Official Justice League Status Update Thread

[biolumen]

Did Dark Horizons pull the Miller article? At the moment, the link redirects me to another article and I can't find it anywhere on their site. Perhaps it's a glitch in the Matrix.

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news08/081201j.php

 

[I Am The Knight]

Fanboys don't know what they're talking about, if they can even reach concensus, half the time. (Hell, apparently some think Venom is a good villain.) We wouldn't have gotten most of the good superhero movies we did get if fanboys were catered to. And even then there's still plenty of *****ing. Just go to the Watchmen forum for proof of that.

George Miller and the behind the scenes crew were the main reasons to have hope for a Justice League project. Now, maybe the costumes, preproduction art, and script will leak so that we can at last have an intelligent conversation about the pros and cons of what was proposed, instead of complaining based entirely on prejudices and assumptions.

Agreed. The only weak spot was the cast, which was a deal breaker for most. I remained caustiously optimistic about the cast when this thing seemed to actually be in development. But now I'm kind glad it's not going forward, as having individual movies for each character is a dream of mine that could come true if GL is succesful. Sigh.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Fanboys don't know what they're talking about, if they can even reach concensus, half the time. (Hell, apparently some think Venom is a good villain.) We wouldn't have gotten most of the good superhero movies we did get if fanboys were catered to. And even then there's still plenty of *****ing. Just go to the Watchmen forum for proof of that.

I disagree. The worse superhero movies are partly the worse because they leave the source material so much. I also think there are as many people welcome most changes (who also impulse agree with you) as there are purists who want zero change.

George Miller and the behind the scenes crew were the main reasons to have hope for a Justice League project. Now, maybe the costumes, preproduction art, and script will leak so that we can at last have an intelligent conversation about the pros and cons of what was proposed, instead of complaining based entirely on prejudices and assumptions.

Most of the whining I have heard has been either about Miller's ability (which is arguable but i think hes a good choice) and possible casting (which left a lot to be desired). Nothing about the production value or script, but some arguments that they should not have tried to rush the project to beat the writers strike, which I agree with.

 

[Evil Twin]

Most of the whining I have heard has been either about Miller's ability (which is arguable but i think hes a good choice) and possible casting (which left a lot to be desired). Nothing about the production value or script, but some arguments that they should not have tried to rush the project to beat the writers strike, which I agree with.

I don't know about you, but I've heard countless whining about how "camp" it would be and how it would just be a big budget version of "Super Friends", which as far as I can tell is based on nothing factual. Or that George Miller had no understanding of the characters. Or that George Miller's changes to the script made it worse, instead of better. Treating speculation as fact is silly. As is not having any sense of nuance.

I get being skeptical about the cast and the speed in which the project came together. All valid concerns. But, when it goes beyond that, I think people were just making things up. We don't know the details of the script. We have no idea of how it would be visualized. And George Miller never laid out his vision for the fans. Really big parts of the movie.

And fans have been wrong in big ways before. Michael Keaton as Batman, for instance. There were also complaints about Heath Ledger and Hugh Jackman. And Cillian Murphy and Tom Wilkinson. Leather uniforms on the X-Men. (I bet WATCHMEN will play fine with a different device near the end.) I'd say fans overlooking the importance of acting and interpretation in favor of looks is our biggest weakness. Especially as that's the thing we have the least knowledge of before we see the final product.

 

[Showtime]

The problem is it works both ways, there were people ripping on it with no evidence and people championing as the best thing since sliced bread with no evidence. There were very few people who said "Let us just wait and see."

 

[Webhead2006]

maybe dh wasnt allowed to post the article yet or something.

 

[Showtime]

It was most likely because Miller mentioned WB's possible new direction.

 

[The Major]

Fanboys don't know what they're talking about, if they can even reach concensus, half the time. (Hell, apparently some think Venom is a good villain.) We wouldn't have gotten most of the good superhero movies we did get if fanboys were catered to. And even then there's still plenty of *****ing. Just go to the Watchmen forum for proof of that.

Iron Man, Hellboy, Singer's X-men, Sin City and Nolan's Batman really dropped the ball by appealing to the fans, right?

Venom could be a good villain with the right adaption. Spider-man 3 did terribly in showing the character at his full potential.

 

[The Major]

So true. What i found really sad was how, after Marvel announced their plan and method, most of the communitty became entirely convinced it WAS needed, even if it had to be applied to a preexistent, non-compatible group of movies. I said and maintain that while Marvel may have needed that for Avengers(because "Who the hell are Ironman, Thor and Antman?" is not a good question for premier night) the DC heroes are well enought known that that wouldn't apply to them.

