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The Dark Knight Rises Production Notes Reveal Costume, Character, and Plot Details (SPOILERS)

With two weeks to go until Christopher Nolan ‘s The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters, Warner Bros. has made available nearly 50 pages of detailed production notes online that offer behind-the-scenes tidbits on character, plot, costume design, the crazy practical stunts Nolan & Co. pulled off, Batman ‘s new toys, and some of the new faces joining the trilogy. The question is, how much do you want to know? (Bonus: Get the new IMAX poster after the jump!) Given TDKR ‘s set-up — it takes place eight years after the events of The Dark Knight , with Batman in semi-retirement/hiding — and the two new adversaries joining Bruce Wayne/Batman straight from the pages of the comics (i.e. supervillain Bane and super-minx Selina Kyle/ Catwoman ), some of this is already familiar to Bat-fans. And while the production note dossier includes only a few semi-spoilery details on certain scenes and characters, unless you’re committed to going into TDKR with as pure and spoiler-free a mind as possible, the doc is fairly safe to peruse, and chock full of geeky details. The bigger discoveries here concern the supporting characters in Batman/Bruce Wayne’s life, including Gary Oldman’s Commissioner Gordon and new characters Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) and Gotham City police officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Below, read a few select passages and get the pretty new TDKR IMAX poster: [BEWARE SPOILERS! WHO KNOWS WHAT YOUR VIRGIN BAT-EYES WILL DISCOVER!] On Gordon, who’s now wrestled with Batman’s secret for eight years: “Gary Oldman returns to the role of Gotham City’s top cop, Commissioner Gordon, who withheld the truth of Harvey Dent’s demise at great personal cost. ‘He respects Batman’s sacrifice, but allowing the citizens of Gotham to be fed a lie goes against everything that Gordon believes in,’ the actor says.” “…to a certain extent, Gordon was more useful to the political leaders of Gotham when the city was overrun by organized crime,” Nolan points out. “Now that is under control, so there are people eyeing his job, presuming he’s no longer needed. But Gordon has been struggling with the fact that all of this is based on a false foundation.” “It’s a secret that’s eaten away at him for years,” confirms Gary Oldman. “Crime is at an all-time low in Gotham, but Gordon knows that it’s tainted. Now he’s ready to come clean, but there doesn’t seem to be a right time or place, and he also questions if the city is ready for the truth. Then, because of Bane, he’s in the field again. I think he’s like a soldier who likes to be on the front lines, getting his hands dirty. He’s probably been doing a lot of paper pushing in the intervening years and that has dampened his spirits. Now you really feel like the old Gordon is back.” On John Blake, AKA the fresh-scrubbed idealistic young cop guy played by Joe Gordon-Levitt: Gordon finds a new protégé in policeman John Blake, whose devotion to the job impresses his boss. Emma Thomas says, “Gordon definitely sees something of himself as a young cop in John Blake. Everyone else seems to have lost focus because things have been so good, but Blake is the first to realize that something’s up, and Gordon recognizes those instincts by promoting him and putting him on his team.” Describing his role, Joseph Gordon-Levitt says, “John Blake is the kind of guy who probably always wanted to be a cop and dedicates himself to being excellent at his job. He is someone who believes in what he does and I admire that in anybody. In the midst of a lot of cynicism, he remains proud to be a police officer.” Nolan comments, “Commissioner Gordon and Bruce Wayne have become somewhat jaded, so we wanted to contrast that with a younger, more idealistic individual who, in a way, represents where they’ve come from. Joe really captured the strength and courage of a man who refuses to back down, regardless of the odds.” On Miranda Tate, a wealthy new love interest for Bruce Wayne played by Inception ‘s leading lady, Marion Cotillard: The character of Miranda Tate can also relate to Bruce, albeit from a place of affluence. Cast in the role, Marion Cotillard notes, “They both have a lot of money and are trying to use it in a good way, so they understand each other right away.” Bale agrees. “Miranda is somebody who is encouraging Bruce to use his resources for the betterment of Gotham through an environmental project. She is beautiful, smart and altruistic, and all the good that she aspires to earns his respect and also intrigues him a great deal.” A member of the board of Wayne Enterprises, Miranda’s affluence makes her a vital ally to Bruce when the company becomes the target of a hostile takeover. On a more personal level, Nolan says, “She is looked at by Alfred and Lucius as a woman who could perhaps bring Bruce out of his own exile and remind him that there is more to life than sitting alone in the Batcave. On Bane and his dastardly terrorist plans for Gotham City: “Working underground and undetected, Bane is plotting a multi-pronged attack on Gotham, involving firepower, finance and fear…” While the Scarecrow was a madman and the Joker an anarchist, “Bane is a terrorist in both his mentality and his actions,” says actor Tom Hardy, who plays Batman’s new arch-nemesis. “He is physically intimidating and he’s also very intelligent, which makes him even more dangerous.” Nolan relates, “In deciding on who the next villain would be, it was imperative that it was someone completely different from the Joker—that he be a brute force. The physical component of what Bruce Wayne does as Batman is of extraordinary importance, and we had not truly challenged that in the first two films. I really wanted to see Batman meet his match physically, as well as intellectually. Bane is raw strength with a fanatical devotion to duty, and that combination makes him unstoppable.” And finally, the newly unveiled IMAX poster for TDKR . It’s gorgeous in a painterly way, and in contrast to previous posters and promo images for the film, presents the Bat-sign in the sky as signaling a break in the clouds from all that chaos reigning down on Gotham City. Batman stands triumphant once more above his city shining his light through all the debris of Bane’s fiery terror, and stuff. Nice. For loads more on TDKR , including details on the 100+ piece Batsuit, Bane’s mask, the airborne new vehicle known as The Bat, and Nolan’s insane practical mid-air plane stunt, find the full production notes here . [via THR ] The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters on July 20. What do you make of these 50 pages of Bat-tidbits? (Did you cave in to curiosity?) Chime in below with your thoughts on the highly anticipated sequel. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .

