‘Dark Knight’ Raises ‘Titanic’? and Other Stories
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the news in the last 24 hours or so.
The LA Times speculates on whether The Dark Knight will surpass Titanic’s hallowed $600.8 million domestic box office mark, but unless you account for inflation (ticket prices averaged $4.69 in 1998 compared to an expected $7 this year), it doesn’t mean very much. Nevertheless, Knight may reach $400 million by its 18th day of release. That’s another record and it’s a lot of money in a little time.
[Update: 3:37pm] Meanwhile, David “I’m Right and Everyone Else is a Moron” Poland points out that Dark Knight will never come close to the truly impressive $1.84 billion number Titanic raked in worldwide and he scolds the L.A. Times from hiding from this fact. Methinks he’s still stinging from being so epically wrong about opening weekend.
Alison tipped me off yesterday that Johnny Depp is rumored (by the UK Sun) to be on board as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton’s upcoming production of Alice in Wonderland. It’s an obvious choice, but I’ll wait until one of the trades picks it up before commenting. Inside the Gold greets the news with a bit of a yawn, but looks for other Alice casting suggestions.
The 65th Venice Film Festival announced it’s full 55 film lineup today including 21 films in competition. Joining Joel and Ethan Coen’s out of competition entry Burn After Reading are the US competition entries The Wrestler from Darren Aronofsky, The Burning Plain from Guillermo Arriaga, The Hurt Locker from Kathryn Bigelow and Rachel Getting Married from Jonathan Demme.
Other notable competition entries include Takeshi Kitano’s Achilles and the Tortoise, Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, Barbet Schroeder’s Inju, La Bete Dans L’Ombre. Out of competition, the list includes Claire Denis’ 35 Rhums, Abbas Kiarostami’s Shirin and Agnes Varda’s Les Plages D’Agnes.
View the whole list at The Hollywood Reporter.
Finally, I want my MGM-TV! Partnering with Weigel Broadcasting, MGM plans to launch a new digital television service on November 1 called This TV. Drawing from MGM’s catalogue of 4,100 films and possibly its vast reserves of classic television, the 24-hour channel will be ad-supported and offered for syndication. Source: Variety.
Filed under: Box Office, Film Festivals, News, Pre-Production
Tags: 35 Rhums, Abbas Kiarostami, Achilles and the Tortoise, Agnes Varda, Alison in Wonderland, Barbet Schroeder, Burn After Reading, Clair Denis, Coen Brothers, Darren Aronofsky, Ethan Coen, Guillermo Arriaga, Hayao Miyazaki, Inju La Bete Dans L'Ombre, Joel Coen, Johnny Depp, Jonathan Demme, Kathryn Bigelow, Les Plages D'Agnes, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, Rachel Getting Married, Shirin, Takeshi Kitano, The Burning Plain, The Dark Knight, The Hurt Locker, The Wrestler, Tim Burton, Titanic, Venice Film Festival
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Burn After Reading!!!
Yeah, I don’t know how reliable the UK Sun is. Once the trades pick it up, then you know it’s written in stone. Sort of.
Go TDK.
Burn, baby. Burn!!!!
I’ll be more surprised if the rumor is false than if it’s true, but yeah, the UK Sun is not exactly a reliable source.
Really looking forward to Aronofsky’s THE WRESTLER.
I had not even heard about The Wrestler, but I (of course) love Aronofsky. Any details on what the film is about? I could google, of course, but I’m lazy and would rather hear it from you shining folks instead.
“Out of competition, the list includes Claire Denis’ 35 Rhums, Abbas Kiarostami’s Shirin and Agnes Varda’s Les Plages D’Agnes.”
Totally off topic, but after reading that last title, I could not help but think of Les Garçons de la Plage from “The Rutles.” I’m giggling like an idiot at work. OK, sorry. As you were :D
ETA: Thanks for the shout out :)
Jeez, Depp and Burton. Give it a rest.
I for one would be surprised if TDK sunk the ship. This might be a stretch generalization, but I think Titanic is more universally relatable than TDK. I guess that speaks to worldwide box office more than domestic, but either way.
No idea about The Wrestler. I only heard about it just now when Nick posted the lineup. Very intriguing…
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration, but the Sun is treating this like it’s the first time someone has reported/suggested Depp’s involvement with the Alice in Wonderland film. This is all, at this point, information coming from a “reliable source,” so Depp as the Mad Hatter might not even happen at all.
