Chapter 681 "The Dark Knight" starts!
The performance of "I Am Legend" is quite good, with a box office of US$77.5 million in the first week in North America, which is enough to rank among the best in this summer's season.
This movie also saved Nicolas Cage, bringing him back from the brink.
So faced with the olive branch offered by Gilbert Jr., Nicolas Cage had no reason to refuse and directly took over the role of Two-Face.
Christian Bale is no exception, he plays Bruce Wayne, Batman. However, this time his salary increased to US$15 million, which was a lot higher than when he made the first "Batman" movie.
On the Monday after "I Am Legend" was released, Warner Pictures officially announced "The Dark Knight."
There are rumors that Gilbert Jr. will end his partnership with Warner Bros., but Warner Pictures has confirmed that Gilbert Jr. will still be the director.
“Gilbert Jr. is the core of the new Batman trilogy. Without him, Batman cannot be redeemed, so we believe that Gilbert Jr. is still the most suitable person to direct the Batman movies.
At the same time, the movie will also meet the audience in the summer next year.”
This answer makes "Batman" fans cheer, if the best director in the world does not come to direct "Batman". "Man" movie, fans can't imagine what it will be like.
Afterwards, actors from the first film such as Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Jennifer Connelly announced their return, and Christian Bale also announced that he would continue to play Batman.
Nicolas Cage also revealed something when promoting "I Am Legend": "Yes, I am sure that I will star in the "Batman" movie, Director Gilbert Jr. and I have talked about it.
I can’t say specifically yet, I can only say that this is a role that excites me very much.”
In fact, Nicolas Cage has received the script for “The Dark Knight.” After finishing the script, Nicolas Cage immediately called Gilbert Jr.
“Can I play the clown? The setting of this character is so brilliant, I want to play the clown.”
Little Gilbert was happy: "Nicola, your role has been arranged. I have another choice for the actor of the clown."
"Whoever you choose, I will trade with him. Can I pay more?"< br>
Despite Nicolas Cage's repeated requests to play the Joker, Gilbert Jr. rejected him. The script has been given to Heath Ledger and we are just waiting for his reply.
In an apartment in North Los Angeles, Heath Ledger was reading the script of "The Dark Knight" with gusto. The character called the Joker particularly attracted Heath Ledger.
It is worth mentioning that in 1992, Heath Ledger made his first appearance in an Australian TV movie called "Hustlers", in which he also played the role of a clown.
But that clown is the kind of clown in the circus, which is very different from the clown in "The Dark Knight".
Heath Ledger's career has developed quite well in recent years. His performance in "Brokeback Mountain" earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and he became well known.
Heath Ledger is a drama addict. When he encounters a good character, he will start to think about it, start to imitate the character's behavior, and even analyze the character's heart.
There is no doubt that the Joker in "The Dark Knight" was a character that moved his heart. Without much hesitation, he directly told his agent that he had accepted the role.
After signing the acting contract, Heath Ledger approached Gilbert Jr.
"Director Gilbert, I hope you can give me a month."
Little Gilbert asked doubtfully: "Why? What's the matter with you?"
"No, no. ," the somewhat introverted actor said: "I hope to spend a month studying the character of the clown and better playing the clown."
There is no problem with the actor's self-requirements, little Gibbert. Te had no reason to refuse, so he agreed. After getting Little Gilbert's consent, Heath Ledger locked himself in the bedroom of his apartment without leaving the house, studying and playing the clown, so that he and the character could reach the same frequency.
Heath Ledger's Michelle Williams once visited Heath Ledger in retreat and shocked her.
Heath Ledger's tone of voice, gait, and range of movements have completely reached the same state as the Joker in "The Dark Knight". He looks like he came out of Arkham Asylum.
Michelle Williams later recalled: "It was really scary. Matilda and I were both frightened. He worked so hard for the role. When I saw him again, he was completely The Joker himself."
Without a doubt, Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker is hailed as the best. But what Heath Ledger wanted to do was surpass Jack Nicholson's version of the Joker.
Seeing him in this state, I believe no one will say that he will not surpass.
Returning to the film market after a year, little Gilbert plans to produce a blockbuster-level movie.
"The Dark Knight" is the only one among so many Batman movies that does not have the prefix "Batman". Gilbert Jr.'s purpose of doing this is to weaken the Batman label and get closer to the essence of a police movie. .
At the same time, Gilbert Jr. also emphasized to team members that "The Dark Knight" is a comprehensively upgraded version of the first "Batman Begins."
Since it was necessary to upgrade, the budget must not be reduced. With a wave of Warner's hand, a total of US$200 million in production funds was transferred to a third-party insurance account.
In this film, little Gilbert will continue to use IMAX cameras for filming.
The IMAX70mm film used this time is nine times larger than ordinary 35mm film. , bringing a wider picture size and picture brightness.
But the result of pursuing the ultimate picture is that the photographer will be exhausted, because the weight and size of the IMAX camera are very large. Director of photography John Schwartzman must exercise and reserve physical strength, otherwise he will not be able to carry the IMAX camera.
Gilbert Jr. was the first director to use the IMAX format. After him, many films tried IMAX, but many gave up because of the difficulty of shooting.
The location used by Little Gilbert is a place where action scenes are more difficult to shoot, ensuring that the IMAX format can bring a more extreme viewing experience.
In addition, green screen shooting technology is also quite advanced nowadays. Many shots of "Avatar" currently in production are completed with green screen.
But Little Gilbert’s requirement is to take real shots. Wherever real shots can be taken, real shots will be taken. Where real shots cannot be taken, real shots must be taken wherever possible.
Especially the scene of bombing a hospital. When preparing for the meeting, little Gilbert asked Charles Rowan: "Can we find a hospital and blow it up?"
Charles Rowan looked at little Gilbert as if he were a madman: "Are you serious?"
"Of course you are serious, can you please go find it?"
>Little Gilbert moved his mouth, and Charles Rowan broke his leg. Finally, an abandoned hospital was found in Billings, Montana. The local state legislator Peter Rock was a fan of Batman and helped the crew get a permit to blow up the hospital.
In return, Gilbert Jr. invited Peter Rock to make a cameo in "The Dark Knight" to satisfy his fan mentality.
The rest of the filming locations were basically concentrated in Chicago and New York.
In addition, I will also go on location to film in Tokyo. In the plot, the Chinese who helped the gang launder money were replaced by Japanese. By the way, some famous landmarks in Tokyo were also photographed.
Although Edison is unable to participate in this movie, he also appeared in "The Dark Knight" in his previous life, but little Gilbert can arrange for Noriko Sakai and others to make a cameo.
(End of this chapter)