SDG wrote:
: Really? You were cautious about Michael Caine?

Yeah, concerns about Caine's casting were first expressed here, when his involvement in the film was announced almost three years ago.

: The depth of his performance didn't surprise me -- although his undisguised Cockney accent does
: -- I assumed he'd be doing an Oxonian-type accent -- and it still bugs me on some level. I'd like
: to ask him and/or Nolan about that.

That was also addressed on the other film's thread, here:

AP: Batman's butler and an ancient warlock. How do you prepare for two such different roles?

Caine: I do a backstory, and the backstory on the butler is, he was a sergeant in the British Special Services. Very tough, got wounded, got put in charge of the sergeant's mess or canteen. Therefore, he knew how to do drinks and serve and do that. He was seen by the father of Bruce Wayne, who said come and be my butler. Sort of butler-bodyguard. So I played him as that, and the voice was the voice of my sergeant when I first joined the British Army. And he looks like he's more active than a butler's ever been. I wanted him to look like a man of action who's a bit too old to do it professionally, but if push came to shove, he could take care of himself.

Plankton wrote:
: They better bring back Zimmer.

And Howard. Don't you dare forget James Newton Howard. Zimmer has a nice pulsing thing going on -- he used the exact same technique for The Da Vinci Code, BTW -- but it is Howard who provides some of the most lyrical moments, in the flashback scenes or in Bruce's scenes with, um, the Katie Holmes character, whatever her name is.

(Side note: I recently saw an article somewhere where Howard discussed his scores, focusing on the half-dozen or so that are his favorites, and he said he was still proud of Snow Falling on Cedars. Yes!! I used to listen to that one quite a bit -- it evokes the mood of that film wonderfully -- and I find that his music for Batman Begins was rather reminiscent of that.)

Just a thought on the title: I wonder if ultimately the word "Batman" will end up in it. I remember back when the second X-Men film was tentatively titled X2; Fox got nervous that people wouldn't recognize the franchise so they added that clunky "X-Men United" tagline. I wouldn't be surprised if something similar happened here.

[pedantic]

The X-men United subtitle was, it seems to me, a promotional title: the on-screen title remained simply X2.

[/pedantic]

Yeah, quite likely they'll call it Batman: The Dark Knight, or some such crap.

Sequel names are always annoying, unless they're, uh, done right. I mean, when Revenge of the Sith came out, I didn't tell my friends I'd seen Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith last night. I said, "I saw Star Wars 3 last night." I really don't see why they have to make sequel names so complicated. Why can't they just attach a number, like Toy Story? But no ... it has to be something fancy, particularily when the film in question is based off a book. They have to attach the title of the series on there too.

Gee, MrZoom. You think YOU'RE pedantic.

In our household we were all hoping for Hugo Weaving!

As the Joker? He somehow doesn't seem like the kind of actor who would play a maniacal, homicidal clown.

Plankton wrote:

: : I disliked that movie from the moment I saw it (even after I heard that a map of Vancouver was
: : used for the map of Gotham City).
:
: Yeah, me too. But really? They used a Vancouver map? That's cool.

Finally found the visual proof I was looking for!

: I lived in Vancouver when I was much younger.

Whereabouts? Just wondering if it's in one of those regions that seems to have been doctored on the map used in the film.

I can't recall exactly, but it doesn't really matter; I only lived there some time after the film's release.

Which I guess reconfirms my status as "The Kid" ...

didn't realize they were making a new film! Goodie!

IMDB was stating yesterday that Ryan Phillippe may (and I stress may) be playing the party of Harvey Dent/Two-Face. It remains to be seen if Two-Face actually shows up in the film.

FWIW, Batman-on-Film.com is reporting that Sean Penn was Nolan's pick for the part of the Joker, but turned it down. The same report says that Philip Seymour Hoffman was offered the part of the Penguin.

(Aside from the rumors, does this mean that DK will introduce the Penguin?)

