Batman: Arkham Asylum - Meet the Joker

Exclusively on the PS3, Batman: Arkham Asylum players can take on the persona of The Joker and wreak havok in Gotham's most famous insane asylum.

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Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions

This music clip from the MTV Movie Awards is a cool little song, funny and has a very valid point.

Host Andy Samberg joined Will Ferrell to sing "Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions."

Look at the evidence - The Joker, Robocop, Iron Man, Wolverine and J.J. Abrams are walking away.

MTV Shows

Brilliant. What other examples did they miss?

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Grant Morrison talks about Batman And Robin

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's new comic book series, Batman And Robin, looks like it will be great.

The debut of the series follows the events of Batman R.I.P., Final Crisis, and Battle for the Cowl in which the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, apparently died at the hands of DC Comics villain Darkseid and features the winner of the Battle for the Cowl as the new Batman. The conclusion to Battle of the Cowl shows Dick Grayson becoming the new Batman, while Damian Wayne becomes the new Robin.

I love both the creators involved and now that Dick Grayson (Robin, Nightwing) has now taken on the mantle of the Batman we should see some cool wisecracking action.

io9 have some more news on the feel of the series. Grant Morrison describes it below.

The only way I can explain the tone is that I had this idea of recapitulating the television show in a certain way... I was thinking of what other aspects of Batman are completely out of favor - that people tend to hate and don't seem to work anymore. The Batman 60s TV show was one of those. Obviously it was camp and a product of its time. But when I was a kid I thought it was really serious. [laughs] So I wanted to take some of that bizarre, psychedelic feel. I wanted to take the idea of very short, punchy stories that just kind of existed on their own terms. Rather than Batman RIP, which was a big, epic story that had a lot of secret subtext and hidden meanings and stuff, these are just crazy stories that are pretty upfront.

It was taking that aspect of the Batman TV show and then trying it in with David Lynch and Twin Peaks. [laughs] And creepy European cartoons and marionettes and stuff like that. That bad dreamlike feeling of a Marilyn Manson video in the '90s, or like Chris Cunningham's video for 'Windowlicker'. [laughs] Again, it was about trying to fuse those two things together into a bad trip, Lewis Carroll kind of world.

Morrison details that the tone of the series will be a "reverse" of the normal dynamic between Batman and Robin, with, "a more light-hearted and spontaneous Batman and a scowling, bad ass Robin." Morrison also divulges that this is a continuation of his previous work on the Batman character, although this is a different title than what he wrote previously. "This is the next book in what will be a 5-volume series beginning [with] Batman & Son, but it can be read on its own too. Batman and Robin welcomes new readers!" Morrison also said that even though the series deals with familiar identities, the series features all new villains and situations, but also revealed that some villains were glimpsed in Batman #666.

When asked if the series would deal with the new Batman being unable to fill Bruce Wayne's proverbial shoes, Morrison answered, "When I started out I had that in mind, and I thought we'd finally prove that nobody else could be Batman. But I do believe certain aspects of RIP were about how nobody but this guy could be Batman. I think with this, it's fun to start by seeing what happens when someone else tries. Sometimes it goes wrong, and sometimes it goes really well. Some of the things these guys do are things that Bruce Wayne would never have thought to do". In regards to using Frank Quitely as the artist, Morrison described the difference between this particular collaboration with previous ones, specifically on JLA Earth-2 and All Star Superman. For instance, Morrison asked Quitely to choreograph the flow of the action in his own way, rather than through Morrison's normally heavily detailed scripts.

Morrison said, "I've asked [Quitely] to re-introduce the much-maligned sound effects to superhero comics, but in a way that integrates them more closely with the art." He also described Batman and Robin as, "a shorter, pacier collaboration so we've tried to keep it looser and more open than All Star Superman.

When given the question about a possible appearance by the Joker, Morrison said, "I think we'd all love to see [Quitely's] take on the Joker, so yeah, I'd like to think I can make that happen in some way."

What do you think about that? Will you be reading it?

The comic is due out next week.

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Batman: Arkham Asylum - Poison Ivy Video. Got Wood?

Been a while since I last posted anything on this game, but now the Poison Ivy video has been released. It is all looking rather good and looking bigger and bigger.

My one question is this - During this video is Poison Ivy wearing any pants?

Look I made it through the entire post without mentioning bush....Oh!

By the way the pic at the top is by the always brilliant Brian Bolland.

