Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' hits the streets of downtown L.A.

Los Angeles Times metro reporter Esmeralda Bermuda wrote a story about the community footprint of a movie set, specifically Christopher Nolan's massive "Inception," a reality-bending thriller due in theaters next year. -- Geoff Boucher

It was still dark when Dominga Cornejo parked herself outside her swap meet stand along South Spring Street, her ruffled pink apron tied around her waist and her giant bin of Mexican candy within arm's reach.

At any moment, the 77-year-old expected a torrent of rain to drench her, a series of gun blasts to boom and a locomotive engine to come barreling down the street, possibly in her direction.

"I'm ready for it," she said in Spanish. "I hope everyone sees my little store."

Cornejo and the rest of downtown Los Angeles was abuzz Saturday as four blocks were transformed into an elaborate film set calling for fake rain storms, gunfights, smoke effects and even a train crash. Staff on the streets were closelipped about the project, but the scenes are for “Inception,” an action thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

A posted permit announced in fine print that the filming would include a "simulated car crash with train, breaking glass, simulated bullet effects on body and things, atmospheric smoke effects, weapons brandished . . . near hits & misses," among other things.

To keep media, particularly paparazzi, from sneaking into the set, security manned nearly every shop, building and parking structure from Main Street to Broadway and 6th to 8th streets. But that didn't keep Angelenos from cutting through orange cones and production assistants to get to work, to visit nearby shops or to simply stop and take in the commotion.

With swap meet sales sagging, Cornejo didn't mind the extra attention.

"They even paid me $300, which is way more than I make in two days," said the Salvadoran from Montebello...

THERE'S MORE, READ THE REST

-- Esmeralda Bermuda

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PHOTO: "Inception" set shot by Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

'Gamer,' 'Surrogates,' 'Avatar' and the meaning of (second) life

In the old days, Hollywood tried to make thrillers that got under your skin -- today it's more about films that get you out of your skin.

In a sign of the times, this Friday the blood-splattered "Gamer" begins a wave of sci-fi films that take the concepts of second life and video games into dark corners of the digital age. "Gamer" presents a world where modern flesh-and-blood gladiators (among them Gerard Butler of "300" fame) and sex slaves are controlled by a paying public sitting in front of computer screens in the leering privacy of their own homes.

On Sept. 25, "Surrogates," starring Bruce Willis, presents a different spin -- a society where everyone essentially stays home but can live (and, it turns out, be killed) via the glamorous robot versions of themselves that create a mechanized second life. In December, director James Cameron takes the out-of-body experience off planet with "Avatar," where lives are lost (and unexpected love found) when humans place their consciousnesses inside the giant blue bodies of alien hybrids on a planet with the oh-so-revealing name of Pandora.

There are other variations of plug-in tales coming. Next year's "Tron Legacy" from Disney takes the download-your-mind dream back to an old-school brand name, and then there's "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," a zany Edgar Wright project that presents Michael Cera in combat with his girlfriend's past lovers while the film keeps score of his gaming-like odyssey. Then there's Christopher Nolan's "Inception," with star Leonardo DiCaprio; the plot is a closely guarded secret at this point but in a perception-bending teaser trailer there's an intriguing tagline that states "your mind is the scene of the crime," suggesting that the director of "The Dark Knight" is treading beyond our reality.

The visions are wildly different but all of the movies speak to the slippery nature of humanity in an era where millions and millions of people "live" an alternative existence in Second Life, build their own worlds in Sims or swing swords at strangers in World of Warcraft.

"One life isn't enough for anyone anymore," said Mark Neveldine, who co-directed "Gamer" with Brian Taylor. "Part of it is people get heavily isolated today and then they also greedy, they want more than the life they have and what it can offer."

Taylor and Neveldine, the same tandem behind "Crank,"  said they wanted to make a throwback sci-fi film that is high-energy but also laced with social commentary and, like some mash-up between "Natural Born Killers" and Sims, presents lurid bombast and of-the-moment digital-life textures. Butler portrays a death-row inmate who joins a combat game called Slayer that promises a chance of freedom for prisoners who let their brains be rewired to make them controllable characters in a real-life blood sport. (If some of that plot sounds familiar, the directors are aware of it; they noted that that there's a fleeting homage to Arnold Schwarzenegger and "The Running Man" if viewers keep their eyes open.)

"Gamer" has Michael C. Hall (of "Dexter" and "Six Feet Under" fame, shown at right with Butler) as the real bad guy, the architect of Slayer and a sexed-up counterpart game called Society. Taylor said the media mogul was imagined as a cross between Bill Gates, Mark Cuban and University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer, of all people, but with a Dixie accent."A disarming Southern gentleman," as Taylor put it.

The film "Surrogates" has been trying to catch the eye of moviegoers with the billboard campaign of robots flashing come-hither looks. Director Jonathan Mostow, whose last film was 2003's "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," said the flirtation with technology has been going on for years and that modern life is at the mercy of the wonderful machines we create.   

"We're all essentially addicted to our e-mail, Blackberries, Facebook and Twitter," Mostow said. "I'm not saying technology is evil, believe me, it's great. I'm a major techno addict, I'm a first adopter, I get everything that's new as quick as I can."

