Screen Rant » the dark knight

SR Pick [Video]: The Dark Knight vs. Blade Trailer

Kofi Outlaw — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:09:18 +0000

Bloodthirsty creatures of the night are stalking the streets of Gotham City. They are the undead, and they hunger for the blood of Gotham’s citizens. As one savage killing leads to another, Gotham’s Dark Knight, Batman, takes to the moonlit streets to track down the bloodsucking killers before Gotham is overrun by legions of the undead.

However, Batman is not the only one on the case -- for where there are vampires there is Blade, the vampire hunter hellbent on his mission to rid the world of nightstalkers forever. But when The Day Walker clashes with The Dark Knight, can the two heroes put aside their differences to save Gotham from the vampire hordes?

That very question is the heart of the new upcoming superhero crossover film, The Dark Knight vs. Blade, and we here at Screen Rant have your very first look at the full theatrical trailer!

The Dark Knight vs. Blade stars Christian Bale and Wesley Snipes, reprising their iconic roles as Batman and Blade. Gary Oldman and Kris Kristofferson aslo return as Commissioner Gordon and Whistler, respectively.

But enough talk -- onto the trailer!

Ok, so by now you know that this isn’t an ACTUAL movie trailer, but rather another cool mashup from “Silverlightsaber” the YouTube guru who brought us past classic superhero movie mashups as “The Incredible Hulk vs. Wolverine Trailer” and “Superman vs. Superman (Christopher Reeve vs. Brandon Routh)“. The mashups are pretty entertaining and The Dark Knight vs. Blade is certainly a cool entry in the series, as far as I’m concerned.

What did you think -- are you sorry you won’t be seeing The Dark Knight vs. Blade in a theater near you?

Source: YouTube

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SR Pick: Own A Replica ‘Dark Knight’ Motorcycle Suit

Anthony Ocasio — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:51:52 +0000

Have you ever been riding your motorcycle, fighting crime, saving the day and talking in an awkward deep voice, while wondering what you could wear so that people would take you seriously as a superhero? Well, wonder no longer as a Canadian company, Universal Designs, is now offering an officially licensed replica of Batman’s motorcycle suit from The Dark Knight.

Yes, that’s right. This isn’t your run of the mill cosplay, or some Halloween costume with the rubber band mask. This suit has been replicated from the original patterns used to create suit Batman sported in TDK. With sizes ranging from XS to XXL, they can accommodate everyone from bat-men that don’t have any bat-muscle, to those superheroes that had a little too much “super dessert.”

Check out the official sales-pitch:

“In The Dark Knight^TM Christian Bale’s new Batman^TM suit makes it’s debut in a stunning array of segmented armor allowing for ease of movement, comfort and delivers an overall sense of real world credibility like never before. Our Replica Leather Motorcycle Suit takes this same concept one step further as a fully functional, ready-to-wear Screen Accurate Replica Motorcycle Suit. Make no mistake, this is not a costume. As a ‘replica’ of what Batman^TM ‘wears’ this motorcycle suit has been brought to life with real world function and use…all the while paying tribute to the screen used Batman^TM suit in a way fans of The Dark Knight^TM expect to see in all it’s glory.”

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “But Anthony, I don’t ride a motorcycle.” That’s no problem, the folks at Universal Designs have thought of everything. Instead of ruining the surprise, I’ll let them tell you.

“Not a motorbike rider? No problem, the internal CE approved body armor is easily removable making this a truly easy and cool looking ‘fashionable’ Batman^TM leather jacket.”

Well, there you have it. Even the non-motorcycle hero-type can enjoy this wonderful suit. Alright, let’s get down to business. What does it all come with? Well, you will not only receive a wonderfully designed and custom made leather jacket, but also the pants and gloves as well.

What? Still not enough information? What’s that I hear? “Anthony, tell me more!” Alright, well I’ll hand it back over to the folks at Universal Design to fill you in.

- Strong Cordura Mesh Base with Heavy-duty 4 way stretch Spandex
inserts.
- Removable CE Approved Body Armor in both Jacket and Pants
- Highly detailed, removable lightweight interior lining.
- Form Molded Leather and Kevlar Armor Sections.
- Made from Quality Tanned Cow Hides.

“But what about the gloves?” Oh, alright…. I spoil you, I really do.

- High Impact (Kevlar Lined) Cowhide Knuckle Guards.
- Skid Resistant Kevlar Lined Outer Palms.
- Adjustable Wrist Strap.
- Floating Knuckle Armor Area. Designed to ease hand tension
- Ribbed Cowhide Leather Palm (Full Leather Base and Finger Tips)
- Air Flow -- Sponge Mesh Top Detailing, Heavy Duty Spandex Inserts.

But wait, there’s more! Check out this video highlighting the suit:

There you have it. You get the high-quality, heavy-duty, form molded jacket with the Kevlar armor sections… you also get the soft, comfortable and obviously stylish pants AND you get the high impact, skit resistant gloves. Now, for all this… the jacket, pants AND the gloves? How much do you expect to spend? $1 million? $2 million? $17?

Well, with this special, limited time, offer, you can have the complete set -- jacket, pants AND the gloves -- all for the low low price of…

$10,000? (BOO!!)
$5,000? (BOO!!)
$2000? (BOO!!)

Surely $2000 is a fair price for all these high quality, professionally designed, officially licensed pieces, right? (BOO!!)

Alright… Alright… How does $1000 sound? (YAY!!!!) Ok, Ok… I’m going to do you one better. You can get everything, the jacket, pants AND gloves for…

$998.00 + S&H (YAY!!!Anthony, you rule!)

There you have it folks. Any of you would-be super heroes can get the entire Dark Knight officially licensed replica motorcycle suit for $998.00.

…And they’re not done. What about those on a budget? They’ve got something for you. Don’t want to spend $998.00 all at once? No problem… they’ll allow you to split it into 3 monthly payments.

What about the people that already have gloves or pants? They’re thinking of you as well. You don’t only have to buy them as a suit, but can order them individually as well.

JACKET : $689.00 USD / $798.00 CAD
PANTS : $425.00 USD / $489.00 CAD
GLOVES : $79.00 USD / $89.00 CAD

With quantities limited to 1000, you better hurry before they run out.

(Jokers need not apply.)

::commercial end::

All in all, it’s a cool idea. I like the look and when you first see it, you instantly want one. Well, maybe you don’t want one, but you’ll sure try one on if it’s available. That being said, there’s something about the back of the pants that look a little bit off to me (see pic above). Still, if you’re a fan of Batman and got $1000 lying around, why not go for it? Even if you can’t get everything, I’m sure some $79.00 gloves would still be cool.

With that, I’d like to leave you with some words to live by from Universal Designs, “Fashion, Function….all Batman^TM”

I believe that sums it up nicely.

The Dark Night replica motorcycle suit is available for order until October 31^st so if you’re interested you’d better order soon. Orders will be delivered 1^st quarter of 2010.

Source: Universal Designs

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The Dark Knight Tops 2009 DVD Critics Awards

Ross Miller — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:51:20 +0000

The results have been revealed for the 2009 DVD Critics Awards, which are presented every year (for the last five years) by Home Media Magazine, honoring DVD and Blu-ray titles from the previous year. The awards are usually held in conjunction with the Home Entertainment Summit, but the latter has been delayed due to scheduling conflicts. Nonetheless, the awards were given out and the critically acclaimed and much-loved Batman film, The Dark Knight, scooped up the most awards.

For the first time in five years, a TV DVD set has taken the top “2009 Critics Awards’ Title of the Year” in the form of The Sopranos: The Complete Series, which also earned the award for Best Collection/Multidisc set. But apart from that, The Dark Knight dominated with four awards. The awards were a mix of critics and judges’ votes, and online consumers (the latter in special categories such as “Best Superhero Title”). It’s not a surprise to hear that TDK dominated in the consumer categories.

