Your GL movie [Archive] - The SuperHeroHype Forums

The Guard

07-15-2006, 10:38 AM

Classic origin involving Abin Sur, Sinestro as Hal's mentor, with Legion and some of the classic Corps as a cameo in the beginning. Romantic angle with Carol Ferris and his friend would be developed to a point, along with Carol's father. The psychological nature of will and power and its responsible use would be explored as Hal tried to learn to use his ring as a member of the Green Lantern Corps. Sets up a trilogy where The Controllers and Sinestro would be the main villains in GREEN LANTERN 2 and Hal would go berserk because of Coast City in GREEN LANTERN 3 (with a different outcome than in the comics). I wrote a script along these lines a long time ago.

GREEN LANTERN

Darkness. Silence.
As the orchestral strains of the Green Lantern March begin, the universe appears, washed in green. Planets and stars. The green glow fades, becoming the vast blackness of space. We sweep through the cosmos, speeding through the Universe.
GANTHET (V.O.)
Since the dawn of time, the forces of order have clashed with the forces of chaos. Millenia ago, The Guardians of the Universe, beings of incredible knowledge and power, sought to repel the forces of chaos with the establishment of an elite corps, comprised of beings from all sectors of the known Universe.
We’re still moving through the Universe. Slowing now.
GANTHET (CONT’D)
The Corps. was brought together for a single purpose. To defeat the forces of chaos, and to create universal order.
We are in a strange system, moving toward a small planet.
SUPER TEXT:
OA
THE CENTER OF THE KNOWN UNIVERSE
As we near the surface of Oa, we see a disturbing sight. The planet is a battlefield, lit up with green and red flashes.
As me move closer, we can make out dozens and dozen of beings of various races, all clad in identical black battlesuits with green insignias on their chests. These are THE GREEN LABNTERN CORPS. And their stronghold is under attack.
At the edge of the battlefield, a towering silver FORTRESS rises above the landscape, the home of The Guardians and the stronghold of The Corps. Though the battlefield is littered with the dead and wounded, The Green Lanterns battle on.
One group of three Lanterns is flung from the source of the destruction, a massive golden armored CONSTRUCT. Whatever this thing is, it's all but unstoppable. A group of Lanterns attack in tandem, and The Construct fires red LASERS from its arm-mounted pulse cannons, burning holes right through them.
The Construct marches over a field of bodies, toward another group of Green Lanterns, who fire continuous streams of green lasers. This has no effect on The Construct, which plows right through the soldiers, FRYING them with a strafing red laser blast. The Construct charges on through the confusion.
EXT. OAN FORTRESS, WATCHTOWER
High above, on a parapet, four senior Green Lanterns watch as chaos ensues below. The Oan equivalent of commanders, these four beings watch in silence as their forces are decimated.
The four beings are:
KILOWOG. A massive, six hundred pound being resembling an alien hippopotamus, with brown skin and a massive jaw.
SINESTRO. A tall, thin humanoid with blood-red skin, thin features, a shock of slick black hair and black eyes.
ABIN SU. The same race as Sinestro, although shorter and far more muscular, he is in fact the other Lantern’s brother.
TOMAR-RE, a tall, thin, beak-headed alien with dark orange scale-covered skin and a large dorsal fin on his head.
The sounds of combat can be heard below. Laserfire and the screams of injured Green Lanterns. Abin Sur shakes his head.
ABIN SUR
Another squadron has fallen. We must sound the retreat, Kilowog.
KILOWOG
Not while The Corps. still stands. The Guardians must be protected.
TOMAR-RE
Much of our forces has fallen. We cannot stop it. We must evacuate.
SINESTRO
No, Tomar-Re. We mustn’t waver. We must halt this intruder’s progress here and now.
ABIN SUR
How, Brother?
KILOWOG
A frontal attack is no good. Its armor weakens our auras. Our rings are next to useless against it.
SINESTRO
So far.
KILOWOG
You have an idea, Sinestro?
SINESTRO
Perhaps. Regardless, we must all intervene now. The Lanterns’ wills are fading. If it gains the fortress, then all will be lost.
KILOWOG
For The Guardians, then. Attack!
The four Green Lanterns rise into the air, rings glowing, auras bright with the strength of their wills, and descend toward the battleground below. Their presence creates an element of hope, and several of the Green Lanterns cheer.
Kilowog and Sinestro land in front of the construct. The two of them attack in tandem, firing devastating power beams.
The Construct, unaffected, raises its pulse cannons. Both Sinestro and Kilowog throw up force fields as it fires, and are propelled backward across the battlefield.
Abin Sur flies forward, firing his own power beam into the ground beneath The Construct, disrupting its balance. A red laser strikes Sur’s aura and sends him spinning. He crashes to the ground and rolls, injured and out of action. The Construct approaches him, leveling it's laser cannon at him.
SINESTRO
Abin Sur!
Sinestro flies forward, creating a bubble to shield Abin Sur from The Construct’s lasers. Then Sinestro flies off, Abin Sur in tow. He sets him down behind a rock outcropping and kneels over his brother, who appears to be half-conscious.
SINESTRO (CONT’D)
Brother?
Abin Sur's eyes flicker open. He looks up at Sinestro.
ABIN SUR
I'm fine. You must...end this.
SINESTRO
I will, Brother. I swear it.
Kilowog has retreated to an outcropping near Sinestro.
KILOWOG
It's too powerful. Sheer force is not enough. We haven’t the power to defeat it.
SINESTRO
Then we'll have to outsmart it.
Sinestro looks around. Sees the bodies. The smoke. The flames. The utter, total chaos. He trembles with rage.
SINESTRO (CONT’D)
No more of this. I have had enough.
It’s path cleared, The Construct stalks toward the Fortress, incinerating four more Green Lanterns who attack in tandem.
Sinestro moves out from behind his cover. His protective aura beings to glow as his anger toward the intruder increases.
SINESTRO (CONT’D)
I will not allow this chaos to prevail. Order must be maintained!
KILOWOG
Sinestro!
ABIN SUR
Wait!
Sinestro fires a power beam at The Construct. It has little effect, but The Construct swivels on a hinged axis and begins to return in Sinestro's direction. It raises it's arm and fires lasers at Sinestro. Sinestro dodges the attack and flies off. The Construct runs after Sinestro, tracking him across the battlefield, firing lasers as Sinestro flies.
EXT. OA, CANYON BASE
Sinestro lands in front of a pool of tar between two nearby canyon walls. The Construct follows him into the canyon. Sinestro stands his ground as The Construct advances.
SINESTRO
You are nothing to me, invader. Nothing but a bringer of chaos.
Sinestro raises his ring and fires a power beam at The Construct. The beam strikes The Construct. Nothing happens. The Construct fires its own laser. Sinestro BLOCKS it with a chunk of boulder, then HURLS the chunk at construct.
Sinestro stands on the other side of the tar pit. The Construct moves toward him, its laser cannons leveled.
SINESTRO (CONT’D)
Come.
The Construct moves forward. Sinestro smiles as it begins to cross the tar pool. And then, The Construct starts to SINK.
Sinestro FLIES up into the air and comes down on its “head” with force, driving The Construct down into the tar, where it disappears from view with a loud whirring of machine parts.
All is silent for a few seconds, and then the tar pit bubbles, and The Construct EXPLODES from it's surface, now covered in thick, black tar, and pissed, if a machine can be.
SINESTRO (CONT’D)
All right, then. Let’s finish this.
The Construct FIRES a laser, which Sinestro deflects with a green FORCE SHIELD. He FLIES forward, SLAMMING into the construct, DRIVING it back into a canyon wall. The construct rises to its feet, but Sinestro is much faster. He grabs the construct's feet and SWINGS it, THROWS it across the canyon, where it SMASHES into another rock wall.
Sinestro FIRES an intense POWER BEAM at it, and the construct smokes, damaged. It RACES toward him, and Sinestro PUNCHES it backward. The Construct ROLLS, gets to it's feet, and LEAPS into the air toward him. Sinestro reaches out with his ring, and traps The Contstruct inside a POWER BUBBLE in mid-air.
SINESTRO (CONT’D)
Your advantage is gone.
Sinestro rises up into the air until he is level with it.
SINESTRO (CONT’D)
The advantage is now mine.
Sinestro FLIES upward, the construct in tow, toward the blackness of space. He looks at the stars in front of him.
SINESTRO (CONT’D)
You’ve brought chaos here. Now you will share the fate of all those who attempt to threaten order.
Sinestro WHIRLS once, and with tremendous ring-aided strength, HURLS the construct into the far reaches of space, watching as it disappears into the stars. He descends back to the ground, watching after it. Kilowog land beside Sinestro. The two of them look up at the stars.
SINESTRO (CONT’D)
The threat is past.
KILOWOG
Then...it's over.
SINESTRO
For now, Kilowog. But we must be ever vigilant. Order must be maintained. Whatever the cost.
We move up and through the endless void of the Universe.
GANTHET (V.O.)
For billions of years, the legend of the Green Lanterns has grown, as they strive to bring light to the darkest reaches of the Universe. Their deeds have become legend. Now...another legend will begin.
We hear a hundred tongues, speaking various oaths. Rising in volume, their voices blend into the hum of unbridled power.
A sleek, futuristic, green POWER BATTERY emerges from the blackness of space, shining with a brilliant green light. The green energies within it begin to glow so bright that it wipes out the screen in a green FLASH as music crescendoes.
SUPER TEXT:
GREEN LANTERN
The green glow fades out on deep space. A field of stars.
EXT. SOLAR SYSTEM
Moving through fields of stars, we reach our own solar system, sweeping past the planets. Reaching Earth, we descend toward North America, and down, down, down, through thick white clouds and blue skies until...with a SONIC BOOM, an EXPERIMENTAL JET rockets past the screen, trailing smoke.
INT. EXPERIMENTAL JETPLANE
The skies sweep past the cockpit. The rush of pure speed. The loud roar of the jet's powerful engine. The pilot at the controls twists the yoke and the world spins for a moment.
EXT. SKIES -- DAY
The plane does a series of BARREL ROLLS in the blue skies.
INT. EXPERIMENTAL JETPLANE COCKPIT
The clouds are reflected off the helmet of the pilot. He steadies the controls. The dashboard radio crackles to life.
TOM
(Radio)
Stop showing off.
HAL
(Muffled)
You like that?
TOM
(Radio)
You ever going to bring her back?
HAL
(Muffled)
In a little while, Pieface. I'm still just getting to know her.
TOM
(Radio)
You've been getting to know her for hours. You’re running out of fuel.
HAL
(Muffled)
What can I say? I have a way with women.
TOM
(Radio)
So I've been told.
INT. EXPERIMENTAL JET
Out the cockpit, a beautiful panoramic view of perfect blue skies. The pilot under the helmet is in his element here.
HAL
(Muffled)
You should see the view from up here, Tom. It's incredible.
TOM
(Radio)
I'll take your word for it.
Another series of gutwrenching BARREL ROLLS. The plane accelerates, sweeping through the clouds with a ROAR.
HAL
All right. I'm going to make one or two more passes and bring her in.
TOM
(Radio)
I'll take your word for it.
Hal chuckles and banks the plane upward. The jet climbs.
EXT. SKIES -- DAY
The jet's afterburners FIRE and the jet CLIMBS upward, trailing smoke as it twists up through the blue skies.

OA blaster

07-15-2006, 11:34 AM

you have alot of time on your hands

but the only way to do a descent GL film is to do a 3d animation like Final Fanasty, that way you can push the bondaries of the power ring constucts

COLIM MEANY voicing KILOWOG
PAUL NEWMAN voicing the GAURDIANS
DENNIS LEARY voicing SINESTRO

ShadowBoxing

07-15-2006, 11:49 AM

I started writing a plot summary a while back and wasn't too pleased, so I need time to rewrite. However the basic premise is that Hal Jordan is a drunk/loser because of his father's death -- which causes him to slip into a lifelong depression. He lives with his brother and works for Ferris Industries and one day while revisiting the site where his father died, Abin Sur's ship crashed.

Abin Sur and Hal would be the only two Green Lanterns featured in the film. The Legion and Manhunters would be the villians.

I think the idea of bringing in Jon Stewart, Guy or others as GLs makes no sense. The idea of the first film is a)to be made on a smaller budget -- because you are not getting oodles of money to do a GL flick and b) to establish Hal as THE Green Lantern. Saying there are other (living) Green Lanterns only distracts from this.

The movie would be a cross between "Signs" and "ID4". Hal would find himself trying to figure out what the ring is and why it makes him face images of his own father in the night and in his dreams. Through these visions Hal faces his fears.

Then when the Manhunters (who grounded Abin Sur's ship) come to earth they threaten an invasion if Abin Sur (who is abscent from the wreckage) does not present himself. Hal finds himself in the middle of a human - manhunter war, and realizes only he can save humanity.

Carol Ferris would also be present, she would be captured by the Manhunters.

OA blaster

07-15-2006, 02:26 PM

you don't need a big budget if you go with an 3D animation

begbie1

07-15-2006, 08:30 PM

nah we need a live-action movie. Hell, if GHOST RIDER gets one, certainly GL deserves one.

my casting? Aaron Eckhart as Hal Jordan.

IKnowSomeJudo

07-15-2006, 08:40 PM

A Neil Gaiman script directed by David Lynch. Basically I want it to be the most ****ed up, psychedelic thing ever filmed, while being quite faithful to the comic at the same time. Something like Dune on acid.

Disclaimer

07-17-2006, 09:40 PM

I'd love to see it as stripped back and "real" as possible...

A mix of 'Top Gun' and 'Superman'.

Start with Hal Jordan, the loss of his father, his hotshot-pilot attitude... then his encounter with Abin Sur.

I don't think the first film should include other Green Lanterns, since it would complicate it for non-fans and come off a bit goofy. Hints of the galactic scope of the Corp should be enough...

As for sequels, I imagine a second part that sees Hal overcome by the ring's power (kind of like what they appear to be doing with 'Spider-Man 3') and possessed by Parallax. The third - and final - part could introduce Kyle as a last hope to defeat a released Parallax alongside Hal and the rest of the Corp.

I actually chatted with Geoff Johns about this a few months ago and got the impression that's the way he'd take it if he had the opportunity... but who knows? This damn Jack Black crap doesn't seem to wanna go away, does it?

*Sigh*

I keep looking at the 'Batman Begins' and 'Superman Returns' posters and thinking "please, Warner Bros, keep these franchises classy and uniform". The success of cheap films like 'X3' threatens this idea, though, I think.

:mad:

Oh... and by the way... I'm not some fanboy who stood in line badgering Geoff Johns at a con. I'm friends with a booth owner who was hosting him. It was a genuine, sit down, wasting-time-while-bored chat while the line up was gone... ;)

OA blaster

07-18-2006, 06:31 AM

you need to have at least one lantern to show up and train him, KILOWOG i would pay to see him on the big screen

dnno1

07-18-2006, 12:19 PM

...I think the idea of bringing in Jon Stewart, Guy or others as GLs makes no sense. The idea of the first film is a)to be made on a smaller budget -- because you are not getting oodles of money to do a GL flick and b) to establish Hal as THE Green Lantern. Saying there are other (living) Green Lanterns only distracts from this...

Are you trying to tell us that films with an ensemble cast won't work on a low budget? Here are some examples of films that did.