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The Dark Knight Rises Production Notes Reveal Costume, Character, and Plot Details (SPOILERS)

REVIEW: Rob Reiner Gives Us a Sticky-sweet and Textureless Magic of Belle Isle

What was Rob Reiner’s last noteworthy film? Was it  Ghosts of Mississippi in 1996?  The American President , the year before? 1992’s  A Few Good Men ? Reiner has continued to work steadily since a phenomenal mainstream movie run in the ’80s into the early ’90s that included, among others,  This Is Spinal Tap,  The Princess Bride and  When Harry Met Sally… , though you wouldn’t be faulted for not having paid his recent output much mind. As a director, his tendencies toward sentimentality have thickened and clotted over the years, and films like  The Bucket List and  Flipped haven’t had enough else to them to balance out what comes across as cloying and clumsy at best and shamelessly pandering at worst. The Magic of Belle Isle , which Reiner directed from a screenplay he co-wrote with Guy Thomas and Andrew Scheinman, is as sticky-sweet and textureless as a bowl of pudding, though an amused central performance from star Morgan Freeman continually finds nuance and the unexpected where there ultimately isn’t any. The film is set in the present day despite the fact that it opens with the tinkle of the Beach Boys’ “Don’t Worry Baby” and offers up a vision of small town life so glowing and nostalgic it’s practically golden-hued, the kind in which a young girl’s befriending and spending a lot of alone time with the older man who’s new to the area is regarded fondly instead of with any alarm or suspicion. Freeman plays that older man, a widowed, wheelchair-bound former writer of successful westerns named Monte Wildhorn who’s set aside his typewriter in favor of a whiskey bottle. For a grumpy, misanthropic alcoholic, he’s still awfully adorable, something that’s partially due to Freeman’s inherent savvy charisma but which is mostly the fault of the script, which wants to sum up Monte’s frustration by having him yell in an empty room. “What’s he yelling at?” asks Finnegan O’Neil (Emma Fuhrmann), who lives next door. “Life,” replies his nephew (Kenan Thompson) sagely. That nephew’s found Monte a house to stay in for the summer in exchange for some pet-sitting, and soon the man is befriending (or being befriended by, despite his objections) the family next door — the recently divorced Mrs. O’Neil (Virginia Madsen) and her three daughters, among them the teenage Willow (Madeline Carroll), middle child Finnegan and little Flora (Nicolette Pierini). Will he find romance, bond with the girl who’s an aspiring writer, discover a new lease on life and start writing again? To quote the wisdom of the Magic 8 Ball, “You may rely on it.” Over the course of The Magic of Belle Isle , Freeman gets to play off of a dog, several cute children, a party clown, a developmentally disabled young man named Karl who likes to bunny-hop around, an eccentric local (Fred Willard) and, of course, Madsen’s winsome, piano-playing divorcée. With all respect to Freeman’s other co-stars, it’s the dog with whom he’s best, delivering wry, eloquent monologues about proper names and behavior for canines and trying, unsuccessfully, to coax the animal into chasing a ball. (“I see the concept of fetch eludes you,” he observes.) Monte’s tentative courting of Madsen’s character, whom he too-cutely insists on calling “Mrs. O’Neil” just as she keeps to calling him “Mr. Wildhorn,” progresses, chastely, only because the two seem to realizes it’s expected rather than because of any convincing touch of romance between them. Freeman and Madsen are, however, good together when not