Fatal accident on Dark Knight set

A fatal accident has occurred on the set of The Dark Knight in Surrey, England.

A special-effects technician was following the Batmobile on a race track when the car he was in crashed into a tree.

The unnamed victim passed away at the site of the crash. Police and the Health and Safety officials are investigating the accident.

The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale as Batman, will be released next year.

From: http://www.star-ecentral.com

The Dark Knight Movie Production

Before the release of Batman Begins, screenwriter David S. Goyer wrote a treatment for two sequels, introducing the Joker and Harvey Dent. Originally, the Joker would scar Dent during his trial in the third film.^[29] On July 31, 2006, Warner Bros. Pictures officially announced the initiation of production for the sequel, titled The Dark Knight.^[5] For the film's interpretation of the Joker, the writers spent much time researching his appearances in the comics, before Jonathan Nolan suggested the character's first two appearances as their influence. Nolan, "felt like we've actually come around to something eerily close to those first two stories."^[6] Jerry Robinson, one of the co-creators of the basic concept for the Joker in the comics, is involved as a consultant on the portrayal of the character.^[30] The Nolan brothers took turns each month to revise the screenplay,^[31][32] and were highly secretive. Christopher refused to let Heath Ledger leave his house with a copy of the script.^[33]

The Dark Knight is the first live-action Batman film without the word "Batman" in its title, which Christian Bale noted as signaling, "This take on Batman of mine and Chris' is very different from any of the others."^[34] Christopher Nolan described the sequel's theme as escalation, continuing how Batman Begins ended, with "things having to get worse before they get better."^[35] The director indicated that the film will continue the themes of Batman Begins such as justice vs. revenge and Bruce Wayne's father issues,^[36] but will also show more of Batman as a detective, as "[they]'re trying to move the story forward."^[6] Bale described Batman's dilemma as whether "[his crusade is] something that has an end? Can he quit and have an ordinary life? The kind of manic intensity someone has to have to maintain the passion and the anger that they felt as a child, takes an effort after awhile, to keep doing that. At some point, you have to exorcise your demons."^[37]

Cast and characters

Cast and characters (from wikipedia)
Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A billionaire who has dedicated himself to being the vigilante protector of Gotham City in the form of Batman, the Dark Knight. Bale was officially announced in July 2006 to reprise his role as Batman.^[5] Bale felt confident in his reprisal because of the positive response to his performance in Batman Begins. He also performed many of his own stunts.^[6]
Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth: Bruce Wayne's trusted butler who tends to Wayne Manor.
Heath Ledger as The Joker: A criminal who has a "taste for theatrics," and after committing a robbery and a double homicide at the end of the first movie, leaves a Joker playing card at the scene of the crime. Before Ledger was confirmed as the Joker in July 2006,^[5] actors Paul Bettany,^[7] Lachy Hulme,^[8] Adrien Brody,^[9] and Robin Williams^[10] had publicly expressed interest in the role. Alan Moore's one-shot comic book Batman: The Killing Joke was given to Ledger in order to prepare for his role.^[11]
Gary Oldman as Lieutenant James Gordon: A member of the Gotham City Police Department who is one of the few uncorrupted officers in Gotham City.
Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent / Two-Face:^[12] The district attorney of Gotham City and the replacement of Carl Finch. Battling the Joker takes a dark toll on Dent. Eckhart described the character of Harvey Dent as coming from the same world as Batman, but simultaneously being apart from it. "I'm looking for the tension between the two, the similarities between the two. I want to find what's similar to Batman and then find what's opposite to him," Eckhart said.^[13] Eckhart will research his approach to the complicated role by studying other personalities.^[14] Before Eckhart was cast in February 2007, actors Liev Schreiber,^[15] Josh Lucas,^[16] and Ryan Phillippe^[17] had expressed interest in the role.^[18]
Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes: A childhood friend of Bruce and one of the few to know he is Batman. She serves as assistant D.A. under Dent. Actress Katie Holmes, who portrayed Rachel Dawes in the previous film, was purported in August 2005 by producer Charles Roven to be signed for The Dark Knight.^[19] In January 2007, Holmes had turned down an offer to reprise her role as Rachel Dawes due to scheduling conflicts,^[20] and Maggie Gyllenhaal was cast as Rachel in March 2007.^[21]
Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox: The recently-promoted CEO of Wayne Enterprises who had supplied Bruce Wayne with the gear necessary to carry out Batman's mission.
Eric Roberts is playing Sal Maroni, a Mafia kingpin. Bob Hoskins and James Gandolfini were reported to have also auditioned for the part.^[22] Anthony Michael Hall has been cast in an unnamed role.^[23] Nestor Carbonell is playing the Mayor of Gotham.^[24] Melinda McGraw and Nathan Gamble have been cast as James Gordon's wife and son.^[25] During filming, David Banner auditioned for the role of Gamble, a crime lord attempting to gain power in Gotham, but Michael Jai White was cast instead.^[26] United States Senator Patrick Leahy, who has served as an extra in the 1997 Batman & Robin and also voiced himself in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, will have a cameo in The Dark Knight with Bale's Batman and Ledger's Joker.^[27] Actors Beatrice Rosen and Joshua Harto are also cast into The Dark Knight in unnamed roles.^[28]

About "The Dark Knight"

About "The Dark Knight" (from wikipedia)

The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman. The film is the sequel to the 2005 release, Batman Begins, which rebooted the Batman franchise after an eight-year hiatus. Christopher Nolan, director of Batman Begins, continues as the director of the sequel, which stars Christian Bale again as Batman and Heath Ledger opposite Bale as the Joker. The Dark Knight introduces a new version of the Joker, based on the villain's original appearances in comic book lore. The character Batman also becomes more of a detective, dealing with the escalated situation from the end of Batman Begins as well as the dilemma of his vigilante crusade.

Nolan filmed The Dark Knight primarily in Chicago, as he had done in Batman Begins, as well as several other locations in and outside the United States. The director also used an IMAX camera to film four major action sequences, including the Joker's first appearance. The Batsuit was redesigned for the character, including a new cowl that allowed the head to be turned. A new vehicle in Nolan's revived series, a recreation of the Batcycle known as the Batpod, is also introduced in the film. Composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, who scored Batman Begins, returned to create a new musical score for The Dark Knight.

The studio has undertaken a viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight in which websites were created so Batman fan collaboration would reveal items such as new screenshots from the film. The film will also be marketed by selling related toys and video games, as well as a direct-to-DVD anime that is set between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight has a tentative release date of July 18, 2008 in the United States^[2] and July 25 in the United Kingdom.^[3]

The Dark Knight

Overview (from imdb)

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writers:

Bob Kane (characters)
Christopher Nolan (story) ...
more

Genre:

Action / Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller more

Plot Outline:

Batman and James Gordon join forces with Gotham's new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker, whilst other forces plot against them, and Joker's crimes grow more and more deadly.

Status:
Filming

Status Updated:
2 April 2007