The Dark Knight Rises Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman XXII

[Darkness Falls]

lol first page had instant "i hope it doesn't look like that in the film"

 

[Yurka]

People had warmed to Heath Joker by December 2007... with reaction warming up long before then.

No such luck with Anne-Cat.

This. The backlash against Heath's Joker was because initially all they'd given us of him was a mugshot of him in the makeup... it was a creepy clown, but very little screamed the comic book Joker we all knew and loved until we saw this:

Spoiler

Can't remember anyone not liking that when it was released.

No way. I vividly remember the dislike and doubt up until almost the day it was released. The fans were about spilt at that point, then just about overnight everyone warmed to the character and design after they had seen the film.

I'm guessing that will be the same situation here. These Catwoman stills and spyshots won't win everyone over, but after the movie's released the character will be very well-received by nearly everyone.

 

[The Joker]

No way. I vividly remember the dislike and doubt up until almost the day it was released. The fans were about spilt at that point, then just about overnight everyone warmed to the character and design after they had seen the film.

Afraid that's not how I vividly remember it. By the time the first trailer came out in December '07, the ratio of supporters to doubters over Heath's Joker was 50:1.

People loved his look, his costume, his voice, his dialogue in the trailers etc. He was one of the least worries by the time the movie was due out. Anticipation and expectations for him were through the roof.

I don't see a quarter of that anticipation for Anne's Catwoman. Bane's has not reached Joker's level either, but it's significantly higher than Catwoman's.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

I have faith in the design. The texture, colors, and sleekness of Anne Hathaway's suit appeared mystic on-screen in IMAX. Granted, the scene in the sizzle reel lasted for approximately 1-2 seconds but I was blown away at how good the suit appeared.

 

[rashad]

I hope it is a completely new take on the character. I've never really liked any interpretation of her so far.

But with Anne as Selina I've been excited for this Catwoman for months

Likewise Yurka.

 

[Yurka]

Afraid that's not how I vividly remember it. By the time the first trailer came out in December '07, the ratio of supporters to doubters over Heath's Joker was 50:1.

50:1? That's insane and completely arbitrary. I remember being on here daily reading bickering about Heath's costume, his voice, and lets not forget "permawhite" that discouraged many up until the day the film came out.

People loved his look, his costume, his voice, his dialogue in the trailers etc. He was one of the least worries by the time the movie was due out. Anticipation and expectations for him were through the roof.

At best, after the second trailer was released, which was full of the Joker, I would say it was about balanced. The lack of faith was still prevalent and obvious.

I don't see a quarter of that anticipation for Anne's Catwoman. Bane's has not reached Joker's level either, but it's significantly higher than Catwoman's.

I'm not disagreeing on that. We simply haven't seen any Catwoman yet, and we haven't seen as much Bane footage as we had of the Joker at this point.

My point is, the more footage and official materials people see of Catwoman, and Bane for that matter, the more the public will warm to both, as they did with Heath's Joker.

 

[Sith Scotti]

I don't see a quarter of that anticipation for Anne's Catwoman. Bane's has not reached Joker's level either, but it's significantly higher than Catwoman's.

Of course you don't they are still keeping her underwraps . Heath and the Joker got a lot more exposure . Whether it was the marketing from the get go and Heath's untimely death.


All we know about Catwoman is she doesn't wear a cowl ....

 

[Lily Adler]

And wears heels which are impractical and a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY!

 

[The Joker]

50:1? That's insane and completely arbitrary. I remember being on here daily reading bickering about Heath's costume, his voice, and lets not forget "permawhite" that discouraged many up until the day the film came out.

I don't know what selective posts you were reading, but three of us here remember the complete opposite. There was the occasional grunt about the permawhite, but that's it. His costume was loved and his look, that's the full look revealed, not that first close up image of his face that didn't even show his hair.

At best, after the second trailer was released, which was full of the Joker, I would say it was about balanced. The lack of faith was still prevalent and obvious.

