The boys go back in time to resurrect Queen Latifah’s les-bionic performance in “Set It Off”. Seth Rogen gets to play superhero in “The Green Hornet”…was it a hit or should he just stick to schtik comedy? The boys also debate the highly anticipated “Green Lantern” – will the fanboys out there even give it a chance or is it dead before release? The Golden Globes, sequel news and much, much more in this exciting episode of COL Movies!

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News:

• Golden Globes recap – we called Christian Bale & Melissa Leo – The Social Network, David Fincher & Trent Reznor
• In sequel news – GI Joe 2 in works
• Robert downey Jr. Falls out of OZ…. replaced with Johnny Depp?
• The Next Batman villans named – Cinemablend also explains their top 5 reasons why they are perfect
• And in the gayest movie news of the week category – Clint Eastwood to remake the iconic Barbra Streisand movie “A Star Is Born” with Beyonce’ as lead

The Past: Set It Off (1996)

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Director: F. Gary Gray

Starring: Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise, John C. McGinley

Trivia:

• Many critics, both positively and negatively, refer to this movie a merging of “Dead Presidents” and “Waiting to Exhale”.
• 61% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with an 85% audience approval rating.
• A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on September 24, 1996 by Eastwest Records. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and was certified platinum on November 12, 1996.
• Critic James Berardinelli wrote, “What sets this movie apart from the innumerable other entries into the action/caper genre is its social perspective. Set It Off doesn’t preach, but you’d have to be blind not to recognize that there’s a message here about the kind of desperation that can result from the familiar cycle of poverty, sexism, and racism.”
• From scouring the internet for information, it is clear this film was either loved or hated.

Talking Points:

• Queen Latifah’s performance (If this came out today, do you think she’d get nominated?)
• Melodrama at it’s finest?
• Compassion for the characters?

What We’ve Learned:

• If you’re going to skip the country, throw on a sombrero and jump on a seniors’ bus to Mexico.
• Don’t hide stolen money in the A/C vent.
• Cover your face if you’re going to rob a bank!
• Every bank robbery movie ends with only one member of the gang surviving. (The Town, Takers)

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Does every bank robbery movie have to end with all but one of the main characters getting killed?
Ray: I found it cliché, but props to Latifah for an awesome performance.
Steve: See this movie! OK, so it’s overly-melodramatic, but the acting is great and definitely reminds you that women can be just as hard as men! Queen Latifah was outstanding. If you’re a fan of her, this will only make you like her more.

The Present: The Green Hornet

Director: Michel Gondry

Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson

Trivia:

• When the rights to the Green Hornet property were purchased by Mirimax, Kevin Smith was attached to write and direct this film. However, Smith pulled out of directing due to an insecurity of directing something with such a larger budget than he was used to. He stayed on as writer and wrote two drafts, but with no further progress with the script, the rights were let go and purchased by Columbia Pictures. Then, coincidentally, his Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) star, Seth Rogen, became attached to star and write the screenplay. Smith’s screenplay, however, would resurface later in the form of a comic book miniseries.
• Seth Rogen shed 30 pounds to play the titular role.
• In late 2008, Stephen Chow was set to direct and co-star as Kato. However, creative differences prevented him from doing so although, for a while, it seemed he was still set to play Kato when Michel Gondry became attached.
• The film’s release date was originally the day that an adaptation of another emerald hero was to be released, Green Lantern (2011).
• Nicolas Cage was in negotiations to play Chudnofsky, but dropped out.
• ‘The Green Hornet’ was originally a radio show, first broadcast in 1936 and running to 1952. Although there were two serials in the 1940s (13 and 15 chapters, respectively), the last six chapters of the first one re-edited into a 100-minute feature and several episodes of the 1966 TV series were edited together into a pair of 90-minute films, this is the first original feature-length Hollywood treatment of the costumed hero.
• James Wan was considered to direct before Michel Gondry came aboard.
• Brit Reid (The Green Hornet) in the radio program was the grandnephew of The Lone Ranger. His father rode with The Lone Ranger on some of his adventures and they shared the family name of Reid.
• Abbie Cornish was in early talks to play Lenore.
• Jay Chou improvised the line “I don’t want to touch you” in the trailer.
• Asian pop star Jay Chou got the role of Kato after a video conference with Seth Rogen was set up. He was invited to do a screen test – the filmmakers did not know he was a famous singer in Asia up until the last moments.
• Seth Rogen’s first live action film not to be rated R.
• One of the drawings in Kato’s sketchbook is of Bruce Lee, who played Kato in the 1966 TV series.
• George Clooney, Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Wahlberg and Vince Vaughn were previously considered to play the lead role.

