Christian Bale ~ Baleheads Blog

Christian Bale And Family Arriving For A Flight At LAX [February 11th, 2012]

2012-02-12T12:32:00.007+02:00

The Bale family arriving for a flight at LAX airport in Los Angeles, CA on February 11, 2012.
Source

Tom Hardy Talks About Christian Bale On The Jonathan Ross Show

2012-02-11T10:41:00.002+02:00

Tom Hardy talked to Jonathan about meeting Christian Bale on the set of the latest Batman film.

He said: “I really wanted to meet Christian because he’s exciting…I had heard about his fiery off-kick on the McG film…I played the bad guy in this and so I had to do a lot of fighting with Batman…and he is a very handy individual. When I saw him first time, when I got to LA and we were doing the screen test and I was trying on the Bane outfit and I’d put on some weight and I felt strong, I’d been training. And I got to the trailer and I saw Christian sat there and he didn’t have a t-shirt, just a vest on and I looked at his arms and I thought, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna walk this.’ I was like, ‘How are you? Are you good?’ And he was like, ‘How are you Tom?’

“Then I got in my outfit and I went on set…and this huge looming figure turned up on set. About 10 foot tall and eight foot wide with huge pointy ears and I looked at him and he was looking at me as if to say, ‘Yeah, I’m Batman.’ And I looked him in the eyes and I was three. And I couldn’t stop touching the suit, looking for a way in, so I could at least cut him. He’s terrifying Batman, and he looked me dead in the eyes and I thought, ‘I’m never going to be able to survive the onslaught that is Christian Bale, or Batman.’”

Source

Edit: The relevant video:

Beautiful New Still From 'The Flowers Of War'

2012-02-10T20:37:00.000+02:00

Thx, Falco.

Natalie Portman Joins 'Lawless' & 'The Knight Of Cups'

2012-02-08T19:40:00.000+02:00

As Deadline exclusively reports: "Natalie Portman has committed to her first two movie roles since winning the Best Actress Oscar for Black Swan and taking maternity leave. Portman is joining the casts of the Terrence Malick films Knight Of The Cups, and Lawless. Portman will join Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Isabel Lucas in Knight of the Cups, which shoots this summer. She will follow by starring with Ryan Gosling, Bale, Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Haley Bennett in Lawless, the film Malick shoots in the fall. It will be Portman’s first time working with Malick, whose The Tree of Life won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and is nominated for Best Picture and Best Director Oscars."

Esquire Feature: 'Bond. The Next James Bond'

2012-02-08T00:01:00.001+02:00

The English Bond: Christian Bale

[...] Everyone knows he can act, and everybody knows he can do action movies. But what might surprise some people, assuming they haven't seen American Psycho, is that he's also got a way with irony and looks damn good in sharp suits. Put all that together and you've got the makings of a very good Bond.

Source

Laugh Of The Day!

2012-02-06T20:37:00.000+02:00

This is Batspud!

Source

A Short Article About Christian In GQ March 2012 UK Issue

2012-02-04T18:21:00.001+02:00

As I posted last week, Christian Bale made the top 10 list of GQ's Best Dressed Men in Britain 2012, placed at no 8 spot. Here is the relevant article:

Picture of the Day!

2012-02-03T20:08:00.000+02:00

Requested by Ashaley.

Picture of the Day!

2012-02-02T23:04:00.001+02:00

Amazing Digital Art Inspired By 'Batman Begins'

2012-02-02T19:41:00.000+02:00

Εξαιρετική δουλειά, Κωνσταντίνε!

Created by Konstantinos_Vangelis [via Nolan Fans].

More TDKR Toy Goodies!

2012-02-01T21:10:00.001+02:00

The New York City Toy Fair starts in almost two weeks, and Collider informs us that Warner Bros. Consumer Products just sent over a number of images of some of their Dark Knight Rises items that will be on display. You can check out more toys here.

Christian Bale To Attend Berlin Film Festival

2012-01-31T21:20:00.000+02:00

According to this source, Christian Bale is expected to attend the Berlin Film Festival, opening next week, along with other famous stars. 'The Flowers Of War' will be presented in the Festival, which will run from February 9 to 19. Zhang Yimou had won the top Golden Bear prize in 1988 with his film "Red Sorghum". He was also a member of the jury back in 1993.

Christian Ranked 8th In GQ's '50 Best-Dressed Men in Britain 2012'

2012-01-30T19:05:00.003+02:00

Remember this post? Well, the results are out, and you can check them out in the source. Christian is at No 8!

"This year has seen a real shake-up of the best-dressed list, with a record number of new entries, as well as a surprising tally of re-entries. It seems that our judges not only have a new set of sartorial heroes but have also become aware of recently having ignored some of their past masters. To be fair, though, far more than 50 men were nominated by the GQ panel, so the difference between making the grade and not was barely a handful of votes.

What hasn't changed about the list is how accurately it reflects the enormous variety of different styles that make up the quintessential British look - from the sharpest Savile Row suits to the hippest hip-hop swagger. That is why the world still looks to these islands for inspiration - and even an education in what to wear. [...]"

More about this list here.

'The Flowers Of War' Clip ~ New Visitors [Via Fandango]

2012-01-30T10:47:00.000+02:00

Thx, saseo.

New Merchandise For 'The Dark Knight Rises' [Promo Shots Via Coming Soon]

2012-01-30T10:07:00.000+02:00

Source

Happy Birthday, Christian!

2012-01-30T00:02:00.000+02:00

Christian In Corriere Della Sera's 'Style' Magazine [Jan/Feb 2012 Issue Scans]

2012-01-29T23:31:00.004+02:00

Italian version:

International version:

Right click for the actual size.

Please do not add a watermark. Let's keep pictures clean for all fans to enjoy. Thank you!

Benjamin Marra Renders Memorable Scenes From 'American Psycho'

2012-01-29T20:35:00.002+02:00

Source

Picture of the Day!

2012-01-29T12:16:00.000+02:00

2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Happy Anniversary to Mr. & Mrs. Bale!

2012-01-29T00:02:00.002+02:00

'The Dark Knight Rises' On The Cover Of 'Teaser' Magazine [February 2012 ~ Special Edition]

2012-01-28T12:01:00.001+02:00

Source

Blast From The Past: Unused 'Batman Begins' Posters

2012-01-26T19:33:00.001+02:00

The post was inspired by here, and the pictures come from here.

A Fantastic 30s Noir Style Fan-Made Poster For TDKR!

2012-01-25T10:30:00.002+02:00

Created by Shaun (may this be an unforgettable year for you!). You can visit the artist's page here.

BBC News: The Story Behind Chinese War Epic 'The Flowers of War'

2012-01-25T10:07:00.001+02:00

[...] Based on a novel by Chinese-American author Geling Yan, it [The Flowers Of War] is set in the Chinese city of Nanjing at the time of the Japanese invasion.

In one of the most notorious episodes of Japan's occupation of China, tens of thousands of Chinese were killed and raped there by the invading army between December 1937 and March 1938.[...]

Author Geling Yan says she was inspired to write her novel after reading an account by Minnie Vautrin, an American missionary who ran a college in Nanjing.

The Ginling Girls college became a haven for students and other women in the city, including some prostitutes.

When Japanese soldiers arrived demanding "comfort women" - a euphemism for sex slaves - Ms Vautrin faced the dilemma of letting the so-called "good" women go or giving them the prostitutes.

"This moment is very crucial," Geling Yan told the BBC. "If those prostitutes don't step forward, the Japanese will take the civilian women."

The prostitutes did step forward and were taken away by the soldiers and never heard from again.

"Ms Vautrin spent her whole life thinking [about] and contemplating this event, and she regretted that she submitted these women to the Japanese," says Ms Yan.

"These few lines in her biography touched me... even though the prostitutes were seen as very base, not so pure... they stepped forward to protect these young women. I think it was an extraordinary action." [...]

"What I wanted to stress in this story is the young girls, the virgins are the most final conquest of the conquerors, especially for the Japanese - you cannot call it a complete conquest unless you can conquer the enemy country's women.

"So the young girls coming of age are the most vulnerable and most desirable of the conquest... by protecting them I wanted to make the story more tragic and more beautiful."

Critics say the film is nationalistic and anti-Japanese, but Geling Yan says that was not her aim. [...]

"We didn't want to demonise the soldiers, but we just wanted to emphasise [that] in wartime all human nature can transform in the blink of an eye. [...]

"It's a positive story... and it puts the Chinese in a good light. It's part of history and for understandable reasons, China wants the world to understand it."

In recent years there have been several films and television dramas about the Nanjing massacre - but Ms Yan says she found it much easier to find historical documents, pictures and film footage from the time outside China.

She did manage to get hold of the diary of her father's uncle, an army doctor in Nanjing, which provided her with more detail.

Despite her extensive research, Ms Yan says she does not want her fictional account to be seen as a historical record.

"The story is just fiction, a literary novel, and I hope it remains that way."[...]

The full article is here.

Photos Of Upcoming TDKR Figures From DC Direct

2012-01-24T23:15:00.000+02:00

More here [via SHH].

