Chelseagrin Home

July 27, 2007

From Cinematical: The Dark Knight Teaser Trailer Hits with New Joker Photo!

Although Warner Bros. decided not to debut anything Dark Knight related during their official panel, the studio staged an elaborate stunt outside by painting a phone number across the sky, followed by a message from the Joker. For those who'd like to play along without skipping to the end of everything, call this number: 1-800-395-9646. Follow the riddles given to you on the phone over at the website we talked about earlier today. Eventually, as you pass each step, the above photo will appear. Looks like Maggie Gyllenhaal ain't having such a swell day. And yes, that's Heath Ledger as the Joker with a knife up to Mags' sweet face.

As you move further along in the Joker's game, eventually you'll be provided with the first teaser trailer for The Dark Knight ... in glorious HD quicktime. It's taking a really long time to load the best quality trailer, but I got through pretty quickly with this link. As expected, it is the same trailer we wrote about yesterday (the one that was leaked onto YouTube) in which no actual footage is shown; just a fairly heated conversation between Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) and Alfred (Michael Caine). The Joker's voice pops on briefly, a Joker card flies at the screen ... and we're out. Stay tuned to Cinematical as we've been all over ComicCon and will share all the glorious breaking news as it hits.

For a closer look at the first official TDK image, check out our gallery.

July 23, 2007

From The National Ledger: Maggie Gyllenhaal Wants to Sex Up Katie Holmes Role

Can Maggie Gyllenhaal bring more sex appeal on the big screen than the fabulous Katie Holmes? She certainly thinks she can bring more heat that Katie according to a report. Gyllenhaal says she wants her Batman sequel role to be original and not something like actress Katie Holmes' in Batman Begins, Contact Music UK is reporting.

The sultry actress with the hunky brother insisted that director Christopher Nolan chose her for the role because he did not want some 'generic lady in a dress' for The Dark Knight.

"Chris asked me to do this because he wanted me, not because he wants some generic lady in a dress," the website quoted Gyllenhaal, as saying. She is confident she isn't just "some generic lady in a dress." Maggie has been slated to play Batman's lover Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight.

She says, "I'm not thinking of it as a role that anyone's played before. I'm not walking into Katie Holmes' performance. I'm thinking of it as an opportunity to play somebody who's alive and smart." Is that a shot at Mrs. Cruise?

July 20, 2007

From MTV Movies Blog: Aaron Eckhart Says ... He And Ledger Are "D'Accord"

MTV: Have you worked with Heath Ledger much?

Eckhart: I have seen Heath. We have conversed. We are, as the French say, d'accord.

To watch the full interview, head over to MTV Movies Blog

July 20, 2007

From contactmusic.com: Gyllenhaal wants to banish Holmes

Maggie Gyllenhaal wants to banish the memory of Katie Holmes from her role in the forthcoming Batman movie - and is confident she isn't just "some generic lady in a dress". The Secretary star insists she was singled out for the role as Batman's lover Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight - the latest installment in the Caped Crusader franchise - by director Chris Nolan, and believes she will bring a new angle to the superhero's love interest. She says, "I'm not thinking of it as a role that anyone's played before. I'm not walking into Katie Holmes' performance. I'm thinking of it as an opportunity to play somebody who's alive and smart. Chris asked me to do this because he wanted me, not because he wants some generic lady in a dress." And the actress admits she is looking forward to performing her own stunts in the film: "I'm really excited about it. I mean, it's not some silly action movie: Chris Nolan is directing, Christian Bale's starring. I'm really excited and curious about doing a couple of stunts in Batman."

July 20, 2007

From Guardian Unlimited: Looking for trouble

Gyllenhaal is currently shooting The Dark Knight (otherwise known as Batman 6) in which she has taken over from Katie Holmes the role of lawyer Rachel Dawes. "Doing Batman has shocked me at every turn. When I started, I thought, 'Well, it's a huge movie, I'll just do my best to put what I can into it.' But, in fact, they've been really hungry for my ideas, for my views. It's great! They've been asking for more!"

July 20, 2007

From TIMES ONLINE: A star and 'momma-lion'

Sometimes, though, it is a relief just to be an actress, she says. Her current role in Batman sequel The Dark Knight has surprised her. She calls Chris Nolan "a really great director". "He made suggestions and pushed me in ways I just didn't expect on Batman," she says.

July 20, 2007

From IESB.net: Eckhart Dishes on Ledger as the Joker & Bale as The Dark Knight

Aaron Eckhart is having fun playing Gotham's most infamous district attorney, who may develop a split personality in the Batman sequel.

During a recent video interview, IESB.net's Robert Sanchez managed to pry some Dark Knight comments from actor Aaron Eckhart.

"It's interesting," said Eckhart. "The most unlikely people in the street know everything there is to know about Harvey Dent or the Joker. It reduces adults to children, people always have a story."

About his co-stars, Eckhart had only good things to say, even gushing that Heath Ledger's Joker "is going to steal the whole movie."

