dark knight rises trailer

Anne Hathaway's Catwoman gets her paws onto Batman as she goes on the prowl in Dark Knight Rises trailer

Batman fans have been treated to a sneak peek of the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy.
A trailer for Dark Knight Rises has just been released onto the internet - and it's already creating plenty of buzz. 
The trailer begins with a young boy hauntingly singing the national anthem at a football game and ends with terror engulfing the stadium, hinting at the fear and violence in store for Gotham City. 
Christian Bale returns as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego Batman while Anne Hathaway makes her debut as Selina Kyle, also know as Catwoman.
She makes her first appearance in the trainer at masquerade ball and foreshadows danger.
'A storm is coming, Mr. Wayne,' she warns. 'And you and your friends better batten down the hatches.' 
A masked Tom Hardy makes a terrifying arrival on the scene as the evil Bane. 
While some fans who watched the prologue in IMAX cinemas over the weekend complained that the character's voice is too muffled, he is undoubtedly frightening.
'He’s brutal, brutal. He’s expedient delivery of brutality,' Hardy told Empire magazine recently.
'He’s a big dude who’s incredibly clinical, in the fact that he has a result-based and orientated fighting style. The result is clear.'
But Hardy didn't stop there when it came to explaining the fictional character's violent persona.
'The style is heavy-handed, heavy-footed, it’s nasty,' he added.
'Anything from small joint manipulation to crushing skulls, crushing rib cages, stamping on shins and knees and necks and collarbones and snapping heads off and tearing his fists through chests, ripping out spinal columns. It’s anything he can get away with.'
Hardy was hand-picked for the role by director, Christopher Nolan, and it's clear to see why.
The actor is definitely enthusiastic about the role and was even dismissive of the 12 certificate that the film has been given.
'I’m not approaching it with a 12-certificate attitude,' he told the film magazine.
'If we’re going to shoot somebody, shoot the pregnant woman or the old lady first. Make sure everybody stands up. And listens.
'He is a terrorist in his mentality as well as brutal action. So he’s horrible. A really horrible piece of work.
'It’s not about fighting. It’s just about carnage with Bane. He’s a smashing machine. He’s a wrecking ball.'
The comic book character was a child born and raised within the walls of a harsh prison in a fictional Caribbean country, Santa Prisca.
Bane was transformed into a fearsome, hulking man-machine via a physique-enhancing intravenous drug called Venom and his most celebrated storyline is Knightfall, in which he snaps Batman’s spine like a dry twig.
'With Bane, we are looking to give Batman a physical challenge that he hasn’t had before,' said Nolan.
With our choice of villain and with our choice of story we’re testing Batman both physically as well as mentally.
'Bane's a great sort of movie monster, but with an incredible brain, and that was a side of him that hadn’t been tapped before.'
Hardy and actor, Christian Bale who plays Batman, were pictured filming a fight scene in Pittsburgh earlier this year which saw Hardy suffer from a wardrobe malfunction when his trousers ripped down the side.
The pair were fighting on the steps of Gotham City Hall amongst many extras dressed as policemen, and this posed a problem for Hardy.
'When you’re training in a rehearsal room you go, "Okay, I have a contact with seven people,"' he said.
'This guy I chin, this one I slip and I punch, this one I pick up and suplex, this guy I kick in the face, and this one, he stops a hammer with his head. And then I meet Batman.
'That’s all alright in a rehearsal room, but then you add 1,000 people that are all dressed the same as the seven you’re supposed to hit - because they’re all police officers — and I don’t know where my police officers are. But the stuntmaster’s like, "Don’t worry. They will find you."'
However Nolan has no regrets about casting Hardy in his third Batman film.
'He’s found a way to play a character who is enormous and powerful with a sort of calm to it, but also is able to be incredibly fast at times. Unpredictable.
'It’s a very powerful thing when you see it come together, beyond what I had ever imagined. That’s what you get from working with great actors.'
The Dark Knight Rises will be released in the US and UK in July.

Robert Levine

'Free Ride's' Robert Levine on 'Spooky' Google and Hollywood's 'Offensive Excess'

For anyone who follows film, television, publishing and newspapers -- our culture industry --  Robert Levine, the former editor of Billboard and a New York Times alum, has written a must-read book.


