The Official Marc Guggenheim & Script Discussion Thread (Spoilers)

[TheVileOne]

Geoff Johns could make Batroc into a good character. That's how good he is.

 

[protocida]

Do Sinestro Corps later.

But I mean, I dunno Hector Hammond kind of makes for a lame first movie villain. He's a dude with a big head and lots of psychic power.

Hector Hammond can be a great villain, if they treat him like he is: A creepy, disgusting creature, that lives only to make other people suffer and feed from this sofriment, as a drug. His psychick powers are almost endless, and he uses it only by the simple pleasure of hurting others.

About his looks. It can he worked also. I see him as a man that starts very wealthy, strong and healthy, but, during his downfall thanks to the meteor (Yep, in my version, it's a meteor) he becomes more and more thin, while his head gets more and more deformed. His brain would be miscarriedg, with some parts overly growned and other shrunk, with pulsing vains, black, empty eyes and a sadistic/perverted grim on his face.

Oh, and i'd loose the mustache.

 

[arman200]

PM?t:

 

[hippie_hunter]

I think that this is a damn good first draft. I feel when all is said and done, we'll end up getting a film that is on par in quality as Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man.

 

[Dark Knight]

Hey folks,

With the first draft of the "Green Lantern" script being leaked, I thought it'd be a good idea to create a new thread discussing it. That way, the other GL threads won't become danger-zones filled with unwanted spoilers. All spoiler-talk relating to the script can be kept here.

I'm not going to post the link to the script on here, since the Hype frowns on such things. But I assume if it's like the scripts for "Jonah Hex" or "Supermax", it'll be doing the rounds among you soon enough.

Can you PM me the first draft the GL scrpit por favor?

 

[arman200]

Well, it's about what I expected when I saw the script "reviews". This reads like a JJ Abrams written GREEN LANTERN, without the depth. The first thing I notice is that while it does draw from the mythology, it's not THAT faithful. That's good and bad, depending on how much you care about Green Lantern. The script is fairly well-written, but it's also inconsistent, ranging from intelligent to juvenile. It's sort of like TRANSFORMERS in terms of the writing.

The introduction to the idea of the Green Lanterns is cool and all, but it's execution is a bit...meh. The concept is good, but the dialogue feels a bit awkward. I can't put my finger on it. I'll have to think on that for a bit.

The death of Martin Jordan is handled well. So are the ramifications for everyone involved, including what happened to Ferris, Carol, Hal, his mother and the Jordan family. It's nice to see the Jordan family get a nod. I do wish Hal's memories of his father and the significance of his father's death went beyond "I'm going to have another flashback now" stuff, and had more to do with who Hal became.

I like most of the banter between Hal and Carol. Two actors with very good chemistry will make this work well. Carol's not that interesting, though, as her arc seems to revolve around always being disappointed with Hal, and not about herself, and their relationship is a bit derivative of other superheroes. It needs something to make it unique (Star Sapphire in the future perhaps). Dialoguewise, Hal is a bit annoyingly vocal. He reads like Shia should be playing him. Seriously. He's almost Spider-Man-level vocal.

Tom Kalmaku is here, but he's also modernized, occassionally annoying and relatively useless. Having him being involved in Hal's discovery of Sur's ship kind of makes sense, and at least gives him something to do. His entire arc seems to revolve around getting his very own spaceship.

The dogfight between Hal and the sabres is cool. Anytime Hal is in a jet is cool.

Abin Sur's death is handled realistically. I wish we had time to get to know him a bit more, that he was fleshed out just a little more. Perhaps in a sequel. It is interesting to see his wife later on. That gives Sur a tiny bit more dimension and relevance.

Hector Hammond is completely shoehorned into the story and is a subpar villain with a really stupid subplot. He reads like Dr. Doom. Spouting cliches, turning into a villain and hurting people for no apparent reason beyond hatred of his enemy (and his father, because he's a failure in his father's eyes), etc. He does not make a compelling or particularly interesting villain. He discovers he has the power of a god and becomes a bank robber, for god's sake. But oh no! He has a giant head! There's just not much to him, really. They do a few interesting things with him, but it's always the obvious thing.