Take a look at just how well TDK did, along with the rest of the results below:

2009 DVD Critics Award Winners:

• Title of the Year: The Sopranos: The Complete Series, HBO Home Entertainment
• Best Theatrical Title: The Dark Knight, Warner Home Video
• Best TV DVD: Mad Men: Season One, Lionsgate
• Best Classic/Catalog Title: The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration Gift Set, Paramount Home Entertainment
• Best Collection/Multidisc Set: The Sopranos: The Complete Series, HBO Home Entertainment
• Best Nonfiction Title: Young @ Heart, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
• Best Animation Title: Wall-E, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
• Best Kidvid Title: Tinker Bell, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
• Best Nontheatrical Title: Stargate: Continuum, Fox/MGM
• Best Extended Cut/Director’s Cut: Step Brothers, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Best Extras: Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
• Best Packaging: Masters of Horror: Season Two, Anchor Bay Entertainment
• Best Blu-ray Disc: Planet of the Apes: 40-Year Evolution, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Consumer’s Choice Categories:

• Consumer Favorite DVD/Blu-ray Release: The Dark Knight, Warner Home Video
• Funniest DVD/Blu-ray: Robot Chicken: Star Wars, Warner Home Video
• Best Action Title: The Dark Knight, Warner Home Video
• Best Sci-Fi Title: Wall-E, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
• Best Superhero Title: The Dark Knight, Warner Home Video
• Best Western Title: 3:10 to Yuma, Lionsgate
• Best Period Piece: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray), HBO Home Entertainment
• Best Single Extra: The Making-Of Documentary on Sleeping Beauty: Platinum Edition, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

I bought The Dark Knight Special Edition DVD as soon as it came out late last year, and have watched it (and its excellent special features) many times since. It’s really no surprise it won so many of these awards, considering how much of a hit it was with critics and fans alike. I’m just surprised people didn’t try to vote for it in the comedy category – you know, because some of The Joker’s lines were hilarious…

What do you think of the results of the 2009 DVD Critics Awards? Was The Dark Knight worthy of winning the most awards? I think we know the answer to that, but let us know anyway.

Source: HomeMediaEntertainment (thanks to ScreenCrave)

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What Will Batman 3 Be About?

Kofi Outlaw — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:24:47 +0000

In the last month or so, there have been rumblings that Batman Begins and The Dark Knight director Chris Nolan might not return to finish off the bat-trilogy many had assumed he would be a part of until the end. Nolan himself has said in the past that it would take one hell of a strong story and excellent script to lure him back to Gotham City after the crowning achievement (and arduous labor) that was The Dark Knight.

David S. Goyer, story writer of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, has been a little more glib about the progress of Batman 3 (as it’s being called), telling a crowd at Comic-Con that “Bat-musings” were currently in the works.

As writers wrack their brains, and directors question if there is any creative juice left in the tank, and all this drama unfolds before the inevitable and unstoppable release of the next Bat-sequel, I find myself wondering: At this point, is the plot of Batman 3 really that much of a mystery?

BATMAN BEGINS / BATMAN: YEAR ONE

If viewers haven’t yet put the pieces together, some of the core storylines for Nolan’s Batman films have each found their inspiration in a famous Batman comic book storyline. Much of Batman Begins‘ take on Bruce Wayne’s early attempts to become the caped crusader was inspired by Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) and David Mazzucchelli’s “Year One” storyline, which first appeared in the pages of DC Comics’ Batman series (issues #404-407) in 1987. A re-imagining of Batman’s formative year, “Year One” was so popular that it was later reissued as the graphic novel Batman: Year One, which is still one of the most popular and enduring Batman stories to date.

Besides borrowing the “Bruce Wayne becoming Batman” storyline from Year One, Batman Begins similarly highlighted Carmine Falcone’s reign as crime-king of Gotham; Batman and (then) Lt. Gordon’s tenuous initial relationship; Gordon’s struggle to be a good cop in a corrupt department; and of course, the scene where Batman evades police by using a sonic transmitter in his boot to summon an army of bats.

Of course, Batman Begins had to also provide moviegoers with blockbuster thrills like a high speed rooftop chase and a (tacked-on?) third-act showdown with Ra’s al Ghul – but strip these big-budget spectacles away and much of what is left is purely Miller’s Year One. And, IMHO, Nolan’s film was better for the borrowing.

THE DARK KNIGHT / THE LONG HALLOWEEN

Almost a decade after Frank Miller envisioned The Dark Knight’s early days, Jeph Loeb (Heroes) and artist Tim Sale decided to jump back into the Year One sandbox with a new installment of early Batman called The Long Halloween. Published between 1996 and 1997, The Long Halloween picked up right where Year One left off (starting to get the picture?), as Batman, Commissioner Gordon and a new “golden boy” D.A. known as Harvey Dent tried to eradicate the last remnants of the Falcone crime family. All goes well until a mysterious serial killer known as “Holiday” starts picking off members off the mob on each and every major holiday of the year. Like Year One, The Long Halloween was reissued as a graphic novel and is still one of most popular Batman stories there is.

While the whole “Holiday Killer” plotline might’ve been jettisoned, you surely recognize the Batman / Gordon / Harvey Dent triangle as the underlying basis for The Dark Knight. Other echoes of Long Halloween that made it into Nolan’s bat-sequel: the character of underboss Sal Maroni (Eric Roberts); the notion of “escalation” (i.e., Batman inspiring costumed villains); Harvey Dent maimed into Two-Face as punishment for going after the mob; that (tacked-on?) third act where Two-Face seeks vengeance on Batman and Gordon; and of course, the whole “I believe in Harvey Dent” slogan, which is the chilling (and revealing) final line of The Long Halloween.

Now, before I get lambasted: David S. Goyer and Chris and Jonathan Nolan all did exemplary jobs re-fitting the storylines of Year One and The Long Halloween for two awesome blockbuster films. No doubt, no argument. However, it’s undeniable that a considerable amounts of both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight had been envisioned (tested and proven) long before the filmmakers sat down to hammer out those scripts. The Nolans and Goyer simply recognized good storytelling when they saw it and decided to build on a strong foundation.

So now, we again find ourselves faced with the question: What should Batman 3 be about?

Well, lucky for us all, the answer, as they say, is written:

Continue reading ‘What Should Batman 3 Be About?’

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Chris Nolan On Batman 3: Worth the Wait?

Carl Lee — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:16:30 +0000

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.

According to BoF’s source, there are a number of issues at play. The death of Heath Ledger “rocked Mr. Nolan hard.” Apparently so much so that it convinced Chris “TDK was going to be it for him and Batman on film.” The source also revealed the long speculated story point that “The Joker was going to return in Batman 3,” and Ledger’s untimely death puts the franchise “back to square one.” Though BoF is saying Chris is still developing story ideas, it won’t be “until AT LEAST 2012 before we see the Caped Crusader back [in theaters].” So the bottom line, with or without Nolan, we’ve got some time–but is it too long for Warner Bros. to wait?

The studio would likely want to strike while the iron is hot, so waiting 4 years might be pushing it. Three years passed between Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), and Nolan released The Prestige (2006) inside that time. A similar situation has been expected between TDK, Batman 3 and Inception; but the non-Batman film is set to be released in 2010, forcing a shift in the previous timeline. It also took two years to develop, shoot and promote TDK which went on to be the highest grossing film of the genre. With no established universe, like rival publisher Marvel, keeping anticipation high might not be easy, even with the success of the last film.

But the added time might turn out to be a good thing for the next Batman, and WB along with it.

Nolan already has the impossible task of topping the highest grossing film in the comic book genre – that isn’t going to change, so letting it slip off the radar wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Let fanboys and general audiences, in a sense, forget how good The Dark Knight was; get Nolan and Co. to come back with a good story [calling it The Caped Crusade, ], strong characters, and a plot that shakes audiences again.

Since owning a film studio is a money-making business I can see how having a film be delayed is a problem, but here’s something to chew on: I’d say opening box office weekend numbers are dependent on teasers and trailers, TDK had ridiculous amounts of marketing/advertising, but long-term gross is in the hands of word-of-mouth. Such is the case with the recent follow-up to Batman Begins – many people didn’t realize that TDK was a sequel. Sure, you can rope audiences by attaching a name and director (though it didn’t work for Watchmen) but give me a great film and I’ll tell all my friends, then I’ll watch it at least once with every one of them.