Liam Neeson Confirms His Participation In TDKR

2012-01-24T15:31:00.001+02:00

Liam Neeson spoke briefly about TDKR to ShowbizSpy. Here's what he had to say:

“I can tell you nothing about Dark Knight Rises, seriously. I was on set for maybe an hour-and-a-half and the director didn’t tell me anything of what it’s about. So, I’m being very honest when I say I have no idea what’s going to happen.”

NY Daily News: Christian Bale Says Goodbye To Batman With ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ And He’s Okay With That

2012-01-23T23:43:00.001+02:00

As if having to dress up in a latex and rubber Bat costume wasn’t surreal enough, try getting in costume in a room that's right around the spot where George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States. [...]

“I’m sure George Washington could never have imagined,” Bale told the Daily News while promoting his latest film, "The Flowers of War". “And I apologize to him, because it probably should have never happened.” [...]

"We need different rhythms in our life, don’t we, and to me it would be the wrong rhythm to jump into a franchise at this point," he says. "For now, no, I’d be looking for new experiences." [...]

"I wasn’t a 12-year-old that gave a damn about comics," he says. "I had never been someone into comic books, it just didn’t interest me. It wasn’t my thing."

It wasn't until reading Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One," writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli's seminal 1987 comic book miniseries, while prepping for the role that he really got the character. Before that he kind of thought Batman was a spoiled rich kid in tights.

"Suddenly, I found Batman has so many issues, he’s not a healthy individual, this is somebody that is doing good, but he’s right on the verge of doing bad," says Bale.

"He’s got that killer within him that he’s desperately not trying to let off his leash. And that’s what I always return to."

Source

New Clip From 'The Flowers Of War' By Yahoo Movies

2012-01-23T23:00:00.002+02:00

Christian Out & About With Sibi At The Pacific Palisades [January 23rd, 2012]

2012-01-23T16:52:00.002+02:00

Credit: www.christian-bale.org

The Transcript Of Christian's Interview To National Public Radio

2012-01-22T16:43:00.005+02:00

Since not all of us are native English speakers, The National Public Radio released the transcript of Christian Bale's interview to Scott Simon. You can hear the interview here, and the text is as follows:

"Christian Bale plays a drifter in his new film. John Miller is no Batman. He's an Oklahoma mortician by trade and a soldier of fortune in temperament who comes to do a bit of business in Nanjing formerly known as Nanking, China in 1937, just as the Japanese army invades and brutalizes the city.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "THE FLOWERS OF WAR")

CHRISTIAN BALE: (as John Miller) American from the refuge.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Foreign language spoken)

BALE: (as John Miller) American.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Foreign language spoken)

BALE: (as John Miller) Not soldier.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUNSHOT)

SIMON: The Nanjing Massacre is one of the defining historical events of modern China. Women were particular victims of war crimes there. And in Christian Bale's new film, "The Flowers of War," an unlikely group of women are also heroes. And his character discovers a sense of purpose. The film is China's Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language film. It was made for a reported $100 million by the director Zhang Yimou.

Christian Bale, who is perhaps best-known for playing Batman and, of course, won an Academy Award last year for "The Fighter," joins us from Beverly Hills, California.

Thanks so much for being with us.

BALE: Thank you.

SIMON: In a sense, is this role a return to China for you?

BALE: I didn't feel like that. You know, I mean, you're talking about when I was 13 I made "Empire of the Sun" in Shanghai.

SIMON: Right. The Steven Spielberg in 1987. But that feels like such another lifetime to me. And I was very interested to work with Zhang Yimou, who's a phenomenally accomplished director. And it's not very often that you get an opportunity to work on a movie that's, you know, 60 percent in Mandarin made within China and get to experience that entirely different culture of filmmaking.

I have to ask, Mr. Bale, how do you react to the charge some reviewers and people in the film industry have made that this whole huge expensive film was kind of a part of a Chinese government effort to soften its image?

BALE: I think that, for me, I mean, obviously, I had no interest in making a movie with that in mind whatsoever. You know, I always do say that, you know, once you're within a movie it's a little hard. Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees, but I really assessed this one, and I can't bring myself to come to agree with it in any way whatsoever. And knowing Yimou, I do not think that he would ever have any interest in entertaining that at all.

SIMON: What was it like to work on such a huge set with so many people who were probably making their first film?

BALE: I liked that. I always like working with people making their first film. You know, there's that enthusiasm, there's that naivete about it. Yeah, you know that nobody's got a bag of tricks that they're falling back on. And I found that with Yimou, he never told anybody what we were going to be shooting until very late the night before. And it just keeps that extra spontaneity, and I like that kind of filmmaking. It's far more human.

SIMON: How does your character, John Miller, this despoiled drifter, wind up at the center of this story?

BALE: I kind of viewed him as an escapee from the dust bowl, as kind of a jack of all trades, you know, was mechanically inclined as well. And he does have a past history, which we come to learn about later in the movie. He finds himself, you know, kind of exhausting all possibilities within America and ends up working on cargo ships. And he's kind of a character who is accustomed to raucous and chaotic people around him. That's what he likes. That's where he finds his comfort. He's definitely pursuing excess with a vengeance as means, we find out later, to deal with pain. And then finds himself stuck within the confines of a Catholic church with some other unlikely guests in the midst of the massacre in Nanjing.

SIMON: Yeah. We'll explain: half the people, aside from John Miller, half the people being sheltered there are convent schoolgirls and half are - what term of art should I use - streetwalkers.

BALE: Streetwalkers, prostitutes, courtesans. They are an unlikely mix and it definitely creates a storm within this, you know, church whilst this far more horrific storm is raging outside.

SIMON: Let's play a clip, if we could. John Miller and his, I think we could safely say, favorite among the women, Mo, played by Ni Ni, unveils her plans to make John Miller their ticket out of Nanjing.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "THE FLOWERS OF WAR")

NI NI: (as Mo) I want you to take us out of Nanjing.

BALE: (as John Miller) Huh? Yeah, right. Let me do this first.

NI: I'm serious. Why else do you think we're flirting with you?

BALE: I'm thinking hell.

NI: I don't know how, but I know your face is the way out of here. The Japanese won't touch Westerners.

BALE: And what you're hearing there, he's looking for a different kind of business transaction all together with Ni Ni's character, and then she's using that as leverage for him as a Westerner that he could help her. There was this international zone set up by Westerners, by John Rabe primarily and incredibly people - Minnie Vautrin - and there was a missionary called John McGee, as well. And these people, it's estimated, were responsible for saving up to 200, 250,000. And so the locals very much saw that a Western face was the key to escape from the city.

SIMON: We're talking about this drifter John Miller, who is unexpectedly cast in this role of a priest. What do you think got to your character that made him rise to the occasion?

BALE: So, he appears to be an absolute, you know, reckless, drunken, good-time guy who cares nothing about anybody but just making a quick buck for himself and moving on. And that's indeed how he would be thinking of this war to start with, that it would just be a tale he could tell over some beers with some buddies back in the States, or wherever the hell he's going to wind up around the world. And it means nothing to him. But eventually it comes to be his own war.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "THE FLOWERS OF WAR")

BALE: (as John Miller) I'm looking for two women. They got shiny dresses. I need to find them. They're in trouble.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (as character) Why are you dressed like this? What is this?

BALE: I got drunk. I woke up. I was just dressed as a priest. I...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Who is this?

BALE: This is George. This is George. Have you seen them?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Seen who?

BALE: The women.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: There's women piled up all over the street.

BALE: Have you seen them? You haven't seen them.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: No.

BALE: You haven't seen them?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I haven't seen any women, no. You think it's safe to be looking at, looking for women right now?

BALE: (unintelligible) with tools.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Tools for what?

BALE: I got to fix the truck.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Fix the truck for what?

BALE: I got to help George. I got to help some girls. I got to help some women, prostitutes and I got to help them.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: What? Are you kidding me? You're talking about prostitutes and trucks and tools. I'm talking about not dying in China. I'm leaving right now.

BALE: You're leaving Nanjing right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Do you want to go? There's a boat. It's waiting for us. I'm leaving right now. If you want to go, then let's go. It's your last chance.

BALE: I got to find them. I can't leave.

There was one young boy called George in the movie - such a wonderful actor - and then the convent girls. Really, the main character of the piece is a young character called Shu, and the whole movie is told through her eyes. And I write and I met these girls and they all had tears coming down their cheeks. And I thought, oh, OK, OK, they're in the middle of a scene. I won't disturb them too much. And I saw they did a scene, and then a couple of days later I saw them and they were crying again. And then every time I saw them they were crying, and I was thinking is appalling. Like, I know how much it takes out of somebody, how exhausting it is when you're in that state, and I was trying to work out how on earth are they maintaining this all the time? And I was starting to think these girls are going to get sick. And then what was fantastic - it was a real ray of light - was one of them at one point, she sees me looking them and just looking concerned, but I'm not quite sure what the hell to do. And she looks up and she winks and smiles. And they're just fantastic actresses. And they can cry their eyes out and keep you fooled. And all the time they're telling jokes with each other and then as soon as Yimou would walk by, (makes sound) they'd start crying again. And then as soon as he would go on they'd make little jokes. But they were actors that I will ever be able to be.

SIMON: What is fun about acting?

