I think I would start laughing if I could muster it.

Warner Brothers and DC Comics announced earlier this month that the Green Lantern movie, something I have been waiting decades for, will be shooting by the end of the year at Fox Studios in Australia.  The movie is set to begin pre-production in July with initial photography beginning in November.  The release date has already been announced as December 17, 2010.

And, oh yeah, it still doesn’t have a cast or a director.  Obviously those items aren’t important to a production any more.

I remember back in the summer of 1985, I was 14-years-old and my parents took me to a science fiction convention in St. Louis.  Part of the reason I wanted to go was James Doohan, Scotty from Star Trek, was going to be there.  During his big question and answer session, a lot of people were asking questions about the upcoming Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and after my excitement for this movie could no longer be contained, I stood up and asked Mr. Doohan if a release date had been announced for the movie yet.  I can clearly remember his answer as being, “Oh no, sir, you never announce the release date of a movie until it’s completed!”

… apparently a lot has changed in Hollywood in the past 24 years.

I am extremely excited for this movie as the character has always held a lot of appeal to me, but I am getting worried about the quality of the production before even one storyboard is drawn.  It’s as if the film was a ship, and someone told it to go ahead and sail without her captain… the first mate… oh yeah, and a map on board.  I think DC and Warner Brothers are so concerned with the release schedule that they are forgetting some of the most basic steps in the filmmaking process, and that is always an early sign of a film becoming a disaster.

Anyone remember the recent remake of Planet of the Apes?  Tim Burton was brought in as the director late into the production process, and we all saw how that turned out.

I beg of Warner Brothers and DC Comics to consider the fans on this one for just a minute, and not put a release schedule ahead of quality.  If you have any hopes of continuing the success of the Batman franchise, you have to remember those are succeeding on quality, and not the slapdash production style and look of the majority of the Marvel Comics films.  Quality has to be a priority here, and you need to realize that any work done without your director in place could go disastoursly wrong.  And a director without his lead is never a good idea either.

Please, PLEASE, don’t mess this one up.