The Dark Knight The Composite Christopher Nolan Interview Thread

[BatmanFanatic]

That is a pretty scary picture

Yes it is. Oh my god. If Ledger is scary -- well this version just wouldn't be fit for public consumption.

I'm sure he'd be behind the scenes trying to convert Batman to Scientology.

ROFL!!! You know I bet that's a huge part of it actually. I mean BB was right before all the Tomcat hype. And who wants a brand new cult member in their ensemble? They are insane with trying to convert people. If I were the director I wouldn't want that anywhere NEAR my project.

I liked Last Samurai and I think he is a good actor but he shouldn't think on his own. He needs a parent.

Lol!

He has to be roped in, he is a loose cannon running around Hollywood. Him and his religion, remind me of Catholics and the Mafia. Last Samurai just pissed me off. I lived in Japan for 6 years, and his phoenetics were way off and it was grating to my ears.

I'm sick of all the celebrity BS w/ their own pet religions. Whether it's Mel Gibson with millitant Catholisism, or Kaballa or Scientology, it's really sick the way they try to profit their church by swaying weak-minded fans.

You lived in Japan for 6 years? Cool on you =)

 

[Indrid Cold]

You lived in Japan for 6 years? Cool on you =)

No, cool on you for the cool on you socks!

 

[GoogleMe94]

I'm sick of all the celebrity BS w/ their own pet religions. Whether it's Mel Gibson with millitant Catholisism, or Kaballa or Scientology, it's really sick the way they try to profit their church by swaying weak-minded fans.

What Gibson is doing is actually not bad, hes not really pushing Christianity like tom cruise pushes his weirdness, not even close to what tom is doing. he made The Passion and that was it, that was his contribution. it was an important film and was a grand success because it was well made and was truthful to the Bible. but Cruise has lost it with his scientology sh**, everyone knows that whole thing is bogus. scientology isnt a religion its a freaky hollyweird cult thing that celebs with money love to do now. same with kabala. its a fad in that sect of the world, nothing real serious. but they try to push it to make it SOUND serious when it really is just hollyweird BS.

 

[Visceral]

yeah

I think that Harvey should be the backbone of the film. His character is the one that goes through the biggest transformation as the batman/Dent/Gordon alliance does battle with the Joker.

nolan didn't say two face is the backbone of the film, dent's transformation will affect batman in a huge way.

READ THE LONG HALLOWEEN

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

He has to be roped in, he is a loose cannon running around Hollywood. Him and his religion, remind me of Catholics and the Mafia.

What the hell are you talking about?

 

[Octoberist]

No I don't have em confused cause i just researched it also

In public statements, especially to newcomers, Scientology claims that medical drugs are fine and says there's no problem with Scientologists taking drugs prescribed by a physician.
However, in materials presented by Scientology front group Narconon, they claim that all drugs are poisonous and remain in the body permanently - claims that are thoroughly discredited by modern science.
Psychiatric drugs are seen differently: Scientology forbids the use of all psychiatric drugs, and works to prevent non-Scientologists from using them as well. Scientologists are vehemently opposed to all forms of psychiatry - not just for themselves, but for everyone.
Although Scientology publicly states that they don't interfere with individual Scientologists taking prescribed medication, several former members have reported being told to stop taking prescription drugs and suffering negative consequences if they went ahead and kept taking them. Since these drugs were prescribed for serious medical conditions, including epilepsy and Grave's disease, these individuals were at serious risk if they stopped taking the medication.
Finally, Scientology claims that taking aspirin interferes with forming mental images, so participants are forbidden from getting auditing for 24 hours after taking aspirin.

I've heard that most of the media don't like to talk about Scientology in a negative light because of the power that the organization has over Hollywood. That, and I've heard that Scientology have their own 'mafia' who can 'silence' people.

Seriously, have you heard a comedian make fun of Scientology? CNN, FOX NEWS, any of news, talk shows?

