In Contention

Tag: The Dark Knight

  • Christian Bale arrested and released for “verbal assault”

    Christian Bale leaves Belgravia Police Station in central LondonFINAL UPDATE (12:02 p.m.): TMZ.com (I know — I’m sorry) has a post up that has slipped through the cracks indicating that the “assault” was in fact a “verbal assault,” indicating that sucha thing is a crime in England with multiple classes. I must have been guilty of a crime every night at the pub this spring, but oh well.

    They’ve also posted this video of Bale on a UK talk show from Monday, seemingly with much more serious things on his mind.

    This is the last time I’m updating this post. The whole thing seems to have been blown somewhat out of proportion (I’m certainly a part of that frenzy — obviously) and it’s best to let it lie until we get a full version of the facts.

    EARLIER (11:08 a.m.): Thanks to reader Casey, who points us to this People.com story including a statement from Bale’s attorney and a denial of the allegations from the actor:

    “Christian Bale attended a London police station today, on a voluntary basis, in order to assist with an allegation that had been made against him to the police by his mother and sister,” the star’s lawyers said in the statement. “Mr. Bale who denies the allegation, co-operated throughout, gave his account in full of the events in question, and has left the station without any charge being made against him by the police. At this time, there will be no further comment by Mr. Bale.”

    EARLIER STILL: By now, many of you may have come across the Christian Bale story that is erupting out of London this morning. As far as I can tell, the Associated Press went to press first (picked up by Variety here).

    In a nutshell, the “Dark Knight” star was accused of (not charged with) assaulting his mother, Jenny, 61, and sister, Sharon, 40, just prior to the London premiere of the film. He was held for more than four hours by Scotland Yard and, according to The Sun, he was “released on bail to a date in September pending further inquiries.”

    Obviously this is a very cloudy situation at the moment full of indications that could easily be bigger on the page than they are in reality. Apparently the incident occurred two days ago, but police allowed Bale to attend the premiere of the film last night in Leicester Square.

    I agree with David Poland’s sentiments, which speak to the question mark nature of a story with far too many holes at the moment:

    What does “assault” mean? What kind of confrontation led to the conflict? What drives family members to a place where they will go to the police, knowing that their family member, a public figure, will be dragged through the mud, perhaps for teh [sic] rest of his life?

    And personally, I feel like headlines such as “Did Batman beat up his mother and sister?” (EDIT: since changed to “assault”), while accurate on the face (in so far as the question), and certainly controversial (gotta amp up that traffic), are somewhat disrespectful.

    Ditto good journalists jumping to conclusions.

    Just me…

  • WB: “We had more prints in Bel Air on Saturday night than Cleveland.”

    Go buy a friggin’ ticket you elitist hordes, you.

  • Jonathan Nolan (kind of) confirms the unthinkable

    Aaron Eckhart in The Dark KnightBIG “DARK KNIGHT” SPOILERS ON THE WAY!

    You’ve been warned…

    I just listened to this interview with “The Dark Knight” screenwriter Jonathan Nolan, conducted by Creative Screenwriting’s Jeff Goldsmith.  In it, Nolan vaguely confirms what I’ve been railing against all weekend: the fact that Harvey Dent is dead at the end of the film.

    It’s maybe a third of the way through the interview.  And it’s covered in ambiguity.  But he doesn’t come out and agree with the way Jeff poses the question, per se.

    Alright…as I said, I’ve been of the mind that this “death” has been far too weak to hold.  But if indeed it does, let me get this straight.  You kill off — in an entirely ambiguous way — the most important foil dynamic of the franchise aside from the Joker?  This is impotent.  This is foolhardy.  This doesn’t work, and in part, it forces me to completely rethink my view of the film.

    I don’t believe it is unnecessary to do away with the character.  I don’t think he needed to have his own free reign as a major villain in some other film.  I’m fine with utilizing Dent as a device to carry across the themes of this film and moving on.  But not in the last 30 fucking minutes of the flick; not cramming one of the most unique and complex Bat villains into a screen time that really pillages the potential.

    If…IF……well then, I’ll need to mull that over for a bit.

