Official Green Lantern News & Discussion Thread - Part 10

[KalMart]

Part of me thinks that it'll be somewhat very difficult, if not very hard for this film to make the amount of money that SR did at the BO, and considering that SR was better received by critics (76% at RT compared to the 26% that GL got), along with possibly having made more money and still not having gotten a sequel but a reboot, it would be a very WTF thing for me if GL got a sequel.

Well...you can look at GL as having more 'potential' without the baggage of a son and all, and being a 'new' character for kids with bright toys and alien characters, etc. But still...being the near flop that it is, if they really want to make it big in merchandise, maybe it's better to save some of the $200M+ a sequel would cost and just put the effort into making it an animation/video game/toy line only outside of comics. Then look into other characters/properties for film success, and hopefully let this mistake fade from memory.

 

[Herolee10]

Well...you can look at GL as having more 'potential' without the baggage of a son and all, and being a 'new' character for kids with bright toys and alien characters, etc. But still...being the near flop that it is, if they really want to make it big in merchandise, maybe it's better to save some of the $200M+ a sequel would cost and just put the effort into making it an animation/video game/toy line only outside of comics. Then look into other characters/properties for film success, and hopefully let this mistake fade from memory.

True that. I think the cons of this film just outweighs any potential room for pros that a sequel, let alone franchise that could result from this film, and I think it'd be best to reboot GL someday on a fresher and MUCH better foundation.

 

[Willi Berg]

Agreed; and in regards to New Frontier, if that emotional problem was translated into the film's one, where Hal was traumatized by the event of him having to take someone's life during the course of his duty, it would have mirrored well with Sinestro's damaged mentality (as a result of his long terms service for the core and exposure to the grim side of life), which would have climaxed into one hell of a emotionally charged final battle between them both.

That would've been great to have Hal mirror Sinestro's experience. Though it's very frustrating to think "what could've been". You expect something more complex and think about the potential for drama in the story and then you have to face what you actually were given. The reaction to GL reminds me somewhat of a lot of people's frustrations with the Star Wars prequels.

 

[Herolee10]

That would've been great to have Hal mirror Sinestro's experience. Though it's very frustrating to think "what could've been". You expect something more complex and think about the potential for drama in the story and then you have to face what you actually were given. The reaction to GL reminds me somewhat of a lot of people's frustrations with the Star Wars prequels.

Not just the prequels, but for things like "Snakes on a Plane", "Superman Returns", "X Men 3 and Origins", etc.


Heck, another issue that I had with this film is that they didn't take the opportunity to really give life to the mythological universe that they had present in this film like BB/TDKR was able to do with its characters. I mean based on how the film presented itself, other than the climax in the city, you don't really get any feeling of the life going outside of the primary characters lives.

 

[Willi Berg]

I mean based on how the film presented itself, other than the climax in the city, you don't really get any feeling of the life going outside of the primary characters lives.

I have to agree with that as well. Even though there's a planet-destroying entity on its way to Earth it only cuts to Hal, Carol and Hector. There's no sense of urgency about it, since Hal only knows of Parallax towards the end.

 

[Supermanreturns]

Ok, so no sequel?

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/green-lantern-sequel-tepid-box-206002

"While a top studio source told THR on Sunday that Warners was proceeding with plans for a follow-up film, a studio spokesman said Monday that no decision has been reached."

And the real budget is $400 million?

"Green Lantern had a budget well in excess of $200 million, according to industry sources, as well as an outsized marketing spend estimated at $100 million domestic and $75 million foreign. A source with ties to the studio says it is reasonable to assume that Warners has spent well over $400 million on the film--not unusual for a summer tentpole—making profitability a steep uphill climb."

 

[chiefchirpa]

Ok, so no sequel?

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/green-lantern-sequel-tepid-box-206002



And the real budget is $400 million?

From that sum how much is Geoff Johns bonus?

 

[JAK®]

The budget wasn't 400 Million. That's with the marketing budget included. I'm guessing that the real budget was around 250 Million.

 

[Lencho01]

I love New Frontier and it was how I had hoped Hal would turn out. I loved how it made him different from other superheroes who just happen to get their power thrusted upon them. For him, he was worthy to be a superhero. And the issue of how someone who didn't want to kill, but only when it was required for survival would've been an interesting lesson for the kids.

 

[Rock Sexton]

The budget wasn't 400 Million. That's with the marketing budget included. I'm guessing that the real budget was around 250 Million.

Regardless the film cost almost $400 million to produce and market.

 

[Rowsdower!]

That's f**king insane. I don't know how the hell they thought they were going to come closet to making that back, at least domestically.

 

[Silver Surfer]

That's f**king insane. I don't know how the hell they thought they were going to come closet to making that back, at least domestically.

They were hoping for Iron man numbers, something like 300 mil domestic. And even if it had fallen just short of that they would have justified it as investment for the future of the franchise. They never in their wildest dreams thought GL would be so abysmal at the Box office, which to tell you the truth is concerning.

 

[Raiden]

They were hoping for Iron man numbers, something like 300 mil domestic. And even if it had fallen just short of that they would have justified it as investment for the future of the franchise. They never in their wildest dreams thought GL would be so abysmal at the Box office, which to tell you the truth is concerning.

