New Dark Knight Rises Trailer: Gotham Burns, Batman Rises

"The Dark Knight" was a cinematic masterpiece. This film might just blow that out of the water. And you can clearly hear Bane!

Christopher Nolan, I salute you. Cannot wait until July 20th.

Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" Starts Production, First Photo of Bane Appears

Anything Batman related always gets the Internet chatter rolling, but today, there aren't many rumors around, just excitement about Christopher Nolan's (most likely) last Batman film starting production.

As the press release reads:

Filming will take place on three continents, with an all-star cast working under the direction of Christopher Nolan.

BURBANK, CA, May 19, 2011 – Principal 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.

On top of that, it seems as if the first "real" photo from the film has been released, showing off Tom Hardy, aka the man, as the villain Bane. Hardy (above) looks even more dark and sinister that I thought he would, and it only makes me more excited for what's ahead.

The cast is utterly brilliant, Nolan is a genius. I cannot wait for this movie. I know you can't either.

Bale Drops Weight Again For "Concrete"

Before actor Christian Bale bulked up to 200 pounds of pure muscle to play Bruce Wayne in 2005's "Batman Begins," the actor transformed his body in the opposite way, slimming down to 90-something pounds to play the lead role in "The Machinist."

Bale was literally almost unrecognizable, but anyone who has followed the actor over his career knows that he is dedicated to method acting and will shed or gain weight whenever needed.

According to We Got This Covered Bale will apparently do that once again and re-team with his "The Machinist" director Brad Anderson for the project "Concrete Island."

Based on the novel by J.G. Ballard ("Empire of the Sun"), the story follows an architect who finds himself stranded on a man made island in the middle of a highway intersection after a car crash. Surviving only on what is in his car, his mind begins to deteriorate before realizing that he wants to spend the rest of his life on his concrete island.

The site describes the film as: "A twisted adaptation of Robinson Crusoe, the story’s protagonist, Robert Maitland, a wealthy architect, finds himself stranded in a manmade ‘island’ (a section of fenced-off wasteland in the middle of a motorway intersection) between the Westway and M4 Motorway in West London, forced to survive on only what is in his crashed Jaguar and what he is able to find. As his condition degrades, it soon becomes difficult to determine whether Maitland is finding sanity or watching his mind fall apart as he finds companions on the island and eventually decides to remain there and forsake his former life."

Bale is already familiar with Ballard's work, having starred in "Empire of the Sun" many years ago, which was an adaptation of one of the author's novels. The project sounds very interesting and Anderson seems like someone who could turn an obscure story like that into something great, ala "The Machinist."

Over the years Bale has proven to be one of the best actors in Hollywood and I'm thrilled to see him finally receive his first Oscar nomination this year. He probably will win the award for his role in "The Fighter," which was another instance of the actor having to drop weight for a role.

The writer of "The Machinist," Scott Kosar has adapted the script for "Concrete," which will shoot later this year.

Save the Date: Official Date Set for "Dark Knight" Follow-Up

I guess i know where I will be July 20th, 2012.

Warner Bros. has set July 20, 2012, as the official release date for the third Christopher Nolan-directed Batman movie.

The studio has barely begun the process of developing the movie; Nolan is in postproduction on “Inception,” but is hammering out a story with David Goyer.

There is no title as this point and no start date.

July is becoming Nolan’s month. “The Dark Knight” opened on July 18, 2008, and “Inception” debuts July 16.

With Batman 3 on the docket, summer 2012 is shaping up to be one of the greater geek movie seasons. Marvel’s “The Avengers” is slated to come out May 4, board game adaptation “Battleship” leaves port May 25, the “Star Trek” sequel beams up June 29, and the rebooted “Spider-Man” swings into theaters on July 3.

Although all that is known about the film now is the release date, I'm glad that things are finally headed into the right direction. Even though it's over two years away, this is the movie that I'm going to be looking forward to the most. Mark down your calendars fans, the Batman is back.

Awards Update: PGA and WGA Release Nominations

The Producers Guild of America released its nominations this past week, and the news bodes well for any Dark Knight fans hoping for an Academy Award nomination.

The PGA nominees for the best films of the year are: Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Milk, and yes, The Dark Knight. The reason this bodes well for Batman is because usually the road to Oscar gold runs through the Producers Guild Awards.

Want proof? Check out what the LA Times says: In their 19-year history, the PGA has called the Academy Award for Best Picture 12 times, including last year with No Country For Old Men. In fact they got four out of the five right with, Juno, Michael Clayton, and There Will Be Blood also among their picks.

While the PGA has only predicted 63% of the eventual Oscar winners, they have gotten 76% percent of the best picture contenders correct. The only year that the producers guild nominees did not include the eventual Oscar winner was in 1995 when Braveheart failed to make the cut, and Apollo 13 won the PGA's Golden Laurel.

Being snubbed by the Golden Globes may have hurt The Dark Knight's chances slightly, but now with a nomination from the PGA, Christopher Nolan's epic superhero film could find it's way into a Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Even better news for the film is that its screenplay was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay by the Writers Guild of America. Along with The Dark Knight, the nominees are: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, and Slumdog Millionaire.

The nominees for Best Original Screenplay: Burn After Reading, Milk, Vicky Christina Barcelona, The Visitor, and The Wrestler. Nice to see the Joel and Ethan Coen's underrated comedy make the list. The film hadn't recieved too much buzz this awards season, but it is defiitely deserving of a nomination here.

Academy Award nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22nd.