Gary Oldman Talks Heath Ledger’s Joker, The Riddler For Dark Knight Sequel
Last night in L.A., select film sites including Slashfilm were shown The Dark Knight. The collective positive buzz seems to have only increased in the hours since, reaching frenzied levels that are arguably unprecedented (especially for Twitter). Over the weekend, Movie Hole spoke to Gary Oldman about Heath Ledger’s role as The Joker, and what he thinks will happen per villains for a third film. Note: Some readers feel that Oldman’s quotes fall under spoiler material.
Update: Producer Douglas Urbanski, who is a friend/manager of Oldman, has contacted Slashfilm to say that he was with the actor at the time and believes the following quotes were “taken widely out of context.”
Note: If need be, does he believe The Joker will be recast, and if not, who’s the next villain?…
“I don’t see why not. I mean, they did it with Katie Holmes’ character. I understand that this is a different circumstance, but I think another actor could do the job. I think Heath would want another actor to do the job.” Oldman then took a moment to think about it some more, “Maybe we don’t need the Joker. Because we’ll have The Riddler.”
Nice save, Oldman. Also, poor Katie Holmes analogy. The following question is bound to paint the Earth in the coming weeks, just as it did with the release of Batman Begins (and look how that played out): Will Christopher Nolan return?
“We don’t really know if Nolan is coming back. …I guess I have to come back. …Nolan will come back for a third one. I think we all have to.”
For over a year, the rumor has persisted that Anthony Michael Hall (Weird Science, Rusty Griswold) plays Edward Nigma aka The Riddler in TDK. A few commenters have referenced the rumors down below. Slashfilm can confirm that ADH plays TV anchor Mike Engel in the film (as credited on IMDB). Moreover, days ago, Hall shot the chatter down to Sci-Fi…
“…people thought I was playing the Riddler, that I had a cooler role than I actually did. …But I was very happy to hear that there was talk online, I guess with Batman fans suggesting that maybe I was playing the Riddler. I wish I was, you know? I wish I was Batman, to be honest with you, but I think Christian has it locked up.”
Tobey Maguire and Neil Moritz to Produce Comic Book Adaptation Afterburn
“Bad cat.”
Before we begin, no, not Afterburner the video game, it’s Afterburn, and it still sounds pretty cool. Tobey Maguire and Neil Moritz (I Am Legend, xXx) are producing a feature film adaptation of the sci-fi comic book Afterburn, which follows a group of treasure-hunters for hire in the future who “recover” exotic valuables from an Earth half-destroyed by a solar flare. For instance, in the first issue which hit in January from upstart Red 5 Comics, the team must claim the Mona Lisa from a Louve in shambles. The devastating solar flare has left a wily world roamed by mutants, rival pirates and assorted derelicts that would make a pass on your sister. A director is not attached, but hopefully the tone is more I Am Legend than National Treasure, because the premise is grand.
Red 5 Comics is getting a round of applause today from film sites because the founders, who also wrote Afterburn, are online pioneers of geekdom (which is now cooler than hipsterdom). Obviously, they just hit it big. Paul Ens is a co-founder of the precocious Star Wars site TheForce.net and went on to be the director of Lucasfilm’s official site StarWars.com. Somewhere Steven Brill shudders like Little Nicky. His pal Scott Chitwood co-founded TheForce and contributes to the film news sites ComingSoon.com and Superhero Hype.com.
The latter Red 5 geek describes Afterburn as “Indiana Jones meets Mad Max, but instead of ancient artifacts in cob-webbed temples in traditional pulp adventure” the characters raid more contemporary treasures from felled museums et al. Congrats to them both from Slashfilm, now go buy some castles and dent some Ferraris. If you’re wondering, Maguire is currently plotting his Robotech film for the big screen. No word if he’ll be starring in Ens’s and Chitwood’s vision.
Discuss: Sounds like Afterburn will make a good sci-fi movie, no? Anyone got a similar geek success story they’d like to share?
Source Link: HR / ComingSoon