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| Green Lantern By George Perez |
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Thank You To The Fans, Followers, And Friends Of My Blog
From Godmera's Fandom: BLUE BEETLE, Spider-Man Meets Green Lantern?
Bedard: DCnU BLUE BEETLE, 'Spider-Man Meets Green Lantern'
From Newsarama.com By Albert Ching
Tony Bedard is writing two new #1s for DC in September, as part of the 52 series they're launching post-Flashpoint.
One is Green Lantern: New Guardians; familiar territory for him since he's been writing Green Lantern Corps. The other is new for him, but not for DC readers: Blue Beetle, specifically the Jaime Reyes version of the character introduced during Infinite Crisis in 2006.
While some characters are getting a rather radical status quo change this fall — Barbara Gordon back as Batgirl, and have you seen those Teen Titans character designs? — Bedard tells Newsarama that Jaime will stay pretty consistent, both visually and in personality.
In an email interview with the writer, he told much more about what's coming in the new series, including the importance of a Latino superhero, and whether or not Jaime's pals in the Justice League International will be playing a role.
Newsarama: Unlike with Green Lantern: New Guardians, you're coming onto Blue Beetlefresh, and now prepping the character for maybe his biggest comic book audience yet with a new #1. What do you like about Jaime Reyes as a character? He definitely seems like one of DC's most successful new character launches in recent years, having crossed over to both Smallville and Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
Tony Bedard: Jaime is unique in the DC lineup of heroes. There's nobody else quite like him. In a way, you can describe him as Spider-Man meets Green Lantern. I mean, he's the kinda nerdy high-school kid with a wicked sense of humor and a penchant for getting in trouble who receives the ultimate cosmic weapon. But then the comparisons fall by the wayside since he's presented with a unique problem. Jaime's weapon, the scarab armor, was intended to conquer the world for an alien empire. So the thing that empowers him to do good is potentially the greatest threat to the planet. It's a great irony that presents all sorts of dramatic possibilities and conflict on every level. As a writer, Blue Beetle is an irresistible premise.
Nrama: And while some characters appear to have undergone pretty significant revamps post-Flashpoint, it looks like Blue Beetle, aside from some visual tweaks, remains pretty much untouched. Is that an accurate guess or are things not quite so simple?
Bedard: Jaime's keeping his same basic look and same basic cast. I recognize that there's a lot we want to keep about this character, especially since in its heyday Giffen & Rogers'Blue Beetle was my favorite series DC produced. Seriously, I'm intimidated by the thought of following that combo. But there are also other things we want to play up that weren't as salient in the first Blue Beetle series. I think we kind of made it too easy on him the first time around. He had a great support system since all his friends and family knew his secret, and the armor probably became too friendly too quickly. This relaunch will intensify the threat posed by the Reach (the alien empire that created the armor) and make things considerably tougher on Jaime. That doesn't mean we'll lose the humor and fun that made the first series such a joy to read, but being the Blue Beetle shouldn't be a cakewalk, either. Finally, the first series had a fairly convoluted origin (in the midst ofInfinite Crisis, is the armor magic or not?, having to explain the two Blue Beetles before him, etc). This time, we'll have a more streamlined origin so new readers don't need a scorecard to join in the fun.
Nrama: And though Blue Beetle has been successful in many ways, there's still the fact that his last solo title was canceled because of low sales. What makes now the right time to re-introduce the character into the market in his own book?
Bedard: Aside from the overall renewed interest in DC and this big relaunch, I think Jaime's appearance on Brave & the Bold, Smallville and Justice League: Generation Lostshow that the character has actually widened his audience since his original series was canceled. I think Jaime has truly come into his own as the Blue Beetle and he'll launch higher than the last time around.
Nrama: Of course, an important aspect of Blue Beetle's character is the fact that he's of Latin descent. One of the stated objectives of the DC revamp is to bring more diversity, so is special kind of responsibility handling a character like Jaime?
