The LA Times recently sat down with Mr Eckhart (aka Harvey Dent) to discuss his role as a villain in The Dark Knight. Beware, spoilers lurk below.

“I can tell you that, basically, when you look at Two-Face, you should get sick to your stomach. Being the guy under all that, well, that was a lot of fun for me. It’s like you would feel if you met someone whose face had pretty much been ripped off or burned off with acid. I can’t talk about it beyond that because I don’t want to give away too much of the plans by Chris.”

[...]

“The difference between Batman and Two-Face is how far they are willing to go and how they make their point,” Eckhart said. “Otherwise, we’re talking about vigilante crime-fighting. That’s what Batman is all about. He has a strong sense of justice. And Harvey Dent has an extremely strong sense of justice. His fiancée is killed. He’s horribly injured. But he is still true to himself. He’s a crime fighter, he’s not killing good people. He’s not a bad guy, not purely.”

[...]

“You look at a good guy too long and it’s not that exciting, it’s the Boy Scout always doing the right thing. I’m interested in good guys gone wrong. They’re not the bad guy, they’re the good guy doing bad things.”

[...]

“Really, all of it is more than an adventure tale, it’s somewhat of a mirror of our times. It deals with some fundamental questions of what’s going on in society. To me, this film is about how Batman feels about justice, how he takes care of the city, how he feels about the Joker when he meets him and sees what he is capable of doing. How he feels when Harvey Two-Face takes matters into his own hands. It’s not simple, and it gets ugly. I think people will be surprised.”

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All packages have been uncovered! Now time to head over to Acme Security Systems or continue following our coverage

As expected, The Clown Travel Agency viral puzzle has come online - this time they have gone international. By clicking on the manilla envelope (donned with the text “Proud Mother” in the bottom right) a sheet of locations is revealed - from Paris to Sao Paolo. At each of these locations is a package.

The text reads:

“Ready to have a ball?
A special bag of fun awaits the first to claim it. But you better strike fast, there’s no time to spare“

The message hints at the sport of Ten Pin Bowling, and this message from Alex at SHH confirms that:

I contacted the Tavistock Hotel, but I was too late, however they gave me some info on the package. Someone collected it and inside was a bowling ball, and a nifty smart mobile phone. On the ball was a mobile phone number etched on it. He rang the number apaprently and was told they now knew who he was and to await further instructions.

The folks over at SHH and Omelette have posted their pictures of the packages.

The note that came with it reads:

“Nice work, clown! Now call the number on the ball immediately, from this phone and THIS PHONE ONLY. Don’t give this number to anyone else, or I’ll know.

Hopefully, your cohorts will be in the same league as you, because once all your points are racked up, I’ll give you all something that will really bowl you over…”

A bowling ball, a joker card, a phone, a message and a bag for the lot.

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In an interview with Bloomberg,  Hans Zimmer spoker about his work on The Dark Knight, alongside James Newton Howard,

Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer was struggling to find the right music to represent the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” the new Batman movie scheduled for release this summer.

Zimmer, who wrote the scores for “The Lion King,” “Gladiator” and more than 100 other films, had already composed a two-note signature for the fiendish character, played by the late Heath Ledger. But he wanted to expand that sound to symbolize the Joker’s penchant for anarchy.

“I’ve been sitting here all night trying to find out what else to do with those two notes,” Zimmer said during an interview last month at his Santa Monica, California, studio.

Zimmer, who collaborated on the score with James Newton Howard, said Ledger’s death from an accidental drug overdose in January wouldn’t change his musical approach to the Joker. The composer said the best tribute would be an accurate reflection of Ledger’s portrayal.

“The worst thing I can do is stray from that course and not be rigorous about his performance,” the tall, balding composer said in a German accent that reflects his native country.

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SHH have had a short moment to talk with Maggie Gyllenhaal (Rachel Dawes in the Dark Knight) at ShoWest:

When asked about taking over from Katie Holmes,

“I think she’s a wonderful actress and I really admired the work that she did in the first Batman, but I don’t think it would have worked if I tried to imitate her. I think the only way to do it is to do it like myself,”

“They just (expect you to) suspend your disbelief, I’m Rachel Dawes now. I mean, how many Batmen have there been? Lots of them!”

Speaking about working on her first major blockbuster,

“I anticipated it was going to be much different than making a small movie, and in the end, it didn’t feel that way, and I think it was because I was working with really good actors like Gary Oldman and Michael Caine and Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart and Heath Ledger. It felt like making any other movie, and I think Chris Nolan has a lot to do with that, and also because he really likes and respects actors, so it felt like doing good scenes in any movie.”

And getting involved in the action…

“They took really good care of me. I thought I might get bruised up but in fact, I didn’t. They really knew what they were doing. I was scared to do some of the action stuff I had to do, and I did it once, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is a blast!’”

Thanks Austin!

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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.

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