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| Big break: Heath Ledger |
After his breakthrough effort in Brokeback Mountain, Heath Ledger is all set to play the character of The Joker — made memorable by Jack Nicholson in the first Batman movie — in The Dark Knight. As a follow up to last year’s blockbuster Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan is set to direct the Warner Bros. Pictures production written by Jonathan Nolan, based on a story by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer. Christian Bale will reprise his role as Bruce Wayne.
“I’m excited to continue the story we started with Batman Begins,” said Christopher Nolan. “Our challenge in casting The Joker was to find an actor who is not just extraordinarily talented but fearless. Watching Heath Ledger’s interpretation of this iconic character taking on Christian Bale’s Batman is going to be incredible.”
Ledger most recently earned Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG Award nominations and won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in the Ang Lee drama Brokeback Mountain. His other credits include Casanova, Monster’s Ball, Lords of Dogtown, The Brothers Grimm and The Patriot.
As for Nolan, he revamped the Batman franchise in 2005 with the immensely successful Batman Begins, starring Bale in the title role, which chronicled the early years of the superhero. Nolan first garnered attention from critics and fans in 2000 with the groundbreaking drama Memento, which he wrote and directed. He went on to direct the thriller Insomnia, starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams, and recently wrapped production on The Prestige, with Hugh Jackman and Bale.
Production is set to begin on The Dark Knight in early 2007.
Collaborating with the world’s leading scientists, artists and animators, Discovery Channel will relive the fantasy world of dragons in its two-hour programme Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real on Sunday, at 8 pm, with a repeat the following Sunday at 11 am.
The show imagines dragons as real animals and what the world would have been like if these incredible fire-breathing creatures actually did exist. Through vivid dramatic recreations, stunning computer animation and life-like models of internal organs, viewers will get to see the dragon from the inside out.
“The fascination with dragons can be seen throughout the history of most cultures,” says Discovery Channel’s spokesperson. “Of all creatures seen in fantasy and myth, dragons are the most popular and widespread and their stories have been passed down through generations in virtually every known society since the beginning of time.”
While awaiting the commercial release of his forthcoming film Andhakarer Shabdo, Ashoke Viswanathan has got busy with three documentaries on the life and times of Bibhuti Bhushan Bandopadhyay, Manik Bandopadhyay and Tarashankar Bandopadhyay.
“The basic concept for the documentaries is based on a historical and biographical overview of each of their backgrounds spanning the terrains where they lived and what they wrote about,” says Viswanathan, who is working on the three films to capture the three significant Bengali authors of the post-colonial era.
Viswanathan has already shot at Tarashankar’s residence in Paikpara before tracing Bibhuti Bhushan’s ancestral home in Ghatshila. He is also planning a trip to Bangladesh to trace Manik Bandopadhyay’s roots.
Each of the 25-minute documentaries will involve an eight-minute dramatic sequence of excerpts from their well-known novels. The works to be included are Bibhuti Bhushan’s Ichhamati, Manik Bandopadhyay’s Chhoto Bokulpurer Jatri and Tarashankar’s Arogya Niketan.
The films conclude with a session of critical appreciation by a panel of experts comprising film-makers Sandip Ray, Goutam Ghose and Buddhadeb Dasgupta, all who have made films based on the trio’s literary works.
A screening of the films is planned some time in the middle of August.
