WB Hopeful For Many More Years of Batman Films February 5, 2009 5:48 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Movies, News, Sherlock Holmes, Superman, The Dark Knight, Warner Bros.add a comment
During Time Warner’s earnings call yesterday, CEO Jeff Bewkes said that the studio would like to ensure Batman and Superman and perhaps Sherlock Holmes become long-lasting franchises, such as what they have/had with Harry Potter:
“We look at Harry Potter. It’s fantastic to have franchises that last that long. We want to do that with Batman and Superman and perhaps Sherlock Holmes. The sequels are as good, with new characters added, as were the originals. That wasn’t the case in the years ago. Warners has more tentpoles as an on-going strategy taht very much lifts its distribution and performance. We think that’s going to hold up our slate in the 2009 – 2010 period. We’ve got four more big tentpoles coming this year.”
via /Film
Academy Disqualifies The Dark Knight Score November 13, 2008 6:31 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Movies, Music, News, Soundtracks, The Dark Knight.1 comment so far
Because the films music cue sheet lists five names as composers, the soundtrack to The Dark Knight
Sources inside the committee said that the big issue was the fact that five names were listed as composers on the music cue sheet, the official studio document that specifies every piece of music (along with its duration and copyright owner) in the film.
Zimmer said, in an interview with Variety prior to this week’s Acad action, that listing multiple names on the cue sheet was a way of financially rewarding parts of the music team who helped make the overall work successful. (Performing-rights societies like ASCAP and BMI use the cue sheet to distribute royalties to composers.)
Source: Variety
Nolan’s Return to Batman Contingent on a Good Story October 27, 2008 2:35 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Movies, News, The Dark Knight.1 comment so far
In the first part of its three-part interview with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan, the LA Times asks Nolan whether he’ll be back for a third film:
Could you see actually yourself not making the third Batman film?
Christopher Nolan: Well … let me think how to put this. There are two things to be said. One is the emphasis on story. What’s the story? Is there a story that’s going to keep me emotionally invested for the couple of years that it will take to make another one? That’s the overriding question. On a more superficial level, I have to ask the question: How many good third movies in a franchise can people name? [Laughs.] At the same time, in taking on the second one, we had the challenge of trying to make a great second movie, and there haven’t been too many of those either. It’s all about the story really. If the story is there, everything is possible. I hope that was a suitably slippery answer.
Earlier in the interview, Nolan was asked for his thoughts on the worldwide box office success of the film, and whether or not he expected such a great reaction to it:
“The Dark Knight” is closing in on $1 billion. How do you get your arms around that kind of success?
Nolan: I can’t get my arms around it, to be quite frank. It’s mystifying. It’s terrific but at the same time it’s a little abstract, the numbers are so big. The biggest thrill for me would be, with the number of people who have gone to see the film, how “The Dark Knight” stood on the shoulders of the first film, how we were able to build the audience up and build the story up from the first film. That was really exciting to see. We were all pretty happy with the performance of the first film but so we really didn’t know, “Where does it go from there?” For it to become such a phenomenon is extraordinarily gratifying. I mean, I’ve spent now like six years or something working on Batman films. It becomes an important part of your life; you become very obsessive about it, and it’s pretty fun when there are other people sharing your obsession and going to see the film a dozen times or whatever.Wrapping your arms around the scale of the success, as you ask, I don’t find that possible really. There’s something liberating in knowing that my next film, whatever it is, isn’t going to make as much money [laughter]. I don’t have to try for years.
Read the rest of the first part of the interview here.
