Friday, January 30, 2009
Report: B3 In Script Stage
January 30, 2009
The aforementioned IESB is reporting that the next BATMAN film is currently in the script state with the brothers Nolan and David Goyer is hard at work. This is not a shock to BOF as I was told several weeks ago that two of those three (and I won't say which two) have already signed on with Warner Bros. for the sequel. BOF was also told that B3 was scripting a while back (and asked to keep it on the down and low), so this report should NOT be taken with a grain of salt.
In addition, IESB had the chance to ask producer Charles Roven about this info and his response was coy as expected...
Chuck Roven: "The creative driver of the project at this point is Chris. There’s really nothing more for me to say about that. When he feels that he’s got something to talk about, then we’ll be able to talk about it."
IESB: I know you can’t tell us who the villain or villains are, but do you personally know?
Chuck Roven: [Big smile and a laugh] "I really don’t want to talk about that project right now."
If I had to "guess," I'd say expect some sort of official statement on BATMAN 3 before the middle of 2009 -- probably around Comic Con in San Diego this July.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
VIDEO: Heath Wins SAG
January 28, 2009
As you know -- and BOF reported on the news page -- Heath Ledger won the "Best Supporting Actor" SAG award a couple of days ago and it was accepted on his behalf by Gary Oldman. Here's the video...
You are a class act Mr. Oldman. And congrats to Heath, his family, and his TDK family, and his fans.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Heath, TDK Wins SAG Award
Monday, January 26, 2008
6:38 AM TEXAS TIME
Heath Ledger won the SAG award for "Best Supporting Actor" last night and it was accepted on his behalf by Gary Oldman. "I'm quite emotional right now," Oldman said as he took the stage, visibly moved. "It is a great honor to be asked to accept this on behalf of Heath. He was an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary talent. It is wonderful that you have acknowledged and honored that talent tonight. On behalf of Heath, his family and his family on 'The Dark Knight,' I thank you."
The Dark Knight also won for "Best Stunt Ensemble."
Raises statue.
"Heath."
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Next Batman Movie in 2011?
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.
In related news, while The Dark Knight did not receive the Producer of the Year Award at the Producers Guild of America Awards on Saturday (it went to Slumdog Millionaire), the movie did receive awards at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday - Heath Ledger won for Best Supporting Actor and The Dark Knight also won Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
One Of Our Own
January 22, 2009
One year ago today -- January 22, 2008 -- I received the worst the news I’ve ever heard as a Batman fan. Heath Ledger, the man who had already finished filming his performance as The Joker in the forthcoming THE DARK KNIGHT, had died. It was a punch to the gut and the wind was knocked out of me.
“How could something like this even happen?” It’s a question we ask every time we lose a remarkable talent before his or her time. It was an accidental overdose on prescription medication that placed Heath in the tragic company of people like James Dean, Jim Morrison, and River Phoenix. For Batman fans, it was the first time a tragedy of this nature had touched “one of their own.”
One thing about Batman fans is that they are a very loyal bunch to anyone who approaches the characters they love with respect, and that’s just what Heath did. Batman fans didn’t mourn the loss of Heath Ledger by default because he was playing The Joker. That might have been part of it for some, but the main reason was the dedication Heath displayed to the character. Heath didn’t treat the role as a stereotypical “comic book villain.” He didn’t look at it as an opportunity to collect a big paycheck while not having to give his all.
Heath poured every ounce of himself into creating a refreshing take on The Joker that was a perfect fit for the tone of Chris Nolan’s Bat world while remaining completely faithful to the character from the comics. The result was arguably the finest performance ever seen in a comic book film and one of the best movie villains of all time, regardless of genre.
I’m deeply saddened by the roles we’ll never see Heath play and the movies that won’t even get made because Heath isn’t here to get behind them. That being said, I’m profoundly grateful for the body of work Ledger left behind both as a Batman fan and a film buff. Heath Ledger gave us The Joker that people of from our generation will be arguing in favor of over whichever new version our grandkids try to convince us is the better Joker decades from now (and we’ll be right).
Heath’s performance already speaks for itself in volumes, but I’m thrilled to see it get the recognition it has in recent months. Heath’s already picked up several awards from various critics’ associations and awards committees, including a Golden Globe, and today, on the first anniversary of his tragic death, Heath Ledger’s turn as The Joker in THE DARK KNIGHT has been recognized yet again. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has nominated Heath Ledger in the Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role category. Heath joins Al Pacino (DICK TRACY-1991) as the only men nominated by the Academy in an acting category for a performance in a “superhero film.” That’s pretty exclusive company and with all due respect to Mr. Pacino, Heath’s performance is in a class all by itself.
We’ll have to wait until February 22, 2009 to see if Heath wins the Oscar, but the nomination alone makes this a great day. As fans of Batman films and movies in general, we’ll always miss Heath Ledger and we’ll never forget how we felt on January 22, 2008, but I personally want to remember January 22, 2009 and each anniversary after it as a day to celebrate Heath and the powerful body of work he left behind for us to enjoy. For some, it will be a day to watch their favorite Heath Ledger performance, whether it’s in THE DARK KNIGHT, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, or one of his other films. For others, it might be a day to say a prayer for Heath and his family. Perhaps it’s a day to do all of these things, but regardless of how one chooses to celebrate Heath’s life and career, always remember to be proud on January 22. Be proud of Heath Ledger, one of our own.
Thank you, Heath. We’ll always remember.
Friday, January 23, 2009
A thank you letter
by Blair on Jan.23, 2009, under NEWS
Last night I received an email message with the subject title “thank you” that everyone should read because it’s really meant for all of you here. Sometimes at the end of a long journey, it’s things like this that truly move you and make it all worthwhile.
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
Hollywood reactions on “Dark Knight” being snubbed for “The Reader”
by Blair on Jan.22, 2009, under NEWS
What a find most interesting is how baffled even Hollywood seems to be about the bizarre pick. How the hugely popular and critically acclaimed film got displaced by an unpopular bomb that received mediocre reviews continues to unravel. I’ll withhold judgment for the time being, but certainly by choosing such a strangely bland and unliked movie to replace “The Dark Knight” in the Best Picture race is raising eyebrows.
AP talked to “Benjamin Button” producer Frank Marshall:
(AP) BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is the Academy Awards heavyweight with 13 nominations, yet the shadow of Batman loomed large with the absence of “The Dark Knight” in the best-picture race. The Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight” had picked up so much momentum from honors by Hollywood trade unions that awards watchers generally thought it would land a best-picture nomination.
“Benjamin Button” producer Frank Marshall said “it was a bit of a surprise” that his movie would not be competing with “The Dark Knight” for the top prize. “The fact that `The Dark Knight’ did so well at the box office was probably a good thing and maybe a not-so-good thing,” Marshall said. “People tend to think films as successful as that are not well made, but certainly, `Dark Knight’ is exceptionally well made.”
LA Times talked to Milk’s producer Michael London:
In the barest appraisal, “Dark Knight” was yet another summer sequel about a masked-man fighting crime. But after its July release, the film, directed by Christopher Nolan, started racking up so much box-office success (it now stands as the second-highest grossing movie of all-time in the U.S. behind “Titanic“) and such intense critical acclaim (only “WALL-E” scored a higher quotient of raves among the year’s wide-release films, according to Rotten Tomatoes) that Oscar talk began to gain traction. It’s telling that by the end of the film’s journey of credibility, Hollywood insiders were surprised when it wasn’t called out as a best picture nominee.
“People were surprised ‘The Reader’ got the fifth slot instead of ‘Dark Knight,’” said Michael London, a producer on “Milk” and “The Visitor.” “That seemed to be the biggest surprise. People are talking about it. I don’t know what it means. I love ‘The Dark Knight.’ It was a fantastic movie, but I suppose it’s difficult for successful popcorn movies to get serious attention from the academy. It’s a knee-jerk thing where smaller movies are perceived as more artistic.”
As for now it appears that “The Reader’s” baffling appearance in the Oscar race is due to the clever work of Harvey Weinstein:
‘Dark Knight’ snubs and ‘Reader’ triumphs — did Oscar get it right?
