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The Unofficial Christopher Nolan Website / Archived News / July - September 2003 |
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Archived News July - September 2003 September 29, 2003 Memento essay (cont'd) Well, now here is the essay by Kyle Abram, that I forgot to include in the last update... (more essays can be found here) September 27, 2003 Various Batman News; Memento essay Various additional crew members have been confirmed to be on board in the last couple of days: First of all Nolan-regular Director of Photography Wally Pfister and Lindy Hemming as costume designer. According to BoF "one of Nolan's mandates was the end of the "rubber-armour" Bat-suit". As further casting might be right ahead (or is even done right now) Kurt Russels name has been rumored quite a lot as a potential canidate for the role of Gordon Kyle Abram send in an essay addressing the philisophical question of identity in Memento, which can be found here. Thanks again to Kyle. I just realised I haven't yet uploaded the essay in will only be able to do this on the next update, sorry... 
September 16, 2003 More Fan Art Thanks to Matt Peck who send this poster in. As I mentioned before I am not sure when I will be able to do the next update... So long, Johannes September 14, 2003 Fan Bat-Poster & some personal notes 
In one of these emails I received over the last days there was a beautifully designed fan poster for Batman 5 made by Bruno Vergauwen (click on the thumbnail to the right for a bigger version). I'm sorry I couldn't respond to every single email in the last couple of days (but I try to catch up with these)... Well, to make a long story short: beginning from next Tuesday I will go to Istanbul, Turkey for at least three months to do an internship with a German-Turkish film director. As I do not know yet how often I will be able to access the internet, I just want to let you all know that there probably won't be that frequent updates to this site until the next year. Thanks for all the support so far. Take care and don't stop sending in your emails, Johannes 
September 11, 2003 Christian Bale is Batman "What I see in Christian is the ultimate embodiment of Bruce Wayne. He has exactly the balance of darkness and light that we were looking for." That's what Chris Nolan said, when the announcement was made today by Jeff Robinov, President of production for Warner Bros. Pictures: "Now that we've found the best person to play Batman, we are really looking forward to moving ahead with the rest of our casting, and are excited about the exceptional group we are assembling." (Thanks to all the people who cared to nofify me; thanks to John, Wildfire06, Jamie & Eloy and also to David!). According to Harry Knowles from AICN "Ras Al Ghul will definitely be a villain in the film, though there may be a possibility of a small part to be played by the Scarecrow." September 7, 2003 Various Batman News A scooper for AICN reported from the sets that are being build in Shepperton village, England: "[...] sets are being constructed including a giant lair in the shape of a spiders web. [...] There is also supposed to be a few of the sets with a strong egyptian theme but he was fuzzy on the detials as they are only head height in order to make room for the remainder of them to be computer generated." Now Harry from AICN began spaculating that now Ra's Al Ghul will be the films villan, but as my source Wildfire06 reports: Regarding the villains, I can almost confirm, 99.9% that the villain IS Scarecrow, and the sets in question are being created for the feargas induced nightmares/hallucinations. One of Batman on Film's sources also confirmed this. More about the casting came from Dark Horizons: "One of the workshops at Shepperton has 'Dark Knight Films' on the sign. [...] Its expected to begin production in Feb 2004 with either Christian Bale, Josh Hartnett or Cillian Murphy from '28 Days Later'. Murphy seems the most likely to get it as Hartnett doesn't seem to be interested and Bale is stalling because if he takes on Batman he knows he can kiss goodbye to a future chance at the Bond role. Whilst all this talk is running rampant about the hero, a piece out of left field came today about the villain - 'Kate' went to see Russell Crowe's band '30 Odd Foot of Grunts' when they were recently on tour and Crowe apparently mentioned he's been offered a "damn bad guy role thing that the guy from Memento's doing". Could he be referring to this?." ...while my source Wildfire06 said about the casting that... "[...] I hear that virtually all of the actors who tested did extremely well, and Nolan is confident. So that's good news for the Bat-fans out there." Then from Latino Review there were a couple of assorted tidbits conercing Batman (Thanks to TRI4YQ!): 1- The title is 'Intimidation Game'. Thats it for now! September 3, 2003 - II Preproduction