The only DC heroes the public knows a good deal about are Superman and Batman. The others they know what they look like and their gimmicks but nothing else. And those include only about a dozen key characters at best, the majority of the DCU they don't have any idea who they are. That's why WB needs to work on their solo movies and building up those franchises.

 

[biolumen]

Garth at Dark Horizons offers a retraction. He appears to have been duped by his source.

Miller Still Onboard "Justice League"

By Garth FranklinTuesday, December 2nd 2008 10:42pm

A representative from Kennedy Miller has categorically denied Monday's scoop that Dr. George Miller is off the 'Justice League' project. They have confirmed that Miler did not appear on the ‘Sunrise Morning Show’ let alone discuss anything to do with "Justice League" or "Mad Max".

Rumors began months ago that Miller was leaving "Justice League" but were never confirmed and have now been officially shot down by his reps.

The 'League' project, more than practically any other project in the past two years, has suffered from incessant online rumors (most notably casting) that were often thrown up and later torn down. It seems that it has happened again here.

The original scooper, a usually reliable source, also seems to have vanished into the electronic ether. As for their current status? The KM rep says both 'League' and 'Max' are "being seriously worked on."

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news08/081202n.php

 

[The Guard]

Hilarious.

 

[jmc]

That is funny, just another day at the JL offices then.

 

[Evil Twin]

The only DC heroes the public knows a good deal about are Superman and Batman. The others they know what they look like and their gimmicks but nothing else. And those include only about a dozen key characters at best, the majority of the DCU they don't have any idea who they are. That's why WB needs to work on their solo movies and building up those franchises.

Where I think people get tripped up, is that they somehow expect a movie to explain everything about the characters, even if it's not vital to the story at hand. Yes, a team film first isn't likely to explain all their origins, background, supporting characters, etc., but it's likely to be a good INTRODUCTION, show their powers, their personality, and what they stand for.

And, really, The Avengers isn't a great example, because there's reason to believe that Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America could support solo franchises in the first place. Marvel apparently doesn't believe that they need to do an Ant-Man movie to understand him in The Avengers. You probably could do an Avengers movie with it beginning with them finding Captain America frozen in a block of ice before a solo film. Captain America's origin really isn't that interesting, he gets a shot of super soldier serum, but what he stands for is interesting.

There are pros and cons with each approach. The Avengers approach is asking a much bigger commitment of time from actors and is probably more expensive as they're going for already established stars to launch the solo movies, and have a proportional paycheck. How they're going to pay everyone and keep the budget within reason still isn't something Marvel has answered.

 

[solidsnake86]

Wow, I'm really amazed at how quickly warners is responding to these rumours to shoot them down. Seems to me like they are keeping quite the tight ship in terms of rumours on the dc properties.

 

[Evil Twin]

Iron Man, Hellboy, Singer's X-men, Sin City and Nolan's Batman really dropped the ball by appealing to the fans, right?

What appeals to fans is a good movie which is faithful to the core concepts, not trying to satisfy a concensus checklist that probably doesn't exist.

There were plenty of complaints about all of those films by fans before they opened. And some after. Did you miss people openly wondering about a 6 foot Wolverine by an actor known for musical theater, if he was known at all? Did you miss all the countless debates about the Batmobile and rubber vs. cloth suits in regards to Nolan's Batman? Or a Joker with makeup and "Brokebat Mountain" jokes?

Plenty of "faithful" movies have gone wrong. Daredevil for one. X-Men 3 was just poorly made and conceived, but it wasn't inconsistent with Singer's X-Men in superficial ways. Heck, the Fantastic Four movies are "faithful" for the most part. But, the root causes of their failures weren't really available to fans, poor scripts and incompetent direction. Some miscasting too, but pretty much everyone involved had also done better work elsewhere, including Affleck and Alba.

Besides, apparently the fans over at Newsarama think Megan Fox should be a leading contender for Wonder Woman. That right there is reason that I should doubt fans. They know a lot about the characters, but apparently little about casting and acting.

 

[jmc]

Wow, I'm really amazed at how quickly warners is responding to these rumours to shoot them down. Seems to me like they are keeping quite the tight ship in terms of rumours on the dc properties.

According to the article it was Millers company not WB who debugged the report.

 

[Evil Twin]

That is funny, just another day at the JL offices then.

It's getting to be like a bad horror movie, isn't it. It's alive. It's dead. No, it's alive. Killed it this time. Wrong, still alive.

I don't think secrecy about the project has done it a lick of good. If it's still alive, rethinking their strategy would be a good idea.

 

[jmc]

It's getting to be like a bad horror movie, isn't it. It's alive. It's dead. No, it's alive. Killed it this time. Wrong, still alive.

I don't think secrecy about the project has done it a lick of good. If it's still alive, rethinking their strategy would be a good idea.