Not only has Nolan given fans the two best Batman films to date, he’s arguably the most acclaimed director to do a comic book movie (IMHO). Losing his storytelling to hit a release date is for me, simply out of the question.

As expected Warner Bros. has had a backup plan, a shortlist of directors to takeover the Batman franchise if the inevitable happens. Would you put plan B for the Batman franchise in motion now?

Source: Batman-on-Film

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HBO’s Awesome TV Spot For The Dark Knight Premiere

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:13:25 +0000

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!

Check out the promo TV spot for HBO’s premiere of The Dark Knight.

As soon as I saw this ad I walked right over to my TV and set my DVR to record The Dark Knight. For people like me, who don’t own a Blu-ray player but own a HDTV and HBO HD subscription, this is the perfect way to stick it to those Blu-ray elitists who have been bragging about their copies of The Dark Knight since christmas. Take that!

This weekend, if you just want to enjoy a relaxing night on the couch and need something good to watch, The Dark Knight premieres on Saturday, June 13, 2009 at 8 p.m. on HBO. After that it will be re-broadcast ad nauseam.

Source: HBO & You Tube

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Twilight Sweeps The 2009 MTV Movie Awards

Kofi Outlaw — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:04:25 +0000

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.

Here are the nominees listed by category (winners are highlighted in red). Shout-out to Slash Film for once again compiling an easy list for yours truly to copy and paste:

BEST MOVIE

Twilight

The Dark Knight

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Iron Man

Slumdog Millionaire

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE

Angelina Jolie – Wanted

Anne Hathaway – Bride Wars

Kate Winslet – The Reader

Kristen Stewart – Twilight

Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE

Christian Bale – The Dark Knight

Robert Downey Jr. – Iron Man

Shia LaBeouf – Eagle Eye

Vin Diesel – Fast & Furious

Zac Efron – High School Musical 3: Senior Year

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE FEMALE

Amanda Seyfried – Mamma Mia!

Ashley Tisdale – High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Freida Pinto – Slumdog Millionaire

Miley Cyrus – Hannah Montana: The Movie

Vanessa Hudgens – High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Kat Dennings – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE MALE

Robert Pattinson – Twilight

Taylor Lautner – Twilight

Ben Barnes – The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Dev Patel – Slumdog Millionaire

Bobb’e J. Thompson – Role Models

BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE

Amy Poehler – Baby Mama

Anna Faris – The House Bunny

James Franco - Pineapple Express

Jim Carrey – Yes Man

Steve Carell – Get Smart

BEST VILLAIN

Derek Mears – Friday The 13^th

Dwayne Johnson – Get Smart

Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

Johnathon Schaech – Prom Night

Luke Goss – Hellboy II: The Golden Army

BEST FIGHT

Anne Hathaway vs. Kate Hudson – Bride Wars

Christian Bale vs. Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

Ron Perlman vs. Luke Goss – Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Robert Pattinson vs. Cam Gigandet – Twilight

Seth Rogen and James Franco vs. Danny McBride – Pineapple Express

BEST KISS

Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy – Wanted

Freida Pinto and Dev Patel – Slumdog Millionaire

James Franco and Sean Penn – Milk

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson – Twilight

Paul Rudd and Thomas Lennon – I Love You, Man

Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron – High School Musical 3: Senior Year

BEST WTF MOMENT (New Category)

Amy Poehler – Baby Mama, Peeing In the Sink

Angelina Jolie – Wanted, Curved Bullet Kill

Ayush Mahesh Khedekar – Slumdog Millionaire, Jumping in the Poop Shed

Ben Stiller – Tropic Thunder, Tasting the Decapitated Head

Jason Segel and Kristen Bell – Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Naked Break-Up

BEST SONG FROM A MOVIE (New Category)

“Jai Ho” – AR Raham, Slumdog Millionaire

“The Wrestler” – Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler

“The Climb” – Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana: The Movie

“Decode” – Paramore, Twilight

Is your head still in one piece?

Maybe I’m being unfair to the MTV Movie Awards – after all, these winners were chosen by fan votes, reflecting the democratic consensus of America’s youth. Hell, maybe Zac Efron WAS a better male performer than Robert Downey Jr. or Christian Bale, and maybe Twilight WAS a better film than The Dark Knight, Iron Man, or even Slumdog Millionaire (after all, what is an Oscar for Best Picture compared to an MTV online poll?). And Miley Cyrus beating out Bruce Springsteen in a Best Song category? Makes total sense to me!!!

I’m too old to spend more than five minutes watching MTV these days but some (read: two) highlights from last night’s Awards broadcast included a never-before-seen clip from Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen and the long-awaited debut of the first trailer for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Other than that…

What do you think about the winners of the 2009 MTV Movie Awards? Do you agree with the results, or do you feel like this awards show needs to be taken out back behind the shed and shot?

Source: Slash Film & MTV News

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Bale Will Do Next Batman Movie Without Nolan

Ross Miller — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:29:42 +0000

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:

“Will we do a third movie? It’s got to be the right story. You can’t make something like ‘The Dark Knight‘ and then come out with something disappointing.”

“I would like it if people say, ‘You’ll never make a good third movie.’ I say, ‘OK, let’s make a third movie in that case, let’s prove them wrong. But that’s just me. The fact is, I have to! I’ve signed up! Chris [Nolan] doesn’t. So I’m in a bit of a fix if he says he doesn’t want to!”

On a related note, Bale went on to talk about the issue of technology within Nolan’s Batman universe:

“With technology, there’s a balance with everything. In ‘The Dark Knight,’ the triangulation and the mobile phones, when Batman asks Lucius to use it, Lucius says, ‘After this I will quit. I will not have anything to do with this.’”

“It’s like the eavesdropping, the illegal wire tapping going on at the NSA. There are limits… It is technology. But as with anything, it should all be in moderation…”

Even though I’m sure Bale loves playing one of the best superheroes of all time (my personal favorite by far), and loves playing him in this new, more realistic and grittier world that’s been created, it sounds like what he enjoys most is working with Nolan. Using such phrases as, “I have to,” and, “I’m in a bit of a fix,” doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the fact that he honestly and truly wants to do another one without Nolan on-board.

However, as he says, he has to do it, because that’s what he signed up for. I think he probably did that thinking he’d most likely end up doing the three with Nolan, but as we all know there’s still that niggling fact that Nolan hasn’t actually signed up for the third one yet, so it leaves the possibility fully open that he may bail (get it?) on coming back to direct.

Which would be very disappointing, indeed. Nolan took a pretty much dead franchise and breathed new life into it with Batman Begins, a movie so damn good that many had doubts that he would be able to top it with the next one. And yet in an almost “Just watch how good I can make it,” way, Nolan delivered us The Dark Knight. Not only a film of technical brilliance, comic book movie or not, but that ended up being one of the most profitable movies in history.

So both fan and studio won on that one…

Do I think Nolan will come back for another one? I honestly think he will, not just because he’ll give in to the pressure (pretty much everyone wants him to come back…), but because I believe he truly loves making movies about the famous dark knight. I don’t have any doubt that a genuinely quality story can be conjured (there were even reports that Nolan and his brother Jonathan actually have the script underway already), an aspect Nolan has stressed on many occasions would be the true reason for doing another one, and perhaps they can even top what has come before.

It’s hard to imagine, though…

What do you think about Bale reluctantly doing another Batman if Nolan isn’t coming back? Do you think Nolan should do another one?

Source: TotalFilm

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‘South Park’ Episode Spoofs Watchmen & The Dark Knight

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:08:21 +0000

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.

The plot of the episode was pretty simple: in the midst if the economic recession, the town of South Park has become “a bloated whore” of crime and loose morality. The cure? Eric Cartman masquerading at night as”The Coon,” a Racoonesque crime-fighting vigilante keeping South Park’s streets from being overrun by criminal vermin, all while narrating his exploits in gravelly, Christian Bale/Rorschach type voice-over.

However, when a second masked juvenile crime-fighter known as “Mysterio” appears and steals the limelight, Cartman/The Coon teams with arch-nemesis Professor Chaos (Butters) to run Mysterio out of town.

