WHEN They Do Decide To Reboot Batman Then...

Comicbookfan-V2 wrote:How on earth will they be able to top what was already done and about to be done in the film series that Christopher Nolan directed?

I mean lets face it... In regards to the first two "Batman" films ("Batman Begins" & "The Dark Knight") it can't be denied for a fact that they were critically & financially successful

Comicbookfan-V2 wrote:and with the third and presumably the final installment well under way we can all expect the film to get a much similar reception.

Comicbookfan-V2 wrote:Which kind of begs the question... How could the WB studio be planning to reboot the film series if the last film becomes successful critically & financially especially with the possibility that we may witness all three of these films achieving this feat?

If the WB studio does decide to go through with rebooting (I personally hope not!) the franchise then I say good luck to them on that especially finding a director who can do a better job!

non_amos wrote:Here's something to consider too. Hasn't Nolan more or less made it clear that he's finishing his trilogy in such a manner that no one can pick up with his story?! Which has caused such conjecture as, "Will Batman die?" But certainly duh brothers ain't that stupid?

non_amos wrote:Nevertheless duh Nolan has probably painted duh brothers into a corner. A reboot may be the only way out. Example given: SINGERMAN.

Christopher Nolan Talks Revealingly About His Batman Trilogy And Offers Advice To The Next Batman Director

The esteemed director touches on a number of subjects in this podcast interview with Empire Magazine. Was there ever a 4-hr cut,how far ahead was the trilogy planned and what advice does he have for the next Batman director? Mark Julian - 7/21/2012

[THIS INTERVIEW WAS CONDUCTED PRIOR TO THE AURORA SHOOTING]

Nolan on starting the franchise all the way back in 2003 and if he knew where the franchise was going to go from the start.

NOLAN: I certainly wasn't that forward thinking. I really, only dared think about what Batman Begins was going to be just because I'm a bit superstitious and I didn't want to make any assumptions about what people would think of that film, whether people would want to see my take on the character on a longer term. So, with each of the three films, we really just tried to tell everything we had to say about that character in that film as if it was the one chance we had to deal with the characters.

How does he feel to be at the end of that journey which started back in 2003. Exhausted? Relieved?

NOLAN: Certainly a little tired. I don't know about relieved, I suppose you always feel relieved at different times of a big film, to be finished with a particular part of the process. But then you have the tension.....or the pressure of the next stage, in this case, we're about to put the film out all over the world and see what the fans think. So it's a mixture of a bit of relief, then more pressure, anxiety, then a bit more relief. Once the film has been out for a couple of months and people have really had the chance to tell me what it is, at that point, I'll think its finished.

Nolan on Christian Bale's performance across all three films.

NOLAN: I think Christian, in his performance, is very consistent to maintaining the truth of what's happened to [Bruce Wayne] and where that might lead him, what impulses that's driven him towards. I think he's never strayed far from those original ideas, those original concerns and I think it means that if people do take the time and the trouble to watch those three films together, they'll see a pretty amazing achievement in the performance from Christian Bale.

Why Nolan decided to take the risk of having an 8 year gap between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises?

NOLAN: It's partly about a physical and emotional toll and it's partly about being true to the end of [The Dark Knight]. What you have at the end of The Dark Knight is an ending that hangs very much on substantial sacrifice to achieve a certain end and for that to have meaning, it has to work in some sense, it has to have been successful. And I didn't want to just abandon that and pick up a new story with a whole new set of ideas. So for me, that lead to the 8 year gap, it lead to the idea of Bruce Wayne, shut away in self-imposed exile because he's hung up his cape and cowl. He's living in a world, at least superficially, that doesn't need Batman but he hasn't moved on, he hasn't moved on as Alfred points out, he hasn't moved on emotionally or in a practical sense.

What Nolan finds most interesting about Batman.

NOLAN: One of things I find the most interesting about Batman is that because he works on the wrong side of the law, because he's a vigilante, you're never really far of the issue of the means and ends. You're never really far from the idea of what is acceptable in terms of fighting crime, in terms of trying to restore the world to some sense of good. And in the first film its very much about corruption about an environment so corrupt that Bruce Wayne couldn't work inside the established structures of the law and he had to move outside it. And that was very important to being able to accept the idea of vigilantism. And I think where we get to, through the next two films, and I think what The Dark Knight Rises really picks up, is the idea of that concept. Working outside the law has become more and more acceptable to Commissioner Gordon. It's become institutionalized in a sense with the lie about Harvey Dent and so the film really picks up with saying 'if we did that in the real world, if that where an underlying lie which prosperity is based on, is that really going to work?'