Source: LA Times
WB Puts “Superman” On Hold; Confirms Reboot August 22, 2008 12:35 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Movies, News, Superman, Wonder Woman.3 comments
Just a few days after it was reported that Warner Bros. was debating behind-the-scenes about how they should proceed with the planned Superman Returns sequel Superman: Man of Steel, the Wall Street Journal has an article up with Jeff Robinov, Warner Bros. Pictures Group President, in which he tells the paper that the studio is indeed looking to reintroduce Superman:
Warner Bros. also put on hold plans for another movie starring multiple superheroes — known as “Batman vs. Superman” — after the $215 million “Superman Returns,” which had disappointing box-office returns, didn’t please executives. “‘Superman’ didn’t quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to,” says Mr. Robinov. “It didn’t position the character the way he needed to be positioned.” “Had ‘Superman’ worked in 2006, we would have had a movie for Christmas of this year or 2009,” he adds. “But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all.”
Now I’ve never had a problem with Superman Returns, but I understand Warner’s feelings here. Then again, this article is a little confusing as I had not realized that Batman vs. Superman was as much a possibility as is led on here. Here are a few more highlights from the article, including the studio’s future plans with their various DC properties:
“By 2011, Mr. Robinov plans for DC Comics to supply the material for up to two of the six to eight tent-pole films he hopes Warner Bros. will have in the pipeline by then,” the article states.
The studio is set to announce its plans for future DC movies in the next month. For now, though, it is focused on releasing four comic-book films in the next three years, including a third Batman film, a new film reintroducing Superman, and two movies focusing on other DC Comics characters. Movies featuring Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman are all in active development.
With “Batman vs. Superman” and “Justice League” stalled, Warner Bros. has quietly adopted Marvel’s model of releasing a single film for each character, and then using those movies and their sequels to build up to a multicharacter film. “Along those lines, we have been developing every DC character that we own,” Mr. Robinov says.
Robinov also noted that he wants the next batch of superhero movies to take a darker more brooding tone, similar to the studio’s recent box office success The Dark Knight. That includes the Superman franchise.
Source: Wall Street Journal
“Batman: Arkham Asylum” Video Game August 19, 2008 5:49 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Video Games.1 comment so far
While there won’t be a videogame released based on the hit film The Dark Knight, at least not at the moment, there will be a new Batman game. Featuring a story written by Paul Dini, EA has announced that they’ll be releasing Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009. Click here to check out some scans from the game.
Source: Game Informer
“The Dark Knight” Adds $65.6M From Overseas Markets July 28, 2008 2:06 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Box Office, Movies, News, The Dark Knight.add a comment
Over the weekend, The Dark Knight not only dominated the domestic box office, but it dominated the international box office as well. Variety reports that the blockbuster took in $65.6M from 7,143 theaters in 43 markets, pushing its overseas cume to $126.3M.
Added on its domestic receipts, the film has a worldwide gross of $440.5M in 12 days. This all while still not opening in several key markets including France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Spain (August openings).
“The Dark Knight”: $314.2M In Just 10 Days (Biggest 2nd Weekend Ever) July 27, 2008 7:20 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Box Office, Movies, News, The Dark Knight.add a comment
The Dark Knight is continuing to tear up the box office as the movie took in an astounding record-breaking $75.63M over the weekend (according to estimates) bringing its 10-day cume to an extraordinary $314.25M, making it the highest grossing movie of the year. In addition to countless other records, it also now claims the records for the best 10-day, 9-day, 8-day, 7-day and 6-day (I reported on the others in a prior post) grosses. It’s $314.25M tally is a remarkable $55.88M ahead of where prior 10-day record holder Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was and that movie ended up with $423.32M over its entire box office run so just imagine where The Dark Knight will end up. It also became the fastest movie to hit $300M, doing so in 10 days (six days faster than ‘Dead Man’s Chest‘).
Overall, the movie has grossed $355.55M worldwide, and that includes just $41.3M overseas from just three territories (it’s just now opening internationally, and won’t open in several large territories for several more weeks).
It’s showing no signs of slowing down any time soon, making many wonder if the film could possibly challenge Titanic’s domestic ($600.79M), international ($1.24B) and worldwide ($1.84B) records.
