Before you head out this Friday to wrap your hands around a cold brewsky, try wrapping your head around the following description of Aaron Eckhart’s performance(s) as Harvery Dent and Two Face in July’s The Dark Knight. Over at CHUD, Jeremy Smith spills all he knows about what Christopher Nolan has in store for us. It is pretty WTF, so here we go…
“Basically, Nolan shot complementary takes of Eckhart in Two-Face makeup so he could visually represent the duality of Dent in a less cartoony fashion,” says Smith. …[Harvey/Two Face] is a fifty-fifty split of the same actor giving two wildly divergent performances in the same shot.
And because he has two takes of each scene, Nolan has the luxury of shaping Eckhart’s performance in post; it’s just a matter of switching the dial between normal Harvey and bug-fuck Two-Face. Again, both will be present in the shot, but only one will dominate the poor bastard’s conflicted consciousness at any given moment. The technical audacity required in pulling this off may be the reason Two-Face was held back in the trailer.”
So, anyone who was hoping that Nolan’s Dent/Two Face would bear resemblance to Mel Gibson in The Man Without a Face or Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever…shame, shame! If the following report is on the money, Nolan is literally going to split Eckhart’s performance in half and launch the film’s crazy factor into outer space. In fact, The Dark Knight might turn out to be one of the darkest, most ruthless PG-13 movies ever, summer or not, from the sounds of it.
Discuss: How do you imagine Nolan’s rather ballsy technique turning out on the big screen?
March 7th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
That’s really cool sounding, I gotta see a clip of this asap!
March 7th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
That would be f$cking amazing to see. That’s an utterly amazing take on doing Two-Face.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
this may be the two-face that we have all been waiting for. here’s hoping.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Sounds way cool and very Christopher Nolan. I hope it won’t turn out like Niki Sanders in Heroes. I never liked when her two personalites spoke. At least Two Face will have visibly good and bad sides.
It’ll make for a good DVD extra to switch angles at your own discretion but I think I’m getting ahead of myself.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Anyone else getting a phone call from Harvey Dent? I got one about 30 minutes ago :)
March 7th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Well this is definitely…a surprise. I have to admit I was looking forward to see what he would look like. And like someone stated I hope it doesn’t come off as corny as Nikki/Jessica did in Heroes.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Cool!
March 7th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
I JUST GOT A PHONE CALL FROM HARVEY DENT…..HE TOLD ME TO GOTO IBELIEVEINHARVEYDENT.COM…..IT WAS ECKHARTS VOICE AND EVERYTHING…HE GAVE THIS LIKE 1 MINUTE SPEECH ON SAVING GOTHAM…IT WAS AWESOME!!!!
IF A 1000000000 NUMBER SHOWS UP ON UR PHONE…ITS HARVEY DENT
March 7th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
I agree, it looks like Nolan is giving me the Joker and Two-Face I have always wanted.
:D
March 7th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
i like this take on TWO-FACE , the whole
conflict struggle is going to be fantastic!!!
March 7th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
wait, im not too bright, im not following what is gonna happen, someone please help and explain it to me!
March 7th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
orange cinema,
Two men enter; One man leaves
March 7th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
ibelieveinharveydent.com has been updated!
March 7th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors ever. Not only because of Batman Begins/The Dark Knight, but because of his streak of awesome movies like Memento and The Prestige. I have unconditional trust in this guy. We already know that his vision of The Joker is terrifying and groundbreaking and there is simply no doubt that his Two Face will be equally great. And this approach sounds really awesome. Normally I’m not excited to see blockbusters that much, but this is going to be the must-see movie of 2008.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
If anyone has a transcription of the phone call, lemme know so we can post it on Slash.
I picked up my phone without looking. Pretty cool phone call for a prerecorded message, I must say. We’ve just updated the site with the news, so feel free to bring the convo there now. This viral campaign is unstoppable and really well executed thus far.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
omg if nolan pulls that off, it is going to be tight as fuck. XD I can’t wait!!!!! imma be crossing my fingers for this all the way to the premier.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I got it on my voicemail, but it’s cut off a bit. Here’s what I’ve got:
“…protecting our streets, too many cops have become criminals themselves. This is why my mission has been to stamp out police corruption, and this is why I’m considering a run for district attorney. But I can’t do it alone. I need to know if you, the people of Gotham, want change. Do you want a Gotham free from the grip of criminals and the corrupt? Are you ready to join a crusade to take back our city? If this is a change you desire, if you are fed up with living in fear, go to ibelieveinharveydent.com and see how you can join the struggle to take back our city. I’m ready to fight for Gotham, if you are ready to fight too.”
March 7th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
capt awesome
ahh, got it, thanks!
March 8th, 2008 at 12:26 am
This has the potential to be amazing if its done well. I’m hesitant though because it could turn out to be a bad gimmick. If the effect doesn’t look right or looks distracting it would ruin an otherwise amazing looking film.
On the plus side the description sounds really cool and i have enough faith in both Nolan and Eckhart that i expect this to work out. Can’t wait for the first Two-Face trailer :D
March 8th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
After seeing what he did to Heath Ledger to make him the Joker, i have complete faith in Nolan.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
i found what appears to be a real leaked pic of two face on http://popculturewilleatitself.com/2008/first-pic-of-two-face-from-the-dark-knight/
It looks real good!
June 17th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Christopher Nolan is pure genius, a master artist, to say the least. This film keeps sounding better and better. I just hope it doesn’t collapse under the weight of it’s own hype like so many sequels do. Better to promise less and knock everyones’ socks off. I think someone needs to start “The Dark Knight for Best Picture” campaign right now!