Four-time Emmy Award winner Alan Burnett departs from a 17-year stint in the Batcave to establish intergalactic justice as the screenwriter for GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT, the next DC Universe animated original PG-13 movie coming to DVD on July 28, 2009.

Burnett, who began his animation career at Hanna-Barbera Studios with SUPER FRIENDS in 1981, has been the single most consistent active figure in bringing the Batman's legacy to animation since 1991 -- when he began scripting episodes of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, the Emmy-winning production widely considered a pivotal moment in American animation.

Burnett's stellar talents have merited four Emmy Awards, three Annie Awards and two Humanitas Prizes. His work within the Batman realm includes as a series producer on BATMAN AND SUPERMAN and BATMAN BEYOND, and most recently as supervising producer and story editor for Warner Bros. Animation's award-winning series THE BATMAN. He has remained active in crafting the words behind numerous DC Comics projects, both animated and in comic book form. In the direct-to-DVD arena, Burnett co-produced and co-wrote the animated feature film BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM, was supervising producer and writer for BATMAN: MYSTERY OF THE BATWOMAN, and served as producer on the feature-length BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER. He also served as movie story editor and the writer of the anchoring segment of the DC Universe animated original movie, BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHT.

Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT in a Blu-Ray Hi-Def edition, a special edition 2-disc DVD, and a single disc DVD. Warner Home Video will distribute the action-packed movie, which will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, July 28, 2009.

Burnett, the primary story editor for Warner Bros. Animation, took a little time to offer his views on his humbling beginnings in comics, the influences of Alfred Hitchcock and Woody Allen, and the simple one-line pitch behind the screenplay for the first-ever feature length Green Lantern film. Without further ado, here's a Q&A with Alan Burnett:


QUESTION:
What made Alan Burnett the perfect choice to write GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT?

ALAN BURNETT:
They had been going through some ideas for Green Lantern stories and none of them were quite working out and I came up with this notion that I thought would be interesting. So, I just pitched it to them in one line. "Have you ever done Green Lantern as TRAINING DAY?" with the idea of the Denzel Washington role being Sinestro. They said, "That sounds pretty good -- start writing." And that's how it began.

QUESTION:
So this is a police story?

ALAN BURNETT:
We're treating all the sectors of the universe as precincts and there's, I believe, about 3,600 Green Lanterns -- one for every precinct. Hal Jordan covers our section. The story is essentially Hal Jordan's first day on the beat as a cop and he's partnered with Sinestro. He's seeing the universe for the first time, and we get to look at the universe through his eyes. It's a bizarre place, but it's also pretty recognizable.

QUESTION:
Is there a message within this film?

ALAN BURNETT:
Well, one of the messages is that I like lots of fights (he laughs). I suppose it's the old "Don't judge a book" thing. Appearances are deceiving. Those who you think might be your greatest friend can be your greatest enemy, and those you might think are of no use to you could be the most important person in your life.

QUESTION:
Did the origin story development of Hal Jordan in JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER influence your approach to this first Green Lantern film?

ALAN BURNETT:
I'd originally treated the origin story by going back to the very first Hal Jordan/Green Lantern comic book. But ultimately, my script was about 20 minutes longer than it should've been. Bruce Timm came up with the idea of getting the origin done as quickly as possible, so that's where some cuts were made. Now we get the origin story done before the opening credits, and we leap right into the adventure from there.

QUESTION:
Was there much research involved in writing this script?