Shooting in Australia would now add $20m to the film’s production costs.

Warner Bros is understood to be preparing to shift its Green Lantern production to Mexico from Australia, where the booming currency has blown out costs.

The latest proposal overrides recent plans to shift the film to the US state of Louisiana (as reported in the October issue of INSIDEFILM) although a final decision has yet to be made.

If the shoot does proceed at Fox Studios Australia it would add more than $US20 million to production costs due to the rising dollar, according to sources.

Warning: spoilers ahead.

The movie will feature multiple villains, a trend that hasn’t bode well in the past (take Spider-man 3 for instance). Combining this with an origins story (assuming that’s what we get) could prove too much. I’ll remain sceptical for now.

Casting Call

Hector Hammond

Villain

[DR. HECTOR HAMMOND]
27-35, Character actor who is austere and impersonal, he is real “scummy.” He is a pathologist and also the son of a Senator.

Sinestro

Villain and extra-terrestrial. Sinestro is the former mentor of Hal Jordan and the arch-nemesis of the entire Green Lantern Corps.

[SINESTRO]
Mid-30s to Mid-40s, he is smart, tough, intimidating and in great physical shape.

Abin Sur

A member of the Green Lantern Corps, he recruited Hal Jordan as a Green Lantern. His role may not be huge, in the comics he presents the ring to Hal Jordan as he is dying.

[ABIN SUR]
Mid-30s to mid-40s, he is a great warrior.

Carol Ferris

She is one of many supervillains who has used the name Star Sapphire, and is a long-time love interest of Hal Jordan. The casting description doesn’t hint at a super alter-ego, so it’s not likely this sultry villain will appear, but in a sequel maybe?

[CAROL FERRIS] and possibly Star Sapphire
26-32, a smart and attractive woman with an MBA. She started as a pilot and now runs Ferris Aircraft. She is a work-a-holic…FEMALE LEAD

Apparently Reynolds, who looks the part, screen tested alongside Bradley Cooper and Jared Leto, but the decision between the three proved difficult with director Martin Campbell, producer Donald De Line and the studio each having different favorites.

We previously reported that shooting would begin as early as September this year, it seems this has been pushed back to January 2010, though still planning on maintaining the announced June 17th 2011 release date. The budget hasn’t yet been finalized but is believed to be around $150m, the movie is set to film in Sydney, Australia.

A fan made image

This is fan art created by Josh MC. This is not real, it is fan art!

Thanks Greg!

“You know I really can’t [say anything],” he said. “I’ve sworn a blood oath of secrecy in relation to the project. But, you know, the thing I can tell you is that it is a very loving and respectful approach.”

“The goal here is to do the best cinematic representation of the Green Lantern character. You know, there’s no desire on anyone’s part to completely change the character and just call this other character Green Lantern and try to … draft off the name recognition. This is all about ‘How do we bring the best version of this character to the silver screen?’”

“We’ve drawn heavily from … a lot of different sources in terms of the comic books. … The character … is several decades old, so … we’ve really had an incredible amount of source material to cherry-pick from.”

Address

Collector’s Paradise
7131 Winnetka Ave
Winnetka CA 91306

Green Lantern now appears to be in direct competition with the big 2011 releases; this move shines the Emerald light between the gaps created by Spider-man 4 and Marvel’s newcomers Thor and Captain America. Summer 2011 looks like quite the superhero overload.

[...] I’ve just spent the last hour or so on the phones, tracking down a rumor I heard, and HitFix can exclusively report that Bradley Cooper is now one of the guys most likely to don the suit and slip on the power ring as The Green Lantern for director Martin Campbell.

Let’s be clear: they have not hired him yet. But the process is far enough along that this is more than just a meeting or some spot on a wish list. Keep in mind that Campbell likes to see a lot of people when he’s casting… and even when he’s screen-testing, he seems willing to explore as many options as possible… but with the film set to shoot later this summer, they’ve got to start making their choices, and now’s the time to put people in front of the camera and see who really works in the suit.

We’d previously commented on the Australian filming location and scouting reports in and around Sydney and New South Wales, but today The Australian confirms the specific Sydney locale. Shooting is expected to begin in November and is expected to take six to nine months, this start date is slightly later than the previously reported mid-September. Pre-production shall begin in July.

THE big-budget movie adaptation of comic superhero Green Lantern will be filmed in Sydney, with production to begin later this year.

The movie, produced by DC Comics and Warner Brothers, will be directed by Martin Campbell, the man behind the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale.

It is expected to create around 500 jobs in NSW with pre-production to start in July and filming to begin in November at Sydney’s Fox Studios.

The filming is expected to take six to nine months.

“Bringing Green Lantern to NSW is a major coup,” Premier Nathan Rees said when making the announcement at Fox Studios today.

“Films such as this invest heavily in the local economy and the flow-on effects for local services such as transport, construction and the hotel industry.”