  • ‘Batman 3’ (and beyond) casting call

    BatmanOnce again…allow me to geek out for a bit…

    (SPOILERS FOR “THE DARK KNIGHT” IN THE BODY OF THIS POST — NO WORRIES AFTER THE JUMP.)

    Now that the record-breaking hysteria has (somewhat) subsided regarding “The Dark Knight,” I thought I’d take a moment to forecast the third installment (and perhaps future installments) of Christopher Nolan’s franchise.

    First thing’s first. What to call the next film? Ideas bounced around by fans have included tips of the hat to other aspects of the universe (“Batman Beyond,” “The Dark Knight Returns,” etc.). My personal hope was always that the Dark Knight moniker would somehow be a part of the franchise, and thankfully, they went there with the second installment.

    I kind of think taking Frank Miller’s title for part three would be brilliant (especially considering the nature of the final moments of “The Dark Knight”). But the answer here would, of course, have everything to do with the content of the film.

    At this point, we don’t have a clear idea of what to expect from the next film. “Batman Begins” scribe David Goyer (who shares a story credit on “Knight”) formulated the blueprints for a trilogy with Nolan at the outset, and we’re pretty sure Two-Face was supposed to play a considerable role in the next phase. Despite all the chatter that would have you believe Harvey Dent is dead at the end of “Knight,” that early talk of Aaron Eckhart’s contract being for two films couldn’t have been coming from thin air.

    Beyond that, the wonderful thing about the Batman mythos is that there is an array — a “rogues gallery” — of villains to choose from. And certainly, there are seven decades of story development to glean for a solid denouement to the trilogy.

    The Riddler is staring everyone in the face as the most likely possibility. And I really like the idea of handing it over to the character of Coleman Reese (as mentioned by one of our readers last week). Christopher Nolan is supposedly not a fan of the Penguin, and we all want Catwoman to pop up somehow. But that’s a whole other can of worms.

    If I had my druthers, I’d introduce the Riddler and the Penguin (as a mafia figure…nothing major), with Two-Face running rampant as the most dangerous aspect of the trio. But as I said (and we all know), any combination is possible.

    So with that, below you’ll find my personal casting call for the potential rogues we could see in a third film or even future installments of a franchise that could go from here to eternity. Of course, we won’t be seeing all of these cats pop up, but the sky is the limit with this universe.

    Here’s my perspective…

    (more…)

  • What will the Bat’s Monday gross be?

    Warner Bros. Pictures\' The Dark KnightI was just talking with someone who went to see “The Dark Knight” at a noon IMAX show today and was met with a sold out crowd. So I’m wondering, what will the Monday gross turn out to be, and how many more records are left for the Bat to claim?

    The 4-day total is obviously going to fall. “Spider-Man 3” raked in $10.2 million on the Monday following release on the way to a $161.4 million 4-day.

    “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” meanwhile, holds the 5-day record with $172.8 million. If “Knight” even matches Spidey’s Monday number (and it’s probably safe to say it’ll zip past it), that will already put the film within $4 million of the 5-day title.

    I’m not a whiz with box office research, but I don’t remember the last time a Friday release claimed the 5-day total. The top 10 on that front is littered with Wednesday releases.

    It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the world responds to the hoopla and, of course, the specter of Heath Ledger. Personally, I’d love to see the film threaten a billion bucks worldwide, but with a mere $166 million outside the States for “Batman Begins,” that’s obviously a long shot.

    It’ll also be interesting to see what film takes the opening weekend crown from “The Dark Knight.” Looking on the horizon, I can’t even see a pretender to that throne.

    “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen?” Doubtful. The opening for the original wasn’t as big as many anticipated and nothing about that film’s quality would suggest a rush to the box offices for part two.

    “Terminator: Salvation?” Maybe. But that would take some marketing razzle-dazzle to say the least.

    No, it may take a second “Iron Man,” a fourth “Shrek” or a third “Toy Story” to even come close. ut we’re surprised each and every year, so let’s just sit back and enjoy the ride.