I've often said before that a movie about the making of a JL would be more entertaining than a JL movie, it has comedy gold written all over it. t:

 

[biolumen]

I've often said before that a movie about the making of a JL would be more entertaining than a JL movie, it has comedy gold written all over it. t:

And I get the feeling that we're not even half way through that movie.

 

[solidsnake86]

Millers not a bad director and frankly when you look at it the only thing they did wrong in fans eyes was the casting. But I'm also sure that WB said get a bunch of no names to keep the bill on the actors to a minimum so they could spend the money on SFX. When they announced WETA people were all but salivating and if they had gotten bale I think this movie would be in post production as we speak.

 

[Captain Planet!]

Darn it! I want this JLA movie killed for at least 5 years.

 

[luca_frontino]

Where I think people get tripped up, is that they somehow expect a movie to explain everything about the characters, even if it's not vital to the story at hand. Yes, a team film first isn't likely to explain all their origins, background, supporting characters, etc., but it's likely to be a good INTRODUCTION, show their powers, their personality, and what they stand for.

And, really, The Avengers isn't a great example, because there's reason to believe that Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America could support solo franchises in the first place. Marvel apparently doesn't believe that they need to do an Ant-Man movie to understand him in The Avengers. You probably could do an Avengers movie with it beginning with them finding Captain America frozen in a block of ice before a solo film. Captain America's origin really isn't that interesting, he gets a shot of super soldier serum, but what he stands for is interesting.

There are pros and cons with each approach. The Avengers approach is asking a much bigger commitment of time from actors and is probably more expensive as they're going for already established stars to launch the solo movies, and have a proportional paycheck. How they're going to pay everyone and keep the budget within reason still isn't something Marvel has answered.

I completely agree. Think about a crossover movie in the Marvel universe. Would you really do all the solo films before that? It's pointless, utterly expensive and would require decades to end all the projects.
I tried to enjoy Iron Man, but (... man!) it just reminded me of how boring origins movies are. And Iron Monger kicked his @$$ quite painfully. If Potts wasn't there, Tony would lie in a tomb. What kind of super-hero is that?
At least The Hulk was going to kill The Abomination and got stopped!
And, don't ban me, but I strongly think that The Dark Knight is going to be forgot for good like Batman Begins. I just don't think of them as cult-movies. Batman '89 was the real reinvention of the character on the big screen. Nolan just fixed the tone and the atmosphere. Heck! In TDK we don't even see the bat-cave!
No, really.
I think an all-in-one approach is the best. My favorite comic book are Morrison's JLA and Marvel's Civil War because none of them is a solo title.
And while the fans fight to find the perfect actress to play Wonder Woman, I say the right choice is to go fully CGI because no woman can be WW.
Surely with a better quality than Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (that movie is 8 years old but still unsurpassed!) and they should use Alex Ross portrays with better costumes.
For me, WB should stop any pre-production on solo franchises and go with a Justice League CGI film series presenting mega-characters like Darkseid, The New Gods, Starro (it would be cool as first villain), The Anti-Monitor and so on.
But, of course, it's just my opinion.

 

[FlawlessVictory]

Darn it! I want this JLA movie killed for at least 5 years.

Miller will at least be tied up with Happy Feet 2 for a few years first.

 

[RAMORE]

Here is a Manip and some casting choices by Ravana here on the hype:

Manip | Justice League of America...

:: I decided to enter the first 'FanArt' manip competition. Even though there's no tangible prize, the JLA theme was interesting - I've not really manipped many DC images, so this was a good excuse.

:: I was originally working on something slightly more political, but that went out the window at some stage... I forget why.

. click for larger .
​

:: Line-up: The Flash (Ryan Reynolds), Batman (David Boreanaz), Wonder Woman (Monica Bellucci), Superman (Eddie Cibrian), Black Canary (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Aquaman (Paul Walker) and Captain Marvel (Patrick Warburton).
:: I'm not going to defend my casting choices; which may or may not suck... they were just cast for the look of this pic. Generally, I did want an 'older' cast overall, many JLA members just seems like they should be portrayed a little older; I'm not loving the direction the upcoming movie seems to headed in.
:: Yes, Captain Marvel is a bit lazy, but finishing the other made my eyes bleed, so I needed something easy.

... and yes, as someone pointed out... it is 'bulge-tastic'... Not my fault, entirely, though. Blame the perverts at DC. ; )

I thought the picture very well done the casting was ok but not stellar depends on the movie your selling. Straight out crazy action maybe...

 

[Showtime]

Garth at Dark Horizons offers a retraction. He appears to have been duped by his source.

[/b]

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news08/081202n.php

Miller's not doing Justice League...he's been off the project for months. If you want to cling to hope that there will be a Justice League film, there will be one. If you want to cling on to the hope that Miller is directing Justice League, your thread is torn.