under the burden of conjuring up sparks. Similarly, Finnegan’s hiring of Monte to “teach her about imagination” is structured in ways that are almost intolerably corny — he instructs her, for example, to “look out there and tell me what’s not there” in order to encourage her to make up stories. The only hint of stakes in  The Magic of Belle Isle  are glanced over briefly in the film’s beginning, when a surly Monte threatens suicide when he’s shuttled off to his temporary home. But aside from that moment, Monte never seems so glum as to be serious about ending things — he’s living in a beautiful house in an idyllic town and has a clear enjoyment for people, which makes the movie easier while making its ideas about depression seem flimsy. The film moves along by the numbers, making no sudden or unexpected movements, and Reiner doesn’t offer any stylistic choices worth mentioning; everything gets creakier toward the end, with the expected mild disagreements and disappointments to be resolved. The only question mark this unexceptional feature leaves open is why Monte initially turns down the Hollywood star who comes in person to ask to buy the rights to his gunslinger character. “Most of the time real life doesn’t measure up to what’s in your head,” he explains to the actor, saying that for once in his life that’s not the case. But there’s no reason why selling his book would necessitate making any lifestyle changes — he does it only to enable the eventual happy ending. In a movie in which nothing happens that you can’t see coming from miles away, it’s proof that you can still manage moments that feel startlingly artificial. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .

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REVIEW: Rob Reiner Gives Us a Sticky-sweet and Textureless Magic of Belle Isle

Ween’s Former Frontman Addresses Band’s Split

‘My decision to leave Ween …. was absolutely not made in haste,’ Aaron Freeman tells Rolling Stone. By James Montgomery Aaron Freeman Photo: Last month, much to the consternation of those who worship at the altar of the Boognish, Ween’s Aaron Freeman announced — rather matter-of-factly — that he was ending Ween, telling Rolling Stone “It was a good run.” That was apparently a surprise to Freeman’s longtime musical partner, Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo, who wrote on his Facebook page that the breakup “is news to me, all I can say for now I guess.” But now, in a new statement to Rolling Stone, Freeman addressed the split — and Ween’s fans — letting it be known that his decision was not a rash one. “I want to thank each and every one of you all for your kind words and support. It means a lot. My decision to leave Ween, however interpreted, was absolutely not made in haste,” Freeman’s statement reads. “It’s evolved over a decade’s worth of internal and external struggle.” Freeman didn’t elaborate on those struggles, but did add that he has no bad blood with Melchiondo, whom he founded Ween with more than 25 years ago. And he closed by saying that he’ll continue to make music … minus the Gene Ween moniker. “Know that I am extremely proud of all that is Ween. And while Mickey and I are going our separate ways, I wish him only the best. I will always have nothing but love and respect for what we created together,” the statement reads. “I need to now move on for myself and for my family. I still, as always, look forward to a future filled with music as Aaron Freeman.” Related Artists Ween

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Ween’s Former Frontman Addresses Band’s Split

‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Gets Exorcised On Season Premiere