I am a little eager for Burton to expand on the actors he casts. I think it’s good that he’s found a group of people he can work with, but I’m worried his films might just become interchangeable to people because the cast is almost always the same. I’m also eager for Helena Bonham Carter to branch out; she’s such an incredible actress, but she doesn’t seem to do any films anymore unless Burton is directing.
Also: I don’t think TDK will sink Titanic — pun absolutely intended.
Evan, I’m keeping Wrestler under LiC Blackout. All I know is that it’s got Mickey Roarke (yeah!), Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood and that I’ll be there opening day in 2009.
Hahah Dorothy, now I’m giggling at work. Luckily I’m here alone.
Daniel. I’m with you, but then I’m shocked the Bat is doing as well as it has. I thought it would be too dark for most folks.
K, I think we’re on the same page, Depp-wise. I’ll honestly be happy if he’s in the movie because I enjoy him and he’s simpatico with Burton (yes, I still kind of liked his portrayal of Wonka even though it didn’t suit my memory of the book), but yeah…I’d like to see Burton shift gears.
k, I was saying the exact same thing on Craig’s other Alice-related post. HBC is such an awesome actress and I’d love to see her talent exhibited much more and in a much wider range than what Burton gives her. She was wonderful in the period pieces like Wings of a Dove and Room with a View. But, hey, if she’s happy doing what she’s doing, who am I to talk?
And I’ll probably get killed for this by someone but as much as Depp as the Mad Hatter is perfect casting it’s also type-casting at this point. We know he can play eccentric, crazy, off-beat characters. It would be refreshing to see him go in a different direction. That’s one of the reasons I really appreciate his lower-key performances in movies like Gilbert Grape, Donnie Brasco and even Finding Neverland, moreso than many others. And it will be interesting to see his take on Dillinger in Public Enemies when it’s released.
Daniel, I wouldn’t be surprised if TDK sank the ship. I agree that Titanic was relatable and appealed to a wide audience. But both old and young, men and women are flocking to see TDK (except me - I’ll probably go this weekend), and I think given the mood of our very dark present in the world, it’s extremely relatable (unfortunately).
Craig, I’m with you on “The Wrestler,” in a big way.
Alison, I just saw a trailer that HBC was in for a film called Sixty Six. It’s about a boy in England in 1966 planning a huge bash for his Bar Mitzvah only to find that the World Cup final is on the same day and that England’s team is headed for it.
OK, so critical and box office success appears total for TDK. Anyone want to start discussing the Best Picture race?
HAH! I’m KIDDING. Well, not really. Now that I’m seeing numbers like these being thrown around with a RT rating of 94% and Metacritic at 82% and Heath Ledger, this thing has Oscar dark horse written all over it. And god knows, Oscar needs the ratings.
Craig, I remember hearing about that movie. It was made awhile ago, 2006 I think, and played a lot of film festivals. I think it’s finally being released in NYC at the end of this summer.
I have loved every Burton/Depp collaboration (even CatCF), and I find their friendship very sweet, actually, but I’d like to see them try other projects independently of one another.
Alison - my brother was actually saying the same thing about Depp, recently. He says he prefers Depp when he’s “human,” like as Gilbert Grape and Donnie Brasco. He thinks Depp is a good actor when he’s “weird,” but that he definitely gets tired of him always being “on.” I think a lot of people share that complaint. I don’t really care, either way, because I honestly believe Depp is capable of playing any character he attempts (and he’s played a wide range of characters, it’s just that he’s better known for his weirder roles), but I can appreciate that criticism of him.
As for HBC… well, she’s talked about how she got so sick of always appearing in a corset (for Harry Potter, I believe it was, she said: “I should get a few ribs taken out, because I’ll be in a corset for the rest of my life.”), and she made an effort to try something new in the late 90s — Fight Club, Women Talking Dirty, etc. I think she is great in everything she’s in, so I have no complaints, really, but I wish she would really start to branch away from Burton for a bit (she’s been in every single one of his films since 2001). Although, I think she might be, what with Terminator, the remaining Harry Potter films, Wild Target, and Sixty Six. We’ll see… so long as she keeps acting, I’m happy.
k, HBC was great in Fight Club and I agree that she’s terrific in everything she’s in. I used the period pieces as examples - I understand that doing all period pieces is being pigeon-holed just as much. Like you I’d just be happy to see her branch out and work with other directors.
