The Morning Roundup: Bat-Pod Specs, Half-Blood Prince Pics, 2 Destros in GI Joe? Metropolis Restored
Written by: Big Ross, CC2K Staff Writer
After the long holiday weekend (I hope all your fingers are intact) we’ve got lots of news to report. We’ve got new images from the next Harry Potter film, official specs on the Bat-Pod featured in The Dark Knight, news that famed and long-thought-lost silent film Metropolis may be fully restored, and much more.
In a rather interesting interview, oft-time Batman scribe Jeff Loeb defended the inclusion of the Boy Wonder in a third Chris Nolan Batman film. Nobody seems to want this; Christian Bale even allegedly said, ““If Robin crops up in one of the new Batman films, I’ll be chaining myself up somewhere and refusing to go to work.” Not so fast, says Loeb. Here’s what he told MTV:
“There is a story of Dick Grayson and how he becomes Robin that is extremely moving and very helpful…It’s all about building the relationship between Bruce and Dick. Dick hates Bruce. He doesn’t understand why it is that he needs to do this and Bruce doesn’t understand why he’s doing it either because he’s not a parent. He doesn’t know how to be a parent,” Loeb said. “And together, they make each other better people. So that for me would be the next step.”
But Loeb insists Robin’s inclusion will only work if done the right way.
“I wouldn’t let him become Robin until the third act, if that. I think that’s the other problem when you tell that story is that there’s this rush to put him in a costume by the end of the first 20 minutes and in that case I think it’s a disaster,” Loeb said. “So if you look at ‘Dark Victory’ Tim and I went nine out of twelve chapters before you even started to talk about putting him in a costume and he doesn’t put the costume on until the last chapter of that book.”
Personally I've never liked the idea of Robin in a Batman film, especially with what Nolan has been doing with his take on the Batman mythos. But Loeb almost has me sold on the idea. Almost.
Speaking of Batman, I suppose some of this information is spoilerish, but if you want to geek out over official specs for the Bat-Pod, we have them for you below, courtesy of Warner Bros.
Dimensions
Height: ~3.5 feet
Width: ~3.5 feet
Length: 12 feet 3 inches
Wheel Width: 20 inches
Wheel Diameter: 30.75 inches
Weight: 728 pounds
Design
The Bat-Pod is a fully operational motorcycle-style vehicle
Has 3 guns: grappling gun, machine gun, & cannon (which shoots mortars to take out obstructions from its path)
Does not need a kick stand – it is self-righting
Every element has a design function; it is not just a styled piece
Could there be 2 Destros in G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra? Sort of. IESB originally reported that David Murray was set to star as James McKullen/Destro, then later amended that to report Murray was out due to VISA issues (the kind that gets foreigners into the States, not the credit card). Chris Eccleston stepped in to replace Murray, but a recent report on Hisstank.com has Murray in the film as James McKullen. They say:
David Murray will play James McCullen The 1st (The Original Arms Dealer)! He will play a huge part in the telling of the Destro Clan back story and how the "Family" came to don the Menacing Mask.
So it appears Murray will play the original, and Eccleston his modern day descendent. Kinda cool, actually.
Ok, so I consider myself a movie geek, but not THAT much of a movie geek, so the following is unfamiliar to me. But for you cinephiles, this might be something to salivate over. Apparently Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, made in 1927 and the most expensive silent film of that time, may again be viewed in its original version. After debuting in Germany as much as ¼ of the film was cut before it was sent to foreign markets, including the United States. In fact, few if any in this country have ever seen Lang’s original, uncut film. A film museum in Buenos Aires is certain they’ve discovered a pristine copy of Metropolis that contains “material believed to be lost leading to a new understanding of the Fritz Lang masterpiece.”
In gaming news Part I of the bug-themed noir thiller Insecticide is coming to the PC reports IGN. In what I'll admit is a shameless plug, look for an exclusive interview with Gregory Abbey – voice of "Roachy" here on CC2k in the coming weeks!
Dark Horse comic The Goon is getting made into a CG-animated film to be produced by David fincher.
Finally we have a gallery of new images from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge!
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