Bedard: I suspect one of the reasons I got the gig is because I'm Puerto Rican and I have something to say from my own personal experience about being Latino — the first point being that it's not a single monolithic community. I'm not Mexican-American like Jaime, but my sister-in-law is Mexican and we've talked and laughed about the differences in the Spanish we speak and the other little cultural differences between us. Now, I know I'm pretty darn whitebread, but Spanish was actually my first language and I didn't live in the U.S. until I was ten years old. I know what it's like to feel torn between two cultures and to try to find a balance between them. I know the shame of forgetting my mother tongue and then re-learning it years later when I waited tables at a place with Mexican dishwashers. I know the struggles my mother faced as the state director of the League of United Latin-American Citizens in Georgia, and so on. So, basically, I'm pretty sure I have a lot to say on the Latino front, but that's not the be-all end-all of this book. It's going to be a fun, fast-paced, accessible adventure regardless of your background.
Nrama: The character Blue Beetle is often associated with a more humorous take, with Jaime Reyes in particular having a sarcastic bent. What kind of tone are you looking to establish in this book?
Bedard: I want to keep Jaime's snarky sense of humor and the fun banter between him, Paco and Brenda. Jaime's sense of humor is his most endearing attribute. It's also his main defense mechanism (at least, until he gets the armor). But we'll also raise the conflict level, the sense of real danger, and the obstacles Jaime faces. Gaining the armor means that everyone around him is in danger and that if he isn't careful, Jaime might wind up effectively ending the human race. With great power comes one crazy, dangerous situation after another. This book will be fun with serious consequences.
Nrama: You've written teen characters before, like the Legion and Supergirl, but Jaime is considerably more down to Earth than them, despite the scarab and his connection to the Reach and all that. So is it fair to say that, despite the sci-fi connection, this book is in some ways a bit of a departure for you?
Bedard: When I was writing for CrossGen I did a horror series called Route 666 with a teen female protagonist. It was one of my proudest moments as a writer. I know I might get pegged as a "cosmic" guy after R.E.B.E.L.S. and Green Lantern Corps, but I'm dying to get back into some down-to-earth teen trials, tribulation and trauma. I think there will even be horror aspects to Blue Beetle. I mean, the kid has an alien weapon fused to his spine! Ick!
Nrama: And surely there will be lots of action going on, but can readers also expect to see a healthy amount of checking in with Jaime's school and family life — both important parts of the character?
Bedard: Yeah, school and family pretty much define your teen years, so they'll be a huge part of Jaime's story. And your typical Latino family has a feel and flavor all its own. It's the little things, like the way everyone wore way too much perfume and cologne, and the way you never messed with my Abuelita Conchi even though she could hardly walk, and the way my Tio Couqui fiercely looked after us when my mom was trying to raise us by herself. There's a familial tightness and a way that everybody gets all in each other's business — sometimes more than you want. If I can capture a little of that in Blue BeetleI'll be a happy camper.
Nrama: What can you say about the threats posed in this book? Jaime's connection to the Reach implies big, global-level action (and perhaps beyond), but I'm guessing Jaime will also be facing things on a more intimate level as well.
Bedard: We'll add others to Jaime's "rogues gallery" as the series progresses, but the Reach will be a major cosmic adversary while El Paso's crime boss La Dama will pose an entirely different threat at home. Others will come trying to sieze the power of the scarab, Green Lanterns will instantly register the Blue Beetle as a threat, and Jaime will always be trying to rein in the scarab, whose standard reaction to any foe is deadly force. And in the midst of all this, Jaime wouldn't mind landing his first kiss, a date to the school dance, etc.
Nrama: The bulk of Jaime's recent appearances have been in the recently wrappedJustice League: Generation Lost, and most of those characters — but not Jaime — are on the cover to Justice League International #1. Can we expect a degree of interaction between those two books?