The first trailer was Joker loaded. There was not even any Harvey Dent footage in it. It was pure Joker and Batman. That was the major turning point that swayed favor heavily in Heath's direction.

I'm not disagreeing on that. We simply haven't seen any Catwoman yet, and we haven't seen as much Bane footage as we had of the Joker at this point.

I don't disagree. I'm not refuting that. I'm talking about the Joker anticipation which was full force after December '07's trailer.

My point is, the more footage and official materials people see of Catwoman, and Bane for that matter, the more the public will warm to both, as they did with Heath's Joker.

Hopefully. People loved Joker's look when full and proper stills were released. Green hair, purple suit, cut smile....it was ticking all the right boxes. You knew you were looking at the Joker.

The first fully released pics of Catwoman were not met with equal enthusiasm, or even close to it. Bane even got a plethora of complaints that he looked nothing like his comic book counterpart. Though they have died down. As have the issues of Hardy's size.

 

[Doctor Who]

It just perplexes me, really. It's like Nolan was afraid this film would be too awesome so he intentionally asked the costume department to design the blandest thing they possibly could.
Bane not included here because whilst I personally think he looks decent, he's nowhere near the iconography in popular media that Joker, Two-Face and Catwoman have... you'd have thought they would have put a lot more thought into her.

I have an obligation to tell you otherwise, so I'm bumping my long post from a few days ago:

Is Anne Hathaway's Catwoman costume my absolute favorite? Not really. Do I love it? I do actually. It's a look that I know we're STILL not very fond of, but it's one of those things where I think much thought went into making this. Now I will say that "Well Batman has ears on his cowl," why doesn't Catwoman? I can understand that sentiment completely, and I relish how fans think that's a low blow for being too believable on screen. More could have been done.

But on my honest honest HONEST flip side though, I think if Nolan took that approach we wouldn't be responding the thought process that the director has earned with much high praise. I think if the goggles weren't the ears on the suit, I think it would dismiss the one thing I like about this version of Catwoman, and it can be said with one word: clever. Catwoman isn't just some leather cladded eye candy geeks like me drool over, she's an intelligent cat-like thief. And when I look at her costume, the people who were on board aimed for something COMPLETELY new like they've always done so far with Nolan's film, but at the same time go on to grab influences from the previous comics or celebrities important to pop culture.

When I see Anne Hathaway:

Spoiler

I see something new that's been brought up to the table for Catwoman, but finding great joy on what I recognize and am familiar with Selina Kyle throughout the ages. The first thing that comes to everyone's mind is that she's so in tune with the Julie Newmar:

Spoiler

That will always come to my mind when you watch Adam West's Batman on TV Land every Friday after school. LOL It also brings me back to the fact that once again, she was dubbed Catwoman for not looking like an actual literal cat, but was a great figure of speech of being like a cat in terms of burglary. Which pretty much brings up her first actual appearance in the comics.

Spoiler

Isn't that such an awesome way of thinking of it? Because in reality, Batman as a character seems to such a far more Literal and honest person, while Catwoman on the other hand is a Figure of Speech and isn't the most trustworthy person in the world. It's a forbidden romance they try to cut corners and make work out, but in the end will never truly be fulfilled. So I think that contrast ALONE speaks to me and screams FAITHFUL.

But there's other things too, such as I see the arm high gloves and leg high boots from the 80's and 90's with Tim Sale, Jim Balent:

Spoiler

I'm also reminded that suit looks in tune with her stealing needs and has moved along with the 21st Century, so in Nolan's series adaptation is a must. And we've seen it very similar to are more FAVORITE renditions:

Spoiler

I won't go into the Audre Hepburn and Hedy Lamarr comparisons with Selia Kyle's clothing style and character feel, which I am IN LOVE with being the nostalgia fanatic I am, I'm really trying to stress the point that Anne Hathaway's Catwoman is all about the little details in which we may not always catch, but appreciate. I think it shows a lot of admiration to the character we've loved since it's inception, or to our own minds whether you were a kid watching the 60's show, walking into that movie theater to see Batman Returns, or playing in the living room corner with your toy Batcave and action figures when The Animated Series was on like me.

