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Green Lantern Blu-ray Disc Review

Brenden — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:57:13 +0000

GREEN LANTERN (2011, Blu-ray released October 14, 2011 – MSRP $35.99)

MOVIE:	★★☆☆☆
VIDEO:	★★★½☆
AUDIO:	★★★★½
EXTRAS:	★★★★☆
BLU-RAY:	★★★½☆

Green Lantern is a whole mess of missed opportunity. What could have been a killer first salvo in Warner‘s next franchise attack on the hearts, minds and wallets of the movie-going public has turned out to be a dud, due to some tragic missteps in craft and casting. And while the Blu-ray offers a lot of value and a powerful lossless soundtrack, the transfer on this bad boy just doesn’t cut the mustard.

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, an elite force of protectors for peace and justice has existed for centuries. They are the Green Lantern Corps. When a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of the Corps’ newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds). Bringing the popular superhero to the big screen for the first time, “Green Lantern” also stars Blake Lively (“Gossip Girl”), Peter Sarsgaard (“Orphan”), Mark Strong (“Sherlock Holmes”), Academy Award(R) nominee Angela Bassett and Academy Award(R) winner Tim Robbins.

I was rooting for Green Lantern from the moment it was announced until I finally sat through it in the theatres. At that point, I just gave up, not willing to waste any more good will and enthusiasm on such a failure of artistic and corporate momentum. Green Lantern has everything going for it – a great concept, fun designs and years of story backlogged in thousands of comics and cartoons. It also has the fabled and exhaustive Green Lantern Bible written by sci-fi great Larry Niven for DC comics in its corner, but that’s another story all together. Since GL’s willpower-and-imagination based energy constructs were really the only genuine obstacles in the path of bringing this story to screen for years – a hurdle now easily cleared through the magic and ubiquity of CGI – making a decent film should have been child’s play for the studio. Sadly, the script suffers from problems a first-year screenwriting student could spot and likely fix (a shallow and unlikable protagonist who never has to struggle to be the best pilot, a chick magnet or the recipient of magic powers and who suffers no ill effect for his petulant and privileged shortcomings, for starters) and the tone of the work is all over the map. Worst of all is Ryan Reynolds in the title role.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I dig Reynolds. And he does his level best here. But no matter how much CGI is slathered over him, no matter how he desperately tries to slip seamlessly into the material, he’s always just Ryan Reynolds up there on the screen, looking green and like he’s hard at work trying to be the right guy for the role. And he’s not. He never was. Never mind the rest of the film’s problems. This is the biggee. You know how Superman 3 and 4 are real stinkers but every time Christopher Reeve steps on screen as Superman you totally forget that the movie sucks because… well, damn, that’s Superman up there on screen? That never happens in Green Lantern. It’s always, always Reynolds on screen. And that’s why this movie fails. The audience wants to see Green Lantern, not an actor dressed up as Green Lantern. And the film just doesn’t deliver the goods.

Speaking of not delivering the goods, what’s up with this Blu-ray transfer?! When I look at the muddy, dark presentation of Green Lantern I can’t help but recall the studio head’s quote about making the sequel more like Nolan‘s The Dark Knight and that maybe, someone got the idea that cranking down the brightness on this bad boy might be a great first step at righting the wrongs of the film. If that’s the case, it’s an extremely dumb idea. The one thing the movie had going for it in the theatre was it’s look – bright green and alien when at its best. Now, most of the film is cast in shadow, which in turn throws off colours resulting in some pretty funky skin tones. What a shame. This could have at least been a fantastic Blu-ray disc instead of another case of the studio not having a clue how to tackle this character. The good news here is that the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track kicks all kinds of ass, delivering booming lows through your sub and tons of spacial effects through the surround channels. Finally, something to get excited about!

Aside from a kicking, lossless audio track, the other reason for fans to be excited about the Green Lantern Blu-ray is the reasonable bounty of special features included on the disc, best of which is Warner’s famous Maximum Movie Mode, in this case, featuring DCE Chief Creative Officer and Green Lantern comic scribe Geoff Johns in the host’s chair. This isn’t the MMM at its best though, the sort where directors like Zack Snyder step into frame, the film receding onto screens behind them as they fast forward, rewind and zoom in on small moments to blow out and examine the details of their movie making process. This is more like a run of the mill picture-in-picture track, with pop-up info, behind the scenes clips and nuggets of interviews. It’s still good stuff, just not quite as cool as what Warner has done in the past. The 47-minutes of ‘Focus Points‘ featurettes are also available to be watched outside of the MMM.

The other significant feature of note is the inclusion of the Extended Cut of the film, which adds back the prologue scenes that set up critical character relationships and detail the moments where Hal lost his father. In my opinion, it was a big mistake to cut this sequence. The final, theatrical cut of the film uses scenes from it in flashback when Hal is in jeopardy early on in the film (the Extended version of the film foolishly leaves them cut in at full length and would have been better served simply flashing images of Hal and his dad, since we’ve now watched the entire scene play out.)

NOTE: The US version of the Blu-ray disc includes a digital copy of the film via the brand new (and apparently hinky) Ultra Violet streaming service. The Canadian disc that I reviewed, which is otherwise identical in every way, was intended to include a standard digital copy of the theatrical cut of the film but due to a manufacturing error was left out. I haven’t heard about a fix for this yet but I’ll let you know as soon as Warner announces one.

Special Features:

Theatrical Film
Extended Cut
Maximum Movie
Mode with Picture in Picture Pods
The Universe According to Green Lantern
Ryan Reynolds Becomes Green Lantern
Justice League #1 Digital Comic
Additional Scenes
Preview of Green Lantern: The Animated Series
BD-Live
Access code for Sinestro Corp Batman Skin on the Warner Bros. Interactive video game Batman: Arkham City

Top New Blu-ray releases for the Week of October 4

Brenden — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:06:16 +0000

Wow. I’m still reeling from the pick of the week. It’s hard to even look at anything else here. Make sure you check it out (as if you can miss it) but also scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and take a gander at some of the other interesting discs hitting shelves this week: new season sets of Chuck and Bones, excellent TV horror Dark Night of the Scarecrow and several recent Jane Austen PBS mini-series.

As always, clicking the Blu-ray package art will zip you over to Amazon where every purchase you make through our links helps the site stay on its feet. We appreciate every single click and thank you again for continuing to read The Blu-ray Blog.

Blu-ray disc of the week: TREE OF LIFE (CANADA)

From Terrence Malick, the acclaimed director of such classic films as “Badlands”, “Days of Heaven” and “The Thin Red Line”, “The Tree of Life” is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationships with his father (Brad Pitt). Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Through Malick’s signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.

