We're all super-stoked about the summer 2012 blockbuster, The Dark Knight Rises—from what we can tell, based on all the filming around NYC this fall, it must be a documentary focusing on the dark underbelly of street closings. This week, everyone's been talking about the six-minute prologue, focusing on new villain Bane, which has been attached certain IMAX screenings—some have said it "will have your jaw drop," while others have complained about Bane's voice. Now, it's been revealed that a new trailer for the film will accompany Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, opening on Friday. But thanks to the internet, you can watch a leaked version of the trailer below! more ›

Jerry Robinson, the legendary comic book artist who created Batman's nemesis The Joker, among other characters in the comic book "Golden Age," died in his sleep last night in New York. He was 89. more ›

If you're like us, then you probably already feel like you've seen at least half of the 2012 summer blockbuster, The Dark Knight Rises. Between the Wall Street battles, the 59th Street Bridge filming, and the Newark Catwoman sightings, we've pieced together that the movie will focus around the dark underbelly of street closings. The final chapter of the acclaimed Christopher Nolan-helmed Batman films is due in theaters next July, but you'll have a chance to see the first six minutes of the film in theaters in just a few weeks! more ›

This weekend, The Dark Knight Rises continued its filmic assault on NYC by taking over the upper span of the 59th Street Bridge. Not everyone was thrilled to have Batman and Bane battling in their backyard though—the filming caused massive traffic jams today. “Right now I don’t want to watch that movie,” one driver complained to CBS. “It’s getting outrageous here in New York. All their filming, all this ridiculous filming and we aren’t getting anything for it,” another driver said. more ›

If you hear gunfire down by Zuccotti Park this weekend, DON'T PANIC! It's probably not protesters fighting over the newly-installed porta potties. The Dark Knight Rises is back to filming in Manhattan on and around Wall Street this weekend—and according to DNAInfo, they've posted notices around the neighborhood to let people know they'll be using fake gunfire. more ›

The Dark Knight Rises has started filming, with planned shoots in India, London, Pittsburgh, and New York City (it will be filming under the names Magnus Rex and Fox Hills Green, so stay alert for signs). Currently the crew is in London, where they've been filming at the new Wayne Manor. In Batman Begins, the former Rothschild estate, Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, was used for Wayne Manor's exterior. This time around they're using Wollaton Hall in Nottingham. But in the storyline, it's explained that Wayne Manor is actually "near the outer city limits in a neighborhood called the Palisades." more ›

DC Comics, the 70+ year old comic book company, has been trying everything it can to make itself more inviting to potential younger comic fans; in recent days, they've announced that they will release all of their superhero comic book titles digitally the same day as in print. And even more drastically, they've announced that as of August 31st, they will be resetting all 52 of their comics book titles back to #1. more ›

Batman is clearly trying to throw everyone off. First his signal shows up in suburban Illinois, and now it's been spotted over in Japan. According to Stars and Stripes, the larger-than-life Batman symbol has been on the roof of a U.S. Air Force Base over there since the 1980s. They report there's been no sign of the caped crusader, however, and only F-15s have been spotted, no Batmobiles. Alright, there's got to be a hidden Bat Signal somewhere in the five boroughs—this is the real Gotham City, after all. [via NY Post] more ›

Not too long ago New York City was talking about officially adopting the Gotham City nickname—and while there are plenty of things tying Gotham to NYC, Chicago has also tried to stake claim on the name (director Christopher Nolan even said he used Chicago as inspiration for his Gotham). Well, now an Illinois couple is trying to bring Wayne Manor to the 'burbs... or at least they were 20 years ago when they painted this Batman logo in their pool for their Gotham-obsessed son. more ›

Now that Catwoman has been apprehended by authorities, the US Airforce has decided to join forces with her greatest enemy, the Dark Knight. The US Airforce has started a new program with the name BATMAN: Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided kNowledge. And it was inspired by all of Bruce Wayne's cool gear: "[Batman's] devices allow him to have an advantage. That is what we're trying to do," said BATMAN program engineer Reggie Daniels. more ›

Reader Shannon sent us this photo, and writes, "Sadly I didn't see any head butting or cool car chases in Washington Square Park, but I did see what appears to be the Batmobile near 113th and Broadway yesterday evening. (Premium Rush was filming.)" You know, Premium Rush, the bike messenger movie whose production has hogged some sidewalks so much that one irritated pedestrian headbutted a production assistant. Actually, the Batmobile is being used in the remake of Dudley Moore classic Arthur that's filming in the same area. But maybe the PR crew borrowed it to protect themselves from the dangerous citizens of Gotham. more ›