The only people who don't give a SHOOT are Parker and Stone of South Park.

 

[CaptainClown]

I've heard that most of the media don't like to talk about Scientology in a negative light because of the power that the organization has over Hollywood. That, and I've heard that Scientology have their own 'mafia' who can 'silence' people.

Seriously, have you heard a comedian make fun of Scientology? CNN, FOX NEWS, any of news, talk shows?

The only people who don't give a SHOOT are Parker and Stone of South Park.

well they do actually. Remember the credits of that episode. Everyones name is either Jane or John Smith. I read this article that they like do really bad things to people who leave their organization. Also many of the people doing documentaries on Scientology get in lots o trouble.

 

[Mr. Joker Risin']

I can't see him being so minor. The Scarecrow was mostly there to be ornamental and fulfill a plot device. He added a new level to the movie, sure, and he did a fantastic job, but his lines probably didn't go past 20 or 25 or so.

The Joker is the issue in this movie. I think a big part of this movie is going to be the idea that there's nothing making people be good. Dent and Batman are both going into this with the idea that what injustice there is in the world can be fixed, with a good heart and enough effort. They're going to be stunned by the idea what Gotham can produce something that can resist all forms of change and then mount enough of a force to bring the whole city to a standstill.

That's The Joker. The Joker is a product of pure indifference. He essentially says, "The world is not half as good as you think it is. Look what I can do, look at what I can get away with. There's absolutely nothing making me or anyone else be good. That's how crazy and hilarious all of this is."

You know that scene where Alfred is telling Wayne, "You can be the outsider. You can make the decisions no one else can make. Gotham needs you."

He's talking about killing The Joker. Making the decisions that the courts and the police legally cannot do? He's definitely saying, "You should kill this thing. You would be morally justified in killing this thing."

But of course, that's what The Joker wants. Morality isn't real to him, and he means to prove it. Even if he gets himself killed, he'll do it.

This immense challenge to morality is really going to be the heart of the movie. A. that this thing can exist and then B. can I live with myself if I break my own rule and murder him?

I think you're probably reading way too much into it.

The exact quote is:
Bruce: People are dying. What would you have me do?
Alfred: Endure. You can be the outcast. You can make the choice that no one else will face. The right choice. Gotham needs you.

What I pull from that is that The Joker will overwhelm Bruce and put him way over his head to the point where he questions if he should continue being the Batman. He finally realizes the escalation that Gordon was referring to and he now sees the backlash of his actions taking effect and it shakes him up. Alfred, being the stern, yet loving father figure to Bruce that he is (God, I love Michael Caine), tells him that he shouldn't give up. At a time when the people of Gotham need a savior the most, he should persevere. When everyone else is too afraid to step up and do what's right, he should be the out cast and take it upon himself to face this demon head on. No where in that do I pick up that Alfred is telling Bruce that he should kill The Joker. That would be bringing Batman down to the criminals level. He'd be no better than the trash that he locks away in Arkham if he killed the Joker. That would go against everything that Batman stands for.

But the rest, I agree with.

To me, The Dark Knight will probably go like this:
Nolan says that the Joker is a force that blows through because that's exactly what he is. The Joker is the personification of anachy. He's the personification of all of the corruption that plagues Gotham City. He's the personification of everything that the Batman, Gordon, and Harvey Dent are trying to rid the city of. The reason The Joker has no backstory and no other alias is because he's not human. Not in the literal since, but figuratively, he's not human. He's not gonna grow as a character, he's not gonna learn from his mistakes, and he's not gonna find redemption. He is a complete. Basically, he's like a virus. He's The Joker virus, if you will. That's what Nolan means by him not having a story arc. The story isn't gonna revolve around The Joker ultimately growing as a human being, it's gonna be about how the good people of Gotham City handle this personification of coruption. Harvey is gonna be the backbone of the story because it's gonna explore how despite the fact that Bruce and Harvey are so similar in there desire to fight injustice, even the strongest of willpowers can reach a breaking point.

