There are so many Batman- and Dark Knight-related items floating around, it’s tough to know where to begin:
• With 700 showings already sold out in North America, The Dark Knight looks to be heading toward a $130 million-plus opening weekend. As of last night, it had sold two times as many advance tickets that Spider-Man 3 on MovieTickets.com. [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
• The Dark Knight could dethrone Spider-Man as the highest-grossing comic-book movie of all time — and mark a turning point for superhero films. [The Miami Herald]
• Is The Dark Knight film noir? “The Dark Knight is a crime story, and not all crime stories are film noir,” says director Christopher Nolan. “But I think you’re seeing a desire in storytelling to have moral ambiguity, and that’s been the basis of film noir.” [Newsday, via The Boston Herald]
• Frank Miller’s 1986 The Dark Knight Returns reinvigorated the Batman comic-book franchise. [New York Daily News]
• Jeet Heer delves into those decades-old rumors about the relationship between Batman and Robin, while Steve Murray (aka Chip Zdarsky) points out the ridiculousness of debating the Dynamic Duo’s sexuality. Zdarsky also created the illustration (above) for Heer’s article. [The National Post, The National Post]
• Batman’s archnemesis is more interesting than he is: a history of The Joker. [The Washington Post]
• Who should be the villain in the next movie? Christopher Bahn grades the Batman rogues according to their “Nolan-ability.” [MSNBC]
• Despite its long association with New York, this Gotham City has a Sears Tower. “I never thought of Gotham as Manhattan or Chicago,” says screenwriter Jonathan Nolan. “It’s a vision of an overgrown American metropolis. We didn’t want to make it specific because that’s reductive. Gotham is a city 10 times bigger than any American city. From the very beginning, Chris wasn’t interested in shooting in New York. Chicago wasn’t as shot out on film. It wasn’t as overused.” [Chicago Sun-Times]
• How future Batman movies can live up to The Dark Knight – including “avoid Robin.” [SciFi Scanner]
• Teague Bohlen chronicles the “10 Mental Illnesses Batman Indisputably Has.” [Topless Robot]
• What are the best portrayals of the denizens of Gotham City in film and TV? [MTV Movies Blog]
• Batman can teach us about philosophy, apparently. Oh, well, if Pooh and Piglet can … [The Boston Globe]
• Lorenzo Semple Jr., who wrote the pilot for the campy 1960s Batman TV series, recalls the origins of the show, and the differences between it and the current movies. [Variety]
July 16th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
We’ve been covering Batman-related topics for the last week or so too…
http://www.meanwhilecomics.com
July 16th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Loved the “mental illnesses” one… I don’t know that I’ll ever see Batman the same way again.
As for the next villain? Seems obvious that we’ll be getting more Two-Face in the next installment (unless there’s a huge surprise and Harvey gets killed, but I doubt it)… But I’d guess they’ll throw another villain in the mix too. Perhaps it’ll be The Long Halloween? Maybe Hush? THAT could be interesting.
My greatest wish, however, is for Liam Neeson to come back as Ra’s though. I’d love to see a Lazarus Pit done on the big screen, along with an exploration of Ra’s backstory, the stakes taken to a global level (as the best Ra’s stories have been), and the introduction of Talia. Some might think she’s “too old” for the role, but I can totally picture Catherine Zeta-Jones as Talia.
Man-Bat and Killer Croc could be interesting choices too, but I wonder if they could work in the world Nolan’s created. Aside from minor roles, not unlike Scarecrow in “Begins,” I’d actually prefer seeing them NOT use the usual suspects: Catwoman, Penguin and Riddler). Riddler works best in small doses anyhow. Catwoman might work, but it’s gotta be something totally different from either Michelle Pfeifer’s OR Halle Berry’s takes.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:40 am
Catwoman does need a shot in the arm after that Halle Berry movie and Christian Bale’s Batman need a woman who can keep up with him. I vote Catwoman vs. Talia with Hush in the background.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:41 am
Oh. Or the Riddler. He’s just a great hi-concept villain, so I imagine he could be adapted any number of ways.