  • Sasha Stone hearts ‘Dark Knight’

    Christian Bale and Heath Ledger in The Dark KnightI did not expect Awards Daily’s Sasha Stone to love “The Dark Knight” as much as she apparently did. Even in conversations recently, we both seemed pretty sure it wouldn’t be her cup of tea.

    Well…she’s done cartwheels:

    I am about the least likely person to take to this kind of movie and it is, far and away, the best superhero movie I’ve seen (though that isn’t really saying much). Anyway, there are very few films I could and would go right back in line and see it again – this is one of them.

  • What’s the best superhero movie of all time?

    Christopher Reeve in Superman: The MovieWell it looks like those of us who were banking on more than $145 million for “The Dark Knight”‘s opening weekend were spot-on, as news of numbers pushing past $150 million rolls in. Meanwhile, last week’s poll had most voters expecting more than $350 million for a total domestic gross. I’d say that’s quite reachable now. So pat yourselves on the back.

    This week, in lieu of a better idea, I thought I’d toss up the ole’ “what’s the best comic book movie ever” question. But in order to keep it down to 10 choices (including an “other” option), I chose films sporting a Rotten Tomatoes rating of at least 85%. To my understandable shock, this does not include “Batman Begins,” for instance, but does, however, include “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”

    But that’s our cross-section. “The Dark Knight” is currently holding steady with the best rating (94%), while “Iron Man” and “Superman: The Movie” tie for a close second at 93%.

    Also, note that this is not merely a comics-to-film question. It narrows things down to the superhero sub-genre (and those derived from existing source material at that). Otherwise, I’m sure we’d all like to give shout-outs to “A History of Violence,” “Road to Perdition” and the like.

    Have at it, though, and let us know what you think. If you want to chime in for a film not represented, let us know in the comments section below!

  • Saturday total for TDK looking like $48 million

    Warner Bros. Pictures\' The Dark KnightAt least that’s what Warner Bros. sources are telling Nikki Finke (who stays up around the clock, presumably cramming down Cheetos and Cokes, waiting on people to tell her what to write…as always).

    Of course, as she indicates, the film failed to best the $53.3 million Saturday record that “Spider-Man 3” currently holds, but second place ain’t bad on that count. HOWEVER…

    Finke’s sources also tell her that the film’s estimated total North American 3-day haul “looks to be $153M-$155M.” Gee…that sounds kinda familiar, doesn’t it?

    We’ll of course hold off on crapping ourselves until someone speaks up who doesn’t blow with the winds of studio muscled change. But I expect the figures should be close to these.

  • Can Ledger’s brilliance truly move AMPAS?

    Heath Ledger in The Dark KnightAfter seeing “The Dark Knight” three times now, I am convinced that Heath Ledger was an actor of extraordinary ability who might have gone on to the heights of a Marlon Brando or Jack Nicholson.  Sure, that is easy to say now that he is gone, but consider his all too brief filmography.

    Ledger’s work in “Monsters Ball” was superb, a haunting presence through the film, while his performance in “Brokeback Mountain” was among the finest achievements in screen acting in the last 10 years. How in God’s name did he lose the Oscar? That last scene alone still breaks my heart, knowing Ennis will live out his days alone having lost the love of his life.  Thank God for the New York Film Critics Circle, which honored him with their best actor prize in 2005.

    As a drug addict in the little seen but powerful “Candy” he was nothing less than astonishing, and now we arrive at “The Dark Knight.”  What is remarkable about those performances is that each is radically and wildly different from the other, bold and daring, taking performance art to the very edge.

    Imagine signing on to play the Joker and knowing that not long ago Jack Nicholson knocked the role out of the poark and was adored by millions…my God…the pressure?? The dilemma for Ledger must have been similar to Robert De Niro portraying a young Vito Corleone in “The Godgfather Part II,” knowing that the eyes of the film-going world would be watching him closely after Marlon Brando’s Oscar-winning efforts two years prior.

    And of course, Ledger is brilliant in the role, dominating the film in every way.  The Oscar talk is moot. His performance will live forever and if the Academy has the courage to at least nominate him, I will be pleased.

