Archive for June 2011
Christian Bale on set video from The Dark Knight Rises #TDKR
Batman Arkham City Box Art (again)
Batman Arkham City Cover Art
Since Arkham City failed to garner the ecstasies of unqualified praise they expected at E3, a day seldom goes by without some new announcement or a reminder that they have downloadable wallpaper. The latest cry for attention is the release of “official” box artwork for the Playstation version of the game.
It’s nice. More of the city than in the Xbox art they released a few weeks ago. But the impression of insecurity is troubling. Batman: Arkham Asylum was an unprecedented critical and commercial success. Maybe it went to Rocksteady’s head. They are assured of sales if even a fraction of satisfied AA players buy the new game, but their initial call for “What imagery made you go wow” indicates they may have had unrealistic expectations. A sequel will never have the impact of a first installment because it is not new. Rocksteady can only damage the game by continued acting out because they encountered pushback.
Related:
More Batman than Arkham City on AC Artwork
Batman: Arkham City announces another playable character
More on Catwoman in Arkham City
Arkham City Epic Fail on Catwoman Costume
Bruce Wayne’s latest hot ride: The Lamborghini Aventador
Bruce Wayne's new Lamborghini in The Dark Knight Rises
The tank-like “tumbler” of Batman Begins wasn’t every fan’s idea of a Batmobile, but fans took heart from the fact that Bruce Wayne drove a Lamborghini Murcielago tat was “only a custom paint job away from being a Batmobile.” Since Begins chronicled Batman’s early years and foreshadowed what we all knew was to come, we all knew Bruce would see the light. When the tumbler was destroyed in The Dark Knight, fans quipped that since “the tumbler is now tumbler giblets, can we get a good car?”
It seemed likely that we would, since Bruce’s Murcielago had much more screen time in The Dark Knight, and a Lamborghini concept car has been circulated since January as the possible model for the new Batmobile for The Dark Knight Rises.
It turns out Bruce Wayne will be the one driving a new Lamborghini in TDKR: the Aventador. Autoblog has this exclusive
Bruce Wayne has lots of toys at his disposal. Billions of dollars and Lucius Fox mean a near unlimited supply of pure awesome. Still, Wayne can’t play Batman during daylight hours, so his ride has to be a tad more subtle than The Tumbler. In Batman: The Dark Night, Bruce Wayne drove a Lamborghini Murciélago LP640, which he used to save someone else’s life. We won’t lie, that scene caused the room to get a little misty. Thankfully for Wayne, his billions allow a new bull to take the Murci’s place, and a Lamborghini Aventador appears to be the ride of choice for Gotham’s favorite playboy.
Charlie Shulman, a member of the Luxury4Play.com forums, obtained photos of the Gotham-plated Aventador on the set of the new film. More »
Related:
DC Retroactive: Batman – The ’80s
Cover for Batman Retroactive - The '80s by Jerry Bingham & Carlos Badilla.
This is the cover for Batman Retroactive from the 1980s by Jerry Bingham and Carlos Badilla.
Retroactive is a play on “RetCon, short for Retroactive Continuity, a fan idiom for rewriting the history the comics have established thus far. It is something DC Comics is in dire need of if they are to continue.
Retroactive is a limited series DC Comics will be running this summer with old writers and artists telling “lost tale” of the earlier eras and continuities. It is part of a reboot of all characters and relaunch of all titles, using old writers and artists to reconnect with their past and address the massive loss of readers in time to take advantage of The Dark Knight Rises next summer.
DC’s inability to take advantage of the unprecedented popularity generated by The Dark Knight and its viral in 2008 is widely speculated to have brought about the restructuring which placed the comics division under Warner Bros. control rather than the Time Warner publishing arm. A second failure could well mean a permanent shutdown of print comics, rather than allow the rogue division to go on damaging valuable corporate properties. More »
Related
Retroactive: Can DC Comics Win Back Lost Readers?
DC Looking To Relaunch Everything In September
The Dark Knight Rises Production Updates: Photos and Video from Wollaton Hall/Wayne Manor
After weeks of fanboys and fansites “biting down hard” on
unsubstantiated rumors, obviously fake virals, and some deliberate misdirection in actor interviews, batman-news.com has broken the first real news from the set of Wayne Manor at Wollaton Hall in Nottingham. The following video depicts a minor accident at the entrance, and pictures of the set for the iconic graveyard on the grounds of Wayne Manor where Bruce’s parents and ancestors are buried. More »
The Dark Knight Rises Location Shooting for Wayne Manor Graveyard, Wollaton Hall in Nottingham (batman-news.com)
Overheard on the Social Networks: Catwoman Wardrobe Malfunction
Anne Hathaway is Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises
From Facebook
Dear Lord,
In re “The Dark Knight Rises rumor: Anne Hathaway Wardrobe Malfunction ‘Too much Catwoman for the costume’”
Let it be true. Amen.