Bedard: Jaime's going to operate on his own at first. We're reestablishing his connection to the DCU heroic community, and not everyone knows his secret as we kick things off.
Nrama: This is probably the most high-profile work yet for artist Ig Guara. It's clearly early still, but what can you say at this point about what he brings to the title?
Bedard: I think Ig is our secret weapon, and people are going to buzzing about him most of all. I adore the pages he's turned in so far — he's a great cartoonist, his action really moves on the page, and his characters are bursting with personality. I'm very, very lucky to be working with him, and my biggest concern is that others will try to steal him away once they see how hard he's rocking this book!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
PREVIEW GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD WARRIORS #11
From CBR.com
The “War of the Green Lanterns” is over! But for Guy Gardner and Kilowog, their post-“War” story has only just begun!
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And now to reveal the standard cover to issue #12 by Dan Panosian:
Monday, June 27, 2011
MILLIGAN RAGES IN "RED LANTERNS"
From CBR.com Josie Campbell
By In January, DC Comics announced a brand new comic book series focusing on the the Red Lantern Corps,penned by “Hellblazer” and “Flashpoint: Secret Seven” writer Peter Milligan. Months later, “Red Lanterns” is back on the tip of everyone’s tongue after DC Comics announced the rage-powered series will debut as one of September’s 52 relaunched titles. Joining Milligan on the series is the art team of Ed Benes and Rob Hunter, both of whom most recently worked on the “Prologue: War of the Green Lanterns” arc in “Green Lantern” issue #63.
After speaking with Milligan about his brand new “Justice League Dark” series, CBR News reached out again to chat with the writer about “Red Lanterns.” While Milligan could not give specifics about the story, he willingly delved into what appealed to him about the Red Lanterns, his fascination with Atrocitus’ motivations, and the tone readers can expect come September.
CBR News: This series was originally announced back in January. When did you know that “Red Lanterns” would be one of the 52 DC relaunch titles coming out in September?
Peter Milligan: Quite a long time after I first starting thinking about and working on the series.
The Red Lanterns seem an unusual choice to carry a whole series--after all, they are often the bad guys in the Green Lantern books. Why center a series on the Red Lantern Corps?
The fact that they seem an unlikely choice to carry a series is one of things that really attracted me to this title. They are used as the bad guys but there tends to be a dearth of detail about these characters. Rather than being insane unfocused monsters in “Red Lanterns,” Atrocitus and his crew are the heroes. Or at least, they attempt to be. But they operate on the brutal edges of heroism.
The key thing is, Atrocitus doesn’t see himself as a bad guy. He’s on a mission. He’s on the side of the underdog. But his methods throw up a lot of moral and philosophical issues about vengeance. There is also so much untapped potential among these Red Lanterns; I want to explore the personalities that have hitherto lain dormant.
Going along with that, as you started working did you find you began focusing on the positive aspects of anger to make the characters more relatable or sympathetic?
I wasn’t looking for the positive sides of rage with the express purpose of making these characters more sympathetic. When you get to know these characters a lot of them do become sympathetic. Most of them are victims of some terrible injustice. And instead of hiding away feeling sorry for themselves they want to use the rage that they feel to go out into the universe and beat up the kind of fuckers who usually get away with heinous acts.
Previously you said one of the things that interested you was figuring out why Atrocitus was still so wrathful after all this time. Can you expand on that? What else about Atrocitus interested you as a writer?
It was something that occurred to me while reading about Atrocitus and thinking about how long ago his people were slaughtered. Clearly something like that never leaves you, but with Atrocitus it all seemed so raw, so on the surface. For him to be who he is it needs to be raw, as though it just happened yesterday. This was how I became interested in Atrocitus as a character. From there I began to see him as this ruined and tragic yet noble character who’s in a sense is trying to avenge his long-dead loved ones by unleashing terror on modern day aggressors. On top of all this, the poor bastard has his Red Lanterns to handle.