BALE: I think that there's something that seems to be in every single child where there is an enjoyment of role-playing. And I love the psychology of recognizing how different you can make yourself. And I just find the whole notion that as adults we get to be storytellers, just hilarious but something that I would never want to miss out on.

SIMON: Christian Bale. His new film, "The Flowers of War." Speaking from Beverly Hills. Mr. Bale, thanks so much.

BALE: Thank you very much."

Picture Of The Day!

2012-01-22T14:51:00.000+02:00

Today it's 4 years without Heath Ledger.. May he always R.I.P.

A Photographer's View On Christian Bale

2012-01-21T23:45:00.001+02:00

"Christian Bale came on set alone, which is rare in Hollywood to not have a publicist in tow... He proceeded to introduce himself to everyone on the crew, and thanked every single person at the end of the shoot. He's gotten bad press for his behavior, but he was one of the most polite people I've ever worked with, as well as a good sport for sitting on a block of ice for an hour." ~ Stephen Stickler

The Official 'Get Glue' Stickers For 'FoW' And 'TDKR' Are Out!

2012-01-21T23:22:00.000+02:00

If you're into 'Get Glue', click on each sticker to unlock it!

Christian Talks 'The Flowers of War' on NPR Radio [January 21st, 2012]

2012-01-21T18:49:00.001+02:00

NPR Radio ~ Weekend Edition Saturday

NPR: 'Flowers Of War' Sprout From Nanjing Massacre

2012-01-21T17:18:00.001+02:00

[...]Bale tells Weekend Edition host Scott Simon he was "very interested" in having a chance to work with Zhang.

"It's not very often that you get an opportunity to work on a movie that's ... 60 percent in Mandarin, made within China," he says, "and get to experience that entirely different culture of filmmaking." [...]

"I always do say that once you're within a movie ... sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees, but I've really assessed this one, and I can't bring myself to come to agree with it in any way whatsoever," he says, "and knowing [Zhang], I do not think that he would ever have any interest in entertaining that at all." [...]

"I always like working with people making their first film. You know, there's that enthusiasm, that naivete about it," Bale says.

He says the director wouldn't tell the cast what they would shoot the next day until late the night before, which Bale says "just gives that extra spontaneity ... It's far more human."

Bale describes his character as a mechanically inclined jack-of-all-trades from the U.S., an escapee of the Dust Bowl who ends up working on cargo ships.

"He's kind of a character who is accustomed to raucous and chaotic people around him. That's what he likes, that's where he finds his comfort," he says. "He's definitely pursuing excess with a vengeance as a means, we find out later, to deal with pain." [...]

"They are an unlikely mix, and [it] definitely creates a storm within this church whilst this far more horrific storm is raging outside," Bale says. [...]

Bale says Westerners set up an international zone that reportedly saved around 200,000 lives.

"And so the locals very much saw that a Western face was the key to escape from the city," he says.

Later, Miller is given the chance to leave instead of searching for women who he believes are in trouble. He decides to pass up the opportunity and not abandon them.

"So he appears to be an absolute reckless, drunken, good-time guy, who cares nothing about anybody but just making a quick buck for himself and moving on," Bale says, "and that's indeed how he would be thinking of this war to start with ... But eventually it comes to be his own war."

The story is told through the eyes of a young girl, Bale says. He says when he first arrived and met the girls, he found them crying during a scene and decided not to disturb them. Then every time he saw them, they were crying.

"I know how much it takes out of somebody, how exhausting it is when you're in that state, and I was trying to work out, how on earth are they maintaining this all the time?" he says.

Then once, as Bale looked on concerned, an actress winked and smiled at him.

"They're just fantastic actresses, and they can cry their eyes out and keep you fooled. All the time, they're telling jokes with each other, and then as soon as [Zhang] would walk by, they'd start crying again," he says. "But they were ... better actors than I will ever be able to be."

Bale says he gets enjoyment out of "the psychology of recognizing how different you can make yourself" while acting.

"And I just find the whole notion that as adults we get to be storytellers just hilarious," he says, "but something that I would never want to miss out on."

Source

Two Clips From 'The Flowers Of War'

2012-01-20T23:16:00.002+02:00

By Apple Trailers.

By Collider.

Christian Talks To NY Daily News

2012-01-20T21:56:00.002+02:00

Christian Bale packed up, bid his family farewell and went off to war. The Welsh actor was drafted by acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou (“Hero,” “Curse of the Golden Flower”) to star in the country’s most ambitious and expensive film ever, “The Flowers of War,” a brutal, yet ultimately uplifting tale set during the Japanese assault on Nanjing in 1937. The movie, which opened in New York Dec. 21, goes into wider release Friday.[...]

“This was a Chinese production, a Chinese director, I was going to be very isolated in terms of the language,” Bale told the Daily News. “[But] that novel experience was something I wanted to enjoy.”

Not all of his experiences in China, though, were enjoyable.

Accompanied by a CNN camera crew and reporter, Bale took an eight-hour pilgrimage to a small village in Shandong province to pay his respects to a blind lawyer who has been put under house arrest and regular harassment by the Chinese government. The Batman actor’s attempt to visit Chen Guangcheng, an activist against forced abortions as part of the country’s one-child policy, was foiled by plainclothes security guards who roughed up Bale.

“At one point, I started getting dragged back toward these other vans where they tried to take me and I realized that it had become very serious,” said Bale, who adds that he had heard of incidents where other Chen supporters had been whisked away and beaten.

“The other people I was with were shouting at me, ‘get away, get away right now. If you get in that van who knows what would happen.’ So I fought my way off and we got away.”

But Bale — who asks that the Daily News make clear that his excursion was done without the support or knowledge of the filmmakers behind “The Flowers of War” — isn’t some flighty celebrity who proceeded on a whim. He knew there was a good chance the attempt could unfold exactly as it did, but filming it would put humanitarian pressure on the government.

“To me it was a very simple gesture,” said Bale. “I felt like it was appropriate for me to make an attempt to bring awareness to that man’s plight.”[...]

Shooting the $100 million epic was almost as intense as the carnage on screen, and even Bale, himself a father, struggled at times shooting a scene where a child was murdered in front of him.

Part of the reason he accepted the gig, though, was to shine a spotlight on an ugly period in history.

“You have to let it in, but then you have to breathe it out again,” he said, exhaling loudly. “So it doesn’t destroy you.” [...]

Bale is very proud of Zhang’s final product, even if the movie got snubbed from the recently announced shortlist of nominees for the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film.

“We’re so bloody spoiled to do what we do,” the actor says, “that to start complaining when an award doesn’t come our way ... is to lose perspective on just how fortunate we are to be in this position in the first place.”

Full article here (thx, Maria).

Coffee Time Candid From November 6th, 2011

2012-01-20T10:52:00.001+02:00

Another version of the pictures posted here.
Image credit: public.fr

A Beautiful Still From 'The Flowers Of War'

2012-01-19T23:34:00.002+02:00

Batman Christian Bale Breaks Up Fight Between Homeless Men [via Contact Music]

2012-01-19T22:27:00.002+02:00

Batman Begins star Christian Bale was hailed a real-life hero over the Christmas holidays after stepping in to break up a fight between two homeless men in California.

The actor was shopping near his home in Brentwood, Los Angeles when he spotted two vagrants engaged in a heated altercation. The war of words escalated and Bale had to swoop in and intervene.

An eyewitness tells the National Enquirer, "I could not believe what I was seeing. It wasn't clear what the people were arguing about - but it soon became apparent that their conversation was heading toward a violent incident.

"One of the homeless guys cocked back his fist and was just about to strike the other man - but out of nowhere Christian Bale appeared and got in the middle of them! Christian acted like a referee and told the homeless men to take it elsewhere - and away from all the families that were enjoying the peaceful surroundings." Source

Hot Toys Relaunches ‘The Dark Knight: 1/6th scale Batmobile Collectible’ & The Batwing is… ‘The Bat’!

2012-01-19T10:56:00.000+02:00

'In view of the popularity of the Batmobile collectible, Hot Toys is pleased to relaunch the Batmobile Collectible featuring the likeness and details of the Batmobile from The Dark Knight movie' (source).

Also, in an article in SHH [via Wireless Goodness] it is revealed that ‘the craft -- which has previously been referred to as the Batwing -- is officially known as "The Bat."

The news arrives through a FCC filing on the part of Hot Wheels and their upcoming toy RC version. Below is an image from the included instruction manual which you'll be able to find on store shelves later this year’:

Zhang Yimou's Interview To ComingSoon.net

2012-01-18T21:32:00.001+02:00

I'm just posting the Christian Bale bits, but you can read the interview in full here.

[...] CS: How did you get Christian Bale involved with starring in it? He obviously had just been nominated for an Oscar at the time and this should get a larger Western audience due to his involvement. Did he have an English script for his part?

Zhang: At the beginning, I gave the English script to Steven Spielberg, a friend of mine, and asked him who he thought would be good for the part and he made a few suggestions--Christian was one of them--and then later, I asked the producers David Lindley and Bill Kong, who all recommended him as well as other candidates. When I spoke with Christian, he showed the most enthusiasm towards this project and we clicked right away even though there was the language barrier, but we felt like we could work on the same page and have the same skills working together. That's how I got Christian Bale. One element that brought us together is that he likes to fine-tune the characters throughout the whole script. He knows that a lot of directors probably don't want to change the wording of the script, so he was asking me if I was willing to change that and I said, "This is how I like to work. I like to change things and make it better and better over time, maybe even literally a day before shooting for that scene." Throughout the whole process, Christian literally helped to shape the John Miller character the way he is right now and make the character a better character.