Related:
Anne Hathaway Wardrobe Malfunction – too much Catwoman for the costume?
DC Retroactive: Batman – The ’70s
Cover for Batman Retroactive - The '70s by Wes Hartman and Tom Mandrake (via IGN)
The cover for Batman Retroactive from the 70s (Wes Hartman, Tom Mandrake), a limited series DC Comics will be running this summer with old writers and artists telling “lost tale” of the earlier eras and continuities.
Retroactive, from Retroactive Continuity, is fan parlance for rewriting the history the comics have written thus far. It is something DC Comics is in dire need of if they are to survive. Retroactive is part of the DC Comics reboot attempting to reconnect with their past, addressing the massive loss of readers resulting from long-term mishandling of Batman and related characters in time to take advantage of mainstream interest that will be generated by Christopher Nolan’s third and final Batman outing The Dark Knight Rises.
DC’s inability to take advantage of the unprecedented popularity generated by The Dark Knight and its viral in 2008 is widely speculated to have brought about the restructuring which placed the comics division under Warner Bros. control rather than the Time Warner publishing arm. A second failure could well mean a permanent shutdown of print comics, rather than allow the rogue division to go on damaging valuable corporate properties. More »
Related
Retroactive: Can DC Comics Win Back Lost Readers?
DC Looking To Relaunch Everything In September
Love the Batmobile but seriously, green?
Every week Gotham Trending tracks the most popular Batman subjects making the internet buzz. The Batmobile is hot stuff. It’s pretty much the only Bat-Element which can pull even a little focus from Catwoman, Catwoman’s Costume, Catwoman’s hair length, Anne Hathaway, Anne Hathaway bursting the seams on her Catwoman costume, etc.
Nevertheless, some of the links out there on the Dark Knight Rises Batmobile are just using the iconic car’s popularity to game a little search engine attention “LOOK, IT’S THE BATMOBILE BATMOBILE! Now that we have your attention, have you considered term life insurance?” Consider this article which paints a vivid picture for a few sentences, only to hope the new Batmobile will be more environmentally friendly than its predecessors.
The Bat mobile (sic). The Batmobile is a movie car with its design rooted in the imagination of 5-year-old boys around the world. It is the quintessential ultimate ride — a custom vehicle of epic proportions only a superhero really should drive. The history of the Batmobile is a long one, with roots in the comic book series but real life working wheels on pavement where Batman movies and television shows have been filmed. More »
What is particularly silly is this case is TDKR followers tweeting and retweeting a link, not even to the original article but to the page in a wiki summarizing online articles.
Top posts of the week: Batmobile, Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway in costume and on the set
- First peak at the Dark Knight Rises Batmobile
- Batmobile for the Dark Knight Rises to be revealed. Is it the Audi R-18?
- DC Reboot Catwoman #1 – Wrong costume is a warning sign to fans but characterization sounds like an improvement
- First look at Christian Bale in The Dark Knight Rises Batsuit #TDKR #Batman
- First look at Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) on the set of The Dark Knight Rises #TDKR
- Catwoman / Anne Hathaway Updates from The Dark Knight Rises set, sort of
- Anne Hathaway Wardrobe Malfunction – too much Catwoman for the costume?
- Batman Relaunch cover leaked already? Twitter seems to think so but…
- Catwoman slow reveal in #thefirerises viral?
- Batman: Arkham City announces another playable character
Top search terms:
1. dark knight rises batmobile
2. dc reboot/dc reboot costumes
3. the dark knight rises
RIP Gene Colan: 1926-2011
While Gene Colan was best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles included Daredevil, Howard the Duck and The Tomb of Dracula, he was also a Batman artist at DC and drew the Gotham City characters including Batman and Catwoman during one of its most influential periods:
Catwoman / Anne Hathaway Updates from The Dark Knight Rises set, sort of
A few sites are circulating some quotes from an alleged interview with Anne Hathaway from a Swedish website called Nojes Bladet in which she discusses her role of Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, the physical demands and her costume.
These quotes are supposedly “nonsensical” because they’ve been translated from Swedish. But they sound suspiciously like a costume department quotes from last week’s alleged stuntman accident and “wardrobe malfunction” that might have been translated into Swedish and then back again, so it’s doubtful that Anne Hathaway herself actually figured into the interview.