I’m not sure that there’s a more important film released this year than The Tree of Life. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything that can compare, to be honest – the unprecedented marriage of sounds and images in perfect subjective symmetry. I have a feeling this film will become a touchstone for generations of artists, including those already working today. Malick is able to use the form in ways that seem to escape most in the business, particularly those caught in the gears of the plastic Hollywood machine. His ability to juxtapose disparate images to imply new narrative threads is rare and, in my experience, usually only found at this level in the best comics, where the use of image-as-concept is often the only tool in the creator’s pallette. The Tree of Life is pure art. A two-and-a-half hour long tone poem of a sort, but with a backbone of narrative to support it. As far as I’m concerned, this is the best film of 2011. And one of the best Blu-ray presentations as well!

I received the Canadian version of The Tree of Life Blu-ray from eOne. The disc is identical to the US release from Fox (save the studio marker at the beginning) and is one of the most stunning high-def releases of the year. Honestly, I don’t think any film has ever looked better on my projector. Colours pop, detail is out of this world and blacks are deep and dark. Combine the reference quality image with the near-perfect 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track and The The Tree of Life is the perfect demo disc to show off your home theatre. No matter what you think of the deliberately paced story and the gentle, subjective style of film-making, you’ll want to own a copy of this disc just to wow your neighbours and friends. It’s the Planet Earth purchase of 2011.

Special features are limited to a single half-hour long documentary called “Exploring the Tree of Life.” Don’t sell this little gem short, though. It’s created by home-video producer extraordinaire Laurent Bouzereau (Jaws, Avatar, Indiana Jones disc and doc producer, to name a few) and it’s wonderful and insightful, covering not only the various facets of the production, but also looking to other contemporary filmmakers (Christopher Nolan and David Fincher to be exact) for comments on Malick and his style. If, after watching the film, you find yourself a little lost, give this doc a watch. It’ll set you on the path to understanding the work and what went into assembling it. Magnificent. As is to be expected, the reclusive auteur, Malick himself, doesn’t make an appearance. The theatrical trailer is also included.

Highest possible recommendation.

Special Features:

Exploring the Tree of Life, a 30 minute making-of documentary
DVD (and Digital Copy in the US) of the film

AMAZON: CDN$ 24.99

Also available: TREE OF LIFE (US)

AMAZON: $24.99

THE FOUR FEATHERS

This Technicolor spectacular, directed by Zoltán Korda, is considered the finest of the many adaptations of A. E. W. Mason’s classic 1902 adventure novel about the British empire’s exploits in Africa, and a crowning achievement of Alexander Korda’s legendary production company, London Films. Set at the end of the nineteenth century, The Four Feathers follows the travails of a young officer (John Clements) accused of cowardice after he resigns his post on the eve of a major deployment to Khartoum; he must then fight to redeem himself in the eyes of his fellow officers (including Ralph Richardson) and fiancée (June Duprez). Featuring music by Miklós Rózsa and Oscar-nominated cinematography by Georges Périnal and Osmond Borradaile, The Four Feathers is a thrilling, thunderous epic.

Another landmark release from The Criterion Collection, The Four Feathers has been long in need of a respectful resurrection on home video. I haven’t received my copy of the film yet but I’m so looking forward to delving into it. Early reviews point to the image being far from perfect but, without question, the best the film has ever looked on any format. Special features include a commentary track, a half-hour long interview with the director’s son, filmmaker David Korda, a vintage promo film, the theatrical trailer and the usual printed booklet.

AMAZON: $26.99

BEAUTIFUL BOY

“Beautiful Boy” is an unconventional love story that explores the journey of a married couple on the verge of separation, who must live with unimaginable heartbreak, and find healing through the darkest days of their lives. Bill (Michael Sheen) and Kate (Maria Bello) hopelessly try to find some hint of an explanation after finding out that their only son committed a mass shooting at his university before taking his own life. They struggle numbly through the funeral, the media onslaught, and the awkward pity from relatives and friends. Their already strained marriage is tested as they realize all they have left with each other is their shared grief and confusion – and the unfortunate legacy of their son. This life-altering event forces Bill and Kate to face their feelings of guilt, rage, blame, self-discovery – and ultimately hope – so that they can finally see each other and their chance for happiness again with clear eyes.

Beautiful Boy has a lot in common with The Tree of Life. (I wonder if its home-video release was timed to coincide?) Both films revolve around a narrative dealing with loss and attempts to find one’s self after suffering profound tragedy. Shawn Ku‘s film, however, deals with things head on, in as direct a fashion possible, with a linear narrative that examines a couple pulling apart and ultimately together to cope with great loss. It’s a moving and poignant portrait of a couple of well rendered people, played to perfection by master thespians, Michael Sheen and Maria Bello. It’s far from a fun film but a thoroughly rewarding drama by a bright young filmmaker with great promise.

Anchor Bay presents the film in an attractive, film-like Blu-ray edition that appears to accurately replicate the source material. There’s a fair amount of grain on display but if you’re at all like me, you love it and love that source-accurate discs like this give the feeling of actually watching film. And that’s when Blu-ray is at its best. This isn’t the prettiest looking film, but the presentation on the disc is detailed and just about perfect, for what it is. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround mix is front heavy, as is to be expected in a drama of this sort, without very many opportunities to show off. It’s a good, solid lossless track but not very exciting.

Special features are limited to a couple minutes of fairly dry deleted scenes and one of the sleepiest group commentary tracks I’ve ever heard. Keep that coffee at arms length if you plan to listen to writer/director Shawn Ku, editor Chad Galster and cinematographer Michael Fimognari talk about the production for any longer than a few minutes. They’ve got a lot to say and they certainly amp up the energy as the track moves along but boy, is this one a tough slog. The disc is rounded out with the theatrical trailer.

AMAZON: $19.99

GREEN LANTERN

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, an elite force of protectors for peace and justice has existed for centuries. They are the Green Lantern Corps. When a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of the Corps’ newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds). Bringing the popular superhero to the big screen for the first time, Green Lantern also stars Blake Lively (Gossip Girl), Peter Sarsgaard (Orphan), Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes), Academy Award® nominee Angela Bassett* and Academy Award® winner Tim Robbins**.

I haven’t seen the Green Lantern Blu-ray yet and I don’t know that I want to. This is probably the worst big-budget, mainstream superhero film to be released in years. How this clunker of a script got by the gatekeepers of quality at Warner and DC is beyond me. Very little in the story makes sense for the characters and the plot is a mess, when it’s not too busy being pedestrian. What a let down. That said, the extras on the Blu-ray look like they’ll be fun to watch. And I’m sure the A/V quality of the thing will be stellar. Any way you slice it, it’s one of the biggest releases of the week and worth noting here. Green Lantern will be on store shelves this Friday, October 14th.

AMAZON: $24.99

HORRIBLE BOSSES

Management candidate Nick Hendricks has been logging 12-hour days and eating everything his twisted supervisor dishes out, toward the promise of a well-earned promotion. But now he knows that’s never going to happen. Meanwhile, dental assistant Dale Arbus has been struggling to maintain his self-respect against the relentless X-rated advances of his D.D.S. boss when she suddenly turns up the heat. And accountant Kurt Buckman has just learned that his company’s corrupt new owner is not only bent on ruining his career but plans to funnel toxic waste into an unsuspecting population. Quitting is not an option. These monsters must be stopped. So, on the strength of a few-too-many drinks and some dubious advice from a hustling ex-con whose street cred is priced on a sliding scale, the guys devise a convoluted but foolproof plan to rid the world of their respective employers… permanently. But even the best-laid plans are only as good as the brains behind them.

