Just like The Dark Knight, it appears that when he Rises, it’ll be alongside a full spectrum of viral campaigning. There was some question as to whether the last campaign (as fun as it was) had any effect on the box office, but it seems pretty plausible that it accounted for selling a lot of second, third and fourth tickets for people hooked into the experience of the movie that existed in their own world. Calling the Gotham Police Department to report a crime only to be accused of being corrupt was pretty awesome. The viral campaign for The Dark Knight Rises has already begun, and it’s kicked off by getting fans involved to reveal the first image of Tom Hardy as Bane. That’s what you came for, so here it is (and it gets bigger when you click):

Sorry Wonder Woman fans, but the patriotically clad superheroine won’t be coming to television screens anytime soon, at least not on NBC. Considering how all the other networks passed on the project from the start, I’m not sure there’s any network left for it, unless the CW wanted to weaken its line-up. Zing. As nerds on the internet, it is our job to question why this show was canceled. After all, we love comics and we love TV, so there you go. After many seconds of deep, introspective thought, I figured out why Wonder Woman won’t be appearing on any screen in the near future. Wonder Woman sucks, that’s why.

Anyone, including me, that wrote about the downfall of the comic book trend was just proven dead wrong. Warners president  Jeff Robinov just took anyone curious about the future of comic book movies, asked them where the drugs were, and then shoved them face down into the gutter as rain water poured over their nose and mouth. Announcing a Batman reboot before cameras even start to roll on the current Batman film is a bold move. I’m still trying to wrap my cowl-less head around what it fully means, but there are at least four major shifts that just occurred, and they all affect movie goers.

The LA Times did a big profile on new Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov. They talk about a few things in it, from his managerial style to controversial decisions he has made such as passing on Slumdog Millionaire and refusing to work with David Fincher. But what is most interesting about the piece is that it slips in some pretty major news about the direction of Warner’s big, tentpole DC Comics properties. According to Rubinov, he wants both new Superman and Batman films to come out in 2012, and then he’s aiming for a Justice League movie to come out in 2013. There’s even mention of spinning off Flash and Wonder Woman films after that. We already know that the Superman movie is being overseen by Christopher Nolan and is going to be directed by Zack Snyder, and the Batman movie is Nolan’s next directorial effort The Dark Knight Rises, but will these be the same characters that appear in the Justice League movie? Superman doesn’t get a mention, so it seems like the answer for Snyder’s character is yes, but post Dark Knight Rises Batman will be getting a reboot. Much like with the Superman project, Robinov has gotten Nolan on board to oversee the character’s new direction. If you add in this year’s Green Lantern, it’s looking like Warner Bros. finally has the proper leadership in place to give Marvel’s recent spate of film adaptations a run for it’s money. With this news and the announcement of all [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

He’s in. He’s out. If we’re all honest, the correct answer is “I don’t know,” but the question of whether Robin/Dick Grayson/Tim Drake will make an appearance or play a minor/major role in The Dark Knight Rises is out there thanks to speculation on Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s casting. There’s no real evidence that he’ll be turning the growling Bale Batman into a de factor foster dad, but the question is intriguing because most people hate Robin. It’s unclear why that’s the case (the hate seems to extend far beyond his schlocky appearance in That Batman Movie We Don’t Speak Of). Robin is a resourceful, interesting character who learns how to fight and hold is own in the crime-battling game. On the other hand, he’s been portrayed as a nuisance, a diversion from the other Batman stories, and a cutesy gimmick. The ultimate question remains: Would you want to see Robin in The Dark Knight Rises? Could Christopher Nolan pull it off?

A short, fan-made film called Batman Dead End hit the web like a meteor in 2003 and the shock waves are still being felt.  Though it was low budget and independently produced, many felt that Dead End was the treatment on the Batman character that they had been waiting for. A string of imitators has followed, including most recently a Mortal Kombat fan film that has been picked up by Warner Brothers to be produced as an official web series. Perhaps buoyed by that success, the next, “that looks cooler than anything the studios have done” fan film has been made and released via FightTheFoot.com. This film seems to be inspired more by the darker, grittier, original TMNT comics by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird than it does the cartoon series or live action films of the late 80s/early 90s. Like the Batman and Mortal Kombat films before it, this one looks slick and professional, the turtle effects seem beyond the capabilities of a mere fan, and I’m sure it will probably make a lot of fanboys smile. I’m not sure I want to live in a world where every comic book movie has to be a real world approach to some gritty series from the 80s though. Do we really need a Foot Clan that looks like some sort of psychotic SWAT team? What was wrong with them being a bunch of kids who lived in a warehouse with skateboard ramps, stand-up arcade games, and all the cigarettes you [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