So the big question is, did Oscar get it right?
Obviously, Harvey Weinstein, who willed “The Reader” into this year’s race against all odds and the objections of original producer Scott Rudin (who took his name off the film), thinks so on the evidence of a triumphant five nominations, all in key categories like best picture, actress, screenplay, directing and cinematography.
UPDATE: Harvey Weinstein just called sounding deliriously happy about his latest Academy Awards success story and he’s just getting revved up with that old Oscar mojo of his. “I tell people its nice we got all the nominations but do not count yourself out. You have a real chance to overtake this all. We’ve seen that happen with ‘Crash’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’. It’s all great. The only thing I can say is the race ain’t over. It’s just beginning,” he said.
In the end, my only sense of loss as part of this campaign is the sense of loss of interest in the Oscars. Tomorrow “The Dark Knight” will be back in theaters and IMAX screens around the country. People will still agree it’s their favorite movie in years. And “The Reader” will still be an unpopular poorly-reviewed film that no one wants to watch.
Oscar Snubs: A Dark Day for Dark Knight
A Dark Day for The Dark Knight
by Blair on Jan.22, 2009, under NEWS
Looks like I won’t be watching the Oscars this year.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Maybe fans should have seen it coming: The Dark Knight, after all, does not have a happy ending.
The genre-busting Batman movie, a critical and popular favorite that earned more money in Hollywood history than all but one movie and, up until today’s Oscar nominations, spent award season being lauded as one of the Industry’s top films, was denied a shot at the prize of prizes: Best Picture.
Also turned away: Dark Knight filmmaker Christopher Nolan, shut out of the directing and writing categories.
The Dark Knight did earn eight overall nominations, including one for the late Heath Ledger, but it didn’t earn the respect that its studio and at least one grassroots fan campaign sought.
It’s been a fun ride but it’s too bad it ended like this. What a bizarre and strange result for the academy. To select a film like “The Reader” which wasn’t even able to crack a %60 approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and most people didn’t even bother watching as a Best Picture nominee… Did not see that coming.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Dark Knight Receives 8 Oscar Nominations!
ComingSoon.net has posted the full list of Oscar nominees and The Dark Knight received eight! The categories include Best Supporting Actor for Heath Ledger, Art Direction, Cinematography, Film Editing, Makeup, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Author: Jett
January 19, 2009
As I’m sure most of you Batman fans know, there’s a big brouhaha over The Dark Knight’s current status in the DC Universe due to the fact that he’s dead.
Well, maybe not DEAD dead, but the burned to the crisp, corpse-looking dude in the Bat-Suit at the end of FINAL CRISIS #6 certainly makes it appear that he’s soon to be heading for boot hill.
Of course, we ARE talking about comic books here and all that entails, right? “The Omega Sanction?” Whatever. Anyway…
Because of the events of FINAL CRISIS -- and I guess the falsely publicized “BATMAN, R.I.P.” as well -- I’m going to have to endure a year or two of someone else other than Bruce Wayne prancing around Gotham as Batman…allegedly.
Been there, done that anyone?
Regardless, both FINAL CRISIS and “BATMAN, R.I.P.” are simply stunts just like the KNIGHTFALL saga, the return of Jason Todd, NO MAN’S LAND, and the like we’ve already seen. And frankly, it was these sort of “Big Events” that drove me away from the comics for a few years in the late 90’s on into the early 2000’s.
Look, we can argue all day long about what Batman “Is” and how realistic or unrealistic he should be portrayed. For example, the idea of Batman “dying” and coming back to life -- Omega Sanction or not -- makes me want to puke as it just doesn’t jive with my Batman sensibilities. Consequently, why should I have to read a comic book I have zero interest in -- FINAL CRISIS #6 -- so the events of “BATMAN, R.I.P.” can be, ahem, concluded?
That my friends, is BS.
“Jett, Batman IS part of the DCU and DOES mix it up with supernatural beings,” I’m being emailed quite a bit of late. I know that, and my response is “OK fine. But why should I have to buy comic books I don’t want to read just to keep up with the events of the Batman monthlies?”
I shouldn’t, and the only reason that I have to is because these are nothing more than stunts. Accordingly, I -- as a “Batman-only Fan” -- am pissed. And trust me, there are A LOT of fans just like me -- I get their emails by the hundreds daily.
Look here, I certainly don’t expect DC to remove Batman from the DCU and never again include him in stories such as FINAL CRISIS. But can’t one title -- one title that is “in continuity” -- be kept free of this sort of stuff? Like, say, DETECTIVE -- which quite candidly has been the best Batman monthly for the last couple of years. Just because DETECTIVE is in the DCU and in continuity, does it’s events have to be occurring at the same exact time as the rest of the DCU?
On the other hand, how about a Batman title that is not bound to follow the events of the greater DCU? Oh yeah, we already have such in ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN. Sadly, that particular book 1) Can’t meet deadlines and 2) Has pretty much sucked since it’s inception.
Look DC, the ALL STAR line was a HELL of an idea! How about putting a renewed emphasis on it because it can certainly be exactly the kind of monthly I and other Bat-Fans are clamoring for. (I won’t get into the fact that DC needs a new creative team on it right now, as that’s op-ed for another day.)
What about BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL? Unfortunately, that thing has been horrible since day one. Either cancel it or quit putting out crap stories like, well, ALL OF THEM!
All I’m asking for is one -- OK, maybe more than just one -- Batman comic book/miniseries that I can read on a regular basis and NOT have to deal with the sort of stuff that I’ve had to with this “R.I.P”/FINAL CRISIS nonsense.
Please DC, give me -- give US -- more stuff like BATMAN AND THE MAD MONK and THE LONG HALLOWEEN. And DETECTIVE -- before it was sucked into all of this FINAL CRISIS nonsense.
Can the fine folks at DC who are making all the decision receive this “Omega Sanction?” Perhaps they’ll get zapped into an alternate life where DC actively tries to keep “DCU Batman Fans” and “Batman-Only Batman Fans” happy.
One can hope, right?
Monday, January 19, 2009
Batman LIVES!
Author: Chris Clow
January 19, 2009
Is it too late for me to issue a partial retraction on my review of FINAL CRISIS #6? I believe I said, "Batman is dead. Really dead. If the last page of FINAL CRISIS #6 isn't enough of a hint, then you're just in denial." Consider me wrong. The whole Batman being "really dead" part? Incorrect. "But Chris!" You may say. "He was burnt to a crisp by Darkseid with his Omega Beams!" To which I answer, "Close. He was burnt to a crisp by Darkseid, but not by his Omega Beams. By the OMEGA SANCTION."
For those of you scratching your heads trying to figure out what the Omega Sanction is, here's a crash course. One of the big relatives to FINAL CRISI is Grant Morrison's retake on the SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY. A couple of years ago, Morrison took these lesser known characters and placed them up against…guess who? Boss Dark Side. The same Boss Dark Side that we saw at the beginning of FINAL CRISIS: Darkseid in human form. Specifically, in SEVEN SOLDIERS: MISTER MIRACLE, Darkseid first used the Omega Sanction on the title character, Mister Miracle, aka Shilo Norman. Guess what happened? It fried him, leaving a burnt husk of a corpse not too dissimilar from the one we saw of Batman in FINAL CRISIS #6.
After he was burnt, the Sanction sent him into an alternate reality, where he was forced to live a series of oppressive lives that progressively got worse and worse and worse. Inside his mind, he was living these lives for, well, lifetimes. Years and years and years. Here's the kicker: Mister Miracle is known in the DC Universe as being (arguably) the greatest escape artist in the world. It also doesn't hurt that he has access to a Motherbox (A super-intelligent sentient computer) and that he's a friggin' New God. So, what happened? He ESCAPED from the Omega Sanction, reclaimed his consciousness and his life, and is operating in FINAL CRISIS.
Now, we move to FINAL CRISIS for Batman. As we saw in BATMAN #682-683, Batman was able to thwart the disciples of Darkseid's attempts to turn him into an Anti-Life drone, or a vessel for another Apokoliptian god. As soon as he was able, Batman takes the god-bullet out of his utility belt, explains to Darkseid exactly how he can stop him, and provoked the Apokoliptian dictator into threatening him. Threatening him with the Omega Sanction. In Darkseid's own words, "the death that is life."