I’m sticking Horrible Bosses up here this week because I’m kind of excited to see it, despite the mixed reviews it received. C’mon, how can any film with Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell, who just happens to be sporting a bald wig and bad comb-over, possibly be anything but brilliant? I’ll let you know, when my review copy shows up.

AMAZON: $24.99

THE BAD SEED

Rhoda Penmark (Patty McCormack) is a well-mannered 8-year-old little lady – and an efficient, unfeeling killer. And in this spellbinding chronicle of evil, whatever Rhoda wants, she ruthlessly gets. Her mother Christine (Nancy Kelly), reluctantly made to see her offspring’s moral blindness at work, is heartrendingly torn between the love for the child she bore and grief for Rhoda’s victims. From Maxwell Anderson‘s stage hit, “The Bad Seed” ticks like a time bomb under the skillful direction of Mervyn LeRoy, who cast several Broadway production originals, including Kelly (recreating the role that won her a Tony), McCormack and Eileen Heckart. their harrowing performances captured three of this suspenseful movie’s four Academy Award(R) nominations – and make this thriller one of the great ones.

If The Bad Seed were a modern film, it would be the campiest of productions this side of Desperate Houswives. In fact, it’s hard to take it seriously, even now, watching this classic 1956 stage adaptation. The performances are all overheated, the story, right on the nose and that ending – my, God, that ending! Watching The Bad Seed felt like experiencing an old, lost episode of Dark Shadows or something, without the supernatural element to it. Young Patty McCormack is something to behold, as the bitchy little so-and-so who takes what she wants and deals out her ruthless vengeance to those who resist or threaten. Apparently, she perfected her duplicitous persona on stage in the role before heading to the big screen. It would explain why director LeRoy could coax such an assured and solid, yet theatrical, performance from such a young actress. But, sadly, in the end, as entertaining as The Bad Seed is to watch, it feels like an overlong television production, with uninspired shots and stagey setups. It’s still a classic and worth a look but don’t expect a grand Hollywood production here.

Warner brings The Bad Seed to Blu-ray in a presentation that appears uneven at the best of times. If I had to guess, I would put my money on the source material here being the best of the films surviving elements, with some shots looking fairly clear and detailed, as if transferred from 35 mm and others appearing dull, flat and without detail, as if scanned from a 16 mm dupe or even pulled from old tape. Yes, some scenes almost look that bad. But it’s the inconsistency, and the fact that there are moments where this disc looks pretty great, that makes me believe Warner did the best with what they’ve got. I wish I knew more about the source here. Just know going in that The Bad Seed looks way better on Blu than it did on DVD. But this disc is not going to blow you away. The mono DTS-HD Master Audio track is clean and clear, with limited range, as is to be expected from a film of this age.

McCormack provides most of the Blu-ray discs special features, carried over from the DVD, in the form of a 15-minute interview and a very lively, entertaining commentary track. While the interview is quite fine and informative, I would actually recommend checking out the commentary track, if you’re only going to hit up one of the extras here. Playwright/actor Charles Busch chats informally with McCormack for the length of the film, the two sharing laughs and stories, providing a very easy and pleasant listen. The disc is rounded out, as most are this week, with the theatrical trailer.

AMAZON: $13.99

ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY THIS WEEK
Clicking an image will take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more about and purchase the Blu-ray disc:

Green Lantern Ultra Violet Digital Copy video

Brenden — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:00:16 +0000

The much derided Green Lantern film from this past summer will be released on Blu-ray next Friday. Along with it (and the October 11th release of Horrible Bosses) comes Warner‘s initial foray into the world of cloud-based content – Ultra Violet. The Green Lantern Blu-ray will contain a code to verify that you’ve purchased the disc, which will then allow you stream the film from Ultra Violet onto any device at any time. Or, at least, that’s how it seems it’s going to work. Check out the Green Lantern promo video above for a look at the service and visit uvvu.com for more details and to sign up.

GREEN LANTERN
(October 14, 2011 – MSRP 3D Combo Pack $40.99, Blu-ray Combo Pack $35.99)
Video: 2.40:1 1080p
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Special Features:

Theatrical Film (3D & 2D)
Extended Cut (2D only)
Maximum Movie
Mode with Picture in Picture Pods
The Universe According to Green Lantern
Ryan Reynolds Becomes Green Lantern
Justice League #1 Digital Comic
Additional Scenes
Preview of Green Lantern: The Animated Series
BD-Live
Access code for Sinestro Corp Batman Skin on the Warner Bros. Interactive video game Batman: Arkham City

Green Lantern on Blu-ray in October with Extended Cut

Brenden — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:20:54 +0000

I’ve never been a big fan of Green Lantern but I had really high hopes for this film for a number of reasons. I mean, I really want to see DC and Warner succeed in bringing their entire stable of superheroes to the big screen. But honestly, after GL, I’m not sure they’ve got it in them, unless they’re able to get out of the way and trust the filmmaking to an auteur with a vision. Green Lantern is a mess, from poor casting decisions to one of the most sloppy, choppy screenplays to come out of Hollywood this year. And yet still, their are visuals in the film that make it worth a look. For that reason alone, it could make a fun Blu-ray experience. The film is set to hit Blu-ray on October 14th, in two combo-pack editions – one with 3D and one without. There are two cuts of the film included in each (the 3D presentation is of the Theatrical Cut only), the Extended Cut adding a mysterious 6-minutes of previously unseen footage. Both sets include a redeemable code for a Sinestro Corp Batman Skin to be used with the upcoming PS3 version of the Batman: Arkham City videogame.

GREEN LANTERN
(October 14, 2011 – MSRP 3D Combo Pack $40.99, Blu-ray Combo Pack $35.99)
Video: 2.39:1 1080p
Audio: TBA

Special Features:

Theatrical Film (3D & 2D)
Extended Cut (2D only)
Maximum Movie
Mode with Picture in Picture Pods
The Universe According to Green Lantern
Ryan Reynolds Becomes Green Lantern
Justice League #1 Digital Comic
Additional Scenes
Preview of Green Lantern: The Animated Series
BD-Live
Access code for Sinestro Corp Batman Skin on the Warner Bros. Interactive video game Batman: Arkham City

2010 Clash of the Titans Remake on Blu-ray in July with Green Lantern movie Sneak Peek

Brenden — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:04:14 +0000

Isn’t Clash of the Titans still playing in theatres? It really feels like these films are moving too quickly from the big-screen to the home-screen these days, doesn’t it? To tell you the truth though, in most cases, I’d just as soon watch them in my living room anymore. And it looks like I’ll get a chance to see this remake of Clash when it hits Blu-ray on July 27th, complete with a preview for next summers DC Comics superhero film, Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds!

