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The Dark Knight

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by AdamFendelman (talk | contribs) at 00:45, 2 September 2007 (→External links: Added link to among the most accurate, thorough and exclusive coverage of this movie's filming in Chicago). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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The Dark Knight
File:Tdklogo.jpg
Promotional logo
Directed byChristopher Nolan
Written byScreenplay:
Christopher Nolan
Jonathan Nolan
Story:
David S. Goyer
Christopher Nolan
Characters:
Bob Kane
Bill Finger
Jerry Robinson
Produced byChristopher Nolan
Charles Roven
Emma Thomas
StarringChristian Bale
Michael Caine
Heath Ledger
Gary Oldman
Aaron Eckhart
CinematographyWally Pfister
Edited byLee Smith
Music byHans Zimmer
James Newton Howard
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
United States July 18, 2008
United Kingdom July 25, 2008
LanguageEnglish
Budget$150 million (projected)[1]

The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman. The film is the sequel to the 2005 release, Batman Begins, which rebooted the Batman franchise after an eight-year hiatus. Christopher Nolan, director of Batman Begins, continues as the director of the sequel, which stars Christian Bale again as Batman and Heath Ledger opposite Bale as the Joker. The Dark Knight introduces a new version of the Joker, based on the villain's original appearances in comic book lore. The character Batman also becomes more of a detective, dealing with the escalated situation from the end of Batman Begins as well as the dilemma of his vigilante crusade.

Nolan filmed The Dark Knight primarily in Chicago, as he had done in Batman Begins, as well as several other locations in and outside the United States. The director also used an IMAX camera to film four major action sequences, including the Joker's first appearance. The Batsuit was redesigned for the character, including a new cowl that allowed the head to be turned. The first image of the Batsuit appeared online on June 17, 2007.[2] A new vehicle in Nolan's revived series, a recreation of the Batcycle known as the Batpod, is also introduced in the film. Composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, who scored Batman Begins, returned to create a new musical score for The Dark Knight.

The studio has undertaken a viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight in which websites were created so Batman fan collaboration would reveal items such as new screenshots from the film. The film will also be marketed by selling related toys and video games, as well as a direct-to-DVD anime that is set between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight has a tentative release date of July 18, 2008 in the United States[3] and July 25 in the United Kingdom.[4]

Premise

The film will detail Batman, Lieutenant James Gordon, and District Attorney Harvey Dent rounding up the criminals that plague Gotham City. In particular, they will battle a mysterious criminal mastermind known only as The Joker.[5]

Cast and characters

  • Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A billionaire who has dedicated himself to being the vigilante protector of Gotham City in the form of Batman, the Dark Knight. Bale was officially announced in July 2006 to reprise his role as Batman.[6] Bale felt confident in his reprisal because of the positive response to his performance in Batman Begins. He also performed many of his own stunts.[7]
  • Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent / Two-Face:[13] The district attorney of Gotham City and the replacement of Carl Finch. Battling the Joker takes a dark toll on Dent. Eckhart described the character of Harvey Dent as coming from the same world as Batman, but simultaneously being apart from it. "I'm looking for the tension between the two, the similarities between the two. I want to find what's similar to Batman and then find what's opposite to him," Eckhart said.[14] Eckhart will research his approach to the complicated role by studying other personalities.[15] Before Eckhart was cast in February 2007, actors Liev Schreiber,[16] Josh Lucas,[17] and Ryan Phillippe[18] had expressed interest in the role.[19]
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes: A childhood friend of Bruce and one of the few to know he is Batman. She serves as assistant D.A. under Dent. Actress Katie Holmes, who portrayed Rachel Dawes in the previous film, was purported in August 2005 by producer Charles Roven to be signed for The Dark Knight.[20] In January 2007, Holmes had turned down an offer to reprise her role as Rachel Dawes due to scheduling conflicts,[21] and Maggie Gyllenhaal was cast as Rachel in March 2007.[22]

Eric Roberts is playing Sal Maroni, a Mafia kingpin. Bob Hoskins and James Gandolfini were reported to have also auditioned for the part.[23] Anthony Michael Hall has been cast as a television reporter for the GCN.[24] Nestor Carbonell is playing the Mayor of Gotham.[25] Melinda McGraw and Nathan Gamble have been cast as James Gordon's wife and son.[26] During filming, David Banner auditioned for the role of Gamble, a crime lord attempting to gain power, but Michael Jai White was cast instead.[27] United States Senator Patrick Leahy, who has served as an extra in the 1997 Batman & Robin and also voiced himself in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, will have a cameo in The Dark Knight with Bale's Batman and Ledger's Joker.[28]

Production

Before the release of Batman Begins, screenwriter David S. Goyer wrote a treatment for two sequels, introducing the Joker and Harvey Dent. Originally, the Joker would scar Dent during his trial in the third film.[29] On July 31, 2006, Warner Bros. Pictures officially announced the initiation of production for the sequel, titled The Dark Knight.[6] For the film's interpretation of the Joker, the writers spent much time researching his appearances in the comics, before Jonathan Nolan suggested the character's first two appearances as their influence. Nolan, "felt like we've actually come around to something eerily close to those first two stories."[7] Jerry Robinson, one of the co-creators of the basic concept for the Joker in the comics, is involved as a consultant on the portrayal of the character.[30] The Nolan brothers took turns each month to revise the screenplay,[31][32] and were highly secretive. Christopher refused to let Heath Ledger leave his house with a copy of the script.[33]

