The Dark Knight

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

RE: The Dark Knight

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

New Empire covers... I'll have a Jokerized one please.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

In the midst of the latest viralcampaign an 'Alternate Trailer' for TDK has emerged...

-- Edited by Darth Mattitude at 18:40, 2008-06-13

Man In Black · Anime Mod

I am SO bored with this never ending campaign! The film will probably be a let down after so much hype...

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

You are kidding right? This whole campaign has been a mark of genius. I am going to be writing a n article on the whole campign once this releases. It's been the mostimmersive campiagn for a film ever.

Plus the footage looks amazing..

Man In Black · Anime Mod

No. I'm not kidding.

I don't react well to too much hype and when something gets drawn out like this it becomes tiresome and I lose interest - it's akin to hearing the same song on the radio all the time or the same advert on TV promoting some new show.

I'm not denying that they've created one hell of a campaign here and no doubt it has done its job in getting people talking and creating interest, but for me personally, the longer it goes on the less I'm interested and the less confident I am the film can live up to the hype.

I have no doubts it will be the film of the summer but it already has a rabid audience thanks to the franchise before the hype was even set into motion. Again, it probably will be a good film but you can dangle a carrot for so long before it loses its vitality...

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

If you've been following our latest updates on the viral marketing for The Dark Knight, you know that GothamCityPizzeria.com opened for business earlier today.

Take another look, however! Go to GothamCityPizzeria.com and check out the letters "HA" in "GOTHAM". See 'em moving? Yeah, now mouse over them and you'll notice something else.

Now click on them and a surprise awaits...

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Here is all the latest viral updates...

UPDATE #1: Looks like the studio has removed the Gotham Tonight clip from YouTube. Perhaps it will surface here soon.

UPDATE #2: TheGothamTimes.com has updated with Volume 3 of the newspaper.

GothamCityPizzeria.com has come online and is powered by Domino's Pizza. Expect something to happen there on June 16th. Perhaps special pizzas?

And the Joker is texting images to people with the Batman phones which read Group 1, Group 2 etc. More details here.

UPDATE #3: Harvey Dent has posted victory statement on his campaign website, while TrustGarcetti.com and DanaWorthington.com have been updated as well.

UPDATE #4: GothamCityPizzeria.com has updated and is offering free pizzas in a selection of places!

UPDATE #5: "Gotham Tonight" can now be watched here!

UPDATE #6: GothamCableNews.com is now asking fans to submit photos of their "Batman sightings."

UPDATE #7: As you know by now, you can watch a new Two-Face clip here. Also, 'Z(+)DIAC' and 'Ed' sent us these photos of the items they received yesterday from Gotham City Pizzeria (AKA Domino's Pizza):

UPDATE #8: The full text for the note that went out:

The authorities are after us, so we had to be a little secretive about our hide-out. We know you're someone we can trust, so we've made it easy for you:

Tinyurl.com/6a66qm
username: Nycticeius
password: merritt

You need to share this information with other concerned Gotham citizens like yourself.

Join us - and help us fight back against the enemies of Gotham City.

Never give up,

Paul
www.citizensforbatman.org

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

The latest part of the virals is off.... The game is quite fun for a few minutes....

Text messages were received on the Joker phones, bearing the message "Short-Attention-Span Theater: Liar Thug Unsult Hut (-un)".

Playing with the letter order of the Liar Thug Unsult Hut (-un) reveals Laugh Til It Hurts, which was used as another WhySoSerious link.

At WhySoSerious.com/Laughtilithurts, a racing game is setup.

'Somehow' () the code bgygbrgbyrygbgybbrbyg was gleaned.

Using the letters as they correspondence with the colors on the wheel (blue, green, red, yellow), clicking on the colors in that code order yields a ticket than takes you to http://whysoserious.com/laughtilithurts/static.htm

From there you can see a quickly flickered image of The Joker at: keeping the video paused, move the cursor to timestamp:
03:02:13:22

From here it seems the game has come to halt currently, but no doubts the time refernce will play a part in where we are going with this....

It's all got intresting again.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

With what comes as no surprise to anyone:

Actor Heath Ledger, who died following a drug overdose earlier this year, will be remembered in an on-screen tribute in his final film, The Dark Knight.

