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Fresh off her triumphant solo directorial debut of Wonder Woman, Lauren Montgomery shifts gears from Amazons and mythology to intergalactic intrigue as the director of Green Lantern: First Flight, the fifth in the ongoing series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies.

Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new Green Lantern: First Flight on July 28, 2009. The Blu-Ray Hi-Def edition, the special edition 2-disc DVD, and a single disc DVD will be distributed by Warner Home Video. The action-packed movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, July 28, 2009.

Montgomery has been a central force within the DC Universe animated original movies, directing one-third of the series initial film, Superman Doomsday, and wowing critics and fans alike with her solo directorial debut at the helm of Wonder Woman. With Green Lantern: First Flight, Montgomery takes the next step in her burgeoning career, directing the initial full-length story to feature the DC Comics super hero and an entire universe of fascinating characters. She is once again teamed with executive producer Bruce Timm, this time working from an Alan Burnett script that focuses on Hal Jordans recruitment to the Green Lantern Corps and his discovery of a secret conspiracy that threatens its philosophies, traditions and hierarchy.

There is no rest for the weary. Though Green Lantern: First Flight has just completed production, Montgomery has already begun directing her next project another upcoming DCU that youll no doubt hear about in the not-too-distant future. Montgomery paused between recording sessions and storyboards to chat about the directorial learning curve, a new universe of astounding characters, a very cool quartet of key voiceover actors, and the tricks to avoiding greens and yellows for an entire background color palette.

Read on its director Lauren Montgomery talking about Green Lantern: First Flight!

QUESTION: Will Green Lantern: First Flight be in the well-known design of Bruce Timm, or be more of the Lauren Montgomery vision from Wonder Woman?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY: Were actually having a lot of fun trying different artistic styles on different movies Bruce felt his style has been done enough, and I just had my turn plus I knew there were many other character designers who are infinitely better at designing aliens that I am. We were lucky to get Jose Lopez to create the characters for Green Lantern. I think he even took a pay cut from his last job to do Green Lantern, but this project really allows him to let his animation go wild. Youve never seen anything like some of his designs for this film. His take on the familiar characters is fairly true to form, but hes designed literally an entire universe of completely new characters in the different Green Lanterns, aliens and background characters. There are a lot of awesome, fantastical creatures. Like me, Jose is trained in animation instead of comics, so his style really lends itself to being animated and everything he’s done has looked spectacular. I think it’s really looking different from anything we’ve ever done.

QUESTION: Did Jose ever over-step any boundaries and need to be reined in?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY: Actually, his first designs were a little too stylized. For the main characters, the designs were a little too streamlined we had to make Sinestro more like the comics. But once he got that figured out, he really went crazy. It was exciting to see him come in with these characters. Even his Weaponer designer is far different than what weve seen before, but DC was okay with it. So we just let him run wild.

QUESTION: Were there any beyond-the-norm issues strategizing a color scheme for a film with an entire army of characters wearing the same color?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY: We tried desperately to avoid as much green as we could in backgrounds and supporting characters, so the Green Lanterns and the rings and their effects were the only green portions of the scene. We also tried to stay away from copious amounts of yellow so that would make an impact later in the film. When you eliminate two of the main colors, it kind of limits you, so we had to utilize a lot of shades of blue, red and orange, and I think we were able to make it work. It was a really wise decision on Bruce’s part to keep the green and the yellow to the characters that were defined by that color.

QUESTION: Did you learn anything directing Wonder Woman that you were able to apply and/or improve upon for Green Lantern: First Flight?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY: Wonder Woman taught me that you can’t board the whole movie by yourself (she laughs), so I just let my storyboard artists do their job on Green Lantern. I let them come up with their ideas and I focused on keeping everything cohesive. Ultimately, I think the movie is better for it. I guess I learned to be more relaxed and to not be such a control freak. Which I think is good (laughs again). It certainly made my work load a lot easier.

QUESTION: How much origin story should Green Lantern fans expect to see?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY: As we had already done the origin story a few movies back in Justice League: The New Frontier, we really didn’t want to spend a whole lot of time telling that same story over again. So in Green Lantern: First Flight, the origin story is over and done before the opening credits. That way we get right into Hal Jordans first adventure.

QUESTION:What do the four main voice cast members bring to their roles?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY: Christopher Meloni is a very serious actor and really got into the character to understand all the little nuances of exactly what Hal was thinking at every moment. He would ask very interesting, detailed, unexpected questions so he could totally get the mind set, and in doing so he was able to deliver an incredible performance that that really defines Hal as a confident hero, but not cocky or a jerk. Hal Jordan has a humor to him that isn’t quite as big as the Flash, but still not stiff like Batman. Christopher was able to give us that fun side of Hal, too.

Victor Garber has this intimidating presence and power behind his deliveries where you can hear that Sinestro knows what he’s doing, he’s been through this before and he’s pretty sure of himself. He gives Sinestro a very believable sense of suave sophistication. Sinestro is not your typical evil villain, and Victor Garber makes him seem like an incredibly intelligent, worldly guy who believes he is doing the right thing, even though he might not be doing it the correct way.

