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August 21, 2007

From Superheroflix. Christian Bale Confirms a 3rd Batman Film

During the press junket for 3:10 to Yuma early this morning, actor Christian Bale confirmed that there will in fact be a third Batman film. This will round out a complete trilogy of new Batman films that started with the 2005 release of Batman Begins and will be followed up by next year's The Dark Knight.

If the timing is right, a third Batman film ccould potentially be expected by 2010.

THIS NEWS UPDATE CONTAINS SPOILERS.

August 21, 2007

From Hollywood Chicago.com. Scoop: Anthony Michael Hall in The Dark Knight Revealed

This information comes definitively from working hours on the set on Sunday, Aug. 19. This information exposes the widely debated role of Anthony Michael Hall and his involvement with Batman/Bruce Wayne.

Hall’s character plays an investigative reporter for the GCN, which was photographed on Aug. 19. The scene shot that day, which is about three-fourths of the way into the film, goes like so.

Hall's character is intensely jealous of Bruce Wayne. He even has an exactly matching Lamborghini Murcielago.

The character learns of Bruce Wayne's true identity as Batman and plans to use the GCN to blow the whistle on him. My source describes Hall's character not as a villain but as an antagonist.

Of course, the Joker is the true villain. Out of fear that the Joker will lose the object of his game-playing affection, he sets out to stop Hall's character by calling in a bomb threat to the TV station.

The bomb threat causes widespread havoc. The move is designed to steal the attention off the character so he can't issue the Batman-revealing report.

The source also submitted some pictures of a Lamborghini on set. This source spent time speaking with Anthony Michael Hall and in a PA meeting. He/She did not sign a confidentiality agreement.

THIS NEWS UPDATE CONTAINS SPOILERS.

August 14, 2007

From Hollywood Chicago.com. A scoop from TDK filming in Chicago

This information comes from a person with the alias "Secret Scoop":

They are currently filming in the IBM building downtown (Chicago), which is the HQ of Wayne Enterprises. They will be there for a week.
A CTA bus crash on Wacker Drive might be re-staged.
Mark Aug. 29, 2007 down on your calendars. They will implode a four-story building on the former Brach Candy factory site.
They will load the building with large amounts of gasoline and other flammable material for a huge explosion and ultimate implosion of the building. This explosion/implosion will then be added to a CGI building for the film.

August 14, 2007

From SYFY Portal. Eckhart: Ledger Is A Terrifying Joker

It may have been a little bit of touch and go for some fans when Heath Ledger was cast as The Joker for the upcoming movie The Dark Knight, but following the reaction of fans who attended the recent Wizard World Chicago event, it sounds like Ledger is the perfect man for the job.

According to a spy at Ain't It Cool News, fans of the comic book series had a chance to quiz the actors and creative minds behind the movie at the recent convention and the main questions were on what to expect from Ledger as the iconic villain. In attendance at the event was writer David Goyer, actors Gary Oldman (Lt. Gordon), Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent), and Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne) and also Director Christopher Nolan, all of whom had nothing but praise for Ledger's work.

Eckhart in particular was completely blown away by his performance, stating that Ledger will "knock your socks off." Since the announcement of his casting, fans of the movie series haven't been entirely convinced that he is the right man to follow in the footsteps of screen legend Jack Nicholson who played the character in the first Batman movie. But for attendees who were at the event, all concerns will obliterated after an exclusive trailer for the film was shown to loyal fans.

"Honest to God, I don't know what he was worried about," a source told the website. "Any apprehension I had about the Joker's appearance disappeared. He doesn't look like the classic Joker in any way shape or form, and from what I can tell he has visible makeup lines, so I am guessing whatever causes his 'Transformation' in this one will be nothing like any other telling of the joker."

The screening was done in complete secrecy and camera equipment and cell phones were not allowed into the hall where the showing was being held. The source said that the trailer was made up of some terrifying scenes of The Joker, Bruce Wayne's first encounter with Harvey Dent and some exhilarating moments of the Batmobile shooting through a wall of fire.

The Dark Knight is still filming in Chicago, and is currently set for a July 2008 launch.

August 12, 2007

From WizardUniverse.com. The Dark Knight Panel

At Wizard World Chicago on Saturday, DC and Warner Bros. Pictures teamed up to present an exclusive panel on The Dark Knight, the much-anticipated sequel to Batman Begins.

Wizard Editor-in-Chief Scott Gramling opened the presentation by introducing DC Publisher and President Paul Levitz, the moderator of the panel.

