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DC Entertainment: What’s The Game Plan?

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:19:13 +0000

Yesterday we found out that Warner Bros. has created DC Entertainment Inc. (DCE) to better expand the DC Comics into a multimedia brand of steel . Now comes the inevitable question of “What’s the game plan?”

MTV Splash Page posted a nice piece declaring which DC properties should be put on fast-track under the DCE banner, and this being Friday and all, I thought I’d once again do a little call-and-response on the topic (I now consider Splash Page’s Josh Wigler to be something of a pen-pal).

So in response to the call, here’s my take on the DC Entertainment venture and what paths it should be considering…

BIGGER PICTURE BUSINESS

DC Entertainment Inc. President Diane Nelson has already been grilled by the press and thick-skinned exec has been pretty forthright with her opinions. As she told The Wrap earlier this week:

“…I’m the first one to admit, I’m not by my nature a comic fan. It’s not what I’m bringing to the party. We have so many experts who will remain the cornerstone of DC Entertainment. What I bring to the party is a skill at moving properties and brands through Time Warner as a company… additionally it will be about how invested our content distribution is in the DC library. If our businesses feel that they have greater access and enthusiasm for new characters to incubate.”

Now some people are going to read that quote and worry that Time Warner is going to “corporatize” (read: taint) their favorite DC properties. I’m going to keep in mind that Nelson is the same lady who helped transform Harry Potter from a lucrative book franchise into a multimedia/merchandising empire, loved by both Potter devotees and newcomers who just know the films. Nelson understands how to take what is at the resonating core of a character and/or story and fit it into the bigger profit picture.

For DC Superheroes, I suspect Nelson aims to give us more Dark Knight quality films and Arkham Asylum video games (read: ventures which transform the core appeal of the properties into commercial appeal), and fewer Catwoman disasters (read: failed ventures that tarnish both the core and commercial viability of the properties). And I see no reason at this point why she’d fail at the task.

DOING THINGS THE MARVEL WAY

No, I don’t want DC Entertainment to try to be the second coming of Marvel Studios, however, the latter did set an interesting precedent by linking all their Avengers related films – Captain America, Iron Man, Thor – in one shared continuity, complete with cinematic cameo crossovers.

Should Christopher Nolan’s Batman universe be disrupted for the sake of a Superman cameo? No. Should The Green Lantern maybe feature an appearance from Supes or (better yet) The Flash? Absolutely. And what would be the reasoning behind doing so? Remember a little project called Justice League that DC/WB tried and failed and failed and failed to get off the ground awhile back? If you want to expand your brand, getting your heroes onscreen together where everybody can revel in them is a great way to do it.

Click to continue reading about how DC Entertainment can expand its brand…

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Will ‘Supermax’ Horror Movie Affect Green Arrow ‘Super Max?’

Rob Frappier — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:07:07 +0000

According to an exclusive report from Bloody Disgusting, Columbia Pictures has purchased a spec script for a horror/action film called Supermax. The film, which was written by Mitch Rouse and Christopher Allen Nelson, “takes place in a Maximum Security Prison for the Supernatural as a skilled guard must join forces with a lethal inmate after a riot ensues in order to fight his way through various monsters and madmen in order to survive.”

If that plot sounds familiar, it might be because you’re remembering the David S, Goyer-penned Super Max – a.k.a. the Green Arrow movie. The script for that film, which earned some major positive buzz when it first hit the Internet, follows the falsely accused Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) as he attempts to escape from a maximum security prison for super-villains. Along the way he fights against and teams up with a whole slew of famous DC comics villains, (allegedly) including the Riddler and Lex Luthor.

With all the news surrounding DC fan-favorite Green Lantern, it seems like people have been forgetting about DC’s other famous “green” superhero. In fact, the last time we heard anything about the movie was a month ago, when Goyer claimed that they were still working on it. I wonder what Goyer might say now that Columbia is producing its own film called Supermax with an eerily similar plot.

As it stands, I would love to see the Green Arrow movie. Of course I’m a comic book fan and have more familiarity with the character than most mainstream movie goers would. With their similar plots and their nearly identical names, I could see people deciding to see either one, or the other, but not both. On the other hand, Armageddon and Deep Impact came out within two months of each other, and, though both had essentially the same plot (extinction by meteor), they both achieved box office success.

What do you think? Will the horror/action film Supermax derail the action/comic film Super Max? Which would you rather see? Will the Green Arrow movie continue to be overshadowed by bigger name films such as the Superman reboot?

Source: Bloody Disgusting

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Warner Bros. Creates DC Entertainment Inc.

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:49:39 +0000

After the Disney/Marvel merger DC Comics and longtime-partner Warner Bros. had to be shaking in their boots. “The House of the Mouse” is already looking like a force that few will likely be able to reckon with.

Well, in an effort to become one of those few forces able to take on Disney/Marvel, Nikke Finke reports that Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. has launched a new division, DC Entertainment Inc., in order to better expand the DC Brand.