Star Wars (1977)
Estimated Budget: $13 million
$192 million (in 1977)
% profit: 137

XMen (2000)
Estimated Budget: $75 million
US Gross: $157 million
% profit: 109

The Fast and the Furious
Estimated Budget: $38 million
US Gross: $145 million
% profit: 282

Resident Evil (2002)
Estimated Budget: $32 million
US Gross: $40 million
% profit: 25

And there are many more. Using an ensemble cast can work if you capture the right market with your script. In each of the examples that I have presented the target market was either Sci-Fi/Fantasy fans or the teen to young adult demographic which are very large markets. Write a script for an ensemble cast that will attract these markets and you've got yourself an instant blocbuster film.

Spider - Man

07-18-2006, 01:13 PM

Sun_Down

07-18-2006, 02:49 PM

*Sigh*

I keep looking at the 'Batman Begins' and 'Superman Returns' posters and thinking "please, Warner Bros, keep these franchises classy and uniform". The success of cheap films like 'X3' threatens this idea, though, I think.

I'm with you. I love how both BB and SR have really been serious and classy in tone. They've captured the dignity and reverence of those two characters, and I hope they don't compromise that at any point.

Hellstormer

07-21-2006, 08:57 PM

HR-PUFF&STUFF

07-23-2006, 12:43 AM

the first movie would be like training day. Hal is trained by Sinestro but Hal sees that he is not all that of a good guy. in the end we find out that Hal was being tested by the guardans to see if he would do whats right or side with Sinestro.

GL1

07-23-2006, 09:45 AM

Hal and John Partnership movie... Sci-Fi style (which is what made GL popular origionally), delve into all the fantastical elements. Budget it at around $100 M (which is a LOT for a sci fi movie). Market is as a sci-fi superhero based on a popular longrunning comic book...

Show Hal as interpid, indominable and brilliant in the clutch, also as the most popular and most honored Green Lantern in the Universe, with Sinestro as his friendly rival. Intro John as a young angry guy who asks a lot of cynical questions... those are the main characters. Also important are Kilowogg, head trainer for junior partners like John, Katma, Tomar Re and Ch'p.

The Manhunters reawaken for the first time and the GLs have to deal with these guys, their plots, only to find out that Sinestro is the one who reawakened him, and by the time Sinestro is revealed, he's got the Yellow Ring from the Green Lantern Armory and Hal and John have to take him out while an army of Manhunters attacks Oa. John and Katma get together. Hal and Sinestro have it out. The Green Lantern Corps gets shown off.

I would do this over the more predictable Emerald Dawn because this is cheaper (and thus more likely to be made) and it spins off into a trilogy better. An Earth-based Hal-only movie will make a space-based multicast sequel feel odd. If you start on Earth with only Hal, you're basically nixing or hurting the rest of the GL Mythos... obviously, a bad idea.

ShadowBoxing

07-23-2006, 02:31 PM

Off the subject, but what's with your sig?A poster made that prediction, and I am holding him to it.

ShadowBoxing

07-23-2006, 02:36 PM

Are you trying to tell us that films with an ensemble cast won't work on a low budget? Here are some examples of films that did.

Star Wars (1977)
Estimated Budget: $13 million
$192 million (in 1977)
% profit: 137

XMen (2000)
Estimated Budget: $75 million
US Gross: $157 million
% profit: 109

The Fast and the Furious
Estimated Budget: $38 million
US Gross: $145 million
% profit: 282

Resident Evil (2002)
Estimated Budget: $32 million
US Gross: $40 million
% profit: 25

And there are many more. Using an ensemble cast can work if you capture the right market with your script. In each of the examples that I have presented the target market was either Sci-Fi/Fantasy fans or the teen to young adult demographic which are very large markets. Write a script for an ensemble cast that will attract these markets and you've got yourself an instant blocbuster film.All of those films are incredibly dated and or very very bad.

G-Hammer

07-23-2006, 04:31 PM

Given that Green Lantern isn't as high-profile a licese as say Superman or Batman, if we're being honest, the first movie would probably be made on a fairly conservative budget(unless GL has some high-profile fans in Hollywood willing to throw their weight behind it), so I think making a fairly simple movie with regards to special-effects laden characters would be a good idea, although I think a good trilogy could be formed out of the story.

For example, start with a movie that could work as a stand-alone, but introduces concepts to be picked up by potential sequels. Hal Jordan is a natural for the main character, as he's probably the best known GL, and the movie could focus on a basic concept of his origin, and a battle with Sinestro. Having Kyle Rayner as a regular character in some form of supporting role could be good idea, and maybe a rough idea of the GL corps.

A second movie could focus on the corps more, and you could have some uber-powerful villain(can't really think of one at the moment that would fit, any suggestions?), who in the end destroys Coast City.

Either at the end of the 2nd or the early doors of the 3rd, you could have this lead to Hal becoming Parallax and Kyle becoming GL to defeat him.

As for actors, I liked the suggestion of Hugo Weaving for Sinestro, but I'm fairly stumped for Hal or Kyle.

Hellstormer

07-23-2006, 05:00 PM

Hal Jordan is a natural for the main character, as he's probably the best known GL, and the movie could focus on a basic concept of his origin, and a battle with Sinestro.
.I disagree ask anyone on the street who Green Lantern is and their answer will probaly be "The black guy form the cartoon."

G-Hammer

07-23-2006, 05:13 PM

I disagree ask anyone on the street who Green Lantern is and their answer will probaly be "The black guy form the cartoon."

True, I forgot all about the cartoon. Still, Hal is the 'classic' GL, I think most comic fans would be unhappy if he wasn't the main man. It'd be like making a Batman movie where it's the Azrael guy or Spiderman with Ben Reilly.

Hellstormer

07-23-2006, 06:02 PM

True, I forgot all about the cartoon. Still, Hal is the 'classic' GL, I think most comic fans would be unhappy if he wasn't the main man. It'd be like making a Batman movie where it's the Azrael guy or Spiderman with Ben Reilly.
I'd watch a Batman movie with the greatest member of the Bat family ever.:D:up:

ShadowBoxing

07-23-2006, 06:05 PM

I disagree ask anyone on the street who Green Lantern is and their answer will probaly be "The black guy form the cartoon."Most people you'd find on the street unless they are five do not watch cartoons.

Hellstormer

07-23-2006, 08:42 PM

Most people you'd find on the street unless they are five do not watch cartoons.
Yes but alot oof them have sons/daughters/brothers/sisters that do.

Hellstormer

07-23-2006, 08:43 PM

double post

ShadowBoxing

07-23-2006, 09:14 PM

Yes but alot oof them have sons/daughters/brothers/sisters that do.Not really, or at least it makes no difference. 18 to 24 is the target audience for an action movie. And they won't know JLU from a hole in the wall by and large. I stopped watching cartoons around the time I started becoming interested in girls/women, so we will say about 15 or 16 was the end of it completely. The only reason I know of JLU and Evolution is through the comics I read, otherwise I would be completely oblivious. I have a few comic fan friends who watch, however to them they already know who Hal Jordan is and who Jon Stewart is so for them usually Hal is their number 1 GL. As for younger siblings or cousins perhaps, not really again. Video games have rather overtaken cartoons at this point, and I don't know any friends of mine who are into what their next of kin likes to the extent that they know much about it. My girlfriend for example, knew her young sister watched Powerpuff girls, however knew little about the show. So again not really. If they are familiar with a cartoon it is Hal Jordan from Superfriends when they grew up, or they know of GL's origin which again Hal. Kyle is another well known GL to my age bracket, however to be fair neither is well known.

dnno1

07-24-2006, 12:00 AM

All of those films are incredibly dated and or very very bad.The last three films that I mentioned in my post (http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9548743&postcount=13) were made within the the last 6 years so I don't know what you mean by dated. They still made money, which means people went out to see them (you have heard of the term popular) so I don't know what you mean by bad (they all went on to have sequels made). In spite of your opinion, thats what seems to matter to the studios, investors, and the audience as a whole anyway.

GL1

07-24-2006, 12:54 AM

Wow, well we can just go say ANYTHING on a message board...

Given that Green Lantern isn't as high-profile a licese as say Superman or Batman, if we're being honest, the first movie would probably be made on a fairly conservative budget(unless GL has some high-profile fans in Hollywood willing to throw their weight behind it), so I think making a fairly simple movie with regards to special-effects laden characters would be a good idea, although I think a good trilogy could be formed out of the story.

You are uninformed. Allow me: Sci-Fi Films have notoriously lower budgets compared to their action adventure bretheren, creating fantastic worlds is always cheaper than blowing up the real one. Matrix was $63 Million, Sky Captain was $70 Million, the last star trek was $60 M and... well, you get the picture. Basing a GL film on Oa and other non-earth Planets would be cheaper than earth-centric (but still requiring Oa) Emerald Dawn.

True, I forgot all about the cartoon. Still, Hal is the 'classic' GL, I think most comic fans would be unhappy if he wasn't the main man. It'd be like making a Batman movie where it's the Azrael guy or Spiderman with Ben Reilly.

No it would not. In comics, John AND Hal are GLs, and have been GLs together for a very long time. I think any comic fans that would be unhappy with the teaming up in a GL movie isn't much of a comic fan. Azrael and Ben Reilly are hardly perennial Spider-Men and Batmen, foudned and established in a Corps of Spider-Men and Batmen which is essential to the origin of Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker.

Most people you'd find on the street unless they are five do not watch cartoons.

False on two counts. Not only does JL/JLU's successfully targetted audience top out at 14 (kids who have jobs and cars now), but JLU has been all over everything for the last five years. Most people on the street don't know there's a white Green Lantern, they think it's the black guy. Go out and try it.

Not really, or at least it makes no difference. 18 to 24 is the target audience for an action movie. And they won't know JLU from a hole in the wall by and large. I stopped watching cartoons around the time I started becoming interested in girls/women, so we will say about 15 or 16 was the end of it completely. The only reason I know of JLU and Evolution is through the comics I read, otherwise I would be completely oblivious. I have a few comic fan friends who watch, however to them they already know who Hal Jordan is and who Jon Stewart is so for them usually Hal is their number 1 GL. As for younger siblings or cousins perhaps, not really again. Video games have rather overtaken cartoons at this point, and I don't know any friends of mine who are into what their next of kin likes to the extent that they know much about it. My girlfriend for example, knew her young sister watched Powerpuff girls, however knew little about the show. So again not really. If they are familiar with a cartoon it is Hal Jordan from Superfriends when they grew up, or they know of GL's origin which again Hal. Kyle is another well known GL to my age bracket, however to be fair neither is well known.

Wow, you seem to like making up numbers. Video game ads are targetted for 18-34 year olds, I have a feeling that movies that make $200M aren't targetted only to people with low paying jobs. No my friends, the target audience for a summer blockbuster is likely to top out closer to 50 than 30.

While you can be free to make up numbers, the bottom line is that John Stewart has been exposed to a much larger number of people, often indirectly from the cartoon through merchandising, ads, like the ones you saw in comic books (they appear many other places, trust me), video stores or just walking around Six Flags. John Stewart has been everywhere, including in the comics. I'd assume most people don't know his name, but they do know "that black superhero from the cartoons."

What your buddies think and know is hardly conclusive evidence about the nation's consumers... that's why people have scientific studies because information from a small group of friends is unreliable and useless for induction. But thank you for sharing that part of your life with us... it helps us know you better.

That's why it makes the most sense to have a Hal AND John GL movie. John is the Lantern most people know, Hal is the Lantern most comics fans want, and not only are they partners in the mythos currently, not only have the worked together for years, but they play well off of each other when John is written correctly or even just well (a nonexistant occasion in GL Vol 2 and 3).

Also, someone might just realize that the GL mythos about about the entire universe, and not just Hal Jordan.

G-Hammer

07-24-2006, 02:43 PM

Wow, well we can just go say ANYTHING on a message board...

You are uninformed. Allow me: Sci-Fi Films have notoriously lower budgets compared to their action adventure bretheren, creating fantastic worlds is always cheaper than blowing up the real one. Matrix was $63 Million, Sky Captain was $70 Million, the last star trek was $60 M and... well, you get the picture. Basing a GL film on Oa and other non-earth Planets would be cheaper than earth-centric (but still requiring Oa) Emerald Dawn.

Wasn't the Matrix mostly set in what could be called the 'real' world? sure there were scenes of fantastic worlds, but as I recall, quite a bit of it took place in pretty normal locales.

Still, point taken, although isn't Emerald Dawn really GL's most famous story ark? I can't claim to have ever been all that close a follower of the comics, perhaps it was just because it was the biggest story going on with the character when I was well into comics. By consequence I always saw it as being akin to the Death of Superman or the Symbiote Saga in that it would be the one a lot of fans would be eager to see.

No it would not. In comics, John AND Hal are GLs, and have been GLs together for a very long time. I think any comic fans that would be unhappy with the teaming up in a GL movie isn't much of a comic fan. Azrael and Ben Reilly are hardly perennial Spider-Men and Batmen, foudned and established in a Corps of Spider-Men and Batmen which is essential to the origin of Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker.

Fair enough, although should Hal and John be used, I couldn't see Hollywood not turning this into Sci-Fi Rush-Hour.

GL1

07-24-2006, 05:33 PM

Wasn't the Matrix mostly set in what could be called the 'real' world? sure there were scenes of fantastic worlds, but as I recall, quite a bit of it took place in pretty normal locales.

Still, point taken, although isn't Emerald Dawn really GL's most famous story ark? I can't claim to have ever been all that close a follower of the comics, perhaps it was just because it was the biggest story going on with the character when I was well into comics. By consequence I always saw it as being akin to the Death of Superman or the Symbiote Saga in that it would be the one a lot of fans would be eager to see.

On the Matrix, the only real-world costs involved were the helicopter sequence, everything else was either just background on a sound stage or CGI. That's what kept the costs down. For a movie like, I dunno, Pirates of the Caribbean, it has full size destructable boats and live destructable locales and stuff, so it's nearly impossible to get that budget below $100M...

Oh, I assure you, Emerald Twilight is MUCH more well known. But Emerald Dawn is a great straightforward story. The main reason I wouldn't use it for a movie is because it limits the franchise to Earth and Hal Jordan, which would be, to say the least, bad... either than or it forces the franchise to take a new direction with the sequel with Oa and other lanterns, thus alienating fans similar to how ET and Rebirth did. I figure they should take the Corps concept from the very door and that Hal Jordan, the perennial acheiver should be our guide, not our proxy. And it's not like they're going to do ED anyway, they're not going to use Legion as a main villain, nor do we want them to.

Fair enough, although should Hal and John be used, I couldn't see Hollywood not turning this into Sci-Fi Rush-Hour.

I'm assuming it's because it's a buddy "cop" movie with a black guy... that's the only similarity I see... in which case, I point you to upcoming Miami Vice and the Lethal Weapon Franchise.

G-Hammer

07-24-2006, 06:30 PM

Fair points again. The thing about the corps being introduced with Hal as our guide to it is actually what I was thinking, just not having the whole shebang thrown in right away(as that may come off as a bit too Men-in-Black-centric), though I don't think I put that across in my post.

And remember Lethal Weapon came way before RH, and the reason, aside from the Race issue, although that is the main reason I can see it happening, as that seems to be the fate of the majority of action buddy-cop/hero movies where 2 races are used, its also the fact that we are dealing with a comic book movie here, and let's be honest, major franchises aside, Hollywood isn't all that kind to non-major characters, and they usually end-up shoe-horned into a Hollywood-Stereotype, even if they don't quite fit it.

ShadowBoxing

07-24-2006, 06:41 PM

While you can be free to make up numbers, the bottom line is that John Stewart has been exposed to a much larger number of people, often indirectly from the cartoon through merchandising, ads, like the ones you saw in comic books (they appear many other places, trust me), video stores or just walking around Six Flags. John Stewart has been everywhere, including in the comics. I'd assume most people don't know his name, but they do know "that black superhero from the cartoons."