The same holds true for Legion. It's a killing machine, sure, but that's all it is, beyond a really forced Manhunter-style story element. Oh, and apparently Legion is also essentially Parallax now. I guess it doesn't matter, since he's still relatively boring as a character. Interestingly enough, the weakness to "yellow" is never explored. Seems like a missed opportunity.

Hal’s first trip to Oa is a bit short, but welcome to see nontheless. Oa will look amazing, and the Guardians have the potential to be really, really cool. I do wish Ganthet had been featured. However, Hal learning all about all Universal Sectors while he sleeps is kind of stupid, especially when the script never comes back to this plot device. Isn’t that the point of the Power Ring?

Green Lantern’s debut on the airfield brings to mind THE ROCKETEER and will be stunning if handled properly.

From there it becomes rushed, and everything you'd expect to happen, does. On a personal note, I am sick and tired of forced-as-hell one and a half minute long “Gosh, things are tough, I want to quit” scenes in superhero movies. Sick of them. Script loses points for going that route for all of one and a half pages.

The Corps VS Legion and then coming to Earth to help Hal stop Hammond is cool.

A few beefs:

-I wish the nature of willpower/fear had been explored a little more.

-Sinestro is too reckless. That's not Sinestro. Whoever wrote this clearly didn't understand, or didn't care, about the core of Sinestro's character. He's not just "some veteran Green Lantern" who half-trained Hal Jordan. He's obsessed with order, and he's obsessed with keeping it. He's not some revenge-driven hothead. He doesn't really deal much in "fear", either.

This script gets a lot right, and it has a lot of potential. I'd put it at or near the same level as the X-MEN movies, but without the same kind of depth. At times, it can be really cheesy, but there are some bits of genuine humor and the potential for decent drama. The potential for action and visual effects is obvious, and almost everyone wants to see Green Lantern realized in live action. There may be a few too many characters here, though, which causes some of them to suffer. Characters like Kilowog and Tomar-Re, become essentially cameos, and comic relief at that. The script could do without Hector Hammond entirely, which would free up a lot of screentime. I really think a story about Sinestro and Hal should be the basis of the first film. None of the characters are particularly well developed because of the script constraints, and that's because the script is a lean 105 pages. It could use another 20, and wouldn't suffer for it on any level. Overall, it's a solid first draft, and one hopes they keep moving forward. Because they're at least on the right track.

NO!!!!!!

I was getting really excited by the positive comments, but Transformers-esque writing? And I was somewhat disappointed by the idea of Legion as the villain for this one, but to make him like Parallax? I still want to read it, but this is worrying me.

 

[Webhead2006]

woah i didnt know the berlanti script actually leaked out. From all your posts it sounds pretty good. But like someone said its what the first draft of the script and things have probably been fixed up/changed in the later drafts they are doing so the parts some of you think isnt that good might have been fixed. Though i dont know much on the hal jordan character i would love to see the script for myself so please could any one pm me it and thanks in advance.

 

[The Major]

NO!!!!!!

I was getting really excited by the positive comments, but Transformers-esque writing? And I was somewhat disappointed by the idea of Legion as the villain for this one, but to make him like Parallax? I still want to read it, but this is worrying me.

While I haven't read the script Guard's comments concerning Legion got me thinking about it.

Is there any particular reason it has to be Legion? Couldn't they just use Parallax to explore the fear angle? It would definitely allow them to explain the yellow weakness more clearly without being random. Johns' has basically given them a bible to use it with Rebirth. Another option would be using a rogue Manhunter only colored yellow.

Hammond has potential as a villain he just seems more like sequel potential.