The allure of technology is the framing tale in "Surrogates," based on the Top Shelf comic-book series by writer Robert Venditti and artist Brett Weldele, which presents a world where safety is assured because instead of leaving home, people merely dispatch a better-looking robot version of themselves. That arm's-length approach to life changes, though, when murder is reintroduced to society and an FBI agent, played by Willis, finds that he will actually have to venture back out into the real world.  

Mostow said Willis and the actor's "believability and credibility" give the detective tale a centered realism. "And you need that in stories such as this one."

That noir sensibility of "Surrogates" is far removed from the tales coming in later seasons from the directors of the two highest-grossing films in American box office history. "Titanic" director Cameron has compared his "Avatar," which stars Sam Worthington, to familiar clash-of-culture tales such as "Dances With Wolves" and "At Play in the Fields of the Lord" while Nolan's "Inception," due in July 2010, seems to be channeling a stylish, less-techy version of "The Matrix."

And after that? Mostow said to expect more films where humans face the ghosts in the machine and search for a human pulse amid the pixels. "The storytellers are telling tales about things happening in society and these are the things we're all worried about ... I think it's all in reference to this generalized anxiety about technology and its role in our lives."

-- Geoff Boucher

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"Gamer" images courtesy of Lionsgate

Next 'Batman' film on track for 2011 release?

Gary Oldman is at again. The actor shocked Comic-Con attendees in San Diego this morning when he revealed that the next film in the "Batman" franchise was to start filming in 2010, and potentially be released in 2011.

Oldman, who was at Comic-Con to promote "The Book of Eli," was reportedly asked by a Comic-Con attendee when the next film in the series would begin shooting. He told the crowd that the film would go before cameras in 2010, and then quickly added, "But you didn't hear that from me," which we at the Hero Complex HQ learned via the tweets of our Comic-Con reporter Denise Martin.

There didn't appear to be any other "Batman"-related spoilers out of Comic-Con this morning. Oldman portrayed Police Commissioner Gordon in the first two films directed by Christopher Nolan, 2005's "Batman Begins" and 2008's "The Dark Knight." 

This isn't the first time Oldman has possibly spoken out of turn about a forthcoming "Batman" film. While promoting "The Dark Knight," Oldman was quoted as saying, "Maybe we don't need the Joker. Because we'll have the Riddler."

Nolan is currently busy filming "Inception," a Warner Bros. sci-fi picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page.

--Todd Martens

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Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Oscar shocker: There will be 10 best picture nominees next year

Back in January, everyone wondered how close "The Dark Knight" came to earning an Oscar nomination for best picture.

Now we know: It missed by exactly one year.

In a shocking announcement, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences announced that next year there will be twice as many nominees in the best picture category, a bit of the news that is already sending a jolt through Hollywood. For studio marketing and advertising teams, it opens up new opportunities to promote films -- although it  also will water down the prestige of a nomination.

Here's a press-release quote from academy President Sid Ganis, who framed the decision as a return to the earliest traditions of the trophy that towers over Hollywood.

 “After more than six decades, the academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,” said Ganis.  “The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one best picture winner – but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.”

Ganis and his team, of course, are more concerned with discouraging trends in the ratings of the show than any sort of bridge to the gala's past. Last year, there were major changes in the broadcast in an attempt to goose the suspense and energy of the show. If they really want to make for compelling moments, they should show a clip of "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan's reaction today when he gets the news in London that his Batman just got ambushed by the Calendar Man. 

-- Geoff Boucher

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Images: Top right, Oscar statuette by Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences; poster by Warner Bros.

'The Dark Knight' snubbed in best picture race

UPDATED: Here's a story I have appearing in the Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times tomorrow:

There are always a lot of emotions on Oscar nomination day, but there was an especially bittersweet surge on Thursday when the late Heath Ledger’s name was called out in the category of best supporting actor for his portrayal of the maniacal Joker in "The Dark Knight" — it was, after all, one year to the day after his death.

Even as the team behind the Warner Bros. film embraced the posthumous honor for Ledger, they also dealt with the disappointment that the acclaimed blockbuster was left out of the best picture race.

No superhero movie has come close to the marquee category in the past, but Warner Bros. had high hopes that "Dark Knight" could follow in the footsteps of "Star Wars," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Beauty and the Beast" and "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" as a youth-skewing hit able to transcend its popcorn-genre roots and earn a best picture nomination from the stuffy academy.

In the barest appraisal, "Dark Knight" was yet another summer sequel about a masked-man fighting crime. But after its July release, the film, directed by Christopher Nolan, started racking up so much box-office success (it now stands as the second-highest grossing movie of all-time in the U.S. behind "Titanic") and such intense critical acclaim (only "WALL-E" scored a higher quotient of raves among the year’s wide-release films, according to Rotten Tomatoes) that Oscar talk began to gain traction.

Ledger’s performance as the scabby and diabolical Joker was clearly regarded as an Oscar contender early on, but the conversation widened considerably this month when Nolan was nominated by his peers for the Directors Guild award for achievement in a feature film. That came on the heels of a best picture nomination from the Producers Guild, whose top category typically mirrors the academy’s picks for the best films of the year.

