That "official" announcement, I was waiting on from Warner Bros., concerning Heath Ledger's playing the Joker in the next Batman film came late yesterday.
The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit has the details
Batman is heading into a sequel, this time titled "The Dark Knight," and he will face-off against the Joker.
Christian Bale will reprise his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Christopher Nolan is returning to the directing chair. Heath Ledger has signed on to play the sardonic and murderous villain the Joker, immortalized by Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's 1989 "Batman."
The script will be written by Nolan's brother, Jonathan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer. Christopher Nolan and Goyer co-wrote last year's "Batman Begins." ...
An early 2007 start date is being eyed.
Bale and Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" was a critical and commercial hit, and relaunched the franchise. "Knight" will mark the third time the duo are teaming up, after this fall's "The Prestige," which will be released by Disney...
Ledger... was nominated for a best actor Academy Award for his role in "Brokeback Mountain" and was last seen in "Casanova."
Ledger is the Joker in the next Batman flick
Read the full press release here via Aint It Cool News
I'm sorry, but as I wrote on Saturday, I just don't see him in the role. Perhaps the strategy of casting against type will work as it has in the past. Think Michael Keaton in the first Batman film. Last year's Batman Begins turned out great and Nolan's instincts are usually spot on...May they not fail him now. Fingers Crossed (and maybe even my toes for good measure).
I love the fact that they're calling the sequel The Dark Knight though....
Meanwhile, onto the casting for another popular franchise, and its latest installment.
In a recent article, the site IESB.Net/The Movie Reporter writes:
...Justin Long, hot off of Universal's Accepted, is just days away from being officially announced to co-star in Die Hard 4.0.
While the official announcement is expected within the next few days, the IESB can confirm that he is in the final stages of his negotiations. He will either play the son of John McClane, of course, reprised by Bruce Willis or a computer hacker that he teams up with.
When asked during the Accepted press day today in Los Angeles, Justin would not confirm or deny the news but would only say that he will be quite sleepless this weekend.
Long also confirmed that Len Wiseman, of Underworld fame rumored to be in talks, is in fact directing.
Twentieth Century Fox has been seen scouting Vancouver Canada for the big action sequel. The fourth installment of the franchise finds hero John McClane coming out of retirement to battle an Internet terrorist organization.
Justin Long has had a busy time of it lately. Just off the recent spring hit "The Break-Up" He also appeared in the comedy Waiting and the Jeepers Creepers horror films. He is attached to no less than 4 upcoming movies: Patriotville (in pre-production), One Part Sugar (filming), Strange Wilderness (post-production) and Idiocracy (completed)---not to mention the already talked about, and soon to be released comedy, Accepted (August 18th). Oh, and you may have seen him in a series of MAC computer TV ads for Apple Inc Whew! Despite all of his exposure already, if he does indeed co-star in the next Die Hard, (and it's a hit) that'll be quite the feather in his cap. And it will certainly put him on the Hollywood map.
Long is booked solid. Will he have time
4 the next Die Hard film? Probably...
Love, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that they're calling it Dark Knight. As for Ledger, I'm completely ambivalent towards him. I'm just hoping this Joker is better than Nicholson's, which was awful. Yes, I said it -- Nicholson's acting, the script he was given, and the backstory The Joker had in Burton's Batman were all awful. They should be ashamed of what they did to those characters. Okay, I'm done. For now, anyway.
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