They could have two villains with Sinestro still being the master mind who Hal fights in the final act when his plot with the Manhunter/Parallax/Legion acts as his proxy and not have to wait for a sequel before using him as a villain.

Guard comparing the script to Transformers is disappointing. GL should have a script more like IM quality, not that.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I wouldn't worry about that comparison, Major. To me it seems closer to IM than Transformers.

 

[JokerLedger]

I wanted to hold back... but now I want to join in on the fun. Anyone mind pming me the goods?

 

[GreenLantern1]

Could someone please PM me the script link? Thanks.

 

[dude stannis]

May someone PM me the link please? I would be incredibly appreciative.

 

[The Guard]

I'm not trying to be the doomsayer. It's refreshing to see Green Lantern taken at least sort of seriously. This is a good script. It's just not great. There's no real "insight" into the concept of Green Lantern. It's exactly what you would expect, and that's both a good and a bad thing.

This script is cool and all, but it's also "bare bones" Green Lantern Corps. It doesn't quite get to what makes this a unique hero (other than the obvious power difference). I care about what makes Green Lantern unique more than I do about cool action and seeing "cameos".

Like many of you, I want Green Lantern to MEAN something. This script is the "safe" version of that. It's about heroes, and using power to change things, but it doesn't get much deeper than that. It's basic good VS evil, with very few "thinking points" to it.

NO!!!!!!

I was getting really excited by the positive comments, but Transformers-esque writing? And I was somewhat disappointed by the idea of Legion as the villain for this one, but to make him like Parallax? I still want to read it, but this is worrying me.

It's not neccessarily a bad thing. But yes, there is some TRANSFORMERS-ish writing in some areas. It's most likely a product of the script having three writers.

Is there any particular reason it has to be Legion? Couldn't they just use Parallax to explore the fear angle?

No, there's really no reason for Legion to be involved VS Parallax, other than the fact that that's who Hal faced in EMERALD DAWN as his first major villain. They basically make Legion into a combination of Parallax and the Manhunters anyway, making it into a giant (and I mean giant, not just huge) mindless killing machine, and removing the far-more-compelling backstory. The "Did the Guardians do the right thing or not" angle is almost ignored, because Legion is simply played as "Their first screw up".

It would definitely allow them to explain the yellow weakness more clearly without being random. Johns' has basically given them a bible to use it with Rebirth. Another option would be using a rogue Manhunter only colored yellow.

Exactly. There's no reason the yellow weakness couldn't have been worked in here. The weakness fear becomes against will. This is what I mean about the script not having much depth.

Hammond has potential as a villain he just seems more like sequel potential.

Hector Hammond is what he is. A telepath who uses his power to do stupid, cliche villains tuff. He seems to have no larger aims. I feel that is a fundamental misunderstanding of his potential as a character.

He's just not that interesting, and his backstory is forced, and not very compelling. He's yet another whiny "villain just because" that writers feel the need to force motivation into.

Guard comparing the script to Transformers is disappointing. GL should have a script more like IM quality, not that.

Well, it is what it is. It has to be said, I think, that they're on about the same level in terms of the quality of the writing. I actually think TRANSFORMERS maybe had a more involved story. But frankly, I think this script is a lot like IRON MAN in many ways, too, and IRON MAN was a good movie, despite being straightforward and occassionally "cheesy".

 

[I Am The Knight]

I was kinda hoping it would be "above" Iron Man...At least it's only the first draft.

 

[NotFadeAway]

I liked and enjoyed what I read in the 1st draft. You can tell it is a first draft, and they have some fleshing out to do, but they have a good template here. As with most first drafts, it should get better the deeper they get into it.

I have no doubts about Berlanti as a writer, but I still think they should find another Director and have Berlanti serve as Producer and obviously Writer.

As highly as I think of Ryan Gosling, this script is made for David Boreanaz.

 

[protocida]

I am reading it again, and i just realised this is the perfect GL script, at least until page 13. It's fun. I think that's important. And, as some said so, it's the rough, first draft. There will be deep add. There will be polishment. And there will be a movie, or i'll go ape-sh it on Warner executives asses!