According to the HD Room, the Green Lantern footage will premiere at the San Diego Comic Con mere days before it becomes available for all to see on the Clash Blu-ray disc. There will be a lot of excitement over this first footage from the film and its availability on the disc will keep those obsessives among us (read: me) from losing hours scouring YouTube for a blurry, handheld camcorder upload from the Con.

CLASH OF THE TITANS (2010)
(July 27, 2010 – MSRP $35.99)
Video: 2.35:1 1080
Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages
Harnessing the Gods: Maximum Movie Mode
Deleted Scenes
Alternate Ending
BD-Live
DVD and Digital Copy
Green Lantern Sneak Peek

Previously on The Blu-ray Blog: Clash of the Titans Blu-ray Disc Review

Green Lantern: First Flight Blu-ray Disc Review

Brenden — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:42:44 +0000

GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT (2009, Blu-ray released July 28, 2009 – MSRP $29.99)

I couldn’t help but think of Law and Order: SVU while watching Green Lantern: First Flight. And not just because the lead character is voiced by Chris Meloni, one of the cops on the hit NBC show. But because the take on the character and the group he belongs to is such that we’re meant to perceive them as being an intergalactic police force, patrolling the cosmos and protecting life from galaxy to galaxy. Cool concept. And it works.

Green Lantern: First Flight comes to us as the newest DC Comics/Warner direct-to-video animated feature. And it’s another in their long line of success stories, following hot on the heels of Wonder Woman and the anime-styled anthology Batman: Gotham Knight. With the understanding that these projects suffer from massive time and budget restraints, the quality that producer Bruce Timm and his teams are able to achieve is simply astounding. Yet still, writer Alan Burnett faced impossible odds, having to shoe-horn poor, old Hal Jordan’s origin story into the first ten minutes of the film – ten minutes comprised of a five minute opening titles sequence (Hey guys, how ’bout we drop that from the runtime next time in favour of a little more story?) The upcoming live-action Green Lantern film, directed by Martin Campbell and starring Ryan Reynolds will no doubt make two hours out of that same story material, glossed over here. But while things feel a bit rushed out of the gate, Burnett is soon allowed to settle into a nice rhythm with his script, exploring the relationship of Hal as rookie space-cop in the Green Lantern Corps, being trained to use his new-found magical-ring powers by seasoned vet of the force, Sinestro (Victor Garber). This is Training Day in space!

We get a few scenes that are meant to give us that “cop show” vibe before the story thrusts us into superhero-epic territory, where the film ultimately feels more at home (Was it just me, or did it feel like they were always trying too hard to remind us that the Green Lanterns are cops?) There’s a grand, exciting and extremely well animated climax sequence that’s worth the price of the disc alone. This is the kind of action you hope to see in a Green Lantern film! Martin Campbell has a lot to live up to now.

I have to give credit to the design team on this film. Wow. Incredible work. Green Lantern: First Flight looks wholly original, with designs more inspired by anime than by North American comics. And man, do they work in this context. In fact, the Japanese influence can perhaps be felt a touch too strongly in one particular instance. It was pointed out to me by nerd-blogger extraordinaire, Rob at Topless Robot, that Green Lantern’s initial transformation into the superhero we know and love is almost identical to that of Sailor Moon. Compare the two and see for yourself!

The first five minutes of Green Lantern: First Flight:

And a Sailor Moon transformation:

Pretty similar, huh?! Nevertheless, the animation comes off well, with the character designs rarely falling too off model and the more nuanced and intricate movement being saved for the action sequences. Well done.

The Blu-ray looks great, as well. I can’t get enough of 2-D animation in high-def. From Disney classics to Persepolis, I think I could just spend every day watching nothing but old school animation on my PS3. And the audio is no sloutch here either. All in all, a great presentation!

My only real complaint with the Green Lantern: First Flight Blu-ray is directed at the bonus features. While this disc may be packed with extras (including five episodes of Justice League and a Duck Dodgers cartoon!) it doesn’t offer a single glimpse behind the curtain. I want to know how this thing was made! We aren’t even offered a commentary track this time. At least the Wonder Woman disc gave us that. And what about that early promo featurette? You know the one, showing us Meloni and Garber in the studio, recording their lines. Where is that little piece of film? Urgh…After watching all the little docs that they do offer us, I feel like it’s all just a promotion for writer Geoff Johns and his upcoming comic books stories. A shame that Timm, director Lauren Montgomery, Burnett and the team had to be short-changed to shill some comics. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the upcoming Superman/Batman: Public Enemies Blu-ray disc will see fit to show us how the Warner animation magic is made!

Green Lantern: First Flight Blu-ray – Executive Producer Bruce Timm Interview

Brenden — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:40:57 +0000

Warner Home Video has forwarded another Green Lantern related interview on to yours truly. This one’s a biggee. It’s with the “man” himself. The creator of the DC Animated Universe as we know it. The man responsible for the Batman and Superman animated series, Justice League and all Warner’s direct to video superhero extravaganzas:

BRUCE TIMM!

A lot of my pals have gotten tired of (grown out of?) Timm’s vision of the DC universe. I, for one, still get excited by every new project he’s involved with. My only wish is that we’d see more releases from the Warner/DC Animated back catalogue on Blu-ray. They gave us a full-frame version of Justice League: Season One on Blu-ray with no new high-def or exclusive content at a high price point. Wonder why that one didn’t fly off the shelves as well as it should have?

Until they get that straightened out, we’ll have to satisfy our Blu-ray nerding with Timm’s newer projects. And from the hints he drops in the interview below, there will be a lot of them coming in the near future!

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER BRUCE TIMM PRAISES CHARACTER DESIGNER JOSE LOPEZ AND SCREENWRITER ALAN BURNETT FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO “GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT”

Animation legend Bruce Timm puts the spotlight on character designer
Jose Lopez and screenwriter Alan Burnett for their other-worldly
creations on Green Lantern: First Flight, the next entry in the
popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies from
Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation.

Warner Home Video will distribute the all-new film – as a special
edition 2-disc DVD, a Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def edition, as well as single disc
DVD – on July 28, 2009. The action-packed movie will also be available
OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and
date, July 28, 2009.

Timm, the executive producer on Green Lantern: First Flight, has been
the driving creative force behind many of Warner Bros. Animation’s
modern-day successes, elevating DC Comics’ canon of super heroes to
new heights of animated popularity and introducing generations of new
fans to the characters via landmark television series and made-for-DVD
films. The latter task includes the creation of the current series of
DC Universe animated original movies, which have drawn critical
acclaim and further whetted the public’s appetite for comic book
entertainment with the release of Superman Doomsday, Justice League:
The New Frontier, Batman Gotham Knight and Wonder Woman.

