Last week fans discovered a newfan film in the C2FCinema which may be the first time this popular DC Comics hero has gottenthe live-action treatment. The clip is a trailer for "Green Arrow", anindie short film based on the Justice League's emerald archer. The film createdinstant buzz, logging many downloads and good word of mouth from fans. If thefans support it, the filmmakers aim to complete the film.
This week Eli McElmurray,founder of DCLive Action Comic Books e-mail group, sits down with Padraig Reynolds andSteven James Daff, two of the filmmakers behind "Green Arrow".
Eli McElmurray (EM):What made you decide on doing a live action independent film based on GreenArrow?
Padraig Reynolds (PR):Well, it's kind of a funny story. A friend of ours (F.J. Zentner) that we workedwith, had a strong resemblance to Green Arrow. I mentioned that to him one dayat work, in front of Steve. Steve being a filmmaker himself, thought it would bea great idea to do a Green Arrow short. I agreed, so I wrote the script, andthat pretty much got the ball rolling.
EM: Where did you getthe idea for the script?
Steven James Daff (SJD):It's a mixture of Padraig's own ideas, mixed with ideas heavily borrowed fromMike Grell's Green Arrow.
EM: Your movie is basedon Mike Grell's Green Arrow, has he seen it yet?
PR/SJD: We have been incontact with some of Mike's former Green Arrow team, and they have been verysupportive. As of yet, Mike has not been able to take a look at the trailer. Wewere informed that he is having a few "technical difficulties", but heis presently attempting to watch it.
EM: Who are the actorsand how did they land their respective roles?
PR/SJD: The actors areF.J. Zentner as Green Arrow, Harrison Young as Kyle Magnor, Marisa Hirsch asDinah Lance, and Michael Joyner as the Sin Eater. F.J. was cast, because he wasan actor that we worked with, who resembled Green Arrow. Harrison Young was castbecause he is a great actor that has worked with A-list directors. The rest ofthe cast was picked through the audition process.
EM: Where was thisfilmed?
PR/SJD: This was filmedin San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
EM: What was the GreenArrow costume made out of?
PR/SJD: The costume wasmade out of English Wool and leather.
EM: Is this the trailerfor a future mini-movie of is this as far as it goes?
PR: This is hopefullynot as far as it goes. Originally this was supposed to be a completed 20 minuteshort, with another director. Before completion of the short, Steve and Irealized that our vision differed greatly from that of the original director. Wedecided it was in the best interest of both parties that we go our separateways, and complete our own projects. We had talked about finishing the shortourselves and salvaging what was left from the first days of shooting. Weconcluded that we would be better off cutting a trailer, and shooting someadditional footage for the trailer. With this trailer we hope to create a buzz,and raise enough donations to make the best Green Arrow short that we can make.The new short will have a different storyline from the trailer, but we feel thatGreen Arrow fans, as well as general audiences, will find it more exciting. Thisagain will be strictly a fan film and not for sale/profit. More informationshould be on our site shortly.
EM: After Mike Grell'srun of "Green Arrow Longbow Hunter" and Kevin Smith's work at bringingthe emerald archer back to the comic books, I can see why you decided to do aGreen Arrow film. How much did your actor know of Green Arrow before he was castand how much studying did he do to prepare for the trailer?
PR/SJD: Before beingcast, F.J. Zentner had never heard of Green Arrow. Like all good actors though,he did his homework. He looked at various Green Arrow comics, as well as the GreenArrow Unofficial Fan Site for character study.
EM: What was the basisfor the villain?
PR: Kyle Magnor isstraight from the "Long Bow Hunters", Drakon (man in car withsunglasses) is from one the newer Green Arrow comic series. Sin Eater wasborrowed from A 1980's Spider-Man comic. He was made a bit more supernatural togive him a slightly different feel.
EM: Do you think thatyou got your point across on what you wanted to in the movie/trailer? If notwhere do you think you missed it? Now that it is done what do you wish you wouldhave put in it?
PR/SJD: We are happywith the storyline, and the acting. However would have liked to have had moreaction. We had talked about shooting more action for the trailer, but we decidedin order to do it the right way, it wouldn't be cost effective. So we decidedthat we would place any additional funding towards a new and more exciting 15min. or so, short film.
EM: What type of specialeffects did you use? How much was CGI vs. traditional effects? What type ofprogram did you use?
PR/SJD: Most of theeffects were optical. The arrows, for practical purposes, are CGI creations by SamKhorshid. He created the digital arrows in Lightwave and then used Combustonfor the compositing.
If you haven't seen it yet,click over to the C2F Cinema and view and review the GreenArrow Trailer.Then head over to the Green Arrow FanFilm page for more information about this project as it develops.
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