“The Dark Knight” Video Clips and Online Game + News on Videogame July 23, 2008 6:45 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Games, Movies, News, The Dark Knight, Videogames, Videos.1 comment so far
Still craving Dark Knight content? Comcast has an online destination promoting the movie, which includes a set of exclusive video clips that you can watch here. While there, you can also scan through the various downloads, pictures and more. Including an online game titled Gotham City Street Chase. Here’s the premise behind the game:
The Joker has stolen a police car and you need to catch him! But first, you’ll have to get past his henchmen in vans while avoiding oncoming traffic – that’s no easy feat. Reload your ammo by picking up the crates.
Click here to play it.
And in other Dark Knight news, in an interview with G4, Gary Oldman revealed that a videogame based on the hit movie will be released on home consoles alongside the DVD/Blu-ray release of the film. Click here to watch the interview.
“The Dark Knight” Breaks Another Record: Quickest Ever to $200M July 23, 2008 3:41 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Box Office, Movies, News, The Dark Knight.1 comment so far
Warner Bros’ The Dark Knight broke yet another record on Tuesday, as it became the the fastest movie ever to cross the $200 million mark, doing so in just five days. That crushes the prior record held by three films; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Spider-Man 2 and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. All three films took eight days to reach the $200M mark.
The Dark Knight hit the mark thanks to $24.49M Monday and $20.87M Tuesday performances, pushing its domestic total to an impressive $203.77M. Even more impressive is the fact that when Wednesday tallies are included, the film will have grossed in just six days more than its predecessor, Batman Begins, grossed in its entire theatrical run ($205.34M)!
Including the limited numbers we have from overseas grosses, The Dark Knight has taken in $245.07M worldwide ($203.77M domestically and $41.3M overseas).
In just under one week in release, The Dark Knight has already broken 14–major–records (it’s probably broken more, but who’s going to count them all?). Here they are:
- Widest release (4,366 theaters)
- Midnight Opening ($18.49M)
- IMAX Midnight ($640,000–included in $18.49M figure)
- Opening Day ($67.16M)
- Single Day ($67.16M)
- Single Day – Friday ($67.16M)
- Single Day – Sunday ($43.60M)
- Opening 3-Day Weekend ($158.41M)
- Opening 3-Day Weekend IMAX ($6.21M–included in $158.41M figure)
- July Opener ($158.41M)
- PG-13 Opener ($158.41M)
- 4-Day ($182.90M)
- Fastest to $200M (5 Days – $203.77M)
- 5-Day ($203.77M)
And guess what? It’s already made more money in five days than the record holder for 6 days and 7 days, so those two records are also beaten.
“The Dark Knight” Has Now Sold the Third-Highest Advance Ticket Sales of All Time July 16, 2008 3:03 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Box Office, Movies, News, The Dark Knight.add a comment
In yet another sign that the film is gearing up for an enormous opening weekend, Christopher Nolan’s dark follow-up to Batman Begins, is currently outselling three of the Top-10 Performing Films of All-Time at the same point in the sales cycle. MovieTickets.com is reporting that The Dark Knight has already sold out over 150 performances in Los Angeles and New York alone. To put this in perspective, that’s more than three times as many advance tickets as current weekend leader Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and more than twice as many as Spider-Man 3.
Source: /Film
‘Harry Potter 6’ Teaser Could be Attached to IMAX Screenings of “The Dark Knight” July 10, 2008 5:16 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Movies, News, The Dark Knight, Trailers.add a comment
When The Dark Knight hits theaters on July 18th, Warner Bros. will be debuting the following trailers: Terminator Salvation, Watchmen and Body of Lies. Harry Potter 6 will not be attached. However, ComingSoon.net is now reporting that theater goers watching The Dark Knight at an IMAX theater may be getting a super brief teaser of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. With just over a week to go before the film’s release, we’ll find out for sure shortly.
The Dark Knight hits conventional and IMAX theaters on July 18, 2008.