Batman isn't one to be threatened, so he fired the god-bullet and shot Darkseid, but not before the new god landed the Omega Sanction on the two main points of his consciousness: his head, and his heart. We see a burnt out corpse. No other hero or villain in the DC Universe knows what Darkseid threatened Batman with. For all they know, it's time to bury the Bat and remember him fondly (or fearfully). But for us, who know exactly what the Sanction is, we need not fear.
Batman has trained himself for literally any situation. His resolve is unparalleled. Someone like the Green Arrow, if he was doomed to the Omega Sanction, might give up around life 19 or 20. Batman? Never. His willpower is unending, his endurance unstoppable. Batman will live each and every oppressive life, and he will beat it. And one day, in life 2,000 or 40,396, he will find out how to escape. And when he does, he will reclaim his mantle from whoever wins it in the BATTLE FOR THE COWL.
This isn't just a death that they can arbitrarily erase. They purposefully built in this "back door." This will be exactly what it looks like to 95% of the heroes and villains in the DC Universe. Which means that when Batman finds his way back to us, they'll be in for a true shock. I was ready to mourn and stop reading comics. But now, I'm very interested in the BATTLE FOR THE COWL and even THE BLACKEST NIGHT (wouldn't it be wild seeing Batman's "remains" as a Black Lantern?), because I know this is temporary.
The Dark Knight will prevail, no matter how much he must endure, and now matter how many lives it takes. So let's just enjoy the interim and not worry about Bruce Wayne, because, my friends…
…the Batman lives!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Best Pic: Sweating the Dark Knight
15 Jan
The Oscar game is an elaborate charade, a game, a snapshot in time that lives, breathes, writhes, flows, evolves and ultimately finds itself stuck in hardening amber for all time, only to be picked up years later and looked at with bemusement. Whether the BAFTA or the AMPAS believed that The Dark Knight is “best picture material” or not, cannot and will not change the inescapable truth that it is better than most of the other films released this year. That landed it at number 2, behind only Wall-E, on MCN’s collection of 100 top ten lists.
Duality is threaded so deeply throughout the film, beginning with the idea of what makes a superhero villain anyway - how they became rotten enough to “just want to see the world burn.” The Joker provokes people to reveal their darker sides, to succumb to the necessary evil that tugs at every one us.
Does it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside for the love of humanity? No. Does it make you ache with longing or sob like a baby? No. Is it a meditation on life and death? Not in any direct way. What The Dark Knight is, though, is plenty. What it is great filmmaking. Bob Dylan writes that you can “feel the master’s hand in every leaf that trembles, in every grain of sand.” In a good film, you can feel the master’s hand in every frame. Christopher Nolan has delivered one of those films that, if you see it enough times, you can see what a masterful achievement it really is. Perhaps one viewing, though, can’t quite cut it. It is in the details. There aren’t many working directors who could have pulled lifted this behemoth off the ground.
Christopher Nolan never set out to make an Oscar movie, just like Steven Spielberg never planned to make his shark movie and Oscar movie - probably Martin Scorsese never thought his Boston gangster movie, a remake, would be an Oscar movie. The Oscars are at their best when they honor films that weren’t designed to win Oscars but rather were designed to be good movies.
Scott Foundas wrote this about Nolan:
In making the transition from low-budget independent films to studio tentpole projects, Nolan (who co- authored The Dark Knight with his brother, Jonathan), has sacrificed none of his abiding obsessions. Like the amnesiac amateur detective who occupied the central role in Nolan’s Möbius-strip sophomore feature, Memento, the Bruce Wayne of Dark Knight is increasingly gripped by an existential crisis, wondering whether he is the hero or the villain of his own story. And like the rival illusionists of Nolan’s 2006 film The Prestige, the longer Batman and the Joker engage in their battle of wills—the one confident in the inherent goodness of mankind, the other equally certain that man is but a savage beast—the more the distance collapses between them. Triangulating their position is D.A. Harvey Dent (played with gleaming, Kennedy-esque righteousness by Aaron Eckhart).
That makes The Dark Knight sound like heavy stuff—and it is. But I should add that Nolan also delivers the kick-ass goods, from an opening bank heist à la Michael Mann to a climactic episode of vehicular mayhem à la William Friedkin. So The Dark Knight will give your adrenal glands their desired workout, but it will occupy your mind, too, and even lead it down some dim alleyways where most Hollywood movies fear to tread. By the end of this second installment in that rare franchise one hopes won’t end anytime soon, Batman seems to have less in common with his superhero brethren than with those old frontiersmen of movies past. Like The Searchers‘ Ethan Edwards and High Noon’s Will Kane, he’s left to ride off into the darkness, pondering the uncertain destiny of principled men in an unprincipled world—as are we.
The better the movie, the more deserved the Oscar attention. But make no mistake about it, not being honored for an Oscar will have absolutely no lasting impact on the Dark Knight’s legacy. In fact, as was the case with No Country and The Departed, frankly the Oscars need these good movies much more than the movies need the Oscars.
If The Dark Knight is, in fact, nominated, it will follow in the footsteps of masterful genre films like The Exorcist, Jaws, and The Silence of the Lambs, and The Godfather I and II.
No matter what the Academy eventually decides, and they could opt out this time around, there is no mistaking the deep and lasting impact of this film. Said Ebert, “In his two Batman movies, Nolan has freed the character to be a canvas for a broader scope of human emotion. For Bruce Wayne is a deeply troubled man, let there be no doubt, and if ever in exile from his heroic role, it would not surprise me what he finds himself capable of doing.”
And then there’s the Joker. Writes Dargis:
No matter how cynical you feel about Hollywood, it is hard not to fall for a film that makes room for a shot of the Joker leaning out the window of a stolen police car and laughing into the wind, the city’s colored lights gleaming behind him like jewels. He’s just a clown in black velvet, but he’s also some kind of masterpiece.
Even if you aren’t inclined to the film, you can’t help but stand back and admire the one thing about it everyone agrees on. One bravura performance has driven many a mediocre film to the Best Picture race. Ledger’s is the most talked about performance of the year, right alongside Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn. He’s in the supporting category but he’s owning this year and with him, his film should be rightly honored.
Why am I writing this now? Partly because the commenters who are saying “no way will this film be nominated,” or “it has to be a good movie to get nominated.” I’m also writing it because looking back at Globes and BAFTA history, it is likely to follow that the Academy, in all of their infinite wisdom, will overlook this film this time around. No one thought they would snub Dreamgirls the way did, but they most certainly did. So no one should be all that surprised if The Dark Knight is left off the list. The Academy will be echoing the Joker’s words back at us, “it’s not about money. It’s about…sending a message.” It will be a message we get loud and clear. And it ain’t going to be pretty.
The Dark Knight, if nominated will probably become the first film to get the PGA and DGA nods, but lose the Globe nod, the SAG ensemble nod and the BAFTA nod but still go on to be nominated for an Oscar.
"To The Powers at DC"
January 16, 2009
AddThis
Dear Powers at DC Comics,
As a long time reader, I would like to thank you for the excellent work you’ve put into your characters, in particular -- Batman.
I’ve been a Batman reader since the early 1980s, or as it has come to be known, the “Pre-Crisis” era. There are several elements that attract me to the character -- he’s human, he has a unique world of story, populated by excellent citizens and villains, and he’s a detective. I grew up appreciating Sherlock Holmes and Batman on equal footing -- both have to use their brains to…well, DETECT crimes by analyzing scenes, eliminating possibilities, and seeking out the guilty party. True, both have their Moriaritys (or Jokers), but they also have to deal with very human limitations. Batman, like Sherlock, has no super-powers. But not anybody could be Batman -- it takes someone with an amount of dedication to ideals, and to mental and physical trials, to do it. What are his limits? How far can he be pushed? How does his character evolve over time when faced with the same list of enemies again and again, as they go through the Arkham Asylum revolving door?