But can Heath Ledger WIN the Oscar?

There are always a lot of emotions on Oscar nomination day but there was an especially bittersweet surge in sentiment this morning when the late Heath Ledger's name was called out in the category of best supporting actor -- one year to the day after his death.

The nomination for Ledger's scorching performance as the scabby and diabolical Joker in "The Dark Knight"; had been considered a certainty in recent months but there was still a collective sigh when it was announced. Now the question is, 'Can he win?' There has been a posthumous actor winner in the past -- Peter Finch's widow Eletha Finch memorably accepted his best-actor Oscar for the unforgettable 1976 film "Network" -- but Finch died a month after he was nominated. Ledger's accidental prescription-drug overdose hasn't lost any of its tragedy, of course, but the beloved Spencer Tracy and even James Dean (whose life and early death were evoked by many of Ledger's eulogists) were in similar nominated-after-death situations, and they did not win the trophy.

There's also been some quiet talk in town lately of realpolitik realities of Hollywood that say the studios campaign harder for living actors (who will, after all, make more movies) and that those actors present for interviews and press statements in upcoming weeks are powerfully wooing Academy voters who are "auditioning" for winners.

Perhaps, but I think Ledger will win because his performance was so very powerful and because those same Oscar voters love drama. I think on Oscar night we will see little Matilda, the young daughter of Ledger, smiling as her father's name is called out once again. Beyond the joy to Matilda and her family, it's nice to think of that shining moment as the final image in the public's memory of this gifted performer.

-- Geoff Boucher

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CREDIT: Heath Ledger photo by Associated Press. "The Dark Knight" images courtesy of Warner Bros.

Heath Ledger, 'Watchmen,' Tin Tin and Jonah Hex, all in Everyday Hero headlines

HEATH LEDGER WINS A GOLDEN GLOBE: I went to the Golden Globes last night and contributed to the Los Angeles Times team coverage (we go all out for Hollywood trophy shows, too much in fact) and I got to say hello to Christopher Nolan as he crossed the banquet hall during one of the early commerical breaks. (The Globes are by far the best award show to cover; it's dinner seating, all the stars are liquored up and you can walk over and talk to anyone, which is why I got to interview Bruce Springsteen and Tom Hanks in the span of 10 minutes last night.) Not long after I spoke to Nolan, the late Heath Ledger won for his performance in "The Dark Knight." Here's what my colleague John Horn wrote about it, as well as the surprise victory for "Slumdog Millionaire" as best picture: "If 'Slumdog Millionaire' provided the most joyous moments at the 66th annual award show, Ledger's posthumous win for supporting actor offered its most poignant. Ledger died last January from an overdose of prescription medications, before 'The Dark Knight' was released and became the second-highest-grossing movie in Hollywood, trailing only 'Titanic.' 'The Dark Knight' was the actor's last completed film role. 'I for one will start to be able to look less at the gap in the future and the incredible place Heath made for himself with his talent and with his dedication,' Chris Nolan, the film's director and co-writer, said in accepting Ledger's award for his haunting performance as the Joker." [Los Angeles Times] To see all the awards won to date by Ledger's performance, check out this story in the Hollywood Reporter.

HORTON HEARS A "HEX": There was a story in the trades a few days ago about yet another change in the lurching effort to make a film adaptation of Jonah Hex, the grim, disfigured DC Comics western antihero. The movie has the great Josh Brolin locked in as the star but everything else seems to change every few months. The latest new face in the process is an animation specialist looking to saddle up with a live-action, six-shooter tale: "Jimmy Hayward, who directed the animated 'Horton Hears a Who!,' will make his live-action debut with 'Jonah Hex,' the Warner Bros. western based on the DC Comics character. Josh Brolin is attached to star in the film, which previously had Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor ('Crank') on board as directors. The duo, who also wrote the script, bowed out over creative differences in November. The studio, which hopes to put the movie into production in March or April, went on a fast-track search, putting together a short list that included such names as Andy Fickman and McG before narrowing it down to Hayward. The character of Hex, known for having the right side of his face disfigured and wearing a Confederate army uniform, was a rough-and-tumble gunslinger and part-time bounty hunter whose adventures always ended in blood. One incarnation of his comic book series saw the Western genre combined with supernatural elements, and it's this aspect that was featured in Neveldine and Taylor's script. The studio will likely keep the script, though it's expected that Hayward will put his stamp on it." [Hollywood Reporter]

MORE "WATCHMEN" TO WATCH: Here's a television promo for the March release...

