There hasn’t been much news revolving around Batman 3 as of late, but Batman-On-Film has an article shaking fanboys to their core. It involves Christopher Nolan and whether or not he’ll be at the helm of the next installment.

As you can imagine, Warner Bros. would desperately want Nolan to return - but the deal isn’t a given. Co-writers David S. Goyer and Jonathan Nolan said they would have to convince Chris again; since The Dark Knight was his first sequel ever, asking the director to make it a trilogy is another task entirely–a task that might nearly be impossible.

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Somebody up there at HBO had their clever-cap on when they came up with this:

HBO is premiering The Dark Knight on Saturday June 13th, and to hype the much-anticipated premiere they’ve come up with a VERY clever TV spot that mixes Dark Knight footage with a famous indie rock song, “Where Is My Mind?” by The Pixies. (If you don’t know the song by name, it’s the the one playing at the end of Fight Club.)

I can’t believe nobody advertised something like this last year when The Dark Knight was heading to theaters! It’s a perfect theme song for Heath Ledger’s Joker!

Maybe I’m just out of touch with today’s youth culture, but as I look over this “winners list” from the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, I can’t help but feel like a crotchety old man who complains about the kids today with their loud music and funny ways of talking. The Twilight Saga wiped the floor with the competition, proving that vampire romance is the current king of pop culture, for better or worse.

In the interest of fairness, Screen Rant presents the complete list of winners from the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. Be wary, though: your head may explode as you read which actors and films lost to Twilight.

People who are dying for Christopher Nolan to come back for another Batman movie need not fret - this isn’t news that he isn’t coming back. But rather Batman himself, Christian Bale, saying that he has to do another one even if Nolan doesn’t come back (which, let’s not forget, is entirely a possibility).

In an interview with Total Film recently, Bale gave his latest thoughts on the next Batman movie, commenting on such things as his being tied to the franchise (for now, anyway), how Nolan might not come back and that the next movie should be just as good as the last one.

Here’s what Bale had to say:

By now it’s a proven statistic: on a long enough timeline, the probability of something you love being ripped a new one by South Park is 100%.

Well, last night it was comic book movie-lovers’ turn to get it, as the newest episode of South Park’s thirteenth season, “The Coon,” took aim at the recent trend of “dark” comic book films like Watchmen and The Dark Knight and lampooned away.

The result was, of course, pretty funny.

Watchmen and 300 director Zack Snyder let it be known last year at Comic-Con (during a Watchmen panel) that he, “would love to see Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns made into a movie.” And creator of the graphic novel Frank Miller even gave his blessing, saying that Snyder could go ahead with it if he wanted to.

However that obviously doesn’t in any way mean he would get the gig just because Miller gave it the thumbs up. Nor does it mean Snyder will be adapting the graphic novel just because he said he’d love to see it done. However thanks to our friends over at FirstShowing.net, via an interview with Snyder we get a bit more insight into what direction he would take if he were to direct a Dark Knight Returns movie:

With DC Comics about to have another hit on their hands when Watchmen premieres in theaters on March 6th, a lot of movie blogs/news sites have been pondering where DC/Warner Bros. should go from here.

With all the hype surrounding Watchmen, and all the internet chatter about  DC Comics’ uncertain cinematic future, I found myself wondering: Why hasn’t DC had as much success at the box office as rival company Marvel?

In an attempt to answer that very question I came up with this comprehensive guide to how DC Comics SHOULD be making movies.

Oscar Night 2009 is upon us with first-time host Hugh Jackman. Join us as we give almost-live coverage!

To start the awards, Jackman provided viewers with a solid opening that was effective and not too over-the-top. Then we moved right into the ceremony with five previous Best Supporting Actress winners coming on stage to say something nice about of this year’s five nominees. Tilda Swinton who was last year’s winner was the quarterback for this segment and she had the honor of announcing the winner.

It’s the most important day in the movie calendar - and that’s just not because it’s time for the Weekend Movie News Wrap Up but it’s also Oscar night!

This week:

Tyler Perry tops the box office; Wes Craven talks Scream 4; The Dark Knight is mildly successful; Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigel know Five Killers (hint - it’s not their last few movies); Sandra Bullock has a Blindside (it’s the only reason for Hope Floats) and Martin Lawrence goes Back To Africa.

