The official trailer for The Dark Knight Rises has us stoked for the movie. But this "trailer" made using clips from the classic Batman: The Animated Series makes us wish Christopher Nolan, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm collaborated on a cartoon version of Nolan's Batman trilogy. more ›

Although some were holding out hope that Christopher Nolan's sequel to The Dark Knight would do some filming in Chicago, ReelChicago.com is being cited by many as saying that, when filming begins this year, Detroit will fill in for Chicago. But take that with a grain of salt. more ›

This Google Maps photo of a swimming pool in Hinsdale emblazoned with the Batman logo on the pool floor has blown up around the interwebs the past couple days. The Hinsdale couple that owns the pool said they did so 20 years ago because their then-5-year-old son was obsessed with Batman. more ›

Bat-Pug! more ›

We'll hand it to MeTV; they've taken the parking meter debacle and turned it into an amusing way to advertise their programming. [h/t The Expired Meter]. more ›

There's not much to add other than "Enjoy." [via] more ›

The Tribune is calling today's story about "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan's incarcerated brother and his planned prison escape "Batman-like," which is good bait to get you into the story. But when you read deeper, it turns out that the tale being told isn't terribly Batty at all - it's only barely Dark Knight related. Which is not to say it's not a hell of a story - one which we're surprised hasn't been talked about much to date. (The conspirator part of our brain is saying "yeah, but that kind of talk might keep away other film companies, and that's bad for the city, so maybe...") more ›

The Writer's Guild of America has announced their nominations for "outstanding achievement in TV, radio, news, promotional writing, and graphic animation," and guess which movie got a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay? Why, it would be the same one which received an ASC nomination earlier today and a Producer's Guild of America nomination a few days ago. Depending on how you look at it, these noms could be a harbinger of things to come when the Oscars roll around. Or they could just be acknowledgments that The Dark Knight made boatloads of money (in fact it was last year's highest-grossing film). more ›

As Batfans around the world are giving their Christmas present DVDs of The Dark Knight multiple viewings, rumors are beginning to circulate about the next chapter in the franchise, including filming once again in Chicago. Speculation has included pre-production on the next installment beginning in early 2009 and an office for the production opening here in town as early as February. Of course, most of the rumors are circulating around casting.

The most popular rumors: Johnny Depp as The Riddler alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin. Now, it'd be tough to imagine such campy characters in Nolan's Batman universe, especially since both are basically pale variations of The Joker. In October, "Dark Knight" co-writer David Goyer told MTV that all the rumors were false. more ›

GQ Magazine has named Chicago its 2008 City of the Year, concentrating on four different categories: Film (Batman, check); Literature (Aleksandar Hemon, check); Architecture (Spire, um...); and Politics (Mayor Daley? Seriously). Okay, so maybe we have a few issues with some of the things they picked. Hizzonah is not exactly high on our happy-with list right now. Still, what with Obama's election and the Olympic bid, we guess we understand the focus on our fair city right now. At least it's better than that New York Times story. more ›

Movies! Aside from preparing for and then recovering from your T-Day food coma, what else ya gonna do? more ›

Undoubtedly a large percentage of Chicagoans were freakin' thrilled that The Dark Knight was substantially filmed in our fair city. But how badly do we want a repeat? The three state legislative sponsors of the Illinois filmmakers’ tax incentives bill want to make it even easier for Warner Bros. (and other production companies) to shoot movies here by offering a 30% tax credit. Currently it's at 20%; when the bill was enacted in 2003 it was 15%. Representatives Skip Saviano and Ken Dunkin and Senator Rickey "Hollywood" Hendon reaffirmed their commitment to the tax incentive at a recent Illinois Production Alliance dinner. more ›

"'Alcohol, plus girls, plus guys, plus crowds equal fights.'" Eric Hagen, 17, on last night's cluster of fistfights at the O.A.R. concert more ›

The Dark Knight sold a humongoton of tickets over the weekend. $155.34 million is the estimated three-day haul, beating the previous three-day record set last year by Spider-Man 3. Despite the bad economy (or perhaps because if it, if you go for dime store psychology), the multitudes descended on the multiplexes, braving sold-out screenings and power outages. more ›

Christopher Nolan's second episode in the relaunch of the Batman franchise, The Dark Knight, takes a daring turn towards embracing a darker, bleaker vision of the masked vigilante and his increasingly odd rogues gallery of adversaries. Batman Begins did a good job of saving the Bruce Wayne/Batman character from the travesties that Joel Schumacher rained down upon our hero, excised the remaining camp from previous cinematic versions, and rebuilt Batman to more accurately reflect the darker tone of the original comics. more ›

As the Chicago-filmed The Dark Knight opens tonight at midnight, it's been reported that the movie pumped almost $40 million into the state economy. Filming created 4,500 jobs (set construction, electrical work, etc.) that meant $17 million in wages and more than 300 vendors (cleaning services, caterers, etc.) which brought in $22 million in fees. Filming in Illinois created over 26,000 jobs in 2007. more ›

Was Bruce Wayne right around the corner from your apartment? Was the Joker ever down the street from your office in the Loop? Everyblock Chicago has kindly put together a list and map of all the shooting locations for in conjunction with the Chicago Film Office. The link contains a list of address information, and we wondered: Before you check Everyblock, can you name these iconic Chicago locations, based solely on their street address? more ›

To promote the unbelievably anticipated The Dark Knight movie shot mostly in our fair city -- indeed we too are counting down the seconds until the premiere -- the Bat Signal will be projected onto the Sears Tower tonight. Think ol' Bats will show up? more ›

Christian Bale, of the Gotham / Chicago-based Batman movie, The Dark Knight, told the Sun-Times he'd be tackling the character of John Connor in the next Terminator movie. Also starring? Common. What the-?! more ›

Oof, we just had a second where we thought it was Friday. But it's not! It's only Thursday. Time for some things that are awesome. more ›

Chicagoans got used to seeing heath Ledger around town last summer when he was here filming The Dark Knight. The New York Police Department is now reporting that Ledger was found dead in "a downtown Manhattan residence" this afternoon. more ›

Nunuh-nunuh-nunuh-nunuh-nunuh-nunuh-nunuh-nunuh-Batman! We are going crazy for full-length trailer for . more ›