Hans Zimmer to score Batman vs Superman project

There were a lot of mixed reviews on Man of Steel, but one consistent high point was the score composed by Hans Zimmer. Director Zack Snyder seems to want to recreate that magic as Zimmer has been confirmed to be composing the score for the upcoming Batman vs Superman project.

Previously, the theme to Superman belonged to the legendary John Williams. Zimmer was given the task to rewrite the theme and come up with a new score for Superman and he was pretty successful with his interesting take on Man of Steel. It was the second DC reinvention for Zimmer as he also scored Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. It also changed the pace for Snyder as he was a longtime collaborator with composer Tyler Bates.
There is no telling whether Zimmer will come up with a new Batman theme for this project or if he will carry over the Dark Knight musical elements. Either way this should prove to be very interesting.

Batman vs Superman is still in pre-production and Zimmer is currently composing Christopher Nolan's Interstellar. He also scored The Amazing Spider-Man 2 which you can see on May 2nd.

Possible official titles for Batman vs. Superman

Everyone has been referring to the Man of Steel sequel simply as Batman vs Superman. It's to the point and self explanatory. However, it isn't an official title. Warner Bros. has yet to release an official title for this project and everyone has just settled on the Batman vs. Superman name. However, there is word that WB has registered 8 potential titles for the project.

Fusible claims that the studio has gone to MarkMonitor, an internet brand protection company, to register these 8 titles just in case they want to use one of them. That doesn't guarantee one of them will be used, though. Some studios do it to prevent others from marketing on their brand. Also bear in mind that most of these titles make no sense.

Man of Steel: Battle the Knight
Man of Steel: Beyond Darkness
Man of Steel: Black of Knight
Man of Steel: Darkness Falls
Man of Steel: Knight Falls
Man of Steel: Shadow of the Knight
Man of Steel: The Blackest Hour
Man of Steel: The Darkness Within


Out of the given registries, I think the best ones are Knight Falls and Shadow of the Knight. All the other ones sound gimmicky and stupid. It is also worth mentioning that including any Dark Knight reference might be frowned upon in the end because it could create confusion with Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. A trilogy WB has said the Man of Steel arc will have nothing to do with and will not follow. Due to that, my guesses are on any of the other titles, like The Blackest Hour, to make the final cut.

I'm still hoping for The World's Finest, but that might just be me. Whatever the title winds up being, the Man of Steel sequel is set for release on July 17, 2015.

The Dark Knight trilogy to hit Blu-Ray this Fall

Official details regarding a trilogy box-set for Christopher Nolan's Batman movies have hit the airwaves. We will get a 6-disc set featuring the three films and their respective special features, a Hot Wheels toy for each film, art cards by Mondo which feature every villain from the trilogy, and a 48-page hardcover book. It looks like it will also include Ultraviolet digital copies for each film. The set markets for $99.97 and will be available starting September 24, 2013.

Along with the existing special features that are already on the DVD/Blu-Rays we have, there will be two new featurettes featuring Christopher Nolan, Richard Donner, Guillermo del Toro, Zack Snyder, and Damon Lindelof. One featurette will have Nolan and Donner discussing the trials about bringing both Batman and Superman to the big screen while the other features interviews by the others about the incredible impact The Dark Knight trilogy has had. I would assume, and hope, that these two features are lengthy enough and interesting to justify spending money on a set to re-purchase movies you no doubt already have. Not to mention the fact that there are already some trilogy box-sets out already.

Here is the official press release:

About the Ultimate Collector’s Edition:

Disc 1 – Batman Begins Feature and Special Features
Disc 2 – The Dark Knight Feature
Disc 3 – The Dark Knight Special Features
Disc 4 – The Dark Knight Rises Feature
Disc 5 – The Dark Knight Rises Special Features
Disc 6 – Bonus Disc of New Special Features

NEW Special Features:

The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy - The inside perspective on the fascinating story behind the creation of one of the most celebrated franchises and how it changed the scope of movie making….forever.  Full of never-before-seen footage, rare moments, and exclusive interviews with  Guillermo Del Toro, Damon Lindelof, Michael Mann, Richard Roeper, Zack Snyder and others.

Christopher Nolan & Richard Donner: A Conversation - For the first time, Directors Christopher Nolan (The Dark KnightTrilogy) and Richard Donner (Superman) sit down to discuss the trials and triumphs involved in bringing the two most iconic superheroes of all time to the big screen, and how Superman influenced Nolan when developing Batman Begins.

