Dark Knight news
By Skip • Aug 7th, 2008 • Category: Cult/Sci-Fi and HorrorWell there’s been quite a lot of news about and related to Batman: The Dark Knight, so I’ve pulled them all together here to make for easy reading. Links to the full stories at the bottom of each item with the latest news at the top of the page.
Batman film breaks another record
Batman film The Dark Knight has broken another box office record after taking just 18 days to make more than $400 million (£204m) in North America. That was less than half the time which previous record-holder Shrek 2 needed to pass the milestone, having taken 43 days to cross the $400m mark in 2004.
The Dark Knight has already smashed the record for best opening night and best opening weekend in the US and Canada. Last week it became the fastest movie ever to pass the $300m (£153m) barrier.
According to distributor Warner Bros, the sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins had generated $400.03m by the end of Monday.
Ledger inquiry ‘is to be dropped’
US investigators are to drop a criminal case into how Heath Ledger obtained two powerful painkillers that contributed to his death, an official has said. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had suspected oxycodone and hydrocodone found in Ledger’s system were obtained with false prescriptions. But an official in New York told the AP news agency prosecutors now thought there was not “a viable target”.
Ledger was found dead at his home in January after an accidental overdose.
Freeman recovering after surgery
Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman is in “good spirits” after surgery for injuries sustained in a serious car accident near his Mississippi home. Mr Freeman’s spokeswomen said the surgery to reconnect nerves and repair damage to his left arm and hand lasted four-and-a-half hours. She said the 71-year-old Dark Knight star was now looking forward to being discharged “as soon as possible”.
The accident happened shortly before midnight on Sunday.
Morgan Freeman hurt in car crash
Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman is in hospital after being injured in a car accident near his Mississippi home. The 71-year-old Dark Knight star is in a serious condition, according to staff at Memphis’s Regional Medical Center. The accident happened shortly before midnight on Sunday outside Charleston in the Mississippi Delta.
A Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman told the BBC that Mr Freeman’s car left the road and “began to flip several times” before landing in a ditch.
Mr Freeman - who had been driving the car - and a female passenger were airlifted to the Memphis hospital, about 145km (90 miles) north of where the accident occurred in Tallahatchie County.
Olsen seeks immunity over Ledger
Actress Mary-Kate Olsen will not speak to investigators about Heath Ledger’s death unless she is granted immunity from prosecution. An official said the 22-year-old wants the assurance before speaking to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Olsen was the first person contacted by the masseuse who discovered Ledger’s body. Her lawyer said she has told the authorities all she knows. Ledger was found dead at his home in January after an accidental overdose. Federal investigators want to question Olsen about how Ledger obtained two powerful painkillers that contributed to his death.
Olsen’s lawyer, Michael C Miller, added that she “does not know the source of the drugs Mr Ledger consumed”.
MPs lambast BBFC over Batman
MPs Keith Vaz and Iain Duncan Smith have weighed in on the hoohah over the violent content of The Dark Knight and its controversial 12A classification.
The Telegraph finds the Labour and Tory bods united in their condemnation of the film’s violence and disagreement with its certificate, which allows children under 12 to see it if accompanied by parents. Smith, the former Conservative Party leader who saw the film with his (no doubt rather embarrassed) 15-year-old daughter, said he was “astonished” the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) found the somewhat stab-tastic flick suitable viewing for anyone under 15.
Christopher Nolan’s realistic treatment didn’t sit well with the quiet man, who went on: “Unlike past Batman films, where the villains were somewhat surreal and comical figures, Heath Ledger’s Joker is a brilliantly acted but very credible psychopathic killer, who extols the use of knives to kill and disfigure his victims during a reign of urban terrorism laced with torture.”
Film censor defends Batman rating
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. 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.
Depp for Dark Knight follow-up
With Batman behemoth The Dark Knight pleasing audiences and critics alike, it’s time for some rabid speculation about the casting of the next film in the rebooted franchise. The Sun froths this morning that the incandescent Johnny Depp is in line to play the Riddler, the bodystockinged bastard last played by Jim Carrey in Batman Forever.
Depp, a pretty safe pair of hands for almost any role, already has Batman connections. He took over the lead role in Heath ‘Joker’ Ledger’s final unfinished film, Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, along with Colin Farrell and Jude Law. Depp is also sharing screen time with Christian ‘Um, Batman’ Bale in the forthcoming Public Enemies, in which our Johnny plays infamously cocky* gangster John Dillinger.
Everyone’s favourite morality-and-mammaries rag also reckons that Philip ‘Boogie’ Seymour ‘Nights’ Hoffman might be coaxed into playing the Penguin, a role previously occupied by Danny ‘Throw Momma From The Train’ DeVito.
The El Reg film desk hereby tips Angelina ‘Hubba hubba’ Jolie for Catwoman.
Ledger ‘brilliant’ in last film
Director Terry Gilliam said replacing Heath Ledger’s part with three actors to complete his final film after he died has worked. Filming of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was suspended when the star was found dead in January. Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell will now appear as Ledger’s character, but scenes he had previously filmed will be included in the movie.
“I’ve seen it and it works and it’s great,” said Gilliam. “It’s the last chance to see Heath and he’s brilliant,” he added.
Dark Knight leads UK box office
Batman film The Dark Knight has swept to the top of the UK box office with takings of £8.6m.
The epic film, starring Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger, eclipsed Mamma Mia! which took second place with ticket sales of £2.8m. Teen flick Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging made its debut at number four, with US comedy Baby Mamma new at 10.
The Dark Knight has made more than $300m (£151m) in North America after 10 days, breaking a box office record.
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Skip is the nerd out of the GSFN partnership. Skip enjoys nothing more than good sci-fi and horror, be it on the big screen, TV or in a book. He also likes the bad stuff too. Skip also has a thing for faces and continuously likes to point out actors from one film to the next, much to the annoyance of Drew.
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