Hmmm…again off-topic, but what about HBC as Catwoman? (I know I’ve thrown around Emily B. and Marion C. ad nauseum , so I thought I’d mix things up a bit!).
Interesting idea, Dorothy. And she wouldn’t have to wear a corset. Just the black leather catsuit.
Interesting thought, Dorothy. She’s someone who could certainly pull it off.
Joel, it’s a marriage made in heaven. Ryan has been a stalwart champion of this possibility over at Awards Daily.
Sweeney, despite its many charms, was the first film where I was finding Burton’s directorial style, sensibility, and preoccupations a little over familiar. Using stock players, no matter how exceptionally talented, can add to this sense of sameness. It would be good to see him, Depp, and HBC all break out a little. And yes, HBC would be another cool candidate for Cat Woman.
Well said, sartre, and it’s really what I was trying to get at in my rant above.
I think Burton’s visual style is fantastic. He’s extremely artistic and is probably a fabulous painter as well. There are many choices for tone and look that would have worked for Sweeney - it’s such a masterpiece of music, lyrics, character and story (really, it’s Sondheim’s pinnacle of work, in my opinion) that it’s adaptable to almost any interpretation. Certainly Burton’s visual and tonal style was one that suited the material very well.
But, as you point out, it’s getting over familiar and a little stale for me. It would be great to see him break out a bit. Same with Depp and HBC. They have the abilities.
Oh, by the way, Dorothy: I don’t know if you read all the comments on the Water Cooler yet, but - I volunteered you to start a campaign for Marie-Josée Croze now that you’ve helped Marion to Oscar glory.
I hope you don’t mind. You did such a great job. :)
Hmm.
Regarding Alice in Wonderland, as we discussed in the original posting here about it, once you realize who you’re talking about (Tim Burton) it became apparent who would be cast as the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and the Queen of Hearts (Helena Bonham Carter).
As you and I have noted many times, Alison, I too largely prefer Depp’s sublter, more recognizably “human” work. I’m an avid fan of his turn as Donnie Brasco and I’m hoping his Dillinger is the other side of that coin.
Like Craig, though, I won’t complain despite the predictability of Burton’s casting. Honestly, I’d like to see Burton make something like Ed Wood again, which is such a terrific film.
I’m not sure if we should necessarily immediately greet Joel’s point about a Best Picture nomination for The Dark Knight with mere laughter. As has been pointed out all over the Internet recently, the Academy Awards have had some lousy ratings recently. There hasn’t been a film of such scope, so almost universally seen, already, since The Return of the King.
Granted, I think a few of the heavy hitters coming out in the fall would probably have to stumble, but we all know how that often happens. Taking nothing at all away from The Return of the King, it also helped a bit that it was facing such a weak field; moreover, certain nearly preordained contenders were considered almost dead on arrival, probably most notably Cold Mountain.
Of course, AMPAS had nominated the previous two Lord of the Rings films for Best Picture, had showered them all with many technical nominations and were singularly enthusiastic for that trilogy. A good deal of it had to do with the obviousness of the “epic” qualities, which recalled filmmaking on a scale not unlike Gone With the Wind and Cecil B. DeMille pictures. The Dark Knight, though, despite being roughly based on a comic book series, as well as being a crime drama, has been routinely hailed as “epic,” and if the Academy wanted to nominate a film that would inspire more viewing among types who don’t post on film blogs like us or people just addicted to the awards show already, they could do much worse than The Dark Knight.
Probably will never happen, though. It’s a film that will probably reap a whole host of technical/craft nominations as well as a nomination for Ledger, but that is probably as far as it will go.
In any case, looking at the numbers, I’d say it’s sort of doubtful that The Dark Knight beats Titanic. Then again, it’s outperforming the previous record-breaker, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, and seems to be marching to its own box office drum in ways unforeseen by almost everyone, even those who were saying it would be enormous. It’s in a tougher position than Titanic, which came out at the end of the year and just rolled through winter and into spring… The Dark Knight might finally see its box office pie eaten into by Mummy 3 this weekend, so I’d say this is a pivotal weekend to look at with regards to its box office destiny.
Alexander, Ed Wood is still my favorite Burton film of all time, and it’s my favorite Johnny Depp performance (Donnie Brasco is a close 2nd).
