A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” – which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union – is permanently set at five minutes to midnight.

When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes.

As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion – a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers – Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the watchmen?

The film based on the graphic novel is being directed by Zack Snyder (300) and produced by Lawrence Gordon (Die Hard), Lloyd Levin (United 93) and Deborah Snyder (300), with Herbert W. Gains serving as executive producer.

Playing the film’s core group of “masks,” the masked adventurers at the center of the story, are Malin Akerman (upcoming The Heartbreak Kid) as Laurie Juspeczyk, aka Silk Spectre; Billy Crudup (The Good Shepherd) as Jon Osterman, aka Dr. Manhattan; Matthew Goode (Match Point) as Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias; Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children) as Walter Kovacs, aka Rorschach; Jeffrey Dean Morgan (TV’s Grey’s Anatomy) as Edward Blake, aka the Comedian; and Patrick Wilson (Little Children) as Dan Dreiberg, aka Nite Owl.

Watchmen was originally published by DC comics as a 12-comic book series between 1986 and 1987, before subsequently being collected into a trade paperback. It is the only graphic novel to win the prestigious Hugo Award or to be named among Time magazine’s “100 Best English Language Novels from 1923 to the Present.”

Connate Entries

• July 30, 2008 — The Dark Knight and Beyond - What’s Next For Bruce Wayne and Christopher Nolan?
• July 29, 2008 — “The Dark Knight” Soars to the Top of the UK Box Office
• July 22, 2008 — Batman Between - The Dark Knight Returns to Chicago
• July 19, 2008 — ‘Dark Knight’ sets box office record with $66.4M
• July 16, 2008 — Glu’s Launch of The Dark Knight™ on Mobile Phones Worldwide

Connate Entries

• July 30, 2008 — The Joker - The Dark Knight
• July 30, 2008 — Alfred Pennyworth - The Dark Knight
• July 30, 2008 — The Dark Knight and Beyond - What’s Next For Bruce Wayne and Christopher Nolan?
• July 29, 2008 — “The Dark Knight” Soars to the Top of the UK Box Office
• July 22, 2008 — Batman Between - The Dark Knight Returns to Chicago

Connate Entries

• July 30, 2008 — The Joker - The Dark Knight
• July 30, 2008 — Alfred Pennyworth - The Dark Knight
• July 30, 2008 — The Dark Knight and Beyond - What’s Next For Bruce Wayne and Christopher Nolan?
• July 29, 2008 — “The Dark Knight” Soars to the Top of the UK Box Office
• July 22, 2008 — Batman Between - The Dark Knight Returns to Chicago

Connate Entries

• July 30, 2008 — The Joker - The Dark Knight
• July 30, 2008 — The Joker - The Dark Knight
• July 30, 2008 — The Dark Knight and Beyond - What’s Next For Bruce Wayne and Christopher Nolan?
• July 29, 2008 — “The Dark Knight” Soars to the Top of the UK Box Office
• July 22, 2008 — Batman Between - The Dark Knight Returns to Chicago

As a explosive, dark, roller coaster of a movie it has succeeded probably to the level that Chris Nolan intended. But how to top it? What is next for Syncopy Productions and the team?

Syncopy are already known to have two major projects in the pipeline with Number Six and the Exec.

Number Six is a cinema based retake on the the popular TV show from the 1960 - The Prisoner which starred Patrick McGoohan. David and Janet Peoples (Twelve Monkeys) will be writing and it’s expected that Universal will be looking for the feature to go into production now that both The Prestige and The Dark Knight are out of the way. Expect to see Nolan’s trademark story telling skills on full show in Number Six when it hits the screens and since the original TV series was a convoluted, complicated and sometimes confusing affair Nolan is perfectly placed to bring some action and clarity to the production.

The Exec is a different kettle of fish. Based on Doug Miers futuristic comic it is the story of big business where Corporate Warfare is taken seriously and literally. Handshakes and AK 47 go together to make a manager’s tool kit to die for. This project has been in the pipeline for a while (it was rumoured that it would be made straight after The Prestige but we guess The Dark Knight got in the way of Jonathan Nolan’s adaptation or the comic).

So two films in the pipe. One a big cult TV series spin off and another comic book adaptation. Nolan’s skill at taking the seeds of other’s stories and bringing them to glorious fruition is well known but we hope that there will be an original story coming up soon. Something we haven’t read or seen before and with the impact of The Following and Memento. Not that we don’t like what we are seeing at the moment of course - it’s all great.

And speaking of great….. what about the next Batman film?

Batman Begins and The Dark Knight have taken our hero through his evolution and initial trials so what’s next for Bruce Wayne?

Those who have read Batman: Year One, Killing Joke, Long Halloween and Dark Knight Returns will know how close the Nolans and Goyer have kept to the world that Batman inhabits. A world that has the darkness of an Alan Moore storyline coupled with the gritty roughness of Frank Miller all depicted through the lens of Bill Sienkiewicz.

Nolan likes Gotham, he like the complex society, the police with their divisions, the mobs and gangs, the subway and the elevated railway, the ferry and the rivalry with Pettsburgh and of course, the duality of Bruce Wayne and The Batman.