Kilowog is this big, hulking creature and he needed a voice that was really recognizable and had a strong presence. Michael Madsen was able to give us these line readings that we really didnt expect you cant help laughing at his intonations and he ends up with some of the funniest lines in the whole script. He even did some fake burps that are just ridiculous youll actually hear a couple of those in the movie. It was just a match made in heaven, really.

Boodikka is not just your doe-eyed, token female she has strength and believability without losing the feminine qualities of our primary female character. There arent a ton of women in the Green Lantern Corps apparently its a male-dominated industry (she laughs). Tricia Helfer has a really sympathetic quality to her voice that captures the quieter side of Boodikka, but Tricia also has this amazing strength in her voice. She was able to make Boodikka this wonderful, relatable, three-dimensional character.

QUESTION: What made Alan Burnetts script right for this first Green Lantern film?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY: Alan delivered a Green Lantern script that really explored what being a space cop is all about. He didn’t focus purely on the heroic Hal super power approach its more of an overall Green Lantern Corps story and Hal’s existence within that group. And its not Hal on Earth being a super hero were in space for virtually the entire movie, so Alan gave us multiple backgrounds and scene settings so we could explore the galaxy. That made it even more interesting seeing and exploring different alien locales and lifestyles. Being away from Earth is incredibly liberating in terms of design possibilities.

QUESTION: Without any spoilers, do you have a favorite scene?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY We have a scene about 17 minutes into the movie when Hal and Sinestro go into this establishment looking for a killer, and even though youve already seen some of the alien Green Lanterns, this is the first time you get an eyeful of the alien characters that Jose Lopez designed. The place is packed with all these really cool aliens, and theyre all so crazy looking. But you know their personalities immediately. Its a very tense, cool scene and you really get to see how different that world is from Earth. Thats the defining scene from the movie that lets you know youre not in Kansas anymore.

For more information, images and updates, please visit the films official website at www.greenlanternmovie.com.

Suggested captions for attached images:
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Director Lauren Montgomery said character designer Jose Lopez ran wild in creating a galaxy of new creatures for Green Lantern: First Flight, the all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

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Lauren Montgomery focused on the big picture in directing Green Lantern: First Flight, but she take the time to do the character design on Boodikka (voiced by Tricia Helfer) for the all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

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Its Hal Jordan to the rescue in Green Lantern: First Flight, the all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

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Director Lauren Montgomery addresses the WonderCon audience during the after the West Coast Premiere of Wonder Woman in February. Montgomerys next film, Green Lantern: First Flight, an all-new DC Universe animated original movie, will be distributed July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video. (photo courtesy of Gary Miereanu)

From Academy Award blockbusters Titanic and Milk to Emmy-nominated performances in Alias and Will & Grace to Tony Award nods for a lengthy list of leading roles on Broadway, Victor Garber has achieved acting greatness regardless of the format.

Now add animation to his list of successes.

In his animation debut, Garber masterfully crafts the voice for the calculating, villainous Sinestro in Green Lantern: First Flight, the fifth in the ongoing series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies. Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new film as a special edition 2-disc DVD, a Blu-Ray Hi-Def edition, as well as single disc DVD on July 28, 2009, as distributed by Warner Home Video. The action-packed movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, July 28, 2009.

Green Lantern: First Flight finds Hal Jordan recruited to join the Green Lantern Corps and placed under the supervision of respected senior Lantern Sinestro. The earthling soon discovers his mentor is actually the central figure in a secret conspiracy that threatens the philosophies, traditions and hierarchy of the entire Green Lantern Corps. Hal must quickly hone his newfound powers and combat the treasonous Lanterns within the ranks to maintain order in the universe.

The Canadian-born Garber first captured national attention in his 1973 big screen debut as Jesus in Godspell. Garbers film credits include Titanic, Milk and Sleepless in Seattle, while his television career boasts six Emmy Award nominations spread over four different series, miniseries and movies. He earned a Saturn Award as Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series for his portrayal of Sydney Bristows mysterious father in Alias, and most recently was featured in Eli Stone and Justice.

The toast of Broadway for more than three decades, Garber has four Tony Award nominations for a career of performances that range from the Devil in Damn Yankees! to originating the role of John Wilkes Booth in Stephen Sondheims Assassins.

Though Garber has recorded books on tape and done some narration for television, Green Lantern: First Flight represents his first-ever voiceover performance for animation. It is an ear-catching performance that captures Sinestros true sinister nature. Garber stole a few moments during his New York-based Green Lantern: First Flight recording sessions to chat about his first-ever animation experience, his hero-posturing co-star, Simon Cowells attitude, and the directing tornado that is Andrea Romano.

QUESTION: How did you settle on the voice of Sinestro?