With the casting announcement of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle and Tom Hardy as Bane, the speculation begins on how these two pieces of the Batman universe will come together to create the puzzle that Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan have brewing in their minds. It’s a puzzle now confined to paper, but it’s a puzzle that demands solving nonetheless. The way to solve it? Pure speculation. The intriguing element to the casting has nothing to do with the actors or the fact that the characters have shown up in previous Batman movies. It has to do with the comic book history of Catwoman and Bane – and the minimal interaction they’ve had over the years. Catwoman is a classic villain, created in 1940. Bane is a modern creation born in 1993. So which comic book storylines will the Nolans draw from to bring them together?

In the most confusing conversation possible, Darren Aronofsky might have revealed that he’s attempting to 1) write and publish a comic book of his Batman story or 2) write and publish a comic book of his Batman story in order to get it made as a movie. That’s pretty bold considering the trilogy crafted by Christopher Nolan and company isn’t even done yet. Hell, it’s not even filming, and if this quote means what some hope it means, Aronofsky is pointing for the fences a bit early on in the process. The money quote:

Severed heads, bondage-inspired costumes, sinister creatures doing terribly evil things: there’s no better way to get in the holiday spirit than to spend an afternoon wandering through the twisted psyche of the master of the macabre, Tim Burton.

Whether or not it’s possible to actually get into the mind of a man fixated on eccentric social outcasts; confused man-children; torture and torment, scarecrows; skeletons and striped clothing is debatable. But one thing is certain; this exhibit will get you closer than you’ve ever been and possibly closer than you’ve ever wanted to be.

There’s been a sort of noticeable calm about the prospect of The Dark Knight Rises being the last time Christopher Nolan will tackle Batman. Christian Bale has already stated that he’s done professionally with the character, and Nolan has made it clear that he is too. However, there’s no uproar from fans, meaning that maybe everyone from both sides of the production are realizing that too much of a good thing can ruin the fun. Maybe it’s because movie fans have been burned by quadquels and quintquels and sexquels, or maybe by the reboots and part twos that come two decades too late, or maybe because we want to see original material from Nolan. Whatever the reason, there’s more than a natural acceptance of Nolan calling it quits after three. In a recent interview with EW, the director stated that he’s done after Rises, and that the film will most definitely not include The Joker in any form. No CGI Ledger, no new actor, no seance. These two facts are encouraging on many levels. Nolan has greater work to do outside of Gotham, and there’s no reason to electronically bring Ledger or the character back for another curtain call. It seems that finally someone in the big Hollywood game has realized when to go out on top. Now, it’s just a matter of making sure that the Dark Knight rises to it.

If you want any more proof as to what a dollar can do in the filming industry these days, look no further. With the belching bloat of some studio productions that spend $2 million on bagels (the good kind), it seems almost paradoxical, but on the other side of the fence is the lowering cost of making a short film of your very own. So that’s what you do – especially if you’re Aaron Schoenke, and you want to make a calling card with one of the most famous bat-obsessed super heroes.

Some people have film tastes that cater to the more obscure, auteur, artistically meritorious titles while others have tastes that lean toward the more mainstream award fodder. There are still others who have…taste at all. And then there’s me!

While everyone else is content to just wait for Batman 3, we take the fight to Nolan and Goyer and issue our list of demands.

In a world gone made with press release of press releases of non-casting news, Robert Fure vents his frustrations, then goes back to work reporting which animal is cut from Furry Vengeance 2: The Furrier.

After the usual editorials about the death of a genre, I’d like to offer some common sense.

Yes, I’m talking about the box office. But, yes, I’m also asking who would win in a fight between Iron Man and Batman.

In a few weeks Kick-Ass is going to try to achieve what films like Mystery Men and Blankman could not. “Not suck,” you might say and you’d be right on that. But the latest superhero dark comedy, inspired by Mark Millar’s smashing graphic novels, will try to also break past the barrier of comic fan approval alone and burst into the hearts and wallets of the general public.

…In the animated series Batman: The Brave And The Bold.

Another week, another fine selection here at the now-teetering-on-monthly Blu-ray Report. This week we get hit with some Role Models, some old school Batman, a gay rights activist and Cartman, all in HD.

After the public release of Bale’s tantrum, someone in the PR machine had to come forward and speak up for the guy. We’re wondering if they drew straws.