This episode was A LOT less offensive than I thought it would be–even less offensive than what has become the South Park standard. Most of the lampooning was aimed at recreating The Dark Knight/Watchmen atmosphere, down to the faux Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard music that played throughout the show. The episode also took some subtle swipes at we, the public, and our fascination with superheroes during tough times. But really, no jaw-dropping, face-cringing moments in this episode. Hell, “The Coon” title was probably the most offensive thing about it.

I thought there would be at least one “blue junk” joke worked in there. But no luck. (And why do I sound slightly disappointed by that fact? Has South Park really desensitized me that much?)

You can check out “The Coon” episode over at the show’s official site, South Park Studios. After you’ve checked out “The Coon,” come back and let us know what you thought about South Park taking on comic book movies.

Source: South Park Studios

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Zack Snyder On Adapting The Dark Knight Returns

Ross Miller — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:27:10 +0000

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:

“I think the thing that’s awesome about Dark Knight, like Watchmen, is that it is a complete and total experience, that was unlike anything anyone has ever seen, and still is,” Snyder said. “I think the big challenge for me would be – it’s so ‘montage-y’ and so media thick, that you just have to – that’s the techniques you’d have to develop and make work. But as far as the rest goes, the thing I’d be really interested in is that kind of Frank [Miller] narration over that cool action, that’s a thing we haven’t really seen in that context.”

There’s no doubting that it sounds like Snyder is at least interested in adapting the popular Batman story for the big screen. Snyder has already successfully adapted a graphic novel from page to screen with 300 (which like The Dark Knight Returns, is a Frank Miller work) and it looks like he’s done it again with Watchmen. So even though Warner Bros. probably won’t let Snyder direct a Batman movie any time soon (because of how successful Nolan’s style has been both for box-office and how it affected how we now all perceive the franchise), I still think it’d be interesting to see.

Obviously Snyder’s style is a heck of a lot different from Nolan’s (could you possibly get two more opposing filmmaking styles?) but after Nolan has bid farewell to the series (as he most likely will do after the next one) I’d be very much interested in seeing the series switch styles to one we haven’t seen before. If Snyder is liking the sound of the narration being a significant factor (as Snyder mentioned above that’s something we haven’t really seen before) there’s no telling what other different things he could bring to the table.

It would be a different Batman universe, for sure, but an interesting one all the same. And who knows, maybe he will have a shot at directing it if, as fellow Screen Rant writer Kofi pointed out, Watchmen does well at the box office.

As far as adapting The Dark Knight Returns in general, I say now (or even five years down the line) is not the right time to do it. I think you should wait a good few years (probably ten at least) before touching a story which sees Batman in his 50s and retired from doing the hero thing.

This may be looking a little too far ahead but it would be very cool if they did it in real time with the current franchise – meaning that they wait 20 years or so and then adapt it, having Christian Bale back as Batman when he’s actually at the age the character is supposed to be in the story (presumably Bale won’t still be portraying Batman in 20 years time).

Do you think Snyder would do a good job of adapting The Dark Knight Returns onto the big-screen?

Sources: First Showing, Slash Film

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Counterpoint: How To Make DC Comics Movies That WORK

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:16:27 +0000

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.

This week, writer/director Joss Whedon (Dollhouse, Firefly) spoke up about why he believes DC Comics has had a hard time making the transition to the big screen. According to Whedon, Batman has been a cinematic cash cow in the last few years primarily because The Caped Crusader is one of the only heroes out of the DC stable who’s whole reason for being a “hero” is an all too human anguish that makes him easily relatable to the average person.

I get what Whedon is saying on that front: I’ve always maintained that Superman Returns flopped in large part because the film was this grand meditation on why Superman is better than the average person–not just because of his god-like powers, but rather the moral strength of his character. In this day and age what moviegoer wants to pay money to see a film where they’re being told that some Superman is better than them? If Superman Unleashed hopes to revitalize the struggling franchise, I hope the filmmakers are out there right now scouring comic shops and compiling the most celebrated Superman stories they can get their hands on.

Marvel on the other hand, has always had the luxury of building their movie franchises on the backs of characters that Stan Lee purposefully created as allegories for the experiences of the common man, so that the common man would better be able to relate to them. Peter Parker is the geek who never gets the girl; X-Men are minorities who face discrimination and prejudice at every turn, etc… etc… We relate to these characters because they’ve been fashioned for us to do so. It’s easier for a fanboy to believe he can be Spider-Man than Superman; therefore it’s easier for the moviegoer who doesn’t read comics to believe the same.

However, I do think Whedon’s comments overlook an important point. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were big $uccesses at the box office (IMHO) because the filmmakers drew their screenplays from some of the most celebrated Batman lore that is currently in print. Batman Begins borrowed heavily from Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s now-classic reimagining of The Caped Crusader’s origins, Batman: Year One. The Dark Knight’s intricately woven crime-saga was built off the comic book bones of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s noir-epic, The Long Halloween, while Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance as The Joker borrowed from the more dark and modern renderings of The Clown Prince of Crime such as Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke.

And for those who’ve been paying close attention, DC/Warner Bros.’ next big venture, Green Lantern, has generated positive early buzz primarily because the script for the film will reportedly adhere closely to “Emerald Dawn,” one of the most famous GL stories ever told.

Do you see the pattern here?

The powers that be over at DC/Warner Bros. need to start thinking not only of which DC characters deserve a box office run, but also which famous DC Comics stories need to be told. To phrase this another way: DC, let Marvel worry about the character stuff; you worry about the many, many celebrated storylines you have at your disposal.

Watchmen is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. It’s one of the most famous Comic book stories ever told under the DC banner–now it’s poised to be one of the biggest movies of 2009. Watchmen has endured not because of people’s fascination with the particular characters (aside from maybe Rorschach), but rather because of the impact of the story as a whole. Name me one Marvel storyline (storyline, not character) that has had THAT kind of social impact.

So what other famous stories does DC have to tell? Obviously there is Frank Miller’s iconic vision of Batman’s future, The Dark Knight Returns–a subject which resurfaced once again this week, in an interview First Showing conducted with Watchmen director Zack Snyder. (Snyder would still like to tackle the project, but there’s no guarantee yet that he will. Maybe Watchmen will change that if it does well enough at the box office.)

DC/Vertigo’s The Losers is on track to becoming a feature film. The comic had only a small cult following, but many of those that read it have had good things to say about it. We’ll see how the film turns out.

If I ruled Hollywood (and I aim to), I would love to see the early Preacher storylines compiled into a film (I’m talking the “Gone To Texas” and “Until The End of Time” storylines). There’s also Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s Batman: Hush, or Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All Star Superman–arguably one of the best Superman stories I’ve read in the last decade. Another safe bet would be ANY of the stories Grant Morrison told during his run on Justice League, should a JL movie ever crawl its way out of the grave.

Of course I’m just scratching the surface here. There are many, many, great DC Comics storylines that I’m totally blanking on at this moment. But then, that’s why I have you my wonderful, knowledgeable, readers. What DC Comics Storylines do you think DC/Warner should be adapting for the big screen? Hit us back and let us know.

Sources: Slash Film & First Showing

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81st Oscars Play-By-Play

Rob Keyes — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:21:36 +0000

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.

1) Winner for Best Support Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

This was unexpected but not undeserved – It was a rather difficult category to pick this year with all five nominees being almost equally likely winners. Personally, I would have gone with Taraji P. Henson from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Next we have Steve Martin and Tina Fey giving a good little skit to present the nominations for best Original Screenplay.

2) Winner for Best Original screenplay: Dustin Lance Black, Milk

It was a touching acceptance speech and well-spoken (arguably the best acceptance of the night). Not wasting any time, Fey and Martin continue on to announce the nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay.

3) Winner for Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

Next, Jennifer Anniston and Jack Black came out and tried to be funny and it didn’t work too well. However, Jack Black did made a joke about animated films and how he earns his money and it was pretty good. After playing a video of all the major animated features of the night, they eventually got to announcing the nominees for best animated feature and best animated short of the year.

4) Winner for Best Animated Feature: Wall-E (which was no surprise at all)

Andrew Stanton accepted the award and again we were a treated to a quick and efficient acceptance speech.