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Cool Joker statue based on Jim Lee design

Source: Jim Lee

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Arkham Asylum - Batman CG Fan Film

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Happy Birthday Jack

Would you believe it but all work and no play means Jack Nicholson has reached the ripe old age of 72.

Inspiration for the existence of Christian Slater, Nicholson has starred in a whole heap of excellent films. IMDB lists 72 - Chinatown, Five Easy Pieces, The Shining, As Good As it Gets, Easy Rider, Terms of Endearment, Batman, The Last Detail, Hoffa, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Departed and many, many more. IMDB also have a whole host of news on the great man and here are just a few.

His mother, June Nicholson, was of Irish and Dutch descent. He never knew his father and was raised by his grandparents. He was led to believe that June was his older sister and his grandparents were his parents. It was not until 1974 when a Time magazine reporter researched his life that he learned the truth. An Italian immigrant named Donald Furcillo who was married briefly to June claimed to be his father. But Nicholson chose not to investigate further.

The character Shipwreck from the animated GI Joe series of the 1980s was partly based on him (and partly based on Popeye the Sailor Man).

In 2004, he attended his 50th high school reunion at Manasquan High School in Manasquan, New Jersey. Needless to say, his classmates were surprised and delighted that he attended.

Is one of only a few actors to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar after winning a Best Actor Oscar.

Owns a large art collection including works by Pablo Picasso and Tamara de Lempicka

Batman creator Bob Kane personally recommended him for the role of the Joker in Batman (1989).

What is your favourite Jack Nicholson scene?

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Call Me Mr. J - Fan Film showing the origin of Harley Quinn

Following the events of "The Dark Knight", the Joker is sentenced to Arkham Asylum where he is placed into the hands of Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a slightly wet behind the ears psychiatrist and current replacement for Dr. Jonathan Crane (The Scarecrow).

Spanning over the course of five individual therapy sessions, the Joker slowly peels off Harleen's authoritative mask while molding her into an image he sees more fit- Harley Quinn.

Chris Notarile of Blinky Productions made this little piece of fan film loveliness. He also plays the Joker as a Heath Ledger inspired performance.

Harley Quinn was first created for Paul Dini's Batman: The Animated Series and then made the jump over to the comic book.

Have a watch and be sure to leave your thoughts on it in the comments.

Source: Fan Cinema Today

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Laughter Is Everything - Dark Knight Fan Film

Bryant Hodson, who made the Watchmen Page 5 film that I featured earlier, also made the above fan film featuring the Joker.

If it seems familiar that is because it is based on the Bruce Campbell Old Spice advert below (I also like this other advert Campbell did - the one where he sings Hungry Like the Wolf).

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Patient J - Joker Fan Film

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The Joker Ski Mask

Not sure if this is cool, funny, scary, crap or just plain weird. If you get one send me a photo of you wearing it!

The Dark Knight Joker Combination Ski Mask & Winter Beanie

Source: Geekologie

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Batman: Arkham Asylum - Joker's Trap

Batman: Arkham Asylum 'Joker's Trap' trailer

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Joker and Harley Quinn - cool fan art

JoshWMC did the artwork for this Heath Ledger, Kristen Bell Dark Knight fan art. Very cool piece of work.

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Will the Joker be recast for the next Batman film?

MTV have the news that during last night’s People’s Choice Awards, “The Dark Knight” producer Chuck Roven cleared up some of the speculation surrounding the sequel to the celebrated Batman blockbuster, telling MTV that director Christopher Nolan and writer David Goyer are indeed “talking and thinking” about the next film.

With regards who the big bad will be in the next film you may have to read between the lines as to what Roven said next.

“We have to separate the actors from the role,” said Roven when asked whether they would’ve done anything different with Heath Ledger’s villainous Joker if they knew the actor wouldn’t be reprising the role.

“On a personal level, Heath was a friend of mine. We had worked together before ‘The Dark Knight,’ but I still think that ‘The Dark Knight’ is its own thing, and we have to separate them,” added Roven.

Does this mean that the Joker is going to be in the next film and will, obviously, have to be recast? Is he just being covering the bases? Would you want to see the Joker in the third Nolan Batman film? Discuss this more over in the Bat Forum.

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The Dark Knight - The Sound of Anarchy - Making the music for The Joker

This is one of the extras from The Dark Knight DVD and it's a good one. Composer Hans Zimmer and director Chris Nolan talk about how they came up with the "Razor blades on violins" theme for Heath Ledger's Joker.

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The Guardians most ridiculous plots of the year - Spoilers ahoy!

