• Susan Wloszczyna writes up Toronto as the Oscar season kickstarter, hears good buzz for Woody Harrelson in “Rampart.” [USA Today]
• Jeff Labrecque chalks Ryan Gosling up as the King of Toronto with two films set for the fest. [Entertainment Weekly]
• Fox Searchlight moves “The Descendants” up five days to November 18. [Variety]
ZOMG! Okay, here it is, in official form. I have to fess up and admit I watched the sketchy bootleg last week. But it’s nice to finally get a clear gander, and really, it’s nicely achieved, I think, given that there likely wasn’t a lot of footage to pull from and this raises the stakes for the series with just a brief exchange. I have no idea what is up with that chant, though. Anyway, check out the teaser trailer for “The Dark Knight Rises,” via the film’s Facebook page, by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump.
Just had to pass this along. Kind of dig it. Courtesy David Chen:
Nothing much going on today, so why not toss up a good ole’ fashioned SEO-baiting post? Those of you planning to take in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” next weekend (which I imagine is most of you), you’ll be delighted to know that, according to Superhero Hype, Warner Bros. will attach the first teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” to prints of the film. Enjoy.
Also hitting next weekend, the story says, will be the teaser poster. I don’t remember there being any teaser posters for “Batman Begins” (unless I’m mistaken), but “The Dark Knight” had that face-paint-on-a-brick-wall thing and the frosted glass Joker image. This could be where they tease the inclusion of Catwoman (and maybe a catch phrase a la “Why So Serious?”). Guessing.
I had an exchange with a friend recently regarding the anticipation for this film. He argued that it’s at a higher fever pitch than any film since “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace,” but I don’t feel that way. Sure, it’s huge amongst the geek set (given the blurred footage of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that floated around two weeks ago). But I still think “Avatar” was a bigger deal. The media (not just online choir-preaching) was pushing the issue on that one pretty hard.
Since a reader already tried to veer off-topic in another thread with this, I might as well get it out of the way. A shot of Tom Hardy as Bane from “The Dark Knight Rises,” revealed through viral marketing that will no doubt be as annoying (if not more so) as it was during the run-up to “The Dark Knight.” The official press release announcing the beginning of shooting went out yesterday, cuing hit-grabbing on every morsel of “information” that will find its way out of the set. Hope you’re all geared up for iPhone videos of production and blurry shots of Gotham police department logos out the Yin Yang!
I didn’t realize there was a Michael Keaton retrospective at the American Cinemateque right around the corner — as in, this weekend — until I read about it in this Geoff Boucher profile of the actor at the LA Times.
Reading the unique look back at Keaton’s career, in his own words, I was reminded how much I genuinely love every performance he’s given and wish we could see more from him than we do these days. Maybe it’s residual admiration from the “Batman” days, as that film is, after all, the first event film that had me (and I’m sure millions of others) obsessing over a release date that couldn’t come soon enough. But Keaton has a spark and a charm that is singular, regardless.
Anyway, the best part for Bat nuts is his recount of the 1989 blockbuster, which saw the actor in a personal funk that he says may have been good for the character.
• The Golden Globes did their thing, with Ricky Gervais’s antics drawing more attention than the sweep for “The Social Network.”
• David Fincher’s film continued its dominance at the Broadcast Film Critics’ Association Awards, which Kris reported from first-hand.
• As if to remind us that there’s more than one film in the race, this week’s BAFTA nominations were ruled by “The King’s Speech” and “Black Swan.”
• Sadly, we bade farewell this week to regular columnist Chad, who left us with his idiosyncratic Best of 2010 list.
I feel compelled to pass this along in the midst of the usual Oscar talk because, well, you know me.
I looks like Anne Hathaway has been confirmed for the role of Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) in Christopher Nolan’s final Batman chapter, “The Dark Knight Rises.” Tom Hardy, meanwhile, who was cast in an unnamed role a few months back, has been confirmed for the role of Bane.
Yep, “Batman Returns” and “Batman & Robin” in one movie, despite a bevy of villains that could have been much more intriguing in this new direction the character has taken. On top of which, as much as I love Hathaway, I don’t like her for Kyle. At all. But you know what they say about opinions…
Anyway, on Hardy (who was speculated for the role of Dr. Hugo Strange in a take on the “Prey” storyline), I’m equal parts intrigued and disappointed by the character choice. Bane was infamously misused in Joel Schumacher’s 1997 craptastic vision, but if you’re looking to close out your trilogy (and three is as far as Nolan ever planned to take it), Bane is a nice character to use — if you’re faithful.
• Off the Carpet picked out the likeliest runners in a highly malleable Best Supporting Actress race.
• We checked in on the Best Animated Feature race, where it seems we may be looking at a three-nominee field after all.
