With Comic-Con right around the corner, summer movie season in full swing and a teaser trailer allegedly just over the horizon, the marketeers at Warner Bros. want you to be thinking about one thing and one thing only: The Dark Knight Rises. So much so that you go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 seven times just so that you can watch the trailer over and over on the big screen. Also, they want what they achieved with The Dark Knight: almost a year of unending fever-pitch. A long, intricate marketing campaign with viral elements, games, events, twists, turns and engaging pieces that all led to $533 million in box office receipts. It was masterful, and like any great Hollywood institution, they’re ready to go for a sequel. It begins with a simple teaser poster. It begins with Gotham City falling down all around us…

It’s obligatory for anyone writing about this news to point out two things. One, we hate writing it. Two, we’re going to anyway. Consider it a casting announcement that just happens to have bigger implications for a movie that should remain as secretive as possible. After all, at a time when Chuck Klosterman is wondering whether The 6th Sense could be made in our spoiler-happy internet world, it’s especially appropriate to see a scoop like this come down the pipeline. It’s not a massive twist, but it could be a game-changer, so if you don’t want any of the surprises for The Dark Knight Rises ruined, read no further. If you don’t mind, or are willing to take the chance that this won’t be that big a deal, feel free to find out what actor filmed a scene for the movie.

There’s no reason to list them all, but there are a lot of similarities between Marlon Brando and Russell Crowe. According to Variety, there’s about to be one more. The trade is reporting that he’s taking the role of Superman’s father, Jor-El, for Man of Steel. With another origin story, it gives Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan an opportunity to bring Kal-El’s parents into the mix, but they will most likely have relatively small parts. However, as Brando proved, it doesn’t take a large part to make an impact. Oddly enough, Latino Review is also reporting that Connie Nielsen has been offered the role of Superman’s mother, Lara, meaning that if she accepts, she’ll reunite with her Gladiator co-star Crowe. The pairing will make more than a subtle nod to that film, which of course was more than a subtle nod to the film Witness (or just a massive love letter to wheat fields). Thus, the new Superman reboot is a giant, long-form tribute to Harrison Ford and Peter Weir. Layers! But, seriously, all of this casting sounds phenomenal. It also means that an Australian is siring a British alien that becomes a symbol for the American way.

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):

It’s been about forever since Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard were first rumored to be castmembers in Christopher Nolan’s latest Batman film, but Warner Bros has finally confirmed the involvement of both Inception actors, as well as released details about whom they will be playing. While the news of the casting being official may be cause for celebration among many Batman fans, I would imagine that there will be disappointment about their respective roles.

In all The Dark Knight Rises news is printable news, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that the film will be heading to downtown Pittsburgh this summer for a few weeks of its shooting. Director Christopher Nolan made a statement saying, “Pittsburgh is a beautiful city. We have been able to find everything we were looking for here, and I am excited to spend the summer in Pittsburgh with our final installment of Batman.” What is it that Nolan was able to find in his trips to Pittsburgh? The director of the Pittsburgh Film Office, Dawn Keezer, said, “They’re still nailing down actual locations, but what they really fell in love with was the diversity of architecture and the gorgeous buildings that we still have in Downtown Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas.” Before this, the largest bulk of Nolan’s Batman franchise has been shot in Chicago. As someone who spends a lot of time in downtown Chicago, let me clue Pittsburgh residents in on what they can expect from the magical experience of a Batman movie being filmed in your hometown. Streets will be closed, vital streets that people need to drive on. Sidewalks will be unusable, crammed with thousands of gawkers hoping to catch a glimpse of God only knows what from thousands of feet away. Every day important local news will be pushed aside for stories stating simply that the shooting is still taking place, probably with some asinine quotes from sun burnt onlookers. Your life will be made [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]

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]