Talking Points:

• Is this another schizo movie?
• Who should have played The Green Hornet/Britt?
• Do we think this movie may have suffered from the star being executive producer?

What We Learned:

• Kato is MUCH cooler than The Green Hornet.
• Don’t hit on your employees.
• Knock out gas guns can be very helpful to have around!

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: I want a sequel. Not because this was a good movie, but because I can see what a good sequel could be. Oh, and bring back Kevin Smith to at least write.
Ray: Had a couple laughs, but to me the best part of this movie will be that I will never have to watch the trailer for this movie again.
Steve: Well, my fears were realized. I’m not going say it was completely awful due to Kato, but it was otherwise a waste of time. Next.

The Future: The Green Lantern (releasing June 17, 2011)

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong

Trivia:

• Greg Berlanti signed on to co-write and direct the film in 2007, but he stepped down to instead direct This Is Where I Leave You (2011) and handed direction over to Martin Campbell. However, he remained on board as a writer and producer.
• In the comics, there are currently six people who hold the title of the earth superhero Green Lantern: Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner and Jade (Scott’s daughter). While this film focuses on Hal Jordan as the primary Green Lantern, Alan Scott, Guy Gardner and John Stewart have cameo appearances to emphasize the ageless presence of the Green Lantern.
• Sam Worthington and Chris Pine were in consideration for the role of Hal Jordan. Bradley Cooper, Justin Timberlake and Jared Leto also screen-tested for the role before finally, Ryan Reynolds was cast as Jordan.
• The Green Lantern is one of the few regular DC Universe superhero that is not connected to Superman or Batman to have its own feature film. Other films, such as Catwoman (2004) or Steel (1997), and Supergirl (1984) are spin-offs of Superman and Batman. Watchmen (2009), although a DC Comics adaptation, takes place in a different universe than the regular DC heroes. Swamp Thing (1982) received two films (including the sequel The Return of Swamp Thing (1989) and John Constantine (who debuted in Saga of the Swamp Thing) also had a film with Constantine (2005); though people now associate these two with the Vertigo imprint, John Constantine and the Swamp Thing started in mainstream titles and occasionally still appear in mainstream titles.
• The casting of Ryan Reynolds creates the rare occasion of an actor who has both played a Marvel Comics and DC Comics superhero. He had previously played Wade Wilson/Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity (2004)
• Brian Austin Green, a fan of the Green Lantern, campaigned actively to get the role of Hal Jordan.
• The movie was originally scheduled to be shot at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia but the rising Australian dollar forced the studio and director Martin Campbell to seek relocation, New Orleans and various parishes around the city was chosen because it was it was perfect location from the scouts, the city has perfect aura for filming almost anything, many studio’s are being built in the city now known as Hollywood south and Louisiana tax incentive that many other cities have copied but still not as successful as Louisiana have help make it easy to film big and small budget movies in the State.
• Keri Russell, Eva Green, Jennifer Garner and Diane Kruger were all considered to play Carol Ferris.
• Peter Sarsgaard’s casting as Hector Hammond marks him the third actor from Kinsey (2004) to be appear as a character in a Batman movie. The previous ones were Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard in Batman Begins (2005), Chris O’Donnell as Dick Grayson/Robin in Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997), and Sarsgaard’s wife Maggie Gyllenhaal also appears as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight (2008).
• The city of Oa will be designed based on the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz (1939).
• Comic book writer Geoff Johns, who has worked on the “Green Lantern” comic and made it a resounding success, was signed on as a creative consultant on the film.
• At one point Clark Kent/Superman was in the script (he had a cameo as one of the candidates considered to receive a power ring), but he was cut out because the filmmakers didn’t want to depend on another superhero for a success.
• The scriptwriters drew inspiration from the Green Lantern comics ‘Emerald Dawn’ (which told the story of Hal Jordan’s induction into the Green Lantern Corps and how he became its greatest member) and ‘Secret Origin’ (a modern retelling of Hal Jordan’s early days as a Green Lantern), as well as the work of Denny O’Neil-Neal Adams and Dave Gibbons’ work on the “Green Lantern” comic.
• A cameo was considered for the Green Lantern John Stewart, but he will instead appear in the film’s sequel as Hal Jordan’s successor/protégé (as seen in the comics).