IS TINTIN GAY?: Journalist and former politican Matthew Parris is quite the firebrand figure in England and his latest essay might ruffle some feathers of fans of the classic "Tintin" comics, which are soon to be adapted into a film: "Billions of blue blistering barnacles, isn't it staring us in the face? Sometimes a thing's so obvious it's hard to see where the debate could start. What debate can there be when the evidence is so overwhelmingly one-way? A callow, androgynous blonde-quiffed youth in funny trousers and a scarf moving into the country mansion of his best friend, a middle-aged sailor? A sweet-faced lad devoted to a fluffy white toy terrier, whose other closest pals are an inseparable couple of detectives in bowler hats, and whose only serious female friend is an opera diva... And you're telling me Tintin isn't gay? And Liberace was a red-blooded heterosexual...But really, what next? Lawrence of Arabia a ladies' man? Richard the Lionheart straight? And I suppose the Village People were a band of off-duty police officers, "YMCA" was a song about youth-hostelling, and Noddy and Big Ears are just good friends. But I'd better make the case because, astonishingly (and though when I googled “Tintin” and “gay” I got 526,000 references), there are still Tintin aficionados who remain in denial about this. Last year, as part of my BBC radio 'Great Lives' series, my guest, the international photojournalist Nick Danziger (who had nominated the life of Tintin), and my expert Tintinologist, Michael Farr (author of 'Tintin: The Complete Companion' and numerous other Tintin-related works), stunned me by not only denying hotly that their hero could have been gay, but even insisting that the thought had never occurred to them. Don't you find, though, that it's often the people closest to someone who never tumble to it?" [Times of London]

ON THIS DATE: The ABC series “Batman” premiered on this day in 1966 with the episode “Hi Diddle Riddle,” featuring Frank Gorshin as the Riddler and, in a unforgettable moment of farce, Adam West dancing the Batusi. If lore is to be believed, the show was inspired in part by the hooting crowd reactions to vintage Batman serials that were screened at the Playboy Club in Chicago (we all know what a comics and movie fan Hugh Hefner is) and its pop-art camp sensibility was a direct result of executive producer (and uncredited narrator) William Dozier's deep disdain for comic books. To celebrate this milestone in television history, let's punch people today and make our own zany sound effects. To see some video from the show, go to the end of this post...

'Dark Knight' wins, the next Batman film and flying cars all in Everyday Hero headlines

Welcome to Everyday Hero, your roundup of handpicked headlines from across the fanboy universe...

PEOPLE CHOOSE DARK KNIGHT: "The Dark Knight" has been doing well in the Hollywood guild awards and, no surprise, the second-highest-grossing film of all time also turned out to be quite popular at the People's Choice Awards, which honors only the most commercially successful projects. Here's the painfully cliched story from the Associated Press: "Holy People's Choice Awards, Batman! 'The Dark Knight' soared away with every trophy it was nominated for Wednesday at the 35th annual fan-favorite CBS ceremony. The caped crusader flick won five awards, including favorite cast, superhero, action movie and on-screen matchup for Christian Bale's Batman and the late Heath Ledger's Joker. 'On behalf of all of the cast from the movie, thank you very much to the fans,' said Bale. 'Here's to Heath.' " (If you want to see other journalists who still think that references to the 1960s Adam West version of Batman is the height of cleverness, read this.)

GIVE ME ONE MORE 'KNIGHT': Meanwhile, MTV talked to "The Dark Knight" producer Chuck Roven, who said Christopher Nolan is talking to writing collaborator David S. Goyer about that third Batman movie, which, of course, is still not a 100% sure thing ... in the same way that it's not a 100% sure thing that the Earth continues spinning when you close your eyes.

IT'S 2008, WHERE'S MY FLYING CAR?: Every New Year's Eve as I look at the calendar and realize that, despite the promises made to me as a child, we are well into the 21st century now and I'm still driving around on tires and asphalt. I watched "The Jetsons" and I fully expected that I would have zippy flying bubble car by now and, well, I'm bitter. So I read this story from England with great interest: "It's been a pipe dream for 30 years but now the world's first fully available flying car is set to hit the roads next year. Ever since the 'Back to the Future' movies lit up our screens in the '80s, designers have dreamt of an automobile that could take to the skies at the push of a button. And now qualified pilots can order their very own Terrafugia Transition 'roadable' plane for just  £127,000, with delivery planned for late next year. The 'light-sport airplane' promises to bring more 'flexibility and convenience to your flying.' The plane, which has fold-out wings that span 27.5 feet when extended, has an airborne range of 460 miles and can cruise at 115 mph. Back on terra firma, it is capable of traveling at 'highway speeds' in car mode. Fuelling the 19-foot long plane couldn't be simpler -- you just drive it into a petrol station and fill it up with unleaded. It is powered by a 100 hp, Rotax 912S, four-stroke engine." [Daily Mail] (There's lots of photos of the plane-car right here.)

GEEK PRODUCT OF THE DAY: OK, anyody know where I can get one of these? This particular online merchant is out of stock, but a stromtrooper hoodie is clearly something I need to own to remind the world that I am an unrepetant fanboy.

TODAY'S WATCHMEN VIDEO: So cool! Check this out ...

ON THIS DATE: The late, great Peter Arno, the cartoonist whose sly satire of Manhattan cafe society contributed mightily to the sophisticated tone of The New Yorker, was born on this day in 1904. It's been a big week for Illustrators of acclaim from that venerable publication (which is, pound for pound, easily my all-time favorite magazine, by the way); Jan. 7 happened to be the birthday of the devlishly clever Charles Addams (1912-88), best known for creating the madcap macabre of "The Addams Family," which led to the television show, the films and the cartoons of the same name. (You can buy cartoons by Arno right here on The New Yorker website, while Addams and slices of his spooky genius can be found at the website of his foundation.) To celebrate the memory of these smirking geniuses, let's skip the serious pages today and just look for the funny parts.  NOTE: You can see video from different "Addams Family" at the bottom of this post...