Visionary director Zack Snyder took some questions about his upcoming Superman movie at a recent press junket for his latest film Sucker Punch and had some interesting things to say about his approach. So far in his career we’ve seen Snyder do a lot of surreal, ultra violent, ultra stylized action stuff. That’s fun and all in its proper context, but it doesn’t explain how it got him the job of making a Superman movie. When asked about what his approach to this film would be, Snyder said, “I feel like, I mean I’ve said to the studio that this will probably be the most realistic Superman movie ever made. It takes place in the real world much more than [my previous films]… I mean, I’ve just never had the subject matter that needed that, you know what I mean? Like everything I’ve done up to this point really has the benefit of existing in a stylized world.” When the project was first being put together, word was that Christopher Nolan was overseeing it and it was going to take a similar approach to the material that he took when making Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. While Nolan is a pretty universally beloved filmmaker, it seemed like the studio was missing the boat. Just because gritty and street level worked for Batman doesn’t mean it’s going to work for Superman. They’re two completely different characters. And once Snyder’s name was attached to the project, it fanned the flames even [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]

The Dark Knight was the first sequel Christopher Nolan ever directed. The Dark Knight Rises will be his first threequel, and there’s something special about his bullet-proof nature. Variety has confirmed the long-believed rumor that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would play Alberto Falcone – the Fredo of the Gotham mob family. He’s a villain to be sure, and one of the best because he’s twisted and weak, an outcast from his own kin in many ways. So it’s another villain added to the pile. Catwoman, Talia Al’Ghul, Bane, and the League of Shadows form the bad guy sundae, and Falcone is the shriveled up cherry on top. Even so, there have been no editorials calling Nolan and company out for their newfound lust for high profile baddies. If Batman was wearing red and blue spandex with a spider logo on the front, this news would cause outrage. It would hit too close to home. So why does Nolan get a pass just four years after Spider-Man 3 vomited out bad guys all over the screen? There are at least three big reasons.

Over the past 24 hours my Twitter feed has been abuzz with reactions to the announcement that Alcon Entertainment was close to signing a deal to make more Blade Runner movies. Capitalizing on the wave on controversy, i09 sat down with Alcon executives Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, and Bud Yorkin to ask them more about their plans for turning this cult classic into a modern franchise. When asked why they wanted to go after the rights to Blade Runner Johnson said, “We’re intellectually fascinated and ready to explore the themes that the movie invokes and the underlying material. At the end of the day those are the things that make great movies. Those and characters, it’s an opportunity of a life time to try and explore this further.” Kosove added, “I think that there’s a unique aspect of Blade Runner, and it is absolutely right to be re-address now at this time in human history. That is the concept of what it means to be a human being. What does it mean to be human, to have empathy, to have feelings?”

Hopefully the headline is enough of a spoiler warning (and enough for you to go get your grain of salt), but some new rumors for The Dark Knight Rises have…you know…risen, and they aren’t the kind that see Eddie Murphy playing Crazy Quilt. Sorry about that. Try to forget the image that just popped into your head. Instead of broadcasting this on the home page, go ahead and skip ahead of the jump if you want to know some possible details about what characters will be doing what (could it be more vague?). If not, stay golden, Pony Boy, and avoid this post like the spoilery plague.

This article is part of our Oscar Week Series, where you will find breakdowns and predictions for all of the major categories. As I mentioned in the Best Adapted Screenplay post, the process of making a film involves thousands of moving parts and pieces from the actors to the director to the caterers and beyond, but arguably the most integral aspect of the process is the script. I say arguable, but I’m only being polite. The script is the most important part of a film… it’s responsible for the words coming out of the actors’ mouths, for the shifts in story, for the very tale itself. Actors bring it to life and the director makes it a visual reality, but it all starts from the script. Some folks may argue otherwise, but an original screenplay is far tougher to write than one adapted from a previously existing source. The heavy lifting has all been done for you when the story beats are already laid out in a book, play, or previous film. An original screenplay demands the writer create and craft everything from scratch, from the characters to the story, and the ones who get it right deserve a bigger statuette than their “Adapted Screenplay” contemporaries. And yes, I’m kidding. Anyone who completes a screenplay, whether it be an original or an adaptation, whether it win an award or not, whether it gets produced or not… you have my respect and awe. The nominees are listed below with my prediction [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]

What is Movie News After Dark? This is a question that I am almost never asked, but I will answer it for you anyway. Movie News After Dark is FSR’s newest late-night secretion, a column dedicated to all of the news stories that slip past our daytime editorial staff and make it into my curiously chubby RSS ‘flagged’ box. It will (but is not guaranteed to) include relevant movie news, links to insightful commentary and other film-related shenanigans. I may also throw in a link to something TV-related here or there. It will also serve as my place of record for being both charming and sharp-witted, but most likely I will be neither of the two. I write this stuff late at night, what do you expect?