As for Eckhart's own character? Hop over to IESB.net to read his own tantalizing comment.

July 19, 2007

From entertainmentwise.com: New Joker Pics Cause Controversy

Kurt Cobain, Brandon Lee and singer Robert Smith from The Cure - these are the comparisons being drawn to a new picture of Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight.

It's the clearest spy pic to date, and shows 'the clown prince of darkness' in his trademark purple and green suit - with green straggly hair and a ghoulish red grin running almost from ear-to-ear.

An official picture released by Warner Bros shows The Joker without make-up, but this photograph coupled with three spy videos have emerged on www.myfoxchicago.com and the website 'MollyGood'.

The first out of the three clips is similar to most footage secretly filmed- shots of the Batmobile. The second two, however, show Ledger as The Joker, skateboarding and joking with some of the crew.

Neither the clips nor photo are what you'd call perfectly clear, so it's still unknown as to the exact look of the new villain, but this new evidence certainly gives fans an idea of what to expect.

Ledger's Joker is in keeping with director Chris Nolan's 'realistic' world of Batman- unlike Jack Nicholson's portrayal, the new Joker seems a lot more like a backstreet criminal- the make up looks more chaotic and the clothes, whilst in keeping with the character, look a lot more loose and thrown together.

Rumours still abound that next Friday's release of 'The Simpsons Movie' will carry a teaser, but it's not clear whether we will see Ledger.

July 16, 2007

From The Advocate: An interview with Aaron Eckhart

Q: Like, in the Batman movies, maybe Two-Face will actually be an evil manifestation of Harvey Dent's repressed homosexuality?

Aaron Eckhart: [Laughs] Now, that's interesting. Sure, maybe so.

July 06, 2007

From CRAVEONLINE: Christian Bale on Batman & Rescue Dawn

Crave Online: You seem to be somebody who always wants to do something new and play interesting and diverse characters. How hard is it to go back and play Batman again? Is there something new you can bring to the character?

Christian Bale: You've got to see with the other versions, you know, it wasn't my cup of tea anyway. I didn't really keep it going. But I've got Chris Nolan who I'm working with for the third time now and he ain't going to be making a movie if he's not gonna be doing something very different with it which he's achieved in spades. Actually I'm liking very much the idea because I haven't reprised a role ever before and so I know it already and you know obviously there'll be progress. We've got a great cast as well, and Chris and I work very well together so I know that we're going to be finding an awful lot to add to it. That last thing it's going to be is treading water. What we have now, we were confident before in what we wanted to do but other people didn't know. It was untested. Now the people support us completely too. So we've got all of that extra wall of support behind us to just kind of let rip and take it further.

Crave Online: Are you going back into training for The Dark Knight?

Christian Bale: There are new things that I'm having to train for but again, just in the same way that we kind of were untested before, they know that I know my right from my left now. They know that when I walk, the arm swings the right way and everything so there's a little more confidence in me about my ability to pick things up quickly. We did start a while back in training which I believe is a mystery for what we are training for.

Crave Online: Batman is supposed to be this great detective as well as an action hero. Will we see more of that detective work in The Dark Knight?

Christian Bale: [Takes a long, slow sip of his Perrier water and says nothing.] So if that's clear enough. I hope that satisfies you. [Laughs]

Crave Online: Are you looking forward to working with Heath Ledger as The Joker?

Christian Bale: Absolutely. Heath is a great choice for it. I like him personally. He's got a real kind of craving for playing that role so I think he's going to do something really very different with it. We worked together briefly in the Todd Haynes movie as well.

Crave Online: As an actor is it a little weird to be in a movie that's going to have the Batman following and be that intense?

Christian Bale: Well they did it on the first one as well, you know, and I know the crowd. I know everybody now.

June 28, 2007

From MTV Movies Blog: New Joker Will be More Realistic, MTV Movies Blog

With sealed lips being the mantra of the day on The Dark Knight set, info on the next edition of the “Batman” franchise is hard to come by. That’s why we were happy to get anything out of star Christian Bale, who confirmed to MTV News that Heath Ledger’s take on The Joker will be decidedly darker than previous versions of the iconic villain.

“I think I should let Heath give you the answer on all this,” Bale said, before stating that “certainly I think that we dig a little more than the other movies did.” That means that fans shouldn’t expect to see The Joker dancing to Prince, as Jack Nicholson did in Tim Burton’s 1989 film. “We recognize, of course, they are cartoon characters, [but] we try to ground them in somewhat more reality than the other movies.”

According to the Rescue Dawn actor, though, one thing’s for sure…clowns are scary. “There’s a word for it, isn’t there?” Bale asked of Coulrophobia, or an intense fear of clowns. “It’s a wonderful word. Most kids are terrified of the bloody things.”

The Dark Knight hits theaters in 2008.

This website and its creators/maintainers are in no way affiliated with Warner Brothers, DC Comics, Heath Ledger or anyone associated with the aforementioned.
Chelseagrin.com is a non profit venture created for entertainment purposes only.