...continued from Part I

This blog is still dedicated to the incredibly talented Heath Ledger, and for his daughter Matilda.

We'll never forget you buddy

The Dark Knight (July 18, 2008) Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman.

(As promised before, I will not give away any major spoilers as I update this blog)  - JaD

Where Do We, Begin?

Because of the frustrating enigma that MySpace is and will continue to be, I have not been able to update my blog for some time. I don't really wish to go into details with it really, but if you were one of the several people who emailed asking why I haven't done so then you probably know. I'm not going to continue letting out my frustration with MySpace, Tom already seems like a bag of douche anyways (I mean when is that guy gonna change his default picture already?). I want to get straight to The Dark Knight. But let me say sorry to those who have been waiting for updates. Will you ever forgive me?

My sad face.

Before we get started, for those who are unfamiliar with my blog and stumbled upon this one, just know that this is the 2nd section of my TDK blog. For Part I (if you'd like to call it that) just go here. Feel free to browse through the early viral activity for The Dark Knight, as well as read my tribute to Heath Ledger. Comment there if you'd like as well, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Alright, and here....we.....go.

Since there has seriously been so much viral activity between February and April (and only half of it really being that interesting) I'm going to run a quick summary of what happened. Try to keep up, some Gatorade nearby would definitely help.

- Ok so I've told you about the Harvey Dent campaign going underway, and that he needed your help and support to get into office. What happened in March is that the Dentmobile was present in a handful of major cities around the US, from San Francisco, to New York City, and Austin, Texas. All of the participants who went to the locations provided by IBelieveInHarveyDent.com received a bunch of free swag from "Dent supporters". They also handed out Gotham City voter registration cards (Here are also some examples of photos submitted to IBIHD.com)

- For those who submitted photos of themselves showing their support for Harvey Dent received a new edition of the Gotham Times, like the first edition they were later followed with a mock version, the Hahaha Times, another piece of work from the Joker. Here are the Gotham Times being compared to their vandalized counter-parts.

Shortly afterwards, these same participants of IBIHD.com also received in the mail a package containing another piece of TDK swag from an organization called Concerned Citizens for A Better Gotham (Ccfabg.org). This is an anti-Harvey Dent website with news regarding the questionable true character of Harvey Dent. It runs news articles with accusations of corruption and dishonesty.

The very interesting item in this package was a button of Harvey Dent, with one half of it burned, a bit of foreshadowing if you ask me, to this one villain, what's his name?

Neat-O-Fact: History/Evolution of Batman's Teasing One-Sheet

- Starting in April a new scavenger hunt was handed down on the site ClownTravelAgency.com. Inside the envelope was a note saying: Ready to have a ball? A special bag of fun awaits the first to claim it, but you'd better strike fast, there's no time to spare! When clicking on the envelope by the briefcase, a list of cordinates was shown.

All of these coordinates led out to bowling alleys around the world. Those who were lucky enough to make it to these locations first and collect the  rewards ended with a leather bag with a Joker bowling ball, a cell phone, charger, Joker card, and a message from the Joker to call the number printed on the ball to complete the task. Here's some of the stuff only a select few were able to pick up, did you get one?

- After this hunt,  a new site was introduced, Acme Security Systems. Where once you submit your information to this site, you would receive a phone call from Jim Gordon, letting you know that you can either help out Gotham PD, or risk jail time. I'd have to give a bit of thought to that though, I'd have to ask myself "What would NPH do?"

Here's a transcript of the phone call from Gordon: This is Jim Gordon, major crimes, Gotham Police Department. Not the voice you were expecting...huh? We have your name. We have your number. We have your computer's IP address. So what I'm saying is, we have you. Consider yourself the Gotham Police Department's newest recruit. You see, this works one of two ways, either you're going to jail for conspiracy in a criminal enterprise, or, you'll work for me. We'll be in touch. Oh, have a great day!

- Our first glimpse of Rachel Dawes was released in a press conference where she showed her support for Harvey Dent, and denying all the false accusations brought up against him. The video can be viewed here. She'd convince me to vote Harvey too, that's all I'd say.