What your buddies think and know is hardly conclusive evidence about the nation's consumers... that's why people have scientific studies because information from a small group of friends is unreliable and useless for induction. But thank you for sharing that part of your life with us... it helps us know you better.

That's why it makes the most sense to have a Hal AND John GL movie. John is the Lantern most people know, Hal is the Lantern most comics fans want, and not only are they partners in the mythos currently, not only have the worked together for years, but they play well off of each other when John is written correctly or even just well (a nonexistant occasion in GL Vol 2 and 3).

Also, someone might just realize that the GL mythos about about the entire universe, and not just Hal Jordan.

Here are your numbers smartass

70% of the viewers of Cartoon Network are under 17. This category weighs especially heavy in the under 15 category. Of the adults (30%) who "watch" CN, a whooping 71% (25+) of them reported having small children in the house. Of the top ten shows I breezed through on their quarterly report. Of the adult demographic, they were approximately 70% of adult viewers (in other words those without children) watched from 11pm onwards. 40% after midnight hours.

The most popular programs were Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi, Juniper Lee, PPG, Fosters, Billy and Mandy and Family Guy. I did not see JLU in there.

Basically the conclusion is pretty obvious, adults did not watch JLU, which would be your demographic for movies.

Jon Stewart may have had exposure on a cartoon "comic fans and children" watch, but for the average movie goer it means squit.

dnno1

07-24-2006, 07:57 PM

Here are your numbers smartass

70% of the viewers of Cartoon Network are under 17. This category weighs especially heavy in the under 15 category. Of the adults (30%) who "watch" CN, a whooping 71% (25+) of them reported having small children in the house. Of the top ten shows I breezed through on their quarterly report. Of the adult demographic, they were approximately 70% of adult viewers (in other words those without children) watched from 11pm onwards. 40% after midnight hours.

The most popular programs were Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi, Juniper Lee, PPG, Fosters, Billy and Mandy and Family Guy. I did not see JLU in there.

Basically the conclusion is pretty obvious, adults did not watch JLU, which would be your demographic for movies.

Jon Stewart may have had exposure on a cartoon "comic fans and children" watch, but for the average movie goer it means squit.
Which means that 30% of them are over the age of 18. With 87.3 million subscribers to Cartoon Network, thats about 26 million (adult) viewers. BTW yhou should have cited where you got your data from, which was thish Cartoon Network Brochure (http://www.twcmaineadsales.com/Networks/pdf/cartoonnetwork.pdf). 26 million people is more than enough to fund a major motion picture although, unfortunately, the percentage that watches Justice League is much smaller. In 2001, according to Zap2it - TV news (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkk1MZMVEywYAwsxXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2Mzl0bXA xBGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANERlg1X zMw/SIG=12vqhdduc/EXP=1153873356/**http%3a//tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271%7c72056%7c1%7c,00.html), over 4 million viewers in the 18-34 year-old demographic watched Justice League. If you are going to rely on just that demographic to pay for a Green Lantern film it won't be enough. Now, if you include the 12-24 demographic, which is about 26% of the viewers in the 8p-11p Mon-Sun time slot, that would be (as a proportion) over 8 million viewers. That will get you closer assuming you need 13 million viewers at $6 a pop to recover an $80 million production cost, but that would mean your film would need to be less dark and more family friendly in order to capture that demographic. That's why I suggested in another thread that whoever produces the film should try to lure a different (and larger) demographic if they want the film to be darker: Sci-Fi/Fantasy fans.

GL1

07-24-2006, 09:55 PM

dnno1 with teh saive! (and the clever plug for the sci-fi GL Franchise, which I strongly support!)

Here are your numbers smartass

70% of the viewers of Cartoon Network are under 17. This category weighs especially heavy in the under 15 category. Of the adults (30%) who "watch" CN, a whooping 71% (25+) of them reported having small children in the house. Of the top ten shows I breezed through on their quarterly report. Of the adult demographic, they were approximately 70% of adult viewers (in other words those without children) watched from 11pm onwards. 40% after midnight hours.

The most popular programs were Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi, Juniper Lee, PPG, Fosters, Billy and Mandy and Family Guy. I did not see JLU in there.

Basically the conclusion is pretty obvious, adults did not watch JLU, which would be your demographic for movies.

Jon Stewart may have had exposure on a cartoon "comic fans and children" watch, but for the average movie goer it means squit.

I was definitely being flippant. And I applaud you on your research, unfortunately, dnno1's already dealt with that and the only reason to discount 30% of CN's viewership as non-viewers is your quotation marks... the research doesn't show that they aren't watching, but more likely, since they aren't logging it as little kids viewing, they're watching it WITH and BECAUSE of their little ones...

Now, keep in mind that your analysis of the adults who have direct exposure to the John Stewart character does not begin to account for the massive amount of merchandising and ads that the average consumer has been exposed to.

My statement: John Stewart is the most exposed and most publicly recognizable Green Lantern at this time.
Your Statement: Adults don't watch JLU.

Not only has that been disproved, but even if no adults watched JLU EVAR, it wouldn't mean that they hadn't seen Green Lantern around in the last five years... cereal boxes for crying out loud. And if they've seen a GL in the last five years outside of comics, it's been John Stetwart.

I submit this: What if... just what if... we're both right? Most adults don't watch JL/JLU AND John is the most recognizable GL?

Disclaimer

07-24-2006, 10:09 PM

Well I think a GL film would be cool and I think Kyle would be cooler to use then anyone else but if they had to use Hal i would be fine with it and the ccostume should look like this
http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/100/greenlantern25ocna9.jpg
Now doesn't taht just scream Galactic Police Force?

Hmmm... I'm sure the costume would look like that... if Fox had the rights to make this film...!

All I can say is thank Christ they don't... 'cus that pic looks like RoboCop or somethin'.

Hopefully Warner will stick with the classy formula they've used for 'Batman Begins' and 'Superman Returns', looking further than the first day box office and considering the longevity of their films.

ShadowBoxing

07-25-2006, 12:56 PM

Make his costume reminiscent of real military/airforce type uniform

GL1

07-25-2006, 05:23 PM

Hmmm... why can't Hal's costume resemble his comics one? I mean, it has a completley alien origin. Just give it that cool ribbed fabric from Spidey and SR. SR and Begins made signifcant changes to the heroes' costumes, but not a complete overhaul.

Heh... I remember when everyone hated BB's helmet-cowl. Or the tiny S on SR. Heh, funny how time plays tricks..

Hellstormer

07-25-2006, 05:40 PM

Spider-Kurt!

07-25-2006, 10:15 PM

solo film- Hal Jordan-Emerald Dawn orgin

JLA movie-John Stewart-chosen by the Guardians after Jordan was deemed "unfit".

dnno1

07-26-2006, 09:24 AM

GL1

07-26-2006, 10:20 AM

What were really hideous were Superman's boots in SR.

Dude... why did you have to remind me of that!? Urgh... now I hate the suit again. :supes: :down

But seriously, I really think a GL franchise should take a Sci-Fi angle (dnno1's fault). The ability to keep a budget down, the ability to draw on a whole new crop of fans (The Sci-Fi crew), and basically, capitalize on what set the GL franchise apart in the first place. Yep that right, Hal Jordan and the Corps were created for the explicit purpose of pumping Sci-Fi into a sagging genre. I think it worked... I think it should happen again.

Not to mention that the GL mythos has some REALLY cool aliens. Rot Lop Fan. Kilowogg. Mogo. These are brilliant creations that need to be shown off, not marginalized for the sake of Batman-style "realism."

Hellstormer

07-26-2006, 10:39 AM

Yeah if they do a GL film it has to take a Sci-Fi angle and Kilowag and Mogo must makem appearences.

ShadowBoxing

07-26-2006, 02:20 PM

Dude... why did you have to remind me of that!? Urgh... now I hate the suit again. :supes: :down

But seriously, I really think a GL franchise should take a Sci-Fi angle (dnno1's fault). The ability to keep a budget down, the ability to draw on a whole new crop of fans (The Sci-Fi crew), and basically, capitalize on what set the GL franchise apart in the first place. Yep that right, Hal Jordan and the Corps were created for the explicit purpose of pumping Sci-Fi into a sagging genre. I think it worked... I think it should happen again.

Not to mention that the GL mythos has some REALLY cool aliens. Rot Lop Fan. Kilowogg. Mogo. These are brilliant creations that need to be shown off, not marginalized for the sake of Batman-style "realism."

For the first film they need to be unaddressed IMO. Outside of Abin Sur and potentially a future human who will become a Green Lantern, no one besides Hal needs to be present. There are a couple of reasons for this. Green Lantern may be an ensemble piece with the Corp, however unlike X-Men it has a direct and central character. Who is Hal. Hal is Green Lantern, not the other Green Lanterns. Just like you would not want Earth-2 and Elseworlds Supermen in the first Superman, you don't want distractions here either. The audience must understand that Hal is the "Green Lantern" while everyone else are just his compatriots. In essence what Wolverine was in X-Men (and should not have been).

Number 2: Hal should not have someone explain to him what the ring is. This is something he has to master on his own at first. Having the ability to write an explanation for the ring like you did in LOTR takes away from the "alien" element associated with it. It ought to something foreign to Hal, and something he makes his own. To preserve th mystique of the ring leaves the aliens out for film 1.

Number 3: The human cast needs to be played up, and unfortunately you have lot of introduction. Especially if you want Ferris and his brother in the film. The Corp is just too much for the first film. The story needs ttobe simple and straight forward. Legion attacks Abin Sur, he crashes and Legion begins wrecking Coast city to find him. He turns into that squid thing in Coast City Harbor and Hal Jordan throws him into Space. This brings him to the Guardians attention in film two.

GL1

07-26-2006, 04:34 PM

For the first film they need to be unaddressed IMO. Outside of Abin Sur and potentially a future human who will become a Green Lantern, no one besides Hal needs to be present. There are a couple of reasons for this. Green Lantern may be an ensemble piece with the Corp, however unlike X-Men it has a direct and central character. Who is Hal. Hal is Green Lantern, not the other Green Lanterns. Just like you would not want Earth-2 and Elseworlds Supermen in the first Superman, you don't want distractions here either. The audience must understand that Hal is the "Green Lantern" while everyone else are just his compatriots. In essence what Wolverine was in X-Men (and should not have been).

Wow. I've never seen it that way. I've always seen Hal, John, Guy, Kyle and Kilowogg as equals, equally capable of being each other's supporting casts, and have been such in the past. Since comic book audiences don't have to understand Hal as "The" GL, I don't see why a movie audience should. I could understand if it had been before Guy and John's introduction, but at this point, that's not in keeping with the Comics.

Number 2: Hal should not have someone explain to him what the ring is. This is something he has to master on his own at first. Having the ability to write an explanation for the ring like you did in LOTR takes away from the "alien" element associated with it. It ought to something foreign to Hal, and something he makes his own. To preserve th mystique of the ring leaves the aliens out for film 1.

Ah, so 'the Force' has no mystique, since there are aliens and it was explained, in part? The ability to write an explanation does not take anything away from the "magic" of the ring... much less the presence of aliens. Aliens using rings comfortably, on the other hand, highlights it's alien quality, wouldn't you say?

Number 3: The human cast needs to be played up, and unfortunately you have lot of introduction. Especially if you want Ferris and his brother in the film. The Corp is just too much for the first film. The story needs ttobe simple and straight forward. Legion attacks Abin Sur, he crashes and Legion begins wrecking Coast city to find him. He turns into that squid thing in Coast City Harbor and Hal Jordan throws him into Space. This brings him to the Guardians attention in film two.

The human cast does not necessarily need to played up. You refer to the conditions of ED as "musts" but you do not establish an authority for this mandate. Nor do you seem to be aware how much more expensive and less climactic Legion blowing up downtown Coast City is from Hal and Sinestro facing off in the inner Chambers of Oa.

Here's an example of an issue brought up earlier in the thread that you have ignored: The rest of the GL mythos tend to involve aliens and interplanetary villains. Are you suggesting that sequels to an ED-based GL movie depart from Earth, changing the tone and setting similar to how Matrix 2 changed the tone of the franchise, disenfranchising fans? Or do you beleive the rest of the GL mythos should be changed or omitted in order to be tailored to Hal's adventures on Earth, limited as they are. Or do you beleive that you can have an earth-based Hal-centric adventure and then switch to an intergalactic ensemble franchise and no one will feel a disjoint?

Are you aware that SciFi is what saved the Green Lantern title... that departing from typical superherodom to sci-fi is what made Hal popular in the first place? You say simple and straightforward as if the Corps is a complicated thing... if they had lightsabers instead of sectors there'd be a lawsuit! They need to be trained. Hal's great and Sinestro betrays them. You can't get much more simple and straightforward than that.

I could make a case against basing a GL movie on ED all day long... but, I instead offer this suggestion. Years ago, in a time called "2000" Fox released a movie called X-Men. Wonderful thing, now, in order to Promote this movie, they created a one-shot show called "Mutant Watch," an hour long special in which Senator Kelly, played by Bruce Davidson, proclaimed the evil of mutants, and the senate, news reporters, all manner of people asked questions segueing into an exploration of the X-Men's universe. I thought it was bloody brilliant, and more than a tad entertaining.

So I propose, instead of handicapping a huge Sci-fi franchise by making supporting cast out of some of comics' best and brightest heroes, use an hour, in TV format to tell Hal's origin, his conflict with Legion, the weakness to yellow, the beginings of his conflict with Sinestro, his intro to the Guardians, and the basic premise of the ring. Use reporters like Tawny Young to get into Green Lantern and what he's all about. Not only do you promote the movie, tell the ED story so many Hal fans want to see, but you don't ostracise legions of GL fans based on Hal fanboyism. It wasn't smart with Kyle in ET and it's not smart with Hal either.

Hal. John. Sinestro. Manhunters. Sci-Fi. Green Lantern.

ShadowBoxing

07-26-2006, 05:40 PM

Wow. I've never seen it that way. I've always seen Hal, John, Guy, Kyle and Kilowogg as equals, equally capable of being each other's supporting casts, and have been such in the past. Since comic book audiences don't have to understand Hal as "The" GL, I don't see why a movie audience should. I could understand if it had been before Guy and John's introduction, but at this point, that's not in keeping with the Comics.
But they aren't and they never will be. If you have even a remote knowledge of the comic you realize the pecking order is Hal, Kyle, then Jon and everyone else is supporting. I mean just look at the stories. Compare the amount of Kyle and Hal stories to Kilowag, Guy and Jon. I have yet to read a strict Kilowag story. I honestly don't think the GL who gets knocked out from one Batpunch for two whole issues is seen as Kyle and Hal's equal either. You may like the characters who support the two main GL's but the fact is now your just looking for a movie you want not one that makes sense or that the general public would buy.

Hell I want a Transformers movie based off Furman/Wildman's "All Fall Down" and "Decepticon Civil War" arc, guess what? it ain't happening. Despite my love for Nightbeat, Kup, Galvatron, Xaaron, Powermaster Prime and FortMax, they are not as important as Jazz, Optimus Prime, Megatron and Starscream are to a TF movie, plain and simple. You may love Kilowag, you may love Guy but the long and the short of it is...there are stories without them, and they are basically come and go characters in the GL Universe (heck Kyle and Hal at various points have been the ONLY GLs we were aware of).

This idea of issuing this many aliens in one place at one time AND attempting to explain the new powers has a ton of problems with it.

