Green Arrow the Movie, anyone?

[TheAviator]

SuperMax was an awful idea. Make a real GA movie with Bradley Cooper or Cole Hauser and ditch SuperMax.

 

[Godzilla2014]

Green Arrow: Escape From the Supermax should be made, in my opinion. The Script was very good and, with some minor tweaks, mainly the addition of Black Canary and a stronger villain - either Deathstroke or a more capable Merlyn - it'd make for a great movie.

Here's the Plot summary, by the way.

Spoiler

In Star City, Queen Industries CEO Oliver Queen attends to a beneficent party where he meets his rival, Cross Enterprises CEO Marcus Cross, who wants to take over Queen Industries.

Meanwhile, halfway across the city, a mysterious individual breaks into the headquarters of the Checkmate World Security Agency and kills its leader, Colonel Taleb Beni Khalid. The police is tipped off about it and Queen hears about it, leaving the party and adopting the identity the masked crimefighter Green Arrow to investigate.

Upon arriving, he discovers that the assassin used arrows identical to his, framing him for Khalid's murder. Green Arrow is then captured by the police and his secret identity is revealed to the public. He is found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisionment at the Supermax Penitentiary for Meta-Human Criminals created by Checkmate, where he is antagonized and tortured by the warden, Amanda Waller.

Queen befriends another inmate, Hartley Rathaway, also know as "Pied Piper", who explains him the rules of the Supermax: Each prisioner has a microchip - the Parallax Device - attached to their arm, which prevents them from using their powers; and each night the location of the cells changes in order to prevent break-outs. They decide to escape together.

Meanwhile, Cross and Queen's best friend, Will Hackett, who betrayed him in order to steal his fortune, discover that Queen needs to be declared dead in order for Cross to buy his company, so they hire the same man that murdered Khalid, the hitman Merlyn, to infiltrate the Supermax and eliminate Queen.

At Supermax, Queen tells Rathway that, five years prior, he fell from his yatch during a tropical storm after embarrasing himself in a party and was stranded on an island for three months, relying only on his skills as an archer to survive before drug dealers who used the island to storage their products arrived on a speedboat which Queen was able to steal after ambushing and arresting them. Unbeknowst to Queen, however, it was Hackett who pushed him off the yatch in a fit of anger and jealousy.

After this, Queen and Rathaway enlist four other inmates to their escape: the shapeshifting Gemini, the teleporter Split, the elemental Cascade and the termomanipulator Icicle. With their help, Queen and Rathaway create a tunnel that'll lead them to freedom. They then have another prisioner, the Tattooed Man, produce a Flash Drive, and storage another prisioner, the living computer virus Djinn, inside. Queen manages to put Djinn inside Supermax's grid, and he disables the Parallax devices, allowing them to escape.

During the escape, Merlyn attacks Queen with a makeshift bow and arrows, but is defeated and captured by Checkmate. A violent inmate, Blockbuster, kills Split during the ensuing riot and takes his place in the escape. However, the group is throw back when they discover that the Supermax is not in the Pacific Ocean as they believed, but in Antarctica. Cascade is killed in the escape, and Waller sends Checkmate after the group.

Checkmate lures the group into a trap, imprisioning them at a Checkmate research center, but they are able to escape. Rathaway is killed in the process, and Blockbuster betrays the others, trying to escape alone. Queen, Gemini and Icicle escape on a Checkmate vehicle just as Waller explodes the facility, killing Blockbuster.

The trio returns to Star City, where Icicle leaves them. Queen and Gemini meet with Hackett, still believing him to be reliable, but he betrays them, and police starts a manhunt on them. Queen retrieves his equipment from a safe house and attacks Hackett at Queen Industries alongside Gemini. Meanwhile, Waller discovers that Merlyn was working for Cross and corners Green Arrow and Gemini in Star City. After a violent confrontation with Hackett, a defeated Queen gives up and is imprisioned again.

Gemini escapes during the fight and recovers evidence of Cross' plan, which she leaks to the press. She then helps Queen trick Hackett into confessing his participation in the conspiracy, and he is arrested by the FBI. Queen is cleared of all charges. Cross commits suicide to escape prison. Queen denounces Waller's inhuman way to treat the Supermax inmates, and she is arrested as well.

