Category: Batman

Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel on “Batman” short-list
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) ñ Christopher Nolan is looking at some of Hollywood’s leading actresses — as well as a few emerging talents — for major female roles in “The Dark Knight Rises,” his next Batman film.
Sources tell THR’s “Heat Vision” that Keira Knightley, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Biel are due to test for roles in the Warner Bros. superhero tentpole in the next two weeks.
Also testing are relative newcomers Kate Mara and Charlotte Riley. Hot British actress Gemma Arterton was also scheduled to test but, as Heat Vision first reported last week, Arterton just landed the female lead in Paramount’s “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” and might now have scheduling issues.
“Dark Knight Rises” needs to fill two big female roles, a villain and a love interest. Sources say one character is Talia, the daughter of villain Ra’s Al Ghul, who was portrayed by Liam Neeson in Nolan’s first Gotham-set crime pic “Batman Begins.” In the comic books, Talia is both Batman’s lover and antagonist, ultimately siring his alter ego Bruce Wayne’s son.
While Knightley, Hathaway and Biel are well-known actresses, the other two are up-and-comers. Mara had brief roles in “127 Hours” and “Iron Man 2” in 2010. Her sister Rooney Mara is currently shooting David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” in the title role.
Riley is a British actress who has done mostly TV work. She is engaged to Tom Hardy, who co-starred in Nolan’s summer smash “Inception” and has already booked an unspecified role in “Dark Knight Rises.”
The film is looking at a May start, with shooting to take place in London and Los Angeles, according to insiders. Christian Bale is set to return as the Caped Crusader.
Nolan and Warner Bros. decline to comment.

No More Batman For Bale After The Dark Knight Rises
Those of you expecting a Batman 4 in 2015 should now recheck your hopes at the door. E! recently sat down with Christian Bale, who said that he believes this is that last time heíll don the cape and cowl of the caped crusader. But, as most news surrounding a Christopher Nolan film, nothing is set in stone until it comes out of the directorís own mouth. Bale had this to say about continuing the series:
“Until Chris [Nolan] tells me [there will be a Batman 4], I don’t believe it. It’s gotta be from his mouth, or else I don’t really know.”
As far as the story for The Dark Knight Rises goes, Bale is hardly more informed than we are, which is not much at all. Nolan always keeps his films veiled in several layers of mystery that only he himself will peel away as he sees fit.
“Chris will let me know what I need to know when I need to know it. I probably know a little bit more than some other people out there, but I think most people would be surprised at how little I do know. It just hasn’t been necessary yet. I know he’ll give me plenty of time to prepare for whatever I need to, and I’ll discover it. He’s a pretty damn good filmmaker. I trust that he’s going to come up with something wonderful.”
The idea of Bale not doing any more Batman films likely correlates with the idea of Nolan not doing any more either. This will be the directorís third outing in the series, and although the last installment became the most revered and highest grossing superhero film of all time, itís easy to see how someone will want to walk away before getting too tired of the job. Weíll have more on this as TDKR nears production, but until then, take all of this as rumor.

‘Dark Knight’ female villain sought
Keira Knightley, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway and Rachel Weisz are among Hollywood’s hottest actress vying for roles in the next Batman film.
Director Christopher Nolan has also lined up a pair of blondes – Blake Lively and Naomi Watts – to meet with as he casts two leading ladies for The Dark Knight Rises, the upcoming third instalment of the superhero franchise.
According to Deadline.com, the super-secretive filmmaker is on the hunt for a female villain and a love interest for Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne.
Speculation has been rife about the forthcoming blockbuster’s plot details, with recent reports suggesting Tom Hardy will play Batman’s foe in the follow-up to 2008’s The Dark Knight.