5) Winner for Best Animated Short: La Maison En Petits Cubes

So far, the awards have flown by and I think the Academy’s years of rushing people off stage have paid off (as cruel as that is). They’ve also had some of the presenters do multiple awards to keep things quick as opposed to constantly switching celebrities to announce each of the 24 categories. So far, they’ve tried to keep a light atmosphere with comedic presenters.

After the Commercial Break, Hugh announced the next presenters Sarah Jessica Parker and Daniel Craig (in James Bond attire) who gave a boring presentation just reading off the prompter. They announced the nominees and winners for Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup.

6) Winner for Best Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

This was the first category we see The Dark Knight involved in and the winner was a no-brainer as this movie clearly had the most extensive set design and behind-the-scenes work involved. The acceptors of the award gave much respect and recognition to director David Fincher.

7) Winner for Best Costume Design: The Duchess

It was almost painful to watch Craig and Parker making multiple mistakes reading off the prompter and missing their cues. As for the winner, it’s not my pick personally but this award does tend to go to the period pieces.

8 ) Winner for Best Makeup: Greg Cannom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Next we have the Academy desperately trying to appease presenters the younger demographics with Robert Pattinson and Amanda Seyfried on stage to present a vignette of romance films of 2008 which hit many of the mainstream flicks of the year.

After the commercial break, Jackman introduced the presenters for Best Cinematography and to my delight Natalie Portman and Ben Stiller (sporting a funky beard to parody Joaquin Phoenix’s presence on the recent David Letterman show) came on stage. Stiller even re-enacted the gum incident by putting his chewing gum on the stand after Portman confronted him about it.

This was definitely one of the funniest moments of the night and as the beautiful Natalie Portman announced the nominees, Stiller walked around the stage with his cellphone out acting as if he was lost.

9) Winner for Best Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire

Next we have another highlight of the night with James Franco and a skinnier Seth Rogen re-enacting a scene from Pineapple Express where they’re now watching all the non-Oscar nominated films and loving it while high on their drug of choice.

It was pretty funny watching them laughing their way through serious moments and terrible films like The Love Guru and it got even funnier when Franco noticed the film crew in his room and invited cinematographer to sit with them and watch. After the video, the three of them came out to announce the nominees for best Live Action Short.

10) Winner for Best Live Action Short: Spielzeugland (Toyland)

After the commercial break we have host Hugh Jackman back to discuss musicals and give a little one himself where he was joined by Beyonce Knowles in a classy red dress doing some great dancing accompanied by mediocre lip-syncing. The performance was later joined by Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens of High School Musical Fame as well as Amanda Seyfried from Mamma Mia.

Another commercial break and we are given a similar to the setup for The Best Supporting Actress award, where five previous winners of the Best Supporting Actor award came out to praise this years nominees of the same category.

Alan Arkin, Christopher Walken, Cuba Gooding Jr. Kevin Kline and Joel Grey were the presenters and Cuba Gooding stood out by harping on (and at the same time praising) Robert Downey Jr.’s performance from Tropic Thunder.

11) Winner for Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight (obvious).

Next we have a nice video showcasing the directors of 2008’s best Documentaries.

12) Winner for Best Documentary: Man on Wire

This was an awesome acceptance by the star of the documentary who gave us a nice little magic trick with his lucky coin followed by a balancing act involving the Oscar award and his chin.

13) Winner for Best Documentary Short Subject: Smile Pinki

Next, Jackman presented a video of many of the big action scenes of 2008 followed by welcoming Will Smith to the stage to present the nominees for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Editing.

14) Winner for Best Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

15) Winner for Best Sound Editing: The Dark Knight

16) Winner for Best Sound Mixing: Slumdog Millionaire

The Dark Knight earns its first award of the night and Benjamin Button wins another. They’re really trying to get these awards for behind-the-scenes work out of the way quick.

17) Winner of Best Editing: Slumdog Millionaire

Next we have Eddie Murphy come out on stage to announce the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Jerry Lewis who received an honorable standing ovation from the star-studded audience.

Continuing the need to meet the youth quota, Zac Efron and Alicia Keys came on stage to present the nominees for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

18) Winner for Best Original Score: Slumdog Millionaire (an obvious winner for its outstanding soundtrack and score)

19) Winner Best Original Song: “Jai Ho”, Slumdog Millionaire (another given for me, this song was awesome in the film and when presented live on stage before the winner was announced).

Next on stage are Liam Neeson joined by Freida Pinto from Slumdog Millionaire to present best Foreign Film.

20) winner for Best Foreign Film: Departures

After a song by Queen Latifah Hugh Jackman honors the present of the Academy Awards who’s stepping down this year. After this, Reese Witherspoon is introduced by Hugh Jackman to announce the nominees for Best Director.

21) Winner for Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Mr. Boyle gave a nice little dance to keep a promise made to his kids. It was cute and he deserved this award.

As we’re in the final stretch of the show, the next major award is for Best Actress and again they brought out five previous winners including Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman to honor this year’s nominees. I like this strategy and it’s better than just having a winner from the Best Actor/Actress category of the previous year.

22) Winner for Best Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader

Finally, Kate has won! Meryl Streep was amazing in Doubt but she’s had 15 nominations and several wins before. It’s time for Ms. Winslet to share in the glory and you can tell from her speech that she really wanted it.

For the Best Actor award, presenters Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Sir Ben Kingsley, Anthony Hopkins and Adrian Brody (all past winners) have come on stage to praise this year’s nominees. Robert De Niro was especially funny in talking about Sean Penn and Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley had very nice things to say about Brad Pitt and Mickey Rourke, respectively.

23) Winner for Best Actor: Sean Penn, Milk

Sean Penn wins another for his outstanding performance in Milk and he gave a funny opening line in his acceptance speech. He ended his speech touching on a serious note and preaching for equal rights for which he received a loud applause. He also gave credit to Mickey Rourke whom I thought may win this award.

Stephen Spielberg is next on stage to present the nominees and award for the final and most important category of the night: Best Picture.

24) Winner for Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire

I’m happy that Slumdog Millionaire beat out The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I thought Button was great but it was missing some elements that Forrest Gump had and that’s what it is always compared to. I thought Slumdog was the best overall film of the year and it did deserve this award.

So there you have it folks, the summary of this evening’s 81st Academy Awards and all of the winners.

All-in-all, the night was a slight improvement over previous years. I think the big problem this year was with the nominations and certain omissions in certain categories.

What did you think of this year’s Oscar awards and what would you like to see improved for next year’s?

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: February 22, 2009

Niall Browne — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:51:37 +0000

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.

Box Office

Tyler Perry continues to surprise with each movie. Madea Goes To Jail should lock up about $40 million over the weekend giving the control freak a career best despite terrible reviews.

Liam Neeson’s Taken closes in on the $100 million mark with a weekend gross of $11 million. Did anyone imagine this film making that much money?

He’s Just Not That Into You shows pretty good legs for a romantic comedy managing another $10 million. People are just that into it!

Friday The 13^thhad a terrible drop which isn’t unexpected because horror movies usually suffer a huge decline on their second weekend and because it opened on Friday The 13^th. The remake should manage about $10million over the Oscar weekend.

Speaking of Oscars; Slumdog Millionaire should take another $9-10 million bringing it up to the $100 million mark. Expect that to increase when it grabs a few Oscars.

Comedy Fired Up had a weak $8 million debut. That’s pretty much what Kevin James’ Paul Blart: Mall Cop grossed this weekend. Who ever imagined that the phrases “Kevin James” and “good legs” would be used in the same sentence?

Movie News

1. Wes Craven has talked about Scream 4. It looks like he hasn’t ruled out directing the film, but if you’re a fan of the franchise I wouldn’t hold your breath. Craven told Bloody Disgusting:

“It would take it being really as good a script as the first one was and the pay day reflects what I’ve done for that company and what I’ve gone through on Cursed.”

Sounds like he’s playing hard ball. He should go work for Marvel!

Source: Bloody Disgusting

2. The Dark Knight has reached yet another milestone. The Caped Crusader film has now grossed $1 billion around the world!

The film has now banked $533 million domestically and $567 million overseas. Factor in DVD and TV sales and the film must have made some people very rich in these rough economic times.

