Happy Halloween, everyone. While my Shaun of the Dead costume got favorable reviews last October, I’ve been entertaining vague notions of dressing up as Heath Ledger’s Joker this year. (And, as for Berk, my sister Tessa suggested something along the lines of this, which he’d probably prefer to Yoda again.) But, as it turns out, neither Berk nor I have any costume-oriented festivities on the social calendar, so we’ll just be sitting home in plainclothes doling out sweets. Still, if you’re up for it, the viral marketers at Warner Brothers have initiated a second round of Jokerish shenanigans (a la Comic-Con) over at whysoserious.com, which involves a photo scavenger hunt across several major cities. If you play along, watch out for Bats. Update: As per the norm, that didn’t take long. The hidden message, give or take a few letters, reads: “The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules.” So, what happens next? Update 2: Guess I should’ve made that costume after all. After revealing this new pic, the new site (http://www.rorysdeathkiss.com) asks for people to dress as the clown in question and take a pic in front of a famous landmark. Have fun with it, y’all.
Category: Comics
But in time you see things clear and stark.
In Marvel news, the the teaser for Jon Favreau’s take on Iron Man, with Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges, is now officially online. (Basically, it’s a shortened version of the Comicon clip.) And has Matthew Vaughn found his Thor in Kevin McKidd of HBO’s Rome and Trainspotting? Possibly maybe…if so, that’s not half-bad.
Jokerman.
As you can see, Heath Ledger’s been busy. First off, new pics surface of Ledger and others as Bob Dylan in I’m Not There, including more images of Cate Blanchett eerily channeling the Blonde on Blonde-era Bob. (See below and here for more.) And, apparently much to the consternation of the Time Warner powers-that-be, eighteen early and spoilerish stills from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight have leaked onto the Internets, including a few of Ledger’s Joker seeming to enjoy a police interrogation more than he probably should. Check ’em out before they disappear.
The Chair recognizes the Senator from Gotham.
Waugh, waugh. Move over, Phillip Seymour Hoffman…Has Oswald Cobblepot been cast? (Nah, Cheney would work better.) Vermont Senator, Senate Judiciary Chairman, and Batman fan Patrick Leahy joins the cast of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. “Leahy is apparently a big comic book enthusiast, and actually served as an extra in the 1997 Batman installment: Batman and Robin.” (He also played himself on Batman: The Animated Series.) “The senator told the station he can’t reveal the exact details of his role in the upcoming movie, but he did say he has landed a scene with its two stars, Christian Bale and Heath Ledger.”
Suddenly, I’m not half the man I used to be.
“Jesus, Harvey, I thought you were dead!” News breaks of some actual honest-to-goodness Dark Knight footage previewed at Wizard World in Chicago over the weekend, and it sounds very fun (although, alas, it has yet to leak its way onto the Internets.) So it seems Aaron Eckhart’s Two-Face is very much a part of the next installment, although I’m hoping he doesn’t crowd out Heath Ledger’s Clown Prince of Crime, a la Sam Raimi’s overstuffed Spiderman 3. I’m guessing Dent will serve as a physical manifestation of the good (bat)-evil (clown) duality at the heart of the next film, but it’s the Joker, Batman’s one true arch-nemesis, I’m really paying to see.
In Jupiter’s House.
The lovely Carla Gugino (Sin City, Spy Kids, late of Entourage) joins Zack Snyder’s Watchmen as Sally Jupiter, a.k.a. the original Silk Spectre. A solid choice (although she doesn’t really look related to Malin Ackerman.)
Man of Iron.
Also from Comic-Con, director Jon Favreau reveals an extensive (You-tubed) trailer for Iron Man. I’ve never been a huge fan of the comic, to be honest, but this looks much better than I anticipated (and the cast — Robert Downey, Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges — is solid regardless.)
You Must Be Joking.
“Bring your sense of humor, but don’t worry — we’ll supply the smile.” From the demented criminal mastermind who brought you IBelieveinHarveyDent.com…a Comic-con teaser for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight looks increasingly likely after another viral marketing site “by” the Joker — whysoserious.com — appears online. (The clock is ticking down to tomorrow’s Comic-Con presentation time, and the coordinates are in San Diego.) Update: A Kramervision version of the teaser has been Youtubed (also here), and it’s…a teaser, although you do at least get to hear Ledger’s suitably bizarre voice. (And, no, I’m not Rick-Rolling you.)
