Hot Toys Finally Reveals Bane

It seems like Hot Toys has teased their Bane 1/6 scale for as long as Bane was initially announced as the villain. Now one day removed from the midnight premiere, the company has finally released photos of their highly anticipated rendition of the next big bad for Batman. Some people will get picky and tell you that it could be better, but I think the head sculpt looks very realistic and his overall uniform is done quite well. Check out the specs for the figure below.

The Bane Sixth Scale Figure features:

• Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness of Tom Hardy as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises movie
• Newly developed head sculpt with mask (Not Detachable)
• Approximately 30 cm tall
• TrueType body with over 30 points of articulations
• Five (5) pieces of interchangeable palms including:
• One (1) pair of fists
• One (1) pair of relaxed palms
• One (1) left open palm
• One (1) leather-like brown jacket
• One (1) dark brown shirt
• One (1) green combat vest
• One (1) pair of leather-like brown gloves
• One (1) pair of grey military pants
• One (1) pair of dark green combat boots
• One (1) broken Batman mask
• One (1) square figure stand with metal nameplate and movie logo

Zimmer Composing Man of Steel

Variety just released an article saying Hans Zimmer will be scoring Zack Snyder's Man of Steel next year. Zimmer was rumored to be doing the score last year and debunked those rumors himself.

It's an interesting choice to say the least. While Zimmer's previous work seemed to fit perfectly into the world of Nolan's Batman, Superman seems to be at the opposite end of the musical spectrum. One thing to keep in mind is that this isn't the exact Superman we are familiar with either. Not much is known in the story of the new Clark Kent, but it seems clear that this is going to be something fresh for the character.

At this point I'm very interested and hope Zimmer is able to be even more creative and give us something huge and heroic that doesn't try to outdo John Williams' classic score, but fits well with this new identity for Superman.

Dark Knight Rises Promotional Posters

A few new posters for The Dark Knight Rises popped up online today and they aren't very pretty. These are very likely to be used with places like Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, and other retailers in the sections aimed towards kids. It would be a sad bit of information to find out these are being used to promote the movie in theatres. The one of Batman punching at the viewer is pretty bad, just look at the unfinished look to the cape between his legs. Sad. Bane is jacked up on something a little extra that we haven't seen yet as well. I do like the one above of The Bat though!

New TDKR tv spot

A new tv spot for The Dark Knight Rises has been released through the movie's official Facebook page. This one seems to be the most action oriented spot yet. Lots of stuff blowing up, cars flipping, and some nice shots of Batman and Bane duking it out. There is one quick shot near the end that is sure to be one of the most iconic images of this trilogy.

New Catwoman Poster Revealed

And I thought this weeks Bat-fever was going to dwindle following today. Just after putting up the the new international banners and the announcement of new footage, something else grabs my attention. A reader of Batman-News.com sent them an heavy slice of goodness with a secret poster found of the official Dark Knight Rises website. Sometimes simplicty is all you need. I especially like the lipstick kiss stamped at the text. Notice how the opening of the lips create a bat. Quite clever aren't they?

Check back here in 5 minutes and you are likely to find another TDKR update.

Dark Knight Rises Footage And Even More New Banners

What a week it has been for fans of Nolan's Batman trilogy. For most its felt like there has been very litte hold us over between all the trailers, leading up to the release date on July 20th. At the beginning of the week a new theatrical poster for The Dark Knight Rises popped up online and general consensus was a big collective "meh".

The days that followed held quite a treat though with new character posters, new stills, new banners, tv spots, and to cap off the Batmania blitz are two international banners and the reveal of footage to be aired during the MTV Movie Awards. (Check the official press release below) Maybe most surprising of all is the names in attendance; Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman. Nolan has often snubbed Comic-Con and many other highly revered comic book/entertainment conventions, so it's nice to see that he and the cast will get out and help promote the movie in a big way.

If there were any doubts to how WB would end up screwing the marketing for this film, I think this week alone puts all of that to rest. Hope to see some of those sweet character posters and hopefully even some large sized standees on my next trip to the theatre. That top banner with Batman covering his face with the cape is maybe one of my favorite images from this trilogy.

MTV today announced that the "2012 MTV Movie Awards" will feature exclusive footage from Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' highly anticipated film THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, with director, writer, producer Christopher Nolan and actors Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman on hand to celebrate the "Dark Knight" trilogy. Hosted by comedian, actor and TV personality Russell Brand, the "2012 MTV Movie Awards" will air live on Sunday, June 3, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California.

