‘Green Lantern’ Completes Third Draft Script
Yesterday, we speculated that Green Lantern was the DC hero next going before the cameras and MTV’s Splash Page then ran an interview with co-screenwriter Marc Guggenheim that confirms this projection.
“This morning, we sat down to talk Green Lantern,” Guggenheim told MTV, “and we ended up riffing for an hour and a half on another, much more obscure character. Sometimes, you just have to roll with it when inspiration strikes, you know? I’m sure the studio wouldn’t be happy about it, but we’re not going to blow the deadline. We’ll get it in.”
The screenplay was written by Guggenheim, Michael Green (Superman/Batman) and Greg Berlanti (Eli Stone) and after three drafts, they think it’s about ready for Berlanti to direct. Locations have been scouted and production designs have been crafted by Aaron Sims, who is also working on X-Men Origins: Magneto for director David S. Goyer.
“[The changes are] nothing that’s affecting the storyline, really,” he said. “It’s pretty well set. But sometimes we’ll move a scene to a different location for budget purposes, perhaps in an already established location instead of a new one. It’s a question of, which locations can we live without? It’s a constant process to streamline what you’re going through, even after the film is shot, when you’re cutting things in the edit. That’s what the rewrite process is like, how you sand down the roughness of the a movie to its smoothest.”
Guggenheim also noted that a cameo for reporter Clark Kent appears in the script leading to speculation if Warner would go with Tom Welling (Smallville) or Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) for the wink to the greater DC Universe.
“There were rumors that Tom Welling would have a cameo in Batman Begins as a young Clark Kent, to meet up with a young Bruce Wayne,” Guggenheim said. “But you have to be careful when you do things like that, because it sounds great in concept, but when you sit down to watch it, it poses the danger of pulling you out of the film.”
He refused to talk about the current rumor of Ryan Gosling being eyed to play test pilot Hal Jordan.
I'm not sure why they are afraid of cameos. When I saw the cameos in Ironman and Hulk, I wasn't pulled out of a film, I was pulled into a larger universe.
How about Nathon Fillon for Hal Jordan instead?
The script (at least the original draft) had Hal around the age of 27. As cool as having Angel or Mal in the role, they're a bit too old. I'm looking forward to seeing the third draft. I'm still looking for the second one. I'm trying to read a copy of each draft so I can compare the changes they make. (film studies ftw!)
If Hollywood can have a character who's always been portrayed as white in the comics played by a black person, then I don't see how it's much of a stretch to fudge on the character's age. Besides, they've been having actors in their 20s playing teenagers for years, so let's get Nathan Fillion in front of the cameras as Hal Jordon!
The problem with Nathan Fillion and David Boreanaz isn't that they couldn't play Hal Jordan in THIS movie. The problem is, producers need to think of any Superhero Movie as a franchise with at least one or two and possibly more sequels. You need an actor who not only can look like and play Hal Jordan now, but also two to ten years from now.