We fans need to understand that isn't a "Out with the old, in the New" dynamic. It's respecting and giving a proud salute to what we all cherished and forever familiar with, but breaking new ground and introducing more reinventions to the table. It's building a new foundation so that we can turn people and children of our new age into the latex-on-tight-beautiful-body loving nerds we are today.

 

[Boom]

Gonna have to side with The Joker on this one. Outside of a few permawhite defenders and the occasional troll, I remember people being pretty positive about Ledger's look by the time of the first theatrical trailer.

 

[Lily Adler]

I think the BTAS Catwoman suit's belt was more inspired by Newmar's necklace.

 

[Doctor Who]

Gonna have to side with The Joker on this one. Outside of a few permawhite defenders and the occasional troll, I remember people being pretty positive about Ledger's look.

Everyone started coming around when we got this photo:

Everyone was hating on Heath's Joker until we got this pick, a few more leaks, the Empire Magazine, and by the time the poster and trailer came out everyone were on the Joker wagon.

 

[Yurka]

I don't know what selective posts you were reading, but three of us here remember the complete opposite. There was the occasional grunt about the permawhite, but that's it. His costume was loved and his look, that's the full look revealed, not that first close up image of his face that didn't even show his hair.

Well I remember the 8 of us who........pointless.

The first trailer was Joker loaded. There was not even any Harvey Dent footage in it. It was pure Joker and Batman. That was the major turning point that swayed favor heavily in Heath's direction.

Yes, the first real one that came in December. The faith was still visibly split in every thread on this forum. The support was far from unanimous or 50:1...

I don't disagree. I'm not refuting that. I'm talking about the Joker anticipation which was full force after December '07's trailer.

It might have been full force, but it wasn't close to unanimous. There were still plenty of doubters who were very vocal with their opinions.

Hopefully. People loved Joker's look when full and proper stills were released. Green hair, purple suit, cut smile....it was ticking all the right boxes. You knew you were looking at the Joker.

The first fully released pics of Catwoman were not met with equal enthusiasm, or even close to it. Bane even got complaints that he looked nothing like his comic book counterpart.

Really? I remember how badly the first Joker image turned off a large portion of the audience. More so than the first Catwoman photo. Fans were in doubt and questioning the character for the rest of the time the film was in production or post. We got the second photo with Joker holding the knife to Rachel which spurred more outrage about permawhite and the hair. It wasn't until the trailer until I saw any major level of support by the frequent users on here.

My point, yet again, was that in the beginning people weren't in support of Heath's Joker. For his costume, glasgow-smile, hair, permawhite, whatever. It took time and official footage and materials to sway the opinion of the people into support. They released tons of material regarding the Joker and the public began to have more faith in the character. With Catwoman, we have one image, and a second long clip from the prologue. The more footage we get, the more the public will have faith in her. And I'm sure they'll be releasing more Catwoman material quite soon.

 

[Boom]

Everyone started coming around when we got this photo:

Everyone was hating on Heath's Joker until we got this pick, a few more leaks, the Empire Magazine, and by the time the poster and trailer came out everyone were on the Joker wagon.

Yep. That's how I remember it.

 

[Doctor Who]

Yep. That's how I remember it.

I remember it vividly; it was Friday when this came out and two helicopters from a news crew collided into one another. 4 people died, which sucked; it was a bitter sweet day.

 

[Lily Adler]

So all we need is a high-res official pics of Anne's Catwoman in action and we're golden.

 

[Dark Raven]

And, as usual, people seem to forget that there's probably a Joker thread somewhere around here.

 

[Doctor Who]

So all we need is a high-res official pics of Anne's Catwoman in action and we're golden.