In the midst of producing several more films for the DC Universe
series, Timm paused briefly to offer praise for two of the key players
in the production of Green Lantern: First Flight – character designer
Jose Lopez and screenwriter Alan Burnett.

…

Bruce Timm is the executive producer on Green Lantern: First Flight, an all-new DC Universe animated original movie slated for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video. (Photo courtesy of Gary Miereanu)

QUESTION:

BRUCE TIMM:
Lauren did such a great job on Wonder Woman, she was immediately my
first choice for Green Lantern. I thought she might be a little
burned out after the massive Wonder Woman project, but to my immense
relief and gratefulness, she was eager to do it.

All that said, Lauren definitely needed to take a little bit of a
break in terms of character design and I wasn’t about to step up to
that role, either. The tricky thing about Green Lantern is that we
wanted to have a unique style sensibility. We’ve done quite a bit
with the Green Lantern and characters on the Justice League, including
the entire Green Lantern Corps, and we certainly didn’t want to go
back and reuse any of those designs. Another really talented young
artist named Jose Lopez, who had worked with Mike Goguen and Jeff
Matsuda on the recent The Batman series, was brought to our attention.
I looked at his portfolio and I thought, “Wow, this guy is really
cool.”

Jose has a completely different design sensibility than I’m accustomed
to working with. He’s a little bit anime-flavored, but not
specifically anime. We brought him in to do some designs on Green
Lantern, and he ended up being pretty much our entire character design
department. He designed not just Green Lantern and most of the major
characters but zillions of background aliens. Jose brought a really
unique visual sensibility to the movie.

The Green Lantern Corps is an equal opportunity employer – as evidenced by the diverse species representing the 3,600 precincts across the universe. Green Lantern: First Flight, an all-new DC Universe animated original movie, is set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

QUESTION:

BRUCE TIMM
This is a total science fiction film – we spend maybe 10 minutes on
Earth at the beginning of the movie and then the rest of it all takes
place in outer space and in several different alien environments. So
while we did base the initial, broad strokes design on pre-existing
comics characters, we still needed armies of Green Lanterns and tons
of aliens. Jose designed virtually all of them – literally hundreds of
unique alien species for all of these different polyglot worlds. And
they are all really cool. I mean, some of the designs are really out
there. Sometimes they’d hand me his designs and I’d say, “Wow, what
am I even looking at? That’s a sentient being? You’ve got to be
kidding me.” It’s funny because both Lauren and I encouraged him to
think way outside the box. And he did – maybe further than we even
imagined. Jose came up with some really weird, bizarre life forms and
they’re all good.

QUESTION:
You’ve always been the driving, controlling influence on your projects
in terms of all aspects of the production, and especially design. Are
you enjoying letting go of the reins slightly and allowing other
artists to explore new directions with these films?

BRUCE TIMM
The nature of these projects, and the sheer volume of films we’re
working on now, means that my involvement must be in an overseeing
capacity – guiding and supervising, but not leading the way
design-wise. That’s both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it’s
really great to let somebody else come in and drive the boat. On the
other hand, my instincts are to step in and say, “No, do it this way.”
So it’s tough to just limit myself to giving notes purely on a
technical level, to only say “Okay, I know that’s not going to animate
that well.” Otherwise, whether it’s Lauren or Jose, other artists will
do things in a way that’s completely different from what my natural
instinct would be. It may be valid in its own right to say “No, let’s
do it the Bruce Timm way,” but I literally have to stop and think
“Okay, forget about the way I would do it. Does this work on its own?”
I just have to be practical about it and not aesthetic. It’s
ultimately really rewarding and fun for me to look at these movies
because it’s interesting to see other people’s design approach. I’ve
been working with these familiar characters for so many years – it’s
nice to see them interpreted differently.

Green Lanterns come in all shapes and sizes – from Arisia (center-left) and Ch’p (center-right) to the unique species flanking the key characters. Green Lantern: First Flight, an all-new DC Universe animated original movie, is set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

QUESTION:

BRUCE TIMM
Alan is the quiet man of Warner Brothers Animation and, to a degree, I
feel bad because he doesn’t really get enough credit for all that he
has done over the years – going all the way to Batman: The Animated
Series and all these shows he’s worked on since. He actually kind of
prefers to stay in the background and just do his job and not get in
front of the cameras and go to conventions and speak in front of
crowds. He doesn’t enjoy that aspect of it. He’s never been about
tooting his own horn, but he’s always been the rock on our projects.
Alan is the stabilizer. I think it was Glen Murakami who referred to
Alan as the glue that binds everything together. And it’s true. He’s a
really solid professional. He knows all the ins and outs of story
construction and character dynamics and then all of the extras that a
good writer knows to plus out a story. At the same time, he likes to
push himself to do things that he hasn’t done before and explore
different avenues of story lines. He’s got a sense of humor that
sometimes comes out in really odd, unique ways. On BTAS, he would go
down story lines and even I would be saying, “Wow, you really want to
do THAT in a children’s cartoon?” He’s funny that way – he likes to
upset the apple cart and take chances. So Alan is really solid and
dependable and at the same time he’s also very experimental. It’s
like the best of both worlds. That makes him the perfect collaborator
on these films.

For more information, images and updates, please visit the film’s
official website at www.greenlanternmovie.com

More Interviews for upcoming Green Lantern Animated Blu-ray: Juliet Landau and Alan Burnett

Brenden — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:16:41 +0000

Warner Home Video has sent over another couple of interviews to promote their upcoming direct-to-video release, Green Lantern: First Flight (on Blu-ray July 28) I wouldn’t normally go in for the idea of just posting promo material outside of release news but I actually feel quite strongly about these animated DC Comics films. I think everyone involved is pushing themselves and their budgets to the limit to bring us the most compelling animated representations of DCs vast library of characters and stories. The Burnett interview in particular is of interest to comics fans and anyone curious about the process of adapting other mediums to the big (or small) screen.

BUFFY, ANGEL STAR JULIET LANDAU GOES SULTRY ALIEN IN GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT, THE NEXT DC UNIVERSE ANIMATED ORIGINAL FILM COMING TO DVD JULY 28, 2009

Actress Juliet Landau (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) conjures a Cajun sultriness to her voice for the character of Labella in Green Lantern: First Flight. The all-new DC Universe animated original movie will be distributed July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

Actress Juliet Landau, a fanboy favorite from her devious appearances
on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, easily glides into the voice of
sultry alien Labella in Green Lantern: First Flight, the next DC
Universe animated original PG-13 movie coming to DVD on July 28, 2009.

Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to
release the all-new Green Lantern: First Flight in a Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def
edition, a special edition 2-disc DVD, and a single disc DVD. Warner
Home Video will distribute the action-packed movie, which will also be
available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download
day and date, July 28, 2009.

Landau is best known for her portrayal of vampire Drusilla in Buffy
the Vampire Slayer and Angel. She initially turned heads with standout
performances in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood and opposite Whoopi Goldberg in
Theodore Rex; she has done oodles of voiceover work, including
recurring roles on Justice League Unlimited and Ben 10: Alien Force;
and she has three upcoming films in various stages of production.