Update 2: Ok, the madness has begun. If you’re playing along at home, the number that appeared in the sky over San Diego was 800-395-9646. Call it, and you get a rather creepy message — apparently the Joker holding somebody at gunpoint — with the first password, “INSIDE JOKE.” Stage 2 — “Catherine, Annie, Elizabeth, and Mary Jane had someone I admire in common. Who was it?” Henry VIII was my first guess, but apparently the correct answer is “JACK THE RIPPER.” Stage 3 involves more legwork in San Diego…Update 3: Or does it? The Joker has left us a Morse-encoded laugh to ponder in the meantime. K, let’s see here…It’s “MOUNTEBANK.” (Some aspiring Bruce Wayne locked that one down well before I did…I was on “MOU.”) Stage 4 is an anagram of sorts — CPRAISMSEIOOFN — My summer a few years back spent trying to get actually decent on Scrabble, and the occasional cheating that ensued, would’ve helped me here, but somebody else figured it out first: “CRIME OF PASSION.” (Hint: As with the morse code, note the two large words.) Stage 5…well, the site’s locked up…
Update 4: While the Warner Brother server was flailing, balloons were passed out in San Diego with the next clue, “head games.” From there, it’s on to the Joker’s case file and another clue, apparently found in bathrooms at the next San Diego point, “74 BARS.” The Clown Prince of Crime then goes the US History route: “Who was the lawyer who got his client acquitted of murder by fatally shooting himself by accident in a courtroom in 1871?” (I’ll give you my own hint: Copperhead.) Answer: VALLANDIGHAM. The next checkpoint involved finding a particular brick in San Diego to ascertain the real name of “Dr. Death,” “GASLAMP DAN HASLAM.” Now, time for a game of cards… Note the actual still of Ledger and Gyllenhaal from the film (click on the word “knife,” or see below) — It looks like the Joker wears make-up in the Nolanverse, and didn’t fall into a vat of anything bothersome this time.) Also, note there are 26 cards at bottom, which should help you to discover the next keyword, “UNFORGIVABLE.”
(Phew, Holy detective work, Batman! This is hard!) Ok, next the San Diegans were to find a child on the street learning to defend himself (note also another police report) The accompanying surveillance site — and this picture — help in discovering the next (punny) clue, “BASEBALL BAT.” After that, we’re in anagram territory again…consider the missing letters and you might just end up with “LARCENY.” Alright, two more clues to go…the next one involves a “Gotham Girl Guide” and her cookies, so we’ll need the troops on the ground again for this one… Update 5: Ok, word has come back that the cookies password is “STARVE.” Then we’re sent to a half-lit LED on a bomb to ascertain the next clue, “REAPER.” (I was stumped by this one for awhile – all I’ll say is that green and red mean something, and the HA’s are there for a reason.) Finally, the San Diego fanfolk had to find a certain license plate reading “291759,” (on a limo near their start point) and, voila, the Joker covers his trail, and offers up a high-quality version of the teaser Youtubed above, before this all started. (Click on the dot.) Ok, a bit of a letdown at the end there, sure (As, one fanboy wit at AICN put it, “Be sure…to drink your…Ovaltine?”) Still, the journey was the reward (even if it ate up much of my Friday afternoon.) Clever, clever, Warner Bros. marketing gurus.
Vigilantes and Vulcans.
Also, some casting news that emerged on the eve of Comic-Con: First, the Watchmen cast is now official — yes, it’s finally happening — and it is as rumored (along with Jeffrey Dean Morgan of Grey’s Anatomy — um, ok — as The Comedian.) And, for the trekkies out there, it seems Matthew Quinto, a.k.a. Heroes Big Bad Sylar, has been cast as Starfleet Academy-era Spock for J.J. Abrams’ Trek movie. (Also, strange to discover from this article that Abrams and Greg Grunberg, the mind-reading cop of Heroes, are childhood best friends.) Now, Quinto is a good physical match…a highly logical choice. But Sam Rockwell as James T. Kirk? That’s genius. (Spock pic not official — I found it here.) Update: Another casting note: Tim Blake Nelson joins Louis Leterrier’s Incredible Hulk revamp as Dr. Samuel Sterns (a.k.a. The Leader), further swelling an already ridiculously tricked-out cast for a remake of a movie made less than five years ago. But, hey, gift horses and all that.
Watching Me, Watching You.
More casting for Zack Snyder’s take on Watchmen: Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson (both of Little Children) now seems all but confirmed as Rorschach and Nite-Owl respectively. As Dr. Manhattan, Billy Crudup. As Silk Spectre, Malin Ackerman of Harold and Kumar. And as Ozymandias, Matthew Goode of Match Point. Well, no egregious misfires in that bunch (and not much star power either, which may make the suits nervous. Fine by me.) Now, it’ll all come down to Snyder.