The Dark Knight

[Gold Trumpet]

That looks fine to me. Besides the belt, the colors seem to mesh well into something coherent.

[polkablues]

I'm actually totally with GT on this one.  The costume in Begins was a big blocky mess, and despite the fact that Chris Nolan and I still completely disagree on ear placement, this one is a lot better.  As long as Christian Bale can actually move in it, and not look like he's being shuttled around on a wire like the little kid in Pet Sematary, it's an improvement.

[Pubrick]

i couldn't care less about the costume, i don't understand the amount of importance placed on it. it's not pivotal to the story is it? i must be missing something. anyway, the reason it looks like that is cos they've based it on bale's emaciated body.

i also can't take any of those pictures seriously, they are LAUGHABLE. especially the one with the fist in the air, what the hell is that? at least chris o'donnell (who??) had a matching expression on his has-been face to match the ridiculous gesture. Bale looks like he's in a crowded train.

The Dark Knight of Public Transport

[Gold Trumpet]

i couldn't care less about the costume, i don't understand the amount of importance placed on it. it's not pivotal to the story is it? i must be missing something. anyway, the reason it looks like that is cos they've based it on bale's emaciated body.

I think more than any other super hero, Batman is based on his look. His presence is the reflection of darkness and mystique. He's meant to represent the idea of fear for criminals everywhere. No other super hero really banks on that subject. It's usually a focus on super powers. Since Batman has none, he gets a better personifcation (imo).

That's why whether the suit looks goofy or not is actually important.

i also can't take any of those pictures seriously, they are LAUGHABLE. especially the one with the fist in the air, what the hell is that? at least chris o'donnell (who??) had a matching expression on his has-been face to match the ridiculous gesture. Bale looks like he's in a crowded train.

Well, they are fan pictures meant for 15 year old boys. They are what they are.

[matt35mm]

i also can't take any of those pictures seriously, they are LAUGHABLE. especially the one with the fist in the air, what the hell is that? at least chris o'donnell (who??) had a matching expression on his has-been face to match the ridiculous gesture. Bale looks like he's in a crowded train.

Ohhhh thanks for that.  That was the funniest thing I've read in a while.

[MacGuffin]

'Dark Knight' Opening Scenes Reveal 'Radical' New Joker
Director Christopher Nolan talked to MTV News about 'adventurous' character as he helped unveil extended trailer Monday night.
Source: MTV

NEW YORK — If the opening frames of "The Dark Knight" are any indication, Batman will have his hands full come June. The Joker is on the loose, and MTV News has seen just how devilishly maniacal and dangerous he can be.

On Sunday night, a small crowd in New York gathered to watch the first six minutes of director Christopher Nolan's eagerly awaited sequel to "Batman Begins" and, holy extended trailer, the footage did not disappoint. Introduced by the beaming director and displayed on an 80-foot-tall IMAX screen, the opening of the film welcomed Heath Ledger's Joker to the Nolan/Batman universe.

And it was clear from the start, much as you might have loved Jack Nicholson's villain, the purple-clad bad man won't have the time or inclination to dance to Prince this time around. Nolan spoke at length with MTV News immediately prior to and following the special event, clearly proud of his new villain. "I think what Heath is doing is very adventurous," he said. "What he's doing is very radical. It's very much what I wanted. I knew I needed someone really fearless."

The opening sequence — specially filmed in the IMAX format, and set to debut December 14 with prints of "I Am Legend" in theaters — fulfilled a dream for Nolan, who said he had been wanting to shoot in the format for 15 years. "In the finished film, there will be four or five IMAX sequences," Nolan explained. He continued excitedly before the screening: "Everything about doing this in the IMAX format is trying to get that feeling back when I was a little kid when I'd sit in a movie theater and see images that were larger than life. That's what I'm trying to get back to with this material. I felt like introducing the Joker in this way because he's such a huge character [and it] would be a very fun thing to do."

But Nolan also revealed that not all the IMAX scenes will be action-filled. "Some of them are actually quiet scenes which pictorially we thought would be interesting. It's not all the slam-bam scenes," he said.

**BEGIN SPOILERS**

As the lights dimmed, the first images were revealed, of a gleaming and bright Gotham City. The camera moves in close on a building when suddenly the calm is shattered, quite literally, by a broken window. A group of clown-mask-clad robbers are about to seize a bank. They bicker about the mysterious man who has employed them. "Why do they call him the Joker?" one asks another. It's a refrain almost identical to those rooftop thugs who wonder about the mysterious "bat" in the opening frames of Tim Burton's "Batman."

Soon we are inside the bank as a tense standoff is under way. None of the employees resist, save one played by character-actor extraordinaire William Fichtner. This is a mob bank, we learn, and the wrong place to mess with, even for a group of seasoned criminals.

The controlled heist degenerates into a mess quickly enough, with each of the robbers mysteriously getting taken out. But it's not Batman knocking them off — rather, it's one of the robbers themselves. Just as the final two robbers are set to leave, one pulls a gun on the other. "I bet the Joker told you to kill me as soon as we loaded the cash," he says, clearly with the upper hand.

The eerily calm but playful response comes. "No, no, no. He killed the bus driver."

Before the gun-toting clown can finish asking, "What bus driver?," he is taken out by a school bus crashing into the bank. "School's out. Time to go!" screams the sole survivor of the gang.