Turning her attention behind the camera, Landau has received notable
praise for her initial pair of directing gigs. She helmed Take Flight,
a documentary centering on the creative process of actor/director Gary
Oldman, which drew rave reviews at a recent advance screening. Her
co-direction of the Godhead music video, Hero, is garnering widespread
Internet acclaim. She also has been busy at the keyboard, co-writing
the Drusilla story line for the Angel comic books as well as scripting
It’s Raining Cats and Cats, a short film in which she intends to play
seven different roles.

Christopher Meloni provides the voice of Hal Jordan, the alter ego of
the title character in Green Lantern: First Flight. The cast includes
Victor Garber, Tricia Helfer and Michael Madsen. Landau offers a
Cajun-style vocal performance for Labella, a mistress of the seedier
side of the universe in which the Green Lantern Corps patrol.

Landau and Meloni have worked closely together in the past, starring
as brother and sister in the 1999 award-winning independent film
Carlo’s Wake. Landau is also another member of the growing legion of
Whedonverse actors to figure prominently in a DC Universe film. Among
Whedon/DCU alums are Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, James Marsters and
David Boreanaz, with a few more on the DCU horizon.

Fortunately for the masses, Landau carved a few minutes out of her
busy schedule to chat about voiceover work, the development of her
Green Lantern: First Flight character, and the ability to grow and
create in the entertainment business. So sit back and enjoy an
intriguing Q&A with Juliet Landau …

Labella (left) attempts to dissuade Sinestro from pursuing additional, potentially harmful interrogation during Green Lantern: First Flight, an all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video. Actress Juliet Landau (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) performs the voice of Labella.

JULIET LANDAU:
It is so much fun! You get to sit with a bunch of actors and play.
Really play! There’s no hair and make-up, no primping – just absolute,
uninhibited creativity. That’s the real joy of acting. And it doesn’t
get any better than working with Bruce Timm and Andrea Romano.

QUESTION:
Do you have a preference for the type of characters you play?

JULIET LANDAU:
I like playing all different kinds of characters. Each one is it’s own
little puzzle. Aliens are fun because you have a lot of freedom. The
voice of Labella just came to me when I read the pages in a kind of
organic in a way. I immediately felt like she had to sound the way I
played her. When I came in for looping (pick up sound work) Andrea
Romano described my Labella sound as “honey-voiced.” I think that
really captures it.

QUESTION:
Tell us about Labella?

JULIET LANDAU:
There was a lot of room for invention in this character, especially
with the device they use with her. I don’t want to give it away, but
she does go through a bit of torture and it causes a rift between
Sinestro and Hal. I really liked the sexuality and the flirtatiousness
of the character. She’s very different from any of the characters I’ve
voiced on Justice League Unlimited or Ben 10: Alien Force – she’s a
completely unique character.

QUESTION: You spent some time acting alongside Christopher Meloni as
brother and sister in Carlo’s Wake. Do you have any good tales to tell
about our Hal Jordan?

JULIET LANDAU:
Carlo’s Wake revolved around a big Italian family gathering together
at the patriarch’s funeral. The immediate “Torello” family rehearsed
at my house prior to shooting. I remember working on this funny scene
where (Chris Meloni’s character) Benny tells me about his existential
crisis while out on the fishing boats catching tuna. With despondency,
he asks something like, “What is it all for?” And my character Anna,
who was not the sharpest tool in the shed, says something akin to .”I
thought it was so’s we could have tuna salad sandwiches …”

Chris was flown to New York while we were shooting to meet with Garry
Marshall about Runaway Bride. Upon returning, he came into the make-up
room and told us about the meeting and we were all saying, “It sounds
like you’re gonna get this!” And indeed, he did.

QUESTION:
When did you start comics writing, and what’s the attraction of the
written word?

JULIET LANDAU:
My first foray into comics is a two-issue arc about Drusilla for
Angel: After the Fall.
I am co-writing with Brian Lynch and enjoying it immensely. The first
issue will be out in July, the second in August. I have been working
with 3 different artists on some of the imagery and cover art as well.
I also wrote a short film called, It’s Raining Cats and Cats, which I
will co-direct. Exploring these different facets of creativity has
been truly inspiring. As an actor, you’re a component; but when you’re
writing and directing, it is your vision of the whole project, which
is very appealing. Take Flight has been an amazing experience. Gary
Oldman directed a music video shot entirely on Nokia cell phones.
Initially he asked me to direct the “Making Of.” But what started out
solely as a behind-the-scenes “Making Of,” bloomed into a short
documentary film about Gary’s creative process. He loves the movie
because it shows him in a light he’s never been seen.

EMMY AWARD WINNER ALAN BURNETT OFFERS INSIGHT TO THE WORDS BEHIND GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT, THE NEXT DC UNIVERSE ANIMATED ORIGINAL FILM COMING TO DVD JULY 28, 2009

Four-time Emmy Award winner Alan Burnett has crafted an action-packed screenplay for Green Lantern: First Flight, an all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

Four-time Emmy Award winner Alan Burnett departs from a 17-year stint
in the Batcave to establish intergalactic justice as the screenwriter
for Green Lantern: First Flight, the next DC Universe animated
original PG-13 movie coming to DVD on July 28, 2009.

Burnett, who began his animation career at Hanna-Barbera Studios with
Super Friends in 1981, has been the single most consistent active
figure in bringing the Batman’s legacy to animation since 1991 – when
he began scripting episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, the
Emmy®-winning production widely considered a pivotal moment in
American animation.

Burnett’s stellar talents have merited four Emmy Awards, three Annie
Awards and two Humanitas Prizes. His work within the Batman realm
includes as a series producer on Batman and Superman and Batman
Beyond, and most recently as supervising producer and story editor for
Warner Bros. Animation’s award-winning series The Batman. He has
remained active in crafting the words behind numerous DC Comics
projects, both animated and in comic book form. In the direct-to-DVD
arena, Burnett co-produced and co-wrote the animated feature film
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, was supervising producer and writer for
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, and served as producer on the
feature-length Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker. He also served as
movie story editor and the writer of the anchoring segment of the DC
Universe animated original movie, Batman Gotham Knight.

Burnett, the primary story editor for Warner Bros. Animation, took a
little time to offer his views on his humbling beginnings in comics,
the influences of Alfred Hitchcock and Woody Allen, and the simple
one-line pitch behind the screenplay for the first-ever feature length
Green Lantern film. Without further ado, here’s a Q&A with Alan
Burnett

Hal Jordan gets his first illuminating taste of the power of the lantern in Green Lantern: First Flight, an all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

ALAN BURNETT:
They had been going through some ideas for Green Lantern stories and
none of them were quite working out and I came up with this notion
that I thought would be interesting. So, I just pitched it to them in
one line. “Have you ever done Green Lantern as Training Day?” with the
idea of the Denzel Washington role being Sinestro. They said, “That
sounds pretty good – start writing.” And that’s how it began.