The end credits of the Batman Begins sequel will include a farewell note to the 28-year-old who died in January.

At the time of his death the Brokeback Mountain star had just completed filming the role of The Joker.

Special effects technician, Conway Wickliffe, who was killed in a stunt accident, will also be remembered.

The special tribute reads: "In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe."

'Iconic role'

The hotly anticipated Dark Knight film also stars Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman.

Ledger died from an accidental overdose of six different types of prescription drugs in his New York apartment.

In the production notes, British director Christopher Nolan wrote of Ledger: "I needed a phenomenal actor, but he also had to be someone unafraid of taking on such an iconic role."

"Heath created something entirely original. It's stunning, it's captivating. It's going to blow people away" he added.

The Dark Knight will premiere in London on 21 July and goes on general release in the UK on 25 July.

Totoro101 · Movie Executive Producer

Will be quite chilling to see Heath in his last role as the maniacal joker.Looking forward to this movie.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

The first review is online unfortunately it's not from CPC Movies, but nethertheless it's there. Follow the link HERE. Be warned there is a slight plot spoiler in there. Well if you have ollowed any of the rumours anyway...

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

So we are now into the final furlong as we approach the release of possibly the most anticipated release of 2008. The Joker has published his historical Viral campaign at www.whysoserious.com and there has been a new poster discovered. It's possibly the best yet...

Last%20Dark%20knight%20poster.jpg

From SuperheroHype:

The Dark Knight's main viral site WhySoSerious.com has been updated with all of the viral marketing events and sites to date! On the Joker's To Do list, if you click on #11, you'll be taken to WhySoSerious.com/RedBalloons. That game? Already cracked by the fans. Go here for the resulting note. There's three more things on his list, however, including: "Be good to my guests"; "Gather all my fans"; and "Leave a big mark."

Meanwhile, both GothamCableNews.com and CitizensforBatman.org have been updated. You can find better photos of the package that came from Citizens for Batman here and here. The note reads - "Citizens for Batman - It's time to go public. To really defend Batman, we have to show the world how big our movement is. So check out the goodies inside and show your pride in CFB: And get ready for a MAJOR show of force July 8th. (check out citizensforbatman.org for the latest). Defend Gotham, Defend Batman! Brian Douglass Founder, Citizens for Batman."

Blockbuster has also begun selling Batman Begins Blu-ray Disc Limited Editions with a Gotham National Bank envelope coming with it.

Turning to the regular marketing for the film, the official website has been updated with links to the promotions and to the Comcast site.

The Dark Knight hits theaters and IMAX on July 18.

-- Edited by Darth Mattitude at 10:16, 2008-07-02

Man In Black · Anime Mod

I'd re-host that image if I were you DM...

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Indeed I have... It's also now a feature page on CPC Movies Here

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

12 clips HERE that just want to make me see this even more now... Only a week or so to go...

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Well the viral campaign came to an end last night with all the various viral sites including the main Dark Knight site getting vandalized or Jokerized as it is more commonly known and an email going out to everyone who has taken part in the virals with a hahahaha link to www.whysoserious.com/kickingandscreening which led to free advance screenings in IMAX no less. Unfortunately the UK and the rest of the world so far has missed out...

Just waiting for news of the press sscreening. Only a little while to go now.

Oh and I recieved the Blu Ray Batman Begins last night which looks utterly, utterly awesome in Hi Def! It also includes the first 6 mins of the IMAX intro to TDK. Brilliant.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Like it was ever going to be in any doubt....

Dark Knight Sets New Opening Day Record!
Source: Box Office Mojo
July 19, 2008

Box Office Mojo is reporting that Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight has set a new opening day record with $66.4 million in a record 4,366 theaters (including 94 IMAX theaters) nationwide.