Levitz then introduced, in order: David S. Goyer (story); Jonathan Nolan (co-screenwriter); Gary Oldman (Lt. Jim Gordon), who ambled on stage and did a little dance and received a standing ovation; Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent), who came out holding his hand vertically in the middle of his face, much to the crowd's delight; Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman), sporting a black cap; and Christopher Nolan (director). Here's how the panel went down:

PAUL LEVITZ: Aaron, would you like to say a word.or two?

AARON ECKHART: So that's how it's gonna be now, huh? I just want to say thank you for letting me be a part of this amazing tradition. It's been such a pleasure to be working with Gary, Christian, Chris and the rest of this incredible cast and crew. You guys are all going to be very pleased.

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN: I just want to say how excited we are to be back here at Wizard World Chicago again. The last time we were here, we were only three weeks into the shooting schedule. I love Chicago, it's just an incredible place architecturally and the town is great. This time we wanted to expand the scope of the shooting and wanted to include real buildings, real streets and more location shooting. You wouldn't believe how many people in Chicago come up to me and thank me for bringing this film to life.

What's the best part about working together again?

CHRISTIAN BALE: It's like how any relationship progresses. There's an increase in communication and trust. Chris' movies are fantastic. It's great working together again for the third time, the second time on this character. We stride purposely toward the good of the movie from the get-go.

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN: It's extraordinary to work with Christian again. He has extraordinary precision, and the great thing about working with him is his ability to do a lot of the physical work and the stunts. It makes my job easier to be able make this film with someone with his extraordinary talents.

CHRISTIAN BALE: It was like riding a bike. The second you put on the suit, to me, there's only one way to play it.

I'd like to know what you guys thought of all the viral marketing done for the movie and if you know if we can expect anything else, say, around December?

JONAH NOLAN: I don't know anything.

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN: There's nothing we can say about it.

Were you guys behind it?

JONAH NOLAN: No.

What are the most important aspects of the Joker that you needed to incorporate in this film?

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN: We looked at it the other way around. We found a way of looking at the character and saw what role he would play in the film. The Joker card at the end of the first film created the right kind of feeling. That was the hook that got us thinking about the next one. We were looking through comics and Joker stories and we started writing the treatment before we even wrote The Prestige.

Jonah called me and said, "Have you read the first two Joker appearances?" I had but not in a really long time. We've come around to something that's eerily close to those first two appearances.

DAVID GOYER: Once we established Batman Begins, it was one take on Batman. The Joker was a little more theatrical, a little more comedic, the way Jack Nicholson played him. We had to decide how does the Joker fit in this world?

JONAH NOLAN: It was not how to get into the character of the Joker but how to get him out of my head. I spent so much time researching the Joker, I felt he was in my head.

What can you say about Heath Ledger's performance thus far?

GARY OLDMAN: He is going to knock everyone out of the park.

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN: What Heath is doing is indescribable. It's brilliant. Heath has nailed it.

Click here for the full report.

August 12, 2007

From Comics Continuum. WWC — The Dark Knight Panel

Director Christopher Nolan admits he is extremely reluctant to show portions of his films before they're done. But, because of a good convention experience with Batman Begins three years ago, and the fact he is again shooting in Chicago, Nolan decided to bring footage -- and some friends -- from The Dark Knight to Wizard World Chicago on Saturday.

A raucous crowd at Wizard World Chicago on Saturday -- needing wristbands to attend and heavily scrutinized for recording or photography equipment -- got the first public look at The Dark Knight in a panel that wasn't announced until Friday and drew some 1,200 on Saturday.

The filmmakers were asked about their approach to The Joker.

Nolan said it was a long process, starting from the card scene at the end of Batman Begins. And a lot the talk was about how The Joker would view Gotham City.

He said that Jonathan Nolan asked him to look at the very first two appearances of The Joker, and that the story and Ledger's performance are "eerily close" to those first two stories.

"The Joker's a lot more theatrical than our take on Batman," Goyer said. "How did he in fit in our universe? The Jack Nicholson version wouldn't fit. How would he fit in -- and that leads to the story you'll see next year."

Concluded Jonathan Nolan: "Now, it's not how to get under his skin, it's how to get him out of my head."

Nolan said Ledger has "completely figured out" The Joker.

"I don't want to sound evasive, but it's very personal to him," Nolan said. "The script made sure it's a strong character, and he's taking it and running with it."

Added Oldman: "I've done some scenes with him, and he's going to knock it out of the ballpark."

Click here for the full report.

August 11, 2007

From Comic Book Resources. WWC: It was a Dark Knight in Chicago

With 1,200 people packed into the Dave Cockrum room at Wizard World Chicago, most wearing matching The Dark Knight T-shirts handed out earlier that day, Paul Levitz introduced the star-studded The Dark Knight panel: actors Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Director Christopher Nolan, Writer David Goyer and Writer Jonathan Nolan were all in attendance to answer questions, talk about the movie and watch along with the crowd the first publicly shown footage from the film.