'Twilight,' Christopher Nolan and 'Fables' in Everyday Hero headlines

A busy Monday edition of Everyday Hero, your roundup of handpicked headlines from the fanboy universe...

A storybook ending for "Fables"?: Writer Bill Willingham has done a sparkling job these past six years on the Vertigo comic book series "Fables," which presents the Big Bad Wolf, Snow White, Jack Horner and other "legends in exile" being part of a sort of storybook diaspora -- the secret community of magical peoples living in New York City. It's got a dash of "Shrek" to it, I suppose, but really it reminds me more of Neil Gaiman's tales of assorted gods from different cultures struggling to live with one another in the unmagically modern and secular world. Anyway, it's a great series and now perhaps it will be a TV show. There's an announcement story in the trades today by Nellie Andreeva and Borys Kit saying that ABC might be bringing the refugees of Fabletown to life: "The network has handed out a put pilot commitment to the fantasy project, based on the comic book created by Bill Willingham and published by DC's Vertigo imprint. 'Six Degrees' creators/executive producers Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner are penning the script for the hourlong drama set at Warner Bros. TV. David Semel has come on board to direct "Fables," which revolves around characters from fairy tales and folklore living in exile in modern-day New York. 'Their lives become interconnected in very big way,' Zicherman said. 'They share a secret and a bond.' Zicherman and Metzner wouldn't elaborate which fairy tale characters will be featured in the TV series but noted that Big Bad Wolf and Snow White, who are central to the comics, will have a similar role on the show. The comic book series' first storyline followed Fabletown's sheriff, a reformed and pardoned Big Bad Wolf, who investigates the murder of Snow White's party-girl sister, Rose Red. 'We set up a structure to allow any fairy tale character to show up in any one episode,' Metzner said. The fairy tale characters will keep some of their trademark characteristics. For instance, Prince Charming will be handsome, while Big Bad Wolf will have to shave a four-day shadow from growing back every day." [Hollywood Reporter]

Batman at home: Reporter Scott Bowles visited with "The Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan to talk about the DVD and Blu Ray release this Tuesday, and it doesn't sound like there was much laying around the Batcave in the way of extras:  "There are features on the staging of the film's elaborate stunts, alternate angles and a segment on the technology behind Batman's gadgets, but not a single deleted scene or outtake from [Heath] Ledger's performance. Nolan says he wasn't keeping deleted scenes from fans. "For my past three films, I really haven't had scenes that didn't make it in the movie," he says. 'If it's in the final script, I tend put it on screen.' Any outtakes, however, were intentionally left off the DVD. 'I don't like outtakes or gag reels,' Nolan says. 'I don't think it's respectful to the actors, who signed on to have their performance on screen, not the takes that didn't work out. It discourages actors from going all-out if they think every mistake is going on the disc.' Nolan says he is jotting notes and doing some rough outlines for a third story, but he hasn't yet found anything he's willing to commit to film, despite Warner Bros.' eagerness to get a new film underway. 'It was obvious when the box office was so big ($530 million domestically) that we had underestimated how ready fans were to reboot the franchise,' he says. 'The worst thing you could do now that you've gotten the plane back in the air is mess up the landing.' Bowles also had Nolan talk about four of his favorite scenes in "Dark Knight." [USA TODAY]

Heath Ledger honored: More "Dark Knight" news as the late Heath Ledger picks up a major honor in the country of his birth: "Ledger's family paid a teary tribute to the Aussie actor in accepting an AFI award on behalf of his 'precious Matilda.' Ledger was posthumously given the Australian Film Institute's international award for best actor for his virtuoso performance as The Joker in 'The Dark Knight.' 'It was this swaggering, psychopathic clown that turned his career into a legacy and the name Heath Ledger into an ongoing inspiration to actors everywhere,' the AFI said at the glittering awards ceremony on Saturday night. 'He was the untamed spirit many of us wish we could be. May the legend live on.' His father Kim, mother Sally and sister Kate accepted the award from actor Michael Caton, receiving a standing ovation from the A-list film and television crowd in Melbourne's Princess Theatre. 'It's been without a doubt the most difficult year, losing such a loved family member,' said Kate Ledger, fighting back tears. 'We are so proud of him and humbly accept this award on behalf of his beautiful daughter, who we will cherish forever.' [ABC News]

Gift shopping? Think big: Reviewer Douglas Wolk weighs in on a heavy new collection that might not even fit down the chimney: "If there’s one book that art-comics enthusiasts would be happiest to find in their stockings this year, it’s probably 'Kramers Ergot 7' [Buenaventura, $125], except for the small matter that it’s bigger than an entire hearth. This is one of the grandest English-language comics artifacts ever produced — a mammoth hardcover anthology, 16 by 21 inches, of new stories by several dozen notable cartoonists, including Daniel Clowes, Seth, Gabrielle Bell, Kevin Huizenga, Sammy Harkham (who also edited the book) and the 'Simpsons' creator Matt Groening. Like the early-20th-century broadsheet newspaper comics pages that inspired it, 'Kramers Ergot' occupies its readers’ entire visual field, and most of its contributors have some fun with its dimensions, cramming the page with tiny details or opening it up for apocalyptically huge vistas. The cleverest gesture comes from Chris Ware, whose two-page contribution is built around a cartoon of a sleeping baby printed at the child’s actual size." Wolk, the author of "Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean," goes on to recommend other comics tomes for the holiday, including "Absolute Ronin," "Swallow Me Whole" and "Herbie, Vol. 1" [New York Times Sunday Book Review]

