Tagged: Batman Begins

‘Batman: Gotham Knight’ Review

‘Batman: Gotham Knight’ Review

As we await the gourmet meal that The Dark Knight promises to be, a worthwhile hors d’ouevre to truly whet your appetite is Batman: Gotham Knight — a DC Universe Animated Original Movie DVD arriving in stores July 8th.

As director Christopher Nolan prepared his audacious sequel to Batman Begins, someone got the great idea to unleash the crew who brought you the direct-to-DVD Animatrix (arguably superior to the Matrix sequels themselves) on the caped crusader. The result starts intriguing, than grows to become involving, then engrossing, and finally inspired and inspiring.

Three renowned anime studios (Madhouse, Production LG, and Studio 4°C) were given six short scripts – by comic and film scripters Brian Azzarello & Greg Rucka, Alan Burnett, Jordan Goldberg, David S. Goyer, and Josh Olson – and carte blanche (within budgetary reason). They assigned anime directors Yasuhiro Aoki, Futoshi Higashide, Toshiyuki Kubooka, Hiroshi Morioka, and Shojiro Nishimi one tale each, then sat back and savored.

The result is an eye- and mind-full. Although the cover copy says the stories are interlocking, they are actually held together by the power of Batman’s personality, psychology, and myth – making them a perfect set-up for the live action movie which appears ten days later. More accurately, the animated thrillers are cumulative – starting with character revelations and finally exploding into full-blown mini-action movies.

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‘Dark Knight’ Gamerpics and Theme Free on Xbox LIVE

‘Dark Knight’ Gamerpics and Theme Free on Xbox LIVE

I woke up this morning depressed that there’s no videogame based on The Dark Knight coming out around the time of the movie. Luckily, the hope that they’re taking extra time to make a good movie-based game sometime down the road gave me the energy to turn on my system.

Joy!

I turned on my system to find that Warner Bros. marketing executives decided to distribute free Xbox gamerpics and themes to promote the upcoming Batman Begins sequel.

For the unitiated, gamerpics are pictures attached to your Xbox online profile to represent you when playing other gamers. Themes are basically customizable desktop graphics for your game system. On the Xbox LIVE service, there’s a wide selection of both, some for free, some for a price.

Recent superhero themes were based on the Iron Man movie-based game, The Incredible Hulk movie and The Incredible Hulk movie-based game. In an unusual reversal, non-U.S. fans got exclusive Hulk ones that left their American opponents jealous.

Don’t worry PlayStation 3 fans, according to some leaked photos available around the ‘Net, you’ll see a similar system sometime this year.

Adam West Discusses Current ‘Dark Knight’ Franchise

Adam West Discusses Current ‘Dark Knight’ Franchise

While I’m not a big fan of the way this conversation was framed, it’s worth noting that the crew at ComicBookMovie.com recently chatted with actor Adam West, the Batman of the campy 1960s television series, about the current state of the character’s TV and movie franchise.

Sure, it’s no surprise to anyone that West views Batman Begins and its upcoming sequel, The Dark Knight, as a far darker, grittier take on the character he portrayed in the groovy TV series and subsequent (even more campy) film, Batman: The Movie, but his take on the original series provides some interesting food for thought.

"It was silly and funny. With the villains, especially, it was almost Shakespearian because of the bizarre costuming and makeup," he recalls. "In those days we didn’t rely on special effects as much so everyone was challenged to use their imaginations."

West also provides an update of sorts as to the state of the TV series availability on DVD:

"They only thing I’ve heard is that for some time they’ve been trying to cut a deal as far as ownership and return — basically who gets what slice of the pie. When that is worked out, then I guess you’ll be able to get it."

The full chat (which is actually pretty sparse and framed sort of, well… rudely) is available over at ComicBookMovie.com.

ComicMix Six: The Worst Movies Adapted From Comic Books

ComicMix Six: The Worst Movies Adapted From Comic Books

It should come as no surprise that Hollywood studios often turn to the pages of comic books and graphic novels for source material — especially for action-packed summer releases like Iron Man.

Some of these films, such as Iron Man, Batman Begins, Spider-Man 2 or X-Men 2, achieve a great deal of commerical and critical success. In addition, they’re also embraced by comic book fans as great examples of what comic book movies should be.

Unfortunately, there are also those other comics-to-film adaptations that disappoint critics, mainstream audiences and comic book fans alike. These films, whether due to bad writing, inept direction, gross miscasting, or a combination of factors, are often not only bad comic book adaptations, but bad movies in general.

Yet, even with Iron Man‘s phenomenal success, it’s important to remember these bad films. These particular movies occupy a special place in the hierarchy of bad filmmaking and deserve to be highlighted — especially so you can avoid seeing them if you haven’t already.

Here then, in no particular order, is the ComicMix Six list of the Worst Movies Adapted From Comic Books.

 

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NY Times Goes Behind the Scenes With ‘The Dark Knight’

NY Times Goes Behind the Scenes With ‘The Dark Knight’

The Sunday edition of The New York Times included a special bonus for comic book and movie fans: a great in-depth article with Christopher Nolan, director of Batman Begins and its upcoming sequel, The Dark Knight.

