Press notes are standard issue for every major movie that hits theaters these days.
They are basically booklets that feature interviews with the stars behind the film, and include a brief synopsis of the movie that doesn’t give too much of the plot away, along with bios and other extras.
In short, it gives the press information they can incorporate in their news reports and reviews that’s sanctioned by the studio.
So now the press notes for The Dark Knight Rises have popped up all over the web, we downloaded ours from Deadline, and it’s a very lengthy document, especially by press notes standards (49 pages), and it’s got some interesting tidbits on the film, including little blocks of dialogue from the script like:
BANE: “The shadows betray you because they belong to me.”
So what are some of the interesting tidbits from the notes? David Goyer, who co-wrote the script with Christopher Nolan and Nolan’s brother Jonathan said that they wanted there to be an eight year gap in the story, “significant enough time for the Batman legend to have faded a bit, and we wanted Bruce Wayne himself to have withdrawn behind a veil of rumor and mystery.”
Christian Bale also says, “Bruce feels absolutely isolated since the tragedy of losing the woman he loved, and the terrible turn of events with what happened to Harvey Dent. He carries a certain amount of guilt that if he had not chosen the course of becoming Batman, none of that would have happened.”
As Bale said of the villain Bane, “This is the first time it appears highly unlikely that Batman will come out on top in a physical altercation. He has been dormant for years, so he’s in a weakened condition to begin with, and Bane is not only incredibly strong but ruthless in terms of his sheer militancy and the ideology that drives him.”
As far as the other villain, or villainess, writer / director Christopher Nolan says, “We felt very strongly that we should have Catwoman in this film, but we always look for an organic way of ground the characters in our world. Selina is a cat burglar, a grifter, a classic movie femme fatale, really.”
And Jonathan Nolan said, “Something about her morally ambiguous philosophy finally gives Batman someone he can relate to. In a weird way, she’s the yin to his yang. It sparks a connection between them and takes some of the somberness away from his character.”
Nolan also commented on the IMAX cameras, which he said he’s “most interested in what it can give me as a storytelling tool. IMAX provides the broadest possible canvas, creating the most immersive experience.”
And as far as the experience doing the Batman films, which will finally come to an end for him in two weeks when The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters, Chris Nolan says, “The reason I have always gravitated to the character of Batman is that, as often noted, he is a superhero with no super powers, apart from his wealth. His extraordinary nature has always come down to his extreme motivation and sheer dedication, which makes him a very credible individual.”