The dark side of "Twilight": It's been a great month for "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke; what could possibly ruin it? Oh, wait...this weekend Nikki Finke broke the news that the filmmaker won't be back to continue the tale of Edward and Bella: "I've confirmed that Summit Entertainment has rejected 'Twilight' director Catherine Hardwicke from helming the sequel in this big new franchise. No doubt my news will speed up the studio's announcement, and Summit will surely spin this as all going down amicably along the lines that 'she couldn't fit the film into her time frame.' (Summit does want a ridiculously speeded-up sked for the next installment.) But this terrible news for Hardwicke comes just as she and the 'Twilight' cast are on their European press tour. Tuesday's interviews in France will now focus entirely on what, if anything, Catherine did to deserve this treatment. This also could blow up into a scandal for Summit if it chooses a male director over Hardwicke, whose 'Twilight' easily beat Mimi Leder's 1998 'Deep Impact' box office gross as the biggest opener for a female director. That was a record embraced by Hollywood feminists as a sign of growing gal power." [Deadline Hollywood]

Punishment: Reporter Brandon Gray adds up the numbers on a franchise that, despite plenty of opportunities, just can't shoot straight: "The weekend's most prominent new release, 'Punisher: War Zone', had a pitiful start, grossing an estimated $4 million on around 2,700 screens at 2,508 theaters. It was the smallest opening ever for a Marvel Comics adaptation by far, even lower than 'Howard the Duck', and was a quarter of the previous Punisher movie's opening in terms of attendance. 'Punisher: War Zone' tried to reboot the franchise after the disappointment of 'The Punisher' in 2004, like 'The Incredible Hulk' versus 'Hulk' from 2003, but its marketing campaign was murky and made no attempt to entice those unfamiliar with the character. What's more, distributor Lionsgate released the similar 'Transporter 3' last week, stealing some of its thunder. [Box Office Mojo]

CREDITS: "Fables" art courtesy of Vertigo. Christopher Nolan at Spike TV Scream 2008 Awards, photographed by Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images. Catherine Hardwicke on the set of "Twilight," photographed by Rick Bowmer / Associated Press.

Christopher Nolan says his Batman doesn't play well with others

EXCLUSIVE

The director of "The Dark Knight" talks about the problems with teaming up Batman with other superheroes and also discusses the potential for an Oscar nomination for the late Heath Ledger.

This is the final installment of a three-part interview with Christopher Nolan, director of "The Dark Knight," the second-highest-grossing film in history and, by many accounts, the best superhero adaptation ever. But the London native has also shown a flair for intricate and sophisticated thrillers ("Memento," "The Prestige" and "Insomnia"), and in today's interview he makes it clear that he sees his Batman character as being separate and apart from the crowded superhero cinema of today.

GB: Chris, this summer, "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk" signaled the true start of the "crossover era" in comic-book films with Marvel Studios putting an emphasis on the fact that their heroes coexist in the same world. DC and Warner Bros. may embrace a similar strategy, especially if the Justice League film project is revived. Does that concern you? Your Gotham doesn't seem suited to that.

Nolan: I don’t think our Batman, our Gotham, lends itself to that kind of cross-fertilization. It goes back to one of the first things we wrangled with when we first started putting the story together: Is this a world in which comic books already exist? Is this a world in which superheroes already exist? If you think of "Batman Begins" and you think of the philosophy of this character trying to reinvent himself as a symbol, we took the position -- we didn’t address it directly in the film, but we did take the position philosophically -- that superheroes simply don’t exist. If they did, if Bruce knew of Superman or even of comic books, then that’s a completely different decision that he’s making when he puts on a costume in an attempt to become a symbol. It’s a paradox and a conundrum, but what we did is go back to the very original concept and idea of the character. In his first appearances, he invents himself as a totally original creation.

GB: That doesn't lend itselt to having him swing on a rope across the Metropolis skyline.

Nolan: No, correct, it’s a different universe. It’s a different way of looking at it. Now, it's been done successfully, very successfully, in the comics so I don’t dispute it as an approach. It just isn’t the approach we took. We had to make a decision for "Batman Begins." 

GB: A different path...

Nolan: Yes, completely different. It would have given a very, very different meaning to what Bruce Wayne was leaving home to do and coming back home to do and putting on the costume for and all the rest. We dealt with on its own terms: What does Batman mean to Bruce Wayne, what is he trying to achieve? He has not been influenced by other superheroes. Of course, you see what we’re able to do with Joker in this film is that he is able to be quite theatrical because we set up Batman as an example of intense theatricality in Gotham. It starts to grow outward from Batman. But the premise we began with is that Batman was creating a wholly original thing. To be honest, we went even further than the comics on this point. I can’t remember at what point in the comics history the idea came about that he was a fan of Zorro as a kid. I haven’t researched that, but I don’t believe it goes back terribly far.”

