The Dark Knight

michaelwoodcock · 07-29-2007, 11:44 AM

So, the viral advertising campaign for this continued this week at Comic Con in San Diego. Websites have been popping up, the whysoserious one above is an example of this. It had been advising folks to gather in San Diego, at 10am yesterday, for an event of sort. Comic reporter Emmett Furey took part, and had this to say.

Quote:

At 9:30 a.m. on Friday morning, I learned that the Web site www.whysoserious.com announced a Joker recruitment drive somewhere near the San Diego Convention center, part of a viral marketing campaign for the upcoming "Batman Begins" sequel, "The Dark Knight." The site said the drive was to kick off at 10:00 a.m., so I battled San Diego traffic and managed to arrive at a the field on K street across from the convention center (where I'd been told the event was happening) a mere 15 minutes late. After about ten minutes of wandering around looking for some sign of Joker activity, I found the break I'd been looking for: Batman and Robin ran by.

I took off after them, and followed Gotham's protectors to a number of white vans parked, appropriately, on J Street. The number of people already milling around told me I was one of the last ones to the party.

One of the recruiters handed me a felt green bag from the back of the van. Inside was a Joker playing card, a makeup kit with red, white and black face paint, a portable mirror, and a note. The note instructed the would-be Jokers to "dress for excess" by applying the makeup as follows: "Show your soulful nature with deep-set puppy dog eyes. Give your face the spotless white gleam of purity. Last but not least, a big red smile to die for sets EVERYONE at ease!" In case that wasn't enough, also enclosed in the green bag as a photograph of Heath Ledger of the Joker for you to follow. The note also instructed participants to sign the enclosed release form, and get their picture taken by one of Joker's associates. All of said photos can now be viewed on www.whysoserious.com. I'm the one called Terrible George.

As I was a latecomer, I had to apply my makeup with great haste. And the Joker's associates demanded a thorough makeup job (not good, necessarily, just thorough). By the time I got my Joker on, I had to hustle to catch up with the group, which had drifted to the next stop on our trip. I saw the Joker converts huddle around another of Joker's associates, this one in full Joker makeup himself, handing out green and purple balloons. But you could only get a balloon if you told him the password. What was the password? "Why so serious?"

After handing me my first balloon, the string promptly unwound and the helium filled balloon floated away, along with the strip of paper that was contained within. I asked the man for a replacement.

"The boss doesn't tolerate failure," he told me. But he proceeded to give me a replacement anyway. I stomped on the balloon and read the message on the strip of paper inside: "If you think that's fun with a balloon, you should try it with a human head! I like HEAD GAMES.

One of the participants was carrying around a laptop with a wireless Internet connection. This turned out to be essential, as "Head Games" was the first of many key words we'd pick up along the way that had to be entered into the Web site before it would spit out the next clue.

Our antics included "stealing" boxes of cookies from a Girl Scout. There were indeed cookies inside the box (in my case, Keebler Fudge Shoppe Mini Fudge Stripes) but there was also another strip of paper. This one read, "Better to steal that STARVE, right? Hold onto this note as well, you'll need it at your final destination."

We were instructed to look for a statue of man teaching his child to use a weapon. This turned out to be the statue outside of Trophy's, of a man helping a child with his baseball swing. "Baseball bat" was our latest keyword.

Finally we were instructed to return to the white vans where it had all begun. Once there, a Black Chevy Escalade drove up with men in black suits walking alongside it like Secret Service. We were told to take note of the license number, which read, "2971759." The gentleman with the laptop was named the winner. We were told to say goodbye to the man, who was then manhandled into the vehicle, and apparently worked over by someone inside as the Escalade sped off.

The first line of the last note we received read, "Well, that guy earned the job you all would have died for." Sure enough, a look at www.whysoserious.com now reveals a Gotham Police Department Update entitled, "Joker eliminated, all forces stand down." But the photo of the dead man who is purported to be the Joker is, in fact, the man with the laptop.

The rest of us were rewarded for our efforts in two ways. The first was one that benefits everyone: the trailer for "Dark Knight" can now be viewed online. But we all got something a little more tangible too. A Joker-like mask, a replica of a mask from the film.

retired_kritty925 · 07-29-2007, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alan A Wadge:
thats not a trailer, thats a teaser mr_shushhh

Yeah, I posted before I'd actually watched it. I followed a froma link that siad it was a trialer, sorry.

retired_derek · 07-29-2007, 12:07 PM

I love how things are getting promoted in this day and ages :thup:

that sounds like utterly fantastic fun.

michaelwoodcock · 08-13-2007, 06:47 PM

WWC, or Wizard World Chicago was this weekend, and the Dark Knight team made an appearance, since they are shooting in town.

Quote:

With 1,200 people packed into the Dave Cockrum room at Wizard World Chicago, most wearing matching "The Dark Knight" T-shirts handed out earlier that day, Paul Levitz introduced the star-studded "The Dark Knight" panel: actors Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Director Christopher Nolan, Writer David Goyer and Writer Jonathan Nolan were all in attendance to answer questions, talk about the movie and watch along with the crowd the first publicly shown footage from the film.

"We are very lucky that 'The Dark Knight' is filming here in Chicago," Levitz, the president and publisher of DC Comics, told the audience. "The team from 'The Dark Knight' remembers very fondly the warm welcome you gave them a few years ago."

After bringing out both Nolans and Goyer, Levitz introduced the first movie star: Gary Oldman. That's a pretty big name brought out with two empty seats still left on the dais.

When Bale entered the room, it was absolute pandemonium.

"It would be really wrong of us to give an hour to Batman without asking Batman to be here," Levitz said when introducing Bale.