With things looking bad worldwide economically, why are movie studios hurting even though box office, TV ratings and DVD rentals are all up?  Why is the big DreamWorks/Bollywood deal about to go south?  With ratings up, why are networks still hurting for money?  And finally, why are DVD sales being affected (aside from Netflix cannibalizing them)?

Straight after just about everyone on the planet saw The Dark Knight, we all thought (amongst praising the hell out of the thing) about when the inevitable sequel was going to get made. And there have been rumors abounding ranging from who will play the villain(s) to Christopher Nolan holding out on signing on the dotted line to get a bigger paycheck. But of course these were all rumors, even if some people out there took them as truth.

Well it seems we might have our first real glimpse as to what’s happening with a sequel via an interview with executive producer of The Dark Knight Michael Uslan (who will be back for the sequel):

Screen Rant’s Dark Knight IMAX ticket contest is now closed, and here are the winners!:

• Kimberly Hogan - Warrior, AL
  
• Andy Smith - Saratoga Springs, NY
• Adam Clark - British Columbia, Canada
• Scott Moreau - Kitchener, Ontario
• Andrea Booth - Pleasantville, NJ
  

Congratulations and thanks to everyone for entering. We’ll get your tickets out in the mail in the next day or two.

There’s another contest RIGHT around the corner!

Ever since the Oscar nominations for 2009 were announced early on Thursday morning there has been debate, ranting and raving about the much loved The Dark Knight missing out on three major categories and whether or not they deserved to be nominated. They were, of course, Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Score (check out fellow Screen Rant writer Rob Keyes’ great article dealing with this very thing). Even though it still nabbed an impressive eight nominations those three are the ones which people feel disappointed that the film never received a nomination.

It’s Oscar Nominations 2009 Day!

The Oscar nominations were released this morning for the 81st Annual Academy Awards. Already, we’re seeing feedback and debates over this year’s picks, much of relating to the most popular movie of 2008: The Dark Knight.

I was going to make a government bailout joke, but it’s not funny when people lose their jobs - Warner Bros. is planning on cutting about 10% of its workforce, about 800 people.

Even though the studio brought in $1 Billion last year just with The Dark Knight, they’re battening down the hatches for a rough 2009. Although they pretty much brought it on themselves, the recent Watchmen business with Fox Studios certainly didn’t help the situation. It’s going to cut into their profits from the film and at this point despite all fanboy buzz we still don’t know how it will do at the box office (although I suspect pretty damned well).

On the red carpet of last night’s Golden Globes, MTV News caught up with Aaron Eckhart and brought up his portrayal of Harvey “Two-Face” Dent. Apart from his past rhetoric, he had something new to say. And that “something new” could be something big for the chapter after The Dark Knight.

[Spoiler Alert: If you're one of the three people that haven't seen this movie yet, do not read any further. If you are, I'm sorry. And if I could suggest a small piece of advice, go see the movie!]

Contrary to his previous interviews and statements, Eckhart had a different answer to the Two-Face question. He said the following after quite a bit of laughing and a few “knowing” smiles.

In an IESB interview for The Unborn, director/writer David Goyer says all DC properties are currently on hold for the time being in regards to film development. This comes as confirmation of what we’ve previously suspected.

When probed about Supermax and Justice League, Goyer had this to say.

“A lot of the DC movies at Warner Brothers are all on hold while they figure out, they’re going to come up with some new plan, methodology, things like that so everything has just been pressed pause at the moment.”

Including the two movies mentioned, Superman and Green Lantern would also be on hold. With an across the board freeze, Warner Bros. may be looking to create a cohesive DC Universe.

It’s Wednesday so it’s time for our weekly open discussion, but as it happens this one is hitting on the last day of 2008! Can you believe this year is over already?

And what an incredible year it’s been for movies… 2008 was a banner year for superhero movie fans with the likes of The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Hellboy 2, and yes - even Hancock and Punisher: War Zone.

Other great genre films included Rambo, Cloverfield (do you even remember that opened this year?!), Tropic Thunder, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Kung Fu Panda and more.

People always love to run wild with rumors, no matter how ridiculous they may seem. And one of the movies that has been getting and will undoubtedly continue to get rumors kicked around is for the sequel to the much loved The Dark Knight, known for the time being as simply Batman 3.