Christopher Nolan revisits and analyzes his favorite scene in 'Dark Knight'

EXCLUSIVE

The "Dark Knight" director gives a deep dissection of his single favorite scene in the movie -- the gripping interrogation sequence, which (with no special effects and only bare-bones lighting) would become "the fulcrum on which the whole movie turns."

This is the second of a three-part interview with Christopher Nolan, the director of "The Dark Knight," which was released in mid-July and is now approaching $1 billion in worldwide box office. The numbers are astounding, but even more startling is the fact that the 38-year-old filmmaker captured that kind of global audience with a movie that is relentlessly dark and finds its axis in the performance of Heath Ledger as the nihilistic and sadistic Joker.

I asked the London native to pick one scene in the film that he would circle as the essential moment in the movie, either in its service to the overall story or the film's texture. He answered quickly.

Nolan: To be honest, it’s pretty easy for me. The scene that is so important and so central to me is the interrogation scene between Batman and the Joker in the film. When we were writing the script, that was always one of the central set pieces that we wanted to crack.

GB: At what point in the production schedule did you shoot it?

Nolan: On the set, we shot it fairly early on. It was actually one of the first things that Heath had to do as the Joker. He told me he was actually pretty excited to tear off a big chunk early on, really get one of the Joker’s key scenes up in the first three weeks of a seven-month shoot. He and I both liked the idea of just diving in, as did Christian [Bale, who portrayed Batman]. We had rehearsed the scene a tiny bit. We had just ripped through it a couple of times in pre-production just to get some slight feel of how it was going to work. Neither of them wanted to go too far with it in rehearsal. They had to rehearse some of the fight choreography, but even with that, we tried to keep it loose and improvisational. They wanted to save it all. We were all pretty excited to get on with a big chunk of dialogue and this big intense scene between these two iconic characters. It was quite bizarre to see Batman across the table across from the Joker [laughs]. I'm glad you asked this. You know, I could actually talk about this scene for hours.

We had a lot of time to shoot it too, because it was so early on. Quite often, as you get behind on other things and you run toward the end of the shoot, things can get very squeezed. But you tend to schedule the first few weeks very generously to give the crew and the actors and myself time to find our feet and find our pace. So we had a couple of days to do it.

GB: Can you give me a snapshot memory from those days shooting the scene?

Nolan: It was a great set built into a location. It had all of the advantages of feeling that we were in a real place. Nathan Crowley, the production designer, built these great mirrors and this long, tiled room that I really loved the look of; it had the feeling almost of an abattoir or something. That all fed into the brutality of the scene. We wanted to be very edgy, very brutal. We wanted it to be the point at which Batman is truly tested by the Joker and you see that the Joker is truly capable of getting under everybody’s skin. I’m realizing this now about that scene — I haven’t thought this through before — the synthesis of all the different elements that I’m most interested in within filmmaking all come in that scene.

Christopher Nolan on 'Dark Knight' and its box-office billion: 'It's mystifying to me'

EXCLUSIVE

'Dark Knight' director says he isn't sure he will make a third Bat-film. Why? He says: "I have to ask the question: How many good third movies in a franchise can people name?"

This is the first of a three-part interview with Christopher Nolan, the director of the astoundingly successful summer film “The Dark Knight,” which has pulled in $528 million in the U.S. alone (a total second only to “Titanic”) and has worldwide grosses that are now approaching the $1 billion mark.

The 38-year-old London native has just returned home to Los Angeles (where he attended the Spike TV Scream 2008 Awards, pictured above) after a monthlong stay at Anna Maria Island on the west coast of Florida where, along with playing on the beach with his children, he contemplated the commercial success of his grim superhero epic — as well as the industry buzz about the film’s chances during the upcoming Oscar season. In today's installment, he talks about the perceived politics of the movie, his plans for the future and that staggering box-office total.

GB: Welcome back to L.A. So I'm curious, tell me one of the surprises you've had during the journey of this film after its release on July 18.

NOLAN: It’s funny, I’ve been asked a lot about the politics of the film. I dismiss all such analogies [laughs]. It really isn’t something we think about as we put the story together, myself, David Goyer and Jonathan [Nolan, brother of the director]. But I would point to the interrogation scene with Batman and the Joker — not that there is a specific political point, per se — but that I was interested in getting the actors to explore a paradox: How do you fight somebody who essentially thrives on aggression?

GB: I winced when I read a lot of the political messaging that people said they detected in your film. I think a lot of that says more about my industry than it does yours.

NOLAN: [Laughs] "Yes, you may be right."

GB: It seems to me that, more often than not in a genre such as the one you’re working in, most of the political messaging has more to do with the viewer than the filmmaker. It’s inferred, not implied.