Season nine gets off to a unique start during the first round of auditions in New York and Texas. By Natasha Chandel Hampton Williams on “So You Think You Can Dance” Photo: Fox “So You Think You Can Dance” is back and kicking — literally. Limbs flew left, right, center and even behind the head, as season nine of the dance competition premiered Thursday night (May 24) with the first round of auditions in New York and Texas. Dancers from all over the world auditioned for a golden ticket to Sin City, showcasing a dynamic range of artists, styles and emotional stories. Both cities delivered a plethora of highly skilled, highly entertaining and highly ridiculous talent. The highlight of the first auditions was not the usual crowd-pleasing contemporary and hip-hop styles, but rather, unique and inventive forms of dance, including animation, lyrical freestyle and … exorcism? Standouts Chehon Wespi-Tschopp from Switzerland dazzled the judges with a stoic contemporary routine showing off his immense strength and a chiseled body that judge Mary Murphy made sure to squeeze extra hard as Wespi-Tschopp came over to graciously hug the panel for his Vegas pass. But the real standout of the night, by far, was Texan Hampton Williams, creator of his own style of dance titled “exorcist style.” The grimly angelic performance saw Williams pop and lock every single muscle in his body, like never before seen on the show. He brought not only Murphy to tears, but many members of the audience as well, and received a unanimous standing ovation through the theater. “I think you could be a genius,” judge Nigel Lythgoe told the young man before offering to pay for Williams’ Vegas ticket himself if the other judges did not put him through. Gut Wrenchers Being the soulful art form that dance is, “SYTYCD” is notorious for exposing its contestants’ gut-wrenching tales of adversity, and tonight’s premiere was full of such stories. Whether it was Jarell Rochelle’s need to succeed before his mother went blind to Sam Shefler’s battle with autism, the uniting factor was simple: a love for dance. Although Shefler did not move forward with his lyrical freestyle, he received a standing ovation for his courage and was advised never to stop dancing. Feel-Good Moments Mother of two Bree Hafen, from Texas, won the judges’ hearts and had her golden ticket delivered by her young son. The real kicker came when her daughter, also an aspiring dancer, chimed “my turn” after her mom performed a remarkably fluid contemporary routine. She immediately went into a relev

Brooke Shields nude

Brooke Shields is a girl that nowadays is an absolute MILF and so you know that when she was younger she was probably incredibly hot and here she is swimming fully nude Continue reading

Morgan Freeman nude

Morgan Freeman back in the day was an absolutely beautiful actress, in the 1980s she was a chick that you wouldn’t have kicked out of bed Continue reading

Morgan Freeman nude

Morgan Freeman back in the day was an absolutely beautiful actress, in the 1980s she was a chick that you wouldn’t have kicked out of bed Continue reading

Morgan Freeman spotted at Spago restaurant

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Facebook.com – Become a Fan! Twitter.com – Follow Us! Morgan Freeman was spotted leaving Beverly Hills’ Spago restaurant and was asked a very interesting question… Morgan had to think about it!

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Morgan Freeman spotted at Spago restaurant

Weight Release with Freeman Michaels and Katherine Woodward Thomas

Freeman Michaels and Katherine Woodward Thomas discuss Freeman’s Weight Release Program. Weight Release is not about losing anything — because if you lose something that has served a valuable purpose you will need to find it or replace it. Freeman talks about his personal truth, how his eating habits were about feelings more than food. Freeman also reveals how he carried extra weight as a form of protection. He develope a program, initially for himself, that looks at the true causes of weight related issues. He wrote a wonderful book about his experience called “Weight Release: A Liberating Journey.” He teaches his process to help other people release weight and change their lives FOREVER. For more information about Freeman’s program, please visit: bit.ly http://www.youtube.com/v/ExsPfB8nXQA?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Follow this link: Weight Release with Freeman Michaels and Katherine Woodward Thomas

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Weight Release with Freeman Michaels and Katherine Woodward Thomas

17-yr-old Tanzanian model Herieth Paul in a Haute Shoot for Dress to Kill Magazine (See Hot Pics)

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17-yr-old Tanzanian model Herieth Paul in a Haute Shoot for Dress to Kill Magazine (See Hot Pics)