• Around June 2006, Robert Smigel had completed a script of the film, which was a comedy-adventure and was to star Jack Black in the lead role. However, the studio dropped the script idea due to EXTREME negative feedback from fans.
• In early 1997, Warner Bros. approached cult filmmaker/comic book writer Kevin Smith to script the film. Smith turned down the offer, believing there were other suitable candidates to make a Green Lantern movie.
• When Greg Berlanti was in charge, he hired comic book writers Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim to work on the script.
• Zack Snyder was approached to direct the film, but he turned down the offer due to his commitment on Watchmen (2009).
• A prop of the Green Lantern power ring and battery were constructed for the film.
• Not counting the “The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure” or the “Superfriends” shows that were produced by Filmation and Hanna-Barbara, this is only the second D.C. feature where Hal Jordan has a major role. Previously, he only appeared in Green Lantern: First Flight (2009), and beyond that: – in a “Superman” (1996) episode he was only mentioned by name – in “Justice League” (2001) and “Duck Dodgers” (2003) he made cameo appearances in one episode each – and in Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) he played a supporting role.
• This is the second D.C. feature starring Alan Scott in a minor role. Previously, he had appeared in “Smallville: Absolute Justice (#9.11)” (2001).
• This is the second D.C. feature starring Guy Gardner in a minor role. Previously, he had appeared in a “Duck Dodgers” (2003) episode and in “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” (2008).
• This is the second D.C. feature where John Stewart appears. However, it is only in a minor role: he had previously had a major role in “Justice League” (2001).
• The GL Corps uniform will be portrayed in computer-generated imagery: Ryan Reynolds and Mark Strong will wear motion-capture suits, over which their uniforms will be rendered. The decision for a computer graphics uniform was a creative move by the filmmakers, who wanted the uniform not to be a real cloth outfit but a light construct generated by Jordan’s power ring.
• A life-size prop of Abin Sur’s escape pod was constructed for the crash site scene.
• Peter Sarsgaard had a prosthetic applied on his head to portray Hector Hammond in the initial stages of his mutation (a swollen brain). For scenes where Hammond’s head actually enlarges it will be done in CGI.
• It took 4-5 hours to apply the prosthetic make-up to Temuera Morrison to make him resemble Abin Sur.
• This is editor Stuart Baird’s third superhero film, having previously worked on Superman (1978) and Superman II: Restoring the Vision (2006) (the Zorro films are debatable).
• Geoff Johns tried to get the film produced in 2000, but the first question he was asked was whether the film could be made without the ring. This discouraged him so badly that he didn’t make another attempt until The Dark Knight (2008) released.
• A mannequin of Abin Sur was constructed for Amanda Waller’s autopsy.
• The comics vary on why the Green Lantern Abin Sur travelled in a spaceship when his ring could sustain him in space. The early comics say it was to prevent unnecessarily using the power on his ring; later versions presented him with a prophecy that his ring would fail him (which ironically came true at the moment his ship malfunctioned).
• Martin Campbell’s favorite Green Lantern is Bzzd. He has also said that if he could become a Green Lantern, he would be Kilowog.
• To prepare for Carol Ferris’s action scenes, Blake Lively underwent training on the The Matrix (1999)’s aerial stunt rigs, assisted by acrobats from the “Cirque du Soleil” and supervised by noted stunt coordinator Gary Powell. She described it as a great experience: “I’m 40 feet in the air, spiralling around. That’s the best workout you can ever do because it’s all core… You do that for ten minutes and you should see your body the next day! It’s so exhilarating, so thrilling – and nauseating.”
• Taika Waititi got the role of Thomas “Pieface” Kalmaku due to his Maori-Jewish heritage: “There was an opening in the film for someone who was not-white or not-black.”
• Peter Sarsgaard described Hector Hammond as an expression of what he keeps inside: “He’s the kid that licked a battery, or went on the roof during a thunderstorm with a coat hanger.”
• Peter Sarsgaard loved his look as Hector Hammond so much he declared himself the “king of the prostheses!”
• In the comics, Carol Ferris became the Star Sapphire, an anti-hero with abilities similar to the Green Lantern; she later became a soldier (and currently queen) of the Star Sapphire Corps, a all-female force parallel to the Green Lantern Corps . The Star Sapphire logo can be seen on Carol’s helmet as she flies her jet.
• The filmmakers considered making this film about Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, whose powers were magical rather than cosmic. They decided to go with Hal Jordan as he was the most popular Lantern and the one on whom (most of) the GL universe was constructed around.
