The Daily Dark Knight: New Set Video.

Posted on October 6, 2011 by jlmicek

Here’s a new set video showing star Christian Bale limping as he arrives at a party. Doing my heart no end of good, an enterprising reporter asks him what he’s been up to.

Some additional stills:

(h/t ComicBookMovie)

Posted in Film Noir, Spoiler-itis, Summer Blockbusters, Superhero Cinema | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Robert Downey Jr. As “Perry Mason?”

Posted on October 5, 2011 by jlmicek

There are weirder things. NYMag’s Vulture has the skinny:

“Robert Downey Jr. and Warner Bros. are planning to relaunchPerry Mason, with Downey Jr. starring as the titular district attorney. (If Mason were to become a franchise, it would be Downey Jr.’s third, alongside Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes.)Mason was originally a novel by Erle Stanley Gardner — before it became a radio show, then a TV series, then dozens of films starring the leads from that series, and eventually another failed TV series. Its most famous incarnation is that first series, which ran from 1957 to 1966 and starred Raymond Burr andthis theme music. The new film will, like the book, be set in thirties L.A. It should be a change to have a Perry Mason whose default cross-examination style is highly ironic and sarcastic (we can’t suppress the Ally McBeal flashbacks), but maybe not a bad one?”

Posted in Film News, Reboot-Itis, Summer Blockbusters | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Keira Knightley: “In The Age Of The Internet,” Questions Over The Relevance Of Movie Sex Scenes.

Posted on October 5, 2011 by jlmicek

In An Interview With Salon’s Andrew O’Hehir …

… the comely English actress speaks at length about her turn in director David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method,” which chronicles the relationship between a woman named Sabina Spielrein, who once came between famed analysts Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen).

The film has its American debut at the New York Film Festival this week and Knightley, who’s probably best known for her work on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise spoke at length with O’Hehir about preparing for her role.

For my money, Knightley was at her best in last year’s “Never Let Me Go,” but has assembled an impressive and eclectic body of work over her brief career.

But here’s the headline. It says a lot about what young actresses have to think about when they appear nude onscreen at a time when those scenes appear on the Web almost instantaneously:

Q: So let’s talk about the sex scenes in this movie, if we may. That’s certainly going to get a lot of attention, because you and Michael Fassbender are playing one of the first famous S/M relationships. It’s restrained and not all that salacious, but there’s no denying some people may find it arousing …

Knightley:  “Yeah. I don’t know if they will, though. I mean, it’s certainly not shot like that, and that was one of the reasons why I thought I was all right doing that. I didn’t want it to be sexy, in that kind of voyeuristic way. David was very clear about that, it has to be a reflection of that brutality, that side of her. It has to be part of the character, and he wanted it to be clinical. Particularly in the age of the Internet and everything, you have to ask a lot of questions about whether it’s relevant, what the downsides and upsides are of doing something like that. I nearly turned it down because of that, and it wasn’t until I’d spoken to David to ask, “OK, what is this, and how are we doing it?” that I actually went, all right, I can do that as long as it’s not a sexy spanking scene.”

Read the full story here.

 

Posted in Femmes Fatale, Film News, Our Films, Ourselves | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Daily Dark Knight: More Filming In Los Angeles.

Posted on October 5, 2011 by jlmicek

The Shot Is A Little Dark …

… but you can make out what appears to be the Batpod being trailed by an army of Gotham City police cars:

Here’s another video of Batman interacting with Gotham police. Again, a little tough to make out:

And here’s an update on the Batcave set at Sony Studios (Via Batman-News):

“Visiting L.A. and had a friend working at Sony Studios show me the Batcave set. It’s half finished, and pretty much looks like the same set we saw in “Batman Begins”. They’re still completing the quarry walls but the wooden manor foundations were all there in the corner. They may add more set dressing with equipment and such but don’t expect a radical redesign as most fanboys are expecting.

Funny thing was I asked the construction guys if they were using the same blueprints/plans from “Batman Begins” to match continuity, they said no, but as the set resembled the cave from “Begins” and I’m a detail freak who knows the movies, (right down to the waterfall entrance where the tumbler flies through) while they may have had new blueprints I could see it was the same cave from seeing the foundation beams that were iconic from the first movie. Also the stage can hold water, they’ll fill it when the quarry wall work is finished and they pull all the rigging lights up to illuminate the set.”

Posted in action, Film News, Spoiler-itis, Summer Blockbusters, Superhero Cinema | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

First Photo: Russell Crowe As Jor-El in “Man of Steel.”

Posted on October 5, 2011 by jlmicek

Here’s the first full picture of Australian actor Russell Crowe as Jor-El in next year’s “Man of Steel.”


For those of you not in the know — and we’re worried if you’re not — Jor-El is Superman’s Kryptonian father.