One it is incredibly redundant, especially for a first film. Here is Green Lantern, here are his CORP and his Villians WHO ALL HAVE THE EXACT SAME POWER. People would be bored to tears by the first act. Your better off developing Hal as a distinct character first with a different powered villian then you are forcing his powers on by the thousands.

You are testing the waters always with a first film. Including the characters and powers. There is a reason X1 utilized a smaller X-Men with less powers to explain. For Green Lantern it is all about the ring, Hal (or Kyle or whatever) and how he comes to terms with it. This Green Lantern is your test, do people like him? Do we need more?

Also the Corp doesn't come allong until later. You say ED, but ED features the Corp rather prominently. The original GL focused heavily on Hal before introducing anyone else, same with Kyle's start. Both major GLs were solidified in their own comics as the figure heads before the CORP was developed at all.

Furthermore GL is not 100% scifi in space, in fact it is a fairly grounded book that takes place A LOT on earth. It is in fact much more like Superman, which is primarily an earth bound epic that has the ability to go into space if need be. Also if anyone ever wants to pursue a Parallax storyline you need to establish just how important that town, the people in it, and the earth is to Hal. And more to the point you have to make people CARE about it.

Which comes to the last point. Why should I care about the thousands of other GLs, especially in movie one. I won't, I go to root for the hero, not get bogged down in a bagillion other heroes who are just carbon copies of one another. At least in X-Men or LoTR I have a variety of characters, however here I got all guys with power rings. I need a story focusing on one and only one first so I can appretiate what a Green Lantern is. Your idea just tells me what a Green Lantern does, fights aliens in space.

GL1

07-26-2006, 09:27 PM

Wow, Shadow, you actually didn't address ANY of my points. Not a single one. Wow. You don't have an arguement do you? You even sink to personal attacks and outright slander in this next post. I offer proof and compromise, and you come at me with this? I constantly offer "we're both right" and you spurn me. So, even though you have no arguement, and you continually ignore the evidence given you, tempting me to repost the SAME information OVER and OVER again, I'm actually going to humor you. Again. But keep at it, even though your arguement is inferior with less evidence, perhaps I will tire of this vicious circle before you.

But they aren't and they never will be. If you have even a remote knowledge of the comic you realize the pecking order is Hal, Kyle, then Jon and everyone else is supporting. I mean just look at the stories. Compare the amount of Kyle and Hal stories to Kilowag, Guy and Jon. I have yet to read a strict Kilowag story. I honestly don't think the GL who gets knocked out from one Batpunch for two whole issues is seen as Kyle and Hal's equal either. You may like the characters who support the two main GL's but the fact is now your just looking for a movie you want not one that makes sense or that the general public would buy.

(Sigh.) They already have been. All the human GLs have been starring characters. The only thing that goes in order Hal, Kyle and then John is number of rabid fanboys, not necessarily "pecking order." This bolded statement is a lie. Pure and simple. No one reading this thread could beleive it.

Hell I want a Transformers movie based off Furman/Wildman's "All Fall Down" and "Decepticon Civil War" arc, guess what? it ain't happening. Despite my love for Nightbeat, Kup, Galvatron, Xaaron, Powermaster Prime and FortMax, they are not as important as Jazz, Optimus Prime, Megatron and Starscream are to a TF movie, plain and simple. You may love Kilowag, you may love Guy but the long and the short of it is...there are stories without them, and they are basically come and go characters in the GL Universe (heck Kyle and Hal at various points have been the ONLY GLs we were aware of).

All GL characters are come and go characters, including Hal. The five human lanterns are stars, have all starred, will all star again and should do so. The same cannot be said for Nightbeat, Kup, Galvatron, Xaaron, Powermaster Prime and Fortmax. Your comparison is uneven and therefore worthless. Thank you for sharing your personal experience though, it helps us know you better.

This idea of issuing this many aliens in one place at one time AND attempting to explain the new powers has a ton of problems with it.

Wow. You don't watch Sci-Fi movies much, do you? I can't beleive you think this would even be a problem.

One it is incredibly redundant, especially for a first film. Here is Green Lantern, here are his CORP and his Villians WHO ALL HAVE THE EXACT SAME POWER. People would be bored to tears by the first act. Your better off developing Hal as a distinct character first with a different powered villian then you are forcing his powers on by the thousands.

Imaginary problem--

Matrix (and who knows how many other Sci-Fi movies) didn't bore and established multiple starring characters, with one central, even though everyone had the same powers. GL can do the same.

You are testing the waters always with a first film. Including the characters and powers. There is a reason X1 utilized a smaller X-Men with less powers to explain. For Green Lantern it is all about the ring, Hal (or Kyle or whatever) and how he comes to terms with it. This Green Lantern is your test, do people like him? Do we need more?

This is answered by the last concern I brought up in my post. Also, note theres a reason why X1 didn't just use Wolverine.

Also the Corp doesn't come allong until later. You say ED, but ED features the Corp rather prominently. The original GL focused heavily on Hal before introducing anyone else, same with Kyle's start. Both major GLs were solidified in their own comics as the figure heads before the CORP was developed at all.

So is the corps featured early or is it saved til later? Both Hal and Kyle's origins involve heavy use of the GL Mythos.

Furthermore GL is not 100% scifi in space, in fact it is a fairly grounded book that takes place A LOT on earth. It is in fact much more like Superman, which is primarily an earth bound epic that has the ability to go into space if need be. Also if anyone ever wants to pursue a Parallax storyline you need to establish just how important that town, the people in it, and the earth is to Hal. And more to the point you have to make people CARE about it.

But space is what set the book apart in a superhero-glutted comic book market and it's what will set it apart with foolishness like "Super Ex Girlfriend" and "Who Wants to Be a Superhero" going around. People care about well written characters, period, whether they be in space, on earth, in the future or in the past. And finally, Parallax is a big yellow bug, we don't need to establish Coast City nearly as much as we need to establish Hal's fearlessness.

Which comes to the last point. Why should I care about the thousands of other GLs, especially in movie one. I won't, I go to root for the hero, not get bogged down in a bagillion other heroes who are just carbon copies of one another. At least in X-Men or LoTR I have a variety of characters, however here I got all guys with power rings. I need a story focusing on one and only one first so I can appretiate what a Green Lantern is. Your idea just tells me what a Green Lantern does, fights aliens in space.

Matrix. Star Wars. Star Trek. Same powers, same technology, different characters, one or two (maybe three) central characters that you really care about, whom the movie is about. My eleven-word idea does not include the dialogue taht makes you genuinely look up to Hal, or the scene placement and scale that makes you fell just as overwhelmed as John Stewart. But it's all there.

Hal Jordan. John Stewart. Sinestro. Manhunters. Sci Fi. For teh win.

So when are you going to get around to my questions, ShadowBoxing? Busy?

ShadowBoxing

07-26-2006, 10:40 PM

(Sigh.) They already have been. All the human GLs have been starring characters. The only thing that goes in order Hal, Kyle and then John is number of rabid fanboys, not necessarily "pecking order." This bolded statement is a lie. Pure and simple. No one reading this thread could beleive it.
The tell the freakin writer of GL to stop focusing on single characters :rolleyes: Hal Jordan was created in 1956 and wasn't turned into Parallax until 1994, that is a little under 40 years. 40 years where he was the star of his own book. Not just the star of his own, but also the star of the groundbreaking Green Lantern/Green Arrow. 12 years before we saw another human GL, and another 3 before Jon. Kilowag is an 80s character, as are most of the famous aliens. If anyone has next crack at a Green Lantern star it is Kyle Rayner, who ran for about 10 years as the premeir GL. If you want another, maybe Jon who ran on a cartoon most prominently called JLU. 40 years he was GL. On a Wizard Poll the voting for favorite GL went 50% Hal, 48% Kyle, 2% other. Yeah those top 5 are really the stars :rolleyes:. That is why everyone on the poll voted 5 ways.

All GL characters are come and go characters, including Hal. The five human lanterns are stars, have all starred, will all star again and should do so. The same cannot be said for Nightbeat, Kup, Galvatron, Xaaron, Powermaster Prime and Fortmax. Your comparison is uneven and therefore worthless. Thank you for sharing your personal experience though, it helps us know you better.
Actually Fortress Maximus was not only a focal character he was the LEADER OF THE AUTOBOTS FOR OVER HALF THE 80 COMICS as his headmaster head was SPIKE THE MAIN HUMAN CHARACTER, Nightbeat was a focal character for a 1/4 of the run, Galvatron was the main villian for the last 16 issues, and Powermaster Prime and Xaaron were AUTOBOT LEADERS. Kup was a main character EVERY EPISODE FROM THE MOVIE ONWARDS, so great comparison actually.

Imaginary problem--

Matrix (and who knows how many other Sci-Fi movies) didn't bore and established multiple starring characters, with one central, even though everyone had the same powers. GL can do the same.

Matrix characters did not have powers, unless you consider being human a power. Neo was the only character to develop powers in the series.

This is answered by the last concern I brought up in my post. Also, note theres a reason why X1 didn't just use Wolverine.
Right but he by far dominated all three films, and the strength of X-Men comes on screen because each character is not carbon copy the same powers and therefore already are interesting prior to any character development.

So is the corps featured early or is it saved til later? Both Hal and Kyle's origins involve heavy use of the GL Mythos.
Not when Hal was created. And as for Kyle, well all the GLs were dead he was the last.

But space is what set the book apart in a superhero-glutted comic book market and it's what will set it apart with foolishness like "Super Ex Girlfriend" and "Who Wants to Be a Superhero" going around. People care about well written characters, period, whether they be in space, on earth, in the future or in the past. And finally, Parallax is a big yellow bug, we don't need to establish Coast City nearly as much as we need to establish Hal's fearlessness.
Actually we do. Coast City is intergral to why Hal becomes Parallax, when it is destroyed. Coast City has to be far more intergral to the plot since audiences will have to sympathize with Hal Jordan when it is destroyed. If Coast City is destroyed and it is just "some city" in the plot the audience will fail to "care" about it.

Matrix. Star Wars. Star Trek. Same powers, same technology, different characters, one or two (maybe three) central characters that you really care about, whom the movie is about. My eleven-word idea does not include the dialogue taht makes you genuinely look up to Hal, or the scene placement and scale that makes you fell just as overwhelmed as John Stewart. But it's all there.
Actually Star Wars only had one Jedi to begin with: Luke, so it is an excellent example. Vader was a Jedi as well however the real battle with him came in Space against Luke. Luke was the focus and there were never a thousand other Jedi in the plot. It took them 4 films before we saw a Jedi pressence similar to the CORP.

Hal Jordan. John Stewart. Sinestro. Manhunters. Sci Fi. For teh win.

So when are you going to get around to my questions, ShadowBoxing? Busy?Nope, too many characters for film one. One villian, one hero or else you fall flat on your ass.

dnno1

07-27-2006, 01:02 AM

GL1

07-27-2006, 12:58 PM

The tell the freakin writer of GL to stop focusing on single characters :rolleyes: Hal Jordan was created in 1956 and wasn't turned into Parallax until 1994, that is a little under 40 years. 40 years where he was the star of his own book. Not just the star of his own, but also the star of the groundbreaking Green Lantern/Green Arrow. 12 years before we saw another human GL, and another 3 before Jon. Kilowag is an 80s character, as are most of the famous aliens. If anyone has next crack at a Green Lantern star it is Kyle Rayner, who ran for about 10 years as the premeir GL. If you want another, maybe Jon who ran on a cartoon most prominently called JLU. 40 years he was GL. On a Wizard Poll the voting for favorite GL went 50% Hal, 48% Kyle, 2% other. Yeah those top 5 are really the stars :rolleyes:. That is why everyone on the poll voted 5 ways.

So? You're confusing longevity and popularity among wizard fans with marketability and comics history. In addition, your numbers are wrong. And you also omit John and Alan's numbers. You not only need to reinform yourself, but you have no point.

Actually Fortress Maximus was not only a focal character he was the LEADER OF THE AUTOBOTS FOR OVER HALF THE 80 COMICS as his headmaster head was SPIKE THE MAIN HUMAN CHARACTER, Nightbeat was a focal character for a 1/4 of the run, Galvatron was the main villian for the last 16 issues, and Powermaster Prime and Xaaron were AUTOBOT LEADERS. Kup was a main character EVERY EPISODE FROM THE MOVIE ONWARDS, so great comparison actually.

Being a main character in an ensemble cast isn't the same as starring, nor is there any guarantee that these chracters will star again. You have no point.

Matrix characters did not have powers, unless you consider being human a power. Neo was the only character to develop powers in the series.

Matrix characters can jump from building to building, among other things. They are superhuman. You have no point.

Right but he by far dominated all three films, and the strength of X-Men comes on screen because each character is not carbon copy the same powers and therefore already are interesting prior to any character development.

The strength of the X-Men comes from empathy with an oppressed and victimized people. Read the foreward in your X-Men guides or ask Stan Lee. Each GL is not a carbon copy of the same powers, just as each swordsman is different, so is each GL. No character is intesting prior to character development. Unless they look cool, in which case, ANY character can be interesting prior to character development. You have no point.

Not when Hal was created. And as for Kyle, well all the GLs were dead he was the last.

The Guardians and Corps play a big part in ED. Kyle less so, but all the starring GLs were alive, and played parts in his development into a hero. You have no point.

Actually we do. Coast City is intergral to why Hal becomes Parallax, when it is destroyed. Coast City has to be far more intergral to the plot since audiences will have to sympathize with Hal Jordan when it is destroyed. If Coast City is destroyed and it is just "some city" in the plot the audience will fail to "care" about it.

Read Rebirth. You have no point.

Actually Star Wars only had one Jedi to begin with: Luke, so it is an excellent example. Vader was a Jedi as well however the real battle with him came in Space against Luke. Luke was the focus and there were never a thousand other Jedi in the plot. It took them 4 films before we saw a Jedi pressence similar to the CORP.

Obi-Wan was in the first trilogy, and the recent trilogy worked fine with multiple Jedi. You have no point.

Nope, too many characters for film one. One villian, one hero or else you fall flat on your ass.

Watch (good) Sci-Fi movies. Watch Batman Begins. You have no point.

I meanwhile have several points:

1) Hal should be included in a GL movie, he has the most rabid and vocal comics fans.

2) John should be included in a GL movie, he is the most recognizable GL and plays very well off of Hal. Their partnership has decades of precendent in comics.

3) A GL movie should be a Sci-Fi movie since that is what revived the franchise origionally, what sets GL apart from Superman and Spiderman, because Sci-Fi movies are typically a bit cheaper, have less of a glut in the marketplace for them and allow you to show off the world of GL without having to force it into perceived "realism" that limits most superhero franchises. Not to mention you attract legions of sci-fi fans, making possible not just multiple movies, but multiple trilogies.

4) Sinestro should be used because he is a classic and perennial villain of GLs, especially Hal. His traitor storyline, one constantly recycled throughout GL mythos, is powerful and he makes for great storytelling.

5) The manhunters should be used because they make great cannon fodder for very cool action scenes, and because of their simple robot design, are cheap to make costumes for and CGI. And their link to the GL Corps is simple.

6) The much clamored for ED can be done as an hour long TV special introducing the world to the GL mythos on WB/CW before the movie premieres. It allows the ED story to be told, live action and big budget, without handicapping what has always been conceived of, and is based on, and works best as an epic ensemble franchise/mythos.

