• The week started off with “How to Train Your Dragon” predictably dominating the slate of Annie Award nominations.
• Kris sat down with Leonardo DiCaprio and got Martin Scorsese on the phone for a large two–part piece on the actor and his impressive year.
• He also caught up with actor Ed Harris to talk “The Way Back” and director Peter Weir.
• It was good and bad news for The Weinstein Company as “Blue Valentine” won its ratings appeal with the MPAA, while “The King’s Speech”‘s was shot down.
If you’ve been itching for more “Inception,” this week will likely be a good one for you. The DVD/Blu-ray hits shelves today, packed with plenty of features that’ll keep you geek-gasming all the way into the holiday and through awards season.
One item that’s been on the market for a few months now is “Inception: The Shooting Script.” I received the book in the mail this afternoon and was pleasantly surprised to find a longish 10-page interview with Christopher Nolan as conducted by his brother (and “The Dark Knight” co-writer) Jonathan.
Okay, it’s not THAT insightful. And it has a lot of the usual talking points (Christopher) Nolan exhausted on the press tour for the film. But there are nuggets here and there and it’s pretty cool to have Jonathan conduct the thing seeing as he’s been hearing about the idea from his brother for the last 10 years.
• Jeffrey Wells, meanwhile, re-posts his thoughts on James Solomon’s screenplay. [Hollywood Elsewhere]
• Pete Hammond reports extensively from Wednesday’s “Tangled” event on the Disney lot. [Deadline]
• Tim Gray on Venice’s unique role in film history. [Variety]
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.
A boatload of people turned out last night for the Beverly Hills reception in honor of “The Dark Knight.” I hesitate to say “star-studded,” since the principle cast and crew were the most recognizable parties. But suffice it to say the premises was packed with little breathing room and plenty of adoring press.
Producer Charles Roven and screenwriter Jonathan Nolan were the first to show, side-by-side and quick to engage with some of us ready to pounce. Roven, who I interviewed recently for a Variety profile on Heath Ledger (publishing this weekend), was trying to take it all in stride. The only film he’s ever produced that landed Oscar’s attention was “Twelve Monkeys” in 1995 (nominations for Best Costume Design and Brad Pitt for Best Supporting Actor). He’s welcome to the idea that “The Dark Knight” could be his first trip to the party as a nominee but he’s almost more interested in discussing what’s on the horizon, namely Tom Tykwer’s “The International,” which has been with Roven for 16 years of development and will finally find its way to screens in February.
Jonathan Nolan, meanwhile, proved to be a welcome five-minute diversion. A real guy’s guy with a swift Chicago accent, he clearly delights in a deep discussion about the Caped Crusader. His brother Christopher gave him a copy of Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns” when he was 13 years old and the Bat has been with him ever since. “I’ve been into Spider-Man and Wolverine, but for me, it’s always been Batman,” he said of the character that has brought him into the limelight of sought-after screenwriters. I asked the obligatory “will there be a third one” question, and taking on the role of fan first, he offered, “I hope so. Given what happened to Heath [Ledger], it’s hard to say, ‘Yeah, let’s do another one!’ But I hope so.”
So…I was watching Joel Schumacher’s “Batman & Robin” on TBS last night (I know…I’m so sorry). Midway through, this line of dialogue between Michael Gough’s Alfred and George Clooney’s Bruce Wayne stuck out as an incredibly insightful blip in Akiva Goldsman’s otherwise wretched attempt at a fourth installment in the franchise:
Death and chance stole your parents. But rather than become a victim, you have done everything in your power to control the fates. For what is Batman if not an effort to master the chaos that sweeps our world, an attempt to control death itself?
It’s the sort of line that would have been at home in the Nolan brothers’ insightful, rich adaptation, an adaptation that probably deserves more Oscar attention than any other aspect of “The Dark Knight.” Very curious.
Of course, the moment is sullied not 120 seconds later with this keeper:
My name is Freeze. Learn it well. For it is the chilling sound of your doom.
Cue the Coolio blacklight embarrassment. Sigh…
I’m heading out the door to hit the Wrath of the Con party tonight, but before I go, I thought I’d link out to the news items worth reading from Comic-Con this weekend.
At Cinematical, Elisabeth Rappe writes up the “Wolf Man” panel, which included the revelation of the film’s first trailer. She also calls Marvel’s new animated film “Wolverine vs. Hulk” a “blast.”
At The Movie Blog, John Campea kicks back with the ladies of “Bitch Slap” (who’ve certainly made the rounds) for an interview at the Marriott. There’s also some nice video of Entertainment Weekly’s Visionaries panel including Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Zack Snyder and Judd Apatow. Strange collective.
At io9, Charlie Anders writes up the footage-less “Lost” panel with some video tossed in for good measure.
At Screen Rant, Vic Holtreman live blogs the “Terminator Salvation” panel.
At /Film, Peter Sciretta passes on Zack Snyder’s revelation during the “Watchmen” panel that the director would be interested in a “Dark Knight Returns” movie. Who wouldn’t? There is also the exciting news that Jonathan Nolan was confirmed as the lead writer on “Terminator Salvation” by McG himself.
That should be plenty to chew on. I’m outta here.
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]
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Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman):
[audio:Bale-TDKjunket.mp3]
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Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent/Two-Face):
[audio:Eckhart-TDKjunket.mp3]
Download
More after the jump, including Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jonathan Nolan!