Feeling grim that you missed it? As the Joker would say in The Dark Knight promo poster "Why so serious?" You can read the article on the Times website.

Highlights from the article include:

  • The Dark Knight  cost $180 million
  • Nolan on the previous Batman films: "If the people who are making the film aren’t taking it seriously, why should we?"
  • The cast and crew commenting on the late Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker
  • Gotham will have a new bright, shiny look to contrast when the city is thrown into chaos
  • Nolan’s home is just down the street from 1960s TV Batcave entrance
  • 30 minutes of the movie were shot with IMAX cameras, including the entire opening (a first for any major motion picture)
Rumor: Who is Making the ‘Dark Knight’ Videogame?

Rumor: Who is Making the ‘Dark Knight’ Videogame?

As sure as peanut butter and jelly, when a big-budget summer movie comes out, there’s usually a videogame tie-in. Images and footage of the Iron Man movie game have made the rounds as early as last July’s Electronic Entertainment Expo and San Diego Comic-Con. But we’ve heard nothing about the game based on the upcoming The Dark Knight movie — which is odd, given that Batman Begins sold well and received decent reviews.

Posters on the DC Comics message boards have wondered the same thing. The speculation is that Electronic Arts will once again publish the game based on Christian Bale’s version of the Caped Crusader. EA recently acquired developer Pandemic Studios, who’ve bucked the industry trend by producing decent licensed games (such as the Star Wars: Battlefront series). While searching Pandemic’s site, you can find a page recruiting for people to work on a mysterious "Project B."

"B" as in "Batman," maybe?

"Somewhere out there, someone’s working on my game."

First Look: ‘Batman: Gotham Knight’ Video

First Look: ‘Batman: Gotham Knight’ Video

 

A preview has hit the ‘Net of Batman: Gotham Knight, the straight-to-DVD animated anthology intended to bridge the gap between the big-screen feature film Batman Begins and its upcoming sequel The Dark Knight.

You can watch the preview below, which includes commentary from ComicMix columnist (and former Batman Group Editor) Dennis O’Neil

 

 

The creative team for the film includes such Batman comics notables as Bruce W. Timm, who directs the anthology, as well as Brian Azzarello, David S. Goyer and Greg Rucka. According to IMDb, actor Christian Bale will voice Batman.

Confirmed characters in the feature include Deadshot, Killer Croc, the Scarecrow and Man-Bat.

Batman: Gotham Knight is scheduled for release this year, but no specific date has been announced.

(via SHH)

Heath Ledger Found Dead – Updated

Heath Ledger Found Dead – Updated

MSNBC and TMZ.com are reporting that actor Heath Ledger was found dead in a Manhattan apartment today. Prescription pills were found at the scene of his death.

Ledger, who was scheduled to appear in this summer’s Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight, was also nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in Brokeback Mountain.

He had a two-year old daughter with actress Michelle Williams, with whom he co-starred in Brokeback Mountain.

UPDATE: Police are now stating that the actor’s death appears to be a suicide. While media sources originally reported that the apartment in which Ledger was found belonged to actress Mary-Kate Olsen, a spokesperson for Olsen has now denied this report.

Justice League Film Delayed Due to ‘Script Issues’

Justice League Film Delayed Due to ‘Script Issues’

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed today that filming of the George Miller-helmed Justice League will be delayed by Warner Bros. until after the writers’ strike. In its rationale for the delay, the studio cited a need for script rewrites as well as uncertainty regarding the film’s eligibility for tax incentives in Australia, where filming was planned.

"The feature was to have been a tentpole special effects extravaganza for Warners. Word leaked in the fall that the script, by Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney, was good but that subsequent passes, including the latest by Miller, had pacing issues and took the project in directions the studio wasn’t happy with."

According to the Reporter, the Justice League delay comes as welcome news to Christopher Nolan, director of Batman Begins and its upcoming sequel, The Dark Knight. Nolan was unhappy with the significant differences between the Batman character planned for the League and the Batman of his current franchise.

New promotion for The Dark Knight puts celebrities on the spot

New promotion for The Dark Knight puts celebrities on the spot

Seriously, what criminal mastermind thinks this stuff up?

Last month, singer John Mayer found himself on the receiving end of a clever new promotion for The Dark Knight, the upcoming sequel to Batman Begins. Apparently, the crew at Warner Bros. has targeted celebrities with the next phase of their marketing push for the July 2008 release, sending packages from "Gotham Novelties, Inc." to unsuspecting recipients around the entertainment industry. Within the box, Mayer found a Joker playing card and promotional shirt, both scrawled in red with the character’s taglines.

"High five, marketing genius…" wrote Mayer in a post on his blog about the package.

Warner Bros. efforts in the realm of viral marketing for "Dark Knight" have become the stuff of InterWebs legends, with many sites praising the strategies and cataloging the complicated steps necessary to complete certain promotions.

More photos of the package and Mayer’s thoughts on the new promotion can be found on his site.