Bitman Begins

'Interstellar' - Christopher Nolan's latest

The Dark Knight Rises could have been even longer...

...if it actually used the scenes filmed to explain Bane's backstory. As is, TDKR doesn't really explain much of how Bane got the way he is; we know he needs the mask up pump himself full of painkillers, but why? Some deleted scenes would explain:

The thing that you should have seen during that sequence is [Bane] being injured in his youth. So one of the fundamental things about his costume is that he has this scar from the back injury. Even if he hasn't got the bulletproof vest on, he still has to wear the waist belt and the braces. In that scene in the prison, where he's learning to fight the same way Batman learned to fight, he's wearing an early version of his waist belt. It's showing support, but it's not the finished one he eventually wears. He's also wearing an early version of his gas mask, all glued together ... If you look at the film, unless they've cut it—and I'm sure they haven't—there's a whole early section for Tom Hardy where he's fighting and being taunted by people. He's got chains on him, and he's standing on a wooden thing while people are attacking him. And in that scene, he's wearing a much more ragged, primitive version of the mask.

The above quote is from costume designer Lindy Hemming, and we can only hope the DVD/Blu-ray edition will have those scenes intact.

Via Vulture

TDKR has 3rd largest opening weeked

Despite being marred by the "Batman Massacre" and the totals being withheld until today, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises still managed to open to the third best opening weekend in history, finishing behind The Avengers and the last Harry Potter movie with $160.9 million. It finished just above The Dark Knight's record-at-the-time $158.4 million.  TDKR's total may not have broken the record set earlier this year, but it is nothing to be frowned upon. It did not have the aid of 3D ticket sales and was hindered by a nearly 3 hour run time and the aforementioned tragedy; despite this it was the best opening for a 2D movie ever.  Next weekend will really dictate how well the film does, as a small drop in sales will predict good legs for the final installment.

Overall, I personally feel there are too many factors going against TDKR to beat The Avengers but I wouldn't be surprised if it came close or surpassed it.  Now strictly in terms of base ticket sales, I'd say Batman takes out the Avengers any day.  Stay tuned in the next few weeks, as the movie will certainly continue to rake in the money.

And if you haven't already done so, check out my "one word" review here.

The Dark Knight Rises behind the scenes video

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via ComingSoon

The plot of Memento in picture form

If you're confused by the plot of Memento (it's a given), this graphic probably won't help.  But you can try to make sense of it at least; it can't be more puzzling than watching the movie.  Right-click>View Image to enlarge, though I doubt your monitor is large enough. (via)

The Dark Knight Rises official trailer

Sorry, no Batman at Occupy Wall Street

Came across this interesting tidbit of information today and figued I'd share.

Since The Dark Night Rises had been filming in New York, it was rumored they would film during the Occupy Wall Street protests.  This ended up not happening -at least not officially, as I'm sure several Batmans attended- and here's why according to actor Matthew Modine:

"The wisdom of Christopher Nolan and his incredible team was that, while it seemed like a good idea to give [the protestors] an opportunity for work, to give them money, it would send a terrible message.  At the end of the day, we're making a movie. What's happening down there is more important than that. To co-opt what's happening there and around the country ... we didn't want to trivialize it. It was more important to respect what they're doing than to do anything that could potentially trivialize the political situation downtown."

Via Vulture