I agree that TDK is not such a far-fetched candidate for BP, but I think it will become clearer late in the year what the chances are for that. Certainly the combined box office bonanza and critical acclaim is in its favor. Also as Joel pointed out AMPAS needs the ratings. Nominating this baby in at least one of the big 8 categories will help.
As Satre has noted, Ryan Adams has been all over the Bat trail and has made a thoughtful and persuasive argument over at AD: http://www.awardsdaily.com/?p=972.
I’m not ready to think about such things yet, though Dark Knight would be a fine choice. On the other hand, I get more excited when Oscar love is heaped upon smaller movies that need the attention and the box office juice. Everyone has seen Dark Knight (well, except Alison :) and everyone loves it (almost). An Oscar will simply be a coronation. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Sorry DP, I still can’t get passed Emily Blunt :)
A great choice for both Burton and Depp’s best work, Alison.
I feel for artists like Burton. The audience demands that distinctive qualities of their work remain little changed, yet in time they also desire something new. Artistic evolution needs to happen at just the right pace. Too slow and the work risks being repetitive, losing its spark and freshness, and too fast and it can easily disappoint, at least until the audience adjusts its own expectations.
I liked Big Fish, so I guess that means i’m kind of in the tank for Burton.
Having said that, I just rewatched Batman and I think it might be my least favorite Burton movie. His style isn’t very well melded with the studio’s expectations of their beloved property. I loved it at the time, but it’s awfully clunky and uneven to me today.
I watched the first chunk of the 2nd one and so far it’s a vast improvement. It might fail as a Batman movie, but so far it’s a pretty terrific Tim Burton movie.
“Oh, by the way, Dorothy: I don’t know if you read all the comments on the Water Cooler yet, but - I volunteered you to start a campaign for Marie-Josée Croze now that you’ve helped Marion to Oscar glory.”
Alison, Alison, Alison. Are you reading my thoughts? I adore Croze. As I’ve said before, I think she gave last year’s purest, most beautiful performance (to be clear, I still think Cotillard gave the *best* performance of last year, male or female). I just might have to put some effort into pushing her :) Would it be for “Tell No One”? I’ll have to check the Watercooler to get caught up ;)
Craig, I hear you on Ms. Blunt. Frankly, should that casting coup does happen, I don’t know what I’ll do with myself. I can barely wait to see “The Young Victoria” trailer, so I can’t even imagine the angst over any EB as Catwoman footage.
That’s exactly my thoughts on Batman ‘89 and Batman Returns, Craig. I think Burton was trying to fulfill the demands of the studio of that time, so I don’t really blame him so much for the first one, except to say I don’t think his style works and, the last time I saw the movie (which was a long time ago, admittedly) I found it clunky, uneven, and Nicholson’s performance keeps getting worse (and Keaton, who’s all right, is much better in Returns).
Returns more or less fails as a Batman movie, but as a Burton flick, it’s a vast improvement over the ‘89 effort. Pfeiffer is a blast, and Burton, you can tell, is having much more fun.
Still, I’m mighty glad Chris Nolan came along to reboot it all. Needless to say, Schumacher wasn’t just wrong for it, but he was awful in any case and… oh, I don’t even want to think about his movies, especially Batman and Robin.
If Batman 2 ends up delivering a good Burton film I will be happy. So far, so good.
I’m honestly tepid on a 3rd Nolan Batman…or a 3rd Batman by anyone. I’ve got Superhero Ennui.
Having said that, if Emily Blunt was Catwoman, I’d line up for it.
Batman 2’s handling of the Penguin starts off well, but it kind of takes a nosedive. And Batman’s barely in the thing. It’s messy as heck, but when Burton’s just playing around like this I’ll take messy, sloppy work.
I fear that not even Nolan’s Batman relaunching may be immune from the dreaded third film curse, Craig. There are so many ways it could go wrong. Yet I do have faith in him in a way I don’t for anyone else with any other running franchise.
Emily Blunt? Interesting.
“R.A. has been all over the Bat trail and has made a thoughtful and persuasive argument over at AD… I get more excited when Oscar love is heaped upon smaller movies”
Somebody say, “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice”?
Some BP love for TDK would help alleviate the flare-ups of acid reflux I still get whenever I think about Michael Clayton nominated over Into the Wild, I’m Not There, and The Assassination of Jesse James…
AMPAS has to fill their obligatory populist slot every year, right? Cell phone sonar is a step up from hamburger phone sonogram.