Heath Ledger had a couple of interesting things to say about his approach to the part of the Joker (source: ComingSoon.net):



And Nolan is claiming that Hoffman, Phillippe, and Penn casting rumors have "no truth" to them.

BTW, the comic book Joker is going to be featured in an upcoming storyline in the Batman comic book, where writer Grant Morrison plans "...to make the Joker soul-destroyingly scary again ..." He then set that up a couple of issues ago in an event where a mentally disturbed cop dresses up like Batman and proceeds to shoot the Joker in the face - just as the real Batman shows up.

Does this mean the Joker's going to be the only villain? I was kinda hoping for multiple bad guys. Still, I guess if Ledger's performance is strong enough, it'll make up for there being only one villain.

Actually, I find this a relief. One of the things that took the Burton/Schumacher films off track was having multiple vilians to the point that Batman became a non-player in the film (especially prominent in Returns and Batman With Nipples).

Granted Nolan balanced Ra's Al Ghul and Scarecrow nicely, but I think Joker deserves to have his own film and not share it with anyone (unless it's in a beginning "throw away" ala James Bond).

Let's not forget that Scarecrow survived Batman Begins (although Cillian isn't listed in the cast). BB had multiple villains, of course.

And FWIW, I recently rewatched Burton's Batman. While I admit to being a big fan of Nicholson's performance, everything else struck me as, well, dreadful. Really dreadful. OK, not the (orchestral) soundtrack, but just about everything else. Inappropriate humor, absolutely unexplainable events, a STUPID protagonist, and on and on. What an amazing achievement Batman Begins is.

The thing that struck me about Burton's Batman, when I skimmed through it a month or two ago (to find the image of that Vancouver map), was how awfully fake and big and empty the whole thing seemed. It seemed like there were lots of scenes where I was very conscious of the fact that I was watching actors walking around on a humungous sound stage. Apparently the film won an Oscar for its art direction and/or set design, but that was just one of the film's more ostentatious drawbacks, for me.

Amen, brother. My thoughts exactly when I first watched it.



Well, perhaps Nolan's saving him for another sequel. I can only hope...

IGN Filmforce offers up some speculation about The Dark Knight.


May contain some spoiler-esque material, so proceed at your own risk.

We have a release date now: JULY 18, 2008.

And will Ethan Hawke be Harvey Dent??

Eckhart joining 'Dark Knight' cast
Aaron Eckhart is in final negotiations to play Harvey Dent/Two Face in "The Dark Knight," Warner Bros. Pictures' sequel to "Batman Begins." In Batman lore, Dent is the district attorney of Gotham City and an ally of Batman. After half his face is disfigured by acid, Dent becomes the insane crime boss known as Two Face. He chooses to do good or evil by flipping a coin. Tommy Lee Jones played the character in 1995's "Batman Forever."
Hollywood Reporter, February 16

Awesome. I've been a fan of his since Erin Brockovich, and it's great to see him getting such juicy roles in films like Thank You for Smoking and this one.

Gyllenhaal joining Batman sequel
Maggie Gyllenhaal is in final talks to star opposite Christian Bale in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight," the next installment in the revitalized Batman franchise. She'll play the role of Rachel Dawes, played by Katie Holmes in "Batman Begins." Holmes dropped out of the project earlier in the year.
Variety, March 8

- - -

I'm trying to come up with a good Brokeback Mountain gag here (yeah, I know, even if it IS the OTHER Gyllenhaal who'll be co-starring with Heath Ledger), but I can't.

They've got to get Tim Curry.

He'd be the best Joker EVER!!!

(Even better than Jack.)



I bought the Batman DVD for one reason only.

I'm a huge Prince fan. Wanted some of his videos in my collection.

Tim Curry is interesting, but too old now and perhaps too "decadent"?

I'm satisifed with the casting as it is, although I have very high expectations. Batman Begins is a tough act to follow. Personally, I'm hoping they'll replace Nigel Holland. He did an abysmal job (unless it was David Evans' fault, which is probably more likely).