"We are very lucky that The Dark Knight is filming here in Chicago," Levitz, the president and publisher of DC Comics, told the audience. "The team from The Dark Knight remembers very fondly the warm welcome you gave them a few years ago."

After bringing out both Nolans and Goyer, Levitz introduced the first movie star: Gary Oldman. That's a pretty big name brought out with two empty seats still left on the dais.

When Bale entered the room, it was absolute pandemonium.

"It would be really wrong of us to give an hour to Batman without asking Batman to be here," Levitz said when introducing Bale.

"Thank you for the insane welcome and for embracing the first Batman, it gives me a great deal of confidence" Bale said. "As you can see, we've got one hell of a crew and cast. It's a real high to get this kind of response, and it's a real honor to reprise this bad-ass."

The portrayal of the Joker was a hot topic. Goyer told a fan that they took a lot of time considering how to write the character. Goyer went back and re-read the first appearances of the Joker, and he said they came "eerily close" to that character.

"The Nicholson character portrayal doesn't work [in this franchise]," Goyer said. "We asked, how would the Joker fit into the Batman Begins universe?"

The last question went to a fan who said she thought Mark Hamill's Joker from Batman: The Animated Series was the best, and wanted to know the difference between the animated Joker and the movie Joker.

"To be perfectly honest, what Heath is doing with the Joker . what he's doing is completely indescribable," Nolan said. "It's literally impossible to describe. It's very personal to him."

Oldman then piped up to speak about Ledger's work.

"May I say something? I've done some scenes with him . he's going to knock everyone out of the ballpark."

Click here for the full report.

THIS NEWS UPDATE CONTAINS SPOILERS.

August 11, 2007

From Ain't It Cool News. Didn't Attend THE DARK KNIGHT panel at Wizard World?

Paul Levitz president and publisher of DC comics took the stage to thunderous applause, and introduced David Goyer, Jona Nolan, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, and Christian Bale, and then Chris Nolan himself! Oldman through Nolan all got standing ovations.

Honest to God, I don't know what he was worried about. Any apprehension I had about the Joker's apperance disappeared. He doesn't look like the classic Joker in any way shape or form, and from what I can tell he has visable makeup lines, so I am guessing whatever causes his "Transformation" in this one will be nothing like any other telling of the Joker.

Some of the footage included spoilers from the film that will be released in 2008:

The Joker looks terrifying. There is footage of him in interrogation with a voice over from Gordon, they can't find whatever it is they are looking for on him, "All he had in his pockets was lint, and a knife."
There are explosions, shots of the batmobile, and what looks like a tube holding the bat costume rising from the floor.
There is a shot of the Joker walking down and apparently enflamed city street, laughing and firing what looked like a tommy gun, but really could have been another automatic rifle.
A lot of quick cuts, the batmobile exploding through a wall of flame, the Joker holding Maggie Gyllenhal at knife point, and Batman kicking through the door in the interrogation room from the beginning of the clip, he lifts the Joker over his head and slams him on the table... HARD.
A coin flips onto a counter next to a glass on a bar, the bartender starts to pour the shot before looking up, his response, "Jesus, Harvey, I thought you were dead!" A hand picks up the shot, and it is slammed off screen before Aaron Eckhart's voice answers, "Half."

Click here for the full report.

THIS NEWS UPDATE CONTAINS SPOILERS.

August 11, 2007

From ING Entertainment. The Dark Knight Footage Screened!

For those who've been following IGN Comics' coverage of Wizard World Chicago 2007, here's a special movie-related treat: The cast and crew of The Dark Knight - the follow-up to 2005's Batman Begins - made a special convention appearance to take questions from the fans and screen a special "sizzle reel" cut exclusively for the event. In attendance were the film's director Christopher Nolan, writers David Goyer and Jonathan Nolan, and cast Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Gary Oldman (Lt. James Gordon) and Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent/Two-Face).

Much to the joy of those in attendance, the reel showed off a number of shots of Heath Ledger as The Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime was seen in a prison cell, dramatically speaking at the camera as if scheming some sort of diabolical plot. There were also several shots of Batman and The Joker fighting in what appeared to be an interrogation room - in fact, the Dark Knight can be scene using "bad cop" interrogation techniques, throwing The Joker across a table. There is a scene of The Joker dancing with Rachel Dawes (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal), reminiscent of the way Jack Nicholson's Joker danced with Vicki Vale (played by Kim Basinger) in 1989's Batman. Finally, there are a number of shots showing a war-torn Gotham City - a machine gun-toting Joker firing toward the camera.