7) ED, as a full length feature film representing "all that is Green Lantern" handicaps the franchise, forcing it to be Hal and Earth-centric, taking the rest of the GL mythos, the very thing that makes Hal special, and marginalizing it until Hal is nothing more than a typical superhero, while Alienating the GL fans who aren't Hal-centric. If a sequel to an ED movie centers on any new characters, including Kyle, you betray fans of the first movie, who expect all-and-only Hal, staying on Earth. (Matrix 2 did this same premise/setting betrayal and fans hate it to this day). If a sequel follows the logical cenematic course laid by and ED film, then you constrict Hal to Earth, limiting him to human villains or contrived alien arrivals, shutting out the bulk of what makes the GL mythos impressive. Not to mention making a much more expensive, less marketable movie. Any way you go, if you use ED as the first film, you lose. See number 6 for a logical compromise. Also see number 1. Learn to compromise for the sake of sound logic. Please.

8) At least we all agree that a Green Lantern film needs to be made. Also consider, discussion of a Hal and John team up movie has layers to it. Who should play these guys, all these aliens? What costuming? What point is Hal and Sinestro's relationship at when it starts? How will they do the manhunters? How powerful are manhunters compared to a GL? All these questions are up for discussion and comment. If we say "Just do ED" then there is no discussion, there is no point in posting just to all chime in. Even if ED is "your GL movie" you gain more from at least exploring the idea of a partnership movie. Look how much we've learned, just here, in arguing about it. What if we actually explored it as a viable possibility?

ShadowBoxing

07-27-2006, 02:43 PM

So? You're confusing longevity and popularity among wizard fans with marketability and comics history. In addition, your numbers are wrong. And you also omit John and Alan's numbers. You not only need to reinform yourself, but you have no point.
Alan Scott has no place in a GL Movie. It would be cool, but if you hate the idea of earth bound GLs who don't fit Sci Fi trilogies then Alan Scott is the kiss of death to that. And actually I had John's numbers. He was introduced in 1971, I have the issue in question, as a angry and excitable GL. He was seldom used for quiet some time. If your referring to Hal exile, I save that for later.

Being a main character in an ensemble cast isn't the same as starring, nor is there any guarantee that these chracters will star again. You have no point.
Nightbeat is getting his own comic series. Spike is a featured part in the upcoming film, Galvatron has reappear in every new cartoon and comic since G1. Go read Transformers then open your mouth.

Matrix characters can jump from building to building, among other things. They are superhuman. You have no point.
No they aren't, they were quiet human. Neo was the only one who could move like the "agents" or faster and stronger in many regards. They did take advantage of the "system" supposedly, but then Neo was the only one to ever utilize powers.

The strength of the X-Men comes from empathy with an oppressed and victimized people. Read the foreward in your X-Men guides or ask Stan Lee. Each GL is not a carbon copy of the same powers, just as each swordsman is different, so is each GL. No character is intesting prior to character development. Unless they look cool, in which case, ANY character can be interesting prior to character development. You have no point.

I have a newsflash for you, ready. X-MEN AREN'T GREEN LANTERN, therefore comparing them on said basis there is idiocy. Green Lanterns have the same powers, each has a construct ring powered by will. Whether they use them differently (as John is more of an ends justify the use type of guy), is irrelevant.

The Guardians and Corps play a big part in ED. Kyle less so, but all the starring GLs were alive, and played parts in his development into a hero. You have no point.
So, Havok was "alive" in X-Men, in fact Marsden and the X-website confirmed this, but it makes no difference to the film, you have no point.

Read Rebirth. You have no point.
Is this the furtherest back you've read because now I am convinced. Hal was exiled in the eighties, do you know why? Because it is curcial to his character. He was exiled because he CONCENTRATED TOO MUCH ON EARTH, IGNORING THE REST OF HIS SECTOR :rolleyes:

Obi-Wan was in the first trilogy, and the recent trilogy worked fine with multiple Jedi.
Obi Wan functions in the same capacity Abin Sur does, and the second trilogy was made with a very familiar audience in mind, you have ABSOLUTELY NO POINT.

[/quote]Watch (good) Sci-Fi movies. Watch Batman Begins. You have no point.[/quote]

Good Scifi movies.

Terminator I and II: Minimal characters, strong plot development, earth focused. Moved to becoming more complex in the last 2 movies, introducing a world of Terminators by the 3rd. 3rd flopped.

Aliens: 1 Alien first movie. Strong human element. Second movies introduced large race of aliens

Predator: 1st movie, 1 alien character. Strong human earth bound element, later movies introduced large race of predators.

Transformers (unreleased) - 10 Transformers brought down from 12, strong human cast, large earth bound element. Focusing on gradually bringing the audience into the world of race of Transformers.

Star Wars - First series of movies. 1 Jedi and 1 main villian. The movies became more complex as the Universe grew. 1st movie focused on Luke more as a fighter pilot, then attempted to bring a stronger mystic element into the 2nd and 3rd.

Wow seems like a formula here. Start off simple, generally with only one of the new introduced character (in this case a Lantern), and then in the second film reveal a "race" of said creatures/characters in the second and third films.

I meanwhile have several points:

1) Hal should be included in a GL movie, he has the most rabid and vocal comics fans.

People have yet to argue against that.

2) John should be included in a GL movie, he is the most recognizable GL and plays very well off of Hal. Their partnership has decades of precendent in comics.
I actually agree that John should be included and Guy should be in the second. However like Jim Rhodes in Iron Man, John should be sans ring first film.

3) A GL movie should be a Sci-Fi movie since that is what revived the franchise origionally, what sets GL apart from Superman and Spiderman, because Sci-Fi movies are typically a bit cheaper, have less of a glut in the marketplace for them and allow you to show off the world of GL without having to force it into perceived "realism" that limits most superhero franchises. Not to mention you attract legions of sci-fi fans, making possible not just multiple movies, but multiple trilogies.

Your thinking WAY to far ahead.

Green Lantern while noteworthy for being a scifi character (in a world of scifi characters) was most noteworthy for being the first true human character ever. Before Green Lantern all issues were stand alone. Supporting casts were typically comic relief and background noise. Green Lantern was also the first relevant comic with several characters (including the later Guardians) based on current world leaders and public personas. So in fact Green Lantern is beyond grounded.

As for realism. Not pointing you out in specific. But 1, I never said realism, and 2, if I hear anyone talk about realism in regards to a comic book movie I will punch them in the mouth. Comics are not realistic. And Spider-Man and Superman certainly are not either. However Spider-Man, which is regarded as the best franchise thus far by most, used the same formula as I would use for GL. Start out simple. They had a hero and a villian, two origins and a story.

Emerald Dawn, I don't know why you keep mentioning it, because it is not MY GL story, nor have I claimed it is. In fact I am none too fond of it. It is emotionally unrewarding to say the least, and tends to glaze over problems of the individuals characters as if they are little more than "papercuts". Hal Jordan to me is a man who lost his father, who is afraid to fly, who is a danger to himself and who gets a second chance. Forget the drunk driving, forget the CORP, forget traitors.

That traitor story is a great second film, but the first film needs something more. His father dies, that has to be key, front and center. He cannot manage the relationship with his girlfriend, Carol Ferris. He has a drinking problem. ED addresses these things, but then glosses over them the second we are on Oa (and then he just goes off to Jail for DWI like it ain't no thing...of and gets his job back...puh-leez). Those things need to be explored.

Kyle said putting on the ring was painful, that it took great strength, that is something that needs to be explored.

So what do you have. Hal and his history being established, that will take you a good 15 minutes at least. Hal getting the ring and trying to figure out what it is, another 10 maybe. Hal grappling with the ring as the mess he has made his life begins to fall apart, another 15. Now you have the aliens (Manhunters, Legion, whatever...something in number though) invade Coast City. They start raising cain. At this time the military air force base where Hal works has found Abin Sur's ship and is looking it over, examining the alien tech. The alien invaders (say Manhunters) attack and take Abin Sur's ship and start to raze the city to the ground trying to flush out Sur. They eventually find the ship and abduct the facility of workers and Hal has to go save them.

That is an entire movie right there. Just like your "great Sci Fi" films it keeps a simple and straight forward plot, introducing only the important characters first and testing the waters. You have your connecting to space with both Sur and the Invaders.

4) Sinestro should be used because he is a classic and perennial villain of GLs, especially Hal. His traitor storyline, one constantly recycled throughout GL mythos, is powerful and he makes for great storytelling.
It is great, wonderful story, so is "Demon in a Bottle" and "The Phoenix Saga" and "Spider-Man vs Doc Ock" and "Punisher vs Jigsaw" and "Superman vs Zod"...save them for future films.

5) The manhunters should be used because they make great cannon fodder for very cool action scenes, and because of their simple robot design, are cheap to make costumes for and CGI. And their link to the GL Corps is simple.

Manhunters are like Sentinels in X-Men. They are too important however to be just canon fodder, make them stand alone villians. For me they work especially well in the first film because they introduce the Guardians without having to go to Oa.

6) The much clamored for ED can be done as an hour long TV special introducing the world to the GL mythos on WB/CW before the movie premieres. It allows the ED story to be told, live action and big budget, without handicapping what has always been conceived of, and is based on, and works best as an epic ensemble franchise/mythos.

There are only one of two characters who have enough money banked in them for "hour long TV specials" leading up to the film are Batman and Superman.

7) ED, as a full length feature film representing "all that is Green Lantern" handicaps the franchise, forcing it to be Hal and Earth-centric, taking the rest of the GL mythos, the very thing that makes Hal special, and marginalizing it until Hal is nothing more than a typical superhero, while Alienating the GL fans who aren't Hal-centric. If a sequel to an ED movie centers on any new characters, including Kyle, you betray fans of the first movie, who expect all-and-only Hal, staying on Earth. (Matrix 2 did this same premise/setting betrayal and fans hate it to this day). If a sequel follows the logical cenematic course laid by and ED film, then you constrict Hal to Earth, limiting him to human villains or contrived alien arrivals, shutting out the bulk of what makes the GL mythos impressive. Not to mention making a much more expensive, less marketable movie. Any way you go, if you use ED as the first film, you lose. See number 6 for a logical compromise. Also see number 1. Learn to compromise for the sake of sound logic. Please.Here is where you completely misunderstand movies. I read an X-Men script once before X1 that covered more of what X-Men is than all three films. It had Magneto, Nimrod, the death of Thunderbird, origins of Cyclops, Wolverine and Storm, Juggernaut, the Brotherhood, etc. However the script forgot the golden rule, always leave people wanting more. You don't want "All that is GL" in one film, or else you have no more film. Oa and the CORP are a great 2nd Film, in fact they carry an entire film by themselves. As done an origin and introduction story. You want people to Comprimise for the sake of LOGIC? No you want comprimise for the sake of seeing ALL YOUR favorite GL moments in one film. Rebirth, Oa, Gaurdians, CORP, Sinestro, Abin Sur, Hal and his homeworld, Kilowag, Guy, John, Manhunters, origins...in one film:confused: Are you high? Seriously. Audiences don't even know if they like ONE GL yet, you want to force thousands of them on them. Popular movies have one and only one similar thread, they are simple and easy to understand. Cult classics (Like Transformers the movie, which was made entirely for a fan base) and Oscar Winners may be hopelessly complex sometimes. But Crash doesn't expect a huge box office return...it is not made for that purpose anyways, GL would want it. Green Lantern needs to be simple, more than that it needs to be focused...then later you can take knowledge and suspension of belief for granted. But now it needs to be a straight to the point film.

8) At least we all agree that a Green Lantern film needs to be made. Also consider, discussion of a Hal and John team up movie has layers to it. Who should play these guys, all these aliens? What costuming? What point is Hal and Sinestro's relationship at when it starts? How will they do the manhunters? How powerful are manhunters compared to a GL? All these questions are up for discussion and comment. If we say "Just do ED" then there is no discussion, there is no point in posting just to all chime in. Even if ED is "your GL movie" you gain more from at least exploring the idea of a partnership movie. Look how much we've learned, just here, in arguing about it. What if we actually explored it as a viable possibility?yep:)

GL1

07-27-2006, 04:53 PM

Yay! I had a feeling if I restated my points you might address them!

Alan Scott has no place in a GL Movie. It would be cool, but if you hate the idea of earth bound GLs who don't fit Sci Fi trilogies then Alan Scott is the kiss of death to that. And actually I had John's numbers. He was introduced in 1971, I have the issue in question, as a angry and excitable GL. He was seldom used for quiet some time. If your referring to Hal exile, I save that for later.

Okay...

Nightbeat is getting his own comic series. Spike is a featured part in the upcoming film, Galvatron has reappear in every new cartoon and comic since G1. Go read Transformers then open your mouth.

Mark Bright is writing a one shot on Nightbeat, is that are you talking about? Please provide a link about this Nightbeat ongoing series. "Spike" has been changed to "Sam," last time I checked and of course, none of these characters carry books on their own. Singular issues, sure, but not a whole series dedicated to any of them. There's no comparison here.

No they aren't, they were quiet human. Neo was the only one who could move like the "agents" or faster and stronger in many regards. They did take advantage of the "system" supposedly, but then Neo was the only one to ever utilize powers.

Agents aren't human, using them as a benchmark for what is superhuman is illogical. Matrix had a bunch of characters performing obviously superhuman feats while being distinct individuals.

I have a newsflash for you, ready. X-MEN AREN'T GREEN LANTERN, therefore comparing them on said basis there is idiocy. Green Lanterns have the same powers, each has a construct ring powered by will. Whether they use them differently (as John is more of an ends justify the use type of guy), is irrelevant.

Well, not only are you wrong about John, but we agree that X-Men aren't Green Lanterns, so comparing them as a point for why multiple GLs are boring is also pointless. You refer to it as idiocy.

So, Havok was "alive" in X-Men, in fact Marsden and the X-website confirmed this, but it makes no difference to the film, you have no point.

So we both have no point. Agreed.

Is this the furtherest back you've read because now I am convinced. Hal was exiled in the eighties, do you know why? Because it is curcial to his character. He was exiled because he CONCENTRATED TOO MUCH ON EARTH, IGNORING THE REST OF HIS SECTOR :rolleyes:

I'm sure DC Editorial wasn't under direction of the fictional characters in their universe. I also don't see what any reason for such an editorial move would have on a movie today. I of course, have read farther back, how else could I like John Stewart? I do know enough to know that no one list Hal's exile as a crucial part of his character, or why they like the character.

Obi Wan functions in the same capacity Abin Sur does, and the second trilogy was made with a very familiar audience in mind, you have ABSOLUTELY NO POINT.

Obi Wan is responsbile for several chains of events in the first movie, google a synopsis and you'll see. Also, the second trilogy does not require a knowledge of the first.

Good Scifi movies.

Terminator I and II: Minimal characters, strong plot development, earth focused. Moved to becoming more complex in the last 2 movies, introducing a world of Terminators by the 3rd. 3rd flopped.

Aliens: 1 Alien first movie. Strong human element. Second movies introduced large race of aliens

Predator: 1st movie, 1 alien character. Strong human earth bound element, later movies introduced large race of predators.

Transformers (unreleased) - 10 Transformers brought down from 12, strong human cast, large earth bound element. Focusing on gradually bringing the audience into the world of race of Transformers.

Star Wars - First series of movies. 1 Jedi and 1 main villian. The movies became more complex as the Universe grew. 1st movie focused on Luke more as a fighter pilot, then attempted to bring a stronger mystic element into the 2nd and 3rd.

Wow seems like a formula here. Start off simple, generally with only one of the new introduced character (in this case a Lantern), and then in the second film reveal a "race" of said creatures/characters in the second and third films.