“Batman: Gotham Knight”: DVD Review July 7, 2008 1:47 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Batman: Gotham Knight, Comics, DVD Review, Movies, Review, Reviews.add a comment
Batman: Gotham Knight is a fresh and exciting new entry into the Batman mythos, spinning out of a 40-year history in animation including the Emmy®-winning Batman: The Animated Series, widely considered a pivotal moment in American animation. A cross section of distinguished creators, award winning producers, and acclaimed writers weave six interlocking stories that reveal Bruce Wayne’s journey to Dark Knight, each with stylish art from some of the world’s most revered animation visionaries.
Read my review of the two-disc DVD after the jump.
Bale Says No to Robin in Future Batman Films, Comic Writer Jeph Loeb Counters July 6, 2008 1:24 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Movies, The Dark Knight.add a comment
Christian Bale, star of the upcoming Batman Begins follow-up The Dark Knight does not want to see Robin showing up in any future Batman films he’s a part of. He was quite emphatic in that stance, reportedly telling Starpulse “If Robin crops up in one of the new Batman films, I’ll be chaining myself up somewhere and refusing to go to work.” Meanwhile, comic writer Jeph Loeb countered Bale, telling MTV that if time was taken to “tell the story properly”, it work work well:
“I wouldn’t let him become Robin until the third act, if that. I think that’s the other problem when you tell that story is that there’s this rush to put him in a costume by the end of the first 20 minutes and in that case I think it’s a disaster,” Loeb said. “So if you look at ‘Dark Victory’ Tim and I went nine out of twelve chapters before you even started to talk about putting him in a costume and he doesn’t put the costume on until the last chapter of that book.”
More after the jump.
New “Dark Knight” Joker Poster July 2, 2008 2:55 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Movie Posters, Movies, The Dark Knight, The Joker.add a comment
Another new poster from The Dark Knight has been released on Joker’s Why So Serious website. Check it out below (click to enlarge–ultra high-res).
New Dark Knight Trailer June 30, 2008 8:10 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Movie Trailers, Movies, The Dark Knight.add a comment
What’s up with Pizza joints getting movie trailers? First Papa John’s, who debuted the most recent trailer for The Mummy: Curse of the Dragon Emperor, and now Domino’s which has premiered “The Dark Knight Vault” on their website, which in addition to housing an extended trailer for the highly anticipated Batman Begins followup The Dark Knight, also contains several other Dark Knight goodies. Click here to head to the site. When there, click on The Dark Knight Movie Extras tab at the top of the page, and then select trailer A to watch the new trailer.
Update: There seems to be a problem getting the trailer to load on the site, but YouTube comes to the rescue:
Amazing. The best one yet.
The Dark Knight hits theaters on July 18, 2008.
Praise Continues to Roll In: Kevin Smith Reviews “The Dark Knight” + Oldman Hints at The Riddler June 29, 2008 4:02 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Movies, News, Reviews, The Dark Knight, The Joker.26 comments
Another day, another glowingly positive review for The Dark Knight. Last night in LA, select film sites were screened The Dark Knight. Director Kevin Smith was invited to the screening and came away from the experience completely blown away, calling it “an epic film”, “the ‘Godfather II’ of comic book movies” and “close to a masterpiece” . Continue reading for Smith’s brief spoiler free review.
Early ‘Dark Knight’ Review + New Viral June 25, 2008 3:30 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Movies, Reviews, The Dark Knight.1 comment so far
With just over three weeks to go before the release of The Dark Knight (are you as psyched about this film as I am?) the first review has been released (the film is being selectively screened for press). Courtesy, AICN, here’s a highlight from the very encouraging review:
Heath Ledgers performance of the joker is truly one for the books. Aman of no remorse or morals who simply wants to see things burn. There is no back story or establishing the character. He is fully formed. He does have some dialogue scenes that reveal a bit of his background.Lets just say he has some issues with his father and that smile of his is rooted in a gesture of love. He is far from a caricature and has depth . He realises that without Batman he would not be. The Joker is almost more of a terrorist than criminal. He is not motivated by money. He wants to see people suffer. Its a damn shame that this was Heath Ledger’s final major performance as it shows a whole different side to him as a performer and I now know that he was endlessly talented.