With Potter ending their run, WB is desperate for new franchises so they turned to DC superheroes, believing that they are the new cash cows for WB. Spending all those money for GL is warranted in their eyes if it means it can make IM numbers and spawn a trilogy or more in the future. They didn't count on the fact that it would struggle to make 100 mil after a week has gone by.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

Regardless the film cost almost $400 million to produce and market.

And how much of that sum was paid with cross-promotion? How much of that sum WB got back with the tax incentives from New Orleans? How much of that money WB already made back with minimun guarantees from the merchandise contracts? And how much from the TV rights pre-sales?
If a studio spends 300 million on a movie, they have at least 50 % of that money in their pockets before they start shooting. And 90% before it hits screens.

 

[Infinity9999x]

With Potter ending their run, WB is desperate for new franchises so they turned to DC superheroes, believing that they are the new cash cows for WB. Spending all those money for GL is warranted in their eyes if it means it can make IM numbers and spawn a trilogy or more in the future. They didn't count on the fact that it would struggle to make 100 mil after a week has gone by.

Well, their superheroes are a good bet to get things going...but they just need to make good movies. I mean, say what you will about Harry Potter, but I don't think anyone can deny that all the movies have been pretty high production quality. Good acting (yeah, the younger kids lacked a bit in the first few, but they really came into their own, and the supporting cast is always LOADED), good spx, and with these last few films, GREAT cinematography. And they've all had pretty good scripts.

You give that treatment to one of the DC superheroes and we're not going to have a problem. Unfortunately, they seemed to follow the FOX school of movie-making methods with this film

 

[Raiden]

And how much of that sum was paid with cross-promotion? How much of that sum WB got back with the tax incentives from New Orleans? How much of that money WB already made back with minimun guarantees from the merchandise contracts? And how much from the TV rights pre-sales?
If a studio spends 300 million on a movie, they have at least 50 % of that money in their pockets before they start shooting. And 90% before it hits screens.

If what you said is true, then what stops a movie studio from spending 300 million or more for every movie, if they can be guaranteed a return of 90% before the movie hits the screen? And movies like SR would've greenlighted for a sequel, after it generated disappointing figures at the box office. Unless you have credible sources to back your claim up, I won't believe you.

 

[Poni_Boy]

And how much of that sum was paid with cross-promotion? How much of that sum WB got back with the tax incentives from New Orleans? How much of that money WB already made back with minimun guarantees from the merchandise contracts? And how much from the TV rights pre-sales?
If a studio spends 300 million on a movie, they have at least 50 % of that money in their pockets before they start shooting. And 90% before it hits screens.

Can you link me to where you found those facts? I've never heard those claims before

 

[JAK®]

Regardless the film cost almost $400 million to produce and market.

Which the article states is a normal amount for tentpole films.

 

[HighFivingMF]

Which the article states is a normal amount for tentpole films.

Stop saying things that don't make it look more like a failure!

 

[Flemm]

Conceptually, I don't think there's anything about GL that inherently prevents a successful movie from being made with this property. It's just that, when a film like this fails, it makes success seem impossible because you have the reality of the failure in front of you.

Thor could have easily been botched on the creative end, and it could have tanked at the box office. As a concept, it's a bigger stretch than GL. If that had occurred, we would have been having this same conversation about Thor: about how the concept cannot be translated to the modern world, how the character is not relatable, etc. But in this case, it worked, so it seems like the concept was inherently easier to adapt.

Some DC properties do feel dated and out of touch, but I don't think GL is one of them. This could have/should have been a success.

 

[Poni_Boy]

Conceptually, I don't think there's anything about GL that inherently prevents a successful movie from being made with this property. It's just that, when a film like this fails, it makes success seem impossible because you have the reality of the failure in front of you.

Thor could have easily been botched on the creative end, and it could have tanked at the box office. As a concept, it's a bigger stretch than GL. If that had occurred, we would have been having this same conversation about Thor: about how the concept cannot be translated to the modern world, how the character is not relatable, etc. But in this case, it worked, so it seems like the concept was inherently easier to work with.

Some DC properties do feel dated and out of touch, but I don't think GL is one of them. This could have/should have been a success.

Agree 100%

 

[Deaths Head II]

Which the article states is a normal amount for tentpole films.

Studios pay $400 million expecting over $400 million in returns...

 

[KalMart]

Regardless the film cost almost $400 million to produce and market.

Which the article states is a normal amount for tentpole films.

It's like when they piled on the costs of the 'prior failed attempts' to SR's 'budget'...not a fair assessment if you don't hold every other movie that's made to the same standards. Like all the prior Batman 5/Triumphant/vs. Superman etc. developments, big or small, prior to BB...not a whisper about them, for some reason. They don't seem to do that for films that do well, but when they don't, it's more sensationalistic to add on costs for employee transportation, their lunches, text messaging, copy paper, and so on. Every single penny that was spent by anyone while the movie was being made.

Either do it for every film, or don't do it for any of them.

 

[Rock Sexton]

Which the article states is a normal amount for tentpole films.

Is that that thing called "spin" .... oh ya, it is.

 

[Rock Sexton]

Stop saying things that don't make it look more like a failure!

It is a failure. The numbers don't lie.