The Dark Knight The Dark Knight FAQ (Check here first)

[Two-Face]

That's great news Joker creator will help the movie!

 

[Cinemaman]

Update from Joblo.com:

The folks over at "Insomniac Maniac" have spoken with comic Joker creator Jerry Robinson and were informed that he'd be consulting on the portrayal of The Joker in the film. Read about that HERE. Finally, it wouldn't be an appropriate DARK KNIGHT update without some rumor mongering and it just so happens the folks over at "Film Focus" are saying that Ryan Phillipe may be experiencing a psychotic dual personality in the sequel as the infamous Harvey Dent aka Two-Face. THE DARK KNIGHT is scheduled for release Summer 2008.

Great news

But I still doubt Nolan will choose Phillipe.

 

[batman44]

Update from Joblo.com:

The folks over at "Insomniac Maniac" have spoken with comic Joker creator Jerry Robinson and were informed that he'd be consulting on the portrayal of The Joker in the film. Read about that HERE. Finally, it wouldn't be an appropriate DARK KNIGHT update without some rumor mongering and it just so happens the folks over at "Film Focus" are saying that Ryan Phillipe may be experiencing a psychotic dual personality in the sequel as the infamous Harvey Dent aka Two-Face. THE DARK KNIGHT is scheduled for release Summer 2008.

Nolan's respect for the history of Batman is amazing.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Update from Joblo.com:

The folks over at "Insomniac Maniac" have spoken with comic Joker creator Jerry Robinson and were informed that he'd be consulting on the portrayal of The Joker in the film. Read about that HERE. Finally, it wouldn't be an appropriate DARK KNIGHT update without some rumor mongering and it just so happens the folks over at "Film Focus" are saying that Ryan Phillipe may be experiencing a psychotic dual personality in the sequel as the infamous Harvey Dent aka Two-Face. THE DARK KNIGHT is scheduled for release Summer 2008.

Yes. This is too good.

 

[StorminNorman]

So lets not hear any more crap about getting a gothic, "realistic" Joker. We are getting the Goddamn Joker the way he was always meant to be - White Face, Green Hiar, Red Lips and Purple Suit.

Also he will not be just another sicko murder - but the Clown Prince of Crime we all love.

 

[Thespiralgoeson]

So lets not hear any more crap about getting a gothic, "realistic" Joker. We are getting the Goddamn Joker the way he was always meant to be - White Face, Green Hiar, Red Lips and Purple Suit.

Also he will not be just another sicko murder - but the Clown Prince of Crime we all love.

Exactly. I can't tell you how much I would cringe if they turned the Joker into a Buffalo Bill-type serial killer like so many here are asking for. That would be such a deviation that they might as well not even call him the Joker.

Lets get something straight people... THE JOKER IS NOT A SERIAL KILLER!!! Zsasz is a serial killer.A serial killer is someone who kills his victims to satisfy some kind of psycho-sexual desire because for various reasons they are virtually incapable of having normal sexual or otherwise romantic relationships, usually due to insecurities rooted in their childhood caused by unhealthy realtionships with their parents (almost always the mother in the case of males.)

The Joker doesn't fit this profile. The Joker is a mass murderer. What makes the Joker a great villain is also what makes his relationship to Batman that much more complex and intruiging. The Joker kills for the same reason Batman dresses up as a bat and beats up bad guys. Both experienced a personal tragedy that forever shattered their images of the world being a place where one could live happily. To both men, the world is a sick, evil, dangerous place. Both of them do what they do to deal with the world the way it is. To Batman, as stated in DKR, the world only makes sense when you force it to, so he fights the criminals of gotham to hold onto some slither of hope that the world is redeemable. The Joker OTOH completely gave up on the idea of life having any kind of meaning or order, so he went nuts, one might even say intentionally. To the Joker, the world is utter chaos and madness, so how does he deal with the pressure? By going with the flow and going mad. As he says in TKJ, madness is an emergency exit.

So please, for the love of god, let us all enjoy the Joker as he is and as he was always meant to be; the clown prince of crime. An insane genius, as eccentric and theatrical as Batman, who finds humor in the chaos he creates.

 

[kytrigger]

Exactly. I can't tell you how much I would cringe if they turned the Joker into a Buffalo Bill-type serial killer like so many here are asking for. That would be such a deviation that they might as well not even call him the Joker.

