A real life Batmobile from Batman Returns is heading to the auction block soon...located at the 38th annual Kruse International auction in Indiana, of all places. The car, which is a much sleeker/less rugged design than the one in the recent Christopher Nolan films, will go to the highest bidder over Labor Day weekend, Wired reports. "The prop vehicle from Tim Burton's 1992 Batman movie is helping generate heat for this year's sale. Similar, but less valuable, Batmobiles have drawn as much as $550,000, according to the auction house." Kruse notes that this "the Warner Bros. & DC Comics sales approval agreement clearly authenticates that this is the number 3 Movie Batmobile," of the 5 that have been on the big screen...but maybe you should hold out for one of the latter ones. more ›

You may be familiar with James Sanders' book Celluloid Skyline: New York and the Movies, which celebrated New York City's role in movies and is a must for any fan of New York, architecture, or film. But even if you haven't, you get a chance to experience it in beyond the pages: Starting tomorrow, Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall will be the setting for a Celluloid Skyline exhibit. There will be huge "scenic backing" paintings from old films, film footage, artifacts, displays and more that will show NYC's role in production and as a "mythic city" of the movies. Here's a description:

[The exhibit] will also carry visitors into the dream city of the movies, through “immersive” elements that allow visitors to feel as if they are actually inhabiting the various environments of the filmic city – streets, skyscrapers, rooftops, theaters, waterfronts, interiors – allowing viewers to come away with a greater understanding not only of the moviemaking process, but of the urban character, texture and significance of the real city. more ›

Gothamist thinks the costume designer for Catwoman got the wrong directions. This Catwoman get-up is so in-your-face it's not sexy. Think cat suit. And sure, Halle Berry looked great in a bikini in Die Another Day, but Catwoman is not some undercover government operative trying to seduce someone on Her Majesty's Service. Here, this outfit is clearly trying too hard. And also, Catwoman is catlike, not attacked by cats. Gothamist is not understanding.
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All the talk about Charlie's Angels Full Throttle being about female empowerment is a joke, because it's just about a bunch of girls being silly and their T&A. Of course Gothamist knew that, but the evidence is too overwhelming not to comment on. For starters, a painful-to-read interview by Sean Smith of Newsweek, with the Angels, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu. Here's a sample: more ›

Hollywood is all aflutter about the future of a Catwoman movie. Ever since Tim Burton's moody Batman Returns gave us Michelle Pffeifer slinking around with a whip, Catwoman seemed ideal for a franchise spin-off. Nine years later, Ashley Judd was tipped to be Catwoman last year, but now it officialshe won't be. Who's the next in line? Why Oscar nominee Nicole Kidman. (Yes, she was Chase Meridian in Batman Forever, but that was directed by Joel Schumacher and therefore I don't count it.) Coming Attractions thinks the project is in development hell, but I hope not - Owen Wilson is supposed to play a detective. I've read that the Catwoman movie will have a different backstory from Selina Kyle/Catwoman of Batman Returns - different name, different occupation. Which is cool, since Batman: The Animated Series gives a different backstory for Catwoman, though she was still Selina Kyle. And what's a Catwoman post without mentions of Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt?
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