NOLAN: I agree completely. Especially if you do it right. If you’re working in a genre that is heightened reality. I like to talk about these films as having an operatic quality or being on a grand scale and a bit removed from the rhythms of real life, no matter how realistic we try to make the scenes themselves. In this scene, for instance, we went for the gritty realism in the textures of it, but it is a heightened reality. We’re trying to work on a more universal scale. If you get that right, people are going to be able to bring a wide variety of interpretations to it depending on who they are. It’s allowing the characters to be a conduit to the audience. Allowing an audience to sit there and relate to Batman and his dilemma whether they are Republican or Democrat or whatever. ...

GB: "The Dark Knight" is closing in on $1 billion. How do you get your arms around that kind of success?

NOLAN: I can’t get my arms around it, to be quite frank. It’s mystifying. It’s terrific but at the same time it’s a little abstract, the numbers are so big. The biggest thrill for me would be, with the number of people who have gone to see the film, how "The Dark Knight" stood on the shoulders of the first film, how we were able to build the audience up and build the story up from the first film. That was really exciting to see. We were all pretty happy with the performance of the first film but so we really didn’t know, "Where does it go from there?" For it to become such a phenomenon is extraordinarily gratifying. I mean, I’ve spent now like six years or something working on Batman films. It becomes an important part of your life; you become very obsessive about it, and it's pretty fun when there are other people sharing your obsession and going to see the film a dozen times or whatever.

Wrapping your arms around the scale of the success, as you ask, I don’t find that possible really. There’s something liberating in knowing that my next film, whatever it is, isn’t going to make as much money [laughter]. I don’t have to try for years.

'Dark Knight' is huge ($500M) but not so big in Japan

Brace yourself for a new wave of clichéd Bat headlines like "Holy Box Office, Batman!" and "Holy Half-Billion, Batman!" The reason is "The Dark Knight" has broken the $500-million mark at the U.S. box office. The AP story has the numbers:

“The Dark Knight” on Sunday became the second movie in Hollywood history to top $500 million at the domestic box office, raising its total to $502.4 million, according to estimates from distributor Warner Bros.

The film hit that mark in just over six weeks, half the time it took “Titanic,” which reached $500 million in a little more than three months. “Titanic,” the biggest modern blockbuster, remains No. 1 on the domestic charts with $600.8 million. Despite its brisk pace, “The Dark Knight” is not expected to approach the total for “Titanic,” which put up smaller numbers week after week but lingered at the top of the box office for months.

Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros., said he expected “The Dark Knight” to finish at about $530 million, though it could reach $550 million if business persists as strongly as it has.

“The Dark Knight” will climb to about $505 million by Labor Day, the conclusion of Hollywood’s busy summer season. That amounts to nearly one-eighth of Hollywood’s overall summer revenue of $4.2 billion, which beats the previous summer record of $4.18 billion set last year, according to box-office tracker Media by Numbers.

Moviegoers everywhere seem mesmerized by Christopher Nolan's grim Batman film and Heath Ledger's startling performance -- well, wait, maybe not everywhere. It seems that Nolan's vision of Gotham by moonlight isn't really clicking in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Gotham's landscape, Chicago style

Christopher Nolan decided that for "The Dark Knight" his vision of Gotham City needed to be even more reality-based that the one he presented in "Batman Begins." That took to him to Chicago where, over 65 days, he and his crew used the Windy City's shining towers and darkened corners to bring Gotham to life in a dramatically different way than Tim Burton did back in the 1980s when he envisioned a Gotham that was a mixture of gargoyle gothic and funhouse cemetery.

Some folks at the Chicago Tribune had the clever idea of mapping out the locations used by the film crew and, through a nifty interactive map, showing how place like Daley Plaza and the Berghoff became the stomping crowds of the Caped Crusader and the people he loves to punch. Take a look at it here, although I should tell you there are some quasi-spoilers in the text if you are one of the few people left who actually haven't seen the movie.

-- Geoff Boucher

RELATED All coverage of "The Dark Knight" on Hero Complex

Photo from "The Dark Knight" shows Batman astride his Batpod, which was in scenes filmed near the Metra entrance in the 200 block of E. Randolph St. in Chicago. Image from Warner Bros.

How to follow 'Dark Knight'? Angelina Jolie as the purrfect Catwoman

An open letter to Christopher Nolan:

Dear Chris,

Congratulations on the avalanche of rave reviews for "The Dark Knight" as well as this staggering box-office success that's unfolding right now. It is, in my opinion, the best comic-book movie ever, and I'm genuinely happy for you and your team. Now, though, you have a big problem: What can you possibly do for an encore?

Warner Bros wants to keep this gravy train running, especially since the "Harry Potter" is moving toward a franchise expiration date and the fact that Bryan Singer's Superman reboot fizzled. But where should you start? That's easy: Call your best wardrobe designers and have them start envisioning Angelina Jolie in Catwoman's black-leather body suit. (What about the recent birth of her twins, you say? No problem. I'm guessing that new-mom Jolie will be back in lean, cat-suit shape by, oh, next week or so.)

I'm not sure anyone can actually top Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker (and you don't dare bring any other actor in portray the Joker) but it would be catnip to fanboys everywhere if Jolie was lured to your Gotham to be Catwoman opposite Christian Bale's Batman. And frankly, you have some serious limitations on where you else to turn for your next Bat-baddie.