CS: I've heard that about Christian from other directors, that he's very involved in developing the script and characters, but how was it working with an American in another language? I believe this is the first time you've directed an American actor.

Zhang: Before shooting, I actually spent tons of time with Christian, talking about the script and what has to be changed. Of course, the plot and the structure of the characters but fine-tuning the details, and literally two hours before shooting every day, we got together again just adding more details or editing out details, and that was pretty much the process. Just a lot of communication back and forth months before the production takes place and every single day before we start the scene. Christian is very humble and always asked what I wanted and then he gave me a few options as well to let me choose from. [...]

CS: What about dealing with the issue of having known actors like Christian Bale who everyone will know and mixing them with unknown actors while trying to find the best cast?

Zhang: Actually, the older actresses that played prostitutes, they know Christian really well because they saw Batman and his previous works, so they were really nervous on the film set working with him because they knew how big a star he was. But eventually over time, he gets along with people and they don't get as nervous as they do in the beginning. As for the younger girls, who are 12 and 13, they had no idea who he was, because they really hadn't seen that many movies, maybe none, and they were too young to watch many of his movies anyway, so they just thought he was an American hanging out on the set. They would tease him, they'd play and make faces with him, they laugh with him, and were very relaxed around him. In terms of the crews, we definitely had to make an English call sheet, which we'd never done before and nobody knew how that was done, and Christian doesn't even look at call sheets, but we had to make it. Also, calling out the orders had to be done in English like "Action," "back to 1," "roll camera, roll sound," all those sorts of things which also were challenging for me because I had never done that before, but I learned every phase and I said it on set so everyone understood. Actually, we were so used to the English phrases after Christian left that we were still using English phrases for another few months. [...]

'The Flowers Of War' Didn't Make The Academy Shortlist For Foreign Language

2012-01-18T20:58:00.002+02:00

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has winnowed 63 eligible foreign-language films down to nine potential contenders for the best foreign-language film at the 2012 Oscars. Golden Globe winner "A Separation" made the cut, but China's Christian Bale-starrer, "Flowers of War," didn't make the cut, nor did Mexico's "Miss Bala."

The nine contenders include:

- Belgium's "Bullhead," from director Michael R. Roskam

- Canada's "Monsieur Lazhar," from director Philippe Falardeau

- Denmark's "SuperClasico," from director Ole Christian Madsen

- Germany's "Pina," from director Wim Wenders

- Iran's "A Separation," from director Asghar Farhadi

- Israel's "Footnote," from director Joseph Cedar

- Morocco's "Omar Killed Me," from director Roschdy Zem

- Poland's "In Darkness," from director Agnieszka Holland

- Taiwan's "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale," from director Wei Te-sheng [...]

The five nominees will be announced Jan. 24.

Source

MTV Movie Brawl 2012: Vote For TDKR!

2012-01-18T20:34:00.001+02:00

NY Observer: From The Withered Tree, Flowers Of War Bloom

2012-01-18T10:15:00.002+02:00

In the winter of 1937, after Japan conquered and destroyed Shanghai, Emperor Hirohito’s cruelty and ruthless thirst for power shifted to Nanking, the Chinese capital. More than 200,000 people were massacred, including the Chinese army, and only a handful of ordinary people fought to survive. Their bravery and heroism have become legendary in China. This is the true story of an American mortician named John Miller, brilliantly played by Christian Bale, who miraculously made his way through the fire, mortar and bombs to reach a Catholic cathedral to prepare a murdered Catholic priest for burial. […]

The Flowers of War is profoundly involving on many levels. Clocking in at 141 minutes, it requires patience, but the rewards are numerous. Zhang Yimou finds human revelations in small places and small faces, as seen both through the eyes of a 13-year-old girl, forced to age prematurely while she watches the brutality of aggression and conflict from a hole in a stained-glass window, and through the gun sights of the last Chinese soldier in Nanking, who sacrifices his chance to leave for one final act to save his people. […] Zhang Yimou knows how to build characters gradually, until you get to know his roll call as friends but without the unnecessary exposition that burdens most historic war pieces. […] The film mercifully shields the viewer from too much graphic gore and brutality in the interests of finding an audience. But the imagination is unmistakably fueled. Instead of shock value, the director concentrates on individual acts of heroism, masterfully conveyed and emotionally wrenching.

Zhang Yimou (pronounced “Johnny-moo”) used to be a cinematographer, so his films are always sumptuous. From the colorful costumes of the courtesans performing a Chinese folk song to the ashes of the city in ruin, every image is evocative. The music is magical and gorgeous. Without exception, the richness of the cross-cultural performances really resonates. It’s rare for a bankable star like Christian Bale to collaborate with a foreign director and appear in a film of this magnitude, but having once appeared as an English boy trapped in Japan’s invasion of China in Steven Spielberg’s great 1987 film Empire of the Sun, he has remained intrigued by the period. With an unheard-of budget for a Chinese film of $100 million, his diligent work and the punishment of the no-frills location shooting in China pay off handsomely.[…]

You can read the full review here.

'The Flowers Of War' Nominated For The Asian Film Awards

2012-01-17T12:20:00.001+02:00

Big budget films from Greater China, albeit three very different ones, dominated the nominations for the 2012 edition of the Asian Film Awards. And Iranian drama A Separation Jodaeiye Nader az Simin continued its run of accolades.

Amassing the biggest haul was Hong Kong-Chinese 3-D action film Flying Swords of Dragon Gate 龍門飛甲 with seven nominations, just ahead of Christian Bale-starring The Flowers of War 金陵十三釵 from China, and Taiwanese mega-production Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale 賽德克・巴萊, with six each. A Separation claimed five nominations and Hong Kong-Chinese actioner Wu Xia 武俠 four.

The awards will be presented in Hong Kong on 19 Mar 2012 on the eve of the territory's annual film industry convention, Hong Kong FilMart. Prizes will be decided by a jury headed by Singaporean director Eric KHOO 邱金海.

The six best film nominees included four foreign language Oscar contenders – Japan's Post Card 一枚のハガキ (2010), China's Flowers, Taiwan's Seediq Bale and Iran's Separation – as well as Hong Kong/China co-production Flying Swords and India's Zindagi na milegi dobara ज़िन्दगी ना मिलेगी दोबारा.
Read more here.

NY Post: Why Wasn't Christian Among The Presenters At The Golden Globes?

2012-01-16T12:35:00.002+02:00

There has been a dramatic tug of war over the A-list celebrity presenters between rival awards shows the Golden Globes and the Oscars, with academy bosses telling stars they could not appear on the Oscar stage if they were presenters at last night’s Globes.

Jennifer Lopez pulled out of the Globes after she and other stars were warned by e-mail through their agents that it could prevent them from appearing on the Oscars in February as presenters. Sources tell us the move has caused drama.One said, “There have been complaints about this from the studios and the agencies. The Globes lost Jennifer Lopez as a presenter, but many other stars took the view that they don’t want to be told what to do.”

Sources tell us that Christian Bale also declined to present at the Globes, but other sources close to last night’s show insisted that “he was never confirmed.” His rep later told us that he couldn’t do the Globes because he’s out of the country. [...]

More here.

Picture Of The Day!

2012-01-15T14:18:00.000+02:00

Winning the category of BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE for his work in “The Fighter,” actor Christian Bale poses backstage in the press room with his Golden Globe Award at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA on Sunday, January 16, 2011.

The 69th Golden Globes Awards are being held today, Sunday, January 15th 2012, 8:00pm - 11:00pm (EST)5:00pm - 8:00pm (PST) and will be broadcast live in HD from NBC. Good luck to 'The Flowers of War', nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category. All info from the official HFPA website.

The Entertainment Weekly TDKR Issue [iPad Edition]

2012-01-12T20:21:00.001+02:00

Thx, lukey37 of SHH.

More Pictures From The TDKR Entertainment Weekly Issue

2012-01-12T19:41:00.001+02:00

Batman-News.com downloaded the iPad edition of the EW issue and here are some info taken from the article:

- The Dark Knight Rises begins 8 years later, with Bruce Wayne still recovering mentally and physically from - The Joker/Two-Face’s actions in The Dark Knight.

- The Batcave is back! So is the waterfall, lake, and a new plastic cabinetry that rises from the water with the push of a button.

- Bruce Wayne will have to repair his relationships with Alfred and Lucious Fox.

Christopher Nolan on Bane:

I think when people see the film, things will come into focus. Bane is very complex and very interesting and when people see the finished film people will be very entertained by him.

Christian Bale on wearing the Batsuit for the last time:

My last day in the suit was also the last day of shooting for me. I was in New York, on top of a downtown skyscraper. The day begin with Morgan Freeman and then ended with Anne Hathaway. I got to say goodbye from within the batcowl.

