I ain't bringing my son to this one.

Yeah, I played the ibelieveinharveydenttoo game and saw that.

I have a couple of thoughts on where this movie is going.

As a huge fan of THE PRESTIGE and a casual fan of MEMENTO, I'm encouraged that the driving creative force behind this film is to be the brothers Nolan. I admire David Goyer, but the fact of the matter is that he writes shlocky scripts which, in my experience, have decent stories but horrible dialogue.

Forget the tone deaf profanites of BLADE 1-3 or THE CROW: CITY OF ANGELS (which was actually a decent script before it was micromanaged, miscast and misdirected into oblivion) for a moment. In BATMAN BEGINS, Bruce Wayne actually says with a straight face, "Your quarrel is with me."

Add to that the numerous arch villanies that Ra's Al Ghul is given to utter during the climax and you'll find me not in the least bit sorry that Goyer's influence will be diluted or missing from THE DARK KNIGHT.

And then there's the Nolan brothers' taste for twisty mind games, the illusory nature of identity and especially in THE PRESTIGE, two men being obsessed with one another to the point of self-destructive behavior.

This bodes well for a fresh, appropriate take on the relationship and enmity between Batman and The Joker.

Then there's that damned make-up!

At this point, I'm a huge fan of the Nolan brothers and am hopeful that they will deliver a knock-out of a dark, psychological action thriller,...

...but that make-up makes me wonder if they're not going too far in the wrong direction. While I'm all for them turning a Batman movie into a macabre, slightly gruesome twist on THE PRESTIGE, I hope they don't lose sight of the fact that this is supposed to have at least SOME family appeal. I mean, if kids aren't going to see a Batman movie or parents are going to be angered, it's not going to work as a franchise movie. It will be like BATMAN RETURNS, only worse.

Here's what I foresee:

As the film gets closer to completion and some test screenings are done to be sure, Warner Bros. is going to start to panic a little bit about that make-up. Particularly if the MPAA has a problem with the movie.

This could lead to one of two solutions:

--Either reshoot the Joker scenes, especially if the overall tone of the character is too gruesome. I mean, he does look like Ichii the Killer.

--Or digitally erase those scars from every shot in which they appear.

In this day and age, that latter solution almost seems perfectly reasonable.

It would also give rise to the opportunity for a dvd double dip in which the scars would be intact.

One thing to keep in mind:

http://ibelieveinharveydent.warnerbros.com/

as opposed to:

http://www.ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com/

What's missing from the second URL?

This could very well be real, but there's been at least 2 other 'Joker! First Pic!!!' hoaxes that Ain't It Cool already ran with, and as it stands right now, there's nothing to verify that this is legitimate. Yet.

The "ibelieveinharveydenttoo" address first appeared on a series of defaced playing cards distributed to comic book shops in what most are assuming is another viral marketing campaign. But good God, I do hope that's not actually an official pic. If THE DARK KNIGHT is going to feature a Joker that looks like Robert Smith after an oatmeal facial, then my interest in this sequel will drop faster than a paralyzed falcon.

The photo at the top looks Photoshopped to me.

Well done.

I can't imagine that Warner Brothers would have allowed Nolan to go with a design which is so nightmarish and gory.

This image we have looks, without exaggeration, inspired by the cover art for the Marilyn Manson album from a few years back called "The Golden Age of Grotesque." Some of the blurry images of Manson on the packaging had the exact same shading of the face and around the eyes.

I'm not saying there's any connection other than an aesthetic one.

And Warner Brothers would just as soon greenlight a Marilyn Manson Joker as they would a Marilyn Manson Willy Wonka.

Well, whether the underlying image is or not, that particular jpeg is an enhanced extrapolation of the image that's still emerging from the site. It's almost done, but not quite there yet, so people have been using Photoshop to complete it.

I would have said Brazilian, but we're on the same page at least.

It definitely looks like a test makeup, to me. It's very unpolished and is maybe 2.3 of the way towards being The Joker.
The speculation going around has it that this version of The Joker is likely to be a cross between the very early Joker seen in the 40's and the version seen in THE KILLING JOKE. That would work out pretty good, actually.

Completed pic:

I like it alot, myself. I hope they don't mess with it too much.

It looks like a believable reimaging/recharging of the Joker as a psychotic, something I had my doubts they could pull off. (When these characters have been around for so long, it's hard to 'see them new'.)

I like my Batman movies dark and depressing, though. I'm a big fan of BATMAN RETURNS, incoherent though it is in spots.

doug

As someone who really, really hated what Nicholson & Burton did with the character, this is a definite improvement. Cesar Romero brought more dignity to the role, and I’m not kidding.

However, I really have a problem with the scarring – but not because it’s gruesome. The Joker should be laughing because he’s a murderous psychopath, not because his mouth became cosmetically altered. In Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns (set some years in the future) we catch up with the Joker sitting in an asylum, watching television with completely blank expression on his face. We’re meant to assume that he’s been this way for years, and it’s only when news of Batman’s return to Gotham comes on the TV does he begin to crack a smile. Since they’re using Miller’s title, I had hoped that Nolan shared his vision for the character…I guess we’ll see.

And if Nolan brings any elements of the character from The Killing Joke story, we’ll be in for quite a treat.

