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Though the cameras stopped rolling on The Dark Knight Rises months ago, Christopher Nolan is still "working" on the movie to some extent, as he continues to travel the world to promote it. He recently said in an Empire podcast interview that he's "relieved" that the movie is done and in theaters, but he won't get the feeling that it's truly "finished" until it "has been out for a couple months" and moviegoers "have really had a chance to tell me what it is."
As far as saying his good-byes to Batman and the franchise he helped to revitalize for Warner Bros., Nolan has already done that. Nolan wrote the foreward to The Art and Making of the Dark Knight Trilogy book that serves as an eloquent, heartfelt and even somewhat humorous farewell letter to the characters that populated his trilogy and the actors who played them. Nolan writes, "I will miss the Batman. I like to think that he’ll miss me, but he’s never been particularly sentimental."
read Nolan's farewell letter >> Posted 07.27.12 by BrentJS -
Many of the same die-hard comic book movie fans who helped to make the first trailer for director Christopher Nolan third and final Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises (TDKR), the most downloaded trailer of all time, and flocked to IMAX theaters to see the extended prologue that ran before Mission: Impossible, have a major gripe with Nolan's vision so far: they say they can't understand British actor Tom Hardy, who plays' Batman's (Christian Bale) breathing apparatus-wearing nemesis, Bane.
The controversy has led to rumors that Warner Bros. is pressuring Nolan to "change the sound mix" to make him easier to understand — an assertion refuted by an anonymous "high-level exec" who said Nolan "doesn't dumb things down" for his audience — and the studio was forced to deny the claim of an IMAX projectionist who said that he received a new prologue soundtrack with "clearer and more understandable" dialogue. The director didn't say much about the controversy when he recently spoke with EW, other than to say that "things will come into focus" when the movie comes out, but his brother, Jonathan, defended Hardy's performance in a recent interview with AceShowbiz, describing it as "spectacular."
what did Nolan say? >> Posted 01.14.12 by BrentJS -
While there are variations on whether the project is dead or alive, one thing is for sure, the Americanized-adaptation of Akira is in trouble. THR reports that Warner Bros. has shut down production offices in Vancouver. "Everybody is being sent home," an insider told the site. What went wrong? Seemingly everything, as script, budget and casting issues continue to plague the long-gestating project.
Based on the highly acclaimed six-volume manga ("comic book" in Japanese) series created by Katsuhiro Otomo, Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production company has been developing Akira for three years. After receiving a script polish from Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves, Warners greenlit Akira, but apparently the script is still problematic.
what else is wrong? >> Posted 01.07.12 by Ryan -
The principal cast of Man of Steel is complete and the supporting cast is filling up. Sets are under construction and vehicles are being "destroyed" in preparation for Superman's (Henry Cavill) sure-to-be-epic-scale confrontation with the evil Kryptonians, Zod (Michael Shannon) and Faora (Antje Traue). Everything seems to be falling in place in time for director Zack Snyder to begin shooting "at the end of the summer," as he said he would be. However, according to MovieHole, the script of Man of Steel is in need of a rewrite and Snyder had to scramble to find someone to take the job.
more about Man of Steel >> Posted 07.18.11 by BrentJS -
Most critics and fans would agree that their issues with 2006's Superman Returns had little or nothing to do with Brandon Routh's performance, which may be why the actor is still holding out hope that he can continue with the role in the next incarnation that Christopher Nolan is producing. Routh told CinemaBlend that while he has heard nothing about the upcoming Superman movie, tentatively titled Superman: The Man of Steel, he is interested in returning to the role.
Can Routh convince the brothers Nolan? >> Posted 07.29.10 by Ryan -
Director Christopher Nolan has repeatedly said he doesn't want to talk about his plans for The Dark Knight sequel while he's working on his latest movie, Inception, but that doesn't stop reporters from asking. In a recent interview, MTV's Josh Horowitz asked about the start and release dates of Batman 3 (working title) and Nolan was elusive as ever. He said that he is "aiming for 2012" for the release, but said that the start date is uncertain because his brother, Jonathan Nolan, is "just working on the script" right now.