1. The Dark Knight - The Joker's criminal genius
Wait, so the Joker really orchestrated that big truck chase just so that he could get caught and go to prison, then he could kidnap that guard and grab his phone to make the call to set off the bomb he'd previously sewn inside the henchman in the next cell? That would kill the guy who stole the mobsters' money, thus enabling him to … er, what? Heath Ledger's Joker may have been a psychopath, but he had a nerdish capacity for forward planning.

2. Sex And The City - has Big ever used a phone?
OMG Carrie's getting married! Can you believe all the dresses? Can you also believe that Big tries to call her on the day, but some little scamp has run off with her phone? Couldn't he just call Miranda or someone? No, because despite having known them all for 10 years he doesn't have their numbers. Nor is he capable of just getting out of the car and walking in.

3. Iron Man - the cunning getaway
Ha ha! We have kidnapped imperialist weapons dealer Tony Stark. Now let's put him in a cell and force him to build us a missile. We won't need to put guards in with him because we've got these fiendish CCTV cameras. True, it's still possible for him to hide round the corner, but what can go wrong? We'll also overlook those working drawings. Wait a minute! That's not a missile, it's a robo-destruction suit. And now he's in it, killing us all! D'oh!

4. Hancock - immortal and invisible?
What? So there's this one guy on the planet who's been alive, like, forever, and can fly, stop bullets, leap tall buildings, etc, and nobody is the slightest bit curious as to who the hell he is and where he came from? What was he doing during, say, the second world war?

5. Wanted - The Loom of Fate
OK, we can swallow James McAvoy as an action hero. And we'll believe that there's a secret league of assassins who can bend bullets round corners. Even that they were descended from a guild of weavers. But hang on, the Loom of Fate? A mystical apparatus whose woven product has the future of mankind encrypted in its fibres?

6. Indiana Jones - Shia of the Apes
Luckily we've overpowered these Nazis but now they're chasing us down this convenient set of parallel tracks someone has cut through the jungle! Phew, none of us got hurt but where's Shia LaBeouf gone? Thank God (or Spielberg): he's turned into Tarzan. Here he comes swinging through the trees on vines, with a troupe of monkeys.

7. Mamma Mia! - the paternity issue
Which one of these three men could be Sophie's father? If only there was some reliable, scientific way of finding out. She can't get a DNA test, of course, because Abba never wrote a song about that.

8. Man On Wire - don't look down!
A man breaks into the World Trade Centre and walks a tightrope between the towers. Yeah, right.

Source: The Guardian

Anyone got any more?
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Batman: Arkham Asylum - New trailer

A new trailer for the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum. This one actually features the Dark Knight and the Joker.

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Heath Ledger awarded posthumous Australian Film Institute Best Actor Award

Source: Movieweb

The late Australian actor Heath Ledger was awarded one of his country's most prestigious film awards on Saturday for his final role as The Joker in the Batman movie The Dark Knight.

Ledger, 28, who died of an accidental overdose of painkillers and other medicines in his New York apartment 11 months ago, was posthumously awarded the AFI (Australian Film Institute) international award for best actor.

Guests at a packed awards ceremony in Melbourne's Princess Theater rose to their feet clapping, but with some in tears, to pay tribute to the actor who was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a taciturn gay cowboy in 2005's Brokeback Mountain.

"It has been without a doubt the most difficult year, losing such a loved family member," said his sister Kate, fighting back tears as she accepted the award alongside Ledger's parents.

"We are so proud of him and humbly accept this award on behalf of his beautiful daughter (Matilda) who we will cherish forever."

The AFI, celebrating its 50th-annual award ceremony, paid tribute to Ledger, describing him as "ground-breaking actor trapped in the body of a leading man".

"He was the untamed spirit many of us wish we could be. May the legend live on," an AFI tribute said.
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Fan Art support for The Dark Knight's Oscar nomination

Cool piece of fan art by JoshWMN to show his support for The Dark Knight Oscar nomination.
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Batman Double Bill at the Picturehouse in Liverpool

The Picturehouse at FACT in Liverpool have got a cool showing for all Batman fans. A proper Brucie Bonus as it were.

BATMAN DOUBLE BILL
Don't miss out on our fantastic Batman double bill featuring the two most recent films starring Christian Bale as BATMAN.

BATMAN BEGINS (12A) + THE DARK KNIGHT (12A) on Sunday 14 December at 12.00 midday.

Tickets are only £7 call 0871 704 2063 or go to their website here.

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