BSP 2014 Advent Calendar: Day 22

Welcome to Day 22 of Bam Smack Pow’s 2014 Advent Calendar! Only three more days left until Christmas, and that means three more superhero films will be mined for trivia. For Day 22, we give you …

The Dark Knight (2008)

When The Dark Knight was released, audiences were awe-inspired and questioned if what they saw was actually a comic book movie. With Batman Begins (2005) already being a critical and box office hit, The Dark Knight still leap-frogged over it and set a new precedence for superhero movies. Deep, compelling, and thrilling, the film made director Christopher Nolan a savior to all comic book fans, and proved to the world that what use to be considered a medium for geeks and children was now serious fare. With excellent performances all around in the film, Heath Ledger’s Joker was singled out as one of the greatest portrayals of any film villain to-date. Sadly, Ledger would never be able to collect his hard-earned accolades, as he passed away before the film’s release.

The Dark Knight reaped in over $158 million on its opening weekend. At the conclusion of its theater run, the film’s overall box office total was $1.005 billion. On IMDB, the film, for a time during its release, surpassed The Godfather (1972), The Godfather: Part II (1974), and The Shawshank Redemption (1994) in ranking to become the greatest film ever made. It currently still stands in the top ten at #4.

The Dark Knight was directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, and starred Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Heath Ledger as The Joker, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent / Two-Face, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Eric Roberts as Sal Maroni, Chin Han as Lau, Colin McFarlane as Gillian B. Loeb, Nestor Carbonell as Mayor Anthony Garcia, Keith Szarabajka as Detective Gerard Stephens, Monique Gabriela Curnen as Anna Ramirez, Ron Dean as Detective Michael Wuertz, Anthony Michael Hall as Mike Engel, Nydia Rodriguez as Judge Janet Surrillo, Melinda McGraw as Barbara Gordon, Nathan Gamble as James Gordon, Jr., Michael Jai White as Gambol, Ritchie Coster as The Chechen, William Fitchner as The Gotham National Bank Manager, and Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow.