• There will be about 133 VFX shots in the film.
• Quentin Tarantino was considered to direct this film.
• Carol Ferris says Hal has the ability to overcome great fear. In the comics this was an amendment of the Green Lantern Corps: one originally had to be without fear in order to be a Lantern, but this was later changed to being able to overcome their fears.
• The films first teaser trailer borrowed the trailer score from The Last Airbender (2010), which is “Lonely Dusk” performed by Methodic Doubt.
• Hugo Weaving, Jackie Earle Haley and Geoffrey Rush were considered to for the role of Sinestro.
• The different Green Lanterns from Earth were created using real people: Alan Scott, created in July 1940 by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger, was based on Alan Ladd. In fact, his complete name is Alan Ladd Wellington Scott; Hal Jordan, created in October 1959 by John Broome and Gil Kane, was based on Paul Newman. His complete name is Harold ‘Hal’ Jordan; Guy Gardner, created in March 1968 by John Broome and Gil Kane, was based on Martin Milner. Although he has the same name that a NASA’s astronaut, his name became after fan Guy H. Lillian III and writer Gardner Fox. His complete name is Guy Darrin Gardner; John Stewart, created in December 1971 by Neal Adams and Dennis O’Neil, was based on Sidney Poitier; and Kyle Rayner, created in January 1994 by Ron Marz and Darryl Banks, was based on Keanu Reeves. In addition, John Broome and Gil Kane created too Carol Ferris in September 1959 (after Elizabeth Taylor), Hector Hammond in March 1961 (after Burl Ives) and Sinestro in August 1961 (after David Niven).
• As well as Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart and Kyle Rayner, in September 1967 John Broome and Gil Kane created other Green Lantern from Earth called Charles ‘Charlie’ Vicker. He was an actor who portrayed Green Lantern in a TV show and that briefly had Jordan’s power ring, helping to this last one in a real adventure. Named Green Lantern honorary by the Guardians of the Universe, he was assigned to the Sector 3319. When the Green Lantern Corps were destroyed he joined other organization called Darkstars (created by The Controllers, a split from the Guardians), dying finally during the invasion of the planet Rann by Grayven, third son of Darkseid (July 1996). Vicker was based on Warren Beatty after the release of Bonnie and Clyde (1967) one month ago of Vicker’s first appearance. Due to his low popularity levels his appearances were always shorts along the years before the editors decided to kill him.
• In the comics Jordan is a captain of the US Air Force, nicknamed “Highball”, who serves in the Edwards Air Force Base and that he’s helped by General Jonathan “Herc” Stone and his fellow pilot Jillian “Cowgirl” Perlman, that both know about Jordan as Green Lantern. In addition, Jordan and Perlman live a sporadic romance, making it a doubt in Jordan to choose between Perlman and Ferris, but all this have been vanished for the movie. Stone and Perlman were created in 2005 by Geoff Johns and they were based on Patrick Bauchau and Gwyneth Paltrow respectively.
• In the comics, the Checkmate organization (of which Amanda Waller and Alan Scott are agents) is specializes in covert operations. In the film, it is seen as a supervising agency (similar to S.H.I.E.L.D. or Sector Seven).
• Originally, the primary antagonist in the film was to be the Legion, an alien armored robot. The script, when revised, removed the Legion and substituted it with the fear entity Parallax. This was part of a long-term strategy for successive films: Sinestro would be corrupted by Parallax and form his own Corps with Parallax as its power source, while other entities of emotional power (the Butcher, Ophidian, Ion, Adara, Proselyte and the Predator) and their Corps would make their presence known.
• The comics differ over what caused Abin Sur’s mortal crash-landing on Earth. The original story says his ship was rendered inoperative by yellow radiation that surrounded the Earth; later comics mention his ship was damaged from a battle with a Red Lantern. The film combines both versions (battle within a field of yellow radiation), thus enabling the possibility of the Red Lantern Corps appearing in future films.
• In the comics, Hal Jordan was possessed by the fear entity Parallax and went on a rampage throughout Earth. In the film this happens to Hector Hammond.

Talking Points:

• Comparisons between film and comics – will they be justified or should we just let it be a feature film that stands on its own?

Summary:
A test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Hoping for the best, expecting the worst.
Ray: I’m not digging the comedic tone of the trailer, but Ill go see it.
Steve: Definitely interested in seeing it. Visuals look great! Just hoping they don’t try too hard to throw in catch phrases or cutesy lines.

Coming Attractions:
The Past

The Present

The Future


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