The characters you are dealing with in “Justice League Dark” also tend towards the dangerous side. Between “Dark” and “Red Lanterns,” what is it about anti-heroes that appeal to you?
I suppose you could throw in John Constantine over at “Hellblazer” into this category, too. I don't know about anti-hero, but characters that veer to the dangerous side tend to be more interesting. It's when you find out more about people, I think.
This seems like a title that would have a fair bit of world building attached to it--how much of the world was sketched out or defined by Geoff Johns and the other “Green Lantern” writers, and how much were you able to create your own people and places?
The start off point is the Atrocitus and Red Lanterns as laid out by other writers. But this leaves an awful lot of space. I think readers will also be surprised by the tone and scope of some of the stories.
You also mentioned that Bleeze and Dex-Starr will be involved--is that still the case?
Oh yes--Bleez in particular will be expanded as a character.
I think that Dex-Starr the wrathful kitty is probably everyone’s favorite Red Lantern at this point. Is he going to be the comic relief of the series, or do you have deeper plans for their feline member?
Dex-Starr is going to be around, but not always for comic relief.
Finally, what is the tone of the "Red Lanterns" comic--to your mind is it an action-packed superhero story with a twist, or is this a chance for deeper, more personal exploration into the minds of the Red Lanterns?
There's plenty of violence in this title, for sure. But I wasn't interested in writing one long blood-fest. The tone is definitely violent and visceral but I'm trying to use this to explore themes of rage, vengeance and loss, and to explore the characters--victims and perpetrators--who are caught up in it, [and] there's also humor in here, too.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
My Take On The Green Lantern Movie Reviews
Warner Bros. To Pursue ‘Green Lantern’ Sequel
The studio won't walk away from the superhero franchise, despite the film’s soft box office performance.
Warner Bros. is already planning a sequel to Ryan Reynolds' superhero pic Green Lantern, despite the film’s soft performance at the box office.
Sources say Warners still believes in the franchise, even if the studio is “somewhat disappointed” with Green Lantern’s result.
Over the weekend, Green Lantern fell a steep 66% at the domestic box office, grossing $18.4 million for a cume of $89.3 million. That’s a big decline.
Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said the movie is settling in, pointing out that fanboy pics often see a significant drop-off in their second weekends.
Still, Green Lantern fell off more than recent superhero picsThor and X-Men: First Class. Thor dropped 47% in its second weekend, while First Class dropped 56%.
Similar films that have seen the same sort of dip that Green Lantern did include Hulk, which dropped nearly 70% in its second outing.
Green Lantern cost $200 million to produce before a sizeable marketing spend (rival studios say it was one of the most expensive on record). Warners, preparing for the end of Harry Potter, needs new franchises, so was willing to invest big in Green Lantern.
A formidable obstacle standing in Green Lantern’s way now is Paramount’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which opens in theaters around the globe on Tuesday night.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
FLASHPOINT FRIDAY: “WHAT WOULD HAL JORDAN BE LIKE IF HE NEVER BECAME A GREEN LANTERN?” – ADAM SCHLAGMAN
From DC Comics.com By David Hyde
Hal Jordan is known for a lot of things – reckless behavior, a flagrant disregard for authority, and a flair for the wild side to name a few. But with Abin Sur being very much alive in the FLASHPOINT universe, what does this mean for Hal? Can he still move beyond his brash behavior and step up to the role of the hero without being chosen by a ring? In FLASHPOINT: HAL JORDAN #1, Hal is put to the test.“What would Hal Jordan be like if he never became a Green Lantern?” writer Adam Schlagman asks. “Would he finally be in a committed relationship with Carol Ferris or remain his irresponsible self? In this world on the verge of apocalyptic war, can one reckless test pilot finally accept responsibility and defeat agents from Atlantis, Invisible Planes, and a Hydra? And is he capable of the sacrifice required to drop the Green Arrow bomb?”