Three New TDKR Stills Released From EW's Upcoming Issue

2012-01-12T16:43:00.000+02:00

Source

Christian Bale As Batman On The Cover Of Entertainment Weekly

2012-01-12T09:28:00.002+02:00

Christian Bale as The Dark Knight graces the cover of the special Forecast issue of EW, on stands Jan. 13. Here is some info for the article according to this source:

In the article Bale discusses his hopes of matching the success of the previous two films: “I can tell you the truth because I’m done with it. I felt immense pressure. And I think it’s a good pressure, because you owe it to the films — and the people’s expectations — to make great work.”

Bale also speaks on Bane’s much talked about mask-muffled voice: “I think when people see the film, things will come into focus,” says the director. “Bane is very complex and very interesting and when people see the finished film people will be very entertained by him.”

The Flowers Of War Hits Theaters January 20th

2012-01-11T12:08:00.000+02:00

Los Angeles-based distributor Wrekin Hill Entertainment announced today that the company, in association with Row 1 Productions, will be pushing up the nationwide theatrical release for THE FLOWERS OF WAR, starring Christian Bale and directed by renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou. The film - a blockbuster in China - will now open on Friday, January 20th, 2012 in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and 10 other cities.

The accelerated distribution plan follows strong box office grosses during the film's U.S. qualifying run in late December. The film averaged over $30,000 per screen and was among the top grossing films of the year in the three theaters in which it opened. In just a few weeks after its mid-December release in China, the film became the highest grossing Chinese film of 2011, and is still going strong. The film has been nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Foreign Language Film.

"We had an incredible response to the film during our one-week qualifying run, with sell-out shows and increasing demand as the week unfolded," Wrekin Hill President and CEO Chris Ball said. "As the exceptional grosses in the US and China have shown, this is a film that audiences are passionately embracing and that has real staying power."[...]

More here.

Scans From Chinese Magazine For 'The Flowers Of War'

2012-01-10T14:08:00.000+02:00

Courtesy of Falco.

Christian Bale Interview To 'Time Out Shanghai'

2012-01-07T15:44:00.002+02:00

This is the first time you’ve worked with a Chinese director. How did making this film compare to Hollywood?

‘The workload is immense – any American crew would be stunned. I’ve never been involved in any movie where sound stages have been constructed just for that particular movie. The speed at which things were constructed was phenomenal. A hotel was built just for the crew members on the movie. A cathedral was built by the production designer that was concrete – it’s very rare to build such a structure for a movie. But Yimou has a very loyal crew and he’s very good to them, so they love him.’

Were there any cross-cultural hiccups?

‘Obviously you’re dealing with language, cultural differences and varying approaches to acting which is quite funny. It always amuses me that people act differently depending on which country you’re in. In America, as time goes on, acting styles develop and fall in and out of fashion, but for me, with every single movie that I’ve worked on, you have to adapt to the style of the director, trying to understand him to see if you’re on the same plate.’

Can you predict how the film will be received in the West?

‘I’m useless at predicting how any movie ever goes down. I know that American audiences generally don’t like subtitles too much, so we’ll see. I did [the film] because I wanted to work with Yimou, I liked the idea of making a Chinese movie and seeing how that went. As for me being astute in any sense – people have been asking me about markets but I have no clue, I don’t think about it. Somebody just told me that’s it’s going to be on 8,000 screens [in China] and I didn’t know 8,000 screens existed in a single country. No doubt it’s going to do all right here.’

This is the second film you’ve worked on that’s been set in China. What do you remember of your time here filming Empire of the Sun?

‘We filmed that in Shanghai, and I only went to Shanghai for one night while I was doing this [Flowers]. Construction, that’s the big thing. These cities are just appearing all over China at an incredible rate and Shanghai looked nothing like I remembered it. It’s an enormous metropolis with neon-lit skyscrapers now, which it wasn’t at all back then. The streets used to be filled with thousands and thousands of bicycles, and now it’s all cars. That experience feels like a different lifetime for me.’

By Nicola Davison ~ Time Out Shanghai

Christian Bale POPtrait

2012-01-06T13:17:00.000+02:00

Artist: Renato Cunha (website).

Mark Wahlberg Talks 'The Fighter' Sequel

2012-01-06T11:47:00.000+02:00

Mark Walhberg spoke to Collider and here is what he had to say about a Fighter sequel:

"Given that the 2010 Oscar-winning drama The Fighter only covered a small portion of professional boxer Micky Ward’s life, many involved with the film expressed interest in continuing Ward’s story in a follow-up. The second film would center on Ward’s famous fights with opponent Arturo Gatti, but word on the sequel has been quiet for some time. As he was a producer on the first film, Wahlberg is intricately involved in the follow-up and revealed that they’re currently waiting on a script by Scott Silver (who wrote The Fighter):

“It’s definitely a priority but I don’t think it’s necessarily gonna be a sequel, it’s really kind of it’s own thing about the Ward/Gatti wars and this crazy relationship that came out of these fights. After the first fight they became very close friends, yet two more times they went in there and tried to kill each other and caused a lot of physical and mental damage that really took a toll on them, and certainly still takes a toll on Micky to this day. Scott Silver is gonna be writing it and hopefully he’s writing as we speak.”

The Ward/Gatti saga is some dramatic stuff to say the least, and should be ripe with emotional content to anchor the follow-up film. Regarding when Wahlberg thinks production could begin, he’s hoping to get to it within the next year and a half:

“Well [I’d like to start shooting] sooner rather than later, I mean I’m not getting any younger although Stallone did film Rocky 6 when he was 60, and he filmed the first one when he was 29. But I would like to do it within the next year, year and a half.”

A director has yet to be announced, and last we heard The Fighter director David O. Russell’s involvement was still up in the air, but once Silver finishes the script we should have a better idea of where things are going."

Source by Dura.

Japanese & Chinese TDKR Posters

2012-01-06T11:27:00.001+02:00

Thx, Dreamliner.

The Flowers Of War FYC Variety Ads

2012-01-06T10:56:00.000+02:00

Short Video From The FoW Premiere In China [December 12th, 2011]

2012-01-05T23:46:00.000+02:00

Matthew Modine Talks ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ [Video]

2012-01-05T09:19:00.001+02:00

Thx, Maria.

Desk Calendar Features The Women From 'The Flowers of War'

2012-01-03T09:23:00.001+02:00

Awesome Dark Knight Rises Trailer Parody: 'The Lion King Rises'

2012-01-01T15:21:00.001+02:00

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:01:00.001+02:00

Vote for Christian Bale In GQ.com's Best-Dressed 2012!

2011-12-31T20:48:00.001+02:00

The voting closes at midnight on January 2nd. The results will be published in print and online alongside the definitive, GQ-decided rundown at the start of February. Click the image below to vote!

Vote For TDKR In Extra's Poll For 'Top 5 Movies to Watch for in 2012'

2011-12-31T10:16:00.001+02:00

'The Dark Knight Rises' (July 20)

Who: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine; directed by Christopher Nolan

What: A new terrorist Bane (Hardy) arrives to Gotham City, pushing it and its police force to their limits, forcing its former hero Batman to resurface after taking the fall for Harvey Dent’s crimes.

Place your vote here.

Box Office Report: Christian Bale's 'Flowers of War' Already Top-Grossing Chinese Film of 2011 [Via THR]

2011-12-31T09:52:00.000+02:00

Zhang Yimou's The Flowers of War, with Christian Bale headlining, is doing big business in its home country, where it's already become the top grossing Chinese film of 2011. Through Dec. 29, the movie has grossed $66 million (400 million yuan) at the Chinese box office, where it's competing with Jet Li action pic Flying Swords of Dragon Gate. Flowers of War, about the Japanese invasion of Nanjing, opened Dec. 16. Until Flowers of War, the No. 1 Chinese film of the year was Beginning of the Great Revival, which grossed $62 million. Hollywood tentpoles are the top two earners overall -- Paramount's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen grossed a massive $145.5 million in China, followed by DreamWorks Animation and Paramount's Kung Fu Panda 2 with $92.2 million. Both films had the advantage of higher 3D ticket prices.[...] Flowers of War will pass Pirates this weekend, and has a shot at overtaking Kung Fu Panda 2.

Source

A Few Scans From The Book For FoW

2011-12-29T20:40:00.001+02:00

I received my copy yesterday, and it seems like an interesting read. I scanned those above pages earlier. Now, all I need is to learn Chinese.. Btw, you can read the article that Mr. Bale wrote for the book here (courtesy of Ashley).

'The Flowers of War' Review [BoxOffice Magazine]

2011-12-29T09:35:00.001+02:00

[...] The film gains its truly spectacular look and feel from its epic scope but clearly Yimou is far more interested in the humanity that survives these trials and the message of hope sent my Miller's moral reversal. Shot in Mandarin and English the film feels entirely authentic, especially in the way Miller communicates with the locals. Bale, whose debut in Empire of the Sun was also set in China, is perfectly cast here. He plays a combination of irresponsible American bravado and new found dignity with a perfect sense of character.

The women cast opposite him are mostly from the area and many are non-pros, but all appear completely professional and accomplished, with a standout performance from Ni Ni as the lead prostitute and Zhang Xinyi as Shu, the schoolgirl at the heart of the story. Also impressive is Huang Tianyuan as George, a young boy who is taking on big responsibility to protect their sanctuary after the school's priest is killed. Also quite touching is Cao Kefan as Mr. Meng, a Chinese civilian doing everything he can to save his daughter. The Flowers of War is ultimately an inspiring, stirring and unforgettable human drama in the face of a horrifying war. It is highly recommended.[...]