Do you claim this list to be exhaustive? Are any of these franchises based on an intergalactic police force? Do you consider Aliens, Predator and Terminator pure or epic Science Fiction in the same sense of Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, Starcraft, and the Last Starfighter?

Star Wars IV had 2 Jedi (IF you count Luke), and many villains, with one or two leading.

I actually agree that John should be included and Guy should be in the second. However like Jim Rhodes in Iron Man, John should be sans ring first film.

GL is not Iron Man and John Stewart's partnership with Hal is very different from Tony and Jim's. John is a GL. My reasons given were unaddressed. My point stands.

Your thinking WAY to far ahead.

Green Lantern while noteworthy for being a scifi character (in a world of scifi characters) was most noteworthy for being the first true human character ever. Before Green Lantern all issues were stand alone. Supporting casts were typically comic relief and background noise. Green Lantern was also the first relevant comic with several characters (including the later Guardians) based on current world leaders and public personas. So in fact Green Lantern is beyond grounded.

What world of Sci-Fi characters? That statmeent isn't clear. Furthermore, none of that takes aware from the importance and signifcance of the sci-fi aspect. Sci-Fi is always good when it's grounded.

As for realism. Not pointing you out in specific. But 1, I never said realism, and 2, if I hear anyone talk about realism in regards to a comic book movie I will punch them in the mouth. Comics are not realistic. And Spider-Man and Superman certainly are not either. However Spider-Man, which is regarded as the best franchise thus far by most, used the same formula as I would use for GL. Start out simple. They had a hero and a villian, two origins and a story.

Spider-Man isn't Green Lantern. I would not all the same formulas for a GL franchise, because the GL mythos are an order of magnitude larger than Spider-Man's. They cover more ground and more scale and most importantly, different themes and concepts.

Emerald Dawn, I don't know why you keep mentioning it, because it is not MY GL story, nor have I claimed it is. In fact I am none too fond of it. It is emotionally unrewarding to say the least, and tends to glaze over problems of the individuals characters as if they are little more than "papercuts". Hal Jordan to me is a man who lost his father, who is afraid to fly, who is a danger to himself and who gets a second chance. Forget the drunk driving, forget the CORP, forget traitors.

Most people seem to clamor for it. Many of my statements and points are general, and not directed at you.

That traitor story is a great second film, but the first film needs something more. His father dies, that has to be key, front and center. He cannot manage the relationship with his girlfriend, Carol Ferris. He has a drinking problem. ED addresses these things, but then glosses over them the second we are on Oa (and then he just goes off to Jail for DWI like it ain't no thing...of and gets his job back...puh-leez). Those things need to be explored.

Kyle said putting on the ring was painful, that it took great strength, that is something that needs to be explored.

So what do you have. Hal and his history being established, that will take you a good 15 minutes at least. Hal getting the ring and trying to figure out what it is, another 10 maybe. Hal grappling with the ring as the mess he has made his life begins to fall apart, another 15. Now you have the aliens (Manhunters, Legion, whatever...something in number though) invade Coast City. They start raising cain. At this time the military air force base where Hal works has found Abin Sur's ship and is looking it over, examining the alien tech. The alien invaders (say Manhunters) attack and take Abin Sur's ship and start to raze the city to the ground trying to flush out Sur. They eventually find the ship and abduct the facility of workers and Hal has to go save them.

That is an entire movie right there. Just like your "great Sci Fi" films it keeps a simple and straight forward plot, introducing only the important characters first and testing the waters. You have your connecting to space with both Sur and the Invaders.

Or Not. That's an okay story, but it "glazes over" many of the points that I brought up, ones that you claim to be responding to. Not only that, but it's so simple it can be covered in an hour. Furthermore, you don't even explain what "more" this film brings to the table. And you keep saying "has to" and "must" with no basis or reasoning. My reasons given were unaddressed. My point stands.

It is great, wonderful story, so is "Demon in a Bottle" and "The Phoenix Saga" and "Spider-Man vs Doc Ock" and "Punisher vs Jigsaw" and "Superman vs Zod"...save them for future films.

Or not. No reason was given to save this story as opposed to Krona or Parallax. Sinestro is GL's most iconic villain. Sinestro is a well developed GL villain who is powerful enough to give Hal Jordan a one on one fight. Some of my reasons were undaddressed. My point stands.

Manhunters are like Sentinels in X-Men. They are too important however to be just canon fodder, make them stand alone villians. For me they work especially well in the first film because they introduce the Guardians without having to go to Oa.

Hmmm... they tend to get blown up pretty quickly once the GL figures out what's going on. Not sure why you feel that they're so important in and of themselves. Also, being robots, Manhunters lack an emotional center necessary for good storytelling as stand alone villains. My reasons were unaddressed. My point stands.

There are only one of two characters who have enough money banked in them for "hour long TV specials" leading up to the film are Batman and Superman.

That's why movies have budgets. My reasons were unaddressed, my point stands, AND incorporates your plot for an earthbound Hal-centric story.

Here is where you completely misunderstand movies. I read an X-Men script once before X1 that covered more of what X-Men is than all three films. It had Magneto, Nimrod, the death of Thunderbird, origins of Cyclops, Wolverine and Storm, Juggernaut, the Brotherhood, etc. However the script forgot the golden rule, always leave people wanting more. You don't want "All that is GL" in one film, or else you have no more film. Oa and the CORP are a great 2nd Film, in fact they carry an entire film by themselves. As done an origin and introduction story. You want people to Comprimise for the sake of LOGIC? No you want comprimise for the sake of seeing ALL YOUR favorite GL moments in one film. Rebirth, Oa, Guardians, CORP, Sinestro, Abin Sur, Hal and his homeworld, Kilowag, Guy, John, Manhunters, origins...in one film:confused: Are you high? Seriously.

Okay, that's enough. I'll say it AGAIN. Hal. John. Sinestro. Manhunters. Sci-Fi. This bolded statement is an outright lie. Perhaps you thought that "representing" means the same thing as "portraying." I assure you, they are different words with different meanings and different implications on what would be portrayed in a GL Movie. I've italicized the things that figure prominently into my GL movie idea (still developing) for your education, and hopefully, to inspire you to ask questions. You have no point.

You may continue...

Audiences don't even know if they like ONE GL yet, you want to force thousands of them on them. Popular movies have one and only one similar thread, they are simple and easy to understand. Cult classics (Like Transformers the movie, which was made entirely for a fan base) and Oscar Winners may be hopelessly complex sometimes. But Crash doesn't expect a huge box office return...it is not made for that purpose anyways, GL would want it. Green Lantern needs to be simple, more than that it needs to be focused...then later you can take knowledge and suspension of belief for granted. But now it needs to be a straight to the point film.

Matrix. Star Wars. Star Trek. Do we want to see more of this "Universe?" Not do we want to see more of this "Person." That is the difference between Sci-Fi and traditional Action fare, and that is why it works for the GL Mythos. My reasons were unaddressed. My point stands.

yep

So... why aren't you discussing it? My point stands.

I grow weary of you quoting me and not responding to my statements. I think you may indeed outlast me.

dnno1

07-27-2006, 04:54 PM

GL1

07-27-2006, 05:22 PM

Yeah... that sounds ace dnno1,

I'm just imagining the fleet of Manhunters decending upon Oa in sky blackening (reddening) numbers and poor little Arisia looking up in the sky heart broken, Kilowogg steps in with an encouraging word "We gotta hold out for Hal and the others." Cut to Hal and John back to back and knee deep in something ugly. There's just so much to do with GLs in space, while I don't get too excited over merchandising, the idea of an intergalactic police force coming apart at the seams just blows my mind with possibilities.

I did this great RP with some new-to-GL friends of mine, they were being overrun on a planet called Mogo, and they kept calling for backup. Just as they escaped a big green wave wiped away the opposition and they finally found out who was the GL of the sector. Their faces were infinitely priceless. Though, in the interest of simplicity, I'm not sure if high-concept GLs like Mogo, Rot Lop Fan and Raker Quirrigat should be included in the first film.

Alan Scott should definitely have a cameo and each GL should have a nightmare at some point detailing the tragedy in their lives that formed their personality, that robbed them of fear, though, Kyle of course, doesn't have that problem, which is what makes his eventual victory over Parallax cool (and possible).

ShadowBoxing

07-27-2006, 06:21 PM

While I am watching you two argue I am noticing a few things. First of all, Green Lantern was a comic that only lasted 10 years before they had to include Green Arrow, which made it last for a couple of more. By 1972 it was canceled at issue #89. Yes, it was revived again four years later, but was then canceled again ten years after that and replaced by a new Green Lantern. I can only conclude that this was because the stories were not as compelling as titles such as Superman and Batman, who have been consistently selling for more than 60 years. So much for being consistent over the 40 years. I can not see how writing about a single earth based character fighting crime like a Green Hornet with the most powerful weapon in the universe without an ensemble cast is going to fill a lot of seats knowing that films like "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" became lucrative franchises doing that. Now back to the strategy that I suggested. If you want to lure Star Wars, Star Trek, and LoTR fans to your movie, you will need to write a storyline that is similar to the genere that they like and are accustomed to. The types of films that they go to in droves and have conventions about have ensemble casts with (heroic and villianous) characters that these fans can pick and choose from whom they like. A GLC type movie could fit that bill and give them characters like Hal, John, Guy, Kyle, Katama, Mogo Sinestro, Fatality, Krona, The Empire of Tears, The Quardians, and a whole host of others to choose from as their favorites. Allan Scott could be in the film (in a cameo role) as a favorite comic book character of John's (Just like the Guardsman was in JL). Just think of the revenue that could be generated from the licensing of action figures, trading cards, et. al. The storyline could be space based with the subplot centering around the Emerald Tyilight/Parallax tale and Hal Jordan's origin could be written in as a flashback. I think that this is a good idea that could justify the cost of making such a film.

Here is both your problems. In one breath you say, and have said in other threads, Green Lantern has problems carrying a book or staying stable. Which is true. Then in another breath you exclaim I want a massive space epic. Massive space epics cost a lot of money. Big casts, big villians, big action all require a studio very confident in said character to see a return. I think one reason the "zany Jack Black" comedy came about is because the studio simply was not confident at the ability of any GL to carry a film, let alone a space epic. A "mask-esque" comedy to them fit a bill they felt could make a return.

Secondly, WB is not in the business of making sci-fi cult classics out of their superheroes properties. They want money. Love on Stargate (which I think is a horrible movie:confused: ) all you want but you will never ever see a GL film like Star Trek or LoTR unless a studio is SUPREMELY confident in said property. I got news for you, they ain't.

Thirdly, you seem very married to having things, again exactly like they are in the comic. Because there is currently a CORP and Sinestro in the comic there must be one in the movie. That is backwards logic for writing. Things need to be established. While I am not a creative writer (though I do write recreationally) I am, according to my editor, a very gifted essay writer. In any writing you need to start with a premise, and most importantly you need to establish everything you set out to do in about the first paragraph. Everything. So as a writer you want me to establish for a first film, Oa, the Gaurdians (who they are and what they do), the Manhunters, Several Green Lanterns, what a Green Lantern is and how his powers work, a villian in Sinestro and who the main GL is.

You cannot just start a story off. Establishing characters, plots, subtext, themes and motifs are very hard.

For example

GL ORIGIN: Father/son relationship, alcoholism/dealing with father's death, relationships with Carol and brother (Jim or Jack or both). Relationship to surroundings. Hal developing and overcoming.

GL CORP: (Film 2) can deal with racism (alien racism) within CORP, see development of Hal as a leader. Establish Oa, Guardians, perhaps have themes dealing with power and use of, unification.

Transformers, by Bay, is actually an excellent example of what Green Lantern will have to be. Transformers, despite what you all don't seem to know about it, has a mythology that dominates Green Lantern up and down. Not only do you have the history of the race itself, but you have elements strung together from almost 20 separate and distinct continuities.

I actually sat down to write, and have written, several fan scripts and plots for Transformers seasons and movies. But when I tried to write an entirely new Transformers movie for a general audience I was baffled.

Transformers has a cast that makes LOTR look like a quiet tea party, it is a massive all out war. You have over 300 characters from just series one, and everyone has a well developed personality from somewhere (either cartoon or comic or Japan). However even though I find myself wanting Technobots, Horrorcons, Predacons, Targetmasters, Headmasters, Powermasters and Pretenders and all these other characters and mythologies (like Unicron and the Matrix) in one film. It cannot be done.

Bay did it right, for once. He took the very basic 5 characters from each side and set up a simple, easy to follow plot. If it bites with the audience there will be more. TFTM, the original, is panned by critics and non fans because they crammed a ton of mythology and characters into the movie. Just like X-Men, the new TFTM boiled it down to a basic story.

You might think a Hal centric origin story I describes last one hour. But X-Men and Spider-Man had simple plots as well. Neither or which were an hour. However now Spider-Man 3 promises villians like Venom, Sandman, Mysterio and HobGoblin (maybe? GG2) all in one jammed packed film...a black costume and Gwen thrown in for good measure. And X3, while IMO bad, threw together a complex series homaging plot as well.

Fans with large mythologies forget that audiences don't give a damn. Green Lantern is Showcase all over again. Just as X-Men is basically an X-Men #1 type story, so is GL.

WB just won't buy your space epic, not until general audiences are convinced this one Green Lantern is worth enough of their time to pay for one.

dnno1

07-28-2006, 11:27 AM

Here is both your problems. In one breath you say, and have said in other threads, Green Lantern has problems carrying a book or staying stable. Which is true. Then in another breath you exclaim I want a massive space epic. Massive space epics cost a lot of money. Big casts, big villians, big action all require a studio very confident in said character to see a return. I think one reason the "zany Jack Black" comedy came about is because the studio simply was not confident at the ability of any GL to carry a film, let alone a space epic. A "mask-esque" comedy to them fit a bill they felt could make a return...
The reason why we are saying to go with a space epic is because the former premise, going with a solo character like Hal Jordan and basing it on the comics is a weak plot line. It was weak in the comics (and you agree with this) so we couldn't expect it to be any different in a major motion picture. Like I said before, a space epic would lure a larger demographic than the combination of comic book fans and the cartoon audience. I don't think you can associate a space based film with a big budget. "Serenity" was made on a budget of $38 million. "X-Men" was made for $75 million. "Starship Troopers" (which was part black comedy) was made for $95 million. Each of these films had ensemble casts (although "X-Men" was not a space based film) and made money. So what are you talking about? If they don't screw around with different writers and different scripts over several years, I don't see any reason why a film like this couldn't be made for less than $80 million ($125 million tops).

...Secondly, WB is not in the business of making sci-fi cult classics out of their superheroes properties. They want money. Love on Stargate (which I think is a horrible movie:confused: ) all you want but you will never ever see a GL film like Star Trek or LoTR unless a studio is SUPREMELY confident in said property. I got news for you, they ain't...
The Warner Brothers is partly in the business of making movies. They have been for almost a hundred years now. What they don't want to do is take a lot of financial risk making a film. That is why the wholly finance the blue chippers (the "Harry Potter" franchise for example), co-finance others (like "Superman Returns"), or just allow some other party to finance the film and just retain the rights to distribute the pic. If some producer pitched a good story with a good rational to get your money back on the investment, I think that the WB would find a way to finance the project, and I think the strategy proposed is good enough to warrant such financing. Stargate by the way is an MGM/UA property. If you wanted to use a Warner Brothers Sci-Fi cult classic, you should have used the Matrix franchise or something like that.

