Green Lantern: The Motion Picture

[Darkseed]

We don't even have a Hot Toys figure announcement for this film. Think HT knows something?

Would HT have to go thru DC Direct to get the merchandise rights like TDK? Perhaps HT doesn't have / or want the license?

Either way, new trailer or figure announcement needs to come ASAP.

 

[Buttmunch]

I think HT has learned to not just mindlessly license a DC film since the last few have tanked for then. Spirit was a bomb. Watchmen was a bomb. Only Batman has sold well for them. So I don't blame them for being hesitant with GL. It could be good or it could be another flop.

Heck, they still haven't gotten CR Supes out yet.

 

[Chigger58]

Oh yeah, there's going to be a Green Lantern movie...

 

[Agent0028]

I think HT has learned to not just mindlessly license a DC film since the last few have tanked for then. Spirit was a bomb. Watchmen was a bomb. Only Batman has sold well for them. So I don't blame them for being hesitant with GL. It could be good or it could be another flop.

Heck, they still haven't gotten CR Supes out yet.

I'm no comic expert, so I could be wrong, but I'm more familiar with GL than Watchmen or Spirit, so I'm thinking the average moviegoer would be the same. Watchmen didn't appeal to me at all. Then again...I guess your average moviegoer isn't a Hot Toys customer, so maybe it's the other way around.

 

[The Mike]

Green Lantern is a B list DC Hero. They were C listers even before Blackest Night pushed all things GL into the Pop Culture arena. Definitely more recognizable than The Spirit or even the brood from Watchmen but you have to realize that for most of the world their connection to the Emerald Warrior depends on what they've been watching. Most of my students for example only watched the Justice League cartoons and are wondering why he isn't black in the new film. If you grew up in the 90s in any capacity, Hal Jordan didn't exist for the better part of a decade as a GL, your ringslinger was Kyle Rayner even in the cartoon counterparts before the JL toons.

I don't doubt that they'll keep back on the GL license, not that they aren't doing it because regardless I think we'll get at least Hal but how far in they'll go. Remember each of the GL costumes are second skin CGI in this movie so they have to figure out whether to use molded plastic which would allow for light up or use rubber or a hybrid of the two, then each of the costumes are individual so they can't reuse whatever they've come up with. Not to mention that outside of Hal, Abin Sur and Sinestro the rest of the Lanterns for the most part aren't humanoids which means that they've got to create whole new bodies for Tomar Re or Kilowog or Salaak. The production design team really amped up the crazy aliens on this even changing the look of those who were previously human like. Not to mention the two villains of the film would require new bodies or new ideas as well.

There a lot of "t"s to cross and "i"s to dot with this license that isn't there with a lot of the others especially the way they've set it up.

DC is hedging bets that this will be their Iron Man, moving a hero that is barely known to a hero that is beloved. If that happens this summer then expect to HT to go the extra mile because it'll be another TDK for them. If not, I'd be shocked if you got anyone past Hal Jordan in GL costume with very little bells and whistles

 

[Buttmunch]

I'd be surprised if we got anything more than Hal and Sinestro. Flop or not.

 

[sifu74]

The only accessories I see this figure coming with is some big green translucent hammer, fist, and maybe a fly swatter.

 

[Agent0028]

I'd like to get a Hal Jordan to go with the rest of my superheroes, so if that is all they make its fine by me. If fewer accessories lowers the price, I can live with that too.

 

[IrishJedi]

Oh yeah, there's going to be a Green Lantern movie...

I keep forgetting about this movie, but I'm looking forward to it.

... and that's why the WB marketing team is failing terribly. You are far from alone.

In the movie PR and marketing business there is a very important factor called "awareness" in the marketplace. And right now this film pretty much has zilch. CAPTAIN AMERICA comes out a full month later and Marvel/Paramount have mainstream people geared and hyped up for it with well-timed trailers. They've done their job. WB is way behind the curve on GL right now.

In hindsight it's obviously not a problem that the new trailer didn't hit with SUCKER PUNCH due to the tepid box office and critical reaction. But that they didn't have one ready for that = Wow. Balls are being dropped everywhere.

 

[hunnipot85]

They are taking a risk, but if the footage is being shown this weekend at Wonder Con i'm sure the hype machine will be in full effect soon. I rather wait for them to show stuff that'll knock our socks off, rather than them show something just to show something (like they did with the first trailer).

Who knows, if they start a heavy marketing push (which ofcourse, WB can afford) this film could be the biggest film of the year.

 

[hunnipot85]

New poster: https://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/gallerypictures/27138L.jpg

 

[The Mike]

Originally GL was supposed to be blasting through all media in March. WB dropped the ball on that touting which is why everything is being delayed. They'll either have to oversaturate in April and May to really ramp up or that will be the demise of this film.

Marvel has done it, remember The Incredible Hulk? Barely advertised to the point where people didn't know it was a reboot and not a sequel. Help kill opening weekend for it. If WB doesn't get on it soon, they'll do the same here regardless of how good or bad the film is on screen

 

[Biojex]

New poster: https://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/gallerypictures/27138L.jpg

It's the tush isn't it?