But I don’t think any amount of past rumors could prepare you for the ridiculousness of the one that the UK’s The Sun newspaper has reported: that Eddie Murphy will play The Riddler! I think this is easily a flat-out false piece of news (it was posted on the newspaper’s Bizarre Movie News page so perhaps it was intended as a joke?). This is so out there that there’s no way it’s true.

I’m sure you can all guess which movie took the top spot (just in case…. it’s The Dark Knight), and yes it’s predictably Twilight and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that are the second and third most searched.

But the rest of the list may not be as you might have thought. Here it is, in descending order:

It’s no surprise to find the likes of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon and the beloved The Dark Knight on the American Film Institute’s Top 10 of 2008. But what is startling to see is that Iron Man, the surprise kick-ass flick of Summer 08′, made the cut as well. In case you were wondering here is the full list:

Earlier this morning I read a comment from a reader begging for an update on the follow up to The Dark Knight (Batman 3? Not sure what to call it…), so here you go.

Despite the fact that director Chris Nolan has been making some noises indicating he’s not sure he wants to do a third Batman movie the rumor mill is saying that it’s a done deal and he will indeed return.

After a massive take at the worldwide box office The Dark Knight continues making ridiculous bank, selling over 3 million copies on DVD and Blu-Ray in the first day of release (f you don’t have a copy yet just wait for Christmas, It’ll probably end up stuffed in your stocking).

The Blu-Ray version of The Dark Knight sold approximately 600,000 copies, setting the single day sales record for Blu-Ray. The previous record holder was Iron Man (400,000 copies), which was released earlier this Fall.

I guess Blu-Ray is here to stay, if sales trends like this continue.

The 2009 Golden Globe Nominations have been officially announced and it looks like The Dark Knight has been almost totally snubbed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

That’s right folks, The Dark Knight received just one nomination: a Best Supporting Actor nod for Heath Ledger’s groundbreaking (and freaky) turn as The Joker. No Best Director nomination for Chris Nolan; no Best Screenplay nomination for Chris and Jonathan Nolan; no Best Original Score nomination (although Dark Knight composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard are both nominated in that category for work on two other films).

Robert Downey, Jr. deserves a Best Actor Oscar Nomination for his role as Tony Stark in Iron Man.

Now, before you tell me I’m crazy, I’m going to put out a good argument as to why he should, and then why he probably won’t. Plus, a few of my fellow Screen Rant writers chime in on why I may be wrong in an Oscar nod for RDJ.

First things first, as to why RDJ deserves to be nominated: Hollywood, and pretty much everyone else, loves a comeback kid. And RDJ is the king of making a major comeback. His acting career is nothing short of amazing, and he is one of the most versatile actors of his generation.

It looks like the Academy has found some sense and reversed their decision to disqualify The Dark Knight score. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, who collaborated to bring the tense anthem of The Joker, will now be able to compete in the “Best Original Score” category.

The news comes after just one month of ruling the score ineligible, citing too many composers on the cue sheet. When the Los Angeles Times spoke to the Academy’s executive director Bruce Davis a week prior, he said the Academy’s music branch:

Screen Rant’s The Dark Knight DVD contest is now closed, and here are the winners!:

• Kenneth Jiam -Pembroke Pines, FL
  
• Daniel Lister -Des Plains, IL
  
• James Ciocci -Avinger, TX
  
• Chris Frye - Newark, OH
  

Congratulations and thanks to everyone for entering. There’s another contest RIGHT around the corner!

Click to continue "The Dark Knight Heads Back To Theaters January 23rd"

Warner Bros. has launched an ad campaign for The Dark Knight, lobbying for Oscar nominations in 15 different categories. A campaign for 28 different people, in front of and behind the camera, for those little golden statues for this year’s Academy Awards.

In the latest edition of Variety and various places around the internet you’ll more than likely find advertisements for TDK as we approach nomination season for the annual Oscars night. From “Best Sound Mixing” to the prized “Best Picture,” Nolan and Co. hope to grab some well-deserved statues. Having delivered the highest grossing film this year, Warner Bros. is looking to help in that effort and spend some of that money on the heroes that brought The Dark Knight to the big screen.

The Academy has ripped a potential award from The Dark Knight. The score is being disqualified by the music branch, citing five names were listed as composers on the music cue sheet.

The Executive Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture music branch will not include The Dark Knight’s score for any award. The film has listed five composers on the music cue sheet so the entire music team is financially covered, but that is more than the Academy allows.