FLASHPOINT: HAL JORDAN #1 features art by Ben Oliver and a cover by Rags Morales and Gabe Eltaeb. Head over to IGN to view exclusive preview pages and read the book when it hits stands next week.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Exclusive Interview From MSN Movies, With Ryan Reynolds And Blake Lively
The Three*, Mostly Superior Versions Of The Green Lantern That We Didn't See
From Pajiba.com by Dustin Rowles
Let me just preface this by saying that I don’t know a ton about comic books, and anyone who has read this site knows that. So, though I know I’m asking for mercy from deaf ears, please forgive my mistakes. However, in researching Green Lanternahead of the film so I wouldn’t make a complete ass of myself with the review, I ended up learning more about Green Lantern than I anticipated. And in doing so, discovered some fairlyneat story lines and read about the Green Lantern script at various stage of development. Truthfully, nearly every other iteration I read about was not only better, but substantially better, than what ended up on the screen. And the thing is, though I loathed the film, I legitimately gained a lot of respect and fondness for the comic character through my cursory research.
Here’s what I learned about three* iterations of The Green Lantern that we didn’t see.
Spoilers below, if you care:
1) The Original Draft: There were a ton of problems with with finished film, obviously, and from what I can surmise, one of the biggest problems — Carol Ferris — had been an issue all along, even before Blake Lively got involved. Another huge problem was that they attempted to cram in too much mythology into the opening film. In script form, that seems great: The idea that Sinestro, Carol Ferris, Kilowog, the Parallax, and Hector Hammond would appear might sound appealing. But, in the finished product, much of it was obviously forced into a bloated film that couldn’t contain it.
Believe it or not, the finished product was better than the original script in that regard: The original script also had Alan Scott, Guy Gardner, Legion, Gotham, and Clark Kent, in addition to what we saw in the film (minus Parallax). At the time that script was leaked, fanboys were fairly ecstatic with just the names being mentioned. But, again, what sounds good on paper doesn’t always translate well onto the screen.
In addition, the original script had Legion as one of the two main villains, instead of Parallax, but it was Hector Hammond who was the main villain. I have no idea why they decided to replace Legion with Parallax. In the film, Hammond is defeated by Parallax. In the original script, Hal defeats Legion and then defeats Hammond, but only after Hammond holds not just Carol Ferris hostage, but all of Hal’s family and friends (he had his sights set on destroying the entire city by crashing a plane into it with his telekinesis).
In either respect, as cool in theory as Sinestro was in all iterations of the script, he probably shouldn’t have been in Green Lantern or at least should have been reduced to a very small role to line himself up for a future sequel. His existence wastoo much, a nod to fanboys instead of a more cohesive story. (He’d be great in a sequel, assuming he wasn’t pink). Also, I don’t really know who Legion is (other than what I’ve read on Wikipedia), but I have to say: The description of him sounds much, much better than Parallax.
Granted, the original ending was super cheesy. Carol is trapped in a jet hurtling toward the city set to destroy it. Similar to the film, Hal gives up his ring to Hammond and because the ring didn’t choose Hammond, it destroys him, turning him into a vegetable. However, there’s no power left in the ring, so Hal can’t save Carol. But, Hal uses another plane to maneuver himself into position to save her, and as Carol and Hal are falling to Earth without a parachute, they kiss and the power of their love reignites the ring. Guh. Still, it’s slightly better than the film’s ending, which had the Parallax being sucked into the gravity of the sun while Hal escaped by holding on to jet airplanes (and with the ultimate help of Sinestro, et. al).