This is what keeps me as a reader. This is what could attract new readers, especially after THE DARK KNIGHT’s Monumental Success.
But as I look back over the past decades, I see a troublesome trend, designed, it seems, to attract new readers or keep us oldies still interested. It begins with…
Crisis on Infinite Earths, then Death in the Family, Invasion, Knighfall, Knight Quest, Knight’s End, Zero Hour, Prodigy, Contagion, Legacy, Cataclysm, No Man’s Land, Bruce Wayne: Murderer?, Bruce Wayne: Fugitive, Infinite Crisis, Identity Crisis, 52, and other stories such as the death and resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul.
I’m sure I’m missing a few events in there, but that’s not the point. The point is in looking at the past 20 plus years of comics, we’ve had event after event after event. And while some, such as No Man‘s Land, have been successful pieces of storytelling, others have been a series of ret-cons and rationalizations in an attempt to correct continuity errors, or to engage the reader in larger than life scenarios, involving large portions of the DC mythos.
To be frank, enough is enough.
In television, when the writing resorts to a series of stunts (either in guest stars, or in on-screen antics), it’s known as ‘jumping the shark (ala Happy Days, when The Fonz jumped the shark). Gimmicks and stunts replacing the investigation of character. When this happens, it leads to a decline in the writing, which can lead to the decline in readership. Which brings me to the newest skin for the stunt ceremony…
Temporarily (even over the course of the next few years) replacing Bruce Wayne as The Batman.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Count me as part of the readership decline. Look, it’s not that I don’t want you to shake things up -- I think it’s important to have the occasional, maybe once-a-decade cross-over or event to remind us of the DCU world of story. It’s that this has become THE approach. It’s to the point that Batman -- acting as a solo operative over the course of an issue, or two issues, solving a simple crime in a well-told story -- is now the event.
If every issue is an event, then there are no events -- just stunts.
It seems that new readers need a Bachelor of Arts in the DCU before they enter into the event ret-con entanglement that is the current Batman story. And older readers will immediately feel that this idea (temporarily replacing Bruce Wayne) is derivative. Knightfall is still out there as a collection, as is Prodigy.
So, where did you go right? Well, for a while Paul Dini was writing a series of one-offs, or short arcs that got back to the basics of the character. We have a mystery. We have the hero. We have the villain(s). We have the story arc. This is what readers -- such as Gregg Bray -- want and this is what new readers (after seeing THE DARK KNIGHT) will be looking for.
Let’s get back to the story, and to the rich characterization. Let’s get back to The Dark Knight DETECTIVE, and have him analyze crime scenes, and fight characters that, in someway, may remind him of some precinct of him.
Do that, and the Gregg Brays of the world will return.
Also, remember that “EVENTS” in a story’s timeline are just that -- events. They are not, in of themselves, THE story. If they become THE story -- well, let’s just say I can hear The Fonz revving up his bike in the distance.
Thanks, again, for your work -- but let’s not forget the elements that make Batman/BRUCE WAYNE such a marvelous character.
A Bat-fan first and foremost,
Gregg Bray
Thursday, January 15, 2009
BATMAN'S DEAD!?
January 14, 2009
Bruce Wayne IS Batman
.
I know this. YOU know this. EVERYBODY knows this. BUT…
Does DC Comics KNOW THIS?!
In case you haven’t heard by now, Batman was "killed" in the pages of FINAL CRISIS #6 by the villain Darksied with his, ahem, “omega beams.”
The Dark Knight has been fried…burned to a crisp.
Whatever.
Before I get on a soapbox here and I certainly plan to, I must say that my favorite comic book company DOES know that Bruce Wayne is Batman. They know that the fanboys, the general public, and folks like myself will not accept anyone else as the true Batman but ‘ol BW.
Eventually, the good Mr. Wayne will return to the pages of DETECTIVE and BATMAN in the cape and cowl. But in the meantime, our beloved character has been regulated to being the center of carefully planned stunts that are designed to “shake things up” and get folks to buy comic books.
Case in point: “BATMAN, R.I.P” and FINAL CRISIS #6.
With “R.I.P.,” Batman fans were sold nothing more than a bill of goods. We were promised that it was going to deliver one of the most “shocking” events in Batman history. Yet when it was all said and done, “R.I.P.” ended with a big “W.T.F.?!” and Batman fans were expected to go out and buy this FC6 to learn Batman’s ultimate fate.
Good publicity? Probably so -- since I’m writing about it and several thousand people will read this.
Smart business? Probably not -- since all the feedback I’m getting is quite negative.
Honest to goodness, I can not in good faith recommend my “mainstream” friends to start buying Batman comics right now. And trust me, MANY of them are asking. Batman comics are in such a cluster-f*** right now, there’s no way in hell anyone can come in fresh and jump aboard.
I’ve got to ask…is THAT what DC wants right now?
Do they want to alienate longtime Batman fans like me?
Do they want to make it almost impossible for folks who are presently “Bat-curious” -- because of TDK mind you -- to jump into the world of Batman comics?
I say absolutely not; they’re just misguided.
Look, I’m sure the fine folks at DC Comics are laughing there asses off right now with all the tripping out that’s going on over this. Like I said, they know that Bruce Wayne IS Batman and eventually things will return to status quo.
I’m just needing someone much smarter than me -- someone well versed in the in’s and out’s of the comic book business -- to explain to me why you can’t simply write good stories in the monthlies and leave it at that?
So, how exactly is Bruce going to come back?
Was the guy who was fried a clone? Will he be dropped into the Lazarus Pit and resurrected? Is the Batman that was incinerated another Batman from somewhere within the Multiverse?
Or -- God forbid -- he becomes some sort of supernatural being.
The Multiverse…*rolls eyes*…DON’T get me started.
Whatever it is, I’m not happy and I don’t like it.
I’m sure I speak for A LOT of Batman fans who just want good stories in the monthlies, that don’t constantly crossover into the greater DCU, and don’t require buying multiple titles simply to keep up with The Dark Knight’s exploits.
Until then, I’m checking out.
Someone let me know when a caped and cowled BRUCE WAYNE is kicking badguy ass in the pages of DC’s Batman comics.
REVIEW: FINAL CRISIS #6
Author: Chris Clow
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Across the internet comics-reading community, I've heard numerous misgivings directed towards DC Comics for putting the purported "final fate of Batman" in their event book FINAL CRISIS. I understood it after hearing it at the time, but now this can be said with definite truth: there is nowhere else that this kind of event could have happened for Batman, and there is no one else more appropriate to project it onto. I say this with certainty, even though they did what I thought they would never do. Batman is dead. Really dead. If the last page of FINAL CRISIS #6 isn't enough of a hint, then you're just in denial.
Throughout FINAL CRISIS and the last two Morrison-penned issues of BATMAN, we've seen stories examining exactly what Batman means to the DC Universe, and by extension, our own world. For us Batophiles who love our solo kick ass Batman and want him seen only in this regard, the unequivocal truth of the matter is that even though some of his best stories are on his own, Batman is a member (a very important member) in the ensemble of the DC Universe. And given his place in it as the ultimate bad ass by having an incorruptible will and a relentless thirst for justice, as well as his inspiration to the other heroes of the DCU, this death is the most meaningful death in comics. Period. We can debate between Barry Allen, Steve Rogers, Gwen Stacy, or Jonathan Kent, but the buck stops here.
The bottom line of the plot is this: as you saw in BATMAN #682-683, after FINAL CRISIS #2, Batman overpowered anything that Darkseid's disciples tried to do to his mind. He thrashed them with his mere thoughts and endurances of his crime fighting career. After this, and investigating Orion's death (while still being close to the Dark Lord himself) Batman figured it out. He figured out how to kill a god with it's own weapon.
He had something that nobody else did, either: access to Darkseid. When he confronted Darkseid about what he now knew about his murder of Orion, using the "god-bullet," Batman explained how he knew of Darkseid's resurrection and exactly how he could stop it.
"I made a very solemn vow about firearms. But for you, I'm making a once-in-a-lifetime exception. A gun and a bullet, Darkseid. It was your idea."
