The Dark Knight Exclusive TDK Set Report #3 8/13

[Nivek]

I'm almost at the point that the famous Nolan "twist" to the film will be that The Joker actually has white skin, not make-up.......

I really, really hope that is true.

I really wanted to like Nolan's take, I'm just very dissapointed at how... sloppy,rushed, and amateurish the design looks for something that is supposed to be realistic. The puffy scars on the cheeks looks horrible, and I'm saying that as an FX artist. It looks like something they made up in 6 hours and slapped on Ledger.

As far as the Crow thing, the Crow was parially inspired by the same Harlequin masks that the Joker comes from. But the reason people are complaining is because of the sloppy design, it looks almost exactly like this in some ways...

 

[Milkman95]

except, unlike Ra's/Ducard, it has been done before and wouldn't work as a surprise twist.

Why wouldn't it?

There WILL be a twist, we know that. Either it's the skin, the cargo ships, or The Joker knows who Batman is all along and he screws with Bruce during the whole film, with throwing Rachel out the window at the very end.

 

[Milkman95]

I really, really hope that is true.

I really wanted to like Nolan's take, I'm just very dissapointed at how... sloppy,rushed, and amateurish the design looks for something that is supposed to be realistic. The puffy scars on the cheeks looks horrible, and I'm saying that as an FX artist. It looks like something they made up in 6 hours and slapped on Ledger.

As far as the Crow thing, the Crow was parially inspired by the same Harlequin masks that the Joker comes from. But the reason people are complaining is because of the sloppy design, it looks almost exactly like this in some ways...

Well, this is all just opinion obviously. You've seen one "official" pic, so we really can't say much at this point right now. Just think what we would have said if we saw set pics from the Nicholson/Keaton/Burton era....

 

[Kaizer]

Why wouldn't it?

There WILL be a twist, we know that. Either it's the skin, the cargo ships, or The Joker knows who Batman is all along and he screws with Bruce during the whole film, with throwing Rachel out the window at the very end.

Because it's not a surprise if it is something we already know, simple as that. We know from over 60 years of comic-history that the Joker has bleached white skin, not make-up, Ducard being Ra's came out of nowhere.

And how do we know there will be a twist? Cause most of Nolan's films have twists? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I don't like your idea, it's just that it doesn't seem that solid.

 

[Watson]

It's also entirely possible that his makeup wasn't done to perfection because they weren't doing close tight shots....looks like it was mostly stunt/action type stuff that may not warrant having his makeup done fully (the neck etc).

I have to say I think he does look pretty slick. It's clearly a vest that's hes wearing (as NoirMan confirmed). And I'm warming to the smile against it because its an interesting juxtaposition. Here is this cool looking guy, however his face is grotesque. It represents visually who the Joker is.

 

[Milkman95]

Because it's not a surprise if it is something we already know, simple as that. We know from over 60 years of comic-history that the Joker has bleached white skin, not make-up, Ducard being Ra's came out of nowhere.

And how do we know there will be a twist? Cause most of Nolan's films have twists? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I don't like your idea, it's just that it doesn't seem that solid.

True, I understand where you're coming from, but from what we've learned so far, it's pretty certain we'll get some type of twist.

 

[itsthebatman]

hmmm...ok...but I see only one pic of the Joker

Hehe.

 

[Sun_Down]

it looks like it is self applied makeup after all.

And your reasoning for thinking this is...?

Like I said earlier in the thread, I'd be surprised if we got any answers toward this end. If Joker comes out and confirms it in dialogue, or we see him actually applying it, then fine. But knowing Nolan, I wouldn't be surprised if he just left it hanging and let the audience decide whether he applies it or it's permanent.

Good post. I really don't know where this whole "self-applied makeup" nonsense is coming from. People see the classic Joker, who has neat and clean red lips and think "That's from chemicals!" even though it actually looks much more like something person would apply to themselves. But then they see this version of the Joker, whose lip color is more random looking and actually looks like it could have been the result of an accident and think "He smeared lipstick all over his face!". It's truly mind-boggling.

 

[NoirMan82]

I really, really hope that is true.

I really wanted to like Nolan's take, I'm just very dissapointed at how... sloppy,rushed, and amateurish the design looks for something that is supposed to be realistic. The puffy scars on the cheeks looks horrible, and I'm saying that as an FX artist. It looks like something they made up in 6 hours and slapped on Ledger.

As far as the Crow thing, the Crow was parially inspired by the same Harlequin masks that the Joker comes from. But the reason people are complaining is because of the sloppy design, it looks almost exactly like this in some ways...

Take this from a guy who actually SAW the Joker, he doesn't look **** like this. Let's not hang prior to the conviction.

 

[Batman jr.]

You guys talk about a twist with Joker... But we are forgetting our friend Harvey, and his coin, remember...

 

[Watson]

Good post. I really don't know where this whole "self-applied makeup" nonsense is coming from. People see the classic Joker, who has neat and clean red lips and think "That's from chemicals!" even though it actually looks much more like something person would apply to themselves. But then they see this version of the Joker, whose lip color is more random looking and actually looks like it could have been the result of an accident and think "He smeared lipstick all over his face!". It's truly mind-boggling.

The thing is, we know from previous spoilers and pictures that Ledger has shot at least one scene with no make-up, which suggests to me that at some point in the film we will find out when exactly he becomes the madman and gets his distinctive face. Now knowing Nolan this could be part of the twist, or left hanging in suspense as you said. But I do think in this film we will see or at least get a suggestion of what the Joker's transformation is.

 

[Kaizer]

You guys talk about a twist with Joker... But we are forgetting our friend Harvey, and his coin, remember...

that's what I'm thinking too... If there's a twist, it's very likely that it'll be about Harvey... Not that he becomes Two-Face, that's not a surprise, but perhaps something Harvey's evil side has done (before the acid-burn) that the good side doesn't know about, or something along those lines.