One thing is for sure, we are not going to get a whiz bang action fest with no depth or subtlety (Batman and Robin anyone?). We are also not going to be going darker and deeper - it would be a joy to see Nolan’s take on Arkham Asylum - Grant Morrison’s take on Gotham and way the way it screws up everyone.

At this stage we think:

The Riddler

Two Face back once again

Dick Grayson

No Joker - just imagine - if there was a posthumous Oscar for Ledger, which actor would then want to step into the role (sit down Mr Day-Lewis)

Christopher Nolan will direct the third but no more.

(The feeling in the offices here is that Nolan will want the franchise to earn a billion under his helming. This would put him in the Billion Dollar Club - alongside Spielberg, Lucas, Silver, Jackson and Cameron amongst others. Not that he’d like to be in such an exclusive club, just because he’d like to prove that he can do it and the knock on effect will be that he can pretty much write his own cheque and make the films of his choice from now onwards.)

Take a look at Dark Victory if you can find it, along with Arkham Asylum, Killing Joke, The Jokers Five Way Revenge (look for reprints) and The Dark Knight Returns. They all bear a good looking at to get personal inspiration on waht we hope will be the topper for the trilogy and set the standard that says Superhero movies do not mean cash cow, it means depth and storytelling.

Connate Entries

• July 29, 2008 — “The Dark Knight” Soars to the Top of the UK Box Office
• July 22, 2008 — Batman Between - The Dark Knight Returns to Chicago
• July 19, 2008 — ‘Dark Knight’ sets box office record with $66.4M
• July 16, 2008 — Glu’s Launch of The Dark Knight™ on Mobile Phones Worldwide
• July 15, 2008 — HBO - Dark Knight First Look

Smashing box office records in the US, Christopher Nolan’s second Batman film, The Dark Knight triumphed at the UK box office with an opening of GBP11,191,824.

The box office hit entered the record books in the UK with The Dark Knight IMAX release taking a breathtaking GBP307,332 from 5 IMAX cinemas.

The follow-up to “Batman Begins,” reunites Nolan with many of his renowned production team and actors including Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. Heath Ledger’s extraordinary performance has gained critical acclaim across the globe.

Josh Berger, President and Managing Director of Warner Bros UK commented:

“We knew The Dark Knight was a fantastic film, and it is wonderful that both the critics and the cinema-going public here in the UK feel the same way. This weekend’s clear number one opening which received critical and commercial box office success is testament to the outstanding filmmaking and cast of this stunning film, much of which was shot here in Britain. We look forward to a long and successful run this summer.”

Connate Entries

• July 30, 2008 — The Dark Knight and Beyond - What’s Next For Bruce Wayne and Christopher Nolan?
• July 22, 2008 — Batman Between - The Dark Knight Returns to Chicago
• July 19, 2008 — ‘Dark Knight’ sets box office record with $66.4M
• July 16, 2008 — Glu’s Launch of The Dark Knight™ on Mobile Phones Worldwide
• July 15, 2008 — HBO - Dark Knight First Look

“The Dark Knight Project” chronicles the adventures of Gotham Midtown students Heather Nolan and Mikey Bale, played by Allyssa O’Donnell and David Sanchez. Intent on being the first people in Gotham City to capture actual video of the Dark Knight in action for a school project, they set out with their video camera to interview people on the streets, witness the evacuation of a city block by police in the middle of a bomb scare, and ultimately encounter Batman in the middle of a back alley break-in where he saves both high schoolers from a menacing group of thugs working for the Joker.

“I always wanted to shoot a Batman story since he is one of my favorite characters, and since I doubt Warner Brothers will ever ask me to direct one for them, I decided to use the resources I have available and do one myself” muses Chicago filmmaker Jerry Vasilatos, who wrote the story and also produced and directed it.

“Everytime I am downtown, I am reminded of the fact that we live in virtual Gotham City” Vasilatos continues. “Shooting an HD movie and emulating the same universe that Christopher Nolan created for “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” allowed us to brand our short film with a certain authenticity and production value that we hope will have people thinking our story really could have taken place between the feature films.”

Assembling a talented group of filmmakers and cast from Chicago’s creative community, Vasilatos teamed up with co-producer Zoe Triantafillou and director of photography J. Trevi Albin to produce the fan film on a shoestring budget, relying on the downtown locations and authentic costuming to bring the short story to life.

“This is a complete labor of love” Vasilatos says. “We’re not selling it, we’re not making any money off it… I just wanted the opportunity to shoot a short Batman story with high production values and share it with other fans in tribute to the character as well as director Christopher Nolan, who I think has finally nailed the type of “Batman” movie fans have always wanted to see on the big screen.”

Vasilatos’ crew shot 5 days in using several downtown locations, leading to a climactic alley fight between Batman (being played by Chicago actor Chris Nendick), and the Joker’s thugs filmed behind the Fine Arts building off Van Buren.