Marvel fanboys have already been having heart palpitations wondering what the fate of their favorite characters will be in the hands of Disney. Now DC fans can officially share in that anxiety.

Diane Nelson will be the lady in charge of DC Entertainment Inc., as announced yesterday by Warner Bros. CEO Barry Meyer, and COO, Alan Horn. The mission statement of DC Entertainment Inc. will be to “strategically integrate the DC Comics business, brand and characters deeply into Warner Bros. Entertainment and all its content and distribution businesses.” Basically that constitutes Warner Bros. taking a more hands-on approach to developing DC Comic properties into successful film and TV franchises, interactive and new platform media, etc. In the midst of all this, DC Comics will remain as is for the most part, serving as the creative cornerstone of DC Entertainment Inc.

Of course this new structure means that DC’s comic book division has officially become a limb on a much larger body. As a result, Paul Levitz, President & Publisher of DC Comics since 2002, will vacate his exec post and return to a writing position, lending his three decades of experience to the “new DC” as a contributing editor and consultant.

Said Levitz:

“After so many roles at DC, it’s exciting to look forward to focusing on my writing and being able to remain a part of the company I love as it grows into its next stage. It’s a new golden age for comics and DC’s great characters, and I hope my new position will allow me to contribute to that magic time.”

Diane Nelson (Click Image for Source)

Nelson is leaving her post as President of Warner Premiere to take on the DC Entertainment job. If you’re wondering about her qualifications and experience: in her two decades working in creative brand management, strategic marketing and content development and production, Nelson has most notably had a big hand in adapting and managing the Harry Potter franchise for WB. Taking J.K. Rowling’s beloved novels and turning them into a juggernaut (read: cash cow) movie franchise is no small accomplishment; IMO, it demonstrates that Nelson understands how to maintain the balance between being true to source material, while making the needed changes to create successful multimedia ventures – an area where DC has admittedly had some trouble (See: Superman Returns).

Said Nelson:

“The founding of DC Entertainment fully recognizes our desire to provide both the DC properties and fans the type of content that is only possible through a concerted cross-company, multi-platform effort…DC Entertainment will help us to formally take the great working relationships between DC Comics and various Warner Bros. businesses to the next level in order to maximize every opportunity to bring DC’s unrivalled collection of titles and characters to life.”

For a great in-depth explanation of all this (with more quotes from the players involved) head on over to Deadline Hollywood.

Personally, I’m not at all upset (or surprised, really) about any of this. For better or worse, comic book fans, these are chicks we raised that are coming home to roost. We were the ones who pushed for so long to see our favorite heroes grace the big and small screens; our money fed the box office and gave rise to the “Era of Geek-Chic.” And in that proud era, our favorite comic books and superheroes have had their market value shoot WAY up – they are now worldwide icons and potential cash cows. When you think about it like that, it’s only logical that the big dawgs have come a barkin’ and comic book publishers have had to answer the call by stepping up into the corporate big leagues.

But will the source material – our beloved comic books – survive and flourish under these bright neon corporate banners, or whither and be forever tainted? As the zen master says “We shall see…”

What do you think about the creation of DC Entertainment Inc.? Will it be a good way for DC to catch up to Marvel in the multimedia market, or are you DC fans worrying that this is the end of the age of innocence for your beloved universe?

(And be sure to check our list of tags below to know which DC/WB movies are currently in the pipeline . Will this re-structuring affect them too?)

Source: Deadline Hollywood

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The Green Arrow is Still Going to Super Max

Rob Keyes — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:42:41 +0000

A movie we’ve not heard about for a very long time is breathing some life again. Super Max, the DC comics-based film which would center around the character of Green Arrow stuck in a prison made for supervillains for a crime he did not commit, is still a work in progress with a new writer about to come aboard to help on the screenplay.

Over two years ago now, David Goyer described his unique superhero movie idea titled Super Max by saying the following:

“It’s like ‘Alcatraz,’ and he has to team up with, in some cases, some of the very same villains he is responsible for incarcerating in order to get out and clear his name. Of course, tons of people try to kill him while he’s in there. We’ve populated the prison with all sorts of B and C villains from the DC Universe. For the fans, there will be all sorts of characters the hardcore comic book junkies will know, but they’re all going to be there under their human names and no one is wearing a costume, but there will be a lot of characters with powers and things like that.”

Screen Rant master Vic made the point that the movie may be a tough sell since the Green Arrow is not known amongst mainstream moviegoers nor will the B and C-level villains be. On top of that, it would be difficult for the audience to gain an interest in the superhero character who would be without his costume and weapons that help make him the character he is. It would just turn into an action movie of sorts that combines the television shows Prison Break and Heroes.

Unfortunately, other than some positive buzz about a draft of the script, there have literally been no updates on this project for over a year. Breaking that silence, David Goyer spoke with MTV briefly about Super Max and it’s current status.