- The biggest event from Harvey Dent was a scheduled live press conference on April 13th at 3PM Eastern Time, with audio streaming from the website. This press conference was ultimately interrupted by a hostage situation taking place at Rossi's Deli. A police officer named Frank Notaro was the one responsible, and eventually surrendered after Harvey Dent switched places with the hostage. The entire ordeal can be listened to/or downloaded here. Way to go, Harvey!

If I can just, jump in real quick, I'd like to throw out these new pictures from the anime DVD coming out in July, Batman: Gotham Knight. A new trailer, which kicks ass by the way, can be seen here as well. I'm looking forward to this as well.

- Operation Slipknot begins, which was aimed at rounding up corrupt police officers involved with CCFABG, and capturing them before they attempted to flee the city. An email from Jim Gordon read: OK friend, you're up to bat now. You have yourself a new assignment: Operation Slipknot.

Those damn corrupt cops, I swear

The task was to call the Gotham Intercontinental Hotel, which was the last known location of all the police officers, and convince the concierge that you are the intended recipient of a certain package (which is intended for either one of the corrupt cops) By using provided information, those who were able to get through and speak to the concierge and convince them received the packages. These packages included an envelope with the corresponding officer's driver's license, foreign language book (for the officer's destination), Joker card, a cell phone, several bearer bonds, and a letter containing an itinerary.

In the end 27 0f the 30 police officers were captured, and a phone call was sent out by Jim Gordon congratulating those who helped.

Neat-O-Fact: Along with the anime DVD, Batman: Gotham Knight on July 8th......wait for it.

A Blu-ray Limited Edition Gift Set for Batman Begins is being released.

That is so damn sexy.

3 DVD Editions are to be released, 2 on Hi-Def, and the other in Standard. The Blu-ray Gift Set ($49.99) includes The Joker Prologue (from The Dark Knight), a Batman Begins motion art lenticular, a 32-page booklet including an all-new DC Comics comic book adaptation of The Joker Prologue, exclusive photos, script pages and story boards. The Gift Set will also include five Batman Begins collectible postcards with never-before printed key art from the theatrical release, as well as $7.50 "movie cash" towards the purchase of an adult ticket to see The Dark Knight in theaters. I need to start putting some money down for this, immediately. (and I don't even have a Blu-ray Player...yet)

And now, back to WHY SO SERIOUS!!!!!!!

It turns out, that whole Slipknot gig was Joker-related. As those who received Joker phones through the viral, received a text message: I wouldn't worry about Gordon. ITS ALL PART OF THE PLAN

- On April 25th WhySoSerious.com/ItsAllPartOfThePlan was updated with instructions to meet at certain coordinates in 12 cities at a certain time on Monday, April 28. The site displayed pictures of former Presidents with chelsea grins on them and a countdown to when the fun was going to begin.

When the 28th rolled around, clowns from around the world met at their specific locations and were advised to keep in contact with some clowns online so they can finish the tasks handed down from the site. A message from the Joker pretty much summed up what was in store once the game was finished. The message read as follows:

Gather with 300 of your closest friends at this exact spot on April 28th.
You'll need to be in contact with a partner-in-crime who has online access to relay your instructions once you're there. These instructions will give you the TRAIL to follow, but be sure to look both ways when crossing the street; we wouldn't want you to make an unscheduled visit to the ER now, would we?

Put on a smile and plan to spend about an hour or so bonding with your fellow clowns.

Check back here often for updates or changes.

Notice anything funny about that message, hmm..I haven't really been able to put my finger on it. Oh well I guess we're supposed to be in store for something once the game was finished.

The cities of Boston, Philly, New York, Toronto, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Seattle, L.A., San Francisco, Sao Paulo, & London all had their coordinations and clues to follow to lead to another location. This location was already predicted to be a theater because of the message from the Joker. During the activity, the President's photos on the site revealed a safe behind it, which required clues and numbers from the ground troops. Once they were cracked open, notes were found inside of them from the Joker which said to meet at one last location where a contact will be waiting. These locations were all theaters and these lucky son-of-a-bi...I mean these lucky participants were able to get a private screening of the new trailer. They also received raffle tickets and Joker cards. Here's a couple pics of what the scene was like outside one of the theater locations.