Christopher Nolan reveals title of third Batman film and that ëit wonít be the Riddlerí
Christopher Nolanís third Batman film will be called ìThe Dark Knight Risesî and though the Gotham City auteur isnít ready to reveal the villain of his 2012 film, he did eliminate one of the big contenders: ìIt wonít be the Riddler,î Nolan said in an exclusive interview.
Nolan was most eager to talk about the fact that Warner Bros. had agreed with his argument that the film should resist the current 3-D craze and instead use high-definition approaches and IMAX cameras to strike out on a different cinematic path than the stereoscopic technology that, for better or worse, has become the dominant conversation in the blockbuster sector.
As for the title, it shows the writer-directorís intention to keep his Bruce Wayne trilogy tightly stitched together. ìWeíll use many of the same characters as we have all along, and weíll be introducing some new ones,î Nolan said cryptically. I had an odd thought: What if Nolan somehow brings back Harvey Dent? The only reason I even mention it is because, back during post-production on the second film, Nolan told me that the title ìThe Dark Knightî was just as much about Dent and his fall from the status of shining-knight civic crusader. Dent was plainly dead at the end of the last film, though, and Nolan has been intent on keeping his Gotham City film firmly rooted in a gritty gangland realismñ this isnít a franchise that has veered off into the supernatural or even much super-science.
Nolan plays things close to the vest ó heís one of the few filmmakers of his generation who actually does wear a vest ó and he chuckled when I tried to get a few more details out of him. ìOh, you know me, I donít talk.î He began our conversation by comparing it with a visit to the dentistís office. Well, if so, heís a patient who never opens wide. I asked if he could imagine a time when Warner Bros. would let a filmmaker shoot a Batman script where the villain isnít one of the signature creations from the comic books. ìAh, Geoff Boucher, master of the leading question,î he said with a chuckle.
Thatís when he did agree, however, to eliminate a villain candidate, namely Edward Nigma, the green-suited Riddler, who many people (myself included) assumed was the next natural choice. That character could be taken in a lot of directions ó think of Kevin Spaceyís character in ìSevenî as a compass point for one of those dark paths ó but Nolan and his team are going a different way. As with ìDark Knight,î the new film has a script written by Nolan and his brother, Jonah, and itís based on a story by the director and David Goyer. Earlier, I got Nolan to take Mr. Freeze off the list and, yes, this is like pulling teeth but donít think for a minute that I mind. Nolan makes sublime films, and any secrets he wants to keep in place are done so to protect the final product. As for me, Iím hoping now for Hugo Strange who, come to think of it, looks a bit like a dentist.

Batman 3 Has A Title
Big news from the Batman camp in todayís L.A. Times: Christopher Nolan has revealed the name of the third film in his Gotham City trilogy. In July 2012, weíll be queuing for The Dark Knight Rises.
Not only that, but in something of a bombshell, Nolan went on to dispell what many had begun to assume to be a given ñ ìIt wonít be the Riddler,î reports L.A.T.ís blog Hero Complex. So easy to get ahead of yourself, isn’t it? Of course, true to form, the director wouldnít reveal who it would be.
What Nolan seemed most interested in imparting was that heís convinced Warner Bros. to keep telling his story in 2D, and to continue down the path of hi-def IMAX sequences. And heíll get no argument from us on the subject ñ if it ain’t broke, etc.
The post contains one other potentially juicy, enigmatic Nolan quote: ìWeíll use many of the same characters as we have all along, and weíll be introducing some new ones.î From here, you can go down two schools of thought ñ 1) This is a straightforward, non-commital comment. 2) You can subscribe to the oft-chanted mantra that “In comic books, no-one is ever really dead” ñ and we lost two big characters in The Dark Knight. But then again, of course, that doesnít ñ to date ñ really wash with the realistic leanings of the first two films. What was that about getting ahead of ourselves? Pah! Tish! Etc.!

Williams wants crack at ‘Batman’
Robin Williams is urging movie bosses to cast him in the next Batman movie – because he has twice been turned down for parts in the superhero franchise.
Rumours over casting for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming third superhero film have been rife ever since The Dark Knight, starring Heath Ledger as The Joker, hit cinemas in 2008 – with fans speculating over which characters will be re-introduced.
Nolan is said to be considering bringing feline femme fatale Catwoman back for the new movie, along with The Riddler.
Williams is adamant he would make a good replacement for Jim Carrey, who played the fiendish puzzler in 1995’s Batman Forever, because the part was originally offered to him. The funnyman also reveals he was lined up to play The Joker in the original 1989 Batman movie before the role was later handed to Jack Nicholson – and the snubs have made him determined to secure a part in the next installment of the hit franchise.
He tells Empire magazine, “I would do Batman in a second. I’d play The Riddler in the next one, although it would be hard to top Heath Ledger as the villain and I’m a little hairy for tights.
“The Batman films have screwed me twice before: years ago they offered me The Joker and then gave it to Jack Nicholson, then they offered me The Riddler and gave it to Jim Carrey. I’d be like, ‘OK, is this a real offer? If it is, then the answer’s yes. Don’t pump me again motherf**kers’.”