I wonder what Joel Schumacher has to say about all this?

Warner Bros has apparently stopped production on Batman 3 due to the low grosses. Joke!

I can only imagine that this gross increases once Heath Legder wins an Oscar.

Source: Variety

3. Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigel will star in Five Killers.

According to Variety:

“The story kicks off when a woman meets the man of her dreams while on vacation. Married bliss is turned upside down when they discover that their neighbors may be assassins hired to kill them.”

The film will be directed by Legally Blonde and Monster In-Law director Robert Luketic.

I don’t think that I need to add anything else!

Source: Variety

4. Sandra Bullock will star in Blindside. The sports drama will be directed by John Lee Hancock, the man behind The Rookie and The Alamo.

According to Variety:

“The story follows Michael Oher, projected to be one of the first players selected in this year’s NFL draft. He was homeless as a teen and was taken in by a well-to-do family. Bullock will portray the matriarch of the conservative suburban household Oher joins.”

Sounds very boring!

Source: Variety

5. Martin Lawrence will star in the “comedy” Back To Africa.

Variety inflicts the following synopsis:

“The comedy centers on a working-class man from Queens who discovers he is heir to the throne of an African country and travels there to claim his birthright.”

Here’s a bit of advice – go and watch Coming to America in reverse. It’ll save time and money.

Source: Variety

That’s it for now. See you at the Oscars!

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How Is The Economy Affecting Movie Studios?

Heath McKnight — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:00:31 +0000

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)?

So in the middle of this let’s also ask “what’s the latest concerning Marvel Studios?” You may have heard that Samuel L. Jackson may not return to the role of Nick Fury for Iron Man 2, the Avengers, and potentially other movies, as well as the relatively lowball offer made to Mickey Rourke for a potential role as a villain in Iron Man 2.

So let’s take a look it one thing at a time:

1. Why are studios hurting with box office up since 2009 began?

To put it simply, their parent companies are hurting. The studios are, by and large owned by parent companies that generally have nothing to do with film, television, and such. For example, News Corp. owns 20th Century Fox, and they cover mostly news – and GE owns NBC Universal. As they begin to feel the pinch from a recession, the studios feel it as it trickles down. Remember, Warner Bros. did wonderful with their 2008 movie box office (driven by The Dark Knight), but Time Warner still took a massive bath in $25 billion in losses not related to the film division.

2. What’s up with DreamWorks and its deal with Bollywood?

It isn’t good, and it looks like they’re striking a deal with, GASP!, Disney, which are Jeffrey Katzenberg’s former bosses, to help the floundering studio receive $250 million to save the Bollywood deal. Basically, they have a deal with Universal Studios (Steven Spielberg’s former studio) to release their new movies (after DreamWorks left Paramount), and a deal with Bollywood to match or even exceed any money DreamWorks raises. When they asked for more money from Universal, the studio balked and DreamWorks went to Disney. It’s apparently a done deal, and Universal is out of the picture. If it sounds convoluted, it really is (at least to me). I suggest you read Nikki Finke’s take on it. A lot of DreamWorks’ financial problems have to do with the bad economy.

3. Television ratings are up, but revenue is down: Why?

This is simple: Advertising is down, or at least advertising revenue. As more people stay home, in the long run you’ll see more ads for cooking at home, TVs, DVD players, etc., and ad revenue will increase again. As I’ll say in my summary, this is all cyclical and it will get better – just not right now. We saw this happen when the tech market imploded and with 9/11: The double-whammy that was felt around the world.

4. If more people are staying home, why are DVD sales down?

Why are studios worried about DVDs, period? Well, because more people are renting movies… Especially from services like Netflix and VUDU. And what’s with the big “DVD scare?” Well, looks like Technicolor, the biggest manufacturer of DVD discs may be in trouble, and are seeking ways to bring in some extra money. Read about it at /Film to learn more.

5. What’s the latest with Marvel Studios?

With a mega-hit film in Iron Man, all seemed well – until the Sam Jackson/Nick Fury news and Mickey Rourke supposedly being offered only $250,000 for Iron Man 2. What gives?, many fans asked. All I can do is speculate at this point, but I suggest you read Vic’s article concerning the matter. Here’s what I think: Marvel went to Merrill Lynch to fund their production of movies. The economy hit Merrill Lynch hard, and they got bought out by Bank of America. Now Bank of America is in trouble (but getting better, thankfully), and like many of the other film studios, Marvel could very well be feeling the pinch from the top down. This is only an educated guess, but it could be true. Banks DID get hit when the mortgage crisis flared up, and it hit companies like Merrill Lynch and Bank of America pretty hard.

As I said earlier, this is all cyclical. As more people go to movies, watch TV and DVDs, and even read more books and play video games, it will have a trickle-up effect to the parent companies who then won’t put the pinch on the studios so much. We saw this happen between 2000 and 2002 – but things got better in the economy, and we all breathed easier.

When things go well, people eat out more, go on vacation more frequently and such, and the studios hurt because ratings and the box office struggle, it’s the parent companies who help them out, because they’re now doing well. It’s cyclical there, too. My advice to everyone is: Relax, the world isn’t ending. The worst thing we can all do is let this get us down. Then again, entertainment is always there for us, in good times and bad. This goes back to the Great Depression (which we’re currently NOT in), World War 2, and on through the ages.

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The Dark Knight Sequel Coming In 2011?

Ross Miller — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:43:56 +0000

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):

Uslan will be onboard as executive producer for the “Dark Knight” sequel, which he estimates will be theaters by 2011. As for the identity of the next round of Batman’s supervillains and love interests, Uslan remains tight-lipped. “It’s one of those deals where if I told you, I’d have to kill you,” he says with a chuckle.

Now I wouldn’t think that someone in that position, who’s not only been involved in the revamp of the series but also with Tim Burton’s Batman, would say something like this unless there was at least some truth to it. If he indeed has something to keep “tight-lipped” about: That they’re in talks to see what direction they are going to take with Batman Begins 3 (for lack of a better title at the moment). Which also means Nolan is at least lending his ear as he is after all, the creative force behind the last two films.

2011 isn’t all that far away so my guess would be that you’ll hear more news over the next couple of months about Nolan signing on (it’d be a shame if he didn’t come back for at least this next one), possibly hints at who the villain will be and by this time next year they’ll be in pre-production.

Even if Uslan is just generalizing, this piece of news certainly sounds a lot more legitimate than the likes of Eddie Murphy being cast as The Riddler, now doesn’t it?

Source: CourierPost

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‘The Dark Knight’ IMAX Giveaway – Winners!

Vic Holtreman — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:19:06 +0000

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!

Sorry, we’re not giving away DVDs this time – just tickets to go see The Dark Knight in IMAX when it returns to theaters!

You may have heard that The Dark Knight was being re-released in theaters – it opens on January 23rd nationwide not only in regular theaters but in the enormous, high-resolution IMAX format as well. If you didn’t get a chance to see before, you’ll have one now.

We have ten (yes, 10!) tickets to give away and I think the best way to do it is to give them away as five (5) pairs so you can share the experience with someone.

So that’s FIVE winners of a pair of tickets to see The Dark Knight in IMAX. Clear? Good.

Here’s the official blurb:

See one of the most celebrated and successful films of this or any year, “The Dark Knight” in a return engagement on IMAX and in select theatres January 23rd.

The Dark Knight swept the People’s Choice Awards in five categories, including Favorite Movie and Favorite Cast. Cast member Heath Ledger won a Golden Globe Award and a Critic’s Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor, and the film has been named on more than 150 critics’ lists of the year’s top-ten films.

Warner Bros. Pictures is giving audiences one more chance to see the film on the big screen – January 23, 2009!

And a little something to get your juices flowing…

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Jonathan Nolan Responds To ‘The Dark Knight’ Oscar Snubs

Ross Miller — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:04:01 +0000

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.

So what does someone, anyone, involved in the film feel about these snubs? Well none other than co-writer of the film and brother of the director Jonathan Nolan has let his thoughts be known (if this is indeed genuine… it may not be.. but we’ll assume that is for now) by way of an e-mail to DarkCampaign.com:

hey – not sure who to address this to as it looks like a collective effort, but I just wanted to pass along my thanks.

