Movie Make-out

It was a difficult decision to make, but The Hollywood Reporter has two stories up on how Green Lantern director Martin Campbell, producers Donald De Line and Greg Berlanti, and the Warner Bros. studio execs finally narrowed their choices for the titular role down to Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds, and Justin Timberlake–and now they’re stating that it’s Reynolds’ role to lose.

According to the first article, each of them had a favorite, it was difficult to come to a consensus on who should get the part, and of course they’re not revealing which person or entity won when Reynolds went into final negotiations yesterday.

The most interesting part about this story is that not only did all three have to come in to do a second round of screen tests, but that this process started last Monday, when a deal with two of the three actors had expired, which meant they would be free to sign deals with other movies whose production schedules matched up with Lantern’s, and that everyone involved was able to wait about a week before someone blabbed to the media.

Of the three, I think that Timberlake would have been the most awkward choice because while he has proven himself to be a gifted actor, he’s still behind Cooper and Reynolds when it comes to chops. Between the two, I would have had a difficult time choosing, too.

The movie begins shooting in January, 2010, and is set to open in December.

Update (7/13/09): Variety put a new article up late last night saying that, indeed, Ryan Reynolds is now “set” as the star of Green Lantern — meaning the contracts are signed. This shit is official, kids!

Related Posts: Green Lantern gets different director… maybe?; Deadpool gets his own X-Movie; Wolvie gets a sequel (updated)