 

[Batman jr.]

that's what I'm thinking too... If there's a twist, it's very likely that it'll be about Harvey... Not that he becomes Two-Face, that's not a surprise, but perhaps something Harvey's evil side has done (before the acid-burn) that the good side doesn't know about, or something along those lines.

Yeah, and it'll be a shock to the general audience. Like "OMG Two-Face ?, I mean has he really gone insane ?"

But this is only speculation

 

[ultimatefan]

Take this from a guy who actually SAW the Joker, he doesn't look **** like this. Let's not hang prior to the conviction.

Don´t sweat it, some will always find an excuse to bash something if it´s not exactly how they expect it to look. Before, the problem was that he was "too gruesome", now that he´s not he´s too much like The Crow, when in fact The Crow´s look has always held some similarity to Joker.

 

[Yurka]

original

color correction

Nice work here, it makes a big difference

 

[1981]

not for me unfortunately.

 

[sasquatchs]

The thing is, we know from previous spoilers and pictures that Ledger has shot at least one scene with no make-up, which suggests to me that at some point in the film we will find out when exactly he becomes the madman and gets his distinctive face. Now knowing Nolan this could be part of the twist, or left hanging in suspense as you said. But I do think in this film we will see or at least get a suggestion of what the Joker's transformation is.

No, in the same scene he whips his mask off to reveal his Joker face

 

[Mel4Prez]

I want this Joker to be completely different from the 89’ joker. I don't want him to be done with a perfect smile or white skin from head to two. He should look like a psychopath and not so clean and neatly dressed like the 89’ Joker was.

 

[baronghede]

I didn't know buddy was playing The Joker.

Looks like "The Batman" cartoon's Joker.

 

[turtlefocker]

These pics are amazing. If yo udotn like how Joker looks at leats be happy that his characterization seems perfect.

 

[Watson]

No, in the same scene he whips his mask off to reveal his Joker face

This scene?

Unless there was a report I missed, it looks like he's not wearing Joker makeup in either of those shots...under the mask you can see the skin around the person's eyes and its flesh coloured (EDIT: I can't remember if he's in the foreground or background...but the guy in the foreground definitely is not wearing makeup). In the second shot his hair is only slightly green. There were also more pics of him in front of the bank from that same scene, and there was nary a Joker make up to be seen.

 

[sglass03]

Like many have said, there's no way to know if a non-white neck means anything significant. It could be because you don't see his neck in the shots, or wide shots (in the dark) don't reveal that detail, or maybe he's just removed his "skin" makeup, or something else altogether. Let's not jump to giant conclusions. Someone earlier mentioned that Jett confirmed that Joker has a "regular" neck and hands, but offered no explanation. Not to be a jerk, but Jett's been wrong before (a lot, I might add), and offering no explanation seems to imply he doesn't have an answer himself.

Not to whine, but it does concern me that the Joker may have only a white face and nothing else. I see no reason, realism or no, for that to be a part of TDK Joker. But I won't guess until we get a clearer shot.

As for the "twist," while I think it's been a Nolan staple, it doesn't mean it will actually happpen. The twist in "Begins" wasn't that mind-bending, and I wouldn't be surprsied if TDK had a more cliffhanger-type ending. For us diehard, we all know what's going to happen to Dent, but a casual audience won't. I have friends who are casual Batman fans and plan on seeing TDK, but have no idea who Dent is. His disfiguration and turn to the "dark side" will be a shock to them, and if it's placed at the end, well then there's your twist. Imagine seeing a film with no prior knowledge of its characters, where one of its truly good characters get tragically scarred and turns evil at the finish. That's a good plot twist in my book.

 

[hannya]

This scene?

Unless there was a report I missed, it looks like he's not wearing Joker makeup in either of those shots...under the mask you can see the skin around the person's eyes and its flesh coloured (EDIT: I can't remember if he's in the foreground or background...but the guy in the foreground definitely is not wearing makeup). In the second shot his hair is only slightly green. There were also more pics of him in front of the bank from that same scene, and there was nary a Joker make up to be seen.

OTHER IMAX picture! He does the full reveal to William Fichtner in the SAME SCENE.
This is the "twist" that I most want to see untangled! Can't figure out how Nolan's going to do it. But like other posters have said, the characterization's the thing. And Heath has described Joker as a "train wreck". If he's too busy being a lunatic to get his make-up right, that's fine by me!

 

[sglass03]

To Dr. Watson:

The bank scenes are tricky. But you have to take the information and combine it: many have said that Joker is Joker from the beginning, at least in terms of looks (Jett, Miranda, and I believe Anjow have all confirmed this.) Then you get rumors that Joker is trying to "hide" himself from his thugs; that they don't know whether he's dead or alive; and then couple that with the bank robbery sides, where the bank manager is horrified when Joker takes his mask off. Even one of the official pics released, the one with Nolan directing and Joker behind that misty glass, has Joker in his "bank scene" outfit - the work jacket/suit with the bluish shirt, in what looks like his big reveal, yet his face is white and he has green hair.

All of this together suggests that Joker is concealing his identity at the bank robbery scene somehow. The most common explanation (and perhaps the most logical one) is that Joker has covered himself in "regular" makeup, at least on his exposed skin, and dyed his hair brown (rather poorly, I might add, or at least it's starting to fade.) This was done in Burton's version by Jack, but it has its roots in the comics - even in his first appearance, Joker donned "regular" makeup to pose as a police chief, which included dying his hair. Considering his debut in Batman #1 has been so influential to Nolan (purportedly), then it's not a stretch to think he'd use this tactic in the film.

 

[WorthyStevens]

Awesome Joker pics, thanks for them.