Jonathan Nolan on leaks

Jonathan Nolan (left) with his brother Christopher.

In an interview with IGN movies, screenwriter Jonathan Nolan has talked about the leaked set photos and videos from The Dark Knight Rises:

"It was great because we were working [on Person of Interest]. So that was the only way I was able to get down to set was to watch it on YouTube!"

"Yeah, I think the goal with those movies is just to make something so...You know, Chris loves to shoot on these IMAX cameras, these massive cameras. As soon as you release something in the theaters, like a trailer, people go in and they record it with their iPhone or a camera, and they put it online. But when we first released that IMAX prologue for The Dark Knight, the image was so big that no one could record the whole thing with their camera. So you have one YouTube video of the top half of it and another YouTube video of the bottom half."

"I think the goal with those movies and the thing that Chris is doing and just kicking ass with is making a movie so big that you couldn't possibly fit all of it. Even in tiny little pieces, you still wouldn't get a sense of the scale of it. I saw a little bit the other day, and the scale is just vast."

Scarecrow returning?

Several sources are reporting that The Dark Knight Rises will have Cillian Murphy reprising his role from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight as Dr. Jonathan Crane a.k.a. The Scarecrow.

The first claim comes from Superherohype member Magnusrex:

"Cillian Murphy is returning in TDKR. You can see him at Union Station in Los Angeles, but at least that's where I saw him earlier on my way back home from taking spy photos."

"I couldn't take a picture of him because there are a ton of security guards, but he's definitely there."

"You can take this as 100% legit fact."

"Scarecrow is in TDKR."

"He was wearing a black robe, probably to disguise his suit underneath."


Is this The Scarecrow?

The next is an excerpt from a very detailed scene description posted over at the The Dark Knight Rises' Facebook page. Apparently the scene takes place at Union Station and involves a Judge of some kind handing down sentences to various "criminals". Bane is mentioned, as is Harvey Dent although the context is unclear. At one point Jim Gordon and Miranda Tate are brought before him and he asks them to choose "death or exile".

"It appears that exile means walking a dangerous frozen river on the outskirts of Gotham. Which would coincide with the LA River scene filmed with Gordon and his men tip toeing awkwardly in the leaked video."


"Oh P.S."

"Judge's identity: JONATHAN FUCKIN' CRANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Cillian Murphy is back with a bang!"

It was reported on The Dark Knight Rises' Facebook page earlier that Murphy is currently on set.

Crane was a major villain in Batman Begins. A respected doctor at Arkham Asylum, he abused his position by filling Gotham's water supply with a deadly toxin. Set up as the main villain, Crane was revealed to be a henchman of Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson). He took part in the attack on the Narrows Island, but disappeared after being tasered by Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes). He appeared again in The Dark Knight, but was busted by Batman (Christian Bale) in one of the early scenes.

Murphy also starred in Christopher Nolan's Inception with his Batman co-stars Ken Watanabe (decoy Ra's al Ghul), Tom Hardy (Bane), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (John Blake), Marion Cotillard (Miranda Tate/Talia al Ghul) and Sir Michael Caine (Alfred Pennyworth).

He auditioned for the part of Batman, but lost out to Christian Bale. However, Nolan liked Murphy's audition so much that he cast him as The Scarecrow. He did get to wear the Batsuit during his audition.

In 2009, he expressed a desire for a third Batman film:

"The Dark Knight is one of the greatest blockbuster mainstream movies. If anyone can match that or top that it’s Chris. Fingers crossed."

Casting call for New York extras

The Dark Knight Rises will finish shooting in Los Angeles next month, and will head to New York for the final days of production. Here is a casting call for extras:

Casting Notice Description:



'MAGNUS REX'

Grant Wilfley Casting, Inc. is casting extras for the new Warner Bros. film Magnus Rex. Producers state: "Take part in the urban action adventure coming to the streets of New York City." Shoots Oct. 29-Nov. 11, 2011 in NYC.

Seeking—Extras: male and female, 18+, all ethnicities, no experience necessary, to play law enforcement within a city besieged by crime and corruption, specific roles include Guards, Soldiers, and Police Officers, seeking physically fit athletes, people with military and/or law enforcement training/experience, weapons training, and/or martial arts training.