Lets get something straight people... THE JOKER IS NOT A SERIAL KILLER!!! Zsasz is a serial killer.A serial killer is someone who kills his victims to satisfy some kind of psycho-sexual desire because for various reasons they are virtually incapable of having normal sexual or otherwise romantic relationships, usually due to insecurities rooted in their childhood caused by unhealthy realtionships with their parents (almost always the mother in the case of males.)

The Joker doesn't fit this profile. The Joker is a mass murderer. What makes the Joker a great villain is also what makes his relationship to Batman that much more complex and intruiging. The Joker kills for the same reason Batman dresses up as a bat and beats up bad guys. Both experienced a personal tragedy that forever shattered their images of the world being a place where one could live happily. To both men, the world is a sick, evil, dangerous place. Both of them do what they do to deal with the world the way it is. To Batman, as stated in DKR, the world only makes sense when you force it to, so he fights the criminals of gotham to hold onto some slither of hope that the world is redeemable. The Joker OTOH completely gave up on the idea of life having any kind of meaning or order, so he went nuts, one might even say intentionally. To the Joker, the world is utter chaos and madness, so how does he deal with the pressure? By going with the flow and going mad. As he says in TKJ, madness is an emergency exit.

So please, for the love of god, let us all enjoy the Joker as he is and as he was always meant to be; the clown prince of crime. An insane genius, as eccentric and theatrical as Batman, who finds humor in the chaos he creates.

Actually, that's not quite correct. A serial killer is anyone who has committed at least 3 murders as a result of any psychological compulsion at all. While many serial killers do satisfy some sexual compulsion, it is in no way needed to actually become a serial killer. The fact that the Joker (according to some) kills for gain of recognition from Batman and the police (the Joker would think of these as the audience) would therefore allow him to be classified as a serial killer. He is filling his need for attention from certain individuals by killing people.

Now, it could be argued that Joker could be considered a "spree killer" instead of a "serial killer" because most serial killers have a cooling off or "sane" period in between their killings. A spree killer instead just goes on multiple killings one after another whereas a serial killer let's their compulsion build up until they need to kill in order to feel sane again.

This is where the Joker falls through the cracks of a normal psychological definition. He does do spree killings, but will also stop for a period of time too instead of always going until he is captured. Also, most of his killings do serve some sort of pleasure or purpose for him which would put him over in the serial killer category. He has also been known to kill specific people for certain gain whether it is about power, money, or revenge, and this is a completely differnet type of killer (much like how an assassin wouldn't be classified as a serial killer because they are usually of sound mind, and just have unusal morals or ethics.)

Basically the Joker is so freaking insane that he cannot be classified by one category. If anything, I would call him a "serial-spree murderer that also kills for financial gain and direct power."

 

[The Trainman]

Another report from BOF. This interview has been posted in a thread of its own in the forum too.

Author: Jett
Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - 9:54 AM CENTRAL TIME: Nolan has finally spoken publicly about the upcoming film, THE DARK KNIGHT. Via BETTERTHANFUDGE.COM, here’s a bit of what the director had to say:

Regarding the theme of the film: “I suppose in loose terms I can say it’s about things having to get worse before they get better.”

Can anything be inferred from the title of the film? “Ultimately yes. But I’ll leave that for people to infer The title has been chose very specifically. It’s quite important to the film.”

Will The Joker be different that past live-action interpretations? “Yes. I would certainly point to The Killing Joke but I also would point very much to the first two appearances of The Joker in the comic. If you look at where The Joker comes from there’s a very clear direction that fits what we’re doing very well.”

Thanks to all the BOF'ers who sent in the info...

The word going around is that there may be some new THE DARK KNIGHT news coming in September. The last time I heard such rumblings was just prior to the Ledger/TDK announcements...

I'm trying to keep all the BOF reports in one thread at least. Keeps things nice and organized. And its good for reference when backtracking for TDK news.

Nice little reference from The Dark Knight Returns. Hmmm.

 

[Dr. Fate]

Great news

But I still doubt Nolan will choose Phillipe.

So Phillipe (or however he spells his name) isn't official yet?

 

[Cinemaman]

So Phillipe (or however he spells his name) isn't official yet?

He isn't. I doubt we will hear something about real Nolan's choice before the end of October.

 

[Rynan]

So please, for the love of god, let us all enjoy the Joker as he is and as he was always meant to be; the clown prince of crime. An insane genius, as eccentric and theatrical as Batman, who finds humor in the chaos he creates.