If that minimal update doesn't do it for you, check out the sophisticated fan short that debuted on DailyMotion last Friday. Batman: City of Scars, the not-for-profit short was produced for just over $27,000 by a father-son team (Sean and Aaron Schoenke) through their Bat in the Sun Productions. The short has already generated considerable buzz and logged over 300,000 views since its debut.
Posted 06.27.10 by BrentJS -
Comic book movie fans were overjoyed when it was announced that the director of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight (TDK), Christopher Nolan, was chosen by Warner Bros. to "godfather" the reboot of the Superman franchise. But, as great as that news was, fans really wanted to know whether Nolan would be returning as director of Batman 3, something he has been elusive about since before TDK was even in theaters.
Unfortunately, Nolan is still playing coy, saying in the most recent issue of Empire Magazine (via ComicBookMovie) that he still has not signed a deal to direct Batman 3.
A Superman / Batman Crossover? >> Posted 06.04.10 by BrentJS -
Now that Christopher Nolan has confirmed that he will return to direct a third movie in his revamped Batman franchise, the next question on the minds of many comic book movie fans is which villain from Batman's Rogues Gallery will be the main antagonist in Batman 3. Early fan speculation had pegged The Riddler as the front-runner for the sequel to The Dark Knight, and fake Riddler movie posters are still frequently popping up online.
Actor Michael Caine, who played Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's (played by Christian Bale) loyal butler, confidante and father figure, helped to spark The Riddler rumors back in September 2008 when he told MTV that Johnny Depp would be playing the Riddler in Batman 3. Now, another high-profile person connected to the Batman franchise has made mention of The Riddler. In a recent interview with MTV, Academy Award-winner Hans Zimmer, who composed the scores for both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, said that he would like to see Batman's quizzical nemesis appear in the third installment.
For me, I'd have an enormous amount of fun with The Riddler. There is such a wealth of fun to be had with a character like that.
In the article, MTV is quick to point out that Zimmer doesn't have any actual say about the villain that will appear in the movie. However, Zimmer did say that Nolan usually gives him an early heads-up about the main villain so that he can start thinking about how to score the movie. And, with Nolan's brother, Jonathan, currently working on the Batman 3 script, Zimmer should know who the villain is soon, if he doesn't already.
Once I knew [The Dark Knight villain] was The Joker, I started to get a sense of what it could be, more than what it shouldn't be. Chris and I have this interesting way of getting together, throwing ideas around causally, and then slowly one little Lego piece comes together and another falls off and another comes together.
In the DC comic books on which the Batman movies are based, The Riddler is the alter-ego of Edward Nigma, a brilliant man who commits crimes to flaunt his intellectual superiority. His plots and plans are often so elaborate that not even Batman would be able to figure them out, except for the fact that The Riddler is driven by the obsessive compulsion to leave behind clues or riddles that inevitably lead to his downfall.
Posted 03.19.10 by BrentJS -
When Deadline Hollywood first broke the story that the director of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan, was chosen by Warner Bros. to "godfather" the reboot of the Superman franchise, comic book movie fans were practically exploding with excitement and anticipation. Countless blogs and fan forum debates erupted with speculation about everything from cast choices and potential villains to whether or not Nolan's involvement would guarantee a crossover with his Batman franchise.
However, just as fan interest in the story began to reach a fever pitch, Diane Nelson, president of DC Entertainment, the comic book division of Warner Bros., seemingly ended the conversation by telling MTV that Nolan's participation in any future Superman movie was only a rumor. Now, it appears that Deadline Hollywood had its facts straight after all, as Nolan himself has confirmed in a recent interview with the L.A. Times that he is, in fact, developing a new Superman movie with his Batman screenwriter, David S. Goyer.
It's very exciting; we have a fantastic story. And we feel we can do it right. We know the milieu, if you will, we know the genre and how to get it done right.
In a roundabout way, Nolan also confirmed that he has been working on Batman 3 by saying that Goyer came up with an idea for how to adapt Superman while at an impasse over how to top The Dark Knight.
[Goyer] basically told me, "I have this thought about how you would approach Superman." I immediately got it, loved it and thought: That is a way of approaching the story I've never seen before that makes it incredibly exciting. I wanted to get Emma [Thomas, Nolan's wife and producing partner] and I involved in shepherding the project right away and getting it to the studio and getting it going in an exciting way.
