Cartoon Network with exclusive online content.

Debuting in 2012 as a multi-platform franchise, DC Nation will be the exclusive home for original DC animation properties. Backed by the production, publishing and marketing resources of Warner Bros., DC Entertainment and Cartoon Network, DC Nation will be an on-air and online programming block populated with event programming, interstitials, exclusive behind-the-scenes of theatrical production and an insider look into the world of all things DC.

“DC Nation on Cartoon Network will be the first-ever dedicated broadcast destination to showcase the depth and breadth of the DC Universe,” said Diane Nelson, President of DC Entertainment. “We and our partners at WBTV are thrilled that fans will be able to immerse themselves in DC’s phenomenal stories, experience a wide spectrum of amazing characters and stay up-to-date on the latest happenings of the world’s greatest superheroes and their creators, both on-air and online.”

Cool Green Lantern Chalk Art at C2E2

3/22/2011

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If you were able to attend the big C2E2 convention in Chicago last weekend you might have caught this beautiful chalk art done by artist and illustrator Eric Maruscak of pepperink.com. He put endless hours and a lot of sweat into recreating the original Ivan Reis artwork used at the show.

3/22/2011

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Tomorrow's Green Lantern issue 64 not only marks the first chapter in the War of the Green Lantern's but it also showcases the film version of Abin Sur, played by Temeura Morrison. This is the first good look at Abin Sur as a healthy Green Lantern since so far all we have seen of Abin is him dying and bestowing the ring on Hal Jordan. The preview is the latest in the filim previews being offered in the pages of the monthly Green Lantern titles, with previous issue focusing on other mainstays such as Kilowog, Hector Hammond and Sinestro.

Source: Cosmic Book News

3/22/2011

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Warner Brothers has launched the official website for Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, which will hit store shelves on June 7th, ten days before the release of the major motion picture. Right now the site only contains the trailer and a place to sign up for updates, but more content is sure to be available as the release date gets closer.

3/22/2011

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Warner Brothers Home Video has released detailed information about the bonus features to be found on the upcoming blu-ray release of Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. The blu-ray version will feature over two hours of bonus content including an interview with Geoff Johns and a commentary track with Dan DiDio and Geoff Johns.

Look for Emerald Knights on June 7th, 2011.

Here is the rundown of all the bonus content on the blu-ray release:

Featurette:“Only the Bravest: Tales of The Green Lantern Corps”
Featurette: “Why Green Lantern Matters: The Talent of Geoff Johns"
Feature Film Commentary with Dan DiDio and Geoff Johns
Pod: “From Comic Book to Screen: Abin Sur”
Pod: “From Comic Book to Screen: Laira Omoto“
This short pod will take a peek into Geoff John’s Green Lantern: Secret Origin book, which for the first time, showed fans what really happened to Abin Sur before he crashed landed on Earth, and passed on his ring to Hal Jordan.
Bruce Timm’s Picks: Excerpt from “The Siege of Starro! Part One” from Batman: The Brave and The Bold, “Revenge of The Reach!” from Batman: The Brave and The Bold
Digital Comic: Green Lantern
Sneak Peek at upcoming DC Universe animated movie
Sneak Peek at All-Star Superman

The Toys R Us Green Lantern Saga Continues...Updated

3/18/2011

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Delayed...again

Many other Green Lantern fans and I have been on a unique journey together for the past couple of months. The week after Christmas retailer Toys R Us announced that they were pre-ordering a special Green Lantern early bird action figure and the road from those days to the final release of the figure have been a bumpy one - and it's taken yet another detour.

Shortly after the figure was offered is disappeared from the Toys R Us website, and people received emails notifying them that this limited figure of a production run of 2814 was delayed. Toys R Us, rather than just keep those orders on hold, cancelled all of them only to put the figures back on sale a day or two later. Once again the figure was delayed and orders were cancelled for a second time.

For a third time now the figure was made available with a revised shipping date of March 4th. That date came and went and over the past week customers have received emails that explained that the figure was delayed yet again, but that orders were not cancelled, that is as long as the figure is released by April 3rd. Otherwise not only will all the orders be cancelled, but the figure's release will no longer be an "early bird" offer but one that sits alongside every other Green Lantern action figure.

**Update - Production issues have been resolved on this figure and Toy's R Us has them in stock at their warehouses. Many fans received an email today from Toy's R Us notifying them that the Early Bird figures are shipping today with an arrival date of March 22nd through the 25th.

Green Lantern / Flashpoint Chat on the Raging Bullets Podcast

3/14/2011

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The Raging Bullets podcast is getting ready to celebrate their fifth year this weekend at the big C2E2 convention in Chicago. The weekend co-hosts Sean Whelan and Jim Segulin recorded their 247th show and I called in to wish them a happy fifth anniversay - so of course we spent the next hour talking about the War of the Green Lanterns, the relationships between Hal Jordan, Batman, Superman and the Flash as well as the upcoming Flashpoint event. If you're currently subscribing to their show, you can listen to it here or download it directly here. The Raging Bullets podcast can also be found on iTunes, the Zune marketplace or a podcast catcher near you.

Images From Upcoming Waves of DC Direct Green Lantern Figures

3/13/2011

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DC Direct announced a number of new waves for their Green Lantern series of figures. The first issue of Wizard's new online magazine recently revealed some hi quality images of some of the figures, including the Red Lantern Guy Gardner, Stel, Soranik Natu and the Green/Blue Lantern Hal Jordan.

Source: Wizard Magazine