Let’s first start with the news that everyone can enjoy – some shots from the Halloween Costume Party (HCP) show in Las Vegas reveal the options we shall all have come October, thanks to SHH (and thanks to Juno and Pierre for sending this in). There are clown masks, bat-suits and purple Joker suits for you to fit into, if you’re that way inclined:

Continue reading to find out the spoiler

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The NYTimes have posted a very interesting Dark Knight report which closely follows Chris Nolan’s work as director. It is a must read, even if the minor plot spoilers in the first paragraph would put you off. I’ve included some choice excerpts for you below, along with the new images that feature in the article.

In so many ways this isn’t what you’d expect of a $180 million Hollywood comic-book movie sequel with a zillion moving parts, a cast of thousands and sets from here to Hong Kong. Anyone else would shoot indoors, use digital effects or wait for clear skies; Mr. Nolan rolls with the weather’s punches, believing that the messiness of reality can’t be faked. Another filmmaker would leave a shot like this in the hands of a second-unit director, but Mr. Nolan doesn’t use one; if it’s on the screen, he directed it, and his longtime cinematographer, Wally Pfister, worked the camera. Stars on any other movie would have fled to their trailers to wait in comfort until needed again. Here, Gary Oldman is watching and shivering along with everybody else, cracking jokes to keep warm.

[...]

Now the question is whether Mr. Nolan’s vision of Batman can not only maintain its hold on the imaginations of comic fans and critics, but expand its reach to a wider summer moviegoing audience, even as the death of Heath Ledger, who played the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” has added unanticipated morbidity to the film’s deliberate darkness.

[...]

“As we looked through the comics, there was this fascinating idea that Batman’s presence in Gotham actually attracts criminals to Gotham, attracts lunacy,” he said. “When you’re dealing with questionable notions like people taking the law into their own hands, you have to really ask, where does that lead? That’s what makes the character so dark, because he expresses a vengeful desire.”

[...]

Will Mr. Ledger’s death cast a pall over “The Dark Knight,” whose tragic plot turns already make it much darker than “Batman Begins”? “We’ll see,” said Mr. Robinov, of Warner Brothers. Mr. Nolan, for his part, said he felt a “massive sense of responsibility” to do right by Mr. Ledger’s “terrifying, amazing” performance.

Wizard Universe have had a sit down chat with Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent). This interview reveals a lot of juicy bits about Two-Face and Harvey Dent’s role in The Dark Knight – direct from the Horse’s mouth. As a warning, this interview does contain spoilers!

WIZARD: Director Christopher Nolan said he saw Two-Face and Harvey Dent as the backbone of “Dark Knight.” Did you draw inspiration from the comics or the older movies?
ECKHART: Chris [Nolan] comes at this with such a different take on Batman, so I didn’t feel that I had to be true to any other actor playing this role. Of course, I read the comic books. His relationships with Lt. Gordon and with Batman, with Gotham City, those really helped me the most.

There are a lot of different ways that you could go with the Two-Face performance, [...]Where will you take it when the film opens July 18?
I believe that it’s stronger if you have a heart. If you can relate to a character who’s a villain, or not, it’s always better. If I can help you to relate to my character, then I think that I’m more likely to keep your attention.

In terms of the heart of the character, Harvey has gone through a large arc. Will we be seeing Harvey’s full arc here or will it play out in, say, another movie?
I think with the other [films], you’re looking at the climax of a character’s arc. Where does he go after that? I think that right now we’re showing who Harvey was before he was scarred, and it’s an interesting role that he plays. We’re looking at Gotham City trying to get out of its darkness. That’s why Harvey is important.

Does Harvey get scarred in this movie or will we have to wait until the next one to see that?
Harvey Dent turns into Harvey Two-Face in this movie. So that answers your question better. [Laughs]

Have you filmed a lot of scenes in makeup?
I have done scenes as Harvey Two-Face. It’s interesting. I won’t tell you exactly what we’re going for, but I think that I can say that it will use all of today’s technology to create this character. He’s going to be interesting, and I think that’s what makes this character important in the movie—you get to see him as he was before, as in the comic books. Harvey is a very good guy in the comic books. He’s judicious. He cares. He’s passionate about what he loves and then he turns into this character. So you will see that in this film.