VICTOR GARBER: The challenge of bringing this character to life was to find exactly the right tone. My tendency would be to make it a little too colorful, but Andrea (Romano) and Bruce (Timm) gave direction that was very specifically to modulate it and find the right tone. It was interesting because with animation, its all voice at the recording stage of the process, you dont even really know what its going to look like. But when I read the script, I had sort of an idea of the sound of Sinestro, because it was very specifically written and very well written so you could understand the sense of humor and irony in this character. I appreciated that.

QUESTION: How does Sinestro compare to other characters you’ve played before?

VICTOR GARBER: Having played the the ultimate villain as the Devil many years ago in Damn Yankees!, I found Sinestro was just kind of a modification of that character. The thing about villains is that they all think they’re doing the right thing, and Sinestro believes that what he’s doing is for the better, that it’s going to improve the universe. The scariest part about a villain is that you know, at any cost, human life or super-powered life, they will do whatever it takes to achieve their goal. They believe in their cause, and Sinestro fits that mold.

QUESTION: Do you enjoy playing the villain?

VICTOR GARBER: I like to play any character that has dimension and complexity and if he happens to be a villain, great. If he happens to be heroic, great. I just like well-written roles.

QUESTION: What development did you put into the voice?

VICTOR GARBER: I actually read the script aloud a couple of times and sort of experimented with a certain qualities. In the script, it says and maybe this was a bit misleading but it refers to Sinestro as having a bit of a Simon Cowell attitude. I tried not to let that influence me too much, but Sinestro is sarcastic and hes got a real edge. So I played with it, and once I got into the studio with Andrea, the voice really came out.

QUESTION: What was your impression of Sinestros dialogue?

VICTOR GARBER: When I first read the script, I came to these four-paragraph speeches, and that always alarms me a little bit because with anything (that long), you really have to figure out how you’re going to shape the entire piece. But they’re well written, and they have a definite rhythm. So I sort of read it aloud in the privacy of my own home, because I just wanted to get the sound of it you dont want to be tripping over your words when you get to the studio. So I had a sense of what I wanted to achieve and it worked out pretty well.

Its important to prepare and understand the entire script, not just your lines. You dont want to upstage the other actors. If its a scene with two or three or five people, you really basically need to think, How am I communicating with all these people? Everybody in this mix makes it whole, and I think they’ve assembled a really good group of people for this film.

QUESTION: Speaking of the cast, youre playing opposite Christopher Melonis heroic Green Lantern, and you had the opportunity to act with each other in the booth. How was that experience?

VICTOR GARBER: Chris was very disappointing (LAUGHS). Christopher Meloni is a really great actor and I’m a huge fan of his — the opportunity to work with him was really my incentive to do it. I’m on a little break, Ive just come back from Morocco, I was jet lagged and my agent called and I thought, Two days in the studio with Chris Meloni? I can do that. We had a lot of fun. He really does exude the heroic quality that Green Lantern would embody. It was funny because youre in the studio and you’re focused on the microphone, reading the script you hear each other in your headphones so you can play off each other, but you dont really look at each other. And occasionally I would catch a glimpse of him striking the (super hero) pose. He was definitely in character.

QUESTION: Did your previous work on the stage and screen help prepare you for this style of performance?

VICTOR GARBER: From my experience as an actor, every role you do helps you build a kind of a repertoire of characters that you pull things from unconsciously. This is very different from anything I’ve done on television or even on stage. But my job as an actor is to imbue it with some sort of authenticity and truth to make it believable. I didnt pull anything for Sinestro from any specific character Ive played in the past. They’re all different.

QUESTION: From Nora Ephron to Gus Van Sant to James Cameron, youve worked with some impressive directors. What was your impression of your first voiceover under the direction of Andrea Romano?

VICTOR GARBER: Andrea is a task maker. She’s brilliant at her job, I have to say. You just feel confident that there’s someone in the booth that’s really watching out for you. Shes very specific, she knows what she wants, and she’s relentless at getting it which is a great thing because then you know that the product is going to be the best it can be. I had a great time with her.

QUESTION: Based on this first experience, are you interested in doing more voiceovers for animation?

VICTOR GARBER: Well, I hope that people like what weve done and I hope I get more work from it, but you never know. It was challenging in that it requires some very specific techniques with the microphone, things that you would do naturally that you cant do during a voiceover. There are constraints that you’re required to pay attention to. But it was completely fun to do and challenging only in the best sense. Id like to do more.

Please visit the films official website at www.greenlanternmovie.com

Images/captions:
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Sinestro pursues a murderer in Green Lantern: First Flight, the all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

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Sinsetro tries to get past his frustration as he trains Hal Jordan in Green Lantern: First Flight, the all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

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Sinestro and Hal Jordan assess an oncoming battle in Green Lantern: First Flight, the all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

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Sinestro (center) and fellow Lanterns (from left) Boodikka, Kilowog and Tomar-Re take their first look at new recruit Hal Jordan in Green Lantern: First Flight, the all-new DC Universe animated original movie set for distribution July 28, 2009 by Warner Home Video.