GREEN LANTERN Director Martin Campbell On Fights With Warner Bros. And Whether He'd Direct A Marvel Movie

GREEN LANTERN Director Martin Campbell On Fights With Warner Bros. And Whether He'd Direct A Marvel Movie

Green Lantern definitely negatively impacted Martin Campbell's career, and during a recent AMA, the filmmaker opened up on his battles with Warner Bros. and why he's done with comic book movies from here.

By JoshWilding - Aug 12, 2021 08:08 AM EST
Filed Under: Green Lantern
Source: Reddit AMA

Green Lantern was released in 2011 to negative reviews, something that would play a big part in the movie bombing at the box office. No one really emerged completely unscathed, though it was director Martin Campbell and star Ryan Reynolds who arguably suffered most. 

The latter has bounced back (primarily thanks to the Deadpool franchise), but Campbell - who helmed Casino Royale - has mostly stuck to television since. Now, he's doing the rounds to promote The Protege starring Maggie Q, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson, and the filmmaker recently took to Reddit to answer questions from fans. 

He started by hinting at major creative differences with Warner Bros., describing those clashes as the worst fight he's ever been in. The studio still clashes with directors a decade on, so we probably shouldn't be surprised that Campbell butted heads with them over Green Lantern in 2011. 

However, before you start wondering if he might make the leap to the competition to work on a Marvel project, Campbell was quick to dismiss the notion. "Marvel? Forget it," he stated. "I f***ed it up once, never again." That's a shame, but also understandable all things considered (creative differences aside, chances are fans wouldn't want him to return to the genre, anyway).

Check out these highlights from Campbell's Q&A below:
 

MAD MEN Star Jon Hamm Reflects On Pitching Role To Marvel And Confirms He Turned Down GREEN LANTERN
Related:

MAD MEN Star Jon Hamm Reflects On Pitching Role To Marvel And Confirms He Turned Down GREEN LANTERN

SUPERMAN: Nathan Fillion On Why He's Perfectly Suited To Play GREEN LANTERN Guy Gardner
Recommended For You:

SUPERMAN: Nathan Fillion On Why He's Perfectly Suited To Play GREEN LANTERN Guy Gardner

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

TheMapleSyrup
TheMapleSyrup - 8/12/2021, 8:09 AM
Lol release the Campbell cut?
mgeoff88
mgeoff88 - 8/12/2021, 8:15 AM
Martin Campbell brought Bond into the 90’s with great success, and was able top himself when he rebooted Bond. Not too many directors could pull something like that off.

Leave it to Warner Bros. to mess things up with a talented director.
billnye69
billnye69 - 8/12/2021, 8:15 AM
Why executives interfere with projects is beyond me. If you don't trust people to do a job they are hired for, then that's on you.
JoeInTheBox
JoeInTheBox - 8/12/2021, 8:39 AM
@billnye69 - It's the difference between art vs. commerce. They're trying to make commercially viable art. Sometimes the minds behind both principals don't see eye-to-eye. They're just trying protect their investment at the same time the director/writer are trying to maintain artistic integrity. Naturally heads will clash.
Itwasme
Itwasme - 8/12/2021, 9:47 AM
@JoeInTheBox - I've actually argued film is not art, it's design. The difference being that in art you leave it up to the audience to interpret emotion and meaning, design you control the whole process. It's all on the same spectrum, but to me a great director makes the audience feel specific emotions at specific times, all very well controlled. Some avant-garde French films of the 60's are more on the art side of the spectrum, but for the most part, well regarded films are designed.

If you really want to get into it, The Room is probably art too, because it's so poorly designed as a drama it became a comedy. Good design doesn't lead to unintended consequences.