In "Free Ride," Levine details how in less than two decades the Internet, dominated by technology companies like Google, has undermined the foundations of venerable institutions such as Warner Bros. and the New York Times.


Not only do movie studios and record labels have to reconsider their business models, but they also have to worry about their very existence.


There is no one-size-fits all solution, but Levine presents a variety of new business models and strategies to rescue these companies – from Hollywood’s UltraViolet to newspaper paywalls to online music streaming services like Spotify.


Levine argues that media companies and technology companies – currently fighting one another – must work together to make people pay for content, preserve artistic creation and help the Internet live up to its potential.


TheWrap spoke with Levine, who lives in Berlin, about why Google probably hates him, Hollywood greed and the knuckleheads over at The Guardian.


TheWrap: Let’s start with Google, since you devote an entire chapter to them. What’s so offensive about how the company operates?


Levine: It’s so omnipresent that people almost don’t realize its there. What’s really interesting is the extent to which our conversation about new media is shaped by Google from its funded think tanks to its human rights council. The extent to which they are everywhere in the debate is sort of spooky.


So should people view Google as evil?


A couple of people have said, what do I have against them? Maybe that’s my fault as a writer, but I don’t have anything against them. Google is a fantastically successful company that makes some great products. They spend a lot of money to lobby and are extraordinarily effective at doing that. I don’t think that’s evil, I think that’s business. But Google influences the world in less obvious ways and people should know more about it.

Martin Scorsese

Vince Pace Reveals How Martin Scorsese's 'Hugo' Is Changing the Future of 3D Filmmaking

The co-chairman of the Cameron | Pace Group says the world's first "CPG Certified" 3D movie has already captured Hollywood studios' attention, surpassing even the work CPG did for James Cameron's "Avatar."


Martin Scorsese’s 3D movie, Hugo, has already garnered accolades around the world, including best film of the year by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures and a Golden Globe nomination for best dramatic film, and has been selected for consideration for achievement in visual effects for the Academy Awards.
According to Vince Pace, co-chairman of CAMERON | PACE Group, the world’s first "CPG-Certified" 3D movie has also been influential behind-the-scenes in opening the eyes of filmmakers and studio executives to what 3D done correctly can translate to on the big screen.
PHOTOS: Martin Scorsese On Set
"From the critics through to the studios all the way through to the DPs, we’ve won a big battle with Hugo," said Pace. "At a time when there’s been a lot of discussion about the 3D medium and is it good enough and does it enhance the storytelling, Hugo has paid off. People now realize what we’re doing and that the approach to what we’re doing is different. 3D is as good as it gets when it’s done this way. People are now coming to us asking how they can achieve what Hugo has with 3D."
CPG supplied director Scorsese, cinematographer Robert Richardson and the Hugo crew with the equipment and training that enabled them to shoot the film in 3D. In addition, the film used patented technology and a custom-built infrastructure that allowed the filmmakers to review stereo dailies that were unprecedentedly high-quality. Pace also worked on-set with the filmmakers, supervising the stereo acquisition, and then finished the effort by performing the stereo postproduction work and delivering the final stereo DI (digital intermediate).
"Hugo is the first film I've shot in 3D," said Richardson. "Before I worked with CPG, I was concerned that there would be pressure to change my method and my instincts, but CPG made 3D work for me, not the other way around."
THR COVER STORY: The Dreams of Martin Scorsese
Pace said that in many ways, Hugo pushes 3D beyond what James Cameron and he were able to achieve with the Oscar-winning Avatar because the tools and the technology have advanced. CPG has also learned from its own experience working on Avatar and recent films like Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
“We were experimenting with Avatar,” said Pace. “We could have gone further, but we wanted to make sure we found ourselves somewhere in the middle of concentrating on a good film and focusing on 3D elements. We didn’t want to compromise the actual film by taking away from the story for the sake of 3D. We tended to play it somewhat safer in the approach. But as Jim likes to say, ‘You don’t make any mistakes when you’re first.’”
Pace said that the industry is also seeing what happens when an expert filmmaker like Scorsese can do when 3D becomes a layer to the storytelling exercise.
“Marty knew where he wanted to go and was adamant to get there,” said Pace. “Early on, we explained to Marty that he was doing exactly what he’d normally do in approaching a film. 3D was playing an opportunistic role, not changing everything he knew.”
STORY: 'Hugo' and 'The Artist' Top the Broadcast Film Critics' List of Nominations With 11 Each
Pace said one of the problems 3D films have faced is that filmmakers are trying to shape their work around 3D, rather than having the 3D shaped around what the artists and DPs want to accomplish. As a result, the 3D films that have been released since Avatar have been anywhere between 40 percent to 70 percent of where 3D could be, but Pace said Hugo shows 3D filmmaking at 100 percent capacity.
“The real challenge is reversing the tide of 3D going to effects instead of perspective,” said Pace. “Hugo helps us get it back on the right track. With all of our projects, the beauty is that we’re supporting the efforts of filmmakers rather than reinventing the process.”
Pace said CPG is going to double its capacity going into next year as it works with more film and broadcast partners. The company is currently working with the BBC on its Walking With Dinosaurs franchise.
STORY: Martin Scorsese to Receive Santa Barbara Film Festival's American Riviera Award
While Hugo is an important part of CPG’s plans, Pace said the ultimate goal is to get studios to align with the path. Moving forward, individual movies and projects won’t play as important a role as the adoption of the 3D workflow by filmmakers and broadcasters.
“The good news is this isn’t a daunting path that we’re taking,” said Pace. “Most people coming into this relationship think it’s difficult, but in real terms, every good director becomes a CPG ally. Scalability is not the challenge.”