Gemini is forced to stay at the newly-reformed Supermax, but Queen manages to reduce her sentence due to her assistance in taking down Waller, Cross and Hackett. He also adopts her 9-year-old daughter Rouge and promises Gemini that she'll have a home at Queen Manor when she's out. He then returns to Star City to continue protecting it as the Green Arrow.

My problem with the SuperMax script is that I don't think it's a great way to introduce Green Arrow to an audience. Having Green Arrow's bow and arrow, the weapons he relies on, taken away from him doesn't mean **** if the audience doesn't already know him very well. The ten-minute introduction does nothing to solve that. Save it for a sequel.

The whole Supermax script thing: ....ugh.
Storywise, it's no better than Prison Break or any number of cheap jailhouse actioners featuring Van Damme or Stallone; and in terms of subject matter, turns out to be nothing more than an episodic meander through a rogues' gallery of GA (and non-GA) villains. That movie would have had zero appeal outside of GA/DC fandom, and would likely have been a direct-to-DVDer.

I agree.

^ A prison movie with superheroes would be very interesting to the General Audience. It is something they've never seen before.

I don't think it works as well with a character that audiences don't already know. Who cares if Green Arrow is out of his element if you don't know much about how he operates in his element? I think it works much better as a sequel, if anything.

I hope if they do a Green Arrow movie down the line, his costume is similar to this:

Agree.

SuperMax was an awful idea. Make a real GA movie with Bradley Cooper or Cole Hauser and ditch SuperMax.

I agree. The first Green Arrow movie should establish the character for the General Audience. I'm not necessarily saying origin movie, but just establish who Green Arrow is and what motivates him, so that the audience will care about him and get to know him. Thoughts?

 

[protocida]

Supermax can be done and still introduce the character and his pathos.

 

[Godzilla2014]

Supermax can be done and still introduce the character and his pathos.

Not sufficiently. Quite frankly, I don't think the removal of Green Arrow's bow and arrows and his Green Arrow identity is going to mean much to an audience that doesn't already know much about the character. It would mean much more if we saw Oliver Queen through a whole adventure as Green Arrow before.
My question to you is why do you want SuperMax over any other way to introduce the character?

 

[Airwings]

The hood is ok, but atleast in the first film, the hat should be used mainly.

Charlie Hunnam over Bradley Cooper any day, I say.

John McTiernan, Jan de Bont, Ivan Reitman, Jonathan Demme.... taste this suggestions. They surely must appeal to you more than my dream picks Darren Aronofsky and Terry Gilliam, who nobody gives a s**t about.

Godzilla2014: GA is silly looking and it could be better having him without his costume while he still posses all his other strong sides such as being smart and a good fighter. GA is a kind of strange superhero and maybe deserves a strange film.

 

[Godzilla2014]

The hood is ok, but atleast in the first film, the hat should be used mainly.

What's wrong with the hood? I think it looks much better than the hat.

Charlie Hunnam over Bradley Cooper any day, I say.

No comment on casting Green Arrow.

John McTiernan, Jan de Bont, Ivan Reitman, Jonathan Demme.... taste this suggestions. They surely must appeal to you more than my dream picks Darren Aronofsky and Terry Gilliam, who nobody gives a s**t about.

Good suggestions.

Godzilla2014: GA is silly looking and it could be better having his without his costume while posses all his other strong sides such as being smart and a good fighter. GA is a kind of strange superhero and maybe deserves a strange film.

To take away the costume entirely because it is silly looking is a bad reason and a copout. It's called costume design. Why is that Green Arrow being a strange superhero means he deserves a strange film, yet not his costume?
Second, being smart and a good fighter is not what makes Green Arrow special, nor what he is known for by those who know him. You're focusing on what Oliver Queen shares with Bruce Wayne, and Bruce Wayne is both smarter and a better fighter, so why use Green Arrow for this movie? Hell, I can get why Green Arrow was dropped from the title, because he is barely ever in costume in it. An introductory film should showcase what makes the character different from other heroes, not the same.

 

[Airwings]

Godzilla2014: What I meant by strange film, is that Supermax would be totally different from the others in the genre. All films share the same "saving the world" kind of thing, while Supermax will be about something completely else.
And he would still be the regurlar Green Arrow at the beginning and the end.
I am saying this because I can understand the prison story a little. But personally, I would prefer a ordinary film too.

