The Edge of the Frame

Well, it has been months and months of speculation about just what the hell the next Batman movie is going to be about and who’s going to be in it. We’ve been through Joseph Gordon Levitt to Marion Cotillard to Phillip Seymour Hoffman with rumors ranging from the Riddler to Harley Quinn and the Penguin. Now, we have the official news from Christopher Nolan, himself.

That’s right, Warner Brothers reports that it’s going to be Catwoman, and Anne Hathaway is playing the part. This will be the first time Catwoman has been portrayed on screen since 1992 (I refuse to acknowledge the 2004 film because, really, what’s the point?). Anne Hathaway won the part in a competition that included, well, virtually every young actress in Hollywood. A fantastic choice if I do say so, myself. Hathaway is not only, what I would consider, one of the top ten most gorgeous women in show business, but an amazing actress to boot. Whether or not this part will require the same level of acting chops as the Joker (if that’s even possible) is a big question. However, it should be interesting to finally have some real sexual tension, or sexuality in general, in a Nolan Batman film.

In other news, the lid is off on who Tom Hardy will be portraying. I reported back in October that Hardy would be rejoining Nolan in the new film after a very successful venture with “Inception.” We now know that Hardy will be portraying Bane, the teddy bear-wielding, prison-born villain with drug-induced super-strength. Bane is best known for breaking Batman’s back in the comic book series. Tom Hardy is probably one of the best casting choices in a film since, well, Heath Ledger in the “The Dark Knight.” He’s an extremely capable and versatile actor, known for supporting roles in “Black Hawk Down” and “Band of Brothers,” as well as a lead role in the British psycho-drama “Bronson.” He is now ready to break out into super-stardom, and a great turn in this closing Batman chapter could do the trick.

Now, many people remember Bane being portrayed in “Batman and Robin,” really quite stupidly, if I may say so. But really, what didn’t “Batman and Robin” portray, stupidly? Still, the enormous character of Bane is difficult to imagine fitting into the realistic, contemporary atmosphere of Christopher Nolan’s Gotham City universe. This is one of the more fantastical comic book characters and I have trouble imagining the villain without the movie descending into silliness. However, in Nolan I trust. If he can twist the Joker into completely different, yet wholly believable and terrifying concept, then I believe that he can knock this one out of the park, as well.

All of this news is a bit less exciting to me as I would like, given the studio’s recent decision not to shoot in Chicago. Rumors are circulating that principal photography will be shot in Los Angeles, the UK, Louisiana and probably Detroit. This just angers me on so many levels. It pisses me off that one of the best parts of watching the first two installments is getting to see so much my town featured, not to mention the fact that Chicago is a perfect backdrop. I’m also pissed that Chicago won’t pony up the same incentives that other cities, like Detroit, are. Screw all of the parties involved. But hey, maybe if we’re lucky, Detroit can get hit by a meteor, get wiped off the face of the Earth and the production will come home where it belongs. I will keep you updated.

But seriously, folks, how do you find a better location? It bleeds Gotham.