 

[Kabukiman]

It's the tush isn't it?

It's the Doritos.

Looks like we'll be seeing a cross-promotion with Pepsico, that's new news, isn't it?

btw - Geoffrey Rush is going to voice Tomar Re: https://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/joshw24/news/?a=34189

 

[Buttmunch]

Never pictured Tomar sounding like Barbossa

But isn't it a bit late to be casting voices right now?

 

[The Mike]

No. They are completely CGI characters so it would be no different than an animated feature which are drawn and finalized sometimes years in advance before an actor is cast and records. It's just different because this is live action and a lot of the GL film feels like it is being done down to the wire. The articles though are further detailing that Rush was already cast and recorded basic tracks but as he is recording the finalized pieces that now they reveal.

Kilowog the other major CGI character for example hasn't been announced despite being preliminarily casted. Rumors are its Michael Clarke Duncan.

Here is a bit about the lack of marketing:

Full ‘Green Lantern’ Trailer Should Hit With ‘Thor;’ Marketing Delayed By Effects
Posted on Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 by Germain Lussier

The first trailer for Martin Campbell‘s Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds, hit theaters in November and was mostly panned by fans and non-fans alike. Since then, we’ve seen an extensive amount of footage and promotional materials from competing summer superhero movies like Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger and X-Men: First Class but Green Lantern, scheduled for release June 17, has been a non-entity. According to Warner Bros. motion picture group president Jeff Robinov, a final trailer should be attached to Thor on May 6 and the reason why we haven’t seen any new marketing materials is because the intricate special effects scenes are taking longer to compete than originally anticipated. Read more about this after the break.

Robinov did an extensive interview with the Los Angeles Times and discussed everything Warner Bros. We already wrote about Justice League, rebooting Batman and now here’s his take on Green Lantern, which is as important a movie as Warner Bros. has on their slate simply because it needs to be successful for the rest of the DC character films, save for The Dark Knight Rises and Superman, to start rolling out. Here’s what Robinov said about the problems with marketing:

We are on a learning curve in getting 3-D materials and marketing materials on the same schedule. [The advertising campaign] has been delayed strictly from production….We won’t be in this position again.

The studio is also well-aware that the first trailer didn’t pack the punch they had intended. Here’s what their president of worldwide marketing, Sue Kroll, had to say:

Part of the reason the response to the first trailer was lukewarm was that the big-scale sequences weren’t ready to show, and we suffered for it. We can’t afford to do that again.

From what I’ve heard about the movie, the script that had been floating around online is very different from what we’ll see on screen come June 17. The film is apparently very ambitious with a large percentage of the film taking place off Earth rather than on it and all of these statements about perfecting the effects and the 3D seem to back that up.

It’s encouraging that, after that first trailer (which you can watch again below), Warners decided to hold back until everything was ready. The question then becomes is it too late? The film is only a few months away and the awareness is way lower than its competition. Are you still excited for Green Lantern? Do you think it’s going to be able to hit a home run for the rest of the DC characters?

 

[hunnipot85]

It's the tush isn't it?

 

[The Mike]

A little more about Rush:

Briefly: Yesterday we started to talk about how effects work is still being done on Green Lantern, and the rumors that many of the film’s CGI characters aren’t even cast yet. One rumor is that Michael Clarke Duncan could voice the giant alien Kilowog. And now, supporting that as-yet unconfirmed talk, is word that Geoffrey Rush voices the bird/fish/ alien Tomar Re. Deadline says that Mr. Rush “provided the voice for Tomar-Re, the scientist who works alongside the title character in the Green LanternCorps.” (The Green Lantern’s Speech jokes begin now.) That suggests that he has already done the voice work, so take that as you will with respect to the rumors that those characters aren’t entirely locked down.

 

[Buttmunch]

MCD would be great as Kilowog. Save for JLU I think all of the animated voices for Wog so far have been epic fails. MCD has the right voice for Kilowog. I mean the dude is built like Kilowog!

Odd attaching the new trailer to a Marvel film though.

 

[Jair]

MCD would be great as Kilowog. Save for JLU I think all of the animated voices for Wog so far have been epic fails. MCD has the right voice for Kilowog. I mean the dude is built like Kilowog!

Odd attaching the new trailer to a Marvel film though.

Trailer placement is a strange thing, when I managed a movie theater, sometimes the theater owners had final say on the trailers, sometimes production companies did. If Sucker Punch, which was distributed by Warners had Thor/Captain America, there shouldn't be any reason why GL wouldn't be on Thor.

I've personally never heard a production company tell out flat out this trailer couldn't be on this film, usually when the film was built there was a list of trailers we could use and we choose based on time constraints which trailer to put ahead of the film. Occasionly when getting the trailer packs, one's that had been listed went missing, we at that point just put whatever we had extras of on them as long as the ratings matched up.


Evan