Trivia

Heath Ledger originally auditioned for the role of Bruce Wayne / Batman in Batman Begins (2005), but both him and Christopher Nolan thought he was wrong for the part. When casting started on The Dark Knight (2008), several actors auditioned for the role of the Joker, but they all dropped out due to the fear that they could never live up to Jack Nicholson’s performance in Batman (1989). When Nolan met Ledger again, he knew that he would be perfect for the part. Nolan’s reason: Ledger seemed fearless.
Matt Damon was originally offered the role of Harvey Dent, but had to turn it down to work on Invictus (2009).
The first time Michael Caine ever met Heath Ledger was in the scene where the Joker invade’s Bruce Wayne’s penthouse. Ledger’s performance was so scary and creepy that Caine forgot his lines. The shock on Alfred Pennyworth’s face is actually genuine shock from Caine.
In an interview, Heather Ledger said that the Joker was his most favorite role to-date.
Heath Ledger is the youngest actor to play the role of the Joker.
The Joker’s habit of licking his lips and playing with his tongue was from Heath Ledger’s own real life habit.
Heath Ledger thought that if the Joker applied his own make-up, then he should apply it on himself also. After Ledger finalized his look, the make-up department was responsible for duplicating that look in ever scene for consistency. Ledger also came up with the idea of having white make-up on his hands. His reasoning: if the Joker applied his own make-up, then some of it would get on his hands.
Heath Ledger’s make-up also included three pieces of silicone that took less than an hour to apply. These were state-of-the-art prosthetics that Ledger claimed felt like not wearing any make-up at all.
When Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker, the costume designer immediately went to work and based the clothes of the Joker that would reflect Ledger’s generation.
Jerry Robinson, one of the co-creators of the Joker in the 1940s, was hired as a consultant. The Joker in The Dark Knight was to have the same portrayal as his first two appearances in the comics. Batman co-creator Bob Kane was originally hired as a consultant on Tim Burton’s Batman (1989).
When the Joker falls from the Prewitt building and Batman rescues him, this is a reference to the Joker’s first appearance in Batman #1 (Spring 1940), where the Joker falls from a penthouse scaffolding and Batman saves him.
To prepare for the role of the Joker, Heath Ledger locked himself in a motel room for six weeks and went into the Joker’s persona, developing everything from his motivations to his laugh and mannerisms. He didn’t want to repeat what Jack Nicholson did in Batman (1989), so he based the Joker on late punk rocker Sid Vicious and Malcolm McDowell’s Alex De Large from A Clockwork Orange (1971).
Heath Ledger was posthumously awarded 32 Best Supporting Actor awards for his portrayal of the Joker. These included the Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG, BAFTA, and Critics’ Choice.
Heath Ledger’s Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor win marked the first time any comic book movie won in a major Academy Award category.
Cillian Murphy’s reprisal of Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow is the first time any Batman villain has ever made a repeat appearance in a Batman film. This also includes the Burton/Schumacher films. Cillain Murphy would later come back as the same character in The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
In the courtroom scene, Harvey Dent’s disassembling of an attacker’s gun was exactly how the procedure should be carried out in real life. When he removes the magazine stock and holds it in his pinky, he’s performing the method for emergency reloads and correcting malfunctions.
Aaron Eckhart prepared for his role as Harvey Dent / Two-Face by studying split personalities.
Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent portrayal was modeled after Robert F. Kennedy.
Emily Blunt, Isla Fisher, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Rachel McAdams were all considered for the role of Rachel Dawes. Eventually, Maggie Gyllenhaal auditioned and won the part.
Christopher Nolan offered Katie Holmes to reprise her role as Rachel Dawes, but she turned him down to star in Mad Money (2008.)
Joshua Harto’s character, Coleman Reese, is The Dark Knight‘s version of The Riddler. Though the Riddler never makes an appearance in any way, the name of “Mr. Reese” phonetically sounds like “mysteries”, much like how Edward Nygma’s abbreviated name of “E. Nygma” phonetically sounds like “enigma.”
Bob Hoskins and James Gandolfini auditioned for the role of Sal Maroni. Eric Roberts was eventually cast in the role.
Senator Patrick Leahy, who’s a huge Batman fan, plays the older gentleman who the Joker states reminds him of his father. Leahy has also appeared in Batman & Robin (1997) and voiced a character in Batman: The Animated Series.
Christian Bale’s stunt double, Buster Reeves, makes an appearance as one of the Joker’s henchmen. He’s the one handing the Joker weapons during the car chase scene, and also sits next to the Joker in the passenger seat of the truck.
One of the only four IMAX cameras was destroyed during the filming of the Joker chasing the SWAT trucks.
Since The Dark Knight and Wanted (2008) were both filming in Chicago at the time, Morgan Freeman worked on both movies at the same time.
At the beginning of each of film in the overall Dark Knight Trilogy, each main villain (Ra’s al Ghul, The Joker, Bane) disguises himself as one of his own henchmen. They also talk about themselves in the third person voice.
Bruce Wayne’s reasons for wanting a new Batsuit was to be lighter, faster, and more agile. These were the same reasons director Christopher Nolan wanted a new Batsuit.
Batman’s growling, intimidating voice was actually the work of post-production, where they took Christian Bale’s Batman voice and toned it down and then made it grittier.