Just to get all theoretical about it.
JoeInTheBox
JoeInTheBox - 8/12/2021, 11:35 AM
@Itwasme - Art is all subjective anyway. You can argue film by design is made to have the audience feel specific emotions. But then you can reference David Lynch who won't tell you that your interpretation of his films are wrong, because he wants you to form your own, by intention(or in turn, by design).
Itwasme
Itwasme - 8/12/2021, 12:27 PM
@JoeInTheBox - yep. It's a spectrum. David Lynch was another Director I was thinking that falls more into art. Most of the time though, film leans heavily into design IMO.
ALF9001
ALF9001 - 8/12/2021, 4:58 PM
@Itwasme - That's ... oversimplifying a very complex spectrum, to say the least.
Itwasme
Itwasme - 8/12/2021, 6:08 PM
@ALF9001 - not really. Quite literally the major difference between art and design is design is an intention to do something. You can design an experience, a system, a graphic, a film.... anything really. Bad design is unintended consequences. Art typically doesn't create a function which is why you don't hear people say "this new dress is art." Thibgs like dresses with equally relevant levels of beauty to any sculpture are design because there's a function to it and intention. A sculpture with intention and function becomes design, or Architecture depending on what it is.

Art and design are on the same spectrum, but are different. A good director brings a lot of intention a function to a film to make it design.
ALF9001
ALF9001 - 8/12/2021, 10:39 PM
@Itwasme - yeah, no. I honestly don't know where to begin. I assume that you came up with that theory yourself, because it's too nonsensical to have come from anywhere serious.

How can you separate art from design? How can you say that architecture isn't art? How about Crime and Punishment? A text with very clear intentions and a function by it's author. Why can't a dress be art?

How do you separate an "art" intention from a "design" intention?
RingSlinger700
RingSlinger700 - 8/12/2021, 8:34 AM
Wasn't there a rumor that he wanted Bradley Cooper for Hal and WB hired Ryan Reynolds behind his back, which led to Campbell treating Reynolds like shit on set?
emeraldtaurus
emeraldtaurus - 8/12/2021, 1:46 PM
@RingSlinger700 - apparently Coopers screen test was a disaster, supposedly he kept doing a Christian Bale "Bat-voice" which put the fat cats at WB off. Which then led to Reynolds being cast.
RingSlinger700
RingSlinger700 - 8/12/2021, 4:26 PM
@emeraldtaurus - right, I think I heard that too. With a better script though Cooper would have been an awesome Hal, though John Krasinski's my personal pick.
jaimedm
jaimedm - 8/12/2021, 8:36 AM
Reading his answers, looks like the guy has had enough of the big budget corporate bullshit. If he has found his way again with mid-budget action dramas, kudos to him.

The Foreigner was quite nice. It was more of a political drama with a bit of Jackie kicking serious ass for his age than a full fledged action movie, but still.

GwenLantern
GwenLantern - 8/12/2021, 8:42 AM
Not gonna defend WB or anything, but the main problem with this film was that Martin Campbell didn't care about the film, the comics or comic book movies in general. He looked down on them, thinking them disposable low-brow entertainment for simpletons and children.

Which kind of explains his Green Lantern.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 8/12/2021, 8:48 AM
I'd be willing to see him have another go at a comic property. Casino Royale is easily one of the best Bond movies ever.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 8/12/2021, 8:48 AM
He’s made really good films
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 8/12/2021, 8:49 AM






ARMUS
ARMUS - 8/12/2021, 8:51 AM

He delivered justice for one masked vigilante...ℤ🗡 sequel wasn't good but the first one was great.
ElricReturns
ElricReturns - 8/12/2021, 9:05 AM
Damn... the chap is traumatized and self depreciating to displace the negative energy he's received. My God, this is genuinely sad.

Man, I love comics, we born into comics and have lived my entire life in service of comics. But even I fear getting involved in this industry because the backlash is brutal.
LameLuka
LameLuka - 8/12/2021, 9:20 AM
Every time a DC movie gets screwed behind the scenes. Geoff Johns and WB are not to far away.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 8/12/2021, 9:28 AM
Green Lantern was horrible and looked like a decent cast with some great CGI but everything else about it was terrible.
Regardless of Casino Royal I wouldn’t want that dude working on any films I want to see.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 8/12/2021, 12:27 PM
He has such an interesting filmography, I keep forgetting he also did Green Lantern. Kinda want him for Black Widow 2 though.
View Recorder