“We’re working on that. We’re about to bring on another writer… Obviously, Warner Bros. is now heavily into mining all of the various DC properties.”

It’s great timing for Warner Brothers to be getting to work on this film with the many recent confirmations on their Green Lantern movie, and speculation surrounding other projects including The Flash, a reboot of the Superman franchise and Batman 3.

Their big competitor, Marvel Studios, is presenting all of their biggest characters (that they own the film rights) to and to compete against them, DC will need to showcase more of their superhero lineup.

However, with the other big budget DC films in development, they could do some work to tie them in together, at least partially. We’ve heard speculation for a while now that the Green Lantern film would feature a cameo by the new Clark Kent – which is very plausible now since the Superman reboot is being fast-tracked.

DC is going Green with their upcoming projects

It’d be cool and good for the fans and marketing to have another hero from one of those films appear in Super Max, perhaps at the end after he breaks free… or even helping to break him out?

It’s such a shame that Heath Ledger passed away – A cameo by him in prison here would be beyond epic and that by itself could have been the key selling point of the movie.

So, it sounds like people are still at work on Super Max and Goyer can only say that “It’s definitely something we’re developing.” With his new show, Flash Forward, on its way and his full plate of upcoming projects (including X-Men Origins: Magneto), he’ll be a busy man. We don’t have a timetable yet on Super Max, but it could be a while.

Are you excited for a Super Max film and who would you like to see appear in it?

Source: MTV

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Supermax Moving Forward And Will Be Awesome?

Vic Holtreman — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:57:37 +0000

A little over a year ago we commented on rumors that there might be an unconventional take on a Green Arrow movie in the works. It was tentatively titled Supermax and involved our hero trying to escape an ultra high security prison designed specifically to house super-criminals.

At the time I freely admit that I thought that while it was an intriguing idea, I figured it would fall flat at the box office (you can just read the article at the link above). However today comes a script review from the good folks over at Latino Review that makes it seem it might actually make a pretty rockin’ movie.

Here’s a description of the basic idea for the story from writer David Goyer a year ago:

“It’s like ‘Alcatraz,’ and he has to team up with, in some cases, some of the very same villains he is responsible for incarcerating in order to get out and clear his name. Of course, tons of people try to kill him while he’s in there. We’ve populated the prison with all sorts of B and C villains from the DC Universe. For the fans, there will be all sorts of characters the hardcore comic book junkies will know, but they’re all going to be there under their human names and no one is wearing a costume, but there will be a lot of characters with powers and things like that.”

In the latest version of the script the description of Oliver Queen in his Green Arrow garb sounds a lot like the version we’ve seen in Smallville:

“The Green Arrow wears a tight green leather suit, quivers attached to his ankles and thighs, and a giant COMPOUND BOW running across his back. His face is concealed by a dark hood.”

Over at Latino Review they’re pretty discerning about scripts they review and they’re obviously excited about this one:

“Want to know how cool SUPERMAX is? The prison changes shape, cells rearrange, and reconfigures every night to disorient the prisoners from breaking out. A transforming super prison! Cool.”

As I mentioned a year ago, they plan on populating the movie with all sorts of obscure DC Universe villains.

For a full (and pretty spoiler-filled) description of the script head on over and read it for yourself. They also have images of many of the super-villains that are supposed to be in the film.

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A Non-Green Arrow, Green Arrow Movie

Vic Holtreman — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 16:57:18 +0000

The title to this post sounded better in my head than it looks above, but oh well. According to Wizard Magazine (via Superherohype), David Goyer has come up with a very different concept for a superhero movie revolving around Green Arrow.

His idea is to have Green Arrow in character for only the first ten minutes of the film, and then have him arrested and imprisoned under false charges in a super-max, super-villain prison. GA’s costume, secret identity and weapons will be taken away and he’ll have to fend for himself and figure out how to escape.

Goyer states:

“It’s like ‘Alcatraz,’ and he has to team up with, in some cases, some of the very same villains he is responsible for incarcerating in order to get out and clear his name. Of course, tons of people try to kill him while he’s in there. We’ve populated the prison with all sorts of B and C villains from the DC Universe. For the fans, there will be all sorts of characters the hardcore comic book junkies will know, but they’re all going to be there under their human names and no one is wearing a costume, but there will be a lot of characters with powers and things like that.”

My first thought is that although it’s an interesting concept and a unique spin on the formulaic superhero movie genre, this thing would bomb faster than you can say Grindhouse.”

First off, Green Arrow is not a mainstream, iconic comic book character. Sure, the alternate universe version from Smallville is now well known, but the movie version is bound to have a non-Smaillville version of the character.

Second, how will they establish the core of the character if he’s no longer Green Arrow after ten minutes? Flashbacks? Take the guy out of character and he’s just another generic action hero.

Third, populating the prison with B and C-tier villains who will not even be using recognizable names and most likely only “comic book junkies” will know? Yikes.

This might make for a cool TV show, but I don’t know about a theatrical release film.

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