On the rumors of an initial 4-hr cut?

NOLAN: It's not true at all. [On the internet] you read a lot of crazy things. I don't think I would want to sit through a four hour version of this movie (laughs). As a writer/director, its pretty easy for me to be precise about the running time and length. I think with each film, I told the studio how long the film was going to be 2 years ahead of time and arrived on the money. Its because I can work things out on paper which is more efficient than shooting them and then editing them out. Which is why there's no deleted scenes on the DVD's of the film. With Lee Smith, who is a supremely talented editor who can compress and knows about storytelling in a precise space of time, aided considerably by Hans Zimmerand his score. What I've demanded of Hans over the years is for him to be able to bind together very disparate threads of narrative so that you can tell a crowded story, frankly, almost as a montage even though there's narrative.

On the end of The Dark Knight Rises which feels like an ending but also maybe a beginning?

NOLAN: We shouldn't talk about the end.

Nolan's advice to the person Warner Bros. hires to direct the reboot.

NOLAN: The only advice I would have is that...when I first met with Paul Levitz of DC Comics prior to Batman Begins, he explained to me clearly that Batman, of all superheroes, has thrived on reinterpretation and almost is strengthened by it. And I'm talking about over the years in the comic books but also in the movies. So when the time is right, whenever someone does whatever the next iteration of the character is, they simply need to be true to whatever it is they want to see, to what they believe in, not worry too much about what everyone else is telling them it should be.

This only scratches the surface of the awesome podcast from Empire. Nolan also touches on the work of Frank Miller and referencing Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween. Catwoman is also examined and Nolan extrapolates eloquently about what his feelings about the character are and what Anne Hathaway brought to the role. He also talks about Gary Oldman and sort of infers that the role of Commissioner Gordon was expanded because of his phenomenal talent. Be sure to listen to the audio below to hear the words and context from Nolan himself. [The interview with Nolan begins at the 37-minute mark]

non_amos wrote:Hasn't Nolan more or less made it clear that he's finishing his trilogy in such a manner that no one can pick up with his story?!

thecolorsblend wrote:They should go much slower toward a JLA film. They'll be accused of ripping off Marvel no matter what so why not do it on their own terms rather than someone else's?

James Stocks wrote:It's so ironic too, because JLA is the reason Marvel made AVENGERS in the first place.

James Stocks wrote:It's so ironic too, because JLA is the reason Marvel made AVENGERS in the first place.

Comicbookfan-V2 wrote:Thats was the same thing I was thinking! I don't think I need to remind anyone here that a JL movie was in the minds of executives of WB for several years even before "The Avengers" movie was on the mind of Marvel Studios! WB had the idea, Marvel on the other hand toke the idea and made it happen just in reversal from what WB had planned.

non_amos wrote:This will no doubt be reiterating comments I've made previously but I don't think it can be emphasized enough. I just don't like how duh general public no longer shows any love for BATMAN (1989)!

non_amos wrote:I'm aware that Tim Burton made 2 really good films & then along came Joel Shumacher who not only derailed the existing franchise, he sunk it! So badly in fact that people, including fans, thought the Batman film franchise was 'one & done', that the final nail had been driven into the coffin.

non_amos wrote:But 8 years later Nolan comes along & 'changes things'. But let's face it, the reason that BATMAN BEGINS didn't do the same level of business as it's sequels no doubt has to do with public perception.

non_amos wrote:Apparently the bad taste of BATMAN & ROBIN lingered. So it was a 'sleeper hit' if you will. It actually performed better than SINGERMAN PEEPS in spite of what duh apologists say. But not really a lot better. But then it exploded on DVD & cable & then it erased the pain of B&R.

Nicholson in particular has been ravaged by this. There was a time when his performance was near universally praised. It was haunting and comedic, disturbing and chuckle-inducing, it was both extremes at the same time. It wasn't just "Jack being Jack". Fuck the people who say otherwise. The guy was the Joker. Period, end of story. Ledger did well for himself, no doubts there, but was that the Joker? Never as I've known him.

"Here, let me give you a hand!"

"I am not a killer! I am an artist. I luvvvv a good party!"

"You're a vicious bastard for telling it. I'm glad you're dead!"

Not every Batman movie needs to have the entire city in peril....