I won’t lose any sleep when it gets nominated, I’m just being the cranky voice of dissention.
I did like Beetlejuice as well. Though not his best, it’s still one of Burton’s better movies and a helluva lot of fun. :-)
I’ll chime in on Burton’s Batman vs. Batman Returns too. I hated the first one. Jack Nicholson didn’t bother me too much but I loathed Kim Basinger in that movie.
Batman Returns falls apart, but I enjoyed it much more. Michelle Pfeiffer is a sublime Catwoman. In my book she and Julie Newmar are tied for best Catwoman ever. Halle Berry is last and so is her movie. Danny DeVito is also great as the Penguin, but as Alexander points out, that part kind of nosedives.
I thought that the chemistry between Keaton and Pfeiffer was fantastic.
It would be interesting to see any of the actresses mention play Catwoman, although I sort of mentally blocked her out of a third Nolan Batman movie after the disastrous Halle Berry film.
Looking over the Batman’s rogue’s gallery and taking into account Nolan’s (perceived) desire to ground his Batman in a more realistic universe, I think Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy or the Penguin are unlikely but possible. Mr. Freeze and Clayface are popular with fans but seem even less likely in a more realistic Batman world.
I’m guessing the Riddler. The Riddler could easily be another smart psychopath like The Joker, and he could be expanded to embrace a broader political message than the character implies.
I hope we never see Killer Croc.
How about The Bookworm?
Doesn’t it depend which incarnation of Killer Croc is utilized? I keep reading that he could just be a mob enforcer with a skin condition or something.
What’s interesting is that Nolan took three of the most outlandish Batman villains (Scarecrow, Joker, and somebody else I won’t mention for Alison’s sake) and marinated them all in realism.
The Riddler could indeed work in a way similar to Zodiac with an insecure psycho sending messages to the press and/or police and/or Batman (how about all three?).
I think what matters above the villain debate is what kind of story Nolan wants to tell. Then work backwards from there. In a way, I think it would be cool if he went uber-low-key for the next installment since it’ll make a gazillion dollars, too, coming off the heels of The Dark Knight, so he could have the most quotidian bad guys in the history of a Batman movie if he so desired (at least if Warner Bros. will let him, and they seem to let him call the shots after realizing how badly they raped the franchise in the mid-’90s).
Poison Ivy and Clayface are out, though, and I don’t see the point in bringing in Harley Quinn if this is the last we see of the Joker. Mr. Freeze could be heavily reworked, but it’s sort of unlikely–the Penguin is probably a better candidate as a guy who brokers deals and information as others have said. Catwoman is dicey, and part of me hopes they don’t go there, simply because I think Pfeiffer’s take was the best take on any Rogues Gallery character pre-Batman Begins, and I doubt Warner Bros. wants to go there post-Catwoman ‘04 debacle. Then again, you could make the case that the character is in as much need of redemption as Batman himself was before Begins.
By the way, while watching “Stop-Loss” (serviceable enough film, by the way), it came to me that Joseph Gordon-Levitt could be a great Riddler.
Alexander, I agree. The Riddler seems to be a perfect fit for Nolan’s next installment of the Dark Knight series, and a Zodiac-like criminal interpretation could work really well.
craig…from now on you better on occassion mention box office stuff on something that’s *not* the dark knight.
no, there’s no going back now… *no*
ryan ‘Cell phone sonar is a step up from hamburger phone sonogram.’
but neither is of interest to someone that doesn’t like phones… ok that person is me. ha ha… :)
and it’s ah intersting you mentioned the ampas obligatory populist slot/slant thing.
since during last oscar season there was guest written entry on a.d. on which whomever did the wtitting suggested that each yeah you get one of this sort of me. and one of this sort of movie blah blah in the best picture thing. and the a.d mavens went crazy and said no. even though recently it does seem each year you get one movie to ‘rep’ one sort of genre/approach for you final nom think. yep only one….
why did the a.d. maven cruify that kid ?? arrgh…..
well i’m gonna cruify batman…so there you go…. :)
LOL, glimmer. To continue with the comparisons, at least no one calls anyone home skillet in TDK. I don’t think…
thank you alison !!! :)
David Poland is still stinging from being wrong about opening weekend: http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotbutton/2008/07/batman_the_iceberg.html