After the trailer was viewed, a raffle was held and a film reel was handed out to one lucky person. This reel was the third TDK trailer, but it was soon discovered that the trailer was Jokerized (vandalized by the Joker). Here's a rough idea of what the reel looks like, and you can view "The Dork Knight" for yourself here.

Oh and another thing, this poster was released through that trailer viral.

Wow right?!?! By clicking on the knife at the upper right hand corner of the vandalized President's paintings, this poster can be downloaded in pure hi-res glory. I have to be honest, my eyes began watering when I saw this, haha. Maybe because it's one of the coolest posters I've ever seen, or maybe I had something in my eye. But I'll take the former. Really though, this poster is...amazing.

5 other posters were released as well, with 3 of them being character banners for the film. Those 3 also clearly are Two-Face themed as well. Check them out below.

This picture should really get the message across, with only several lucky people who were able to see the new trailer during the viral game. Everyone else, just tune in to Happy Trails, 'cause on Sunday the 4th we get one heck of a treat, and I'll be there to share it with you.

Here's My Trailer.

Shortly after midnight, (which caught me, as well as a bunch other people by surprise) the 2nd theatrical trailer (3rd trailer overall) was released and available for download. The trailer is mostly a collection of recycled footage from the 2nd, but with new material as well. It begins with a Mission: Impossible III-ish shot of Batman standing on the top of a tall skyscraper with his mask off. He then skydives off the building, which was an amazing effect. Just as the 2nd trailer did, I was blown away the minute it began. The titles even proved it as the logos blew out towards the screen surrounded by fire (with a hidden bat in there as well) The horn sound while the logos are being displayed along with the Joker's words "Where do we, begin?" is incredibly strong and drew me in immediately. The trailer did so much for me without giving too much away of the plot. So many shots of the trailer were embedded into my memory as soon as I saw them. This includes the look of terror in Harvey's eyes as he's being held down onto a table (possibly hinting at his future transformation into Two-Face). The Joker putting his finger through his hair as he walks towards Rachel is now my new technique for anytime I go to a party and see a girl who sparks my interest (watch my tongue as well ) The shot in the end of Batman with his cape spread out and flying through Hong Kong is unbelievable, it will definitely stand out to you when you watch it.

The trailer gives more glimpses of Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker, and it continues to amaze me. From the hunch in his back as he walks in the street with a knife and sub-machine gun, to the look in his eyes as he stares upwards into the sky. Everything about his performance is pure brilliance to me. Considering the fact that he built the character on his own starting from scratch while in a hotel room, I would find it hard to think otherwise. One of the most eerie moments I saw in the trailer was the Joker in a dark jail cell and passing along the bars while shaking something in his hand. I'm sure this moment will stick with me for a while once I finally see it. Another moment I enjoyed was him walking into the room with all the mob gangsters sitting and waiting. The look on all of the faces and eyes on him is priceless as he enters the room. It seems like such a classic moment to me, and with him saying "Here's my card." while pulling out a Joker card when addressing the mob is even more of the same.

There are some very strong moments in the trailer which show the struggle of Bruce Wayne in accepting his life as Batman. We can see him thinking on a balcony and sharing words with Rachel, where she asks that she not be his only hope for a normal life. This struggle will make for a strong element in the film, as Batman will be dealing with a great amount of things happening in Gotham City. I look forward to seeing how this is handled in the film and how it affects his character.

We are also finally given a better look at Harvey Dent in the film, as it is clear that he will be romantically involved with Rachel, probably creating tension between him and Bruce. He seems like a very likable character in the film, which will make his transformation into Two-Face even more hard to endure. He looks like a very good guy, but it looks like his character will have a tragic fate that will turn him into a much different, or very different person in fact. Keep a close eye on Dent sitting in the car, if you look close enough you can see scarring on his chin, nose, and forehead (as well as a torn/burnt left side of his suit). This is definitely your first look at Two-Face in the film! Don't you just want him to turn his head just a little bit more though, just a little bit?