The Dark Knight is the first live-action Batman film without the word "Batman" in its title, which Christian Bale noted as signaling, "This take on Batman of mine and Chris' is very different from any of the others."[34] Christopher Nolan described the sequel's theme as escalation, continuing how Batman Begins ended, with "things having to get worse before they get better."[35] The director indicated that the film will continue the themes of Batman Begins such as justice vs. revenge and Bruce Wayne's father issues,[36] but will also show more of Batman as a detective, as "[they]'re trying to move the story forward."[7] Bale described Batman's dilemma as whether "[his crusade is] something that has an end? Can he quit and have an ordinary life? The kind of manic intensity someone has to have to maintain the passion and the anger that they felt as a child, takes an effort after awhile, to keep doing that. At some point, you have to exorcise your demons."[37]

Filming

File:Jokerbehingdthaglass.jpg
Director Christopher Nolan (left) and actor Heath Ledger (right) filming a scene in The Dark Knight with an IMAX camera

In October 2006, film location manager Robin Higgs visited Liverpool to scout locations, mainly along the city's waterfront, for filming The Dark Knight. Other scouted locations included Yorkshire, Glasgow, and parts of London.[38] Producer Charles Roven stated in August 2006 that principal photography would begin in March 2007,[39] but filming was pushed back to April.[40] For its IMAX release, Nolan had four major action sequences, including the Joker's introduction, shot in the format. Nolan wished he could have shot the entire film in IMAX, as he felt "if you could take an IMAX camera to Mount Everest or outer space, you could use it in a feature movie."[41]

Warner Bros. chose to film in Chicago for 13 weeks,[42] because Nolan had a "truly remarkable experience" filming part of Batman Begins there.[32] There, the film was entitled Rory's First Kiss to lower the visibility of production, but the local media uncovered the tactic.[43] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times commented on the absurdity of the technique, "Is there a Bat-fan in the world that doesn't know Rory's First Kiss is actually The Dark Knight, which has been filming in Chicago for weeks?" later adding, "When you identify the studio, director and stars, even the most casual movie fan is an imdb.com click away from determining the movie's real title."[44] Production of The Dark Knight in Chicago will generate $45 million in the city's economy and create thousands of jobs.[45]

The crew shot in Chicago from April 18-24 2007[46] for the film's prologue involving the Joker.[47] The crew shot in London in May,[48] and returned to shoot in Chicago from June 9 2007 to early September.[45] According to actor Michael Caine, the film will also be shot in Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Hong Kong.[49] Hong Kong's walled city of Kowloon influenced the Narrows in Batman Begins.[50] Filming will conclude in November.[51]

Design

File:Batpod in TDK.jpg
The Batcycle, also known as the Batpod, for The Dark Knight

For The Dark Knight, designers modified the Batsuit, adding wide elastic banding to help bind the costume to Christian Bale, and suggestive of sophisticated technology. It was constructed from 200 individual pieces of rubber, fiberglass, metallic mesh, and nylon. The new cowl was modelled after a motorcycle helmet and separated from the neck piece, allowing Bale to turn his head left and right and nod up and down. The gauntlets had their razors made retractable and able to be fired.[52]

The movie introduces the Batpod, which is a recreation of the Batcycle. Nathan Crowley, who designed the Tumbler for Batman Begins, designed six models (built by Chris Corbould) for use in the film's production, in anticipation of accidents as well as needed crash scenes. The Batpod is steered by shoulder instead of hand, and the rider's arms are protected by sleeve-like shields. The bike has 508 millimeter (20-inch) front and rear tires, and made to appear as if it is armed with grappling hooks, cannons, and machine guns. The engines are located in the hubs of the wheels, which are set 3 1/2 feet (1067 mm) apart on either side of the tank. The rider lies belly down on the tank, which can move up and down in order to dodge any incoming gunfire that Batman may encounter. Stuntman Jean-Pierre Goy will double for Christian Bale during the riding sequences in The Dark Knight.[53]

Film score

In an October 2006 interview, composer Hans Zimmer confirmed he and James Newton Howard would be returning to score The Dark Knight, teaming up as they did on Batman Begins.[54] Zimmer said that the main Batman theme was purposely introduced at the end of Batman Begins and be fleshed out in the sequel as the character develops.[55] In July 2007, Zimmer reported that he was experimenting with new ideas with the score for The Dark Knight. The composer believed that the character Batman had not yet earned his score in the previous film and that the score would be earned in the sequel. According to Zimmer, "I now want to go and complete that theme... I felt I had a good start, and now it would be really nice to develop that world a little further."[56]

Marketing

In May 2007, the studio launched a teaser page for The Dark Knight.[57] Later in the month, a second teaser page was launched, featuring an image from the fictional political campaign of Harvey Dent, portrayed in the film by Aaron Eckhart, that was captioned, "I Believe in Harvey Dent". A vandalized version of the same page named "I believe in Harvey Dent too" was also set up, where e-mails sent by fans slowly removed pixels, revealing the first official image of the Joker. The page disappeared, replaced with many "Haha"s and a hidden message that said "see you in December". The viral marketing campaign was created by 42 Entertainment.[58] Near the end of July, Warner Brothers launched a new viral site, initially entitled "Anticipation". The site was designed to help fans at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con with an online scavenger hunt. The purpose of the hunt, which took place on July 27, 2007, was to unlock an exclusive Joker publicity photo and teaser trailer on the "Anticipation" site. Clues included a sky-written phone number outside the San Diego Convention Center that sent fans, clad in "Joker" makeup, to locations around the building to find clues.[59] The same day, the teaser was attached to select theatrical prints of The Simpsons Movie.[60]

Mattel will produce toys for The Dark Knight, including toys, role play costumes, board games, puzzles and a special-edition UNO card game. These will be in stores in June 2008.[5] A direct-to-DVD anime will be released, set between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, featuring six original stories introducing classic Batman characters into the fictional universe of the rebooted film series.[61]

References

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