There certainly isn’t anything new:
“That is when she is asked to compare that role with his next in “The Dark Knight Rises” which she confirms that she accepts cat costume in his first superhero movie.
She is more than well aware that the role involves comparisons with Michelle Pfeiffer , Halle Berry and Eartha Kitt .
“It makes you work harder, I take a chance not that something may work. But there is a certain satisfaction in that, towards the end of the day did everything.”
Reports from the film recording confirms that Anne Hathaway hardly been idle. She is reported to have torn down dozens of Catwoman costumes, and she recognizes that the role has meant a lot of physical training.
“Yes, really.”
But then she looks down at the table and turns on itself. You can tell that she lost weight, but she would not tell you how she trained for the role of Catwoman. “That’s a little embarrassing,” she says, laughing nervously. “It’s a bit personal. I’d rather talk about than acting on my training.”
There IS news from the set, however. Rumors say “Bale and Hathaway” had a fight. We hope that means their characters Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle in a scripted scene and not the result of Anne crossing into Christian’s eye light.
Twitter’s @jonmillington gets credit for both the observation and the joke. @KeithBCovington and others cite rumors that Liam Neeson was also spotted on the set, however that has become an addendum on every set-spy rumor, credible and not. If half were true, he’d be there more than Bale, more than Nolan, arriving before the make-up crew and leaving after the caterers.
Related:
Anne Hathaway Wardrobe Malfunction – too much Catwoman for the costume?
The Dark Knight writer David S. Goyer teams with Showtime for adaptation of 100 bullets
David S. Goyer, screenwriter Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises
David S. Goyer, co-writer of the screenplay for The Dark Knight Rises as well as the previous Christopher Nolan Batman offerings: Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, is partnering with Showtime to adapt the comic/graphic novel 100 Bullets
From Deadline.com
Comic book/graphic novel adaptation master David S. Goyer is taking on 100 Bullets as a potential TV series. I hear Goyer is attached to write and executive produce a drama series project for Showtime based on the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning comic book that published 100 issues between 1999 and 2009, all written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eduardo Risso, whose credits include the Batman and Superman comics. Warner Bros. TV, whose sibling DC Comics published 100 Bullets through its Vertigo imprint, is producing.
David S. Goyer co-wrote the screenplay for all 3 Christopher Nolan Batman films, including the in-production The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises on location: Wayne Manor at Wollaton Hall
The Dark Knight Rises on location at Wollaton Hall
While the mansion at Osterly Park was used for several Wayne Manor interiors for Christopher Nolan’s third and final Batman pic The Dark Knight Rises, it is Wollaton Hall in Nottingham which will represent the exterior and grounds.
Sources say TDKR is still prepping, with filming not likely to start until June 25.
Or maybe not.
The secrecy surrounding the production is certainly part of the fun for many Batman fans, and those thinking themselves in the know have jumped to some fanciful conclusions. Sometimes it is in response to misinformation deliberately set in their path, and Gotham Trending suspects the important filming is in the can before we hear a whisper.
What is known is that the first pictures of Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne) and Michael Caine (Alfred Pennyworth) on the set were recently released on the ‘net, and presumed “unguarded comments” of Caine’s during the Cars 2 press junket has set off another round of “spoiler warnings” about imagined plot points thus revealed.
This is the fifth such flutter, previous ones having been set off by “unguarded comments” of Gary Oldman’s during an early interview, by an object seen near the Gotham General Hospital set at Delta Point in Croyden, the casting of Liam Neeson, and believing Nolan’s assistant director was Hugo Strange.
The Dark Knight Rises casting directors in Pittsburgh
The Dark Knight Rises location shooting in Pittsburgh
Auditions for The Dark Knight Rises extras wrapped up this past weekend in Pittsburgh. WPXI Pittsburgh interviewed Tammy Smith and Nancy Mosser, who were both in charge of the extras casting. The ladies talked about why a large budget movie like The Dark Knight Rises uses a working title, and they touched on some of the roles the extras will be playing. More from batman-news.com »
Overheard at Wizard World
It's hard to take Batman LIVE seriously. Schumacher-tacky costumes, performances reminiscent of a children's birthday party, fans who dismiss critics as "haters"
All you need to know about Batman LIVE is the ones that like it describe anyone who doesn’t as “haters”.
Related:
MotorAuthority.com “Gordon Murray’s Batmobile is Awful” video.