Hat vs hood? For me, the hat is Green Arrow. Dorky, yes. But they have to make it work. A challange for the film.

 

[Godzilla2014]

Godzilla2014: What I meant by strange film, is that Supermax would be totally different from the others in the genre. All films share the same "saving the world" kind of thing, while Supermax will be about something completely else.

Ok. What about your "Green Arrow costume is too silly" argument?

And he would still be the regurlar Green Arrow at the beginning and the end.

Which isn't really enough to matter. Furthermore it has one of the main criticisms I see other people level against origin movies (the hero isn't in costume for a lot of the movie, which applies even more to this script than most of the good origin movies), without telling the origin story.

I am saying this because I can understand the prison story a little. But personally, I would prefer a ordinary film too.

I can understand it as well, but I do understand why this thing doesn't seem to get off the ground. My preference is for a film that tells the basics of the character: What he does and believes and why he does and believes those things, like Batman Begins did for Batman.

Hat vs hood? For me, the hat is Green Arrow. Dorky, yes. But they have to make it work. A challange for the film.

I can do without the hat, so I wouldn't require it to be in the film.

 

[Airwings]

Godzilla2014: I like the idea of a Green Arrow film because he's a interesting hero. But I can admit that the clothes he wears, Robin Hood clone, looks weird on a modern day superhero. A little silly in fact. I am not completely blinded of admiration for the guy, I can also see the other things about him as well. Bow and arrows are stupid weapons in today's world, just as Hawkman's mace. But it's part of the heroes' charm.

 

[Godzilla2014]

Godzilla2014: I like the idea of a Green Arrow film because he's a interesting hero. But I can admit that the clothes he wears, Robin Hood clone, looks weird on a modern day superhero. A little silly in fact. I am not completely blinded of admiration for the guy, I can also see the other things about him as well. Bow and arrows are stupid weapons in today's world, just as Hawkman's mace. But it's part of the heroes' charm.

The best way to handle stuff like that which seems silly, is to explain it and have it say something about the character. Explain why Oliver Queen chose the identity of Green Arrow, and why he uses a bow and arrow in today's world. After all, Batarangs are a hard sell, yet Batman Begins sold them to the audience quite effectively. Batman Begins used the gadgets, training, the Batsuit, and even the Batman identity itself as a means of exploring Bruce Wayne as a person through his choices. What do bows and arrows mean to Oliver Queen? Why name himself the Green Arrow? Does the color green mean something in particular to him? That is something that I would like a film about Green Arrow to do. Thoughts?

 

[chris moore]

For me, a Green Arrow film would have to be about the journey of the man. That change in perspective and actions from carefree ignorant playboy to hardened and aware liberal of the people.

Ollie grows up with little experience of the world, sheltered from the ills and crime and corruption of society because of his father's attempts to protect his family from what he has to deal with every day but can do little about, even with all his money and influence. So instead of educating Ollie about it all so that he might stand a better chance of improving the world one day where his father could not, he uses his money to send Ollie to private schools, to private holiday resorts, to never fly on a commercial plane or be without a bodyguard when outside of their home. This causes Ollie to have conflicted feelings about his father, and his life. On the one hand he becomes somewhat rebellious in response to what he feels is a stifling environment forced on him by his father. And on the other he feels his father has little pride in him because he has no means of achieving anything himself.
On graduating from college, he begins working under his father to learn the ropes of the company. But despite this seeming show of confidence by his father at wanting him to see their family business for his eventual inheritance, Ollie still feels his father is holding back and sheltering him, and he will still not be able to prove his worth. Therefore when the opportunity to invest in what seems to Ollie to be a win-win enterprise comes along, he sees it as a chance to prove to his father he is worthy of the family name and can take care of himself.
The investment turns out to be bogus, and to avoid risking his father's company being investigated, Ollie decides to clean up the mess himself.

The circumstances that end up with Ollie on a yacht or a plane so far into the middle of nowhere and it crashing, going overboard are a little more tricky. If he felt his life was in danger, at that stage he would probably get help and would certainly not try to escape on a boat. But there almost needs to be some kind of wreckage that ends up on the island with him so that he has some raw materials to use. And if anyone returned from the trip or knew about it, then that would mean there would be some information to begin a search party, even if it was initially misinformation.