Another highlight, plus a new viral, after the jump.
Batman: Gotham Knight Panel at Wizard World Chicago June 21, 2008 8:09 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Batman: Gotham Knight, Movies, News, Photos.add a comment
There will be a panel dedicated to the upcoming “Batman: Gotham Knight” DVD movie at this year’s Wizard World Chicago. Check out the details for the panel after the jump. Plus, several new photos from the film (which hits DVD and Blu-ray Hi-Def on July 8th) have been released. Check them out after the jump.
Academy Award Nominee Josh Olson discusses Batman: Gotham Knight June 6, 2008 7:26 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Batman: Gotham Knight, Direct-to-DVD, DVD, Movies, News.2 comments
Academy Award nominated screenwriter Josh Olson sat down to talk to Warner Bros. about his segment entitled “Have I Got A Story For You?”. The segment tells the story of how chance encounters with Batman by a group of street-wise youngsters leave each kid with a very different impression of the Dark Knight. I’ve also included several new photos from the movie. Check it all out after the jump.
Gregory Noveck, a Senior VP at DC Comics, discusses Batman: Gotham Knight June 4, 2008 6:19 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Batman: Gotham Knight, Direct-to-DVD, DVD, Movies, News.add a comment
DC Comics Senior Vice President of Creative Affairs recently sat down to talk about the production aspect of the upcoming direct-to-video animated film Batman: Gotham Knight. I’ve also included several new photos that showcase the movie’s various, and wonderfully detailed, backdrops. Check it all out after the jump.
Greg Rucka Discusses Writing 2nd Segment of Batman: Gotham Knight May 24, 2008 11:00 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Batman: Gotham Knight, DVD, Movies, News, Photos.add a comment
Greg Rucka, who wrote the second segment of the upcoming direct-to-video Batman: Gotham Knight, recently sat down with Warner Bros. to talk about what it was like writing animation for the first time, how he got involved with the film and more. I’ve also included a few new images from the movie. Check it all out after the jump.
New Dark Knight Joker Poster May 20, 2008 12:37 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Movies, Photos, The Dark Knight.2 comments
A new poster featuring the Joker for The Dark Knight has been released. Check it out after the jump. Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Maggie Gyllenhaal, hits theaters on July 18th.
Voice of Batman Kevin Conroy Talks Gotham Knight + More Photos May 14, 2008 9:47 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Batman: Gotham Knight, Blu-ray Hi-Def, Direct-to-video, DVD, Movies, News, Photos.add a comment
The voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman for the past 17 years, Kevin Conroy reprises his role in the upcoming direct-to-video Batman: Gotham Knight. Warner Bros. recently caught up with Conroy who shared his thoughts about the film, his ongoing relationship with the character and more. I’ve also included a few new images from the movie.
Two New Dark Knight TV Spots May 12, 2008 6:44 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Movie Trailers, Movies, News, The Dark Knight.add a comment
The first two TV spots for Warner Bros. The Dark Knight, which premiered during the season finale of Survivor last night, have now shown up online. The Dark Knight hits IMAX and conventional theaters on July 18th. Check out the two spots after the jump.
Brian Azzarello Talks Batman: Gotham Knight + More Photos May 9, 2008 3:49 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Batman, Batman: Gotham Knight, Movies, News, Photos.1 comment so far
Brian Azzarello recently spoke to WB about the upcoming straight-to-video release of Batman: Gotham Knight. Azzarello wrote the fifth segment in the film entitled “Working Through Pain”. His segment takes on a more non-violent direction, a different path from the movie’s other segments. Check out Azzarello’s thoughts on the film, plus several new photos, after the jump.
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