Last but not least, there was a shot of Lt. Gordon where he appeared to be gearing up some off-camera force (Batman? other police officers?) for war. After the footage was shown, Oldman noted that he had the honor of shooting a number of scenes with the Joker and that Ledger's performance was going to "knock your socks off."

Click here for the full report.

THIS NEWS UPDATE CONTAINS SPOILERS.

August 11, 2007

From WizardUniverse.com. The Dark Knight Makes its Debut at Wizard World Chicago

Minutes ago, the capacity crowd at Wizard World Chicago was treated to the first look at The Dark Knight- the much anticipated sequel to fan favorite Batman Begins. With actors Christian Bale, Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart on hand along with Nolan and screenwriters Jonah Nolan and David Goyer, DC Publisher Paul Levitz led the crowd through a spirited and secretive Q&A before getting to a sneak peek at the Dark Knight's most recent on-screen battle with his arch nemesis, The Joker.

Fans were only allowed to see it once, and while it might be some time before the footage will be released to theaters across America, Wizard Universe was on hand to witness the action and give a full report.

The footage started with a silhouette of a dark figure in front of one of Batman's armored vehicles before quickly cutting to Bruce Wayne and Alfred delivering the brief lines heard in The Dark Knight teaser trailer.

"Some people just want to watch the world burn," advises Alfred before the camera jumps to Batman in action on the Batpod, the new iteration of his motorcycle.

The action built up as the Joker was seen in full for the first time with a mess of white face, smeared red lipstick and sweaty, straggly green hair. Apparently, the clown prince of crime gets arrested at one point in the film, as the montage presented Jim Gordon (complete in SWAT gear) at the Joker's booking, saying, "no prints, no ID, custom clothes, no tags." The clown smiles with what appears to be blood over his face from the inside of an interrogation room.

The footage contained sneak-peak spoilers, including:

The Joker seen in full for the first time with a mess of white face, smeared red lipstick and sweaty, straggly green hair.
The Joker and Batman battling in close quarters (possibly a hospital room). Batman throws Joker over a table and crashing into the ground while the clown smiles at him. It should be noted that the Joker was done up in his signature purple suit.
A shot of a somewhat grim-faced Joker walking across a city street mercilessly firing a machine gun as well as a television close-up of the Joker laughing hysterically.
Flames pretty much everywhere in the footage as it appears Joker does actually make the world burn.

Click here for the full report.

August 7, 2007

From indieWIRE: Blog Network. On Set Report of Heath Ledger as The Joker

Filmmaker and actor Paul Birchard discusses his experience as an extra when The Dark Knight was filiming in the East End of London:

As regards to how Heath Ledger *seemed* as the Joker, he seemed like he WAS the Joker, and didn't need to let anyone know it - rather contained, but ready to explode at any moment in an unexpected fashion. Menacing, but more because he seemed like he was probably crazy, and maybe violent, rather than that he was TRYING to scare you. (and by the way, all he did during the scenes I was in was sit in his holding cell, reacting and listening...so, he's a very fine actor if I imbibed all this from just watching him sit there...) He didn't talk a lot between takes, but he also wasn't "Don't approach me!" in his manner - a real pro, in other words.

In short, he seemed just like the Joker SHOULD seem.

August 2, 2007

From totalfilm.com's September 2007 issue, linked from The Dark Knight, unofficial movie blog

The Joker is back. And it's no laughing matter.

"It's much more anarchic, punk rock, almost junkie version of it," says Bale of Heath Ledger's disturbing take on Batman's deadliest foe. "He's that kind of psycho kid that just will do anything and has absolutely no conscience and morals — I think they've done a real nice job with his look. It's certainly a whole lot more dangerous; there's a bit of Clockwork Orange there, a bit of Sid Vicious, a whole lot of great, anarchic personalities blended within The Joker.

Ledger himself says he'll be playing it "very sinister", while the Nolans —- now completely trusted with Warner Bros' iconic property — have the freedom to explore even shadier areas of Batmans' psyche, as waging a vigilante war takes it's toll. With Alan Moore's excellent graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke also informing the ethos, expect The Dark Knight to be lean and mean.

For the full page scans of the Total Film interview, check out the unofficial TDK movie blog.

August 1, 2007

From michaelcaine.com: Michael's comments!

I have just got back from my second trip to Chicago where I am shooting "Batman", my jet lag has gone so I feel like updating this site.

I have one more stint in Chicago in a month time, then I will be finished on the 2nd "Batman" the great revelation of working on this is Heath Ledger who plays the "The Joker". I have seen him on film and I have worked with him and I must say it is quite an extradinary performance.

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