 

[The Caped Knight]

Update from Joblo.com:

The folks over at "Insomniac Maniac" have spoken with comic Joker creator Jerry Robinson and were informed that he'd be consulting on the portrayal of The Joker in the film. Read about that HERE. Finally, it wouldn't be an appropriate DARK KNIGHT update without some rumor mongering and it just so happens the folks over at "Film Focus" are saying that Ryan Phillipe may be experiencing a psychotic dual personality in the sequel as the infamous Harvey Dent aka Two-Face. THE DARK KNIGHT is scheduled for release Summer 2008.

I had a lot of respect for Nolan for BATMAN BEGINS and how he respected and stood true to the core image of BATMAN from The Mythology of BATMAN . After reading this, I have in more Respect for him than before.

We are going to be getting The Classic Joker from The Comics & BTAS . The Clown Prince Of Crime : THE JOKER

 

[Dr. Fate]

So... how old is the Joker supposed to be, or do they leave that purposefully ambiguous?

 

[StorminNorman]

I am sure it will never be mentioned - but the casting of Heath Ledger leads one to believe that it will be about the age of the Bat-man.

As it should be.

 

[Bullseye]

A New BOF Report.

Phillippe Rumor Still Alive
Author: Jett
Monday, August 25, 2006 - 9:19 PM CENTRAL TIME: I've continued to look into that Ryan Phillippe rumor and it seems that it is still making the rounds according to several BOF insiders. I also see that Clint from MOVIEHOLE checked in with his own source from Warners who told him "...he [Phillippe] has been mentioned in relation to that one [the role of Harvey Dent], for a while now." We'll see soon enough...

Maybe there's more to this than just being a rumor.

 

[The Fallen]

A New BOF Report.



Maybe there's more to this than just being a rumor.

I remember when the words Bettany and Joker were rumored being mentioned together. We all know how that turned out...

 

[StorminNorman]

...ahhh now The Fallen made StorminNorman feel sad

 

[The Fallen]

...ahhh now The Fallen made StorminNorman feel sad

OH NOES! Don't Worry, Christian Bale will made it better:

 

[fabman]

Bettany Sux...

 

[GreatGuardsman!]

I think Joker should be the same age, or maybe a few years older. And I don't think the we should see a origin story. Joker's managed without one for almost 20 years.

 

[Cinemaman]

Nah, Joker should be a bit younger than Bruce.

 

[Nightwing 52]

I think Joker should be the same age, or maybe a few years older. And I don't think the we should see a origin story. Joker's managed without one for almost 20 years.

But movies are usually different than the comics. Comics are serialized fiction and dangling plot threads that don't have to be resolved in a single issue or even a single arc. The writers can always touch upon these things later on down the road or just leave them open for another writer to play with. The Joker's one of those characters that no writer wants to shackle anything onto that might interfere or impede any story another writer might want to tell. His madness is left open to interpretation and the discretion of the writer at the time. It's what keeps him and character's like Wolverine fresh.

Movie characters are usually written to be identified with. What usually makes a great on screen villain is the way they get the audience to identify with the villain in a twisted sense. They don't have to go through his entire history in order to achieve this.

And were are getting an origin. Also, one of the main reasons with Ledger's casting is partially due to Nolan probably wanting Joker to be in fact, young. Which also means that his take on the character could be brought back again for a third film.

 

[Ronny Shade]

I always think of the joker as sort of this ageless enigma

 

[Aptman]

But movies are usually different than the comics. Comics are serialized fiction and dangling plot threads that don't have to be resolved in a single issue or even a single arc. The writers can always touch upon these things later on down the road or just leave them open for another writer to play with. The Joker's one of those characters that no writer wants to shackle anything onto that might interfere or impede any story another writer might want to tell. His madness is left open to interpretation and the discretion of the writer at the time. It's what keeps him and character's like Wolverine fresh.

Movie characters are usually written to be identified with. What usually makes a great on screen villain is the way they get the audience to identify with the villain in a twisted sense. They don't have to go through his entire history in order to achieve this.

And were are getting an origin. Also, one of the main reasons with Ledger's casting is partially due to Nolan probably wanting Joker to be in fact, young. Which also means that his take on the character could be brought back again for a third film.

Yes, but I think the movie could also gain from the ambiguity of Joker’s origin. It could be left simply as Joker is born from the long and slow self-destruction of the city. It would give him the feeling of being almost like the cynical, corrupt manifestation of everything wrong with Gotham. By avoiding the story of the exact events that lead to the Joker being who he is, there is no one singular problem within the city that can be blamed.

 

[Ibn]

Okay folks. Got a few questions.

1. I heard that they are going w/ the Killing Joke origin. This true?

2. Have the villians been confirmed?

3. Is it true the script is finished already?