In short, it'll explore how two people so similar in values can ultimately end up in two completely different places. How even the mighty can fall. And the Joker will be just that individual that pushes it to the limit.

This by no means that The Joker will be an after thought. I gaurantee that the Joker will be the focal point of this movie without a shadow of a doubt. But it won't be about developing The Joker, it'll be about handling The Joker. How Gordon handles The Joker. How Batman handles The Joker. How Bruce handles his choice of donning the mantle of the Batman once he's faced with this Joker virus. And above all, how Harvey handles (and eventually breaks because of) The Joker.

That is why Harvey is the backbone as opposed to The Joker, and why The Joker has no arc.

 

[Indrid Cold]

well they do actually. Remember the credits of that episode. Everyones name is either Jane or John Smith. I read this article that they like do really bad things to people who leave their organization. Also many of the people doing documentaries on Scientology get in lots o trouble.

Honestly though, the jaded ones always think they are doing the right thing. The reason being, when you have invested so much of your life into a purpose it's hard to take off the blinders and get perspective. I believe that Mr. Cruise was in a moment or time of weakness when brought into the Scientology fold (it's not easy making blockbuster films or being married to Nicole Kidman I guess). People don't fear Scientology, they fear the face of Scientology which is crazy Tom. People with that much sway can make the Boy Scouts seem like the Illuminati

 

[SpinyNorman]

The reason that I think that maybe Alfred is saying he should kill The Joker is that it's a constant theme in the comics and we know for a fact that it's a theme in the movie. I think I pointed that out in a later post maybe ten posts down.

He may not actually be counseling Wayne to kill him, but he's definitely telling him that choice will occur in the future. Batman is a vigilante who operates outside of law. He's an outsider. As such, he's free from the moralities enforced by society - he feels that society has failed in some way and it's up to him to restore order. People who are trapped by those laws are going to tell him that he needs to do things that they can't in order to counteract those within society who abuse its compassion.

Dent will certainly tell Batman to kill the Joker. Most of the rest of Gotham will. Gordon might, but I doubt it. Alfred may not be telling him to flat out kill him, but he is telling him that this choice is coming. Because if he breaks his one rule and kills The Joker, he saves possibly thousands of lives. What would you do?

 

[logan_weapon_x]

Sorry if this has already been covered, but I didn't look through the whole thread. I was thinking that perhaps Joker is a red herring in a way. The trailer came out and features lots of the Joker.

But what if it really all does revolve around Dent. That'd be pretty awesome, because the way it looks is this Joker is just an unstoppable machine tearing through everything, but I like the fact he doesn't really have a story arc other than be insane, and we might see the main villain as being Two Face.

What I mean is not necessarily Two Face action, but rather the movie is the journey and build up to this, and Two Face's war in the 3rd movie.

 

[hatebox]

http://www.newsweek.com/id/105580

 

[FlawlessVictory]

Very nice, thanks!

 

[doctorkenyon]

Good link. Thanks.

And now I'll actually read it...

 

[donk70]

Nice artical. I was wondering when he was going to release a statement.

 

[FCEEVIPER]

Nolan, class act' all around.

 

[Überlibran]

Fantastic find. Thanks.

 

[Mister J]

A very good read.

 

[hame4479]

that is so heartwarming, but so ****iing sad.

 

[Eggyman]

That was very touching.

 

[doctorkenyon]

That was quite touching, a very down to earth account that sounded honest.

 

[TV's Frank]

This leads me to believe that he isn't going to shy away from showing Heath in all his glory in this movie because of his death. He sees this as a chance to honor him.

Great read.

 

[Brendan]

This leads me to believe that he isn't going to shy away from showing Heath in all his glory in this movie because of his death. He sees this as a chance to honor him.

Great read.

Yes indeed. Thank you Nolan.

 

[Symbiotic]

Good read.

 

[StylishHokie21]

Very nice!