...Thirdly, you seem very married to having things, again exactly like they are in the comic. Because there is currently a CORP and Sinestro in the comic there must be one in the movie. That is backwards logic for writing. Things need to be established. While I am not a creative writer (though I do write recreationally) I am, according to my editor, a very gifted essay writer. In any writing you need to start with a premise, and most importantly you need to establish everything you set out to do in about the first paragraph. Everything. So as a writer you want me to establish for a first film, Oa, the Gaurdians (who they are and what they do), the Manhunters, Several Green Lanterns, what a Green Lantern is and how his powers work, a villian in Sinestro and who the main GL is...

Well i for one did not necessarily say that it was manditory. All I was trying to convey was that there was enough source material to model a Green Lantern story that could appeal to both Star Wars and Star trek Fans. The use of the GLC and villians like Sinestro and the Qwardians would parallel with the Jedi, the federation, the Sith, and the Klingongs. As for the premise, that can be left up to the writer of the screenplay to figure out.

...Fans with large mythologies forget that audiences don't give a damn. Green Lantern is Showcase all over again. Just as X-Men is basically an X-Men #1 type story, so is GL.
It doesn't have to be. Like I said before the film could be tailored to the audience you are trying to market to. It seems that films with ensemble casts, lots of space based action and thrilling adventure appeal to Trekies and Wookies and there is enough to draw from the source material to make a Green Lanter film that would have that appeal.

WB just won't buy your space epic, not until general audiences are convinced this one Green Lantern is worth enough of their time to pay for one.
Once again, it's all in how the story is pitched to the studio.

GL1

07-28-2006, 12:28 PM

I'm editing my post because dnno1 said it all:

samples of what I had said:
-Green Lantern is not Showcase all over again, the audience, character, and medium are vastly different now.
-Transformers will have multiple characters and villains and be simple, why shouldn't GL?
-Also, Hal's origin story can be done in a 60-second nightmare-flashback montage. Spider-Man's cannot.
-See (all of) point 7 and replace "ED" with "Hal-Only Earth-Only movie."
-WB is sitting on a huge franchise, and I hope they don't waste it failing to copy Spider-Man or X-Men.

Regardless of all, I would establish story, characters, etc like so:

"Green Lantern:" Hal Jordan recruits John and shows him the world of Green Lantern. While trying to get aclimated, the Corps is thrown into upheaval by a rogue GL, Sinestro and the GL's predecessors, the Manhunters. Teacher/Student relationship grows to partnership, subplots of a romantic relationship, a competitive relationship turns adversarial, spread over a sampling of the universe's key planets. Cameo Kilowogg. Explore themes of fear vs courage, control vs self control and friendship forged in hardship.

I'd much rather have a second film deal with corrupting power, loss and coping than 'racism within the Corps,' a counter-intuitive concept. Establishing Oa, the Guardians and Hal as a leader would be awesome though.

But, ShadowBoxing, while extreme, does bring up a good question... are Oa and the Guardians "too big" for a first movie? Would it be better to feature just a few Green Lanterns and a few different planets so that arriving on Oa has some scale to it in the finale of the movie or in the sequel? Perhaps, dispalying the GL HQ on Oa might be cool, but leaving the Guardians to a mysterious cameo seems to have cinematic and storytelling advantages... hmm...

And while I love Star Wars, I hope that the Corps delineates from the Jedi a bit, not only in the fact that they are a police force as opposed to 100% pacifist peacekeepers, but that they do more than just battle the dark side of their powers. While Sinestro gets his due, I'd rather center on Black Hand, Krona and Parallax over the Qwardians, Controllers and Zamarons (and their creations).

ShadowBoxing

07-28-2006, 01:16 PM

Did you ever sit down to write a Transformers film and just have Optimus Prime? That's the same as having a GL film with just Hal Jordan. Oh, and I know more about Transformers than you say I do.
No, actually it is not, since no Transformers story features only Prime, while most the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s GL stories feature Hal Jordan as the only or focal character. Optimus Prime is a leader of a battlion, not a lone policeman of a sector of the Universe.

"Green Lantern:" Hal Jordan recruits John and shows him the world of Green Lantern. While trying to get aclimated, the Corps is thrown into upheaval by a rogue GL, Sinestro and the GL's predecessors, the Manhunters. Teacher/Student relationship grows to partnership, love relationship, competitive relationship turns adversarial, sampling of the universe's key planets. Cameo Kilowogg. Explore themes of fear vs courage, control vs self control and friendship forged in hardship.

I am going to play general audience member #1

Why do we need two humans if Green Lanterns patrol their respective sectors. If it is a sampling, then Hal apparently already is the earth sample.

Who are the Manhunters, is this explained, why does Sinestro hate the league.

Shouldn't Sinestro have different powers from GL, not just be a yellow version of him, that is redundant and boring to me.

Why is he recruiting him when the CORP is in upheaval? It seems like that should be dealt with first.

Why does he recruit this guy, John?

Is there a love interest, why is John compelled to do anything, why doesn't he leave, why does he accept in the first place?

This story is extremely weak. The origin of Hal gives us an accidental origin to GL, and as you will see I do an excellent job of connecting both reason and motivation to the character. Your premise is extremely detached, and I am already detrached from it. You, like most comic fans, think it is all about the villian. You have given me an interesting villian premise, however I already find myself rooting for the villian since his pressence grabs my attention more than Hal and John's. If I were John, frankly this deal seems like it is not worth it, I would quit by the end of the film.

My story which would involve Hal chanelling his second chance to face his fear and live up to the legacy of his father gives us a hero to root for, not just a complex villian plot to watch.

Well i for one did not necessarily say that it was manditory. All I was trying to convey was that there was enough source material to model a Green Lantern story that could appeal to both Star Wars and Star trek Fans. The use of the GLC and villians like Sinestro and the Qwardians would parallel with the Jedi, the federation, the Sith, and the Klingongs. As for the premise, that can be left up to the writer of the screenplay to figure out.

Hence your problem. Transformers the Movie very much parrallels Star Wars Episodes I-III in the fact that Transformers the movie almost makes no reference to what the Transformers "were" or "how they came to be". To fans the movie was excellent, a cult classic. But unlike Star Trek and Star Wars and LOTR (and HGttG), Transformers is unknown. To general audiences Transformers The Movie is seen as confusing, aloof, all action/no substance, and several reviewers noted "they did not care about the characters". This would evitably be your GL film. Star Trek, Star Wars, even Batman and Spider-Man bank on strong existing fanbases and have a public who has a general knowledge of what they are about. As far as the public is concerned you could make Green Lantern in a fat guy who created a giant green pair of boxer shorts to fight crime (actual pitched idea).

Your character has a strong mythology, but such mythologies took 40 years to develop. As you point out there are several factions and races and GL. Each race needs to be developed and created, and done in the first act. It's easy to write Episode I when the abscence of your series has only served to strengthen it's pressence in the public mind.

Secondly, again you seem very married to the doing it exactly like the comic. This is always trouble with fan scripts. While your ideas sound good to a comic fan, they are very convienent. Almost, if not exactly, what occurs in the comic. Nolan, for example, was not so stupid as to assume the general audience would just believe that bat villians simply went crazy and dawned masks. He carefully established reasons (the fear gas on Arkham Inmates and escalation) for why villians like Scarecrow become more Batman-esque.

Raimi understood no one would buy the convienent lab explosions and webshooters comic fans seemed so married to. X-Men director Bryan Singer understood that the "yellow spandex" and large team was too much for his movies. Instead utilizing the creative solution of including mutants as cameo students, as opposed to X-Men.

As for the strength of Emerald Dawn and Showcase. Both you and GL1 don't seem to understand, so I will say it for you again....I AM NOT FOLLOWING ED. There got it, good:) . I would be making A LOT of changes, including more focus on his relationship with his father, more villians, more mystery regarding the ring, more of the pain associated with it, and even a huge twist at the end which would bring in the Guardians of Oa. However the general creation of the hero in the story is very strong, especially the scene with Abin Sur, which is crucial to the GL mythology.

GL1

07-28-2006, 02:44 PM

No, actually it is not, since no Transformers story features only Prime, while most the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s GL stories feature Hal Jordan as the only or focal character. Optimus Prime is a leader of a battlion, not a lone policeman of a sector of the Universe.

Neither is Hal. The rest of this part has been dealt with multiple times. Points 1-8 still stand.

I am going to play general audience member #1

No, you're not. You're actually going to make up reasons why an audience wouldn't like the movie and try to justify them based on incorrect and previously addressed/disproven assumptions. Watch.

Why do we need two humans if Green Lanterns patrol their respective sectors. If it is a sampling, then Hal apparently already is the earth sample.

Funny, they don't ask real policemen this question, why they have partners. The audeince has no reason to prefer one GL to two. This question would never be asked.

Who are the Manhunters, is this explained, why does Sinestro hate the league.

Why ever would you assume these things aren't explained? I didn't assume any such thing with your idea. And I'm sure you meant the Corps. The manhunters are the old robots from before the GL Corps, peacekeeping relics gone bad. Sinestro is a control freak, and he is simply going overboard in trying to secure order in the universe. He doesn't hate the Guardians, he just feels he can do their job better, because he's the "best GL" going by the numbers.

Shouldn't Sinestro have different powers from GL, not just be a yellow version of him, that is redundant and boring to me.

Star Wars. Matrix. Star Trek. Heck, Harry Potter, sword fighting movies, guns and martial arts movies. No one asks this question for those movies. Do you know why?

Why is he recruiting him when the CORP is in upheaval? It seems like that should be dealt with first.

The Corps wouldn't be in upheval yet. This question would never be asked. But for the sake of scale, it would be prudent for the story to revolve around a 'plot against the Corps' rather than full scale anarchy.

Why does he recruit this guy, John?

Hmm... valid question. When John asks "why me," Hal explains what a GL is supposed to be (creative, fearless, moral, strong mind), "and they figure you're close enough." John discovers why, (and shows the audience) when he sees the big picture of what's going on and puts his plan to fix it into action before anyone else. The comics storyline with him being prophesied and all that stuff is WAY too much, but we can definitely build the aura of elite minds and a young character that doesn't beleive how strong he is. This idea can be developed, but Points 1-8 still stand.

Is there a love interest, why is John compelled to do anything, why doesn't he leave, why does he accept in the first place?

Another good question. I like this line of quetioning. Katma Tui, would be the love interest for John, but not a major part of the movie. Hal is a ladies man, and would be portrayed as such, with a line reference from John asking about "girls back home" to which Hal either falls silent or changes the discussion. John comes along because he has nothing better to do (as in the comics) and because it sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime, as unbeleivable as it is. When he wants to quit there's not only the girl, but he feels shouldered with responsibility, and thus, compelled to stay. A scene where he ponders leaving does sound interesting though. These ideas can be developed, but Points 1-8 still stand.

My story which would involve Hal chanelling his second chance to face his fear and live up to the legacy of his father gives us a hero to root for, not just a complex villian plot to watch.

-See (all of) point 7 and replace "ED" with "Hal-Only Earth-Only movie."

My story which would involve Hal doing the many things he does best and John learning to channel his anger and doubt from his situation into a drive for his creativity, all in a fresh and amazing world/universe, not trying to make Hal take after Spider-Man, Batman, Superman or Wolverine. AND Points 1-8 still stand.

As for the strength of Emerald Dawn and Showcase. Both you and GL1 don't seem to understand, so I will say it for you again....I AM NOT FOLLOWING ED. There got it, good:).

We know that, and we've addressed that, perhaps multiple times. What about the weakness of Emerald Dawn that your story still holds? Address that. In caps if you like.
-See (all of) point 7 and replace "ED" with "Hal-Only Earth-Only movie."

Points 1-8 still stand.

In the light of that, another good question that could have been brought up by ShadowBoxing... how DO the GLs use their rings differently?

Hal should keep the classics. Boxing gloves. Wrenches. Standard items on a bigger scale with a slight bit of comical flair. And bubbles. Everyone loves bubbles. Hal is adept at using the ring's scanning technology as well.

John starts out with beams and walls, but soon learns he can create intricate devices and in the end graduates to building all sorts of complicated machines out of thin air.

Sinestro excels in holograms, deception and mind games, though he produces exotic blades and animals when he is in a direct conflict.

Katma knows how to use the ring for mental powers, and does so in her few appearances.

Kilowogg, a trainer, does a bit of everything, though typically he uses GL-fueled uber-strength, he'll open his hand and give you a high-tech green device just as easily.

not sure any more GLs should be featured in the first movie, at least not fighting as individuals. The partnership idea audiences are familiar with from real life cops, and the trainee idea from Star Wars (or Training Day, take your pick). It allows them to feature two human GLs, but more would be... pushing it.

dnno1

07-28-2006, 04:25 PM

No, actually it is not, since no Transformers story features only Prime, while most the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s GL stories feature Hal Jordan as the only or focal character. Optimus Prime is a leader of a battlion, not a lone policeman of a sector of the Universe.

I am going to play general audience member #1

Why do we need two humans if Green Lanterns patrol their respective sectors. If it is a sampling, then Hal apparently already is the earth sample.

Who are the Manhunters, is this explained, why does Sinestro hate the league.

Shouldn't Sinestro have different powers from GL, not just be a yellow version of him, that is redundant and boring to me.

Why is he recruiting him when the CORP is in upheaval? It seems like that should be dealt with first.

Why does he recruit this guy, John?

Is there a love interest, why is John compelled to do anything, why doesn't he leave, why does he accept in the first place?

This story is extremely weak. The origin of Hal gives us an accidental origin to GL, and as you will see I do an excellent job of connecting both reason and motivation to the character. Your premise is extremely detached, and I am already detrached from it. You, like most comic fans, think it is all about the villian. You have given me an interesting villian premise, however I already find myself rooting for the villian since his pressence grabs my attention more than Hal and John's. If I were John, frankly this deal seems like it is not worth it, I would quit by the end of the film.

My story which would involve Hal chanelling his second chance to face his fear and live up to the legacy of his father gives us a hero to root for, not just a complex villian plot to watch.

Hence your problem. Transformers the Movie very much parrallels Star Wars Episodes I-III in the fact that Transformers the movie almost makes no reference to what the Transformers "were" or "how they came to be". To fans the movie was excellent, a cult classic. But unlike Star Trek and Star Wars and LOTR (and HGttG), Transformers is unknown. To general audiences Transformers The Movie is seen as confusing, aloof, all action/no substance, and several reviewers noted "they did not care about the characters". This would evitably be your GL film. Star Trek, Star Wars, even Batman and Spider-Man bank on strong existing fanbases and have a public who has a general knowledge of what they are about. As far as the public is concerned you could make Green Lantern in a fat guy who created a giant green pair of boxer shorts to fight crime (actual pitched idea).

Your character has a strong mythology, but such mythologies took 40 years to develop. As you point out there are several factions and races and GL. Each race needs to be developed and created, and done in the first act. It's easy to write Episode I when the abscence of your series has only served to strengthen it's pressence in the public mind.

Secondly, again you seem very married to the doing it exactly like the comic. This is always trouble with fan scripts. While your ideas sound good to a comic fan, they are very convienent. Almost, if not exactly, what occurs in the comic. Nolan, for example, was not so stupid as to assume the general audience would just believe that bat villians simply went crazy and dawned masks. He carefully established reasons (the fear gas on Arkham Inmates and escalation) for why villians like Scarecrow become more Batman-esque.

Raimi understood no one would buy the convienent lab explosions and webshooters comic fans seemed so married to. X-Men director Bryan Singer understood that the "yellow spandex" and large team was too much for his movies. Instead utilizing the creative solution of including mutants as cameo students, as opposed to X-Men.