2) The Director’s Cut: There’s another interpretation of the movie that was actually filmed by Martin Campbell but left on the cutting room floor. A reader of ours, puppetdoug, left a comment explaining the original movie, and I did some research to confirm it. It sounds like a much better movie than what the studio gave us. Here’s his comment:
One thing I feel needs mentioning: this is not Martin Campbell’s cut of the film, but the studio’s. I live in New Orleans where it was shot, I read the shooting script, all of which was painstakingly filmed with intense research, and all of that was left on the cutting room floor — a sort of combination of what happened to Daredevil and Watchmen, respectively — character development sacrificed for CG, scenes made irrelevant by removing their setup. The movie in the theater starts with an explanation of mythos that is made redundant by the more natural, scripted questions from Hal when he gets the ring. Ten minutes of childhood Hal, Carol, and Hector that sets up Hal’s first ring construct is reduced to an awkwardly placed flashback in the middle of another scene. The training with the ring is almost completely excised except for one minor scene. Most appallingly, the ending completely deletes the fact that Kilowog, Sinestro, and Toma-Re arrive at the end and help Hal defeat Parallax. Not to mention Parallax was supposed to be a 3rd act reveal after we spend the film worried about Hammond going evil, not the main villain for the entire film. I sincerely hope we get a director’s cut or at least all the deleted scenes on the video release.
It did feel like Parallax’s presence throughout the film felt tacked on and out of order. Puppetdoug’s explanation resolves that. Would it have made for a better performance from Carol? No, but it would’ve been a cleaner more coherent story that placed more of the focus where it should’ve been, on Hector Hammond, instead of making him something of an afterthought.
3) The Comedy Script: The only iteration I can imagine that might’ve been worse than what appeared on screen was Robert Smigel’s comedic take on the script, which he wrote back in 2004. (Smigel, as you’ll recall, is a former “SNL” writer and the man behind Conan O’Brien Triumph the Insult Dog). The script may have been decent, but the Green Lantern would’ve been played by Jack Black, and I simply can’t get behind that. Smigel wasn’t exactly pleased with the idea, either, as he explained to Mike Ryan in an interview with Vanity Fair:
If I were a diehard Green Lantern fan, I would have waited many years watching all of these other superhero movies like Daredevil get their turn and I would be very frustrated to hear that it’s finally going to be done as a comedy. I wouldn’t just feel screwed, I would also see it as a personal affront that the superhero that I’ve been worshiping is looked at as a joke. So I could see people being angry and I expected it. Whether or not it affected Warner Bros., I can’t answer that question. I assume they would have expected that people on the Web who care enough about the Green Lantern to write about it on message boards would object to the idea of turning it into a joke.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Why “Green Lantern” Is Better Than You’ve Heard, and Might Still Be a Hit
From Forbes By Mark Hughes
I have to think the filmmakers and folks at DC and Warner Bros are scratching their heads right now, wondering what happened and why so many reviewers hate Green Lantern instead of seeing it’s a fun, well-made, exciting entry in the genre. I know if I were them, I’d be disappointed that the film isn’t being appreciated for how hard it tries and succeeds on most all levels. It’s not a dark, “illusionary realism” sort of film like The Dark Knight, it is more on par with the Marvel films of late, going for a much more the feel of a comic book come to vivid life, and as that sort of summer blockbuster superhero film, it more than delivers the goods.
I can’t help feeling that expectations have gotten so high for the genre that they’ve grown unrealistic to the point that we want everything to be too epic and Oscar-worthy, as if there’s no room for pure fun, adventurous entertainment that is capable of winking at us and embracing the most outlandish elements of itself akin to Superman: The Movie. Just imagine if we’d seen Green Lantern in, for example, 2002. It probably would’ve blown everybody’s mind, and been hailed as a top-notch sci-fi super-heroic summer blockbuster.
But now, with so many origin tales under our belts and so many big action CGI-effects films, we lose sight of what’s IN this film and don’t judge it for what it actually is, so much as judging it against our feeling of “I’ve seen too many origin stories” and expectations of something like “The Lord of the Rings in space.”