I've seen enough of Catwoman and know we ARE golden; I've been saying this since the beginning and stand by it now: she is the movie's biggest secret of the film and she will steal the show. Not in the same way Ledger did with the Joker, but also so impact wise.

People are going to nit pick this till the very end until the movie comes out because they can't accept or love anything; I would have hoped by the Prologue people would have been convinced, but when the movie comes out midnight showing... EVERYONE will be on the Hathaway Catwoman wagon.

That's how it was with the Joker, and that's how it's going to be with Catwoman.

 

[Majik1387]

I have no doubt that Hathaway will work great with what she is given; the look however is underwhelming, and it somehow manages to look like Catwoman without looking like Catwoman. With Joker, despite permawhite/chelsea grin debates, looked like Joker.

 

[kvz5]

People are going to nit pick this till the very end until the movie comes out because they can't accept or love anything; I would have hoped by the Prologue people would have been convinced, but when the movie comes out midnight showing... EVERYONE will be on the Hathaway Catwoman wagon.

That's how it was with the Joker, and that's how it's going to be with Catwoman.

That's too bold of a statement. I wouldn't say everyone but most probably the majority. As unbelievable as it sounds, there were still some who weren't big fans of Heath's Joker.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Heath's performance was awesome, but I'm not really a fan of The Joker character in general. TDK did pretty much what I expected for the character, it was par for the course. That costume was pretty good. There's quite a few Batman villains or romantic interests I'm more interested in than The Joker and Catwoman characters. I loved watching Michelle's performance and remember seeing it in the theater when I was so much younger, 20 years ago now. But outside of isolated areas here or there for those characters, it's not what I get excited about.

 

[Mako]

I'd would honestly rather see people who absolutely hated or unconditionally loved the character design thus far rather than have what seems to be a rather Meh reaction.

 

[Nevincer]

I have an obligation to tell you otherwise, so I'm bumping my long post from a few days ago.

Good read, but i'm afraid it hasn't done anything to alleviate my concerns. I want to like Nolan's Catwoman, and I'm sure there's more than meets the eye because after all the man is a genius, but from what I've seen it's just not Catwoman. Catwoman is more than a woman in latex with a knack for thievary, kicking some ass, and being a femme fatale... that in this day and age isn't just Catwoman, it's a whole archetype that has trended with hundreds of characters in Hollywood blockbusters. Catwoman in order to be Catwoman, for me, needs her iconography, the thing that seperates her from all those other characters. In this era, that's pretty much the cat cowl/features, despite her origin as simply a cat burgular. It's the same reason why Bane's mask IMO had to be changed, because he needed to be seperated from a simple luchador/wrestler, and in the comics that was his body mass, something that can't translate to film realistically. The film had to do something different.

Again, what I'm saying is it's not the departure from the comics that frustrates me, so much as the fact I can't see this character and identify her as 'Catwoman' given how glamourous her appearance has been in the past. It just completely transcends what we're seeing now, which could be anyone minus the fact we're being 'told' this is Catwoman, and that's why I'm not too impressed. In terms of appearance, it's the cowl that tells you that's Catwoman, and whilst I'm grateful the goggle-ears are at least there, it's still not very striking compared to how the general public already perceives the image of this largely iconic character. I'm sure Nolan and Hathaway will get her character right, but I'm very concerned if this is all we're getting visually that it'll do some damage, especially in regards to the general audience and their perception of it. Only trailer 3 (if it even has her in it) will tell.

 

[Boom]

Say what you will about The Joker wearing makeup, but it was a very striking design. The black makeup accentuated Ledger's piercing eyes. The lipstick amplified the grotesqueness of his wounds. The blotchy white makeup created a sense of overall decay. Despite it's deviation from the source material (in terms of how the look was achieved), it was a stimulating and memorable design.

In contrast, there isn't a single aspect of Catwoman's look that evokes any kind of excitement for me. It's just so... plain.