From WhatCulture!:

“According to Screen Rant, Snyder’s Man Of Steel storyline will be an adaptation of recent Superman comics such as Superman: Secret Origin, Superman: Birthright and the most recent DC “New 52” reboot which sees Superman wear a costume of Kryptonian armour without his red pants hence the reason why they were controversially missing from the recent photos of Henry Cavill in the lead role.”

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The Daily Dark Knight: Juno Temple Won’t Talk About Her Dark Knight Role.

Posted on October 4, 2011 by jlmicek

English actress Juno Temple is keeping her thoughts to herself on her turn in Christopher Nolan’s Bat-flick as “Holly Robinson.”

Here’s Temple reacting to a question on whether she’ll be playing Catwoman’s sidekick in the movie:

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New Hi-Rez “Avengers” Photos Posted.

Posted on October 4, 2011 by jlmicek

Via NerdRepository, here’s some shots from the upcoming superhero flick from director Joss Whedon.

Scarlett Johansson as "Black Widow," with director Whedon.

Scarlett Johansson as "Black Widow"

Captain America and Thor in action.

Captain America and Iron Man Confer.

Actor Chris Evans as Captain America

Samuel L. Jackson as secret agent Nick Fury

Posted in Film News, Spoiler-itis, Summer Blockbusters, Superhero Cinema | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Force Is Strong With This One.

Posted on October 3, 2011 by jlmicek

Because some people are still surprised when they find out who Luke’s father is, that’s why.

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Christopher Nolan To Enter “The Twilight Zone?”

Posted on October 3, 2011 by jlmicek

“Dark Knight Rises‘ director Christopher Nolan is apparently on Warner Bros’ wishlist to direct a new reboot of the venerable film and TV franchise “The Twilight Zone, Empire reports this morning:

“But unlike the 1983 film, they wouldn’t all be contributing a segment: the plan this time around is to focus on a single storyline with one man in charge. Now the question is which of the names on the shortlist (if any, given the changeable nature of directing assignments) will hoist the megaphone.

While Nolan is Warners’ big pal given his work on the Bat-trilogy andInception, he’s also more likely to stick to his own plans unless the idea of venturing into the Zone appeals to him. There’s also the issue, as pointed out by Variety, of Inception already having seemed like it leaked from Rod Serling’s imagination.”

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Weekend Box Office And Your Monday Must-Read.

Posted on October 3, 2011 by jlmicek

“Dolphin Tale” leaped to the front of the box office pack in a slow weekend. Receipts were down nearly 14 percent over last weekend. Courtesy of BoxOffice Mojo, here’s the weekend, by the numbers:

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count /Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 3 Dolphin Tale WB $14,245,000 -25.6% 3,515 +8 $4,053 $37,516,000 $37 2
2 2 Moneyball Sony $12,500,000 -35.9% 2,993 – $4,176 $38,469,000 $50 2
3 1 The Lion King (in 3D) BV $11,057,000 -49.6% 2,340 +10 $4,725 $79,652,000 – 3
4 N 50/50 Sum. $8,858,000 – 2,458 – $3,604 $8,858,000 – 1
5 N Courageous TriS $8,800,000 – 1,161 – $7,580 $8,800,000 – 1
6 N Dream House Uni. $8,209,000 – 2,661 – $3,085 $8,209,000 – 1
7 4 Abduction LGF $5,650,000 -48.3% 3,118 – $1,812 $19,139,000 $35 2
8 N What’s Your Number? Fox $5,600,000 – 3,002 – $1,865 $5,600,000 – 1
9 6 Contagion WB $5,040,000 -40.4% 2,744 -392 $1,837 $64,702,000 $60 4
10 5 Killer Elite ORF $4,855,000 -48.1% 2,986 – $1,626 $17,439,000 $70 2

And in your Monday Must-Read:

Dutch filmmaker Tom Six has released the second installment in his “Human Centipede” series. The first one, if you didn’t see it, was (as the title suggests) about people sewn together to make a human centipede. It was thoroughly gross and terrifying to contemplate.

The sequel, as if there were depths unplumbed, was rejected earlier this year by the British Board of Film Classification.

Speaking to The New York Times, Six said he was appalled by the board’s ruling, but also realized “this is brilliant marketing.”

As ever, here’s the nut graf:

‘In a tradition of horror films that have been banned in countries around the world, from the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” to the “Hostel” series, “The Human Centipede 2” is fascinated by the contents of the human body and unflinching in its depictions of them. And like “A Clockwork Orange,” withdrawn from release in Britain by its studio and its director, Stanley Kubrick, amid fears that it was spawning copycat crimes and worries about Kubrick’s safety, Mr. Six’s film is concerned with how on-screen violence can lead to imitations in real life.”

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