Last time we checked in on the progress of The Green Lantern the shoot had pulled out from down under in Sydney, Australia (thanks to inflating costs of production) and was looking for a new locale in which to conduct its principal shoot, which WAS set to begin in January.
Now, thanks to The Geek Files, we have updates from director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), letting us know where the Green Lantern shoot has moved to and what kind of challenges they’re facing in bringing the intergalactic adventures of the emerald warrior to the big screen.
First up, you should know that previously rumored shooting locations like Mexico and Canada have been revealed as just that – rumor. Green Lantern has in fact come on home to the U.S. of A. and tapped the city of New Orleans as the location for its principal shoot, which is now set to being in April, 2010.
That’s not just good news for those who have been wishing for Hollywood to stop outsourcing the movie making process, it’s also good news for residents of New Orleans, as the Green Lantern was reportedly set to create approx 500 jobs for crew members and workers in Sydney. Though it’s not certain, I’m betting a similar number of workers will still be needed for the New Orleans shoot…
Next, Campbell discusses the challenges of making a superhero movie that not only takes place here on planet Earth, but also contains a huge intergalactic component, complete with various alien races, worlds – and oh yeah, all those f/x needed to bring conjurings of the Lanterns’ emerald power rings to life onscreen:
“It’s daunting. Just the process, something like 1,300 visual effects shots, it’s mind-blowing, quite honestly…[The ring is] energised by a battery on the planet of Oa, which taps into the willpower of everyone in the universe…From that ring you can form constructs. So if you got into a fight, you could form a giant fist. Or a fighter plane.”
“He’s the only superhero to my knowledge who regularly goes to another planet. Superman and Batman were essentially locked into a particular city. The Lantern isn’t so Earthbound.”
Having a superhero who isn’t “Earthbound” makes for an expensive motion picture – probably why Warner Bros. is throwing $200 million at the project to make sure Green Lantern gets done right. No doubt DCE/WB is hoping to do for their second-tier hero what Marvel was able to do for Iron Man, i.e., turn GL into a household name and a smash-hit movie franchise property.
Snagging popular leading man Ryan Reynolds to play Green Lantern was a good first move, though the open casting call for movie’s many yet-to-be-filled supporting roles still has fans like yours truly waiting on the opinion fence to see if the necessary players will be put in place to give this film a shot at greatness. Remember, Iron Man came out of the gate boasting a killer cast, instilling a sense of cofindence in the project before the first frame was ever viewed by the masses…
Are you happy that Green Lantern is shooting in New Orleans? And what do you think about the massive f/x demands the movie is facing? Can Martin Campbell pull it off – will Green Lantern become the next Iron Man?
The Green Lantern starts shooting in April, 2010 (as stated), and is still slated for a June 17, 2011 release.
Source: Empire Online
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