The Playlist

5 Things You Might Not Know About 'The Dark Knight'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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July 19, 2012 10:03 AM
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3 Comments

Features

"Batman Begins" had been a modest hit, taking nearly $400 million worldwide, but given that "Superman Returns" made slightly more in 2006, and failed to launch a franchise, Christopher Nolan had to really push the boat out for his second film. And he certainly did. "The Dark Knight" was longer, bigger and better than its predecessor, pioneering the use of IMAX cameras in feature films and introducing one of the most unforgettable performances in genre movies, in the shape of Heath Ledger's Joker, who became an instant icon the moment the first trailer appeared.

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Last Gasp: 10 New 'Dark Knight Rises' Photos Show Off More Of Anne Hathaway & Joseph Gordon-Levitt

By Oliver Lyttelton
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July 18, 2012 1:41 PM
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1 Comment

News

Well here we are. 48 hours or so to go until "The Dark Knight Rises." In fact, it rolls out in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and elsewhere tomorrow, so it comes even sooner if you're in that part of the world. The reviews are out, and they're mostly good, although as has been discussed at length already, good isn't apparently enough for the army of infants whose mental well-being depends on the film maintaining a Rotten Tomatoes score above 90%, and who treat Marvel and DC like Sunnis and Shi'ites not realizing that normal people don't care, and are capable of enjoying films from both companies, as well as, shock horror, some that aren't even based on comic books at all.

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5 Things You Might Not Know About 'Batman Begins'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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July 18, 2012 9:56 AM
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9 Comments

Features

While we appreciate that you're probably focused on this Friday's release of Daniel Auteil's directorial debut "The Well-Digger's Daughter," this week also sees the release of one other little film: "The Dark Knight Rises," the third and final chapter of Christopher Nolan's reinvention of the Batman character and world. The most critically acclaimed superhero franchise to date, the films have seen Nolan (who before turning to the series had only made three movies, all relatively small-budgeted thrillers) take a grounded approach, tackling the on-the-surface silly premise of a man dressing up as a bat to fight crime, and making it psychologically plausiuble in a way that's proven endlessly influential on tentpoles ever since.

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Christopher Nolan Took Inspiration From 'Lord Of The Rings': 5 Things Learned From 'Dark Knight Rises' Feature In EW

By The Playlist
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July 14, 2012 1:02 PM
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10 Comments

News

This week's issue of Entertainment Weekly is on newstands now. On the cover, undoubtedbly is "The Dark Knight Rises" and within is a rather large and engrossing feature on the film with extensive interviews with director Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, some new photos and lots goodies for Batman fans. We strongly encourage you to pick up the issue, and in the meantime, here's five quick highlights.

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A Very Candid Terry Gilliam Unloads On 'Transformers 3,' 'Tintin,' 'The Dark Knight' & John Williams

By Drew Taylor
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December 5, 2011 1:38 PM
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36 Comments

News

If there's one thing we know for sure, it's that Terry Gilliam is really, really grumpy. And or at least, very hilariously candid. Maybe it's the fact that he's constantly marginalized, besides having the oversized imagination and actor loyalty that would (you'd think) make him a big time Hollywood asset, or that every movie he's involved in seems to be an anguished, never-ending process that results in films as lackluster as "The Brothers Grimm" and "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" (oof). While we haven't been able to depend on quality films (or indeed films at all) from him in the last couple of years, we can at least count on Gilliam shooting his mouth off about big time films and famous filmmakers, because, really, what can the establishment possibly do to him at this point?

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Christopher Nolan Tops Warner Bros. Wishlist For 'The Twilight Zone'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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September 30, 2011 9:22 AM
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5 Comments

Michael Bay, Alfonso Cuaron & Rupert Wyatt Also In The MixSo yeah, we sort of forgot about this one, but Warner Bros. has been trying to get a reboot of "The Twilight Zone" off the ground for a while now. Way back in 2008 Rand Ravich ("The Astronaut's Wife") was hired to write the script, and then last fall rising scribe Jason Rothenberg was brought on board the project. And that's pretty much all we heard about it. Well, it looks like the studio is aiming for some big names to take the reins.

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Catwoman Rides A Wild Hog In First Official Look At Anne Hathaway In 'The Dark Knight Rises'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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August 5, 2011 9:53 AM
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24 Comments

As is usually the case with Christopher Nolan productions (let's not forget, almost nothing was known about "Inception" until a week or two before release), a deep veil of secrecy hangs over the production of "The Dark Knight Rises" -- we know who most of the actors are playing, but little beyond that, and even then it's generally thought that both Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's characters have more to them than the official descriptions. Unfortunately for Nolan, he's been shooting a huge battle scene in public in Pittsburgh this week, and spoilery set photos have been all over the Bat-fan-sites in recent days.

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New Photos Of Bane In 'The Dark Knight Rises' Reveal The (Sort Of) Return Of An Old Face

By Gabe Toro
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July 31, 2011 2:48 AM
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6 Comments

As Well As A Slightly Better Look At His GearPotential "The Dark Knight Rises" spoilers ahead. So move on if you don't want to know any more.

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As 'The Dark Tower' Crumbles, Here Are 10 Dead Projects In Search Of Resurrection

By Gabe Toro
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July 21, 2011 3:56 AM
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3 Comments

One of the more ambitious projects in recent memory, "The Dark Tower," was canceled earlier this week by Universal Pictures. It's not a surprise, as the studio also recently put the kibosh on a $150 million-budgeted R-rated take on "At the Mountains of Madness" by Guillermo del Toro and Ron Howard, and Akiva Goldsman's multi-platform, multi-film Stephen King adaptation was arguably more risky and definitely much more expensive. We here at The Playlist root for movies to be good, but we mostly root for movies to be made, for a director to complete their vision and for it to have a chance to reach an audience and possibly become a part of the popular culture.

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Christopher Nolan Producing Supernatural Thriller For Terminally Underrated Director Keith Gordon

By Oliver Lyttelton
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July 1, 2011 2:00 AM
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7 Comments

Becoming a true titan of cinema, of which there are few, the kind who can get anything greenlit, who take critical plaudits and giant box office success in equal measure, isn't easy. Even Martin Scorsese and Stanley Kubrick relied on studio patronage to get their films out, leaving... let's say Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron at the top of the list. And, by following up billion-dollar success "The Dark Knight" with "Inception," a difficult passion project that made a ton of money and got a Best Picture nomination, Christopher Nolan joined them.

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