We're approaching it in a not dissimilar way in terms of trying to find an incredible story in a way that audiences can engage with it the way they engage with contemporary action films. I think David's approach is a very good way of doing just that.
Nolan wouldn't comment on Internet rumors about Lex Luthor and Brainiac pulling a tag-team of villainy in his Superman reboot, saying simply, "I don't know where this stuff comes from," but he did dispel the talk of Superman and Batman cross-overs.
Each serves to the internal logic of the story. They have nothing to do with each other.
Short of saying that he will definitely be directing Batman 3, Nolan did admit that his brother, Jonathan Nolan, was currently working on the Batman 3 script for him.
My brother is writing a script for me and we'll wait to see how it turns out.... He's struggling to put it together into the epic story that you want it to be.
Without getting into specifics, the key thing that makes the third movie a great possibility for us is that we want to finish our story. And in viewing it as the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story.
Nolan went on to say that, assuming he directs Batman 3, fans should expect to see many of their favorite actors and characters from the first two movies return.
We have a great ensemble, that's one of the attractions of doing another film, since we've been having a great time for years.
Posted 03.11.10 by BrentJS -
The news that Batman Begins and The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan was being brought in by Warner Bros. to "godfather" the development of a revamped Superman was met with great enthusiasm by comic book movie fans when it was first announced. Unfortunately, the news turned out to be nothing more than a rumor, leaving many wondering what, if anything, was being done to bring Superman back to the big screen.
Now, it's being reported that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are moving forward with plans for a new Superman movie, and that it will have a connection, if only tangential, to Nolan after all. LatinoReview has reported that David S. Goyer, co-writer of both of the Batman movies that Nolan directed, has been hired to write the new Superman movie, titled The Man of Steel. Goyer's script is said to be more action-packed than its predecessor, Superman Returns, and will see Superman squaring off against two villains — Lex Luthor and Brainiac.Returns' director, Bryan Singer, and title actor, Brandon Routh, are not expected to return.
The LatinoReview article also claims that Goyer's screenplay is at least partially based on the comic book mini-series of the same name written and illustrated by John Byrne in the mid-'80s. Byrne revamped the Superman mythologies, which had become campy and convoluted over the years, depowering Superman considerably and altering his origin and childhood to make the story more realistic. The article goes on to state that The Man of Steel will not be an origin story, but that Krypton will be more fully developed, which is in keeping with the changes Byrne instituted in his mini-series and the Superman series that followed it.
Subsequent to the LatinoReview article, Harry Knowles of AICN posted an update on the story in which he claims to have spoken with Thomas Tull, the president & CEO of Legendary Pictures, the production company behind both the Batman and Superman movies, who apparently told Knowles that the LatinoReview article had a few holes in it.
Tull has not unilaterally hired Goyer to come in and write the new Superman. He loves Goyer, but frankly — the project isn't at the Script stage yet. Seems Nolan is still hatching some ideas. But he just wanted me to pass on that they have the highest enthusiasm for this project, but the story on Latino just isn't accurate. I'll see what more I can find out, but as of right now, there really isn't anything else to tell.
AICN is known for its consistently good insider movie news, but the fact that Nolan is mentioned in connection with the Superman reboot when Diane Nelson, President of DC Entertainment, said that his involvement was a "rumor" and nothing more, calls into question the validity of the update. And, following the AICN report, IGN posted its own update claiming "reliable sources" had confirmed that Goyer is involved with The Man of Steel, but that "Tull is downplaying" the news.
Whatever the truth may be, time is of the essence for the Superman franchise. After the heirs of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, the original creators of Superman, sued DC Comics and Warner Bros. over the rights to the character, a judge ruled that Warner Bros. needed to begin development of another Superman movie by 2011 or risk becoming vulnerable to another lawsuit from the families. Furthermore, all rights to Superman and portions of his supporting cast, origin and powers will revert to the families in 2013 and neither DC Comics nor Warner Bros. will be able to create Superman-based works without a license from them.
Posted 02.25.10 by BrentJS