MTV also announced today that Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey, stars of the upcoming film MAGIC MIKE, will join its impressive line-up of presenters, including: Adam Sandler, Emma Watson, Andy Samberg, Leighton Meester, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller, Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg. Chart-topping indie-pop group fun. and rapper Wiz Khalifa are set to perform.

Known as one of the most outrageous and distinctive televised award shows, the "2012 MTV Movie Awards" will feature its trademark individuality and irreverence. Fusing the network's musical core with the wonder and amazement of the comedy, drama, adventure and mystery inherent to the movie-going experience, the telecast is set to provide more laughs, surprises and one-of-a-kind moments with Hollywood's biggest stars gathering to honor fan-favorites from the past year.

MTV fans hold the "Power of the Popcorn" awards in their hands with voting available online via MovieAwards.MTV.com through Saturday, June 2. As always, voting for "Movie of the Year" will remain open throughout the live show on Sunday, June 3.

New Clip from The Avengers

The Avengers is just around the corner and our t.v.'s are full of advertisements letting us know how awesomely epic the film promises to be. While the general audience is getting teased, die-hard fans are fighting off the urge to look at each new clip that pops up online giving a short look into scenes from the movie.

Mark Ruffalo recently attended the Graham Norton Show and revealed a clip with him as Bruce Banner trying to be recruited by Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow. Nothing major is shown here, so don't be afraid to peek if you really can't hold back. The end has a clever glimpse of Banner's potential anger issues popping up throughout the movie.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you the date, but for May 4th the question remains; will The Avengers take the top spot for the weekend or will LOL, starring Miley Cyrus, cause trouble for the first big movie of the summer?

Over an hour of IMAX footage for The Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan has made no secrets about his dislike for the 3D format that has been taking over cinemas the past few years. His arguments have been backed by facts that the we already perceive them in a three dimensional scope and the use of the forced gimmick causes the picture to lose aspects of its bright quality. He's also been quite vocal about IMAX giving the viewer a truly immersive experience that is absent from the other various formats. Without sounding too much like an internet dubbed "Nolanite", from my personal experience I am in agreement in the statements he's made.

The first time I watched The Dark Knight in my local IMAX dome theatre it really was a new and interesting experience. Fast forward to the Dark Knight Rises prologue released in December. When the scene of a plane flying over an open field showed up on the huge dome screen, I literally felt like I was falling forward out of my seat and had to hold onto my wife's arm until I settled in to what I was seeing. This is how I can really understand Nolan wanting to help bring IMAX to the audience more often for future films.

The Wall Street Journal has posted a lengthy article with some great points on studio's trying to bring IMAX back in a big way. They reveal that Nolan has over an hour's worth worth of footage in the giant format which is record for a Hollywood feature film. In the article he addresses concerns the studio had with shooting so much footage with the bigger cameras;

"There was a huge irony that we were told it would be too difficult to shoot a Hollywood movie on IMAX when we had this gigantic camera department, grips, electric, hundreds of people working for us. These were cameras that had been to the top of Mount Everest, to the bottom of the ocean and into outer space, but people thought we couldn't make a feature film. It was absurd."

Seems like a good way to shut up the guys that were probably begging him to use the 3D format for his final Batman film. I believe the movie will benefit more from being in IMAX anyway. Click the link above to read the full article.

New Dark Knight Rises Trailer Attached To The Avengers

 

The Avengers is sure to be a huge hit around the world and any trailers before the movie will gain major exposure. Nolan Fans has found the scoop from the WB Exhibitor site that a third Dark Knight Rises trailer will be shown with all versions of the first big superhero movie of the summer. This includes, 2D, 3D, and IMAX 2D/3D showings, so that's quite a wide audience. The debate will continue on which movie will rake in the most cash for the year and it's really hard to tell at this point. Early on I would have easily went with TDKR taking the top spot, but the hype surrounding Avengers lately is gaining a lot of ground. 

No word on when the TDKR trailer will hit the web.  

John Carter Clip

 Yahoo! Movies has a new promo for the upcoming Walt Disney release, John Carter and below is a new clip I found over at Superherohype. The movie will be in theaters on March 9th and gives Taylor Kitsch his first starring role in a heavily marketed film. The Canadian actor is mostly known for his role on television's Friday Night Lights as Tim Riggins and as popular comic character Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

I haven't seen enough of his skills as an actor to judge if he could carry a bigger movie like this one, but the latest trailers and now these clips have raised my interest for the sci-fi adventure. I get a sense that Disney is trying to play it the same way Tron: Legacy rolled out so hopefully they have greater success this time around.