I found several of those playing cards in NYC's Midtown Comics today. Just a standard Joker card from a United States Playing Card Co deck, but rubber stamped to look like you-know-who scribbled "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA I Believe In Harvey Dent Too." I don't think a fan's hoax would involve distributing these cards to shops across America.

So, I guess that really is Heath Ledger under all that. I was initially a little mixed in my feelings about it, mostly because Ledger isn't doing the classic big toothy grin with wide crazy eyes we're familiar with. Now I like the look, as the make-up and scarring reflects a serial killer mentality just like Scarecrow's mask from the previous film. The guy in that photo would be willing to do anything to anybody, which makes him scarier and more dangerous than even Bale's Dark Knight.

I think it's crude, ugly, unimaginative and NOT The Joker. But is that Heath Ledger or Aaron Eckhardt?

It's definitely a photo of Ledger. That much, I'm positive of.

I know it isn't, but it looks like Tom Noonan in MANHUNTER wearing clown makeup.

If you want some more creepiness, go back to the second website

http://www.ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com/

And then left-key highlight.

And arranged among the all the "HA" are the letters: seeYOuInDECeMbER - I guess that's when we'll see the trailer?

Well, it's definitely sort of creepy... but more in the "Hey, didn't I see that dude waiting in line to see Insane Clown Posse?" sort of way.

Although it also kind of reminds me of how The Joker looked in that Batman vs. Predators vs. Aliens fan short from a while back.

And what were you doing within shouting distance of that line, may I ask, Craig? ;)

Shouting, of course. From a safe distance...

They heard you, Craig. THEY heard you...

Shh. They're outside the house...

"Page Not Found." <_<

Ya gotsta follow the instructions to reveal the boffo laffs!

I don't get all the hubbub about this Joker. To me, he doesn't look evil or crazy...he just looks sleepy.

No way is that scarier than Conrad Veidt. Think he'll get to wear a Red Hood costume in the opening scene? Or is that not dreary and boring enough for Chris Nolan?

A new series of DARK KNIGHT pics have surfaced. The Joker looks quite creepy and the new suit is pretty cool:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/08/16/hol...d-joker-photos/

Not working for me. He looks like an Insane Clown Posse fanboy. Maybe Ledger's performance can sell it.

I liked BATMAN BEGINS quite a lot, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt... but these Joker images leave a lot of room for doubt.

I thought Robocop looked ridiculous when I first saw the pics. Dopey name to boot. Watching Peter Weller walk and talk the part changed everything. I'll hold judgement until next summer. I'm still open-minded about this visual approach to The Joker, as long as the essence of the character is kept.

I think I'm also going to keep all future pictures and plot info away from my eyes, as this flick is still 11 months away!

So wait a moment here, the Joker wears white greasepaint in order to achieve his look?! Please, someone tell me that's not the way Nolan's going, here.

*shrug * Agree with Mr. D'Annucci here, although I like the look right from the outset. I think Heath Ledger looks genuinely psychotic, actually. I'm not wedded to the character's backstory, and frankly don't want THE DARK KNIGHT to be a laborious Joker origin story (I felt all the "Batman beginning" stuff weighed down the otherwise enjoyable BATMAN BEGINS.)

doug

My biggest problem with BATMAN BEGINS was that it often resembled a trailer for itself: headlong, dense with incident, breathless.

When the money shot and title came up at the end, I felt that familiar surge of "Awesome! Can't wait to see THAT!!", immediately followed by, "Oh, wait. I guess I just did."

My hope is that this one will fold a bit more air into its running time.

It is truly the 21rst century when my first viewing of the new THE DARK KNIGHT trailer is filmed off a cell phone. For those brave enough, click here:

http://rated-m.blogspot.com/2007/12/dark-k...ler-leaked.html

The trailer is attached to I AM LEGEND. It looks good, but I'm still disappointed that Heath ledger's Joker seems to be wearing whiteface, which makes him less of the classic supervillain and more like a true psycho. Which, of course, the Joker is both.

Like the laugh, though.

Heath Ledger IS Brad Dourif as The Joker!

http://atasteforthetheatrical.com/ (click download)

Heath Ledger has nailed it. The costume, the body positioning, the voice, that laugh... all straight out of Alan Moore's The Killing Joke. I'm sure people will differ about his look from the neck up. I think I dig it...we'll see. They haven't shown him doing a really big toothy grin, which is why I'm still uncertain. He's an R-rated horror movie nightmare. A lot of parents are gonna be upset next summer.

My BIG issue is with the fact that he appears to be wearing greasepaint. I get the concept of wearing it to the point of infection, something I've seen in my time as a makeup artist, but I still want The Joker to have that whiteface permanently. It's a big part of who he is, and one of the reasons why he's different from just being a psychopathic supercriminal.

I will admit that yes, I do see a lot of THE KILLING JOKE, here.

I don't think we'll be seeing a whole lot of Batman happy meals, for this one..

Could another BATMAN RETURNS brouhaha be brewing from America's outraged parents? (Of course, I always wondered why they found Nicholson in BATMAN OK, but DeVito and Pfeiffer in RETURNS somehow not? Or was RETURNS more Burton than BATMAN for them?)