Full review here.

Velvet Goldmine Blu-ray Review

2011-12-29T09:16:00.000+02:00

[...] “Velvet Goldmine” is presented in 1080p High Definition (with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio) and includes an excellent, hugely informative audio commentary from Haynes and producer Christine Vachonz. Right at the beginning, Haynes confesses that he set out to provide “as thorough a recollection as I could muster” on the pop icons, locations and historic events represented in each scene. The glimmers of science fiction imagery scattered throughout the early sequences were meant to convey how glam rock was the first alignment of the alien and the homosexual in pop culture. The director dismisses claims that he projected his own intellectual ideas onto Bowie’s music, and argues that he merely reflected the ideas inherent in the artist’s work. During a particularly surrealistic sequence, Haynes quotes a Bowie interview where the singer notes that he wanted to work in a strange micro-world where the human element had been removed in favor of technology, thus allowing him to embody a “perfectly synthetic pop icon” in an experimental playground.

Though the film was originally intended to take place in three different eras, Haynes thought the glam rock portion would be rich enough for a standalone feature. As in “I’m Not There,” Haynes attempted to depict how pop culture effects our imaginations by giving “reality, fantasy and memory” equal weight throughout. Bowie himself criticized the film for looking too slick, and refused to have his music used by Haynes, thus forcing the filmmaker and music supervisor Randall Poster to search for lesser known tunes (Roxy Music members Brian Eno and Bryan Ferry were ideal choices). While Haynes has received much flak for his film’s lack of authenticity, he says that such criticisms miss the point entirely. It was always his intention to apply the principles of glam rock to his own film, thus making it a necessity to “dress up rather than down.” Ultimately, Haynes’s dream was to make “one of those strange drug movies” designed to be watched over and over (occasionally while stoned) and tirelessly analyzed for its meaning. Such a film is always best viewed on one’s home entertainment system, and the glitter in Haynes’s cult classic has never sparkled brighter and exuded more intrigue than it does on Blu-ray.

You can read the full review here.

THR: Academy Mails Oscar Nomination Ballots

2011-12-28T09:43:00.001+02:00

The Oscar nominating ballots are in the mail. On Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences mailed nomination ballots for the 84th Academy Awards to its 5,783 voting members.

Completed ballots must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers by 5 p.m. PT on Jan. 13. The nominations will be announced Jan. 24, and the Oscars themselves will be broadcast live by ABC from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Feb. 26.

Source by Dura.

'The Flowers Of War' Soundtrack Available Online!

2011-12-25T11:13:00.001+02:00

You can buy 'The Flowers Of War' Soundtrack on iTunes or Amazon. The track listing (and also artist and duration) is as follows:

1. Love theme I (Opening Credit) Joshua Bell 2:31
2. Qin Huai Legend I (Falling in Love) Huifen Xu;Joshua Bell 3:17
3. Redemption II (Tragedy in the Church) Yi-Bing Chu 1:22
4. Qin Huai Legend V (Parting Exhortation) Jiemin Yan 1:07
5. They are at peace I (Death of Commander Li) Allmänna Sången 1:13
6. Qin Huai Legend II (Blood-stained Strings) Jia Li 1:22
7. Love theme II (State of Mind) Joshua Bell 1:11
8. Redemption V (Tragedy in the Church, material 1) Joshua Bell;Yi-Bing Chu 2:35
9. Angels We Have Heard on High No. 171 Middle School Jinfan Choir 0:50
10. Comfort and Hope I (Tragedy in the Church, Alternative Version 2) Allmänna Sången;Xiaoduo Chen;Jiemin Yan;Joshua Bell 5:27
11. Redemption III (Alternative Version) Yi-Bing Chu 1:10
12. Virgin (Alternative Version) China Philharmonic Orchestra;Zhang Yi 2:04
13. Requiem and Redemption (Commander Li and the Children) No. 171 Middle School Jinfan Choir;Joshua Bell 2:12
14. Qin Huai Legend VII (Geishas' Chorus) Jianzhen Zhang;Huifen Xu;Jianfang Wu 1:41
15. Ruins (Alternative Version) China Philharmonic Orchestra;Zhang Yi 1:21
16. They Are at Peace II (Brutality) Allmänna Sången;Jiemin Yan 2:39
17. Love theme III (Descent from Heaven) Joshua Bell 1:53
18. Comfort and Hope II (Opening Credit, Alternative Version) Joshua Bell;Allmänna Sången;Jiemin Yan 1:57
19. Heavenly Voice I (John and the Children's dialogue) China Philharmonic Orchestra;Allmänna Sången;Xiaoduo Chen 1:58
20. Qin Huai Legend III (Entering the Gate) Jia Li 1:24
21. Qin Huai Legend VI (Sisterhood) Joshua Bell 1:14
22. Love Theme V (Parting, Alternative Version) Jiemin Yan 1:11
23. Heavenly Voice II (Alternative Version) Joshua Bell 1:52
24. Qin Huai Legend IV (End Credit Chorus) Jiemin Yan;Joshua Bell 3:28
25. Comfort and Hope III (Running Towards Light) Joshua Bell 2:19
26. Love theme IV (End Credit) Rui Liu 1:50

Merry Christmas, Dear Baleheads!

2011-12-25T00:01:00.000+02:00

Zhang Yimou Talks About Working With Christian Bale

2011-12-24T15:37:00.000+02:00

[...] Did you set out in the beginning to make a movie that would be an international hit? Is your decision to work with Christian Bale sort of indicative of that?

In fact, every story has its own structure, and it's not in anyone's hands to enlarge or reduce it. The original story and the adapted screenplay have a kind of international structure, which is why we thought of inviting a very good actor [from American films] to make the production of the film more on an international standard.

This is the initial position of the script. So this film does point to that direction. I really wish that this film will be popular and welcomed in the international market. I personally advocate that a movie has to be fun to watch, which means ordinary audiences will be able to understand and accept it. This is very important. So this film is made in a distinctive way -- the way I prefer, a very visual way. I believe this will attract ordinary audiences. Such an international theme, story and structure will be very fresh.

In fact I think the most important thing about a movie is the strength of humanity in it and the story of the people and emotions, no matter how big or small the budget is, or whether the structure is international or domestic. Humanity and emotions are international; we all can be touched by them. Without them, it is useless to create a big structure.

Working with Christian Bale, is there something that stands out, something culturally different about the way he approaches work that you think people from the industry here in China may learn from?

First of all, he is a brilliant actor. He is beyond my expectations in many ways.

He has left a great impression on our team, such that we cannot stop praising him. There are many things we Chinese need to learn from him: He is professional, down to earth, and he keeps a low profile.

He has given lots of new perspectives to this role; he has done lots of work for the character. It was simply a role in the script, but he made it very vivid; he added interesting touches to it. He did a lot of homework. He shows strong feelings toward this story, the team and this collaboration.

He loves children, and there are many children here on the set. He simply couldn't act with children when they were crying.

When he left, I told him, your style of work has changed Chinese people's views on Hollywood movie stars. We thought Hollywood stars would have many assistants and be difficult to deal with. [...]

Full article here.

The Dark Knight Rises Breaks iTunes Record with Over 12.5 Million Downloads in 24 Hours

2011-12-23T21:10:00.000+02:00

Here's the Press Release [via Collider]:

TRAILER FOR “THE DARK KNIGHT RISES” SHATTERS RECORD WITH MORE THAN 12.5 MILLION DOWNLOADS ON iTUNES IN FIRST DAY

BURBANK, CA, December 23, 2011 – The new trailer for Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises” smashed the record for most combined downloads through the iTunes Movie Trailers site (www.itunes.com/trailers) and the iTunes Trailers iOS app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The trailer went online at 10:00 Monday morning, December 19, and was viewed more than 12.5 million times in its first 24 hours, breaking the previous record by well over two million. The trailer can be viewed in HD at http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thedarkknightrises/.

Opening on July 20, 2012, “The Dark Knight Rises” is the much-anticipated epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The film’s international all-star cast is led by Oscar® winner Christian Bale (“The Fighter”) in the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake. Reprising their roles from both “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight,” Oscar® winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules”) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) plays Lucius Fox.

The film is directed by Nolan from a screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on “Batman Begins” and the record-breaking blockbuster “The Dark Knight.” Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull are the executive producers, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. “The Dark Knight Rises” is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman created by Bob Kane.

A presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures, “The Dark Knight Rises” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Academy Awards Original Score List Announced: The 'Flowers' Made The List

2011-12-23T19:29:00.001+02:00

The Academy of Motion Pictures Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the eligible movies in contention for nominations in the Original Score category for the 84th Academy Awards. The 97 eligible scores along with the composer are listed here in alphabetical order by film title. 'The Flowers of War' are included. Good luck!