He fires as Darkseid sends his omega beams after the Dark Knight. After the omega beams are nearly on him, the bullet hits Darkseid square in the chest.
"Gotcha."
The beams then slam into Batman. As we now move over Metropolis, the skies turn red as something extremely powerful beelines through the city, tearing up everything within sight. The heroes stop and stare.
The unstoppable force was Superman. And he's carrying the burnt out husk of his friend, lifeless in his arms.
Yes, the backlash will start. DC sacrificed Batman in a story for the whole DC Universe. But Batman also knowingly sacrificed himself to stop the megalomania of Darkseid. He knew, as Harvey Dent recently exclaimed in the film THE DARK KNIGHT, that there was "no escaping this." How could there be?
I am telling people to keep this in mind: The writer IS Grant Morrison, and FINAL CRISIS is not over yet. The Crisis brought back Barry Allen, and in this issue he knew exactly how he came back and how to outrun death. Hell, Wally and Barry were starting a new run in this issue.
Until the last page of issue #7 is in my hands and on my eyes, all bets are off. But as of right now, Batman is dead.
Only took 70 years and a god to do it.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Heath Ledger Wins the Golden Globe!
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association just announced that Heath Ledger has won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture! The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan accepted the award on behalf of Heath after a brief clip from the film was shown.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
BATMAN 3 "Like To Sees"
January 10, 2009
So, the great Chris Nolan and the fine folks behind the BATMAN film franchise (David Goyer, Jonah Nolan, et al) are now admitting that they’re "musing" about another BATMAN.
Frankly, this is damn near a "BATMAN 3 Confession" as close as Chris plays it to the vest!
Since they are currently -- ahem -- “musing” over what will ultimately be the third Nolan-directed BATMAN film, I might as well make a few suggestions of things I’d like to see in the next one.
RETURN TO THE BATCAVE
I totally dig Bruce’s penthouse, um, digs in THE DARK KNIGHT -- which is a nod to the 70s comics of course. Love the temporary Bat-Headquarters he set up as well. But…
I WANT THE BATCAVE BACK!
And not the Batcave we last saw in BATMAN BEGINS. No, we need a fully decked out command center for The Batman which is akin to what we see in the comics -- you know what I mean?
Something sorta like this?
Remember, Bruce and Alfred talked about making improvements to the southeastern corner of Wayne Manor in BEGINS. Well, I want to see those renovations and hopefully it’ll be what we saw in Bruce's temp Batcave TDK -- multiplied by 1,000 of course.
I could do without the giant penny and that Tyrannosaurus rex though.
GOTHAM-UP GOTHAM
Being one of those Batman fans that prefer Batman and his world presented as “real” as possible, I had absolutely no problem with the look of either BATMAN BEGINS or THE DARK KNIGHT. Furthermore, I’d argue that Gotham City’s look was the most consistent from film-to-film of all the Bat-Flicks.
Another thing that I’m completely on board with is shooting on location and shooting on location in Chicago. With TDK shooting pretty much totally in Chicago, the film came across as a real living and breathing American city -- more than any of the previous Bat-Films.
So when production of BATMAN 3 commences, I'm pretty sure that it'll be in The Windy City. However...
I’d wouldn't mind it if they'd “Gotham-Up” Chi-Town -- if you will -- a little more in the next film. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly NOT suggesting that Nolan’s GC suddenly become a gothic netherworld or a neon-lit amusement park-like metropolis either.
I love The Narrows!
I’d merely like to see more of “Gotham” -- The Narrows from BEGINS for example -- as well as other parts of the city that we’ve yet to experience in the previous two films.
And bring that monorail/train system from BEGINS too!
CHICKS DIG THE CAR
Alright, we know that after not having the nerve it do it in BATMAN BEGINS, Chris Nolan finally blew The Batmobile -- AKA “The Tumbler” -- to bits in THE DARK KNIGHT.
While I love The Batpod and hope to see more of it in the next film, Batman needs The Batmobile and I expect to see a new one in B3.
Look, I absolutely love the tank-like look of The Tumbler and I hope that they keep that aspect of Batman’s wheels when they design the new one. But I’d like it if they sleek it up a bit to make it more in line with Batman’s ride in the comics.
But please, no convertible.
UP, UP, AND AWAY
I’ll admit it, I hate the Batwing.
Hated it in both B89 and FOREVER.
Consequently, I have zero desire to see a third version of Batman’s jet on the big screen -- Nolanized or not. However…
What about a Batcopter?
Honestly, I’ve never understood why Batman would need a jet to fight urban crime, you know? The Batwing is cool in the comics -- IN THE COMICS -- and its inclusion was merely a flat-out gimmick in BATMAN '89 and FOREVER to get folks to buy toys, so to heck with that.
But the police use helicopters, right? Why wouldn’t The Dark Knight? It sure as hell make a lot more sense than any sort of airplane, and you can still sell them toys!
AHOY!
The last time we saw a “Batboat,” it was being driven by Robin in BATMAN FOREVER. That was 14 years ago and 3 Bat-flicks removed. I kinda wouldn’t mind seeing a return of a Batman aquatic vehicle -- if of course there’s a reason for Batman to have to use one. Plus, Nolan's production designer Nathan Crowley told me on the set that he's keen for a Batboat to appear in a future film.
Now, I don’t think you can have BOTH a Batcopter and a Batboat in one film -- though I’m sure the fine folks at Mattel would disagree.
BATMAN HITS...?
I promise, I’m not trying to be funny here. Nolan, Goyer, and Nolan could decide to use Crazy Quilt as the main villain for BATMAN 3 and I’d be down with it.
Really.
With that said, I’m willing to bet that at least one classic -- and well known -- Bat-Rogue is prominently featured in the next film. If I had my druthers, it would definitely be Selina Kyle. And there’s going to be a need for a female lead, right?
If not Catwoman for the big baddie, then I’d also love to see Nolan’s take on The Riddler and The Penguin -- both of which I think would easily fit within the “realistic” Bat-Universe as established by Team Nolan.
Then there’s a slew of minor Batman villains that they could use as well -- The Ventriloquist, Deadshot, Firefly, and Hugo Strange to name a few.
No doubt about it, Batman has a GREAT rogues gallery!
STATUS QUO
Batman’s rep amongst the citizens of Gotham must be redeemed and the Batsignal atop Gotham police headquarters has to be restored in B3. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
PARTNERS? PARTNERS!
Forget Robin and Batgirl, the only costumed ally I want to see Batman working with in the next film is the one and only Batmite!
I’m kidding.
THE JETT-MAN IN A CAMEO
I am NOT kidding. ;)
Friday, January 9, 2009
Goyer Talks BATMAN 3
Friday, January 9, 2009
AddThis
David Goyer has his new movie -- THE UNBORN -- hitting theaters this weekend, and of course he's been doing press for it. And of course, the press is asking him about the next BATMAN. Here's a few blurbs from his chat with AICN....
* “Warner Bros. would love Chris to do it. Everybody would love Chris to do it.”
* “There's no deal in place. And Chris won't do a deal until he's satisfied that there is a story worth continuing. He doesn't want to make... I don't think there's ever been a good third movie. And I say that having made one. I like THE EXORCIST III in a way.
* “Trust me, the pressure is insane. It is the single most important thing on Warner Bros.' agenda. There's enormous pressure. I guess there's a knock-off effect with me and Jonathan because we're the ones who Chris is looking to to ‘convince me that there is a third one.’”
* “[Chris and I are] musing. He just needs to be convinced that there is a story that has credibility. I was talking to him the other day, and I said, ‘It's at least a movie that the audience clearly wants.’ And he said, ‘I agree, but wanting it and getting it... doesn't mean it'll be a great movie.’ And if it's not a great movie, then to spend three years on it is kind of heartbreaking.”
A whole bunch of somewhat interesting nothing, right? *sigh* You can read the full interview by clicking on the link provided above.
Holy Oscar! Why Dark Knight should swoop Best Picture from Slumdog Millionaire
by Dominic Patten, Pop Culture Examiner
It has been a truly great year for movies.
And in such a year, Slumdog Millionaire, the Mumbai rags to TV riches film emerged as the near favorite for this year's Oscar for Best Picture.