QUESTION:
So this is a police story?

ALAN BURNETT:
We’re treating all the sectors of the universe as precincts and
there’s, I believe, about 3,600 Green Lanterns – one for every
precinct. Hal Jordan covers our section. The story is essentially Hal
Jordan’s first day on the beat as a cop and he’s partnered with
Sinestro. He’s seeing the universe for the first time, and we get to
look at the universe through his eyes. It’s a bizarre place, but it’s
also pretty recognizable.

QUESTION:
Is there a message within this film?

ALAN BURNETT:
Well, one of the messages is that I like lots of fights (he laughs). I
suppose it’s the old “Don’t judge a book” thing. Appearances are
deceiving. Those who you think might be your greatest friend can be
your greatest enemy, and those you might think are of no use to you
could be the most important person in your life.

QUESTION:
Did the origin story development of Hal Jordan in Justice League: The
New Frontier influence your approach to this first Green Lantern film?

ALAN BURNETT:
I’d originally treated the origin story by going back to the very
first Hal Jordan/Green Lantern comic book. But ultimately, my script
was about 20 minutes longer than it should’ve been. Bruce Timm came up
with the idea of getting the origin done as quickly as possible, so
that’s where some cuts were made. Now we get the origin story done
before the opening credits, and we leap right into the adventure from
there.

QUESTION:
Was there much research involved in writing this script?

ALAN BURNETT:
I’ve been keeping up with the comics, so I didn’t have all that much
research to do. There has been a lot written on Green Lantern. I
actually think he’s very complicated. Hal Jordan has gone through
changes in the comic books in the last 35 years or so that are just
shocking. But I didn’t have to deal with his recent history because I
was going back to a story from his beginning. However, I am dealing
with Green Lantern characters who didn’t exist when I started reading
the book, so there was a little bit of research on that. I’ve written
Green Lantern in the comic books on a few occasions, so I had some
notion of most of the characters I was dealing with in this film.

QUESTION;
What makes Green Lantern a great super hero?

ALAN BURNETT:
Green Lantern is sort of a unique super hero. When you’re writing his
powers, they do seem a bit odd – at times, they’re very sci-fi and at
other times very magical. It’s like that old saying about the
technology being so advanced that it looks like magic. He has a ring
that allows him to construct anything he can imagine. One of the
tricks to writing about those powers is that, when you come up with
something he does with the ring, the audience is expecting to be
amazed, but also – and this is odd to say about a comics/science
fiction story – they need it to be in context, and it needs to be
believable.

Hal is also a very colorful character and he’s in the middle of this
big soap opera in space. It’s a very involving backdrop that opens the
door to telling a million stories with him. He also has one of the
great costumes – that great Silver Age suit from the 1950s. He was one
of the few, and maybe he was the first flying character, who didn’t
have a cape. So he has this sleek outfit and it’s very striking.

QUESTION:
What makes Sinestro a great villain?

ALAN BURNETT:
We play Sinestro as sort of the bad half of Hal Jordan. As I was
writing them, I figured they were pretty close. They both have
distaste for authority. But Sinestro is the dark side of the Green
Lanterns – he wants absolute control, while Hal Jordan is more about
serving the people. The other thing about Sinestro is that he doesn’t
think of himself as a villain. He has a plan which he thinks is going
to benefit everyone, but unfortunately what this plan does is give him
absolute power. And, of course, absolute power corrupts absolutely –
and you can see that it’s corrupting him even as he tries to wield it.

The Guardians begin to understand Sinestro’s nefarious plans to overthrow their reign in Green Lantern: First Flight, an all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

ALAN BURNETT:
I had read comic books like “Little Lulu” when I was young, but when I
was nine years old we took a vacation – and I always saved up comic
books for the vacation because it was a long trip from Ohio to
Florida. Into my stack that year I got the super hero comics and I
particularly remember bringing Batman. Somewhere around Kentucky, I
started reading my first super hero comic and it was like I lost my
virginity. It was just the most amazing thing. I was suddenly in an
adult world that I sort of understood and it was sort of made for me.
And I was hooked. I’ve been hooked ever since.

QUESTION:
As you exited Kentucky during that eye-opening trip, did you ever
imagine you’d be writing those comics and cartoons as an adult?

ALAN BURNETT:
When I was a kid reading this stuff, I never thought that I’d be
writing it. But you know, it’s because I did read this stuff then that
I write it now. When I started working at Hanna Barbara in 1981, they
were looking for someone to take over the Super Friends show and they
knew that I was a big comic book fan. Before that, I don’t think the
story editors or the writers cared about super heroes. So I have two
degrees from college, and they don’t mean as much to my career as
those four or five really intense comic book reading years between the
ages of 9 and 14.

QUESTION:
Who are your greatest writing influences?

ALAN BURNETT:
I have two major influences and it’s kind of strange to say them
together, but those would be Alfred Hitchcock and Woody Allen.
Hitchcock wasn’t a writer, of course, but in a way he was because he
sat down with his writers and worked his way through the script with
them. I think there’s a lot of Hitchcock influence in some of the
action-adventure things I’ve done. It’s just little things, certain
scenes or actions, that remind me of something he would’ve put in a
film. I think Woody Allen has influenced the way I interject comedy
into the action adventure. That’s my favorite genre: action-adventure
comedy. Like North By Northwest. That’s just a beautiful, beautiful
movie, and it’s as funny as it is thrilling. That’s my favorite type
of entertainment.

Upcoming Animated DC Universe Blu-ray: 'Green Lantern: First Flight' Trailer and Interview, 'Superman/Batman: Public Enemies' Trailer

Brenden — Tue, 19 May 2009 04:55:45 +0000

I can’t hide my dirty secret any longer – I’m a comic book nerd. I love seeing my old-favourite DC Comics heroes on the big screen. I also love animation. Warner’s DTV plan to hit us with an original superhero film a couple of times a year is kind of blowing my mind! It’s like getting chocolate in my peanut butter every six months. And the new trailer for upcoming fall release Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, posted above for your drooling pleasure, is extremely chocolaty!

Also blowing my mind is the fact that Warner Home Video was kind enough to send over this interview with Lauren Montgomery. She did a bang up job on their last release, Wonder Woman (which won a favourable review from The Blu-ray Blog). I expect Green Lantern: First Flight to be equally as solid. Check out the trailer that follows!