New Stills For TDKR

2011-12-22T20:27:00.010+02:00

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Two Alternate Versions Of Previous Posters For FoW

2011-12-22T20:03:00.000+02:00

For Your Consideration: 'The Flowers Of War'

2011-12-22T00:02:00.004+02:00

If my translator doesn't.. fail me, 'The Flowers Of War"'s distribution companies have just submitted the film for Oscar consideration (thus the above posters), and, coincidentally, they suggest... 13 categories for individual awards in the competition. So, here are the 13 proposed categories for the... 13 women!

1) Best Picture (Produced by Zhang Weiping)

2) Best Director: Zhang Yimou

3) Best Adapted Screenplay: Liu Heng, Yan Geling

4) Best Actor in a Leading Role: Christian Bale

5) Best Actress in a Leading Role: Ni Ni

6) Best Cinematography: Zhao Xiaoding

7) Best Art Direction: Yohei Taneda

8) Best Film Editing: Meng Peicong

9) Best Sound Mixing: Tao Jing,

10) Best Sound Editing: Tao Jing

11) Best Costume Design: William Chang Suk Ping

12) Best Make-up: William Chang Suk Ping

13) Best Original Score: Qigang Chen

Picture Of The Day!

2011-12-21T16:02:00.002+02:00

Christian Bale seen playing hide-and-go-seek with his daughter in Hawaii. Christian hid behind a bush and snuck up behind his daughter. After surprising his daughter from behind, Christian Bale swung her over his shoulder and gave her a kiss, then lay down and she walked over him as his wife looked on. (12/30/2009)

Thanks, Marco/Stacey! (source)

Two Official Still Photos Of Bane Released! [via IMDB]

2011-12-21T15:37:00.002+02:00

Gary Oldman On 'The Dark Knight Rises': 'We'll Go Out With A Bang'

2011-12-21T13:28:00.000+02:00

Gary Oldman spoke to Digital Spy and shared his thoughts on the ending of the Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy:

"It's been seven years, maybe more since we did the first one. You miss the people, there's a loyalty to Chris and there's a lot of people that work with him all the time," he said. "Actors do come and go, but apart from the mainstays of Michael [Caine], Morgan [Freeman] and Christian [Bale] the crew is the same, from the caterers to the camera operator.

"It's like reuniting with a family, that was sad, I miss that. We will go out with a bang, I'm sworn to secrecy but it's a great story. An epic conclusion."

More here (plus video).

China Says Christian Bale Should Feel Embarrassed

2011-12-21T11:15:00.003+02:00

BEIJING (AP) -- "Batman" star Christian Bale should feel embarrassed for trying to visit a human rights activist while he was in China to promote a movie the country has submitted for an Oscar, a government spokesman said Wednesday.

Bale was physically stopped by government-backed guards from visiting blind activist Chen Guangcheng in eastern China last week. A CNN crew Bale was traveling with recorded the scuffle with the guards, who enforce Chen's house arrest.

Asked whether the publicity has been embarrassing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said he thought the actor should feel embarrassed not China.

He said Bale was invited by director Zhang Yimou to attend the opening ceremony of the film "The Flowers of War."

"But he was not invited to fabricate news or shoot film in a certain village," said Liu. "I think if you want to make up news in China, you will not be welcome here."[...]

More here: Associated Press

The Examiner Catches Up With The Fighter Sisters

2011-12-20T22:44:00.001+02:00

It’s been a year since the critically acclaimed The Fighter first hit movie theaters. [...] For Bianca Hunter, Melissa McMeekin and Erica McDermott, it’s been over two years since their journey of becoming “sisters” and ultimately friends began. The trio played three of “The Fighter Sisters” with Hunter as Pork, McMeekin as Little Alice and McDermott as Tar Eklund, 3 of Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund’s sisters. Through vigorous auditions including a final 4 hour audition with director David O. Russell, the three women with teased hair, would become memorable characters that would change their lives. [...]

After the film’s premiere, it would start garnering award nominations. The film was up for many SAG (Screen Actor’s Guild) awards and the cast went out for the ceremony. For Melissa McMeekin, that was one of her personal favorite experiences. The actress couldn’t get over the fact that “I’m at the SAG Awards” and Bianca Hunter found it surreal. The sisters themselves would be nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight along with co-star Amy Adams...[...]

Being the Bale-head that I am, I have to share a story Ms. Hunter told me about Christian Bale. All three sisters have said how great Christian is around children, whether it was the boy playing his son in the film, a sick girl who was brought to set to meet him or Bianca’s own son who has a rare disease. She was showing pictures of her son to Christian when he noticed the boy was wearing a Batman t-shirt. He asked her why her son loved Batman and she wasn’t sure so she asked. When her son said it was because Batman was a real guy (no superpowers like other heroes), Christian seemed very impressed with her little man’s answer. How awesome is that, Bale after all IS Batman in the latest films.[...]

By Ken Murray

Full article here.

Some Screenshots From The New TDKR Trailer

2011-12-19T21:43:00.000+02:00

More here.

The New Trailer For 'The Dark Knight Rises' Is Officially Out!

2011-12-19T20:52:00.012+02:00

Watch in full screen. You can also view the trailer in the source.

Christian Bale's Article In The 'The Flowers Of War' Book 'The Days We Have Together'

2011-12-19T17:06:00.002+02:00

The book is in Chinese, but our dear friend Ashley from Baleheads.com, who just received her copy, was kind enough to translate it for us. Here goes, and thank you again Ash! I can't wait for my copy.

"I've watched one of Yimou's films about 20 years ago.He's a master as a director.I'm honored to work with him in a Chinese film.It's a very rare oppotunity.

I'm always surprised by myself.Like this time,I thought it would be very hard to communicate with cast and crew,but when I got here I found that the language was not even a problem.On the contrary,it's easy to know and like them in a few words' talk!

Another thing that really surprised me is the building on the set.The cathedral was built according to the original size,only for the film.It is not just the set design,but left there as an actual cathedral.

I like to work with newcomers.Most of actresses and actors are newcomers in this film,but they are amazing.They're talented,they did an amazing job.I asked them if they were going to be actors after this film,most of them weren't interested.I told them:"I remember I used to say the same thing at your age,after my first film.But look what I'm doing now..."

Once the girls were filming one scene,they were crying so hard.I felt awful and worried they were all going to be exhausted. Then I saw one of the kids wink at me, and I realized they were all great actors,they were professional.The director told me that they had training,they can easily turn their mood on and off. "

Source

‘Flowers Of War’ Makes The List For The 2012 Berlin International Film Festival

2011-12-19T16:24:00.003+02:00

The 62nd Berlin International Film Festival [note: the event will be held 09-19/02/2012] has set its first five competition films, and has selected the Stephen Daldry-directed Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and the Zhang Yimou-directed The Flowers of War to screen out of competition. The selected productions and co-productions are from Indonesia, Spain, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong/China, the Philippines, Great Britain, Germany, the USA and France.[...]

Jin líng Shí San Chai (The Flowers Of War,) People’s Republic of China. By Zhang Yimou (The Red Lantern, Hero, A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop) With Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Atsuro Watabe International premiere / Out of Competition.[...]

Check out the full article here.

War Film Chills Chinese Audiences

2011-12-19T15:14:00.002+02:00

Huang rushed out of the screening room the moment a new Nanking Massacre-themed film directed by Zhang Yimou ended.

"I shivered at scenes of atrocious violence and maltreatment in the massacre," the 50-plus year old woman said. "I will not watch any film of its kind again."

"The Flowers of War" hit screens in Beijing Thursday evening. Set in Nanjing, known as Nanking at the time of the city's occupation by Japanese troops in 1937, it tells the story of a group of prostitutes risking their lives to save 13 schoolgirls forced into prostitution by the Japanese army.

"I feel devastated watching the film," a woman surnamed Wu choked, with tears all over her face. "I hope there will never be wars."

As of 6 p.m. Friday, about 1,600 viewers had flooded into the Capital Cinema in Beijing for the film, according to Yu Chao, deputy general manager of the cinema. But some wished they had not come.

"It brought me back to a history that I am most reluctant to reconnect with. The Nanjing Massacre is the wound of the Chinese nation," Huang said, adding she turned away from many of the film's scenes of violence.

A viewer named Shen Yang believed the Massacre "should not be forgotten, and neither should it be reviewed much. Sometimes, it is too heavy to look back."

Chen Shan, a professor with the Beijing Film Academy, said that viewers' distress after watching "The Flowers of War" is the best proof that history has been faithfully recaptured.

Meanwhile, viewers acknowledged that the film successfully displays human nature in time of turbulence.

"The film has truly illustrated the complexity of human nature by unveiling both selfish and selfless sides," said a viewer named Gao Xiayang.

There are moments when prostitutes risk their lives to save schoolgirls, and other moments when they stand back in fear, Gao said.

Speaking at the film's premiere, Liu Heng, who wrote the screenplay, said, "The moral of the film is that humanity's goodness can defeat evil. Goodness is the only way out for mankind."

Director Zhang said that it is a character-driven project, and what distinguishes it from previous films depicting the Nanjing Massacre is that it glorifies the most beautiful side of humanity by showing characters' decisions in the face of life and death.

"The beauty of humanity is love and redemption," Zhang said.

The starring presence of Hollywood's Christian Bale, who won a best supporting Oscar for his role in "The Fighter", has won praise from the audience.

