First Pix of Bale on Movie's Set!
(Sunday, April 4th) The Z Review has reported that filming took place in a restaurant in Canary Wharf. Click here to view the images: The Z Review
Also, 'Robert' saw at the Chicago Sun-Times that Michael Caine stars working on Batman Begins at the end of this month (April) after he's finished filming "The Weather Man" with Nicolas Cage
Movie Release Date Set
Warner Bros. has set Batman Begins for a June 17, 2005 release date.
Hauer on his Cameo
Dutch actor Rutger Hauer has posted a great description on his official website of what filming his cameo for Batman Begins has been like in London. He plays Mr. Earle, a business contemporary of Bruce Wayne's murdered father who has designs on the Wayne corporate empire.
The cameo has a good solid structure but lacks character and I was able to drift to a horizon I saw in the back of my head because the director pushed me to explore and go there. Which is always exciting & scary. Exciting because you are allowd to go there and scary because your are not that secure. I found the "key" to my position/part at the end of the second day. That is so great as well. It's one of the things I enjoy with vigour. "The key" is all you need, after that it is about balance and refinement. Big,sensational grand sets. Moody, art deco, impressive.
Art department worked miracles for the great visual richness. Had some smirkyness going with Christian Bale. We have one big problem that occurs. Noise. It interferes. It seems to be coming from a natural cause and I'm not talking about rain/hail/or broken limbs. We are inside. On the studio sound stage in Shepperton. It's a beautiful day outside. About to become spring here. That's what it is. We'd try shooting with the noise but the sound department has problems. It's too loud. Seems to come from high up somewhere. Stage-hands climb up to the ceiling, between cables, lights and set-pieces. I turns out that way above us, under the same roof, pigeons are having a little foreplay. This can stretch into days as thousands of dollars keep "flying" away. One of the boys figures that a blast of the loud heaters may bring a momentary halt in "loverslane". At least long enough to get a few takes! We try and finally we get what we need in the can. The pigeons may have heard the producers prayers.
Bale Talks Batz
Check out the interview from a May Issue of the magazine...Empire Online - Caped Crusader
Filming at Hatfield House...Wayne Manor?
'Batman Begins' is currently being filmed at Hatfield House / Hatfield Park in Hertfordshire, England. This is a (very) large old English manor house, set in huge grounds with woods surrounding. Michael Caine is one of the actors filming here, and rumour has it the Batmobile is going to make an appearance too.
Coincidentally, The Libertine is also being filmed here as we speak (for a few days), with John Malkovich and Johnny Depp.
Visit the site for Hatfield House: Hatfield House - Images
Batman Begins Sequel?
Batman-on-Film has received word that Warner Bros. is already targeting a summer 2008 release date for the sequel to Batman Begins. They also heard more filming location news...
Tilbury Fort in Essex is being used for filming the Bat-Cave and the airship hangar at Cardington in Bedfordshire is being used for the Gotham City filming. These are the airship hangars where the R100 and the R101 flew from in the 1930's.
Wilkinson and Hauer Confirmed
(March 25, 2004/Thursday) The Hollywood Reporter have said...
Wilkinson plays Falcone, one of the leading crime figures in Gotham City, while Hauer portrays Earle, a business contemporary of Bruce Wayne's murdered father who has designs on the Wayne corporate empire.
Michael Caine stars as Wayne's trusted butler, Alfred; Katie Holmes as a childhood friend of Wayne's; Liam Neeson as Wayne's mentor, Henri Ducard; Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, a former board member and sidelined employee of Wayne Enterprises; Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon; and Ken Watanabe as the villainous Ra's Al Ghul.
Movie Updates
(March 23, 2004/Tuesday) Batman-on-Film has a brief description of the mask that will be worn briefly by Cillian Murphy as Jonathan Crane in Batman Begins. Spoilers ahead!
[It seems] The Scarecrow will appear in FULL costume during a [fear gas induced] hallucination towards the end -- Arkham perhaps. Also got to see a pic of the actual mask--let me say this thing is f'ing disturbing; really, this thing will scare the s##t out of you. It's a very dark drown, it had no hat and no hat will be with the sack. The eye holes were scary to look at with no eyes, so what they will look like with eyes is anyone's guess.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune reports that filming in Chicago will take place for six weeks starting in July.
Script Reviews for Batman Begins and Superman
Reliable Superhero Hype! scooper 'Enigma' has now had a chance to take a peek at the latest drafts of both scripts for Warner Bros.' Batman Begins and Superman. He described to us some of the highlights of each - with an emphasis on the Batman film - which we're going to run through for you while keeping the spoilers to a very minimum.
Cutting right to it, David Goyer's Batman Begins script gets a big thumbs up, the J.J. Abrams' Superman script doesn't really. Both of the films will be changing the origins of the character, but the Batman origin will be more in line with what was written in the comics before. It is very conscience of staying true to the Batman character.
With Superman, it apparently gets too formulaic trying to connect things. For example, the Smallville story keeps you intriqued, but the new Supes film's story does not. With Batman you want to go deeper into his journey to see what's next.
Our source says that Goyer makes it feel like a Batman movie at all times through locations, etc. Even scenes where Batman is not present, it still feels like a Batman film. It also has a lot of "Batman: Year One" in it (in a positive way), which probably explains why the studio didn't go for a separate "Year One" film.
'Enigma' adds that all the characters are excellent in Batman Begins. There's 3 villains (Ra's Al Ghul, Scarecrow, mob boss Falcone) in the movie, but it never feels cluttered. We're told that the Batmobile scene is simply amazing and that it's hard to believe they won't be using CGI for it, considering what all the vehicle does.
The source also says that Batman appears in the movie about as much time as the Hulk did in last summer's adaptation, though the time he'll be on-screen will be "awesome".
Some favorite scenes and more details? Turn back now if you're trying to avoid big spoilers!...
The Batman vs. Scarecrow confrontation is supposed to be spectacular. And the best scene in Superman, where he rescues Lois Lane from a plane crash, will probably be stunning.
Also Ra's Al Ghul, played by Ken Watanabe, doesn't speak a word of English in the script. He instead has a translator who does that for him. And the Batmobile in the film will be referred to as the "Tumbler," it is designed by Wayne Enterprises for the military.
Disclaimer: All of the clips of news that I post here, come directly from Superherohype.com.