IMAX® Sequences: The Dark Knight; The Dark Knight Rises - See your favorite scenes as they were intended in the original IMAX^© aspect ratio

Exclusive NEW Memorabilia:

Premium Mattel Hot Wheels Vehicles: Batmobile, Batpod and Tumbler
Newly commissioned collectible art cards by Mondo featuring Scarecrow, Joker, Bane, Harvey Dent, and Ra’s al Ghul
48-page hardcover book featuring production stills and behind the scenes images from all three movies

The Dark Knight Rises - Review

Despite the tragedy here in Colorado I still went out to a different theater last night and saw the much anticipated finale to Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. I have been excited for this movie for over a year, well actually since The Dark Knight in 2008, so I wasn't going to let the actions of one man stop me. However, I will admit it was eerie being in a theater auditorium that wasn't even half full on not only a Friday but on an opening weekend like this.
With that said, this movie didn't disappoint. Not really. Overall I think that it was really, really well done and I absolutely loved the ending. Were there little things that bothered me? Sure. Were they enough to ruin anything? Hell no. I will talk more about those things in the spoiler section after the jump so you are safe reading until then.
I thought the acting was very good, as always, and I think the casting for characters was fantastic. I mean no disrespect when I say this but Tom Hardy as Bane seriously is up there with Heath Ledger as The Joker. Obviously it isn't as powerful as Heath's was and I do still think his portrayal of The Joker is #1, but in terms of the various villains we have had in this trilogy, including Jonathan Crane and Harvey Dent, I think Bane was pushed above all the rest to a clear second behind The Joker. And as surprised as I am to be saying this I honestly liked Anne Hathaway as Catwoman (aka, Selina Kyle). It was more of the genuine cat burglar approach rather than the approach Tim Burton did with Batman Returns where she was out for revenge more than anything. I thought the musical score complimented the character best because whenever Catwoman was up to something there was a recognizable, sneaky-like piano tune that would play. It was really well done and I am pleased to say that I was happy with it. I was real worried about Catwoman.
The main thing that I felt was despite the movie being 2 hours and 45 minutes, it still felt very rushed to me. I felt that they tried to do a little too much at one time with too many main to semi-main characters. I also felt the return, or rise, of Batman back into Gotham was too soon. It was like one minute Bruce Wayne is a recluse and then the next minute he is back on the streets chasing after criminals. It just felt too soon.

Now I will talk about spoilers and key points in the plot so I advise you do not continue reading until you see The Dark Knight Rises.

Official runtime for The Dark Knight Rises

We will be sitting in the theater watching a 164 minute and 27 second movie, otherwise known as The Dark Knight Rises. It is 12 minutes longer than The Dark Knight and 24 minutes longer than Batman Begins.

I can do that.

3 new Dark Knight Rises character posters

I approve.

Official run-time for The Dark Knight Rises?

An Australian cinema website has posted a run-time for The Dark Knight Rises and they are pegging it at 2 hours and 40 minutes.

There have been rumors circulating around that the film will be 3 hours long, or somewhere in that ballpark, so seeing a 2:40 run-time doesn't really surprise me. If I remember correctly The Dark Knight was about 2 hours and 30 minutes so it's nothing unheard of, especially for a Christopher Nolan film. Inception was long, too. Either way I will be seeing this movie. I'll do what I did before The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and dehydrate myself 2-3 hours prior to going to the theater so I don't have to step out.

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/rorschachsrants/news/?a=58391

The Dark Knight Rises to have a novel

Titan Books has announced they will release the corresponding book to The Dark Knight Rises the same day the movie is released on July 20th. The book is being written by Greg Cox who has written novels for Ghost Rider, Daredevil, and the Underworld movies. The exact plot points for both the movie and the book are being kept under wraps so we will have to still wait a while to find out, but July isn't too far off at this point.

Personally I think this is pretty badass. Batman books in general are awesome to read so I will definitely be picking this up. However, I will definitely be seeing the movie first. No doubt about it.

http://movies.ign.com/articles/122/1223133p1.html

Liam Neeson will be in The Dark Knight Rises

He had apparently been seen on set and now it has been confirmed. Liam Neeson will reprise his role as Ra's Al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises. It's listed as a cameo so he probably won't appear for too long.

Does this surprise me? No.
Does this excite me? Meh. Batman Begins is my least favorite of the Nolan films so far.

Are you excited?

http://collider.com/dark-knight-rises-batman-begins-cameo/155661/

The Hunger Games sets a box office record

The Hunger Games earned $19.74 million at the box office last night, or this morning, via midnight premiere screenings. That set a box office record for the most earned at midnight by a non-sequel film. Overall it sits at #7 of the highest grossing midnight premieres.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 ($43.5)
2. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 ($30.3)
3. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ($30.1)
4. The Twilight Saga: New Moon ($26.3)
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 ($24.0)
6. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince ($22.2)
7. The Hunger Games ($19.7)
8. The Dark Knight ($18.5)
9. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith ($16.5)
10. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($16.0)

For a non-sequel that isn't bad at all. I can't wait to see it.