 

[Keyser Soze]

After taking a day to let my excitement die down, I think it's about time for me to come back and offer a full review of the "Green Lantern" script.

This was a fun, breezy read, and I soared through it. It's by no means a classic. In fact, I'd say the "Jonah Hex" script I'm currently reading is actually better than the "Green Lantern" script. That's not saying anything against this though. Just that it's nothing overly original. It basically sticks to the "superhero movie origin" template, which is fine. Of course, when compared to "The Dark Knight", it suffers. But I think that will be the case with most superhero movies from here on in, as "The Dark Knight" set the bar so high. And on it's own less-ambitious merits, this film does just fine.

A big strength is that the script is largely faithful to the mythos of Green Lantern, and the characters, for the most part, ring true. The characters and their interactions are one of the script's major strengths. Hal manages to at once be a likeable protagonist and an arrogant jerk. I think with an actor as talented as Ryan Gosling in the role, Hal will really come to life and be an entertaining, nuanced hero. In particular, I think the scenes with Carol - third act machinations aside - ring more true, and come across as more "grown up" than some of the soap opera stylings found in the likes of "Spider-Man". With the right actress for Carol, the dialogue provided here could be a basis for some strong chemistry throughout their shared scenes in the film.

I found myself getting continual sparks of excitement when it came to the various members of the Corps popping up. Tomar-Re and Kilowog have very small roles. In particular, I feel Kilowog could benefit from more face-time - perhaps even through a sparring session with Hal. You know the John Goodman rumor must be BS, because they wouldn't bring an actor of that stature in to say three lines. The Guardians are handled excellently - Berlanti and co nailed the aloof, beurocratic dickishness which defines them. But I was saddened to see no sign of Ganthet, a character I am rather fond of.

But the best-handled of all these alien figures is Sinestro. Kudos to the writing team for not pulling the trigger on his descent into villainy. But at the same time, the warning signs are all there. I loved the allusions to Sinestro's fascination - bordering on obsession - with "the yellow light" and the power of fear, even though he won't acknowledge it even to himself. And it's hinted at, rather than hammered over our heads. But Sinestro is more than just a redflagged villain-in-waiting. We see him as a well-rounded figure, someone who stands up to the Guardians in the pursuit of what is right, just like Hal. He may be arrogant, but he is clearly brave, and a natural leader to the Corps - as his rousing speeches to his fellow Lanterns illustrates. And he comes across as absolutely genuine in how he becomes a mentor - and, later, a friend - to Hal Jordan. It'll make for compelling viewing watching this friendship fall apart in the sequel.

I've seen a lot of folk rag on Hector Hammond's role in the script, but I actually enjoyed his presence in the script. Again, a strong actor will go a long way towards the role being successfully pulled off. But Hammond had some great moments peppered through the script. The scene shortly after he is infected with the fragment of Legion, when on his commute to work he is flooded with thoughts, is a great way of illustrating his emerging powers. And though some have called it hackneyed, I found Hector's heartbreak at reading his father's thoughts and finding nothing but shame and disappointment to be rather effective. Reminded me of Commodus in "Gladiator", actually. But rather than getting bogged down in sympathy for Hammond, there are some moments where he is just such a despicable scumbag, little lines here and there that make you want to see him go down. I think it'll be cool seeing Hector deteriorate on-screen, becoming increasingly twisted and disgusting as the transformation continues. There's no getting around the fact that he's ultimately a placeholder villain until Sinestro is ready to take his place as Hal's TRUE nemesis in the sequel(s), but given this inevitable limitation, I think Hector worked about as well as we could expect him to.