‘Dark Knight’ sequel has an official release date!
Warner Bros. has set July 20, 2012, as the release date for the third Christopher Nolan-directed Batman movie.
The studio has barely begun the process of developing the movie; Nolan is in postproduction on ìInception,î but is hammering out a story with David Goyer.
There is no title as this point and no start date.
July is becoming Nolanís month. ìThe Dark Knightî opened on July 18, 2008, and ìInceptionî debuts July 16.
With Batman 3 on the docket, summer 2012 is shaping up to be one of the greater geek movie seasons. Marvelís ìThe Avengersî is slated to come out May 4, board game adaptation ìBattleshipî leaves port May 25, the ìStar Trekî sequel beams up June 29, and the rebooted ìSpider-Manî swings into theaters on July 3.

Poll: ‘Batman’ No. 1 superhero
Batman has vanquished his comic book rivals Spider-Man and Superman to be named the greatest superhero of all time in a new poll.
The Caped Crusader, who has been fighting crime in comics, on TV and in numerous film adaptations since 1939, beat Peter Parker’s arachnid alter-ego into second place in the survey by SFX.co.uk.
The Man of Steel flew into third place ahead of X-Men hero Wolverine, who clawed his way to number four. Iron Man rounds out the top five.
Dave Golder, editor of SFX.co.uk, says, “No matter how often Batman is reinvented – a noir detective in the 40s, a camp icon in the 60s, a Gothic Knight in the 80s – he’s always the coolest, most iconic and recognizable superhero there is.”

The Dark Knight Returns
Warner Bros. plans to return The Dark Knight to theaters — including IMAX screens — on January 23, 2009, one day after Oscar nominations are announced. The film is virtually certain to receive numerous nominations, and critics appear to regard the late Heath Ledger as a shoo-in for best supporting actor for his role as the Joker. The movie is already available on DVD, but Warner Bros. distribution chief Dan Fellman said in a statement today (Thursday) that the studio “wanted to provide one more opportunity for moviegoers to experience it on the big screen as it was meant to be seen.”

For now, Nolan and Batman will rest in ‘Dark’ glory
LOS ANGELES ó Since he took over the Batman franchise in 2005, Christopher Nolan has produced two No. 1 movies, generated $1.4 billion in worldwide ticket sales and created the second-highest-grossing film of all time in The Dark Knight.
So what’s stopping him from making a third installment?
For starters, most third acts in Hollywood stink. Look at the disappointing threequels for The Godfather, Superman and the original Batman. The conclusions weren’t much better for the more recent Shrek, Spider-Man and Pirates of the Caribbean.
“I don’t know why they’re hard to do,” Nolan says. “Maybe there’s so much expectation to them. But I wouldn’t want to do one if it weren’t going to be as good as the first or second. That’s not respectful to the fans.”
Nolan says that reverence informed the making of The Dark Knight DVD and Blu-ray, out Tuesday. Then on Jan. 23, fans get another chance to see the film on the big screen as it’s re-released the day after Academy Award nominations arrive.
Many consider Heath Ledger, who died of a prescription overdose on Jan. 22, a shoo-in for a supporting-actor nomination. But fans won’t find much more of Ledger’s Joker in DVD extras. There are features on the staging of the film’s elaborate stunts, alternate angles and a segment on the technology behind Batman’s gadgets, but not a single deleted scene or outtake from Ledger’s performance.
Nolan says he wasn’t keeping deleted scenes from fans. “For my past three films, I really haven’t had scenes that didn’t make it in the movie,” he says. “If it’s in the final script, I tend put it on screen.”
Any outtakes, however, were intentionally left off the DVD. “I don’t like outtakes or gag reels,” Nolan says. “I don’t think it’s respectful to the actors, who signed on to have their performance on screen, not the takes that didn’t work out. It discourages actors from going all-out if they think every mistake is going on the disc.”
Nolan says he is jotting notes and doing some rough outlines for a third story, but he hasn’t yet found anything he’s willing to commit to film, despite Warner Bros.’ eagerness to get a new film underway.
“It was obvious when the box office was so big ($530 million domestically) that we had underestimated how ready fans were to reboot the franchise,” he says. “The worst thing you could do now that you’ve gotten the plane back in the air is mess up the landing.”