DIRECTOR LAUREN MONTGOMERY DISCUSSES GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT, THE
NEXT DC UNIVERSE ANIMATED ORIGINAL FILM COMING TO BLU-RAY JULY 28, 2009

Director Lauren Montgomery addresses the WonderCon audience after the West Coast Premiere of Wonder Woman in February. Montgomery’s next film, Green Lantern: First Flight, an all-new DC Universe animated original movie, will be distributed July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video. (photo courtesy of Gary Miereanu)

QUESTION:

LAUREN MONTGOMERY
We’re actually having a lot of fun trying different artistic styles on
different movies – Bruce felt his style has been done enough, and I
just had my turn – plus I knew there were many other character
designers who are infinitely better at designing aliens that I am. We
were lucky to get Jose Lopez to create the characters for Green
Lantern. I think he even took a pay cut from his last job to do Green
Lantern, but this project really allows him to let his animation go
wild. You’ve never seen anything like some of his designs for this
film. His take on the familiar characters is fairly true to form, but
he’s designed – literally – an entire universe of completely new
characters in the different Green Lanterns, aliens and background
characters. There are a lot of awesome, fantastical creatures. Like
me, Jose is trained in animation instead of comics, so his style
really lends itself to being animated – and everything he’s done has
looked spectacular. I think it’s really looking different from
anything we’ve ever done.

QUESTION:
Did Jose ever over-step any boundaries and need to be reined in?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY
Actually, his first designs were a little too stylized. For the main
characters, the designs were a little too streamlined – we had to make
Sinestro more like the comics. But once he got that figured out, he
really went crazy. It was exciting to see him come in with these
characters. Even his Weaponer designer is far different than what
we’ve seen before, but DC was okay with it. So we just let him run
wild.

QUESTION:
Were there any beyond-the-norm issues strategizing a color scheme for
a film with an entire army of characters wearing the same color?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY
We tried desperately to avoid as much green as we could in backgrounds
and supporting characters, so the Green Lanterns and the rings and
their effects were the only green portions of the scene. We also tried
to stay away from copious amounts of yellow – so that would make an
impact later in the film. When you eliminate two of the main colors,
it kind of limits you, so we had to utilize a lot of shades of blue,
red and orange, and I think we were able to make it work. It was a
really wise decision on Bruce’s part to keep the green and the yellow
to the characters that were defined by that color.

QUESTION:
Did you learn anything directing Wonder Woman that you were able to
apply and/or improve upon for Green Lantern: First Flight?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY
Wonder Woman taught me that you can’t board the whole movie by
yourself (she laughs), so I just let my storyboard artists do their
job on Green Lantern. I let them come up with their ideas and I
focused on keeping everything cohesive. Ultimately, I think the movie
is better for it. I guess I learned to be more relaxed and to not be
such a control freak. Which I think is good (laughs again). It
certainly made my work load a lot easier.

It’s Hal Jordan to the rescue in Green Lantern: First Flight, the all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

QUESTION:

LAUREN MONTGOMERY
As we had already done the origin story a few movies back in Justice
League: The New Frontier, we really didn’t want to spend a whole lot
of time telling that same story over again. So in Green Lantern: First
Flight, the origin story is over and done before the opening credits.
That way we get right into Hal Jordan’s first adventure.

QUESTION:
What do the four main voice cast members bring to their roles?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY
Christopher Meloni is a very serious actor and really got into the
character to understand all the little nuances of exactly what Hal was
thinking at every moment. He would ask very interesting, detailed,
unexpected questions so he could totally get the mind set, and in
doing so he was able to deliver an incredible performance that that
really defines Hal as a confident hero, but not cocky or a jerk. Hal
Jordan has a humor to him that isn’t quite as big as the Flash, but
still not stiff like Batman. Christopher was able to give us that fun
side of Hal, too.

Victor Garber has this intimidating presence and power behind his
deliveries where you can hear that Sinestro knows what he’s doing,
he’s been through this before and he’s pretty sure of himself. He
gives Sinestro a very believable sense of suave sophistication.
Sinestro is not your typical evil villain, and Victor Garber makes him
seem like an incredibly intelligent, worldly guy who believes he is
doing the right thing, even though he might not be doing it the
correct way.

Kilowog is this big, hulking creature and he needed a voice that was
really recognizable and had a strong presence. Michael Madsen was able
to give us these line readings that we really didn’t expect – you
can’t help laughing at his intonations – and he ends up with some of
the funniest lines in the whole script. He even did some fake burps
that are just ridiculous – you’ll actually hear a couple of those in
the movie. It was just a match made in heaven, really.

Boodikka is not just your doe-eyed, token female – she has strength
and believability without losing the feminine qualities of our primary
female character. There aren’t a ton of women in the Green Lantern
Corps – apparently it’s a male-dominated industry (she laughs). Tricia
Helfer has a really sympathetic quality to her voice that captures the
quieter side of Boodikka, but Tricia also has this amazing strength in
her voice. She was able to make Boodikka this wonderful, relatable,
three-dimensional character.

QUESTION:
What made Alan Burnett’s script right for this first Green Lantern film?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY
Alan delivered a Green Lantern script that really explored what being
a space cop is all about. He didn’t focus purely on the heroic Hal
super power approach – it’s more of an overall Green Lantern Corps
story and Hal’s existence within that group. And it’s not Hal on
Earth being a super hero – we’re in space for virtually the entire
movie, so Alan gave us multiple backgrounds and scene settings so we
could explore the galaxy. That made it even more interesting – seeing
and exploring different alien locales and lifestyles. Being away from
Earth is incredibly liberating in terms of design possibilities.

QUESTION:
Without any spoilers, do you have a favorite scene?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY
We have a scene about 17 minutes into the movie when Hal and Sinestro
go into this establishment looking for a killer, and even though
you’ve already seen some of the alien Green Lanterns, this is the
first time you get an eyeful of the alien characters that Jose Lopez
designed. The place is packed with all these really cool aliens, and
they’re all so crazy looking. But you know their personalities
immediately. It’s a very tense, cool scene and you really get to see
how different that world is from Earth. That’s the defining scene from
the movie that lets you know you’re not in Kansas anymore.

For more information, images and updates, please visit the film’s
official website at www.greenlanternmovie.com

.
.
.
Green Lantern: First Flight
is available for pre-order at
Amazon.com for $19.99,
30% off the MSRP of $29.99.

Green Lantern Animated Blu-ray Details, Trailer Revealed

Brenden — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:52:02 +0000

At long last, Warner Home Video and DC Comics have unleashed the details of their next direct to video animated spectacular, Green Lantern: First Flight. Following hot on the heels of the Wonder Woman animated DTV, Green Lantern is set to hit shelves far earlier than I’d expected with a July 28th street date. Details below:

Green Lantern: First Flight – Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def
Street Date: July 28, 2009
Order Due Date: June 23, 2009
Languages: English and Spanish
Video: Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: Dolby Surround Stereo
Rating: PG-13
Runtimes: Disc 1 – Estimated 75 min.
Disc 2 – Estimated 210+ minutes
Price: $34.99 SRP

Extras:
• Over three hours of extra content
• Two Featurettes
• Digital Copy Download
• Four Episodes of Justice League hand-picked by animation legend Bruce Timm (Two Episodes Exclusive to Blu-ray edition)

The image above is from the 2 disc DVD release.

Don’t be surprised to find a commentary track and preview of the next DC Comics animated adventure on the disc when it ships.

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