It’s truly humbling that you guys would take the time and effort to try to get the film recognized. I, like you, was disappointed that Chris didn’t get some recognition this morning, but for Heath and so many of the people who worked so hard on this thing to get nominated is thrilling.

Any nominations for a comic book movie is a thing of beauty no matter how you slice it, and that takes the sting out a bit. Besides, I’ve been to the big show before, and, like any of these things, it’s a little disappointing. Did you know it’s not even an open bar once the show starts? At least this time I would have remembered to bring a little cash so I could buy myself a drink after losing.

The best part of this experience is seeing other people getting passionate about the film the way that we did. It has been a truly incredible experience. So thank you again.

best,

jonah nolan

This was a great thing to hear from the co-screenwriter of the film. I think this is a good reminder for the fans that they’re not alone in their disappointment but also that after all the film did get eight nominations – and it’s a bloody comic-book movie! Let’s not forget that amongst those eight was the much deserved nomination for the late Heath Ledger so that, on top of the seven others means it’s not exactly the end of the world.

And just to make my opinion known to you all – do I think The Dark Knight deserved those nominations that it missed out on? For Best Director I would say yes and for Best Original Score definitely, but Best Picture? I share the opinion of a few others I have come across – I’m disappointed that it wasn’t one of the big five nominated and think it’s a missed opportunity for a comic-book movie to make history like that but at the same time I’m not up in arms about it.

The Dark Knight is still a fantastic film… a fantastic achievement. No matter if it gets one of those little gold statues or not.

Source: DarkCampaign

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2009 Oscar Nominations & The Dark Knight

Rob Keyes — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:47:21 +0000

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.

The Dark Knight - the most talked about and hyped movie of the year… possibly even of the last decade – is noticeably absent from two important categories many felt it deserved being a part of. These are of course: Best Picture and Best Original Score. Also of note is that Christopher Nolan was not nominated for Best Director, but I never expected him to for this so we won’t discuss that.

Approaching the nominations seasons, Warner Brothers made a strong effort to market The Dark Knight for a big push at the Oscars – for 28 people in 15 different categories to be precise. While they were very successful in earning eight nominations, the heavy supporters and fans of the film are sure feeling the emptiness of not being awarded a Best Picture nomination.

And therein lays the question.

Does The Dark Knight deserve a Best Picture nod at this year’s Academy Awards?

This prestigious honor of the best picture nomination instead went to:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire.

Browsing around the movie blogosphere, it seems the people are split on the question of The Dark Knight’s deservedness. Even behind the scenes here at Screen Rant we have a bit of a for-or-against discussion occurring and I hope we get a lot of discussion on this here as well.

Where do I stand on this? Well, I can go either way so the easiest answer would be that I am not upset that it was snubbed in this category but I do think it is a missed opportunity. For its purposes, The Dark Knight did not perfectly do what it was supposed to story-wise in my opinion (it still did it very well though). While it is one of my favorite movies of the year… one of my favorite movies ever – I did have some minor issues with it. The obvious counterpoint is that the argument can be used against the other nominees, but I’ve not seen some of them so it’s hard to say. But that is another argument for another day.

It would have been awesome to see a superhero/comic book film make it into the Best Picture category, especially nowadays with the ever-increasing popularity and success of these genre films. This year alone we had several amazing movies of the sort (Iron Man anyone?).

At the same time, many hold angst against the Academy for how it awards its prizes and see it as more of a personal lobbying type of popularity contest. It seems it is nearly impossible for the main categories to be loaded with movies everyone has seen – instead we see the tendency of the art-house type flicks of a more serious nature.

A big problem for me (and we see it here with the five nominees for Best Pic), is that no matter how good these films are, as soon as we see information about the movie or promotional materials, people and critics see it and can easily label it as “Oscar bait.” Right there is the problem: This sort of approaches pretty much “locks out” certain genres of ever having a real shot, or at least presents them with a very large uphill battle. For example: Comedies, Fantasy films, Sci-Fi movies and yes, even superhero films.

That tells you that the Academy is locked into this tradition and I think it prevents younger folks from caring about the biggest film awards event in the world. Movies are such a big part of so many people’s lives that it’s too bad for their sake that more mainsteam films are not recognized at this event. I guess that’s what the MTV Movie Awards are for.

It would have been a good year for the Academy to give more praise to the industry-leading mainstream films – in this case the most popular film, since they are trying so hard to increase ratings and popularity of the televised event. As I said earlier, I think this is a lost opportunity for them in regards to the Best Picture. They could have made the Oscars more mainsteam, and broke new ground having this type of movie in the running for that award. However, it’s very good to see Iron Man getting a few nods and better yet, to see Robert Downey Jr. getting nominated for his performance in Tropic Thunder.

The other category The Dark Knight was skipped over where it was arguably deserving was for Best Original Score. The funny thing about this snub is how originally, The Dark Knight was disqualified from this category because there were too many composers listed on the music cue sheet. This was a bit of a blow as many thought score of this film is pretty epic and helps create that feel of the movie right from the opening minute up till the end.

Strangely enough, a month later, that decision to disqualify The Dark Knight from this category was reversed and Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard were all of a sudden back into the running for Best Original Score. I bet when that happened, the other hopefuls were worried. Long story short, The Dark Knight didn’t even get nominated for this and all that controversy was for naught.

I wonder if that mess had anything to do with the voting in this category that ultimately ended with a snub for the beloved Batman and his background beats. I think this is one category most can agree on where The Dark Knight excels and is deserving – less debate there, I’m sure.

On the bright side, the nominations today for The Dark Knight are a huge improvement over the recognition it received at the Golden Globes – where is was awarded only one nomination. That nomination of course, was for Heath Ledger as Best Supporting Actor, where he easily won.

To make a push at gaining some Oscar attention, The Dark Knight is being re-released in many theaters tomorrow. For those of us who need to celebrate the nominations or get away from the rage of the snubs, you can spend that time watching Batman, Joker and Two-Face again on the big screen.

Enough talking, here are all the nominees:

Best Picture
‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
‘Frost/Nixon’
‘Milk’
‘The Reader’
‘Slumdog Millionaire’

Best Director
Danny Boyle, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Stephen Daldry, ‘The Reader’
David Fincher, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Ron Howard, ‘Frost/Nixon’
Gus Van Sant, ‘Milk’

Best Actor
Richard Jenkins, ‘The Visitor’
Frank Langella, ‘Frost/Nixon’
Sean Penn, ‘Milk’
Brad Pitt, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Mickey Rourke, ‘The Wrestler’

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, ‘Rachel Getting Married’
Angelina Jolie, ‘Changeling’
Melissa Leo, ‘Frozen River’
Meryl Streep, ‘Doubt’
Kate Winslet, ‘The Reader’

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, ‘Milk’
Robert Downey Jr., ‘Tropic Thunder’
Philip Seymour Hoffman, ‘Doubt’
Heath Ledger, ‘The Dark Knight’
Michael Shannon, ‘ Revolutionary Road’

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, ‘Doubt’
Penelope Cruz, ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’
Viola Davis, ‘Doubt’
Taraji P. Henson, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Marisa Tomei, ‘The Wrestler’

Best Animated Feature Film
‘Bolt’
‘Kung Fu Panda’
‘Wall-E’

Best Foreign Film
‘The Baader Meinhof Complex’ (Germany)
‘The class’ (France)
‘Departures’(Japan)
‘Revanche’ (Austria)
‘Waltz With Bashir’ (Israel)

Best Original Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black, ‘Milk’
Courtney Hunt, ‘Frozen River’
Mike Leigh, ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’
Martin McDonagh, ‘In Bruges’
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Pete Docter, ‘WALL-E’

Best Adapted Screenplay
Eric Roth, Robin Swicord, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
John Patrick Shanley, ‘Doubt’
Peter Morgan, ‘Frost/Nixon’
David Hare, ‘The Reader’
Simon Beaufoy, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

Best Documentary Feature
‘The Betrayal’
‘Encounters at the End of the World’
‘The Garden’
‘Man on Wire’
‘Trouble the Water’