    Does it matter that the performance came in a comic book adaptation? For me, it’s all the more reason to nominate him and celebrate what he accomplished, because he took a role well known to millions and evolved it, made it his own, smeared it with a deeply psychotic spin that works to perfection.

    I personally don’t even expect him to be nominated.  Many great performances have missed Oscar’s call (as outlined in this space many times).  But they still live on in history.

    I hope I’m wrong.

  • Good

    I’m really glad Jeffrey Wells joins my sentiments in calling Terry Gilliam out on his idiotic comments from last week regarding Warner Bros’ position on Heath Ledger in the marketing of “The Dark Knight.” Calls him a “bonehead.” Perfect.

  • White hat, black hat, white knight, dark knight

    The Huffington Post’s Alex Remington is now the second person to compare “The Dark Knight” to the western genre (Anne Thompson was the first).  I like this idea and suddenly want to mull it over.  Next viewing I’ll keep it in mind.

  • TDK, FYI

    Christian Bale in The Dark KnightMuch as I admire his spunk, I think Awards Daily contributor Ryan Adams might be getting ahead of himself with his Oscar hopes for “The Dark Knight.”

    In a recent post, he labels the categories of Best Makeup, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Supporting Actor and Best Visual Effects as “virtual certainties.” The other categories mentioned he feels are Oscar-worthy enough and have a good shot as well.

    Best Visual Effects isn’t going to happen. This branch abandoned practical effects considerations long ago. The makeup, meanwhile, could find some trouble from aging and transformative efforts later in the season, so I wouldn’t call it a sure thing either.

    We can all, I think, assume that Heath Ledger is on his way to a nod, and, indeed, the sound work in the film is top notch and worthy of serious consideration. The rest…nah. In fact, I think the most hastily over-predicted category for this film so far has been Best Art Direction, where Nathan Crowely scored at the BAFTAs in 2005 for “Batman Begins.”

    There aren’t a lot of manufactured sets here. All the stuff that looks like a creation was even, for the most part, a practical set. London’s Battersea Power Station really shows up well when used in the film, for instance, and looks like a manifestation. But it’s not.

    Lee Smith’s film editing is certainly a possibility, as he took things up a notch (to say the least) in this effort, but James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer will not be eligible for their brillaint score because of that pesky rule Rule 16b.

    (By the way, speaking of the boys, anyone else just LOVE that creepy two-note string theme for the Joker that is a clever inversion of the Batman theme?)

    I would, however, call Wally Pfister’s work behind the camera this film’s closest thing to a lock. The lensers have tons of respect for this guy (I’d say his nod in 2005 was a surprise) and given the technological steps taken here with the IMAX technology — the sheer balls of lugging those cameras around for these action sequences — I’d say he’s in.

    And of course — I’ve always felt Christopher Nolan has a play here. But I’m not willing to go there. Yet.

    Just my two cents.

  • $66 million

    Are we ready to start believing that this film is going to be the highest grossing film of the year yet?  Smashing the opening day record is a hell of a start.

  • Not recommended

    Christian Bale in The Dark KnightWatching “The Dark Knight” — a two-and-a-half-hour dense piece of textured, cinematic professionalism — twice in the same 24-hour stretch with only two hours’ worth of sleep in your tank I thought I was gonna fall out at the 9:30 last night.

    The film holds up, though like any film packed with such ambition, there are some scars that poke through once you know what is coming. I’ve decided my issues with length have little to do with the length and everything to do with the structure of what was clearly a complicated, but necessary, string of events.

    And of course, Ledger’s performance settles in more and more, proving to be, probably, one of the most controlled portrayals I think I’ve ever seen. Watch his eyes in the mafia meeting.

    Gamble: “You’re crazy.”

    Joker: “I’m not. No…I’m not.”

    Chilling.

    Meanwhile, the debate rages for me and my friends. But I don’t want to spoil it here, so see my comment in the geek review.

  • The ‘geek’ review

    Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight(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!

    (more…)

  • Rounding up the big day’s Bat news

    Warner Bros. Pictures' The Dark KnightToday’s the big day. I’ve embarrassed myself for over a month with consistent “Dark Knight” coverage, and now, I guess everyone gets to see what the fuss was all about. You can find my review here.

