In defense of 'Green Lantern' and of Roger Ebert, plus other Hollywood briefs

No doubt about it: Despite its $50-million-plus opening weekend, the New Orleans-shot "Green Lantern" has been hurt by mostly negative reviews.
But Forbes blogger Mark Hughes offers a nice defense of the film -- which he admits he enjoyed. (As did I.  Which is less than glowing but mostly positive.)
The headline on Hughes' piece: "Why 'Green Lantern' is better than you've heard, and might still be a hit."
"I have to think the filmmakers and folks at DC and Warner Bros are scratching their heads right now, wondering what happened and why so many reviewers hate Green Lantern instead of seeing it's a fun, well-made, exciting entry in the genre," Hughes writes.
(Among those reasons, he postulates: superhero fatigue and an all-too-ready willingness by many critics to embrace the early-established "negative narrative.")
He goes on to present a realistic scenario that could see the film wiggle its way out of what some see as impending box-office flopdom. (A related story, from EW.com: Green Lantern a box-office flop? Not so fast, studio says.)
I hope he's right. As I said, I like the movie -- and I'd love to see a sequel come back to shoot in town.
Hughes' well-presented piece is a good read, and it tops today's Evening Edition, a regular roundup of recent Hollywood headlines.
Forbes: "Why 'Green Lantern' is better than you've heard, and might still be a hit."
Roger Ebert's Journal: Venerable film critic defends himself after poorly worded Tweet about "Jackass" star Ryan Dunn raises ire. I love Ebert, but this was insenstive at best. Any and all brickbats are earned here. (Read a quick summary of the Ebert kerfuffle here.)
GQ (via the Daily Mail): Hitler remark is what got Megan Fox fired from "Transformers." Turns out the real reason Megan Fox was fired from the "Transformers" franchise had nothing to do with her talent level or any alleged diva-type behavior. Instead, it had everything to do with her comparing director Michael Bay to Adolph Hitler - which turned out to be the straw that broke executive producer Steven Spielberg's back. In an interview with GG magazine that is making its rounds of the Internet today, Bay said that after Fox said Bay "wants to be like Hitler on his sets," Spielberg stepped in. "Steven (Spielberg) said, fire her right now,'" Bay told GQ.
Deadline: 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' moves into top 10 biggest global releases of all time. With a worldwide total of $956.9 million It ousts "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" for the 10th spot, and becomes the third part of the "Pirates" franchise to join the top 10.
Digital Spy: "The Hangover Part 2" tattoo case settled. Long story short: Ed Helm's Mike Tyson-inspired facial tat won't have to be altered for the movie's DVD release after Warner Bros. settled the copyright complaint filed by designer S. Victor Whitmill.