title: Batman: Intimidation ? In an article from aicn a scooper reports that some test work is being done on "a" Batman film at Shepperton Studios under the name of Batman: Intimidation. I am working at Shepperton Studios in England and staff from other productions are all talking about a new Batman movie gearing up for production here. They are calling it Batman: Intimidation, apparently they are doing test shots at the moment. A colleague knows someone on the production and I shall get the name of the director... I did a little research and discovered that batman-intimidation.net & .com are indeed registered to Warner Bros. AICN also confirms this story and the title of the film as well: They've begun crewing up there with special effects guys, set designer and modelmakers... and the riggers and carpenters are lined up with the start of the main bulk of construction beginning around the start of October. The Art Department has been going at full swing for quite a bit now and they've been working on "quite extensive concepts" that have been shared only with personel that "need to know." Batman on Film reports that one of their very reliable sources says that "there may in fact be some validity" to this report and also mentions that The Scarecrow will be the villain for this film while it may be prove to be true that Goyer's script may have certain elements from The Frightening script. September 3, 2003 A potential Batman actors list surfaces According to Hollywood Reporter there is a short list of actors that Nolan will apparently test in the next 3 days (according to aintitcool.com). These actors are:
Eion Bailey (Band of Brothers, Seven and a Match) Also notice which names are not listed. No Kutcher, no Pearce, no Ledger... Check an article at Aintitcool for an in depth discussion of these actors a possible Batman. 
August 22, 2003 Batman casting: Hugh Dancy - Signed, Sealed, and Delivered? I just returned from my vacation and was happy to find an email by Wildfire06 in my Inbox concerning the Batman casting. This is Wildfire06. I have reported to you before, and hopefully my validity was proven by my accuracy. Anyways, on to the news: 1) Dark Horizon's has reported that Hugh Dancy (An English Actor of Age 28, hailing from Staffordshire, England) is in talks to play BATMAN. I can confirm that this is not only accurate, but he is almost and I quote: "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered"...... 2) Of course, as I indicated to you in my last report, Kutcher will NOT, I repeat, will NOT be BATMAN, nor will any other major name in Hollywood. Nolan of course (As again I mentioned before) Has had until the end of Summer to find his "Kutcher Killer", and he has. His name IS Hugh Dancy. This is Nolan's number one guy for the role. If it falls through, I hear Nolan still has the infamous list of over 20 names of unknowns he wants to screen test if this situation does not play out as expected. I am actually quite surprised this info was leaked as fast as it was. Someone has ALOT of balls to leak that that quickly. Hopefully, whoever it is knows who they are dealing with, and hopefully this won't cause a certain Production/Distribution company to suddenly make casting changes. Since it's already out there, I might as well mention it. So, for all of the Bat fans, look this guy up, he'll probably be the Bat. Also, in case you were wondering, Superman will be almost definitely be played by Matthew Bomer (A fan favorite from I what I can tell). WILDFIRE06 I have to admit that Hugh Dancy is not a name that I heard before (which might be a good thing) and I had to look up the info on him. The 28 year old actor starred most noticeably in the romance "The Sleeping Dictionary" and had a supporting role in "Black Hawk Down". For more about him check out his unofficial website at www.hughdancyonline.com. July 30, 2003 Nolan on Batman In an interview with Metro Chris Nolan talked a little about Batman although he couldn't say much because "it's absolutely, excruciatingly top secret." "How is Batman coming along?" "Fantastic. I'm having the time of my life." "What stage are you at?" "Very early stages, which is where it's tremendous fun. I'm getting to watch my vision of the world of Batman. To do that and get paid for it is brilliant." "Can you pitch your vision to me?" "Er, bloody marvellous? I can't, it's absolutely, excruciatingly top secret." In the rest of the interview Nolan talks about his day jobs while he was shooting Following (which was doing corporate videos), about getting in the film industry and his inspirations as a filmmaker. Click here for more interviews. By the way: I am on vacation in Marmaris, Turkey for the next two weeks, so don't expect many updates - you could check out the Forum instead... July 28, 2003 Update Added some interviews including audio and video interviewswith Christopher & Jonathan Nolan (thanks to Tim!). 