With brisk advance sales and early sell-outs reported all week from Fandango, it looks like the latest installment in Warner Bros' Batman franchise has delivered an opening day gross bigger than the previous five movies were able to make in their opening weekends alone. Even though Dark Knight opened with roughly $7 million more than Spider-Man 3 grossed in its opening day last year, to claim the opening weekend record (currently $151.1 million) for The Dark Knight might be somewhat premature, since Spider-Man 3 opened in May with school in session, while theoretically, The Dark Knight could be more frontloaded with so much more interest and demand in seeing it opening day. Then again, word-of-mouth has generally been as positive as the reviews with 93% of Superhero Hype readers rating the movie with a 9 out of 10 or above and many have expressed a desire to see the movie a second or third time, even opening weekend. Stay tuned for the final weekend box office estimates tomorrow afternoon.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

The Dark Knight review is now online at CPC Movies HERE. Don't forget to add your thoughts and reviews in this thread.

braxious · 500 Club Member

Batman star held over 'assault'

Christian Bale attended a police station by appointment
Batman star Christian Bale has been arrested by detectives investigating claims he assaulted two family members.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said a 34-year-old man had been arrested in connection with an allegation of assault, and remained in custody.

Mr Bale is alleged to have lashed out at his mother and sister in his suite at London's Dorchester Hotel on Sunday.

The Welsh-born actor stars in the title role in the latest Batman film, The Dark Knight.

"A 34-year-old man attended a police station in central London by appointment and was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault - he currently remains in custody," a police spokesman said.

The Hollywood star attended the European premiere of The Dark Knight last night in London's Leicester Square.

He had been due to meet radio journalists at the Dorchester to promote the film on Tuesday afternoon.

It has been reported that the assault allegation was originally filed at a police station in Hampshire.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed it had received an allegation from another force.

Mr Bale rose to fame as the child star of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun.

He went on to play Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, and had leading roles in Shaft and Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

In 2005, he took on the role of the Caped Crusader in Batman Begins and reprised the role in The Dark Knight

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Seems so weird moving this to 'Now Showing' Any of you seen this yet? If so post your thoughts people!!

Man In Black · Anime Mod

Might get to see it next week.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

And the money kept rolling in.....

Warner Bros. Pictures' The Dark Knight added $23.2 million on Friday to bring its eight-day total to a record $261.8 million. Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins follow-up earned an impressive $18.4 million on Wednesday and $16.5 million on Thursday as well.

The massive hit for the studio is way ahead of the previous eight-day record holder, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which had collected $214.6 million after the same amount of days. The Dark Knight could cross the $300 million mark in 10 days, faster than current record holder "Dead Man's Chest," which did it in 16 days. The movie will also pass up Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in a matter of days to become the top grossing film of 2008, domestically.

The Dark Knight is already up to 39th on the all-time domestic blockbuster list. We still don't have any more international numbers except for the initial $41.3 million it earned last weekend, but that should change Sunday.

Also on Friday, Columbia Pictures' new comedy Step Brothers, starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, earned a strong $11.8 million from 3,094 theaters in its first day.

It was followed in third by Universal's musical Mamma Mia! with $5.5 million. The movie has collected $50.4 million in eight days.

Fox's The X-Files: I Want to Believe bombed out of the gate, however, as the new movie only took in $4 million from 3,185 theaters its first day.

Stay tuned for the full weekend estimates tomorrow!

braxious · 500 Club Member

right here goes

i went to see TDK tonight and OMG it is a bloody fantasic.

1 critisim its 20mins too long,

other than that its is pacy, dark, moody and well crafted.

christian baile plays batman with the snarling mood of a bear with a sore head, he knows the line and never crosses it.

heath ledger - fantasttic performance, totally beleivable and subtuly palyed, you always believed he would kill you with out blinking ( is it worthy of an oscar - may be may be not )

the ensabled cast was very good and

Spoiler: even when u thought gorden was dead and he was not

the cast proved it was geled

the efects were good and not in your face, the violence was implyed so never over the top.

my final thought are - - this is a must see movie, 9/10 it looses points for being too long.

Symphony Of Destruction · Metal Mod

I bloody LOVED this film. I thought the plot twists were immence

Spoiler: As specially the downfall of Harvey Dent to Harvey Two Face, It's a shame they killed him though. I thought the charictor would be awesome for a sequel

I also liked

Spoiler: How they led you to believe that Jim Gordan died and it was all a set up.

The ending was quality, I can't wait for the next film. Hopefully they can keep the momentum going from this one because other than the fore mentioned disapointment it was awesome. I'm no movie critic but I'd give it a 9, I'd definately see it again and buy the DVD (But then I am a massive Batman mark)

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Sorry Braxious I have to disagree about the length, Id have loved for it to carry on. Which bits would you have removed then?