A reader at DVD Talkis saying that Latino Review is saying that Emily Blunt will be playing [spoiler]Harley Quinn[/spoiler], and that Dr. Thomas Elliott (aka Hush) and Black Mask may be thrown in as a preview for the next film.

If that above made any sense, I'll be happy. It's the end of a long day at work.

Hm, though I like Curry, I think he'd be typecast if he played Joker. I agree that he'd be better than Jack, though. It wouldn't take much.

I was surprised by Heath Ledger's inclusion at first, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. The Joker is badly in need of redefinition.

As for Maggie Gyllenhaal's inclusion, I kind of wish we could have Katie Holmes back instead (merely for the sake of continuity). Still, it'll be interesting to see what Maggie does with the character.

First of all: Who rated this film already?

Secondly, could THIS be the Joker?!

According to the crowds watching the filming in Chicago, Cillian Murphy-- as the Scarecrow-- has been seen on the set. Glee!

The villians keep piling up for Batman in the next film, including this Breakfast Club alumni.

And that fact has now been confirmed by Danny Boyle, who said such during a recent Sunshine Q&A. (The only source I have is an eyewitness account.)

Please do *not* rate this topic--the film's not even out yet!!

New website. Follow the photos for a 1-800 number.

IGN is reporting that there will be an intermediate release that bridges the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight:


Interestingly, it'll be a PG-13 release to keep in-line with the darker tone of the movies.

You can see some concept art here. It's going to be a series of 6 stories written by David Goyer, Josh Olsen (A History of Violence), Brian Azzarello (various comic books), and others.

DC Comics is producing a series of PG-13 animated movies based on comic storylines - Superman/Doomsday will be the first release, followed by Teen Titans: The Judas Project and DC: The New Frontier.

Interesting. Will they be using the voices of the actors from the films, I wonder? Music?

Some pictures of Ledger.

Leahy to Appear in Batman Movie
Holy Beltway, Batman! Sen. Patrick Leahy has a part in the next Batman movie.
Associated Press, August 18

IFMagazine is quoting Christian Bale as saying that well-known actor and 3:10 To Yuma co-star Russell Crowe will be in The Dark Knight, but that's all the detail we're given.

Wow. Nolan just blew up a building in Chicago for this movie.

Teaser:

Knight Falls on Hong Kong
Confirming rumors that first surfaced last fall, The Dark Knight will set-up shop in Hong Kong after filming is completed in Britain and Chicago. The Christopher Nolan-directed sequel to Batman Begins will reportedly film in China in November.
IGN.com, September 21

Batman's arrival ruffles Hong Kong politicians
The arrival of Batman in Hong Kong this November for filming of the latest Hollywood sequel has ruffled local politicians who say the masked hero could disrupt traffic and cause noise pollution, reports said on Friday.
In "The Dark Knight" due for release next July, the Caped Crusader will leave Gotham City for Hong Kong to fight his enemies, Hong Kong's Standard newspaper reported.
But local politicians who met the film's producers on Thursday reportedly expressed concerns at the inconvenience and "traffic chaos," Batman might cause during the nine-day shoot. . . .
Reuters, September 21

Daedly accident on the set of The Dark Knight.

The videos above are dead, but here is a new one!


Here's the old one:

That's just a well done fan trailer. All the footage is from Batman Begins or other films with the actors (the one with Aaron Eckhart infront of the flag is from Thank You for Smoking). There are also a couple shots from Batman: Dead End, one of the best Batman fan films out there (though it is pretty fanboy-ish).

Really? That super-creepy Joker is still giving me chills.

That Joker is from this.

Well, with hair like THAT, the old rumours about Sean Penn being considered for the role certainly make more sense ...

Twitch has some more on the Batman anime project. It consists of six animated shorts that are being written by US-based writers, but all of the animation is being handled by Japanese studios. And there are some big names there (Madhouse, Studio 4C and Production I.G.). But I'm most excited by the fact that Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Paranoia Agent) is directing one of the shorts. I can't wait to see what he'll do with the Dark Knight.