July 22, 2003 Pearce is no Batman As you might know there is a new Australian film starring Guy Pearce called "The Hard Word". In an interview with Movie Poop Shoot concerning this film, the interviewer also asked if Guy Pearce was interested in Batman and has talked about it with Chris Nolan: Have you two talked about you possibly trying on that character. Would that hold any interest for you? GP: I don't think so. (laughs) Not in your nature to do a superhero movie? GP: Not at this stage in my life. If I was ever going to do it, Chris Nolan would be the person I would do it with. But no we haven't had any of those discussions. July 20, 2003 Memento Trivia Just added a section for Memento Trivia and made some updates to Memento Secrets: Memory is Treachery including an mysterious arrow that supposedly appears in Memento (thanks again to Gary!). July 17, 2003 Goyer talks about Batman & some Batman insider news In a long article over at Weekly Dig screenwriter David Goyer talks about adapting Comics:  "You can make mistakes being too slavish to the source. You have to change things, collapse certain characters. We got a free pass with Blade. There's less of a burden to adhere to the mythology, since he didn't even have his own comic at the time. But then with Batman there's been TV shows and movies, so in terms of public consciousness the canon was already set. Chris Nolan and I had to meet with [DC President] Paul Levitz and other high-ups, to make sure we didn't break the core rules of the character.” Over at Batman on Film an insider reports in detail about some of the Batman pre-production aspects: Costume-Look for the new bat-rig to be more faithful to the comics, as in not all black. Also, look for the sculpted "rubber" look to go away, a la Spiderman. Batmobile: smaller, sleeker; think dodge viper crossed with a small dragster. "Villain: Scarecrow is the front-runner; he may not be the one, or the only one. There is talk of introducing a NEW villain via the movie! [...] "Whoever gets the nod for both roles is hoped for a 3 picture deal. This will mean a 25-30 something star for each film. THIS ALSO means younger versions of Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, & Harvey Dent, than in the previous films. Alfred will be in his fifties; Commissioner Gordon will be in his forties, & more along the lines of Miller's "YEAR ONE" Gordon. A teen-age Barbara Gordon, Gordon's niece, may make a non-Batgirl cameo. (not Alicia Silverstone's Barbara PENNYWORTH from Batman & Robin). "Logic would dictate that the same treatment would be given to the Flying Grayson's Although all involved say Robin WILL NOT be part of the plot. Harvey Dent WILL NOT be Two-face, solidifying the thought that this is a restart to the franchise. This is significant, as this opens the door for an appearance by The Joker, either in this or future films. Dent will be a contemporary of Wayne's; look for him to be in his mid thirties. Names for the part include Noah Wiley from ER, David Duchovney, & Dougray Scott (also mentioned for Bruce Wayne)! Gordon has no names attached, but agents for Dennis Quaid, Sam Neil, Patrick Swayze (?!) & Dylan McDermott(?!) have all been contacted. WB/Nolan want Gordon to be a significant role in the upcoming franchise. Look for him to be a grizzled, hard as nails cop that begrudgingly befriends Batman."  And in a second statement the souce adds some more information: "Design: this movie is particularly challenging as Batman has a solid "look" in place for both the films AND comics. The challenge here is to make Batman look fresh & different, yet remain faithful to the look of the character. So, to wit, the comments on the costume, Batmobile, etc., are the strongest elements that come to pass, either from us or another designer, will most likely happen. "Casting: as in any conversation, talk will drift to all parts of a subject. The names we got were from WB employees. Any "Fanboy Wishing" is coming from them. As you know, a casting agency will handle the bulk of the casting beyond the leads; to my knowledge there is not one yet in place, and if there is we don't know who it is. It's because of that that suggestions are springing up. It's an open field, & WB staff are as hopeful as anyone to see this movie get made. The names mentioned were mentioned, and that is all. I'm not privy to how these people are signed up. "Ashton Kutcher: our impression was, at first they loved him, now they want him gone. I'm sure you have noticed how much he has been in the news of late. [...] "The McCoughnehay/Bale thing was mentioned, again, as a possible example of this; hence the unofficial title. I know nothing of any actual attempt to contact these actors. Of the possible supporting roles, the impression WAS given that some of these actors would be contacted. But, It also could have just been a list as to who would fit where. "Our biggest impression is that a lot of behind the scenes stuff is going on; meaning, they are evaluating the script. After that, If Nolan is happy, & stays w/ the project, the film will get made." Be sure to check out Batman on Film for a little more information on this (and its of course a reliable source for Batman News in general) July 14, 2003 Short update: Pfister, Julyan and Dorn on Batman? The IMDb has added Batman 5 to their database and lists David Julyan for Original Music, Wally Pfister for Cinematography and Dody Dorn for Editing. This could be just an assumption made by the IMDb people, because all the three have worked with Nolan since Memento. But if it turns out to be true... 
