Ever since I barely had to ask Aaron Eckhart a question to get him to cough up that he was indeed going to appear as Two-Face in “The Dark Knight,” I’ve felt my powers of Batman persuasion were unrivaled. Well, Michael Caine is a bit of a tougher nut to crack but I did get him to chat a little bit about the upcoming Bat flick this afternoon.
Transparent interviewer technique #1: butter up the subject. I began by telling Caine that clearly the star of the new film will be Alfred, judging from his voiceover in the teaser trailer. After a hearty chuckle, Caine said, “I’ll tell you who it’s about. It’s about Heath Ledger as The Joker. He will be the talking point of the next Batman.”
So will he be scarier than say Scarecrow or Two-Face? Yes indeed, Caine said, calling Ledger’s turn, “one of the scariest performances I’ve ever seen.” Caine added that while he saw the Joker, he never saw Two-Face. And don’t look for any big action scenes involving the loyal butler. Presumably speaking about director Christopher Nolan, Caine said, “He kept me out of it this time.”
Are you as confident as Sir Michael that Ledger is going to scare your socks off? What are you psyched to see in “The Dark Knight”?
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:05 am
This will be the Godfather of comic-book movies.
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:36 am
I hear stuff like this and I want to weep with joy. I know WB’s intent on making a Justice League movie, but for the love of all that is holy, please don’t interfere with what Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale are doing with Batman.
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:21 pm
I’m so freaking excited about this film. It’s going to be so dark.
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:58 pm
John Bierly - you, sir, hit the nail on the head!!! Finally, there is somebody (or combination of somebodies) who understand how this character needs to be interpreted…Under no circumstances should any other project detract from what Chris Nolan is doing with Bats!
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Well to be quite honest I’m still not sure of Mr. Ledger as the Joker..I mean no offense Mark Hamill is the Joker and he has already made the Joker creepy (just check out Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker) but I’m not going to bash this movie because i still have yet t see it so who knows this maybe awesome!
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:56 pm
No, Mark Hamill didn’t make the Joker creepy — he made the Joker’s VOICE creepy. Hamill as the Joker would probably look somewhat similar to his performance as Cocknocker from Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back.
October 3rd, 2007 at 8:45 pm
finally i think the true dark night will emerge in film. as for mark hamill as the joker, grow up peter pan, count chocula!!
October 4th, 2007 at 2:30 am
I hope this performance lives up to its hype. I’m pretty sure this performance of The Joker by Ledger will blow everyone out of the water. I cant wait. I am totally excited and have been waiting for this movie since first hearing about it.
October 4th, 2007 at 2:37 am
In Nolan We Trust.
I think nerds will be surprised with Ledger’s work. Its ballsy with Nolan to pick him instead of a cliche-boring choice like Crispin Glover or Depp.
But I trust Nolan. He made me actually give a darn about Batman the character again with BATMAN BEGINS. I mean, he has Father Merrin powers of resurrection over BATMAN & ROBIN…he’s powerful!
In Nolan We Trust
October 4th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
I am so excited about this movie!
October 4th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
I’m sure Ledger’s performace will kick some solid butt. I mean…if he can act half as well as he smiles as the joker in the teaser pictures of the jokers, he’s going to knock everyone’s socks off
October 4th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
I’m so excited about this new movie! I have been say for years that in “Super Hero” type moves, such as Superman and Batman, that they always make the Hero amayzing but…I think that they need to make the Villan equally as scary. For instance, make the villan part more like a horror film.
October 4th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
I honestly think heath ledger will be able to pull off the joker. he just has that very diturbing look to him and by the preview of his voice in the trailer i think he might beable to pull it off.
October 4th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
I cant’t wait to see this movie! ^.^ Heath ledger looks great, but in the promo he sounds a whole lot like Joker in 89′….
October 5th, 2007 at 4:23 am
I am extremely excited about Heath Ledger’s perforance! I have a feeling that he is going to do very well.
October 5th, 2007 at 10:14 am
It is in my belief that Heath Ledger will help make The Dark Knight the greatest superhero film of all time. I will agree that this film will be the “Godfather” of all superhero films. Also, I would like to add that his voice sounds nothing like Jack in the 1989 Batman. Heath’s voice is more demented, deranged, and completely detached from his normal voice. As for his laugh–fucking great! “Starting tonight, people will die. I’m a man of my word.” Check out the 1989 Batman, Harley. And then watch the trailer again and study their voices. Completely different in nature.
October 9th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
man, the 2nd teaser has got to be one of the most anticipated in comic film history,..hope we see/hear a little more of heath in that one! TDK is gonna rock!!!
October 13th, 2007 at 4:19 am
I don’t really want to get my hopes too far up but… Holy Crap Batman! My only concern is that Nolan is trying to pack too much into one movie (like in spiderman 3) and lose a good portion of the plot or the characters.
October 13th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
it will be the best of the best
October 22nd, 2007 at 2:58 pm
I think the joker is goin to kick ass but hope they don’t kill him at the end like many of these comic films tend to do- I also hope in the future we can see some on screen representation of Hartly joker’s girl.
October 24th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
it wont be too jam packed like spidey 3 cuz there really only showing a little of two face and saving him for bat 3 and scarecrow is already introduced its focused around joker i heard that joker starts killing off other mob leaders to save the glory for himself
October 27th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
This is going to be one kick ass movie… Especially now that they are making the Joker the psycho that he truly is. I’m sure there will be batman fans that will say its not right cause they are loyal to Jack Nicholson, but heres the way I look at it, that was Tim Burton’s view on how the Joker was, Heath Ledger is Chris Nolan’s view and I think that he will do an amazing job.
October 31st, 2007 at 10:32 pm
What would you expect Caine to say? The movie will suck? He’s getting paid to say it will be a great movie even if it won’t be. Bale sucks in my opinion. Click on my name to see the true screen Batman.
January 16th, 2008 at 5:08 am
Come on–hit meh!
January 18th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Spiderman 3 was the biggest piece of crap Hollywood has made since the gayfest known as Batman & Robin.
January 24th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Heath Ledger will be always remembered. RIP
January 28th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I say that this will be one of the greatest Batman movies yet!!! Heath Ledger looks great, I didn’t even know it was him til my husband told me. He was a great and talented actor, and I believe that he will bring out the real intensity that Joker was meant to have!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 3rd, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Heath was a remarkable actor, no question about it; his acting method for the Joker involved locking himself up for six weeks in a hotel in london reading the script and writting a journal of thoughts that he felt coming from the demented joker’s mind, as well
as creating many diferent kind of voices for the character. Ledger prettymuch immortalized himself with this role, he will be around for many years (decades or centuries to come), mark my word