NymVette · Movie Producer

I've seen it too and I loved it, wasn't too long as the twists and turns in the story just made me forget how long it really was.

braxious · 500 Club Member

i'll have to see it again to answer that question,

braxious · 500 Club Member

Film censor defends Batman rating

Christian Bale and Heath Ledger star in the film
The BBFC has justified giving The Dark Knight a 12A certificate after getting more than 80 complaints about the Batman film's disturbing content.

The film regulator's spokeswoman Sue Clark said the sequel was a fantasy movie with only implied violence.

But she admitted that the British Board of Film Classification had carefully considered giving it a 15 rating.

The 12A rating states that a film should not "dwell on violence" and "does not emphasise injury or blood".

The film contains a scene in which The Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger, is beaten repeatedly by Batman in a police cell.

Fans denied

The Dark Knight should be a 15 certificate

Keith Vaz MP, Home Affairs Select Committee chairman

The BBFC ruled that the blows were "masked from the camera" and there was "no sign of injury".

It conceded that there was a "good deal of violence" in the movie, but said it adhered to the rules of the 12A certificate.

But Keith Vaz MP, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the 12A certificate was too low, adding that he was concerned by The Joker's use of a knife in the film.

He told The Independent newspaper: "The BBFC should realise there are scenes of gratuitous violence in The Dark Knight to which I certainly would not take my 11-year-old daughter. It should be a 15 certificate."

Ms Clark emphasised the fantasy nature of The Dark Knight and its basis in comic books.

"Batman can jump off buildings and fly and The Joker is not a realistic character and bounces back with a smile on his face."

She added that a 15 certificate would have denied an important part of the superhero's fan base the chance to see the film.

"Younger teenagers would not have been able to see it, and they are the very people who are going to love it.

"We would have ended up with far more complaints from people who wanted to see the film and couldn't," said Ms Clark.
The Joker uses a knife as his signature weapon

She added that the number of complaints was low relative to the number of people who had seen the film.

Some 4.7 million tickets for The Dark Knight have been sold in the UK to date.

Box office success

Meanwhile, The Dark Knight is on track to become the second-biggest movie of all time after topping the North American box office for a third week.

The film took $43.8m (£22.2m), taking its total US haul to $394.9m (£200m).

Warner Bros said it expected the Batman film to take at least another $100m (£51m), surpassing Star Wars - the number two movie of all time in the US.

The sci-fi film took $461m (£234m). The current number one is 1997's Titanic, which took $601m (£305m).

Man In Black · Anime Mod

My sister took my 5 year-old nephew to see it and she said there were some bits she was concerned about but generally it wasn't too bad.

Then again he's been watching Godzilla films with me for 2 years so he's probably immune to "lower end" film violence by now!

Totoro101 · Movie Executive Producer

But none of the Godzilla films have any truly bad violence in them mib! Iv not see TDK yet but i heard theres quite a few nasty scenes with the joker shoving a knife into a guys throat and such,i would of thought a 15 would be more appropriate for it.

-- Edited by Totoro101 at 17:06, 2008-08-04

Man In Black · Anime Mod

Totoro101 wrote:

But none of the Godzilla films have any truly bad violence in them mib!

I know hence the "winking" smiley...

braxious · 500 Club Member

in defence of TDK the bit with the knife in the mans mouth is like the shower scene in Physco (the origiinal) you think you see it but you dont.

I have to Defend the BBFC they are a totally independant body and they would have sent a dossier to the makers of the TDK top make a whloe host of changes.

DM you would agree if the uncut version was shown it would be an 18.

totoro go see this film it is a fab one.

Man In Black · Anime Mod

BBFC are hypocrites. The Anime Paranoia Agent is rated 18 yet they enforced cuts a scene from episode 8 yet they allow what is purporting to be more violent scenes in a 12A rated film?

The reason they gave for the edits was thus:

Cuts required (on potential harm grounds) to the sight of a child attempting to hang herself, and accompanying subtitles. Cuts in accordance with the Video Recordings Act 1984

Since this is restricted to 18 year olds and over, young kids at such an impressionable age or or those who are easily upset age shouldn't be able to see it anyway so where is the "potential harm" when viewer sold enough to see it are smart enough to see what is going on?