Now I know the nominations haven't even been announced, that happens on January 22, but with widespread critical praise and momentum, the Danny "Trainspotting" Boyle directed film is sprinting ahead of other potential contenders like The Wrestler, Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It's easy to see why; Slumdog is an insightful, inspiring and deeply personal film of love, globalization, and chasing a dream and that dreamgirl. It is exactly why movies are one of the higher arts.
However, there's a dark horse in this coronation and someone might be cleaning up the Oscars the way he has Gotham. Traditionally action movie blockbusters just don't register on the Academy's radar. While they rake in the bucks and the teenage boys, action movies aren't commonly considered, with the exception of the Special Effects and Stunt departments, to be innovative or evolutionary enough. They are, for the most part, a formula.
The Dark Knight is different.
It is epic.
Epic and after last year's lowest rated Oscars full of films few had heard of and almost no one had seem, it was also populist. With director Christopher Nolan a the helm again, Christian Bale as Batman, Gary Oldman back as god cop Jim Gordon and the magnificently minimalist Michael Caine returning as butler and bodyman Alfred, this was one sequel that was far far better than the first film.
And then there was Heath Ledger.
The actor died not long after completing his performance as the crazed Joker in the film. At first I thought, as I wrote in this August post, that the praise he posthumously received was misplaced. I was wrong. I've seen Dark Knight several times since and on each viewing the complexity of Ledger's layered performance becomes more evident. With the addition of Ledger's Joker, Nolan's Batfranchise became the biggest budgeted existential American film of all time, a virtual big screen Marquis De Sade and a Box Office success.
There is no doubt Ledger will get an Oscar nomination and there is little doubt he will rightly win. Which is but one building block in why the Dark Knight could end up winning Best Picture.
At the People's Choice Awards, the caped crusader cleaned up in his categories.
The film is already on the Oscar nod books joining Tropic Thunder, The Wrestler, The Reader, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Synecdoche, New York for the Academy Award for Outstanding Makeup nomination. Now director Christopher Nolan has received a Best Picture nod from both the Writer's Guild and the prophetic Director's Guild. At tonight's Critic's Choice Awards
A superhero movie has never been taken this seriously before. Sure Robert Downey, Jr.'s Iron Man had a certain panache but for the most part superhero movies are ignored because for the most part they suck. Once you get past the explosions and the costumes, there is often nothing to them. There's the snakebelly low expectations and execution of the Fantastic Four flicks, Punisher, the horrific Hulk and the visual arresting but otherwise vapid Spirit. Now some will say that the recent Spiderman blockbusters have raised the level of superhero flicks but the truth is once you get past the "with great power comes great responsibility" stuff, the webslinger is just another guy in tights.
The closest comparison is Gladiator, which won Best Picture in 2000, and even then the much less traditional Dark Knight is still a far different creature. The Dark Knight defines categorization. It is a superhero movie the way Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather is just another Mob movie.
Like the 1972 masterpiece, the Dark Knight swims in the dark undercurrent of America and men's souls. It is a tale of endless struggle in a world seemingly gone mad where the heroes are the villains and the villains seem like heroes.
It has transformed its genre and, in the best tradition of American art, not been afraid to strike a widespread public chord.
On February 22, don't be surprised to see stars from No Country for Old Men, last year's Best Picture winner, open the envelope and send out a very distinct Batsignal.
Charles Roven on the Next Batman Film
January 8, 2009
Superhero Hype! caught up with The Dark Knight producer Charles Roven on the red carpet of the 14th Annual Critics Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California.
The film was up for six Critics Choice Awards and took home two - one for Best Action Movie and Heath Ledger won for Best Supporting actor. Christopher Nolan accepted the award on Ledger's behalf and said, "He will be incredibly missed."
We asked Roven the status of the next film and he said, "Right now even though I'm the producer of 'The Dark Knight' I'm kind of like everybody. I'm waiting to see what Chris [Nolan] and David Goyer come up with and if they come up and decide if there is something worthy of making another iteration of Batman and 'The Dark Knight'... The most important thing right now like we did with the last one is that we want to make sure there is a reason to make it. In other words feel like we can do something different than we had done before. We felt we had accomplished that. If we find that again, then I think we'll come back to the floor. If we don't, I don't know what we'll do."
We asked him if he personally thought there is a story for a third film and he told us, "I would certainly like to see one get made."
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Directors Follow Suit, Nominate Dark Knight
January 8, 2009
After receiving nominations from the Writers Guild, Screen Actors Guild and Producers Guild, The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan was also just nominated by the Directors Guild for Best Director. He'll face David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon), Gus Van Sant (Milk) and Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) for the annual DGA Award.
The Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 22, so stay tuned to see how many the Batman movie might get!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Writers Nominate The Dark Knight, Too!
The Writers Guild of America has announced its nominations for the 2009 Writers Guild Awards, and The Dark Knight made the Adapted Screenplay list. This is following nominations the biggest movie of 2008 received from the Actors Guild and Producers Guild as well.
In the Adapted Screenplay category, it will face The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon and Slumdog Millionaire. The Original Screenplay nominations include Burn After Reading, Milk, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Visitor and The Wrestler.
OPINION: "Say Hello To My Little Friend!"
Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin...
Rachel Weisz as Catwoman...
Eddie Murphy as the Riddler.
Despite how far-fetched and unfounded some of these “casting scoops” are, there’s no stopping the ever-moving juggernaut that is the Batman rumor mill. Given the record-breaking success of THE DARK KNIGHT, it’s only a matter of time before movement occurs on a third film in Chris Nolan’s Batman series. But movement has not occurred yet – at least nothing official in the public eye – and as such, rabid fans and other caped crusaders are hard at work churning out the next ridiculous lie about the as-yet-announced BATMAN 3.
At the risk of adding more grist to the gossip grinder, I humbly posit the following to Warners, Nolan and anyone else behind the wheel of the BATMAN franchise…
Give us SCARFACE.
Forget Mr. Freeze. He’s been done before, admittedly to low standards, but even a career change and the time gap between 1997 and now can’t kibosh Arnold Schwarzenegger’s epically (or is that ice-pickly?) awful turn as Victor Fries.
How about the Riddler? I like Axel Foley as much as the next ‘80s lover, but so help me god if you actually drag Murphy’s wise-cracking keister into the mix. Johnny Depp might do the role well, but you have to wonder if the actor can create a terrifying enough Edward Nigma to follow Heath Ledger’s legendary performance.
No, no, no. Give us something horrifying. Give us something new. Give us SCARFACE.
For those of you scratching your head, don’t feel bad. Scarface is one of the more obscure rogues in Batman’s gallery. He is a dummy dressed as a stereotypical 1920s gangster, complete with the cigar and tommy gun. Arnold Wesker, a mild-mannered man, is the “Ventriloquist” behind the doll. Suffering from “Dissociative Identity Disorder,” Wesker exhibits a bloodthirsty penchant for crime through Scarface, developing a terrifying alpha persona that causes Gotham’s criminals to bow at the murderous marionette’s feet.
If you haven’t already vacated the premises at this out-of-leftfield suggestion, hear me out. On the surface, the idea of a glorified Chucky in pinstripes sounds ludicrous given the gritty realism of the “Nolanverse.” But there are ways that Nolan et al can knock this character out of the park and deliver a third grand slam.
Just as Carmine Falcone’s reign over Gotham City ended in BATMAN BEGINS, so too did Joker’s end in THE DARK KNIGHT. With Batman on the run and the city’s thugs scattered all about, it’s only a matter of time before someone ascends the throne of crime and assumes the crown. How do you follow in the footsteps of a sociopathic killer in caked-on white make-up? Easy. You hire the guy with the puppet on his hand.
While BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES and the comic books occasionally suggested that Scarface has a sentience separate from Wesker’s diseased brain, a Nolan take on the deadly dummy wouldn’t be able to go there. The visionary director has made it clear that “superheroes” and their like don’t exist in his version of Batman, and that would preclude any sort of supernatural element to Scarface. That’s totally fine – in fact, that works even better. Hype up the Ventriloquist’s insanity instead. Make him a guy teetering back-and-forth on the brink, equally capable of a feeble apology and a squeeze of the trigger at a moment’s notice.