[...]

There are circumstances that create the darker side of his personality…
It’s interesting to show that there are reasons for his behavior. It depends on which [of Harvey’s personalities] you think is more attractive and exciting. Obviously a guy who goes out and murders people, that’s vigilante justice. It’s probably more cinematically exciting, but I think that knowing why he got there and that he was a cool dude before is important, as well.

Are you saying you see Two-Face as more of a vigilante in this as opposed to his classic portrayal as a bank-robbing, blowing sh– up kind of thug?
Well, I mean, in terms of villains and movies, in anyone’s motivation in a movie you’re always trying to improve your lot in life and to exact your own code in life and I think that Harvey Two-Face has a code, and his code is killing people for reasons that…will remain secret.

First stop – people taking pictures should know how to focus the subject. Rant over, moving on, Dark Horizons has got the scoop on the Mattel Two Face toy for The Dark Knight, this constitutes our very first look at the Two Face character, aka Harvey Dent portrayed by Aaron Eckhart – even if it is in the form of a toy.

Below are some photos snuck out from a restricted press event at the recent Toy Fair in New York showing off the Two-Face tie-in action figure from “The Dark Knight”. The photo displays the look of the Two-Face form of Harvey Dent (Eckhart)

Spoiler pictures after the break! Thanks to Juno and Ghell for sending this in.

Read the rest of this entry »

A possible plot outline for The Dark Knight has seemingly been leaked online, our email tells us this is from a reliable source, but adds a disclaimer that fake plots may be spread amongst the TDK team to put us off the scent.

There may be spoilers ahead, but that should go without saying. Head over to Badtaste to read the purported Dark Knight plot outline, if you want to ruin the ending.

The International Herald Tribune report that the majority of The Dark Knight’s Hong Kong filming has now been completed. Scenes included “dozens of police officers” storming a skyscraper in the financial district, filmed late on Sunday and early on Monday morning; whilst earlier in the week Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Bruce Wayne were filmed having a conversation on a bridge near Lyndhurst Terrace. Bale also stated in a press conference that he was scheduled to jump from the “90 floor International Finance Center“. And that he did – scroll down to see the vertigo inducing pictures of Batman standing on the edge of the tall building, and video of the encircling Helicopter.

The Press Conference via BlipTV:

In this conference Chris Nolan also debunked those previous rumors that a scene was abandoned because of pollution, citing script changes as the real reason.You can find another entertainment round-up in this ITN video hosted on YouTube:

Hong Kong Videos:

A Round up of the HK Action and Batman Jump (pictures montage and footage towards the end):

Police Storming the Scene

Morgan Freeman being filmed:

Hong Kong News Reports:

Hong Kong Pictures:

Batman’s Big Jump:

High Resolution shots of the HK filming, from Christian Bale Fan. Check out the link for lots more galleries and high resolution pictures of Bale and Freeman.

At the Airport (via AICN):

Seems like there’s a heated Joker debate going on in this post. Well, to put some fuel on the fire MTV had a sit down chat with former Joker, Jack Nicholson:

MTV: What do you think of another actor, Heath Ledger, playing the Joker in next summer’s “The Dark Knight”?

Nicholson: Let me be the way I’m not in interviews. I’m furious. I’m furious. [He laughs.] They never asked me about a sequel with the Joker. I know how to do that! Nobody ever asked me.

MTV: It was never brought up?

Nicholson: No. It’s like, in any area, you can’t believe the reasons things do or don’t happen. Not asking me how to do the sequel is that kind of thing. Maybe it’s not a mistake. Maybe it was the right thing, but to be candid, I’m furious.

MTV: I’m surprised to hear you sounding competitive about a role like that.

Nicholson: Well, the Joker comes from my childhood. That’s how I got involved with it in the first place. It’s a part I always thought I should play.

Joker Spoilers:

For some more Joker related tales, head on over to Latino Review for some major plot spoilers concerning The Joker’s movie entrance.

It is also rumored that we might see a Dark Knight poster before the end of this month.

Batz over on the SHH forums has lovingly scanned in an excerpt from an interview with Eric Roberts (the actor that plays Sal Maroni) in FHM. This interview does contain spoilers concerning the Joker’s role, so I warn you to take heed before reading this article.

Click the image for a larger version.