Of course the answer is simple: one will be seen by millions of people and make a ton of money and one won't...

Mollison · 500 Club Member

To be honest I'm against sensorship. Ratings OK. But sensorship no. Even if we ignore R18s, Baise Moi has set a high bench mark as regards sex scenes that are allowed in an 18. Reservoir Dogs to name but one has done the same with violence. So I dont see that sensorship is necasary. Ratings very much are but sensorship is just patronising. Everyone has internet now. If a person wants to see someone performing rape, beastiality and necrophilia at the same time, one can!

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

The thing about all of this and I do agree that TDK should have been a 15 in light of all these knife related deaths recently, although I would say they weren't exactly shown in a positive light in your anime movie there was violence against a child which is copyable violence and seen as a cartoon so therefore to a child it would be alright. TDK is potrayed as real violence.

Oh and the BBFC is about to introduce the 15a certificate which I for one do not like at all. It will work like the 12a.

It makes these certificates pointless. Did they not see the South Park movie?

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Back on topic though....

In only its 18th day in release, Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight" reached the $400 million mark in domestic sales on Monday, grossing $6.3 million for a cume of $400.1 million.

That easily beats the 43 days it took "Shrek 2" to jump the $400 million boundary.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, "Dark Knight" has shown remarkable legs, setting records all along the way. Over the weekend, the Batman sequel declined just 43% to $42.7 million from 4,266 theaters to come in No. 1 at the domestic B.O. for the third weekend in a row, and beating new entry "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," which opened to $40.5 million, according to Rentrak.

"Dark Knight" has every chance of nearing or crossing $500 million domestically, making it the second highest grossing title of all time after "Titanic," which cumed $600.8 million at the domestic box office.

Man In Black · Anime Mod

Darth Mattitude wrote:
The thing about all of this and I do agree that TDK should have been a 15 in light of all these knife related deaths recently, although I would say they weren't exactly shown in a positive light in your anime movie there was violence against a child which is copyable violence and seen as a cartoon so therefore to a child it would be alright. TDK is potrayed as real violence.

Just to put the Paranoia Agent cut scene into perspective, the episode is about a trio who met on the Internet and formed a suicide pact. However, the trio were an old man, a 30-something no-hoper and an 11 year old girl. Throughout the attempts to kill themselves, the two men do everything possible to sabotage the girl's attempts because they think she is too young to die.

In this particularly scene the 30-something cut the girl's rope before hand so she was only hanging for a brief moment (although she was seen in a bizarre state of bliss as a result) before her rope breaks.

Taken out of context it sounds grim but as part of the whole episode and the theme of the complete series it makes sense. Of course, cutting these 2 minutes or so led to a serious lapse in continuity.

And Mollison - it's "Censorship"... wink

Mollison · 500 Club Member

Yes that was poor form. Appreciate the correction MiB.

braxious · 500 Club Member

regardless of censorship, TDK is a very very good movie.

the only other other issue is box office.

they should not count the money as the cost of going to the cinema raises every year or so and the total box office proffit doesnt mean more people saw the movie.

if they counted BUMS on SEATS then there would be differnt count.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

braxious wrote:

regardless of censorship, TDK is a very very good movie.

the only other other issue is box office.

they should not count the money as the cost of going to the cinema raises every year or so and the total box office proffit doesnt mean more people saw the movie.

if they counted BUMS on SEATS then there would be differnt count.

Nope figures are adjusted so that all previous films meet with current standards. So all films are measured equally.

braxious · 500 Club Member

thanks for heads up i did not know they did that.

Mollison · 500 Club Member

Thats very interesting DM. You learn something new every day...

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Thats why after all these years that Gone With The Wind is still in the top 10 highest grossing films of all time.

braxious · 500 Club Member

and the TDK will gross a lot more

Mollison · 500 Club Member

"the TDK"?... the The Dark Knight?

braxious · 500 Club Member

yes mollison TDK = the dark knight ( lazy i know) but still raking in the money.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

TDK is the name given affectionately by the fans and the cast and the crew etc. etc.

Mollison · 500 Club Member

I know that! but the T in TDK reprents the word The... hence I was questioning the "the" infront of TDK!

Man In Black · Anime Mod

Mollison meet wall - wall meet Mollison's head. Let banging against each other commence....