THE DARK KNIGHT RISES – CFQ Spotlight Podcast 3:29

Heading for a Fall: Bane (Tom Hardy, left) faces off against the Batman (Christian Bale) in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Heading for a Fall: Bane (Tom Hardy, left) faces off against the Batman (Christian Bale) in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Homicidal maniac in a well-crafted movie: great entertainment. Homicidal maniac in an actual movie theater… Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons grapple with the horrific news out of Aurora, discussing whether and how it should relate to the film that was being screened, Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, and also how these events should affect Spotlight’s geekly mandate of discussing the film in-depth.
Then, they do go on to analyze Nolan’s final chapter to his universally celebrated Batman trilogy, evaluating how the decision to keep the Batman (Christian Bale) off-stage for long stretches of the film effect our expectations, whether the choice of Bane (Tom Hardy) and Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) as villains gave the masked crimefighter a suitable roster of adversaries, and whether this last tale provides a fitting summation to the themes established and explored from the very first film.

[serialposts]

'Dark Kight Rises' in EW

DKR_ew_CVREntertainment Weekly features Christian Bale as The Batman from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES on its latest cover.
Regarding his role as the iconic character in the final film of the Christopher Nolan trilogy, the actor told the magazine:

“I can tell you the truth because I’m done with it; I felt immense pressure. And I think it’s a good pressure, because you owe it to the films — and the people’s expectations — to make great work.”

Slightly Spoilerific nuggets from the feature article includes the known-for- some-time fact that eight years have elapsed for Bruce Wayne since THE DARK KNIGHT. It confirms that the suspected plot element that the self-sacrificing deception  that the Batman and James Gordon (Gary Oldman) used to sheild the public from the truth of the murderous actions of respected D.A. Harvey Dent will come back to haunt them, as Bane (Tom Hardy) comes to spread anarchy in Gotham City.
Also, the Bat Cave will return to the screen, presumably fitted with high tech gear.  
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES  in standard and IMAX theaters on July 20th from Warner Brothers Pictures.
DKR_EW_B_BM
The website above also features two more new photos from the film.

1st Official Pic of Selina Kyle

Warner Brothers Pictures released this first official picture of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.
Looks to me like she’s riding the “Bat Pod” motorcycle from THE DARK KNIGHT. Is she working with the Batman or just stealing his ride?

Click to Enlarge
Click to Enlarge

'Dark Knight Rises' — Teaser


Due to formating issues this won’t play on our front page.
Advertisment will play first.
This first look at THE DARK KNIGHT RISES uses a mix of footage from BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT as well as new scenes of hospitalized James Gordon (Gary Oldman) speaking to an offscreen presence (Christian Bale), imploring him that “the Batman must come back”.
“What if he doesn’t exist anymore?” is the answer.
We then see glimpses of Bane (Tom Hardy) and a water-drenched, battered Batman struggling to face his opponent.
Looks like the stakes are high in this final Batman film from director  Christopher Nolan.

From Warner Brothers Pictures: 

Click to Enlarge
Click to Enlarge

Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises” is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy,
Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar® winner Christian Bale (“The Fighter”) again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake.
Returning to the main cast, Oscar® winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules”) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) reprises the role of Lucius Fox.
The screenplay is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on “Batman Begins” and the record-breaking blockbuster “The Dark Knight.” The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. The film is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.

Video via GorillaNation.

'The Dark Knight Rises' Begins

According to their Press Release:

batman_begins_CUPrincipal photography has begun on Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises,” the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar® winner Christian Bale (“The Fighter”) again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake.
Returning to the main cast, Oscar® winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules”) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) reprises the role of Lucius Fox.
In helming “The Dark Knight Rises,” Christopher Nolan is utilizing IMAX® cameras even more extensively than he did on “The Dark Knight,” which had marked the first time ever that a major feature film was partially shot with IMAX® cameras. The results were so spectacular that the director wanted to expand the use of the large-format cameras for this film.
The screenplay for “The Dark Knight Rises” is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is being produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on “Batman Begins” and the record-breaking blockbuster “The Dark Knight.” The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. “The Dark Knight” is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.
Behind the scenes, “The Dark Knight Rises” reunites the director with several of his longtime collaborators, all of whom worked together on the “The Dark Knight.” The creative team includes director of photography Wally Pfister, who recently won an Oscar® for his work on Nolan’s “Inception”; production designer Nathan Crowley; editor Lee Smith; and Oscar®-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (“Topsy-Turvy”). In addition, Paul Franklin and Chris Corbould, who both won Oscars® for the effects in “Inception,” will supervise the visual and special effects, respectively. The music will be composed by Oscar® winner Hans Zimmer (“The Lion King”).
The locations for “The Dark Knight Rises” span three continents and include the American cities of Pittsburgh, New York and Los Angeles, as well as sites in India, England and Scotland.
“The Dark Knight Rises” is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures. Slated for release on July 20, 2012, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Anne Hathaway Confirms Catwoman?

From the Hollywood Reporter comes this item, in which it appears that Oscar presenter Anne Hathaway reveals that her Selina Kyle role in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is indeed Catwoman,
“I was waiting to hear back to hear if I’d been cast as Catwoman, and my manager called me and said, ‘Are you sitting down?’ and I just go, oh my god, here it comes. She’s like, ‘You’re about to hear something you’ll never hear again in your whole life. I’m like, ‘OK.’ And she goes, ‘You’ve been asked to host the Oscars.’ I’m like, ‘I’m Catwoman! What?! Oh, oh, OK. What?’
Clip via Batman-News.com

Nolan Indicates 'Dark Knight Rises' Last

batman_DK1In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Christopher Nolan appeared to confirm that THE DARK KNIGHT RISES will be the final Batman film for  him and star Christian Bale.
The actor recently indicated that the third film would be his last, unless Nolan said otherwise. Happily discussing  the success of his SF thiller INCEPTION, Christopher Nolan said the following:

 
“I feel very glad that I’m doing another Batman film. I think it would have been daunting to sit down and write an original script after INCEPTION. I love working within the realm and rules of our Batman world. It’s kind of nice to have someplace to go that I’m super-excited about.”
 I must say that I’m glad — I’m very, very glad — to be embarking on the last chapter of our Batman saga without any sense of obligation or duty to the studio. They did very well with INCEPTION. So I’m able to go into finishing our story in a very enthusiastic way.”

A trilogy seems to a fitting arc for the n/Bale Batman films, though I can’t  imagine that Warner Brothers would let the franchise lie fallow for too long. Fortunately, the character is strong enough to draw interest in many different interpetations, and  not simply by specific director/actor teamings. However,  it’s hard to imagine a better combination than Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale, who seem so in-synch in their approach.

'Dark Knight Rises' Bale's Last Batman

christian_baleE! Online’s UK site is carrying the completely unsurprising news that THE DARK KNIGHT RISES will almost certainly be the last time that Christian Bale will play The Batman.
  The actor did give some indication that he might don the cape and cowl again if director Christopher Nolan asked. “…  Unless Chris says different, this will be the last time I’m playing Batman,” said Bale in a video interview.
As Chris Nolan has stated that RISES is his last planned film, that will likely be the end of the Nolan/Bale Batman era.
As for the myriad rumors that fly around the franchise, Christan Bale offers the following good advice:

“Until Chris tells me, I don’t believe it…  It’s gotta be from his mouth, or else I don’t really know.”

See the video at the link above for more information, including a bit of chat about THE FIGHTER.

'Dark Knight' Sequel – No Riddler

bbnew14Christopher Nolan revealed to The L.A. Times  that his third Batman film will be entitled THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, and that it won’t feature The Riddler, as many news outlets, both print and online, have speculated.
Not willing to go into detail about plot or characters Nolan did say: ” “We’ll use many of the same characters as we have all along, and we’ll be introducing some new ones.”
Christopher Nolan also eliminated Mr. Freeze as a potential villian, although it would be hard to imagine that sci-fi/fantasy character fitting into his more real-world grounded version of the venerable DC Comics character. 
However, he was more open about his plans about how to shoot the THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, confirming that Warner Brothers has agreed to his desire to not make the film in 3-D, and instead focus on image quality and the use of IMAX cameras, which worked quite well in selected scenes of THE DARK KNIGHT.