    But before we fade off into the good night of Bat overload (save for whatever box office news is coming in the next three days), I figured it best to offer up a nice primer of the net’s news and views on the subject.

    I guess it’s best to revert to the ole’ Oscar Round-up format (which I swear I’ll be implementing again soon enough as a regular feature):

    • Christopher Nolan talks us through the IMAX process in an audio slideshow. [New York Times]
    • Manohla Dargis gives the film a thumbs up, draws a parallel to David Fincher’s “Zodiac.” [New York Times]
    • MSN grasps at straws for coverage, offers a photo gallery of Bat mantle-donning thespians. [MSN]
    • Veronica Schmidt has coverage of the Black Carpet premiere in New York. [The Times of London]
    • Michael Moran corners visual effects supervisor Nick Davis. [Blockbuster Buzz]
    • Wally Pfister gets a nice write-up for his troubles behind those cumbersome IMAX cameras. [American Cinematographer]
    • Fellow Bat-enthusiast Ryan Adams makes some fan space for the day of the ‘Dark.’ [Awards Daily]
    • Jeffrey Wells stays up past his bedtime to hammer out a few thoughts. His verdict: Ledger’s portrayal belongs in the pantheon of great screen villainy. [Hollywood Elsewhere]
    • David Poland can’t let it go, striving to be the only one with “perspective” in this whole pre-sales records media frenzy. [The Hot Blog]
    • Tom O’Neil douses the awards hopes of Heath Ledger. (I still don’t understand why people actually think he’ll win…and the bulk of his Oscar nod talk began right here, so…). [Gold Derby]
    • Amid tons of Bat coverage (and typical bullshit “exclusives”), Nikki Finke reports shattered midnight show records for the film. [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
    • Christopher Campbell offers 10 lam excuses for not seeing the film this weekend. [Spout Blog]
    • And at the time of this writing, she’s holding steady at 94%. [Rotten Tomatoes]

  • REVIEW: “The Dark Knight” (***1/2)

    Warner Bros. Pictures' The Dark KnightPerhaps the summer’s most anticipated film lands in theaters today to the record-breaking advance ticket sales of dedicated fans and those newly curious alike. But what awaits in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” isn’t merely a study in the psychology of a nearly 70-year-old character tailored to the familiar; instead audiences will be met with an accessible tale of deep and painful truths, a unique vision of hope in the face of seemingly aimless villainy, a new staple alongside the greatest of tragedies — in any medium.

    Picking up right where 2005’s “Batman Begins” left off, Gotham City is rebuilding itself in the wake of criminal warfare, infrastructural corruption and weakened, nearly vanquished public spirits. Right off the bat (no pun intended), the film begins to make good on the promise of Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) at the end of the first film — escalation — as a new criminal mastermind has begun to systematically relieve the mob of its accrued earnings, bank by bank, and with a taste for theatricality.

    The Joker (Heath Ledger) is revealed in the film’s opening scene (unveiled in December as an IMAX “prequel” with prints of “I Am Legend”) as a methodical, macabre merchant of chaos, yes, but with an ingenious sort of order and preparation that seems to fly in the face of his later insistence on a subscription to bedlam. But his own hypocrisies aren’t on the agenda, as he later exhibits to dramatic effect.

    Gotham itself has been provided a sliver of hope amongst the former and upcoming strife of the city in the form of district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), a “white knight” grinding away at the underbelly of the city and systematically cleansing the streets. The vigilantism of the outlaw Batman is on the table as well, but Dent is smart enough to understand that Gotham is responsible for the Dark Knight’s existence, having sat silent as the city slowly rotted from within.

    (more…)

  • Oh, and putting a number to it…

    I’m gonna go with $153 million for the opening weekend haul of “The Dark Knight.” I could be grossly off the mark, but I also kind of feel like a lot of the big box office naysayers are part of some strange backlash against all the pre-sales story madness. It could just as easily land around $135 million, but I sense a record-breaker, so that’s my call.

    We’ll see. To those hitting up the late screenings, enjoy the show.