Thursday, December 29, 2011

TDKR: Chatty Catwoman

The Jan. 1 issue of The Los Angeles Times has an interview with Anne Hathaway about her role as Catwoman in Christopher Nolan's sequel The Dark Knight Rises in which she reveals her classic Hollywood inspiration for taking on the character

The article also details a scene in the film the public has not yet seen.


"Gotham City is a war zone," the paper says. "A ruthless madman named Bane (Tom Hardy) has ripped away any sense of security and the citizens, haggard and clutching suitcases with refugee anxiety, sit behind barbed wire waiting to see what will blow up next. A hooded prisoner is dragged - it's Bruce Wayne, one of Gotham¹s most famous faces ­but the eyes of the crowd go instead to the woman in black standing at the top of the staircase."

It is Hathaway's Selina Kyle, decked out Catwoman's serrated stiletto heels and feline-esque goggles.

Sorry to spoil things, boys, but Bane needs these guys himself."

For an idea of just how Hathaway might sound as Catwoman, just watch any films with Hollywood 30's sex sirens Hedy Lamarr and Jean Harlow from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's golden age. The Austrian born Lamarr was indeed Batman creator Bob Kane's original inspiration for the character, and Hathaway studied her work to prep the part.

"I know this sounds odd, but her breathing is extraordinary," Hathaway says. "She takes these long, deep, languid breaths and exhales slowly. There's a shot of her in [the 1933 film] 'Ecstasy' exhaling a cigarette and I took probably five breaths during her one exhale. So I started working on my breathing a lot."

Director, Nolan added that any inspiration Hathaway drew from Lamarr does not take away from the unique qualities she brings to the role.

She had something very important we needed for this character. She’s an incredibly talented but naturalistic actress, which makes her great in film. She also has terrific theatrical skill so she can project a persona and there’s a big aspect of the character that is a persona. She’s a multi-layered character and we needed a great actress that could rise to that challenge.

Christian Bale Joseph Gordon-Levitt Marion Cotillard Josh Pence, Alon Aboutboul and Nestor Carbonell star along with return of the trilogy's ensemble cast such as Morgan Freeman Gary Oldman and Michael Caine Cillian Murphy might be making a cameo

Matthew Modine Tom Conti Joey King Daniel Sunjata Diego Klattenhoff Christopher Judge "CSI: Miami" co-star Adam Rodriguez and Burn Gorman take on secondary roles. Rob Brown and Italian actor Massi Furlan have small roles in the film as well

Nolan called action on the DKR from a screenplay he wrote with bro Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Nolan and David S. Goyer.

The sequel is set to hit theaters on July 20th, 2012

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