Wesker’s origin could even be tweaked to fit into Nolan’s continuity. What if he was a victim of the fear gas in the Narrows back in BATMAN BEGINS? Already predisposed to mental illness, the effects of Scarecrow’s toxin heightened his insanity and brought Scarface into the forefront. Tying it in further, and similar to the character’s origin, Wesker could be a relative of Carmine Falcone’s. Already linked to Gotham’s criminal underground, Wesker would have easy access to thugs and low-lifes when both Falcone and Salvatore Maroni “exit” the family business.
The important part, though, would be to keep the Ventriloquist sympathetic. Wesker is a man who has a real desire for power at a base level. You see that in how Scarface manifests his bloodlust, but Wesker has a longing to control his own destiny. He’s an easily intimidated boy-in-man’s-pajamas, which renders him subservient to the dummy on his fingers. In stressing this element of helplessness, Bruce Wayne is granted an opportunity to save Wesker from his madness. Further, if Wesker’s origin is tied into the Narrows, it provides Batman a shot at redemption. He can clean up an old mess, save a sick man’s life and find a shred of the inner-peace he so desperately needs after the events of THE DARK KNIGHT.
Now, to really sell the character, you need an actor who can disappear into the role, just as Heath Ledger disappeared into the Joker’s oversized clown shoes. One guy who could do the job flawlessly is oft-rumored Riddler contender Johnny Depp. Already a cinematic master of disguise, Depp could easily slip into the skin of sheepish Arnold Wesker while simultaneously amping up the ruthless insanity of Scarface. He could deliver a performance that is at once both heart and gut-wrenching. Depp’s not the only actor who could ace the part, but if he’s already thinking about a trip to Gotham City, give the man some pinstripes and throw away the green jumper. The Riddler’s been done.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to a Scarface-centric BATMAN 3 is the character’s lack of popularity. Is Scarface enough to carry a Batman movie on his own? Maybe not. You could always throw The Penguin in there and have the two villains waging a turf war over control of Gotham City. Hell, that might be a pretty cool flick. But even I have to admit Scarface’s relative anonymity to mainstream moviegoers could be a box office threat. The Joker sells theater tickets like the sun rises and falls, while Scarface doesn’t have that same star power.
Good thing that everyone and their grandma will be seeing BATMAN 3 no matter what the heck Nolan and company decide to do.
Mr. Nolan, this is your chance to do something even more art house with Batman than you pulled off in THE DARK KNIGHT. You’ve earned the audience, hook-line-sinker. They’ll be there opening night. Everyone wants to see what you’ve got for a third installment. But there are skeptics out there that think TDK can’t be topped. Seriously, the late great Heath set the bar at nose level with the freaking moon. How do you top that character? Can you top that character?
Prove them wrong. Give them a reason to believe. Give them someone to fear. Put a smile on their face, say hello to your little friend and give them SCARFACE!
Celebrating Heath’s accomplishment
When Johnny Depp first read the role of Captain Jack Sparrow, there was nothing in the script to suggest the performance he would eventually give. That bizarre manner of speaking, sounding slightly stoned, the crazy off-kilter walk, and the way he moved his arms, all but flailing them about. That was an actor’s artistry, plain and simple, and it was something to behold. That is the genius of Johnny Depp.
When Heath Ledger was given the role of the Joker I was mildly surprised, not because I did not think he could do it. On the contrary. It just never occurred to me to consider him for the role. Obviously Christopher Nolan knew something I did not. Then consider the obstacles facing Ledger, the largest being a performance from one of the greatest and most beloved actors in the history of the cinema in the same role back in 1989. “Batman” was still a hot DVD, plenty fresh in the minds of viewers. Jack Nicholson’s Joker was, at the time, critically acclaimed. He stole the movie right from under Michael Keaton’s nose — even had top billing. Yet Tim Burton’s “Batman” was a fantasy, and Christopher Nolan has gone in an entirely different direction with his “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight.”
Ledger understood this and made the decision to portray the Joker as realistically as possible, as a terrorist, as a murderous maniac with a mind that was pure evil and twisted genius. He walked differently, he moved differently, he spoke differently. The licking of the lips to soothe the scars of his mouth, the manner of speaking slowly as to challenge the other person, all of this was Ledger. He created something rather extraordinary in the film and that should be celebrated.
I believe he gave the best performance of the year in 2005 for his breathtaking work in “Brokeback Mountain,” but the Academy thought otherwise. But I don’t think that will happen this year. This is one of those performances like Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront,” Nicholson in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Robert De Niro in “Raging Bull” and recently, Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” that is so brilliant, so stunning to watch (and watch again), the Academy has to honor it. This is one for the ages, to be discussed and reviewed for years to come.
Tom O’Neil is tossing the supporting actor race around with a couple of colleagues over at Gold Derby. Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger brings up the issue of winds of changing, the “dynamic changes in momentum,” as O’Neil puts it. But let’s face it. The Academy will look like fools if they don’t hand Ledger this trophy, because this is the most discussed performance of the year.
The best directors, Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, they hire their actors and trust them to do the job, to come to the set prepared and having created something for the film that will work for the director’s vision. Nolan did this with Ledger He smartly stood out of the way and let him go, allowing the actor to enhance the film, give it an edge, bring to it a dark brilliance. And what could “The Dark Knight” be without the darkest of villains?
The Cinematographers Nominate The Dark Knight
January 7, 2009
ASC, the American Society of Cinematographers, has named the cinematographers who will vie for their Outstanding Achievement Award. The Dark Knight's Wally Pfister is included:
Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC (Revolutionary Road and The Reader), Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC (Slumdog Millionaire), Chris Menges, BSC (The Reader), Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button) and Wally Pfister, ASC (The Dark Knight) are the finalists in the feature film category of the 23rd Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards competition. The recipient will be named during the awards celebration here at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel on February 15.
"This annual celebration is our way of letting our colleagues from around the world know that their peers in the ASC recognize their inherent visual talent and spirited ability to get compelling stories on the screen in this collaborative art form," says ASC President Daryn Okada. "We also hope this celebration inspires generations of filmmakers to follow their dreams."
These are the eighth and ninth nominations for Deakins who earned top honors in 1995 for The Shawshank Redemption and in 2002 for The Man Who Wasn't There. It's the fourth nomination for Menges, the second for Pfister, and the first for Dod Mantle and Miranda.
"Artful cinematography is generally meant to be transparent to audiences but there are countless visual nuances that help to create a sense of time and place, while evoking emotional responses that are in tune with the intentions of the actors and directors," says ASC Awards Committee Chairman Michael Goi, ASC. "In the opinion of their peers, who considered hundreds of movies, these five extraordinarily talented individuals have set the contemporary standard for artful cinematography in a very competitive field."
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Producers Nominate The Dark Knight!
January 5, 2009
Things are looking good for The Dark Knight's possible Best Picture nomination at the Oscars as The Producers Guild of America has just nominated the movie for its annual Producers Guild Awards taking place Saturday, January 24 at the Hollywood Palladium. The Dark Knight is going up against The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk and Slumdog Millionaire for Best Picture.
The Screen Actors Guild previously nominated Heath Ledger for Best Supporting Actor and The Dark Knight for Best Stunt Ensemble. That awards ceremony takes place on Jan. 25.
This Wednesday, the Writers Guild of America will announce its nominees, while the Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 22.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Review: THE DARK KNIGHT
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Bruce Wayne/Batman - Christian Bale
The Joker - Heath Ledger
Harvey Dent - Aaron Eckhart
Alfred Pennyworth - Michael Caine
Rachel Dawes - Maggie Gyllenhaal
Jim Gordon - Gary Oldman
Lucius Fox - Morgan Freeman
FYI: As you would expect, this review contains NO SPOILERS due to my respect for the filmmakers...
...and ALL Batman fans. - "Jett"
© 2008 by William E. Ramey.
How in the hell do you write about something that leaves you completely speechless?
That’s the conundrum that I’ve found myself in this past week as I’ve been working on this review of THE DARK KNIGHT.
