Christopher Nolan Talks DARK KNIGHT

"he's got no story arc"

This worries me somewhat... but I think I understand what he's getting at.

Ja, "he's got no story arc" - read: the studio nixed making Joker too 3-dimensional.

BastaAAAAAAAaaaAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaAArds.

Can't say I'm surprised, for reasons I've outlined before (a fuly 3-dimensional Joker is dangerous to the proletariat's state of mind, apparently) but I'm not going to fall prey to judging the film before I see it.

I will say though that judging from the poster, you know the one, both Nolan and Ledger have got Joker's "presence" down, and that in itself is worth the price of admission, if done right.

And Nolan does appear to be stating that Ledger has done it justice.

Can't wait.

mXm

The Joker as an anarchist is brilliant because that’s precisely what the Joker is in the comics. What Nolan means by “no story arc” is that this film will not feature an origin story of the Joker, which is a good thing. The Joker works best as an enigma and the less we know about his past the better. As much as I loved the Killing Joke, the origin story really isn’t the most significant aspect of the graphic novel and I rather consider the Joker’s history incidental. He’s a psychopathic murder who literally considers death and chaos to be a grim punch line.

Nolan understands the Batman mythos better than any director who has tackled the character before him. Despite the alterations made to the characters and story (alterations that are necessary when transitioning one medium into another) Nolan understands the core, essential elements that comprise what Batman is all about.

As for Ledger’s upcoming performance, there is no need to even compare what he is doing versus what Nicholson did in 1989. Burton’s film is fun and entertaining and Jack’s Joker is amusing to watch but neither the film nor Nicholson’s performance even approaches the dark, nasty territory of the Dark Knight. The few minutes shown thus far of Ledger’s Joker completely smokes what Jack did because Heath is going to a dark place to channel this character.

Physical appearances aside, this Joker looks to be the definitive cinematic representation of the character.

"sort of cuts through the film -- he's got no story arc, he's just a force of nature tearing through."

Well I think that's great. We won't get no origin tale from him, no "oh my daughter is sick that's why i'm a sandman" or "im being controlled by AI metallic arms". It's just going to be a psychotic killer bringing anarchy to Gotham City and pushing Batman to edge!
While Harvey, Gordon and Bats are trying to clean up the city, JOker is going to be running wild!
I'm glad Harvey's story is going to playout through 2 films with this one focusing more on his better half. It's something I personally always wanted to see in the big screen. Tommy Lee Jones was just Two Face so we missed out on the Harvey part.

Weird. I had assumed "The Dark Night" would just be Batman vs. Joker. But no character arc? I kind of like this idea better.

Intriguing.

2009 oscars- Ladies and gentleman history has been made as the best actor award goes to both Aaron Eckhart and Heath Ledger.

I remember when everyone hated when they heard Heath Ledger got the roll of The Joker, and now everyone is all excited about it. So sometimes its just better to wait before you make harsh judgements.

#7 And now we know... And knowing is half the battle! GO JOE!

It almost sounds like the Joker is a character used solely to set up Two Face... I certainly hope not, because that would be the ultimate slap in the face to the Clown Prince of Crime...
THE JOKER CAN NOT PLAY SECOND FIDDLE TO ANYBODY!

I've got no problem with anything Nolan just said. This is going to be absolutely great and, arc or no arc, Joker ain't gonna play second fiddle to no one.

"Nothing in his pockets but knives and Lint??" Can't help but wonder how literal we're supposed to take the comment, "cuts through the film". The Joker needs to be a wild nut and needs to be that way from start to finish. A character arc would be doing him and everyone else an injustice. Character arcs are overrated anyway. Give me a hero and Give me a villian!