 

[Airwings]

Just as being said, Oliver Queen needs a good backstory, and the Green Arrow persona with suit and gadgets a lot of explanation.

They also have to make him stand on his own, to have a distinct approach not close to anything similar, so that he doesn't come across as a DC Comic's Hawkeye.
GA should be treated as the main hero he is, able to carry a story of his own, that Marvel guy should be more like a "filler" in comparison.

This is what Warner has to do to make GA work as a film. Or else they can just thrash everything and cancel this hero for good.

 

[Godzilla2014]

Just as being said, Oliver Queen needs a good backstory, and the Green Arrow persona with suit and gadgets a lot of explanation.

They also have to make him stand on his own, to have a distinct approach not close to anything similar, so that he doesn't come across as a DC Comic's Hawkeye.
GA should be treated as the main hero he is, able to carry a story of his own, that Marvel guy should be more like a "filler" in comparison.

This is what Warner has to do to make GA work as a film. Or else they can just thrash everything and cancel this hero for good.

I agree.

 

[OmarBatGeek]

I have to agree with Godzilla 2014, as far as the whole "first movie needs to be in his element" thing goes. Sure it would be nice to see something different, like the prison idea and whatnot, where he's out of costume and things like that, but they can do that with some other hero, if they really want a story like that. Heroes like Batman and Superman and even Wonder Woman are popular enough and out in the eye of the public often enough that everyone knows who they are, who their villains are, what they are supposed to look like and act like, what city they come from, and what their motivation is for doing what they do. Green Arrow is much less known. Lots of people probably wouldn't even know what you were talking about, if you asked them about the character. So if a movie was to finally be done with him as the focus (Which I would TOTALLY be excited to see!!!) it would have to be him just doing his thing. And since recently the popular thing has been origin stories, I'm sure that would be the main plot line, kind of like Batman Begins. You might say "Oh, well that's been done to death and it's not original and no one wants to see that AGAIN" but that IS actually what people want, or the studios wouldn't continue making new superhero origin movies like Thor and Captain America and Green Lantern, etc, etc, etc. Those movies are making money and that's what the studio is looking at.

So yeah. Point being, I think a GA movie would be AMAZING, but he would have to be in his costume, in Star City, doing what he does best. You can't mess with a character few people know very well, otherwise EVERYONE will think of the character that is portrayed in the first movie and if that isn't an acurate portrayal of how he's supposed to be, well what's the point?

 

[chris moore]

So should a GA movie (ignoring the SuperMax awfulness for a while) be done like Daredevil was, with him on a mission as GA at the start, and his origin be told in flashbacks leading up to the moment the movie starts; or like Batman Begins with the origin leading up to his shipwreck being told in a flashback and ending with his waking up on the island before the rest plays out and he becomes GA; or origin from start to finish with us not seeing him as GA until he actually becomes GA over halfway through the film?

 

[OmarBatGeek]

I personally prefer the Daredevil set up, but that's all personal opinion. What about you, which would you like to see?

 

[Godzilla2014]

I have to agree with Godzilla 2014, as far as the whole "first movie needs to be in his element" thing goes. Sure it would be nice to see something different, like the prison idea and whatnot, where he's out of costume and things like that, but they can do that with some other hero, if they really want a story like that. Heroes like Batman and Superman and even Wonder Woman are popular enough and out in the eye of the public often enough that everyone knows who they are, who their villains are, what they are supposed to look like and act like, what city they come from, and what their motivation is for doing what they do. Green Arrow is much less known. Lots of people probably wouldn't even know what you were talking about, if you asked them about the character. So if a movie was to finally be done with him as the focus (Which I would TOTALLY be excited to see!!!) it would have to be him just doing his thing. And since recently the popular thing has been origin stories, I'm sure that would be the main plot line, kind of like Batman Begins. You might say "Oh, well that's been done to death and it's not original and no one wants to see that AGAIN" but that IS actually what people want, or the studios wouldn't continue making new superhero origin movies like Thor and Captain America and Green Lantern, etc, etc, etc. Those movies are making money and that's what the studio is looking at.

So yeah. Point being, I think a GA movie would be AMAZING, but he would have to be in his costume, in Star City, doing what he does best. You can't mess with a character few people know very well, otherwise EVERYONE will think of the character that is portrayed in the first movie and if that isn't an acurate portrayal of how he's supposed to be, well what's the point?