All that remains for him is the bank employee (Fichtner) lying at his feet. By now we're pretty sure these are going to be his last words: "The criminals in this town used to believe in things. Honor. Respect. What do you believe in?" He screams it again, louder, "What do you believe in?"

And the mask comes off. The grinning, scarred face of the Joker is revealed at last. His face filled the 8-story-high screen as the clip played. "I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you ...," he said. He pauses on the last word: " ... stranger."

As the Joker made his getaway, the sequence ended, but before the lights returned, the audience was treated to quick tantalizing flashes of the rest of the film. The Joker firing what looks to be an automatic weapon in a city street. Police Commissioner Gordon raising an ax dramatically. Batman whizzing by in his batpod. And finally, Gordon lowering the ax, destroying what we see now was the bat signal. Troubled times clearly await in Gotham. And it's clear who's to blame.

**END SPOILERS**

Nolan explained to MTV News that the Joker we meet in "The Dark Knight" is fully formed. Don't look for an origin story here. "To me, the Joker is an absolute," he said. "There are no shades of gray to him — maybe shades of purple. He's unbelievably dark. He bursts in just as he did in the comics."

Though there was no sign of much of the supporting cast in this extended preview, Nolan stressed there's much more to the story. Asked about Aaron Eckhart's Harvey "Two-Face" Dent, the director said "his story is in some ways the backbone of the film. [Bruce Wayne and Harvey] have an interesting relationship. They're friends and rivals."

And what about the caped crusader we left at the end of "Batman Begins"? Nolan explained that "he's a little more sure of himself" in the new film. "We didn't want him sitting around wrestling with the same angst. It's all-new angst," he laughed.

Nolan, who wrapped filming just two weeks ago, said he's shooting for a running time comparable to the first film's 140 minutes. Congratulated on the ambitious slam-bang start to his sequel, MTV News asked if the next six minutes could help but live up to the first. The director smiled and sighed nearly in unison. "That's what I'm working on now."

[edison]

[modage]

NICE.

[Gamblour.]

Yes, I agree. That is fucking coool.

[Pubrick]

best teaser poster 07

perfect for hanging.

[©brad]

and if that weren't cool enough, check this out.

The Dark Knight's Viral Marketing Gets Very Real - Cakes, Cell Phones and All!
December 5, 2007
Source: HollywoodChicago.com
by Alex Billington


On December 3rd a new page appeared at whysoserious.com/steprightup with a hammer game and some teddy bear toys. Each toy had an address on it located in a number of cities around the US. The note on the game told people to go to that address and say their name was "Robin Banks" (get it, "Robbing Banks") and they'd get something there. It was first come, first serve, and each location was a bakery. What they were given was a cake with a phone number written on it. Now here's the best part: inside the cake was an evidence bag (complete with Gotham City Police printing) that contained a cell phone, a charger, a Joker playing card and a note with instructions.



The note read the following:

    "Wow. You really took the cake! Now put the icing on it. Call [number] immediately from this phone and this phone only. Do not give this phone number to anyone else.

    Let's hope your fellow goons come through as well as you. Once all the layers are in place, you'll all get your just desserts. I'm a man of my word."

When the person called the number, a lady answered from Rent-a-Clown to thank the caller. Apparently she said she knew who the caller was and then after hanging up, they received a text message. It read:

    "Good work, clown! Keep this phone charged and with you at all times. Don't call me. I will call you ... eventually."

If you can believe it, the Joker now has real, live people recruited to his army sitting with a phone awaiting his call. I thought this stuff only happened IN movies, not FOR movies!

http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/12/05/the-dark-knights-viral-marketing-gets-very-real-cakes-cell-phones-and-all/

so yeah this definitely gets my vote for best movie marketing ploy of the year. hell, decade.

[Stefen]

Yeah, it's definetely interesting and alot of fun. But I can't help feeling that this movie is just getting cheezier and cheezier. It really feels like Joel Schumaker level here. The best thing about Begins was how serious and dark it was. There were no cakes or white background publicity shots.

I'm hoping this is more to do with the Joker being in it and him being sinister and playful, but I don't know. Begins was my 2nd favorite (not best) movie of 05 (after E. III) but I can't help but feel a doom and gloom feeling about this flick.

Come on Nolan! Prove me wrong!!!

[modage]

i think he will.  firstly i think the publicity shots are not indicative of the tone of the film, just like this wasn't.

neither are the insane(ly awesome) stunts they're pulling which i think will go down as one of the best and most intricate fan involved viral marketing things ever. 

also batman returns was dark as hell and they still had mcdonalds tie-in's.  i think this will definitely be dark as shit (esp judging from the first joker shot released) and they're just trying to sell it a little lighter to the skittish public.  i think the opening scene will def help give a better idea though.  can't wait.

[Pubrick]

will go down as one of the best and most intricate fan involved viral marketing things ever.  

..in the history of the marketing department.

future historians, once they finish printing out ono's entire post history and placing it in their museums right next to the declaration of independence, will look at this old art called "cinema" purely through the legendary golden age of marketing.

"great tales are told of cakes and white backgrounds. numbers to call.. "
"yes, but what about the movie?"
"oh, i havn't seen the movie."

[modage]

haha i work in this shit.  i have to give them props.