News & Notes

I don't understand this picture at all, nor do I know where it came from. But here's some news:

• Dark Knight and Batman Begins composer Hans Zimmer would like to write music for the Riddler.



• Remember how a copy of the comic where Batman debuted set the record for the most ever paid for a comic? Superman has the record back


• Superman vs Batman arguments endanger friendships


• Adrien Brody was up for the Joker in The Dark Knight


• It's ok to like Batman a lot. It's kinda ok to name your daughters HarleyQuinn and Bat Girl. It is not ok, however, to stalk Law & Order: CI actress Kathryn Erbe. Just thought I'd make that clear to everyone.


• "...as everyone knows, Batman doesn't kill. Or does he?"


• Batman has a drinking problem

Riddler Poll #7

Crispin Glover won the last round pretty handily. I mentioned being clueless about Jim Parsons, and he finished in a respectable 2nd place. Full results on the right sidebar near the bottom. On to round 7:

• Matt Damon
  You might know him from: Bourne/Ocean's movies, getting bumped from Jimmy Kimmel Live
  
  He's a really good actor, and was supposedly considered for Harvey Dent, but I don't think he's right for the Riddler at all. He's kind of a handsome alpha male, the Riddler is a cowardly nerd.


• Paul Dano (pictured)
  You might know him from: Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood
  
  He's got the look for a cowardly nerd. But he might be a tad too young, I'm not sure.


• Jake Gyllenhaal
  You might know him from: Brokeback Mountain, Zodiac, Donnie Darko
  
  Most of what I wrote about Matt Damon above pretty much applies here too.


• Damian Lewis
  You might know him from: the TV series Life, Band of Brothers
  
  I had no idea he was English until just now. Anyway, the characters I've seen him play have all been fairly calm. Almost serene, even in chaotic circumstances. Which would be odd for the Riddler. Does he have the range to take on something different from what I've seen? I have no idea.


• Edward Norton
  You might know him from: Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk, Rounders
  
  Edward Norton's one of my favorite actors, and I think in theory he could do an excellent Riddler. I only have two concerns. First, two of my least favorite of his performances (in Red Dragon and The Italian Job) he played the villain, and the Riddler would of course be another one. Second, he certainly has comic book cred, but from his performance as the Hulk and basing his character in The Painted Veil on Dr. Strange, he might be a Marvel guy and not that into DC comics.

Vote over on the right side of the page near the top. Voting will be open for a week.

News & Notes

The above is from here. And here are some other things, generally less awesome than Batman with a lightsaber.

• A while back, before Batman Begins, Warner Bros. was considering making a Superman vs Batman movie, and apparently Christian Bale was supposedly in the running to play Superman.


• EW's Popwatch addresses the issue of Superman vs. Batman in a fight.


• Io9 has a list of comic book costumes that actually look good in movies, but somehow leaves Batman off the list.


• Io9 also explains how Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths got the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle all wrong.


• And if you ever wondered whether former Attorney General Janet Reno thinks the Terminator is a better crime fighter than Batman, this is the book for you.

Real, Actual News

Mr. Freeze is out.

I post a lot of news updates and things, but they're usually generic Batman links or unfounded rumors. Here's some actual news, straight from Christopher Nolan:

"It won’t be Mr. Freeze"

Nolan also confirms that the third Batman script is being worked on, and seems to indicate that it will be his last Batman movie. He also talks a lot about Superman. Read all about it here

Riddler Poll #6

Michael Emerson ran away with the last poll. Kevin Spacey and Neil Patrick Harris tied for a distant second. Here are this week's contenders:

• Willem Dafoe
  You might know him from: Spider-Man, Speed 2: Cruise Control
  Dafoe is intense, which is good. But he's already done the comic book villain thing in a very popular movie, so I'm not sure they want to invite the comparison.
  


• Crispin Glover
  You might know him from: Back to the Future, Charlie's Angels
  Crispin Glover is a weird guy. I think if I was going to be on set, he wouldn't be my first choice of a guy to spend my days with, but he might be the right guy to play a completely weird Riddler. If anyone can figure out a way to be unsettling in an intellectual way, Glover can.


• Eddie Murphy
  You might know him from: Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America
  This was one of those rumors from The Sun, which likes to make ridiculous things up and cite "unnamed sources." Never going to happen.
  


• Jim Parsons (pictured)
  You might know him from: The Big Bang Theory
  I don't watch this show, but from the commercials I gather that he's nerdy and awkward. You'll have to tell me if he's right for the Riddler, I honestly don't know.


• Sean Penn
  You might know him from: Mystic River, Milk, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
  The only movies he's done for a while are ones with a political agenda and Oscar bait. Heath Ledger's award notwithstanding, Batman movies aren't where you go to win Oscars, so I doubt he'd ever do it. Even if he would, I'm not sure I'd want him to. He does brooding and he does quiet intensity and he does vulnerable, all of these very well, but even though I don't really favor the boisterously crazed Riddler that some do, he should still like the sound of his own voice and enjoy the challenge of facing Batman, two things that I don't picture Penn capturing as well as others.

Vote over to the right. Scroll down on the sidebar to see the full results from round 5.

News & Notes

Comic writer Warren Ellis points to the above spiffy image by Eliza Gauger.

• Over at the blog Springfield Punx, which makes Simpsons versions of other characters, it's Christopher Nolan Bat week. Check out all the Batman-themed pictures he's done here.


• Some burlesque dancers did a Batman-themed show, including some weird re-enactment of the Joker shooting Barbara Gordon in The Killing Joke. See a slideshow of the action (some of which is not safe for work) here

Expect a new Riddler poll shortly.

News & Notes

• IESB is claming that Christopher Nolan's involvement with the next Superman movie is two-fold: Nolan's brother (and Dark Knight co-writer) Jonah will direct the Superman film which will lead to Christopher Nolan directing a Justice League film after the third Batman. I find this hard to believe for two reasons: it would be a giant risk to hand a major franchise like Superman to a first time director, and Nolan and others have said that the Batman of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight exists in a world with no other superheroes, so doing a Justice League movie would seem off. But we'll see, I guess.


• Speaking of Superman, a high quality issue of his first appearance, Action Comics #1, sold for $1 million recently. But, proving once again that Batman is superior, a copy of Detective Comics #27, Batman's first appearance, sold for $1.075 million.


• Topless Robot has a list of crazy foreign knock-off movies, including a pretty terrible Turkish Batman one.


• Io9 lists 75 DC comics you should own for DC's 75th anniversary. I disagree about A Death in the Family (I'd get Arkham Asylum or The Long Halloween or a second copy of Year One instead) but the rest of the Batman stuff (and the rest of the list in general) is pretty good.