I don’t see any way in hell “The Dark Knight” gets a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination and then fails to show up in the Best Picture category. So…if we hear the brothers Nolan and David Goyer’s names uttered…we’ll know.
Tag: David Goyer
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The ‘geek’ review
(Read the official “Dark Knight” review here.)Alright, now that most audiences have begun filing out of cinemas across the country, I figure it is time to offer up The Geek Review of “The Dark Knight.”
Bear in mind, this review/column/joygasm will be filled with spoilers. If you want to go into the film fresh (as indeed you should — despite the overall lack of major surprises), then steer clear. Most of the spoilerish stuff I’ll save for after the jump, but for now, I’d like to get into the filmmakers’ handling of the source material.
Christopher Nolan and company have always been aware of the necessity for being faithful to the seven decades of material available to them when digging into this franchise. What has kept the series fresh and not simply a cut-and-paste effort has been a willingness to test those fan-set boundaries and still get away with some rather brazen decisions.
“Batman Begins” was filled to the brim with such instances: Utilizing Ra’s al Ghul as a creation point of sorts for the Batman. Introducing a love interest previously absent from the canon and revealing Batman’s secret identity to her. Destroying Wayne Manor. Etc.
With that in mind, “The Dark Knight” has its fair share of departures that still work in the hyper-real-world setting of the franchise, and, presumably, will be allowed to pass, if not cheered outright by fans seeing the film this weekend.
Spoilers coming! You have been warned!
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‘Dark Knight’ interviews with cast and crew
Warner Bros. publicity has made the round table interviews from last weekend’s “Dark Knight” junket available. There’s a lot of good, in-depth stuff from Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart and the rest.
There is, however, a big hole in everything, because you can’t help but wish Heath Ledger was there to discuss his approach to a character that seems to be an award-worthy swan song.
Keep in mind that these are junketers…so sometimes you get a few doosey questions (usually the first person out of the gate). But everyone weathers the storm well enough. Pay attention to the end of the Bale file; he talks briefly about Michael Mann’s upcoming “Public Enemies” and McG’s “Terminator Salvation.”
There is also a slight spoiler around the 11:00 mark of the Aaron Eckhart interview, however, one that you might want to skip. It isn’t specific, but it’s enough information that could be irritating to know before seeing the film. Enjoy.
Christopher Nolan (writer/director):
[audio:Nolan-TDKjunket.mp3]
Download
Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman):
[audio:Bale-TDKjunket.mp3]
Download
Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent/Two-Face):
[audio:Eckhart-TDKjunket.mp3]
DownloadMore after the jump, including Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jonathan Nolan!
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Uh…is it a cleansing by fire for Dent rather than acid?
A second look at “Iron Man” with the masses (indeed, the MASSES) last night afforded a look at the new trailer for “The Dark Knight” on the big screen, rather than dealing with that clumsy cell phone video that’s out there.Two things hit me when I was watching this:
1) Wally Pfister is all but guaranteed a second nomination for his work on the series. The opening hero shot, dizzyingly high above and looking down a Chicago skyscraper, has to be the coolest shot in the genre.
2) I think the brothers Nolan may have taken some liberties with the Two-Face origin.
The information has always been scattered out there that, in David Goyer and Christopher Nolan’s vision of a trilogy, the Joker would be the one responsible for the mangling of Harvey Dent’s face and, therefore, the impetus for the creation of Two-Face. (Aaron Eckhart plays Dent in the film. He was profiled in the LA Times this weekend).
I don’t know if this has panned out, but if it has, I am still not 100% comfortable with it. In the comics, of course, Dent is scarred when a mob boss tosses a vial of acid his way, most interestingly laid out by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale in “The Long Halloween.” In that story, the boss is Sal Maroni (portrayed by Eric Roberts in “The Dark Knight,” by the way).
No, I’m not beholden to comic-to-screen loyalty every step of the way. “Batman Begins” was, after all, a brilliant mish-mash of a couple of comic sources, and we already know that Nolan and company are taking the mash-up approach to “The Dark Knight,” using a little of Batman #1, a little of “The Long Halloween,” this and that, this and that. Fair enough. But I’ve never been fully comfortable with one of the rogues gallery providing the genesis for another.
Watching the new trailer again last night, I noticed a brief shot of what looked to be Harvey held down, the left side of his face pressed against a floor covered in gasoline. It was quick, but I think I know what I saw.