"Thank you for the insane welcome and for embracing the first Batman, it gives me a great deal of confidence" Bale said. "As you can see, we've got one hell of a crew and cast. It's a real high to get this kind of response, and it's a real honor to reprise this bad-ass."

"Something like this is why you do it," Goyer told the audience. "I went to comic conventions as a kid. It's an honor to be brought in here by Chris, it's full-circle."

Immediately, a long line formed down the middle of the room, fans waiting patiently to ask questions of the talent behind "The Dark Knight."

The first question was directed to Christopher Nolan and Bale. What was the best thing about working with each other, the fan wanted to know.

"Christian should go first," Nolan laughed.

"Christian? You've been directed," Levitz said.

"Yeah, but usually he gives me the words to say!" Bale responded.

Bale told the crowd that the two trust each other, and that he very much enjoys what Nolan does. "[It's] an added bonus that Chris' movies are great at the end of the day."

Nolan said that everyone knows that Bale is an extraordinary talent.

"But what you may not know is his extraordinary precision," Nolan said. "He can hit his marks in an extraordinary way, which blows away stunt guys. I'm able to use him for stunts and not swapping him out."

The next fan wanted to know if there was a difference in preparing for a superhero movie from a more traditional movie.

Oldman responded by telling the crowd that he doesn't typically act much outside the script.

"That's your map," he said. "We're blessed with a great script, a great cast and a great director."

They turned the question to Eckhart, who will be playing the role of Harvey Dent/Two-Face.

"I cannot add to what Gary Oldman just said," he laughed. "That would be blasphemy, and I'd be kicked out of the union."

Bale told the fans that before he was cast in the role of Batman, his exposure to the character was mostly through Adam West's portrayal of the character.

"With Burton, I never was a huge fan of Batman… he never created interest in my mind," Bale said. "But then I read Frank Miller's 'Batman: Year One,' [that] made me say what you all say: Why the hell hasn't someone made this movie yet? I love playing him. For the second [film], it was like riding a bike. You stick on that suit… for me, there's only one way you can play it."

The next fan asked about the unique marketing of the Batman franchise, which the panel quickly side-stepped with no comment. An example of that unique marketing experience was seen last month during Comic-Con International in San Diego, in which a Joker's army was assembled using fans of the franchise (full report on that event here.)

A fan asked about an article in "Entertainment Weekly" which said Oldman was contemplating retirement. He asked if Oldman could be talked out of it.

"You can't believe what you read in those rags," Oldman said, to the delight of the crowd.

The portrayal of the Joker was a hot topic. Goyer told a fan that they took a lot of time considering how to write the character. Goyer went back and re-read the first appearances of the Joker, and he said they came "eerily close" to that character.

"The Nicholson character portrayal doesn't work [in this franchise]," Goyer said. "We asked, how would the Joker fit into the 'Batman Begins' universe?"

Another fan asked the actors - Bale, Eckhart and Oldman - if they have fun when the cameras are rolling, or if they "get tense." He stressed the "get tense," which Bale mimed back to the fan, "We get tense."

A fan asked if Batman would be more of a detective in this movie, a question which evoked applause from the crowd.

"The short answer is 'yes,'" Nolan said. "'Batman Begins' was an origin movie. We're trying to move the story forward."

Goyer told the crowd that topping the origin story has been a big challenge. "Based on everything these guys are doing… I think they've topped it."

The last question went to a fan who said she thought Mark Hamill's Joker from "Batman: The Animated Series" was the best, and wanted to know the difference between the animated Joker and the movie Joker.

"To be perfectly honest, what Heath is doing with the Joker… what he's doing is completely indescribable," Nolan said. "It's literally impossible to describe. It's very personal to him."

Oldman then piped up to speak about Ledger's work.

"May I say something? I've done some scenes with him… he's going to knock everyone out of the ballpark."

The questions were then shut down, the lights were cut, and the short preview - being seen for the first time by the actors as well as the audience - was shown. A little more than a minute was shown. Scenes included Batman on a motorcycle, Batman looking out at Gotham from the top of a building, a short, choppy scene which was a fight scene between Batman and the Joker - or someone who was dressed as the Joker - the Bat-Signal getting an axe thrown through it, Joker marching down the street while firing a machine gun and Harvey Dent meeting Bruce Wayne out for dinner.

The crowd begged for it to be shown again, but Levitz was not allowed to capitulate.

As the crowd filed out, there was one last surprise. All of the free T-shirts have, in neon writing only visible by blacklight, "Ha ha" written on them.

retired_mandyg · 08-13-2007, 07:29 PM

I watched Batman Begins again the other day, such an awesome film. Noticed how cheesy the lines were more the second time however and the some of the directing is a bit dubious in parts but still really enjoyable.

michaelwoodcock · 08-18-2007, 11:26 AM

Lots of photos from the movie have popped up online. Joker using the multiple Batman's ploy is a classic :thup:

retired_mmurillo05 · 08-18-2007, 12:18 PM

man, i really can't wait for this. I have full faith in Nolan, Begins was fffb and IMO knocked the 1989 version out of the park. Judging from the make up, does it look as if The Joker kinda puts his own make up on, as opposed to being dunked in a vat of chemicals?

talking of Nolan, i saw the prestige yesterday (with Bale and Caine also) such an amazing movie :cool:

michaelwoodcock · 10-17-2007, 05:58 PM

Folks who are willing to watch I Am Legend (Will Smith's latest save the world movie) at the IMAX will reportedly get to watch a seven minute prologue about Joker.

retired_little.splash · 10-17-2007, 06:38 PM

is he still a professional poker player?

retired_pawz829 · 10-17-2007, 08:27 PM

batman begins was awesome, the best batman ever imho. Im expecting alot from the dark knight. cant wait.

The Dark Knight

Grab a beer, sit back and relax.

The Dark Knight