Best Original Score
‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
‘Defiance’
‘Milk’
‘Slumdog Millionaire’
‘WALL-E’

Best Original Song
‘Down to Earth,’ WALL-E
‘Jai Ho,’ ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
‘O Saya,’ ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

Best Film Editing
Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Lee Smith, ‘The Dark Knight’
Mike Hill, Dan Hanley, ‘Frost/Nixon’
Elliot Graham, ‘Milk’
Chris Dickens, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

Best Documentary – Short Subject
‘The Conscience of Nhem En,’ Steven Okazaki
‘The Final Inch,’ Irene Taylor Brodsky, Tom Grant
‘Smile Pinki,’ Megan Mylan
‘The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306,’ Adam Pertofsky, Margaret Hyde

Best Cinematography
Tom Stern, ‘Changeling’
Claudio Miranda, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Wally Pfister, ‘The Dark Knight’
Chris Menges, Roger Deakins, ‘The Reader’
Anthony Dod Mantle, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

Best Costume Design
Catherine Martin, ‘Australia’
Jacqueline West, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Michael O’Connor, ‘The Duchess’
Danny Glicker, ‘Milk’
Albert Wolsky, ‘Revolutionary Road’

Best Sound Mixing
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo, Ed Novick, ‘The Dark Knight’
Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt, ‘WALL-E’
Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño, Petr Forejt, ‘Wanted’

Best Sound Editing
Richard King, ‘The Dark Knight’
Frank Eulner, Christopher Boyes, ‘Iron Man’
Tom Sayers, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood, ‘WALL-E’
Wylie Stateman, ‘Wanted’

Best Live Action Short Film
‘Auf der Strecke (On the Line),’ Reto Caffi
‘Manon on the Asphalt,’ Elizabeth Marre, Olivier Pont
‘New Boy,’ Steph Green, Tamara Anghie
‘The Pig,’ Tivi Magnusson, Dorte Høgh
‘Spielzeugland (Toyland),’ Jochen Alexander Freydank

Best Animated Short Film
‘La Maison de Petits Cubes,’ Kunio Kato
‘Lavatory – Lovestory,’ Konstantin Bronzit
‘Oktapodi,’ Emud Mokhberi, Thierry Marchand
‘Presto,’ Doug Sweetland
‘This Way Up,’ Alan Smith, Adam Foulkes

Best Makeup
Greg Cannom, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
John Caglione, Jr., Conor O’Sullivan, ‘The Dark Knight’
Mike Elizalde, Thom Flout, ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’

Best Art Direction
James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis, ‘Changeling’
Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando, ‘The Dark Knight’
Michael Carlin, Rebecca Alleway, ‘The Duchess’
Kristi Zea, Debra Schutt, ‘Revolutionary Road’

Best Visual Effects
Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber, Paul Franklin, ‘The Dark Knight’
John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick, Shane Mahan, ‘Iron Man’

There you have it. What do you think of the nominations and The Dark Knight’s faring?

The Dark Knight returns to the big screen tomorrow, January 23, 2009 and The Academy Awards presentation airs February 22nd, 2009.

Source: The Oscars

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Warner Bros. To Lay Off 800 Worldwide

Vic Holtreman — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:01:54 +0000

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).

According to Nikki Finke of DHD:

The 800 positions break down as follows: 200 open positions around the world; 300 outsourced (with a third being offered employment opportunities with Capgemini and continue to be based in Burbank), and 300 lay-offs.

And from Barry Meyer and Alan Horn of Warner Bros.:

“This was a very difficult decision to make, and one that was not made easily. Despite the fact that the company performed solidly in 2008, this decision reflects changes necessary for stability and growth going forward. The changing entertainment business landscape, shifting consumer demand and the overall state of the economy have affected companies around the world, and Warner Bros. is not immune to these factors.”

“We have examined every aspect of our business in order to cut costs responsibly and to keep staff reductions to a minimum. One way to achieve these objectives is to outsource certain job functions to a third-party company. To that end, we will be outsourcing the U.S.-based components of certain parts of MIS and accounts payable. This initiative, as well as the ongoing analysis of our global MIS and finance and accounting structures, will be explained in more detail to those business groups directly impacted.”

Of course it’s expensive to employ 8,000 people around the world and movies are getting more expensive to make all the time between production costs and sky-high actor salaries. And everything associated with film making is expensive – not only the production but all the glamour and keeping up appearances side of things.

It sucks, but we’re not out of the recession yet. This isn’t the first I’ve heard of companies hunkering down and trimming costs/employees in preparation for a bad 2009.

For more details and the full memo visit the link below.

Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily

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Aaron Eckhart’s Two-Faced Comment

Carl Lee — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:45:20 +0000

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.

“I think Harvey — if he’s not dead — is in a serious coma,” stated Eckhart, “and I’m not sure he’s coming out. They might pull the plug on him.”

Please note that although Eckhart does play the character in question, he is an actor and probably does not have any insight into development of the third film. And even if he had an idea, it’s still a bit early to say this is anything more than wild speculation.

And although many fans will hope against it, it’s quite clear in the script as it reads: “Dent lies at the bottom of the hole, his neck broken. DEAD.” Exactly as it’s printed here, “DEAD” is in all CAPS.

But now with this latest comment, I find myself wanting to be behind a semi truck–grumbling “Harvey, Harvey, Harvey Dent. Ohh, excuse me, I want to drive!” and hollow through this plume of smoke before it runs rampant.

Although it is ambiguous to many, Harvey Dent’s demise is obvious at the end of The Dark Knight. His completed story arc is a rare occurrence in comic book movies, which is part of the reason why the story has transcended the genre. Dent’s slip is both literal and figurative, as he’s labeled throughout the movie as Gotham’s White Knight but he eventually becomes the villain he alludes to at the dinner table with Rachel Dawes, Natascha, and Bruce Wayne.

From his first scene to his last, we witness his fall from grace. At the beginning, the newly elected District Attorney is fighting the good fight and going after the accused head of the Falcone crime family, Salvador Maroni. But this is one of the few great moments he has left. From unorthodox methods in attaining a suspect to using force and gun point to get the answers he wants, Harvey Two-Face finally emerges after losing his “blushing bride to be” in a massive explosion.

Egged on by The Joker, the Clown Prince gives him that little push to send him over the edge. He goes on to be judge, jury and (often) executioner to Detective Wuertz, Sal Maroni, his driver and Det. Anna Ramirez. He becomes the irrational villain and agent of chaos he once fought against. In his search for fairness, he leaves all of his decisions to a coin flip–50/50. The code of law he once believed in, is replaced by “unbiased, unprejudice, fair.” The Joker and the events leading up to the final scene are the last moments of Harvey and Two-Face is all that remains.

During The Joker infamous speech while hanging, he says:

“I took Gotham’s White Knight and brought him down to our level. It wasn’t hard. Madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!”

Fearing the worst, Batman rushes to find Two-Face threatening Commissioner Gordon’s son. In a twist of Russian Roulette, Two-Face points the gun “at those responsible” for the death of Ms. Dawes. After flipping the coin, Batman isn’t so lucky and is hit with a bullet from Two-Face’s revolver. Two-Face isn’t at fault, nor is Commission Gordon (or his son) as the coin lands heads for the both of them. Before Gordon’s son is truly exempt, Batman pushes Two-Face and his captive off the edge. Two-Face lies without movement and his eyes are sightless, DEAD. Batman, after returning Gordon’s son to his father, has also fallen. He is the enemy Gotham now faces, though not the villain Two-Face or The Joker were, he is the common antagonist the city can rally against.

Even with Eckhart’s recent comments (or lack thereof), there is little room for Two-Face in the next installment of Batman. Although I once believed there was room for him as a puppet master of sorts, pulling the strings of a horde of villains, it is more fitting for him to have died here. The act of pushing his once ally and last hope at a normal life to his final resting place will undoubtedly be burned in his memories, haunting the masked vigilante. Batman will always stand between enemies and the citizens of Gotham, in his endless caped crusade.

Besides, wouldn’t you prefer a new villain anyway? Isn’t that what Nolan did after Batman Begins?

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