Ranging from the Burton/Schumacher era to the Nolan era, this was the first Batman movie where Batman doesn’t use the “Bat-Turn” and can actually turn his head due to his new Batsuit. The “Bat-Turn” was originated by Michael Keaton who couldn’t turn his head in his Batman outfit due to the cowl connected to the neck piece and having the overall material being hard rubber. He ended up creating a turn that would utilize his whole upper body.
This is the first Batman movie to not feature Bruce Wayne’s mansion.
This is the fist Batman movie where Batman doesn’t use his famed batarang.
During the famous Batmobile / SWAT / Joker chase scene, the Chicago PD received calls from several citizens that there was a dark vehicle of unknown make or model (the Tumbler) chasing other cars.
Off-duty police officers from Chicago; Elyria, Ohio; Hammond, Indiana; Buffalo Grove, Illinois; and Joliet, Illinois played Gotham police officer extras.
While working on Wanted (2008) in Chicago, comic book writer Mark Millar sneaked onto the set of The Dark Knight, also filming in Chicago. Producer Lauren Shuler Donner and security caught him sitting on the Batpod. He was immediately escorted off the set.
Even though The Dark Knight was released three years after Batman Begins (2005), the fictional elapsed time between the first film and the second film was only nine months. For The Dark Knight Rises (2012), the fictional elapsed time actually increased. Even though The Dark Knight Rises (2012) was released four years after The Dark Knight, the fictional elapsed time was eight years.
As a connection to the first movie, Bruce Wayne echos to Alfred a statement Ra’s al Ghul originally made, “Criminals aren’t complicated, Alfred.”
During the scene where Batman goes to Hong Kong to apprehend Lau, Batman uses timed explosives that are set to detonate at two minutes, ten seconds. From the time Batman sets to charges to the time they detonate, the scene is in real time.
Bruce Wayne’s Lamborghini Murcielago is another reference to bats. “Murciélago” is Spanish for “bat.”
The bullet holes on the windshield of the big rig that the Joker hijacks form a smiley face.
This is the first Batman film to not have live-action or CGI bats.
Director Christopher Nolan, known for not using gore and using mostly psychological terror, only had blood appear three times in the film. The first was on the face of the faux-Batman victim hanging in front of the Mayor’s window. The second was on Harvey Dent’s pillow after the bombing. And the third was on Batman’s arm when an attack dog bit him.
Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, and David S. Goyer purposely didn’t want to give the Joker a background story. They wanted him to be an absolute evil. There is no reason for what he is.
In previous drafts of the script, the character of Rachel Dawes was revealed to be a relative of the Graysons — the family that included Dick Grayson, the future Robin. Christopher Nolan had it taken out so that people wouldn’t get their hopes up about Robin appearing.
The film was heavily influenced by the comic books The Long Halloween (1996), The Killing Joke (1988), The Man Who Laughs (2005),
After watching a screening of The Dark Knight, David S. Goyer, who wrote the story, was so ecstatic and happy that he said, “I can’t believe that my name is on a movie this good!”
Christopher Nolan, famous for preparing his cast and crew by showing movies that inspired him, screened two films each day for four days:
- Day 1: Heat (1995), Cat People (1942)
- Day 2: Citizen Kane (1941), King Kong (1933)
- Day 3: Batman Begins (2005), Black Sunday (1977)
- Day 4: A Clockwork Orange (1971), Stalag 17 (1953).
Like most of Christopher Nolan’s films, he oversaw all the filming in The Dark Knight and he had no second unit.
Batman’s theme only occurs twice in the film. Composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard didn’t want the theme to be so popular that people could hum to it. They thought it would’ve distracted too much from the dark atmosphere the film was trying to establish.
The nine-minute suite for the Joker’s theme was composed based on D and C notes. “DC” is a reference to DC Comics, the publisher of the Batman characters.
This was the first film to reach #1 on IMDB’s ranking of The 250 Greatest Movies within two days of its release.
The Dark Knight made more money within six days of it’s release than it’s predecessor, Batman Begins (2005), did in its entire domestic run.
While promoting the film, the studio sent out several cakes made to look like they were from the film’s Joker. The cakes had an embedded phone inside and wires sticking out of them. The cakes would also vibrate from the phones receiving a call. One news station thought it was a bomb from a terrorist act. The whole building had to be evacuated.
At the end of filming, Christian Bale was able to keep the mask. He was offered the whole Batsuit, but had to refuse because he didn’t have enough room at home.
Many believe that the reason the Academy Awards upped their nominees list for Best Picture from five to ten is because both The Dark Knight and WALL-E (2008) were left out of the list of five. Both films were also the best received by audiences in that year.
The Dark Knight holds the record as the comic book movie with the most Academy Award nominations.
Before The Dark Knight‘s DVD release, the city of Batman, Turkey (pronouned “bot-min”) took legal action against Warner Brothers. The city considered the character of Batman to be an infringement on the city’s name.

Make sure to come back each day because we still have three more days worth of superhero film trivia for you!

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A special thanks to Eric Dufresne for his amazing geometric superhero art that’s being used as the background for the advent calendar.

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