Weaknesses? I think the script suffers from a lot of the same pitfalls that other origin films following this template fall into. Namely, the film is at its most interesting before our protagonist becomes a superhero. It's here that the individuality of the character and his supporting cast is best captured. When Green Lantern makes his public debut, we cut into what is - in my opinion - one of the film's weakest sequences: a montage chronicling GL's various exploits. Saving people from burning buildings, stopping bank-robbers, basically the kinda stuff that could be done by any hero. And from here on out, it's strictly formula. Hero fights main villain. Hero fails. Hero learns important lesson about himself. Hero captures girl. Hero uses newly-gained inner strength to defeat villain. Hero saves girl. Hero kisses girl. We've seen before that it's a successful formula, but I doubt it's going to be enough to truly set "Green Lantern" apart from the crowd.

However, even if "Green Lantern" is ultimately too formulaic to truly become a breakout mainstream hit, it seems like the film is packed with enough fanboy-exciting nuggets - such as roles for Alan Scott and Guy Gardner - for it to satisfy existing GL fans, and give them the film they've long been waiting for. And - with all the set-up and references to it - perhaps the most important role "Green Lantern" will play is as a prelude to a superior sequel.

 

[Lestat74]

After taking a day to let my excitement die down, I think it's about time for me to come back and offer a full review of the "Green Lantern" script.

This was a fun, breezy read, and I soared through it. It's by no means a classic. In fact, I'd say the "Jonah Hex" script I'm currently reading is actually better than the "Green Lantern" script. That's not saying anything against this though. Just that it's nothing overly original. It basically sticks to the "superhero movie origin" template, which is fine. Of course, when compared to "The Dark Knight", it suffers. But I think that will be the case with most superhero movies from here on in, as "The Dark Knight" set the bar so high. And on it's own less-ambitious merits, this film does just fine.

A big strength is that the script is largely faithful to the mythos of Green Lantern, and the characters, for the most part, ring true. The characters and their interactions are one of the script's major strengths. Hal manages to at once be a likeable protagonist and an arrogant jerk. I think with an actor as talented as Ryan Gosling in the role, Hal will really come to life and be an entertaining, nuanced hero. In particular, I think the scenes with Carol - third act machinations aside - ring more true, and come across as more "grown up" than some of the soap opera stylings found in the likes of "Spider-Man". With the right actress for Carol, the dialogue provided here could be a basis for some strong chemistry throughout their shared scenes in the film.

I found myself getting continual sparks of excitement when it came to the various members of the Corps popping up. Tomar-Re and Kilowog have very small roles. In particular, I feel Kilowog could benefit from more face-time - perhaps even through a sparring session with Hal. You know the John Goodman rumor must be BS, because they wouldn't bring an actor of that stature in to say three lines. The Guardians are handled excellently - Berlanti and co nailed the aloof, beurocratic dickishness which defines them. But I was saddened to see no sign of Ganthet, a character I am rather fond of.

But the best-handled of all these alien figures is Sinestro. Kudos to the writing team for not pulling the trigger on his descent into villainy. But at the same time, the warning signs are all there. I loved the allusions to Sinestro's fascination - bordering on obsession - with "the yellow light" and the power of fear, even though he won't acknowledge it even to himself. And it's hinted at, rather than hammered over our heads. But Sinestro is more than just a redflagged villain-in-waiting. We see him as a well-rounded figure, someone who stands up to the Guardians in the pursuit of what is right, just like Hal. He may be arrogant, but he is clearly brave, and a natural leader to the Corps - as his rousing speeches to his fellow Lanterns illustrates. And he comes across as absolutely genuine in how he becomes a mentor - and, later, a friend - to Hal Jordan. It'll make for compelling viewing watching this friendship fall apart in the sequel.