July 7, 2003 Kutcher is out! It seems like I can confirm the latest rumors about Kutcher. As DarkHorizons reports Ashton Kutcher has signed on for two more years of "That 70's Show". This rules him out of doing Batman. (Thanks to Jamie for the heads-up!) Guess we are back where we started - concerning the Batman lead rumors... I'm curious about who will be the next "front runner"... July 6, 2003  Rumors say Kutcher is definitely not Batman This one comes again from Batman on Film - but since Jett from BoF says he hasn't been able to confirm this source the information should be considered strictly as a rumor. Although it seems consistent to the recent bits of information. The source reports that: "Kutcher will NOT be Cast as Bruce Wayne. Nolan want's an unknown, He thinks Kutcher comes with too much baggage (Dude Where's My Car?, That 70's Show). "He thinks Kutchers antics as of late to try and gain publicity nods and attention (dating Demi) is uncalled for and pathetic. "Apparently Nolan told Kutchers camp that he would consider him for the part if he started acting like Mature Hollywood and less like the idiot he plays on That 70's Show. He doesn't think that Kutcher would suit the needs of the BATMAN audience, the way that Clooney/Kilmer did, and even though Nolan wants "Young Hollywood" in the next Batman flick, he said that Kutcher just doesn't fit the part, nor will he ever. "When Nolan told Ashton's camp he needed to be more mature, he didn't mean to grab an older more respected Actress in Hollywood and try to "Date" her. The Demi Moore/Ashton Kutcher "Romance" is a publicity stunt, One which will not score Kutcher the part in the new Batman Flick. "Other Batman News: Al Gough will be the only Original cast member to Return (Gough of course plays the part of Alfred Pennyworth). Christopher Lloyd has been chosen to play the part of the evil villain Dr. Jonathan Crane (AKA "The Scarecrow"). These are the only two cast members attached to the project thus far, and I can guarantee that Ash[t]on Kutchers name will not be included in the credits when the film finally does hit theaters. Collin, who?" Great news for everybody who thought that Ahston wasn't quite right for the part - if this rumor turns out to be true. Again I like that Chris Nolan really seems to have a strong opinion and that he seems able to stand up to the studios preferences for casting the lead. July 2, 2003 A bunch of Batman casting news Mostly confirmations of older rumors though... Dark Horizons reports: "Ashton Kutcher. We all know he is the front runner in the Bat-mix. But he is only the WB's front runner. Nolan does not want Kutcher (at least he is definitely not his first choice), as far as Nolan's first choice; he has a lengthy list of unknowns/semi-established actors that will be screen tested in late Summer. Nolan has until the end of August/early September to find a replacement; and from the buzz around the office, it looks like he will do just that (I think someone mentioned about 20 different names in mind?). As far as Nolan wanting Guy Pearce, I wouldn't hold my breath. I think that was mostly rumor that he was going to pull a "Burton" and cast an actor he recently worked with and has a good relationship with. He's looking in the 25-30 range as far as actors go. (As opposed to 18-22). "Chris Lloyd as Scarecrow. Yes, he has been spotted around the backlots. No, we don't know for sure what for. "Al Gough as Alfred again? You're on the money. He is both Nolan's and WB's first choice, and will most likely get the role, even though the film is a restart of the franchise. (This is just a way to pay homage to the previous films and keep some familiarity with audiences, because almost nobody else from previous films will be cast)." In the meantime Cinescape has put up a nice roundup of all the recent Batman actors rumors. (Thanks for the heads-up to Drew Douglas of the brand-new christophernolan.cjb.net). One of Cinescape's own sources says about the role of Bruce Wayne: "...is still anyone's to grab. Supposedly the decision about who will play the new Batman i[s] contingent on the director and senior WB personnel, which makes sense." |
              
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