Never has a movie struck such a chord with me that it took away my ability to talk about and discuss it with others. That is certainly what I want to do right now -- I want to talk about it, I want to discuss it, and I want to shout out to the world that “THE DARK KNIGHT is a GREAT film!”
Look, I’ve long known that I was going to like this flick -- that was a given and I’ll own up to that from the get-go here. All the positive buzz that accompanied this film, paired with my blind faith in Christopher Nolan and company -- thanks to the wonderful BATMAN BEGINS -- already had me pretty much convinced that THE DARK KNIGHT was going to be good.
Despite this preconceived belief, I was not prepared for the powerful affect that THE DARK KNIGHT would have on me.
As a movie fan -- but especially as a Batman fan -- THE DARK KNIGHT moved me in a way that I did not expect nor had I experienced previously with any other film in my life.
Look here, I've been a fan of this great character for 40 years and absolutely NOTHING "Batman" has had the visceral affect that THE DARK KNIGHT had on yours truly. Not a comic book, not a TV show, not a cartoon, and certainly not a movie -- BATMAN BEGINS included.
Speaking of which, when I first saw BATMAN BEGINS three years ago, I let out a “Hell Yeah!” when it ended and began spontaneously high-fiving everyone around me. It was like being at a football game and your team has just scored the winning touchdown as the clock expired, you know what I mean?
Yet when THE DARK KNIGHT came to a end, my reaction was a total 180. I sat there in stunned silence not able to say a word. I wanted to say something, but my brain, mouth, and heart were unable to work in conjunction to express what was going on inside of me. I was in complete and total awe of what I had just witnessed for the last 2 and a half hours on that screen.
And yes, my eyes did well up.
Did I have tears streaming down my face? No. It was one of those times in your life when you get that, well, “woosh” of emotion and that's how it’s displayed on the outside.
These weren’t tears of joy nor where they tears of sadness. No, these tears were the result of being shaken to the very core of my being.
So let me go ahead and name 'em…
THE DEPARTED.
DOG DAY AFTERNOON.
HEAT.
And yes, even revered THE GODFATHER, PART 2.
Whoever is the caretaker of "That Big 'ol Shelf" on which they sit, needs to move ‘em over a bit and make room for THE DARK KNIGHT.
Why? Because it too can be considered one of the great modern cinematic crime dramas.
I don’t care if it’s based on a “comic book.”
It doesn't phase me in the least that the hero is dressed like a giant black bat.
I couldn't care less that the villain parades around in white makeup, green hair, and a purple zoot suit.
Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT transcends the genre. To label it a “Comic Book Movie” isn’t fair or accurate. It’s simply a great film.
I’m not going to rehash the entire plot and try to analyze it here, OK? Yes, the theme of "escalation" and its consequences as prophesized by Gary Oldamn’s Lt. Jim Gordon at the end of BATMAN BEGINS is front and center. Batman’s appearance in Gotham not only has positive affects, but some very negative ones as well -- ones in which Bruce Wayne never expected.
A “dark night” for The Dark Knight indeed.
As soon as the movie begins with the already renowned bank heist led by an in disguise Joker, it’s a never-ending ride on one hell of a roller coaster. The film’s length doesn’t matter either as time flies by leaving you wanting more right then and there.
We are now at the point that I HAVE to talk about Heath Ledger.
During the Summer of 2007 when I was on the Chicago set of THE DARK KNIGHT, Gary Oldman told me the something about Heath’s Joker that has been seared in my mind since. “This kid,” he said, as he pointed to the picture of The Joker hanging to his left. “What’s he’s doing is going to blow people away.”
Like Jim Gordon, Gary Oldman is a prophet as well.
Heath Ledger’s interpretation and portrayal of this iconic villain is one for the ages. His Joker can be truly be considered one of the greatest movie villains of all time.
All this talk about an Oscar nomination for Heath is totally legitimate. Anyone who suggests that it’s nothing more than a sympathetic reaction to his unfortunate passing earlier this year is full of it.
He’s THAT good.
This Joker is an evil bastard without morals or any sort of remorse for his actions.
He is "funny," if you want to call it that, but you almost feel guilty laughing because he’s such a despicable character. The Joker is someone who doesn’t care about money or success or power or, well, anything. As Alfred (Michael Caine) tell Bruce, “Some people can’t be explained. Some people just want to watch the world burn.”
I’ve long maintained that if and when The Joker returns to the big screen, he must be portrayed in a way that makes us hate him. Love to hate him perhaps, but hate him nonetheless. We should want Batman to pound his sorry you-know-what into the ground. The Joker is not the hero and certainly not the one that the audience should be rooting for. The brothers Nolan and David Goyer know that and it's THAT Joker that they have given us in THE DARK KNIGHT.
If fictional characters have souls, then Heath Ledger somehow discovered a way to channel The Joker’s. Each time he‘s onscreen, he is without a shadow of a doubt, “The Joker.”
Despite the fact that The Joker is getting a lot of the hype -- smartly and deserving so -- Chris Nolan certainly didn’t forget that THE DARK KNIGHT is a Batman film. And like BATMAN BEGINS, Batman is the star of the show.
Christian Bale is again fabulous as Gotham’s silent protector. This time around, Bruce Wayne thinks he sees a light at the end of the tunnel. Someday soon he hopes, he’ll be able to put Batman away and get on with his life. For a brief moment, it looks as if that’s going to happen. Until of course, that light gets snuffed out by The Joker.
Aaron Eckhart is Gotham D.A. Harvey Dent, the city’s “White Knight.” He is a good and honest man who fights crime in Gotham without a mask. He is the one that will take over for Bruce and become Gotham’s hero...a hero without a mask. He joins Gordon and The Batman to form a crime-fighting triumvirate to rid the city of the last bits of organized crime that remain after the downfall of Carmine Falcone. Their plan is a success…for a while.
Gary Oldman’s Gordon plays a much, MUCH larger role in this movie than he did in its predecessor. In fact, the finale pretty much belongs to Jim Gordon. Oldman is solid as ever and that speach -- I've got to give you this heads up -- that the “speech” he gives at the every end of the film will either bring about goosebumps or get you a tad misty-eyed. Methinks both.
Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast as assistant D.A. Rachel Dawes, taking over for Katie Holmes. No offense to Katie, but Maggie is much better and more believable in the role.
What else can can one say about Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) other than to proclaim that both are as solid as ever. I believe it’s important to mention that both of these important rolls are expanded from what we saw of Alfred and Fox in BATMAN BEGINS. These are two of our greatest actors and the reason we say that is certainly on display.
I also must give kudos to all the folks behind the scenes of THE DARK KNIGHT. Nathan Crowley’s production designs are fantastic. Gotham looks and feels like a real city and not as if it were stuck in a claustrophobic matchbook. Wally Pfister’s wonderful cinematography should earn him many an accolade from his peers. Chris Corbould’s F/X are seamless and spectacular and mostly real. Lee Smith’s editing certainly aids the smooth flow of the two and a half hour narrative. And Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s superb score only adds to the drama and tension.
To them and everyone who worked behind the camera to give us this film -- BRAVO!
Bottom line: THE DARK KNIGHT is the best -- BY FAR -- BATMAN film that we've ever seen.
So where does the Batman movie franchise go now?
Clearly, there’s going to be another BATMAN as well as more Batman films in the future.
Based on the success that THE DARK KNIGHT is going to have alone, Warner Bros. will want a sequel in the very near future. I think “Team Nolan” will return when it’s all said and done and I for one certainly hope so.
You all can hear that right? Listen carefully....It's that big 'ol "MR. NOLAN, ONE MORE PLEASE!" drum I'm already banging.
Yet, there's been one thing that I’ve kept asking myself ever since I saw THE DARK KNIGHT: “How the hell can they top this one?!”
How do you top what is not only the best BATMAN film to date, but also the best of its kind and a great film regardless of genre?
Christopher Nolan can walk away right now, never do another BATMAN, and he will still be considered the greatest director in franchise history.
That’s the label you get pinned with and deserve when you make a masterpiece.
GRADE: A+