Open call will be held Oct. 1, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. & 2-4 p.m. at Metropolitan Pavilion, 110 W. 19th St. (btwn. Sixth & Seventh aves.), NYC. Bring photo ID (i.e. driver's license, state ID, student ID, etc.); talent must be able to provide valid unexpired ID to fill out I-9 at time of hiring. Seeking nonunion talent at this call; SAG members who are not already registered with GWCI should also attend the open call. For more info (including time/location details for SAG registration), visit www.gwcnyc.com or call (212) 685-3168. There are no sign-up fees. Professional pay provided. SAG Background Actors Contract.


Contact Information:



Follow contact instructions specified within casting notice



Casting Notice Details:



Categories: Union Film, Union/Nonunion Film, Nonunion Film
Production Personnel: Grant Wilfley Casting
Approximate production dates & locations: Shoots Oct. 29-Nov. 11, 2011 in NYC.
Pay: Professional Pay
Male/female role: Male, Female
Age Range: Young Adult (ages 18-29), Thirties (ages 30-39), Forties (ages 40-49), Older (50-65)
Ethnicity: Caucasian/White, African-American/Black, Latin/Hispanic/South American, Asian, Native American, European, Middle Eastern, Indian/South Asian, Other
Nudity: No



Locations:



State
Country

NY USA



Auditions:



Audition Dates: Starts

10/1/2011

Even more Batman, Catwoman, Batpod, Batwing and Tumbler pics

New set photos have appeared featuring Batman (Christian Bale), Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), the Batpod, the Batwing and the Tumbler.

Carbonell comments on filming

In an interview with wetpaint, Nestor Carbonnel once again commented on filming The Dark Knight Rises.

"I finished my part in it and I had a great time. I just went back to that set and it felt like we never left. It was really cool. We had much of the same crew and a lot of the cast. It was great to be back in London. I spent about a week there and then we worked in Pittsburgh as well, which was a blast."

"It was just great to reconnect with Chris Nolan and to be part of what appears to be an even more epic story if that’s possible. I mean it looks and feels even bigger than the last one."

Tons of new Bale, Hathaway, Oldman, Cotillard photos

Here are some new photos of Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman and Marion Cotillard from the set of The Dark Knight Rises in Los Angeles.

Scene description (possible spoilers)

Take this with a grain of salt:

-Selina Kyle is indeed a prisoner at Black Gate. Though reasons for her current incarceration were not clear apparently she has a lengthy rap sheet.

-One of the scenes that was filmed was of her shown walking through the Men's wing of Black Gate accompanied by the Warden and a Prison Guard (who was described to look like the German actor August Diehl of Inglorious Basterds). The Warden is speaking to the guard listing off Kyle's criminal record dating back to when she was 16 or 17 years old.

As she is being escorted prisoners are shown cat-calling at her and trying to reach their hands through cell bars to try to grope and flirt with her. One unlucky bald tattooed inmate has the misfortune of getting his arms broken as she passes by. She stops at his cell as his arms are extended through and she drops the line "Hey baby, wanna hold my hand?" And manages to do some sort of cartwheel grabbing the guys arms all the while being locked in chains and hurting the guy pretty bad. The Warden brushes off the incident saying "He'll be fine." This looks to be Selina Kyle's intro into the movie.

-Other scene that was filmed was the inmates being freed. Apparently this ties into the whole scene with Bane in Pittsburgh standing on top of the Tumblers with the Harvey Dent picture.

The inmates are having a casual day when out of nowhere hear a loud booming voice from outside talking over an intercom. According to my source the exact speech wasn't given but Wally Pfister was giving them a general outline of what the speech is about. It is basically trying to get the prisoners riled up, saying that they are all wrongfully imprisoned, and that the man who locked them up was corrupt, and that they deserve to be free. They prisoners break out into a YES chant. And are celebrating in their cells as the loud voice is telling them that today is their liberation. The voice is obviously BANE.

Next scene shot was of Bane's mercenaries rushing through the cell corridors and releasing the convicts. The mercenaries rough up some prison guards and lead them to an exit but not before passing out to each prisoner an assault rifle. From there they break out which is right where I believe Pittsburgh filming picks up.


Other information: All scenes were filmed with IMAX cam.


Anne Hathaway apparently did her own stunt with the the flip and breaking inmates arm. There were 2 female stunt doubles on hand. One of which was the lady we've been seeing riding around on the Bat-pod. The other stunt double tested the stunt to see if it was safe for Hathaway. She was attached to a harness on the ceiling which is like a bungy and helps spring her through the air. It took Hathaway a few takes before nailing the scene.

Bane's mysterious device

Here are close-ups of the device Bane (Tom Hardy) refers to as "the instrument of Gotham's liberation". What is it?