"Different from Zhang's other projects characterized by Chinese elements, this movie is very international, with a lot of Western symbols like churches," said Gao Xiayang, adding all this will help the film win over international audiences.

"The Flowers of War" is not the first Chinese film to address the Nanking Massacre. "The City of Life and Death", a 2009 film directed by Lu Chuan also depicted the battle of Nanking. The movie became a box-office success and was released abroad.

Source by DuraMater ~ Photo: courtesy of USA Today.

Jaume Cullell's Caricature Of Christian Bale [pic & video]

2011-12-19T14:17:00.000+02:00

Check out the artist's webpage here.

5 best movies based on John le Carré books: 'A Murder Of Quality'

2011-12-18T17:32:00.000+02:00

Mary Ann Gwinn, Seattle Times book editor, wrote an article, including a shortlist of the best films and TV shows made from le Carré's books. 'The Murder of Quality' is among them.

"A Murder of Quality" (1991): I recently rediscovered this adaptation of le Carré's second novel. Though he doesn't quite approach the gravitas of Alec Guinness' characterization, Denholm Elliott is still marvelous as Smiley, a self-effacing little man and the butt of jokes about his wife's unfaithfulness, whose bland exterior masks a dogged determination to get to the bottom of things.

When Smiley is asked by a friend to investigate the death of a faculty wife at Carne, a boy's prep school, he digs into a pile of class conflict, blackmail and town vs. gown resentment. Le Carré wrote the screenplay, and a young Christian Bale plays a prep-school student who knows more than he oughta.

For the full article click here.

The Making Of 'The Flowers Of War [Part 9]

2011-12-18T11:05:00.002+02:00

Part 9/9

Parts 1/9 & 2/9 here, 3/9 & 4/9 here, 5/9 & 6/9 here, 7/9 & 8/9 here.

The Making Of 'The Flowers Of War [Parts 7 & 8]

2011-12-17T11:55:00.003+02:00

Part 7/9

Part 8/9

Parts 1/9 & 2/9 here, 3/9 & 4/9 here, 5/9 & 6/9 here, 9/9 here.

Christian Bale's Incident In China Mentioned During The US Dept. Of State Daily Press Briefing

2011-12-17T00:49:00.003+02:00

Today's Press Briefing (12:20 p.m. EST) by the US Department of State included Christian Bale's incident in China, while trying to meet with Human Rights Defender Chen Guangchen. Here's the dialogue that took place:

QUESTION: Christian Bale, the actor, tried to meet with a dissident, and he said he was punched by the police – the Chinese guards, rather.

MS. NULAND: Yes, on that one, we’ve seen the reports. We don’t have a Privacy Act clearance from him to talk any further about that. So the request is that we refer you to his representatives. He’s already been quite public about his experiences. More broadly, he was trying to see the legal activist and human rights defender, Chen Guangchen, who is somebody who we have also spoken out frequently about the need to have him released as well.

QUESTION: Well, what was the Embassy – was there any Embassy involvement in this?

MS. NULAND: To my knowledge, no.

QUESTION: Well, why was he even asked to sign a Privacy Act waiver?

MS. NULAND: He has not been in contact with the Embassy, is my understanding.

QUESTION: Do we even know if he’s a U.S. citizen?

MS. NULAND: I think we can --

QUESTION: I think he might not be. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: I think he might be British.

MS. NULAND: I think, again, I can’t speak to that because of privacy considerations.

QUESTION: Well, wait. You can’t speak to it not because of Privacy Act, because you don’t know anything about it, if he hasn’t been in touch with the Embassy.

MS. NULAND: Well, again, he hasn’t been in touch with the Embassy --

QUESTION: Was there any U.S. Government involvement at all in this?

MS. NULAND: There was not. There was not.
Okay?

QUESTION: Thank you.
(The briefing was concluded at 12:36 p.m.)

Source

The Making Of 'The Flowers Of War [Parts 5 & 6]

2011-12-16T14:54:00.005+02:00

Part 5/9

Part 6/9

Parts 1/9 & 2/9 are here, 3/9 & 4/9 here and 7/9 & 8/9 here, 9/9 here.

Christian Bale Attacked by Chinese Guards for Trying to Visit Detained Activist

2011-12-16T10:31:00.011+02:00

Here's the article from CNN:

DONGSHIGU VILLAGE, China (CNN) -- As Christian Bale approached an impromptu checkpoint leading to this tiny village in eastern China, four men blocking the narrow path started marching toward him in menacing unison.

"I am here to see Chen Guangcheng," the Hollywood actor said and I translated, with correspondent Stan Grant and cameraman Brad Olson next to us.

"Go away!" the plainclothes guards barked, pushing us back.

Amid the scuffling and yelling, dozens more guards in olive-green, military-style overcoats -- and two gray minivans -- emerged from the other side of the checkpoint, all coming toward us.

"Why can I not visit this free man?" Bale asked repeatedly, only to receive punches from guards aiming for his small camera as they tried to drag him away from the rest of us.

As we retreated, I recognized the ringleader -- the same burly man who had hurled rocks at the CNN team 10 months earlier to force us out of the same location.

A precarious scene ensued Thursday as one of the gray minivans chased our car at high speed on bumpy country roads for some 40 minutes.

When the dust settled, we counted a broken car, a damaged camera -- and a "Batman" star disappointed at -- but not shocked by -- his failure to see a personal hero.

"What I really wanted to do was to meet the man, shake his hand and say what an inspiration he is," Bale said.

The man, 40-year-old Chen Guangcheng, has been confined to his home along with his wife, mother and daughter, and watched around the clock by dozens of guards since he was released from prison in September 2010. A local court had sentenced him to more than four years in prison for damaging property and disrupting traffic in a protest.

His supporters maintain authorities used trumped-up charges to silence Chen, a blind, self-taught lawyer who rose to fame in the late 1990s thanks to his legal advocacy for what he called victims of abusive practices by China's family-planning officials.

Bale first learned about Chen through news reports, including our coverage in February, when he was in China filming "The Flowers of War," a wartime drama set in 1930s Nanjing in which he plays a mortician trying to save a group of schoolgirls from the clutches invading Japanese soldiers.

The injustice faced by the activist and his family stirred such strong emotions in Bale that, upon hearing his impending return to China to promote the movie, he decided to do something unusual to raise the international awareness of Chen and thereby to turn up the heat on the Chinese government.

"This doesn't come naturally to me, this is not what I actually enjoy -- it isn't about me," he explained during our eight-hour drive from Beijing to the eastern city of Linyi, where Chen's village is located. "But this was just a situation that said I can't look the other way."

Known to be a media-shy celebrity, Bale reached out to CNN and invited us to join him on his journey to visit Chen.

In the car, he lamented the American public's lack of knowledge on Chen's case, despite senior U.S. officials' increasingly vocal support for his freedom. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Gary Locke, the American ambassador to China, have both championed Chen's cause.

Although China's state media has largely ignored the story, Chen's plight has spread online and outraged a growing number of Chinese "netizens." Many have tried to visit Chen, and activists say nearly all would-be visitors have been turned back, often violently, by plainclothes police and local thugs.

Bale appeared a little surprised to learn that Relativity Media, which produced his 2010 Oscar-winning "The Fighter" and recently filmed a comedy in Linyi, was accused by activists of cozying up to the same officials who ordered Chen's detention and torture. The studio has issued a statement denying the allegation.

"I'm not brave doing this," Bale emphasized. "The local people who are standing up to the authorities, who are visiting Chen and his family and getting beaten or detained, I want to support them."

As our car sped toward Beijing in the dark, Bale wondered aloud if he would never be allowed back -- a prospect he is prepared to accept -- even as "The Flowers of War" became China's official entry into next year's Academy Awards.

"Really, what else can I do to help Chen?" he kept asking as the clock struck midnight, with his latest movie -- partially funded by the state -- about to open nationwide in China.

This Is The Theme Song For 'The Flowers Of War'

2011-12-16T00:29:00.001+02:00

The Official Website Of 'The Flowers Of War' Is Updated With Showtimes!

2011-12-15T22:26:00.002+02:00

The Official website for the movie 'The Flowers of War' is updated, and now includes a movie trailer, and also promotes the GG nomination. But most importantly, they give a link to showtimes for the movie. Hopefully they'll add more info soon. Click here to check those out or visit the movie webpage.

New Bane Shirt and Fire Rises Strike Map Revealed!

2011-12-15T21:24:00.002+02:00

The viral for TDKR continues... Here's what SuperHeroHype received in the mail:

"SuperHeroHype received a package this morning for The Dark Knight Rises which contained a Bane T-shirt featuring the "Fire Rises" line. Even more interesting is that it came in a cylinder poster holder that has Bane's Strike Map on it with 5 strike zones. While it's not possible to take a picture of the map all at once due to the cylinder shape, we've taken individual shots of each strike zone."

The gallery for all pictures is here.
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The Book For The Flowers Of War Now Available To Order!

2011-12-15T20:23:00.000+02:00

I just placed my order to amazon.cn for the book "The Flowers of War ~ The Days We Have Together". As before mentioned, the book consists of articles written by 91 members of the production team during the making of "The Flowers of War". If you wanna order your copy click here. Please note that it's in Chinese.