Inevitably, video has surfaced of last week's altercation between the NYPD and two men in Times Square dressed as Superman and Batman. You'll recall that police approached the men to inquire whether they had permits to perform in public, and when they failed to produce permits or ID, the Bronx man dressed as Superman, Maksim Katsnelson, ran off yelling, "I'm not getting arrested!" The police routinely order buskers to disperse from popular tourist areas, although it is technically legal to perform in most public places without amplification, as long as one isn't disrupting pedestrian flow. more ›

At long last, Gotham's police force has taken action to save the city from two reckless vigilante "superheroes" who have been terrorizing citizens with their lawless brand of street justice. Yesterday a group of doughty NYPD officers—fed up with the costly destruction unleashed upon our fair city by those masked outlaws "Batman" and "Superman"—spotted the two renegade freaks in Times Square and attempted to bring them to justice. According to The New York Post, officers tried booking the super-zeros on a charge of "performing in costume in public" without a license—but the only thing these two clowns were performing was civil disobedience. more ›

Did you know that there's a southeastern city in Turkey named Batman? The mayor of that city, Huseyin Kalkan, is now suing Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. for royalties to The Dark Knight! Kalkan explains: "There is only one Batman in the world. The American producers used the name of our city without informing us." Variety digs deeper into the craziness, pondering why "no one from the town of Batman has explained why it took so many years to take legal action. Batman first appeared as a comicbook character in 1939 and the TV series started in 1966. Tim Burton's first bigscreen rendition came out in 1989." Hmm, wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that the latest film is racking it up at the box office, "about to pass the $1 billion mark." But wait, it gets stranger! Kalkan's series of charges also includes placing the blame on Nolan & Co. "for a number of unsolved murders and a high female suicide rate on the psychological impact that the film's success has had on the city's inhabitants." Allegedly some former natives of Batman have had problems registering their businesses abroad. more ›

In his first public comments since being questioned by London police on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting his mother and sister, Christian Bale today asked the press to respect his “privacy,” which – given the current Dark Knight media saturation – is respected about as much as Princess Di’s privacy in the summer of ’97. The latest tabloid take on the altercation has it that Bale’s sister Sharon, a computer programmer with three kids, was pressuring Bale for a $200,000 loan in his hotel suite the night before the London premiere. more ›

More details (and by details we mean gossip) have emerged on the Christian Bale arrest yesterday. The tabloids and TMZ have talked to an anonymous friend and are reporting that the heated shouting match that erupted in Bale’s hotel suite Sunday night was sparked by a disparaging comment made by his mother about his wife, Sandra (Sibi) Blazic. Says the friend:

Christian was stressed, but he didn't lay a finger on anyone. Instead, he flew off the handle and cussed his mother. He just got very loud because his mother was saying some very outrageous things about him, and his wife. He has stresses in his marriage He can have a terrible temper. Instead of lashing out at his wife, he sometimes lashes out at people around him. His marriage is not perfect, but his relationship with his mother is in much more trouble.

While in London over the weekend to attend The Dark Knight premiere, Welsh actor Christian Bale was arrested after his 61-year-old mother and 40-year-old sister reported him to the police for assaulting them on Sunday night in his suite at London's Dorchester Hotel, on the eve of the premiere. Bale is still being held by police, but the Guardian has it that he was temporarily released from custody to attend the premiere, do interviews and other important stuff that puts movie stars above the law. It’s also unclear what sparked the alleged assault, but Bale’s mother is rumored to be a huge Michael Keaton fan. more ›

The Dark Knight is currently clocking in with a 94% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. There are some mixed reviews, like David Denby’s in The New Yorker, but Manohla Dargis at the Times got it right: “No matter how cynical you feel about Hollywood, it is hard not to fall for a film that makes room for a shot of the Joker leaning out the window of a stolen police car and laughing into the wind, the city’s colored lights gleaming behind him like jewels. He’s just a clown in black velvet, but he’s also some kind of masterpiece.” (Gothamist review here.) more ›

Today the little movie that could, The Dark Knight, opens on the wings of a cosmic hype that could make it the third biggest box office earner this year. more ›

At a press/industry screening of The Dark Knight at the Lincoln Square IMAX last night, the line was already halfway down 68th Street an hour before showtime – and these are the overprivileged industry slobs. It’s going to be pandemonium Friday once the rabid fanboys take over. But you already knew that; the question of the hour is, “Does it live up to the hype?” Well, considering that the anticipation level rivals that of Evangelical zealots craving the second coming, or geeks clamoring for the iPhone 3G, it’s no small achievement that The Dark Knight does – periodically – manage to meet our insane expectations. more ›

The black carpet was rolled out at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square cinemas for the feverishly-anticipated premiere of The Dark Knight. The film's cast and crew appeared at the premiere, but most talk, as it has been for the past since months, was about missing cast member Heath Ledger, whose sudden death in January shocked Hollywood and the public. The film's star, Christian Bale, said Ledger "steals the movie, I'm quite happy to say that he absolutely does." more ›