• Away from the awards beat, the week’s big news was the casting of Tom Hardy in Christopher Nolan’s next Batman venture.
• The Academy formally revealed the list of 65 contenders for Best Foreign Language Film.
I kind of don’t like calling it “Batman 3,” but in any case, Mike Fleming is reporting at Deadline that Tom Hardy, star of Christopher Nolan’s “Inception,” has been cast in a “lead role” in the sequel to 2008’s “The Dark Knight.”
Naturally, “insiders are keeping the role secret and won’t even say if he’s up for a villain role, but that seems a reasonable assumption,” Fleming writes. I find myself wondering. I heard an interesting theory (there are many surrounding these films) some time ago that Hardy would be an intriguing choice for actor Basil Karlo, aka Clayface (given his actorly role in “Inception”). All talk, of course.
There is also discussion that, solely based on the fact that the film is shooting in New Orleans, the villain might be bayou-centric…Killer Croc. I’d frankly be all about that if they could pull it off. Part of me wants this third film to embrace the heightened reality of the universe, rather than boil too much further into realism. Supernatural elements could be done in a classy fashion, I think.
In the “sign me up now, please” category today is a recently announced boxed set of Danny Elfman’s music collaborations with filmmaker Tim Burton. I first heard about the limited edition set via the New York Times in a piece that went up on the Arts Beat blog yesterday. It featured a video with Burton and Elfman discussing the monumental “Batman” score — talk about grabbing my attention.
Anyone who knows me knows what role that 1989 superhero extravaganza played in my film-going youth. But the idea that there might be some extra, never-before-heard material waiting in a vault somewhere? Giddiness. Pure giddiness.
But it’s not just “Batman” stuff. The set celebrates “the 25th anniversary of the ingenious collaboration” between the two singular artists, reads a press release that went out today. “[The] numbered box set of 1000…collects expansions of the 13 original scores that Elfman has composed for Burton’s iconic films” and is “a newly produced library of 16 CDs each packaged with artwork by Burton, adding up to more than 19 hours of music.” Wow.
Via FirstShowing:
We’ve gotten word from a reliable inside source with a studio casting grid that The Riddler is listed as a character for Chris Nolan’s highly anticipated to the sequel to The Dark Knight, which is still called Batman 3 at Warner Bros. Even more interesting, the actor currently listed in the same grid to play the assumed villain is none other than Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose status is just listed as “interested.” Let’s all say it together now: Hell. Yes!
Truth? I’d rather not see Joseph Gordon-Levitt in this role. And I doubt that we will, actually. (I say spring for Michael C. Hall.) But it’s nice to have quasi-confirmation on the villain. It wasn’t likely to be anyone else, but at the same time, you’re talking about a Rogues Gallery a mile long and you go back to the well? And I mean, really, they brought elements of the Riddler into the Joker, so it could be slightly stale.
Anyway just for fun, Method Man:
[audio:http://www.incontention.com/audio/theriddler.mp3][Photo: Entertainment Weekly]
It’s not much, nor would it be. Nolan offers his stand-by “I work on one film at a time” line, but the meat of what he says in a forthcoming Empire magazine interview:
“[The third film will be] the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story.”
And:
“No, [the Joker will not return or be recast]. I just don’t feel comfortable about it.”
That ought to get a few foaming-at-the-mouth fans through the next month or so. In the same interview Nolan goes on to talk about adopting Superman to a “modern context” and his position that cross-over mentality goes against the grain of what Superman and Batman are all about. Coming Soon has tons of quotes from the article, which isn’t online right now.
Being the Bat-geek that I am, I couldn’t resist posting this image, stolen from The Film Experience’s Cannes correspondent, Julien. I guess this is one of the advert stills being used before screenings? Guy? Either way, love it:
• Maria Puente on the wide array of villains represented by the year’s Oscar nominations. [USA Today]
• Bill Mechanic tells Sharon Waxman that the Oscarcast will be “emotional.” [The Wrap]
• Not movie related, but FYI, Batman’s is still bigger. [Hero Complex]
• John Horn dutifully writes up the pre-release buzz of “2012.” [Los Angeles Times]
• Pete Hammond on how legends Orson Welles and Tennessee Williams could figure into this year’s Oscar race. [Notes on a Season]
• Years that could have used 10 Best Picture nominees. [Variety]
This one’s for the video game fans, which I understand might be a considerable minority, but this comes out in less than a week. Color me stoked:
(Courtesy: Cinema Blend)
• Comic-Con was the week’s big story, with 25 minutes of footage from “Avatar” its major talking-point so far.
• Meanwhile, the rather less glitzy sci-fi of “District 9” wowed the crowds.
• And Gary Oldman slipped some unexpected news about the next Batman installment.
• Good week for trailers, as both “Alice in Wonderland” and “Bright Star” offered a crazyglimpse of their goods.