Apple and Warner Bros. have announced that they are teaming up to bring app versions of feature films to iOS devices. What will a movie app entail exactly? Their press release explains, “App Editions provide a fully-loaded, connected viewing experience that gives consumers the first five minutes of a feature film and a portion of bonus content that can include games, trivia, soundtracks and soundboards.  The entire feature film can be unlocked via an in-app purchase, which enables downloading and unlimited streaming, as well as access to the entire array of bonus content available within the App.” So basically a movie app is an advertisement for a movie that gives you a link to buy said movie being advertised. The first two movies to get the treatment will be Christopher Nolan’s pair of huge hits The Dark Knight and Inception. That’s probably a good strategy for the first releases; they’re both insanely popular in a mainstream way, but nerd centric at their cores. If any part of Apple’s tech savvy audience is going to be willing to download individual films onto their iOS devices, then this will probably be a good judge of what percentage. Purchasing Inception will cost $11.99, while The Dark Knight will only be $9.99, so this suggests that different movies will have different price points depending on their release dates if this takes off as a concept.

Paris based newspaper Le Figaro is reporting that actress Marion Cotillard has signed on to be in director Christopher Nolan’s third and final film in his Batman franchise, The Dark Knight Rises. The report would seem to be credible as Cotillard has been rumored to be signing to the film for quite some time, a rash of other signings has happened over the past couple weeks, and Cotillard already has a relationship with Nolan having worked with him just last year in Inception.

What is Movie News After Dark? This is a question that I am almost never asked, but I will answer it for you anyway. Movie News After Dark is FSR’s newest late-night secretion, a column dedicated to all of the news stories that slip past our daytime editorial staff and make it into my curiously chubby RSS ‘flagged’ box. It will (but is not guaranteed to) include relevant movie news, links to insightful commentary and other film-related shenanigans. I may also throw in a link to something TV-related here or there. It will also serve as my place of record for being both charming and sharp-witted, but most likely I will be neither of the two. I write this stuff late at night, what do you expect?

Cult film? Maybe. Memento was a hit when it was released in 2001, earning $25 million in just 500 theaters. Chances are you may have gotten to see it, but if you didn’t, the film’s (and Christopher Nolan’s) popularity has given you another chance. For one night only (February 17th), the fantastic film (that was named #1 on our list of the best movies of the decade) will be in theaters. Select ones. Here’s the list. Make sure to tattoo yourself on the hand to remember to go.

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?

That’s right, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is reportedly a near lock to join the cast of the new Christopher Nolan film The Dark Knight Rises. Take a moment, run around the room, and then come back to me. There, good. Now that the news is out there, lets try to be realistic about our response to it. As an Internet we can often go a little overboard with things like this. I can imagine the speculation that is going to run rampant now: He is perfect for The Riddler! Maybe he’s going to play The Holiday Killer, and the script is going to be based off of “The Long Halloween”. Wouldn’t a Nolan version of the Robin character be around his age, you know, for realism? While it makes a lot of sense for Gordon-Levitt to sign on to this project, he gained a cult following for the neo-noir Brick, he has worked with Nolan before; I don’t think it makes a ton of sense for him to be playing some recognizable character in Batman lore with a lengthy history and a huge fan following. It has already been announced that both Bane and Selina Kyle are going to be parts of this film. That’s a lot to focus on already. It makes more sense to me that Gordon-Levitt will end up cast as something like Dive Bar Owner or Police Officer Guy instead of The Ventriloquist or Black Mask. If he were playing a big character, then the news of the [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]