I've seen a lot of folk rag on Hector Hammond's role in the script, but I actually enjoyed his presence in the script. Again, a strong actor will go a long way towards the role being successfully pulled off. But Hammond had some great moments peppered through the script. The scene shortly after he is infected with the fragment of Legion, when on his commute to work he is flooded with thoughts, is a great way of illustrating his emerging powers. And though some have called it hackneyed, I found Hector's heartbreak at reading his father's thoughts and finding nothing but shame and disappointment to be rather effective. Reminded me of Commodus in "Gladiator", actually. But rather than getting bogged down in sympathy for Hammond, there are some moments where he is just such a despicable scumbag, little lines here and there that make you want to see him go down. I think it'll be cool seeing Hector deteriorate on-screen, becoming increasingly twisted and disgusting as the transformation continues. There's no getting around the fact that he's ultimately a placeholder villain until Sinestro is ready to take his place as Hal's TRUE nemesis in the sequel(s), but given this inevitable limitation, I think Hector worked about as well as we could expect him to.

Weaknesses? I think the script suffers from a lot of the same pitfalls that other origin films following this template fall into. Namely, the film is at its most interesting before our protagonist becomes a superhero. It's here that the individuality of the character and his supporting cast is best captured. When Green Lantern makes his public debut, we cut into what is - in my opinion - one of the film's weakest sequences: a montage chronicling GL's various exploits. Saving people from burning buildings, stopping bank-robbers, basically the kinda stuff that could be done by any hero. And from here on out, it's strictly formula. Hero fights main villain. Hero fails. Hero learns important lesson about himself. Hero captures girl. Hero uses newly-gained inner strength to defeat villain. Hero saves girl. Hero kisses girl. We've seen before that it's a successful formula, but I doubt it's going to be enough to truly set "Green Lantern" apart from the crowd.

However, even if "Green Lantern" is ultimately too formulaic to truly become a breakout mainstream hit, it seems like the film is packed with enough fanboy-exciting nuggets - such as roles for Alan Scott and Guy Gardner - for it to satisfy existing GL fans, and give them the film they've long been waiting for. And - with all the set-up and references to it - perhaps the most important role "Green Lantern" will play is as a prelude to a superior sequel.

I agree with just about everything you said. I thought this was a kick ass script that deserves the praise it has been getting. Green Lantern should FUN, but not stupid. The comparisons to Iron Man are more than fair...it reminded me a LOT of that script for sure. GL should NOT be Dark Knight or even attempt to be. If they cast this the same way they cast Iron Man, this is a surefire hit. This script introduces what could seem like goofy concepts to a lot of the uninitiated, like the oath and the gaurdians and the like, and does it with an easygoing humor that's having fun with the concepts but not making fun of them. ( again, just like Iron Man ) Sure, we've seen the Super Hero origin several times now, but that's just a staple of this genre. You can't NOT do it. I really, really enjoyed this script and it made me smile several times. It might need a few tweeks here and there, but I can see why the studio went nuts for it. Can't wait to see it on the big screen.

 

[StorminNorman]

I really hope Tom is written out.

Anthony Anderson already played him in Transformers.

 

[I Am The Knight]

I really hope Tom is written out.

Anthony Anderson already played him in Transformers.

WOW.

Now I really need to read this.

 

[The Guard]

I really hope Tom is written out.

Anthony Anderson already played him in Transformers.

Exactly. But I'd prefer to see him written BETTER than written out.

 

[FaT_tONle]

Not to take away anything from this project/script, but can someone elaborate on the Kent cameo if it's even in there? Is it barely noticable or something somewhat relevant... like a Stark cameo or along those lines.

 

[The Guard]

It's barely noticeable. Really not all that important. Neither is the Gardner one. These are the only two people the ring "considers" before arriving at Hal.

 

[FaT_tONle]

Damn.............

 

[Lestat74]

I really hope Tom is written out.

Anthony Anderson already played him in Transformers.

I totally loved Tom in this script. If they get the right actor he won't be annoying. In fact, I can almost guarantee he'll be the audience favorite, as some of the most humorous moments come from Tom. I seriously don't want the inner pain and struggles of Thomas Kalmaku in this movie; he's the best friend and the comic relief and he serves that role well. He doesn't read anywhere near as over the top and spazzy as the guy from Transformers.