As for the strength of Emerald Dawn and Showcase. Both you and GL1 don't seem to understand, so I will say it for you again....I AM NOT FOLLOWING ED. There got it, good:) . I would be making A LOT of changes, including more focus on his relationship with his father, more villians, more mystery regarding the ring, more of the pain associated with it, and even a huge twist at the end which would bring in the Guardians of Oa. However the general creation of the hero in the story is very strong, especially the scene with Abin Sur, which is crucial to the GL mythology.
You sound as if you are writing the script for the movie and that you have actally read the script to "Transformers".

Look, it seems like the trend nowadays is to stick to the sorce material. That is supposedly the way to make a good comicbook film (and probably why it would seem that we are married to that phylosophy). "Spiderman" did stick to the source material because the main character was bitten by a spider (although genetically enhanced instead of radio active) and in "X-Men" they did use characters from the comic book and there was a school that was run by professor Xavier so they drew information from the source material as well. What I have been trying to illustrate is that you can do the same thing with the Green Lantern mythos and yet still write an epic story with lots of action, romance, and adventure that could attract a large enough demographic to make it a block buster pic. I am not necessarily following ED either. I would only refernce ED as an underlying plot marking the birth, death, and redemption of a hero (Emerald Dawn, Emerald Twilight, and Rebirth) that would compliment the Green Lantern trillogy. I wouldn't go as far as making the story as personal as you would like it (focusing on the relationship between Hal and his father) since it is not necessary to make the film a hit, but once again, that is the writer's choice. I also wouldn't call placing a focus on the mystery regarding the ring a change since you would be introducing a storyline that would be informative and could potentially explain a lot of science that is not covered in the source material (it is more like a refinement to the story). Once again (but not for the last time) my illustration is just to show that a space based epic about the Green Lantern mythos could be done and could be lucrative if you write the script to target the right market. I feel that the fact that you are attempting to court both Trekies and Wookies as well as fans of the fantasy genere to watch the film -- given the size of that demographic -- would be worth the risk of an investor (be it the studio alone or in a partnership) putting up the money to finance such a project.

GL1

07-28-2006, 05:27 PM

Man, I sure wish this was a thread about developing ideas. I mean, man...

This is the toughest three pages I've ever seen!

That said, what are the popular planets of GL myth? Other than, y'know Mogo... and Xanshi... and Earth. Perhaps locales and scenes on Korugar, Bolovax Vik, Dhor (Kanjar Ro's crime-ridden planet), H'lven and maybe even a flyby of Rann, Czarnia or Tamaran. What a stunning way to introduce DC's vast cosmos!

dnno1

07-28-2006, 05:54 PM

Maltus (homeworld of the Maltusians).
Qward (homeworld of the Qwardians)
Yquem (site for a gathering of Green Lanterns to learn from each other -- kind of like a round table)
Ysmault (throneworld of the Empire of Tears)

Of course you forgot to mention Oa.

dnno1

07-28-2006, 06:22 PM

http://glcorps.org/vulcan.gif
Vulcan Green Lantern

Also the planet Vulcan was in a Green Lantern story. In GL Vol 2 #90 and #97 there was an appearance of a Vulcan GL (although his name is not mentioned). He apparently had some input on the improvements made on the power rings that were made some time ago.

Dr. Fate

08-07-2006, 08:47 PM

Hellstormer

08-08-2006, 12:47 PM

Holy crap you people are typing alot in this thread, I knopw some people who are gonna develope carple tunnel (I spelled that so wrong)

Dr. Fate

08-08-2006, 01:35 PM

Holy crap you people are typing alot in this thread, I knopw some people who are gonna develope carple tunnel (I spelled that so wrong)
Tis a popular topic.

So who would you cast as Carol Ferris/Star Sapphire?

SKSpawn

08-08-2006, 05:37 PM

With only a limited knowledge of the exact scope of Green Lantern's exact mythos, here's what I'd like to see in a GL movie:

* Hal Jordan is Green Lantern. Yes, Alan Scott was the first but Hal is the most recognisable and popular GL.

* Hal recieves his ring from Abin Sur, as in the comics, although I'd have Abin's crash and death be the work of Sinestro.

* Sinestro should be the anti-GL, he should come to Earth to conquer and rule, or whatever, and wreak some good havoc. He should have underlings or some type or matserplan, though I don't know exactly what.

* Hal and Carole should either be together or at least close to being together in this film, he should be an Air Force pilot and there should be some drama about that.

* Hal could either know John Stewart and/or Guy Gardener and they could be there as side characters, or we should at least see them in come capacity as a nod to the fans.

* Oa and the Guardians should be mentioned but not seen, necessarily, or diviluged into that much.

I see it as being a kind of like Spider-Man only with more mature characters and a greater sense of scope to the world. I think Sinestro should be like Magneto in the X-Men films and live to fight another day. The sequel could open up to Oa, other Lantern's, other GL enemies and such. It would be pretty kewl to see Jordan, Guy, Kyle and John all as GL's but it's unlikely really and I would personally stick with Hal as the main character for at least two films.

I like the idea of GL being Sci-Fi but the first should really focus on Earth.

griffolyon12

08-08-2006, 07:35 PM

I would very much like to do an origin story for Kyle.Start off the film showing Kyle's life in New York(skipping LA),his relationship with serious girlfriend Alexandria,and show that he is a very talented artist but doesn't do much with his talent.Then after a fight between him and Alex about him not wanting to commit and go to the next level,the last power ring falls in his hands and through the ring he learns of Oa and the former Green Lantern Corps.He at first looks at the ring as a way to make him get what he wants whenever he wants not wanting to accept the mantle of Green Lantern.He feels better about himself and finally proposes to Alex.Meanwhile Alex helps Kyle hone his powers and tries to encourage him to use it for the good of mankind in which Kyle doesn't want and angered leaves.Meanwhile we learn that Major Force has come looking for the last power ring and traces it back to Kyle.Major Force shows up at Kyle's apartment to only find Alex and he kills her,and Kyle walks in and finds her dead in front of Major Force.This sets Kyle off on Major Force using his ring to fight him,through his anger he nearly kills him but cannot follow through with it and turns him over to the police.Alex's death set Kyle into motion and he believes that her death was his fault and he takes the mantle of the Green Lantern and begins fighting crime.

Alex's death also got Kyle more serious with his job with him now as a very steady comic strip artist for a New York newspaper.Even with Kyle now fighting crime trying to pay for past sins he still mourns Alex and through his mourning his mind creates Oblivion who takes over Kyle and he begins turning evil.But Kyle is able to seperate himself from Oblivion,but can't bring himself to face his inner fears.While Oblivion begins engulfing Earth in darkness and fear.Eventually he gets the courage to fight Oblivion and is able to draw him away from earth and into space continuing the feud in space.To shorten the fight he eventually knocks Oblivion into the sun thinking he finished him and Kyle returns to Earth victorious and established as Earth's saviour.

Now the story has tons of drama,but enough action and fun to keep it acceptable to general audiences.The goal is to deliver something that will suceed in the box office with the general audience,but have enough substance to satisfy critics and fans.As far as cast I would want someone in their mid to late 20s for Kyle and Alexandria,preferrably someone known for Kyle but I could spring for an unknown.And for Major Force I would want a bodybuilder type actor,possibly someone like the Rock who is a decent actor but can physically pull off the role.As far as budget I could see it anywhere from $150-205 million.

But this is my ideal Green Lantern movie.I have never actually read Kyle's origin(I've tried to find it but it's hard to find),but I've learned most major points from reading the comics for about the past three years,and reading his profile on the DC comics website.I hope I am truthful to the source,but the story is in my opinion a good first movie which the main goal for the first one is to get the general audience into the character and learn all about the Green Lantern.

batlovescatDC

08-21-2006, 08:55 PM

Hal Jordan... the greatest Green Lantern ever should be the protagonist.. I think it should feel and look like a mix between Superman and the greatest sci-fi movies ever made. It seems that Sinestro would be a good live action villain. I have no idea who should play him. The other villain (actually villainess) that I know of Hal's is Carol Ferris a.k.a. Star Sapphire. I saw her in the her first apperance on Justice League and have loved her ever since. She should be atleast ONE of the major antagonists of the film. I would say that Shannyn Sossamon would be great in the role. As far as who should play Green Lantern... I have three recommendations: Mark Wahlberg, Ian Somerhalder, or Chris Klein. DIRECTOR AND WRITER: J.J. ABRAMS

batlovescatDC

08-21-2006, 08:58 PM

Actually I have decided that John Malkovich would be great to play Sinestro. Just thought of that.

ron bond 007

08-30-2006, 09:04 PM

I want nothing more than A Green Lantern movie or a trilogy or even mutiple GL movies. I think it always has similarities to Star Wars and Superman. The GL corps remind me of the Jedi Knights. There could be lots of space action,space battles a la Star Wars,Star Trek and heroic resuces and adventures a la Superman,Batman and Indiana Jones.

I want nothing more than to see my favorite GL Hal Jordan kicking ass the evil Sinestro. I think Nathan Fillon from Firefly/Serenity would make a good Hal Jordan,Sean Connery would be one of the Gaurdians of the Universe,John Travolta or Pierce Brosnan could be Senestro,Anthony Hopkins could play Abin Sur And Neve Campbell or Reese Witherspoon would make a beautiful Carol Ferris. Bruce Willis could play Kilowog the alien GL and in future installments Nick Stahl could play Kyle Rayner,Will Smith could play Jon Stweart and Brad Pitt or Matt Damon could play Guy Gardner.

I always thought Hal Jordan was sauve and debonair like James Bond.

By the way according to Wikipedia a GL movie is going to come out in 2009.

:gl: :batty: :super:

blake

09-05-2006, 09:44 PM

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/4625/greenlanterndg8.jpg

dnno1

09-15-2006, 01:15 PM

I think this poster (http://www.comicbloc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=99631&postcount=1) over at the Comic Block is on the right track.

dnno1

09-15-2006, 02:39 PM

...By the way according to Wikipedia a GL movie is going to come out in 2009...I don't see where it says that and I doubt that it was ever stated there.

ron bond 007

09-15-2006, 09:55 PM

Check out the films that are coming out in 2009 at Wikipedia. It says so that a GL film will be released then.

Hellstormer

09-15-2006, 10:29 PM

Check out the films that are coming out in 2009 at Wikipedia. It says so that a GL film will be released then.
That's as believeable as a piece of ****.:rolleyes:

Top_Hatter

09-26-2006, 11:23 PM

A young Hal Jordan witnesses his single father drunkenly fall off the balcony in the apartment where they live, the man had been driven into deep depression by his wife leaving him; something that also cost him his job as a pilot in the air force. He then catch glimpses of Hal's life, he is a rebellious teenager that has taken to drinking and when he drunkenly roles a geep carrying his mates he's horrified to find out that his girlfriend at the time has died. Hal then decides to sober up and sets himself straight; following his father's footsteps of being an air force pilot.

Flash forward to an adult Hal Jordan (As played by Michael Vartan) skillfully piloting a fighter jet, he has no aversion to flying and is remarked upon by those he flies with as an ace, the best pilot they've seen. Suddenly he loses control and crashes, dragging himself out and into unfamiliar territory. Upon searching around he finds what can only be described as an alien, the humanoid creature reveals himself to be Abin Sur and he is of the interplanetary police squad known as the Green Lantern Corps. He states he can sense a hero lurking within Hal and that he has overcome fear and started to pave his own destiny, then with his last breaths, he bequathes the Power Ring to Hal and tells him to take his place. At first Hal doesn't know what to think because A) He's skeptical of the whole thing and B) he wasn't really told what a Green Lantern is or what the ring is used for. He slides on the ring and hops back in the plane, attempting to contact he's team mates for help. The ring starts to glow and Hal watches in wonder as the gutted vessel hovers into the air covered in green light and the other pilots watch as a ghost ship like vessel flies faster than they can back to base.

Meanwhile, in another galaxy, the Guardians sense the death of one of their own and his mantle has been taken by another. Not sure what to expect they send the elite Green Lantern known as Sinestro (Alexis Denisof) to investigate. Sinestro reaches Earth and discovers Hal has mainly been showing off and using it to go on dates with girls. He is confronted by Sinestro who masterfully wields the power of the ring and easily beats Hal in a fight as Hal has barely tapped it's potential. Sinestro gives him a little bit of information and sends him to the planet of Oa while he stays on Earth to act as it's Green Lantern.

On Oa he walks in on a GL called John Stewart (Wesley Snipes) confronting the Guardians and requesting he be Earth's guardian as he is a native of the planet. They decline by saying that it is not his place and he leaves an unhappy man. From there we show Hal Jordan's training, he is instructed on how to wield the ring by an alien drill sergeant named Kilowog, tought what it is to be a Green Lantern by the retired Earthling Alan Scott, as well as the notion of the battery and so forth by various other teachers. He also forms a budding friendship with John Stewart as each finds it comforting to be around another Earthling while on Oa. Hal eventually graduates and is sent back to Earth only to find it dominated by Sinestro who has severed all ties with the Guardians and declared himself a GL though here it means "Global Lord".

Hal confronts him and Sinestro explains that the planet was so rife with crime dominance was the only eradicator for the vast evil that plagued him. He has also resurrected the robotic Manhunter race to assist him with policing Earth, Jordan is taken prisoner and stripped of his ring. It is revealed that Sinestro has been a rogue Green Lantern since nearly his induction having ties with interplanetary terrorists and dreaming of galactic domination. He also wields a yellow power ring, a forbidden weapon that negates the effects of the green power rings. As a prisoner Hal frequently has dreams of the bad things that happened to him and he realises maybe he hadn't fully overcome his fears and that's why he couldn't stand up to Sinestro.

The news of Jordan's capture is quickly brought to the Guardians on Oa and they then grant John Stewart his wish saying they had hoped the new GL could overpower Sinestro before they sent in an elite fighter such as Stewart. They also inform him that the Manhunters have been revived and are under Sinestro's command. With the knowledge of what he must do he sets off to free his home planet of Earth.

The finale would depict Hal being broke free from his prison by John and they would team up to fight Sinestro and the army of Manhunters. After an admirable battle John would be knocked out and it would be solely up to Jordan to take down Sinestro in a one on one fight. Mid battle it seems as though Jordan will be killed until he overcomes all his fears and is the first Green Lantern ever to overcome the yellow fear effect. Hal kills Sinestro as a newly awoken John Stewart looks on, John later reaffirms it was the right thing to do because imprisonment would only allow him to escape and resume his galactic terrorist activities. Hal, as the greatest Green Lantern currently active, is charged with Earth's protection while John Stewart willingly sets out to eliminate the remaining Manhunters and apprehend whoever gave Sinestro the yellow ring.

An after the credits sequence would depict Sinestro alive and well, revealing his death was an illusion to trick the galaxy into thinking he was dead. The final shot shows him talking to a yellow spirit who he calls Parallax, the creature responsible for the yellow fear.

I envision a trilogy where the first fight is Sinestro assisted by the Manhunters, the second would depict Sinestro secretly trying to drive Hal insane while John Stewart investigates Parallax; half way through John would discover Sinestro alive and well but he does so too late as the ex-GL has succeeded in freeing Parallax into the body of Hal Jordan. It would take the combined efforts of John, Killowog, Guy, Kyle, and various other Green Lanterns to bring down this near indestructable force, unfortunately they have to kill Hal in order to beat the spirit. The third would show Hal's resurrection and team him back up with his best friend John Stewart in order to take down the vicious alien hybrid Legion before he destroys Earth, Oa, and the Green Lantern Battery.