Mission Impossible 4

Paramount Seized on a Big Platform for Limited 'M:I4' Bow -- And It Worked


Paramount’s decision to start "Mission: Impossible 4" small – albeit through large-format screenings – seems to be paying off.


The Tom Cruise tentpole came in third at the domestic box office,
grossing $13 million in only 425 locations. When the movie opens wide this Tuesday after 5 p.m., it will have significant momentum behind it.


That was the point: By delivering a healthy number on a small number of screens -- 425 is 11.5 percent of the 3,703 screens that the No. 1 "Sherlock Holmes" opened on last weekend -- "M:I4" captured all kinds of buzz as it expands in a crowded field.


Also read: Christmas Crush: Too Many Big Films Crowd Soft Holiday Box Office


The studio originally planned to open "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" in wide release Dec. 16, but changed its mind after Warner Bros. announced it was releasing "Sherlock Holmes -- A Game of Shadows" on that day.


"We had to figure, do we want to go on the same date or do we want to move it?" Don Harris, Paramount's head of distribution, told TheWrap.


He said the studio hatched the limited release in part due to director Brad Bird’s enthusiasm about filming movie in IMAX.


The concept was, “this movie is, from a technical standpoint and from a visual standpoint, this thing is the next leap forward,” Harris said. “And we have got to find a way to let people know this isn't just another in the series of 'Mission: Impossibles.'"


Also read: 'Mission: Impossible' Matters Again With Gasp-Inducing 'Ghost Protocol'


“M:I4" debuted at 300 IMAX locations and 125 other large-format theaters.A bonus: At 50 of the IMAX theaters, audiences got to see a 6-minute prologue of "The Dark Knight Rises."


Greg Foster, chairman, filmed entertainment at the IMAX Corp., told TheWrap that the 300 IMAX theaters took in $11 million -- an IMAX record for the month of December.


"When it works, it's really nice -- and this is working," Foster told TheWrap. "Our 300 screens are a way to get the word out that this isn't just a regular movie."


The per-screen average was an exceptional $30,580.


"The goal of the whole experiment is to serve as a catalyst for the movie's overall success,” Foster said. “Based on the reaction this past weekend, it worked."


Still, Harris conceded it was a risky strategy, given the stakes of the movie – and the franchise – to the studio.


“It's not like risking on a small movie -- not like 'Paranormal Activity,' where you take it out at midnight, try to see if it works. If it doesn't work, you're not out a lot of money,” Harris said.


“In this case, it's a very expensive movie."