I agree with these ideas. Personally, I don't mind if it was an origin story or not, so long as that origin story doesn't feel perfunctory and done only for the sake of telling the origin story.

So should a GA movie (ignoring the SuperMax awfulness for a while) be done like Daredevil was, with him on a mission as GA at the start, and his origin be told in flashbacks leading up to the moment the movie starts; or like Batman Begins with the origin leading up to his shipwreck being told in a flashback and ending with his waking up on the island before the rest plays out and he becomes GA; or origin from start to finish with us not seeing him as GA until he actually becomes GA over halfway through the film?

I wouldn't mind that.

 

[OmarBatGeek]

Personally, I don't mind if it was an origin story or not, so long as that origin story doesn't feel perfunctory and done only for the sake of telling the origin story.

Exactly! Haha I like these origin movies as much as the next guy, they're just getting repetetive and, like you said, they are starting to feel like they're only being done for the sake of doing an origin story. xD

 

[Godzilla2014]

Exactly! Haha I like these origin movies as much as the next guy, they're just getting repetetive and, like you said, they are starting to feel like they're only being done for the sake of doing an origin story. xD

I think the reason there are so many origin movies these days is that people want to see the beginning of things. We don't want to start at the 37th encounter between Batman and the Joker, we want to see their first encounter.

 

[OmarBatGeek]

Well yeah, the whole movie industry is in a certain point in history right now. We'll look back on the last decade or so as the remake boom where every old movie with an even slightly interesting concept was reworked and the next 5-10-ish years will be the comic boom. And since the origin story concept worked so well for Batman Begins and those other earlier comic movies, that's what everyone started making. Plus a lot of these characters are really popular and well known, but have never actually had a movie done about them so everyone figures it's only natural for the first movie of a hero should be him/her getting to be where they eventually end up.

 

[Godzilla2014]

Well yeah, the whole movie industry is in a certain point in history right now. We'll look back on the last decade or so as the remake boom where every old movie with an even slightly interesting concept was reworked and the next 5-10-ish years will be the comic boom. And since the origin story concept worked so well for Batman Begins and those other earlier comic movies, that's what everyone started making. Plus a lot of these characters are really popular and well known, but have never actually had a movie done about them so everyone figures it's only natural for the first movie of a hero should be him/her getting to be where they eventually end up.

Interesting perspective. Hollywood, and filmmaking in general, has always been about following the leader in terms of overall trends. Hell, I'm surprised we have yet to see a superhero movie copy The Dark Knight yet, since you know, it only is the 3rd highest grossing movie in America, and the highest grossing that wasn't directed by James Cameron.

 

[Jordacar]

I think the reason there are so many origin movies these days is that people want to see the beginning of things. We don't want to start at the 37th encounter between Batman and the Joker, we want to see their first encounter.

I think origin stories just work better for the format of feature films. It's a clearly defined dramatic arc that practically writes itself.

 

[Airwings]

The origin story are an important part of understanding the hero. Outside the fanbase, people just want good explanations.
A heroic character rise in a world where nobody is like him or her. The heroes are a kind of their own. People in their city (and sometimes all over the world) sees the hero as something really special. The good guys admire, the villains hate. Just imagine how it would be in reality with a "saviour" or a crime figher, either trained to near the limit of human physics or having supernatural power(s).
In the story, it has to make sense.

 

[OmarBatGeek]

Outside the fanbase, people just want good explanations.

That's a good point. That's probably why the origin stories became so popular, actually. Because by explaining the hero and his/her reasons for being who they are made the characters more accessible to people who don't read comics all the time. *nods* Nice.

It's a clearly defined dramatic arc that practically writes itself.

That's also a really good point. Haha easy money xD

 

[Airwings]

Does Black Canary have to be in the film as well? How should they explain her?
Will she be around in Star City before Green Arrow? If so, why do Oliver Queen feel that he needs to be a hero, when there already is one?

Charlie Hunnam and Ali Larter for the roles?

Or perhaps Nathan Fillion & Sarah Michelle Gellar?
SMG is very short, but I guess they have to make her look taller then. Like they did with Anthony Hopkins in Zorro and Thor. It really worked for him.