Vasilatos also created a Myspace page for his two fictional characters Heather and Mikey, where they have been blogging about their efforts to capture video of Batman to visitors. Their Myspace page is at: http://www.myspace.com/darkknightproject. The actual short film was released online July 14th, 2008 at: http://www.darkknightproject.com - 4 days before “The Dark Knight” hit theaters. The website has already had over 2500 viewer in its first week.

Vasilatos, who returned to the Chicago production scene last spring, spent 10 years in Los Angeles working as a producer, director and editor with clients including Universal Home Video, The Reelz Channel and Fox Atomic. His previous producing and directing efforts include the nationally syndicated entertainment news show “Made in Hollywood”, and the Chicago Christmas movie “Solstice” which was originally broadcast on Lifetime Television and is now enjoying a second life on Amazon.com under it’s new title “The Night Before Christmas”. He also recently served as an editor on four episodes of the popular History Channel series “Gangland” during it’s first and second season.

To view “The Dark Knight Project” or to contact the filmmakers, please visit: The Dark Knight Project (http://www.darkknightproject.com).

Connate Entries

• July 30, 2008 — The Dark Knight and Beyond - What’s Next For Bruce Wayne and Christopher Nolan?
• July 29, 2008 — “The Dark Knight” Soars to the Top of the UK Box Office
• July 19, 2008 — ‘Dark Knight’ sets box office record with $66.4M
• July 16, 2008 — Glu’s Launch of The Dark Knight™ on Mobile Phones Worldwide
• July 15, 2008 — HBO - Dark Knight First Look

The movie’s Friday haul surpasses the previous record of $59.8 million set last year by “Spider-Man 3.” “The Dark Knight” also might break the opening weekend record of $151.1 million that also was posted by “Spider-Man 3.”

Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman says the death of co-star Heath Ledger and the buzz about his frenzied performance as the Batman villain Joker was a big part of the movie’s allure.

Batman - The Dark Knight has it’s UK premiere on Monday 21 July and then opens on general release in the UK from 24 July 2008, including at a number of IMAX venues.

Connate Entries

• July 30, 2008 — The Dark Knight and Beyond - What’s Next For Bruce Wayne and Christopher Nolan?
• July 29, 2008 — “The Dark Knight” Soars to the Top of the UK Box Office
• July 22, 2008 — Batman Between - The Dark Knight Returns to Chicago
• July 16, 2008 — Glu’s Launch of The Dark Knight™ on Mobile Phones Worldwide
• July 15, 2008 — HBO - Dark Knight First Look

Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUU), a leading global publisher of mobile games, today (15 July) announced the global launch of The Dark Knight, a mobile game based on the highly-anticipated Warner Bros. Pictures live-action film, which opens in US theatres on July 18. The launch of The Dark Knight marks the second title Glu has developed and published through its strategic worldwide partnership with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.

“We take pride in making great games and are excited to have worked with Warner Bros. to bring this landmark title to the mobile platform,” said Jill Braff, senior vice president, global publishing, Glu. “The action-packed mobile game enables players to use dynamic moves and stealth tactics to take out one of the most notorious antagonists in the world—THE JOKER. We’re delighted to bring The Dark Knight mobile game to BATMAN fans around the world.”

In the game, a reign of chaos has swept over GOTHAM CITY, organized by a criminal mastermind known to terrified citizens only as THE JOKER. Gamers play as BATMAN using dynamic combat moves, special gadgets and stealth tactics to evoke fear in the hearts of his enemies. Players must use every weapon in BATMAN’s arsenal in order to confront his most devious enemy yet.

To accompany the game release, Glu will be publishing an extensive content suite for The Dark Knight, 31 wallpapers, 14 voicetones, 4 music tones and 8 animated screensavers for mobile phones.

• Features of The Dark Knight allow players to:
• Become The Dark Knight of GOTHAM CITY in an action adventure game based on the film
• Fight criminals using a dynamic combat system with simple controls
• Utilize gadgets such as BATARANGS and grappling hooks
• Use stealth abilities to evoke fear in the hearts of foes

The Dark Knight mobile game is launching simultaneously on wireless carriers in North America, Asia and Latin America and will be available in Europe, the Middle East and Africa concurrent with the film release on July 25. For more information, visit www.glu.com.

Connate Entries

• July 30, 2008 — The Dark Knight and Beyond - What’s Next For Bruce Wayne and Christopher Nolan?
• July 29, 2008 — “The Dark Knight” Soars to the Top of the UK Box Office
• July 22, 2008 — Batman Between - The Dark Knight Returns to Chicago
• July 19, 2008 — ‘Dark Knight’ sets box office record with $66.4M
• July 15, 2008 — HBO - Dark Knight First Look

The Dark Knight opens in theatres and IMAX on July 18.

Connate Entries

• July 30, 2008 — The Dark Knight and Beyond - What’s Next For Bruce Wayne and Christopher Nolan?
• July 29, 2008 — “The Dark Knight” Soars to the Top of the UK Box Office
• July 22, 2008 — Batman Between - The Dark Knight Returns to Chicago
• July 19, 2008 — ‘Dark Knight’ sets box office record with $66.4M
• July 16, 2008 — Glu’s Launch of The Dark Knight™ on Mobile Phones Worldwide