Not that judging a film based on what you think it COULD have been is wrong. I just think those are the dominate reasons underlining most of the bad reviews, overshadowing assessments based more on the actual quality of content in the film, and that it’s not really being judged on its own merits. And I think superhero fatigue played a BIG role in some of the mainstream critical rejection of this film, feed a simplistic narrative (“Green Lantern sucks and it’ll flop“) that was pushed until it took hold before the film opened. That narrative became an echo chamber, and helped shape the perception of this film as “failed” before the first weekend was even over.
Well, I think the negative reaction to Green Lantern is excessive. It’s not just that I liked the film a lot (which I most certainly do), I genuinely think a lot of the criticisms are riding a wave of “negative narrative” that got set in stone early on and came to dominate the messaging of the opening weekend, and once that narrative took hold it was increasingly unlikely anyone wanted to step forward and disagree by praising a film that the supposed consensus was panning.
The critiques of the effects and acting are especially a mystery to me — the film is visually stunning, the effects brilliantly realized, and I think the quality of acting overall from the entire cast is easily on par with the Iron Man and Spider-Man films, which got plenty of approval for their respective casts.
All this talk of Green Lantern as a box office disappointment might be a bit premature as well. The film made more than $70 million worldwide in its opening weekend, and still has several markets in which to open overseas. If word of mouth among audiences is that this film is a fun summer flick, it could have a smaller than expected decline into the second and third weeks, and be headed toward something approaching a $500 million worldwide box office. Consider that Thor topped $400 million despite the fact its second weekend faced the huge opening ofPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and then the third weekend had two big releases as well. Green Lantern faces Cars 2 on its second weekend, but that’s a film pulling in a much younger audience and family viewership that isn’t really the main target demographic forGreen Lantern anyway. No, the next serious direct challenge to Green Lantern’s audience is two weeks away, when Transformers: Dark of the Moon opens. But that’s the ONLY big film opening against Green Lantern that weekend, and then the next challenger doesn’t show up until two weeks after that with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part II‘s final bow (another WB film) hitting theaters.
What all of this means is, Green Lantern just might be positioned to face only a modest drop next weekend, especially if word of mouth creates some buzz that the extreme negative reviews are overstated or outright wrong, as is starting to happen among fans. And the film could end up as the go-to alternative for younger teens who might go to the theaters with their families next weekend, but who don’t want to attendCars 2 with their parents and younger siblings — an odd bit of potential counter-programming that might unexpectedly work to Green Lantern’s favor.
It’s also worth noting that the film is hitting around 45% for 3D showings domestically, meaning that it hasn’t slid farther than the previous couple of films that sparked knee-jerk hyperbole about the death of 3D. If foreign markets are as receptive to this film as they’ve been to other films lately that got dismissed by foreign critics while soaring to box office success overseas, Green Lantern could enjoy a well-deserved appreciation by foreign audiences, who also seem not to have gotten the “3D is dead” memo and are still attending in large numbers.
I hope it keep its legs under it for the next couple of weeks, to build some staying power and better buzz that carries it toward something around at least a $450-500 million worldwide box office. I think it deserves much better treatment than it’s gotten in the press so far, and most audiences would enjoy it if they gave it a chance.
I hope audiences give Green Lantern a chance and make it more popular, and that DC/WB definitely move forward with the sequels. There’s a lot of potential, and this film set up the franchise quite nicely. I’ll go back to see it at least a couple of times again, and plan to bring friends with me as well.
If you’re looking for an exciting summer film that thinks being a superhero should be fun and sometimes even funny, and you want to see a mixture between the typical superhero film and sci-fi elements that create a new, incredible world of aliens and technology and backstory mixed with humor and a very good human story, I encourage you to ignore the negative reviews and go see this film. And if you’re a comic book fan who’s waited to hear more about it, this film is like a comic book come to life and proud of it — go see it, you won’t regret it!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Box Office: Green Lantern is Neither Darkest Nor Brightest on Opening Weekend
From Filmschoolregects.com by Jeremy Kirk $300m. That’s the number that came out earlier this week for Green Lantern‘s price tag. Warner Brothers were backing this horse all the way to the finish line, and though it crossed first, it didn’t exactly lap the competition. Most analysts expected the latest DC/WB comic book adaptation to rake in between $50-55m for the weekend, and that’s exactly where it fell, right smack dab in the middle of that range, in fact. Though that’s not a stunning haul for a film that cost this much, it does fit it in rather nicely with the other DC/WB properties’ opening weekends.
