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Justice League of America (film)

Justice League of America is a 1997 American superhero television film and an unsuccessful pilot produced by CBS and directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá and Lewis Teague, based on a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes from the comic of the same name. The film aired on CBS on December 28, 1997. It centers on a female meteorologist who gains superpowers and is later inducted into the "Justice League", while the city of New Metro is held for ransom by a terrorist armed with a weather control device.

Plot
The protagonist, Tori Olafsdotter, is a meteorologist working at the Eno Meteorological Institute who will later become Ice. The city of New Metro is faced with a tornado controlled by a terrorist calling himself the Weatherman. The Flash dissipates the tornado using his super speed while the other members of the JLA use their powers to save civilians. Tori stumbles upon a hidden device in the lab where she works. While investigating its use, she spills water on it, and it strikes her with strange blue electricity. She is unharmed and leaves the lab for home, freezing everything she touches. En route, she sees a man drowning; when she attempts to rescue him, the water freezes around her. The JLA, believing her to be the Weatherman, abducts and interrogates her. They release her, and Tori believes it was all simply a bad dream. The JLA suspects that Tori's timid colleague, Arliss Hopke, is The Weatherman. New Metro is attacked again, this time by golf ball-sized hailstones, but Fire melts them all. The JLA infiltrates a party at the Eno Meteorological Institute looking for evidence that Arliss Hopke is The Weatherman. Tori, however, discovers that it is her boss, Dr. Eno, who is The Weatherman. Tori takes this knowledge to the JLA, and they, in turn, take her to their secret command center, an alien spacecraft hidden underwater. The JLA's leader J'onn J'onzz introduces himself to Tori, and the other members of the League reveal their secret identities. Tori discovers that The Atom is a man with whom she has been flirting. The JLA attempts to train Tori to hone her freezing powers without much success. Martin Walters, a young man who has been pursuing B.B. DaCosta romantically, watches a news broadcast about the JLA and sees that Fire is wearing earrings that he gave B.B. as a gift. Martin tells B.B. that he knows her secret identity. B.B. secretly alerts the JLA, and J'onn takes the shape of Fire and appears before Martin and B.B. "Fire" claims that B.B. is a close friend who lent "her" the earrings. Martin is embarrassed by his "mistake", and B.B. gently terminates his romantic interest in her, although she assures him that he's a nice guy and that he will find true love someday. The Weatherman demands $20 million, or he will engulf New Metro in a tidal wave. He attacks the Watchtower using a heat ray. The JLA escapes and devises a plan to stop the Weatherman, leaving Tori behind. They are unsuccessful, but Tori stops it by freezing the tidal wave solid. The other heroes apologize for leaving Tori behind, and offer her membership again, including a costume and the codename "Ice". Tori forgives them and agrees to their offer. Meanwhile, the Weatherman plans his escape from prison. == Cast ==
Cast
Matthew Settle as Guy Gardner / Green Lantern, a software salesman. • Kim Oja as Tori Olafsdotter / Ice, a meteorologist working at Dr. Eno's Meteorological Institute. • John Kassir as Ray Palmer / The Atom, a science teacher. • Michelle Hurd as B.B. DaCosta / Fire, a struggling actress. • Kenny Johnston as Barry Allen / The Flash, unemployed. • David Krumholtz as Martin Walters, an actor who has a crush on B.B. • Elisa Donovan as Cheryl, Guy's girlfriend. • Ron Pearson as Dr. Arliss Hopke, one of Tori's colleagues. • David Ogden Stiers as J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter, the leader of the JLA. • Miguel Ferrer as Dr. Eno / The Weather Man, a rival meteorologist. • Jason Weissbrod as Drazen == Production ==
Production
After Warner Bros. Television Studios acquired Lorimar Television in June 1988, then Lorimar President Henry David Salzman decided to use the company's new Warner Bros. connections to mine DC Comics properties for potential TV projects. Salzman called then DC Comics President Jenette Kahn and the two collectively decided a Justice League TV series would be the best option with the 1989 Justice League International by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire serving as the main source for the adaptation. The team roster was announced to consist of Martian Manhunter, the Barry Allen Flash, the Guy Gardner Green Lantern, The Atom (initially reported as the Al Pratt version), Fire, and Ice. Filming took place in March of that year. By September, Warner Bros. stated that they were still awaiting a decision from CBS regarding Justice League of America. By January 1998, the fate of the film had not been determined. By July of that year, bootleg copies of Justice League of America were circulating through comic book conventions fueling speculation the pilot would not air on CBS. The initial director of the pilot was Félix Enríquez Alcalá. Executives were unsatisfied with Alcalá's work halfway through production and Alcalá was fired while Lewis Teague was hired to direct reshoots in the hopes that he could save the pilot, but was not afforded the time or resources needed to make the film work and as a result requested that his name be left off the credits. According to Kenny Johnston, who played The Flash in the pilot, Warner Bros. had high hopes for the series and pitched it as NBC's Friends with the Justice League, which is also why he was directed to play his character similarly to Joey Tribbiani. == Reception ==
Reception
Reviews of the film have been negative. Common complaints are the plot holes, poor special effects, and the League members deviating heavily from their comics counterparts. Future JLA writer Mark Waid said the film was "80 minutes of my life I'll never get back". == Release ==
Release
Justice League of America aired on CBS in the United States on December 28, 1997. It has been shown on television in the UK (Channel 5), Puerto Rico's WAPA-TV (Channel 4), Thailand (Cinemax), Brazil (SBT), Uruguay, Poland (TVN, TVN 7, TV4), Mexico (TV Azteca), South Africa (e.tv), Germany, India and Israel. Bootleg copies have been distributed through conventions, websites and file sharing networks. == See also ==
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