The soft humorous touches in the trailer I enjoyed as well, from Bruce hinting that he hopes Rachel hasn't told Harvey Dent too much about him, and Joker's smart little line while talking at the mob "I mean, What HAppened" I laughed at this point in particular because of the fact that he is talking down at the mob, when he is clearly the new guy on the block. The way he emphasizes that line is very funny in a sense. I loved every second of it.

The ending I especially enjoyed. A funny way of showing the great relationship between Bruce and Alfred. Alfred asks Bruce "Will you be riding the Bat-pod sir?" and Bruce replies "Middle of the day Alfred, not very subtle." (With a perfect head tilt & wink to go along with it) Alfred then suggests the Lamborghini, and jokes on how that is more subtle.  To be honest with you though, this moment in the end reminded me of the beginning of Batman Forever, where Alfred asks Bruce "Can I persuade you to take a sandwich?" With "Batman" replying "I'll get drive-thru" But let's be real though, this new one was handled alot better than the other one. Everyone knows the Batmobile wouldn't be able to fit through drive-thru.

Please do yourself a favor, get yourself a copy of the trailer as soon as you can. You can do that here at the Happy Trails link where you can download and/or watch it. It's just as awesome as the previous two trailers and you will watch it....hmm.. I'd say, at least 50 times over and over again. Here are screencaps I captured for you all to enjoy. This city deserves a better class of blogger, and I'm gonna give it to 'em.

Neat-O-Fact: History/Evolution of Bruce Wayne

(Feel free to scratch out a face or two from this list, I'm sure even one of the actor's themselves wouldn't mind )

Here's also a huge batch of new photos that were released shortly after the trailer. It contains photos from the film and the actors on set as well.

Director Christopher Nolan

Extremely talented & well known character actor William Fichtner, in an uncredited role as "Bank Manager" (from the Prologue)

Behind this vault....lies the final cut of The Dark Knight. In mid-July it will be opened...

I came to a realization today.

TDK is hardly a month away from release!

Yes I know your excited too, I've even begun organizing plans for the midnight showing with transportation and preparing to pre-order tickets. The excitement is beyond incredible at the moment. If you've been watching TV lately, (you do watch TV right?) then I'm almost 90% sure you've seen a TV spot for TDK, There is new footage in some and familiar material as well. Some of the spots have amazing new footage. One shot that I particularly enjoyed was of the Joker standing alone in the middle of the street and doing a simple "Hmm." . Quite eerie I'll say. Another moment I enjoyed was Bruce holding an arm plate device for his suit and knives shooting out unexpectedly at a wall, with Lucius Fox saying "Perhaps you should read the instructions." A very "Q" moment that I liked to see. A scene that I clapped at my chair at was a small clip from the interrogation room with Batman and Joker (from the IMAX featurette mentioned below). With the camera moving along the back of Joker's head, Batman is sitting directly across from him and says, "You wanted me? Here I am." The Joker replies with a loud and sarcastic "Ha!" A war of words is indeed in store for when Bats and Jokes are in the same room together.

The official and new website was also updated with wallpapers to download and screensavers to grace your desktop. One site you should check out for sure which is incredibly fun is the Comcast tie-in site. It contains exclusive behind the scenes footage and featurettes (Each section of the site intros with dialogue from the movie as well, a cool little effect). Click over there as soon as you can, be sure to check out the IMAX Featurette and the other entertaining videos. Here's a link to the site, and some new banners for the film, and some screenshots from TV spots, and the featurettes from the Comcast site.

This sheet is about 78 different kinds of win. The one thing I love about this poster, though?

The clenched fist.

I'm drawn to it every time I look at it. It's awesome. This poster pretty much sums up the entire new vision and purpose of the Joker for me, in creating fear and chaos through those who come across him. July 18th, Look out.

If you've made it to this point, give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it. Borat congrats you for that, and hopes you comment as well. Very nice.

      Stay tuned for more updates, and I appreciate the comments/kudos.  (Don't forget about Part I of the blog if you're just visiting.)

                                                                                                              - JaD

Thanks for your dedication Heath.

I look forward to seeing you this summer.