In fact, Green Lantern comes in at #4 on opening weekends chart for DC/WB behind The Dark Knight ($158.4m opening weekend), Watchmen ($55.2m opening weekend), and Batman Forever($52.7m opening weekend). To put that in context, Green Lantern had a bigger opening this weekend than any of the Superman films and four of the big Batman films. While that seems mighty impressive on the surface, you have to sit back and take that price tag into perspective. With this opening weekend and the continued onslaught of big Summer films hitting audiences, it doesn’t look good for Green Lantern to overtake that $300m. Not in domestic box office, anyway, and that’s the amount most at WB will be looking at. It remains to be seen what Green Lantern will do in overseas markets, but it seems like the kind of quirky, sci-fi film that could perform quite well.
J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 had a decent drop here in its second weekend. It was enough to overtake the debuting Mr. Popper’s Penguins, which didn’t exactly light the world on fire with its opening take. The family film could have decent longevity. Jim Carrey has a history of smaller openings that turn into big overall numbers. 2005′s Fun With Dick and Jane opened to $14.3m and ended up generating $110.3m before its domestic run was over. The same could happen for Mr. Popper’s Penguins, though the slate of family-aimed entertainment (Cars 2 and Zookeeper just to name a few), will likely push the film off to the side quickly.
And here’s your weekly Midnight in Paris and Tree of Life report. The Woody Allen film continues to make its presence known in the top 10, this weekend pulling in an additional $5.2m. It seems only days away from becoming Allen’s biggest film in over 25 years. Only three of his films have made North of $30m in domestic box office, 1977′s Annie Hall with $38.2m, 1979′s Manhattan with $39.9m, and 1986′s Hannah and Her Sisters with $40m.
Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life, on the other hand, is getting slower moving on its weekly roll-out and subsequent box office haul. It came in #12 on this weekend’s charts making $1.1m on 114 screens. That’s not a bad per screen average, $9781 per, to be precise. In the coming weeks, Tree of Life‘s release window will look to broaden, and the film could find itself inching its way up the charts.
Here’s how the weekend broke down:
- Green Lantern – $52.6m NEW
- Super 8 – $21.2m (-40.1%) $72.7m total
- Mr. Popper’s Penguins – $18.2m NEW
- X-Men: First Class – $11.5m (-52.3%) $119.9m total
- The Hangover Part II – $9.6m (-45.5%) $232.6m total
- Kung Fu Panda 2 – $8.7m (-47.4%) $143.3m total
- Bridesmaids – $7.4m (-25.6%) $136.8m total
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – $6.2m (-43%) $220.3m total
- Midnight in Paris -$5.2m (-10.2%) $21.7m total
- Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer – $2.2m (-63.1%) $11.1m total
With these numbers, the weekend is looking at $142.2m total, up from last weekend’s Super 8-led haul, but still moderately tame for the Summer months. The same weekend last year saw Toy Story 3launch with $110.3m, while that also was the weekend we saw Jonah Hex crash and burn with $5.3m. And what would a box office or Reject Report be without me bringing up the colossal failure that wasJonah Hex?
Next weekend sees PIXAR’s next film unleashed to the world. Cars 2 revs its engines and Bad Teacher looks to bring in some money through counter-programming. Don’t expect Toy Story 3-level immediate success for Cars 2, but it’s definitely going to be the movie to beat.
This is proof the film did not do as bad as everyone is making it, not great but not that bad either. Mike.
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