Gawker
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clips
Top Ten Moments of the Oscars
An on-stage musical extravaganza. Two epic gay rights speeches. Sean Penn's upset win for Milk. The 2009 Oscars were easily the gayest yet. More » -
oscars
Oscar Tug-Of-War Pits Ledger Versus Ledger
Kim Ledger had plenty to do yesterday on his long flight to the Oscars, starting with an acceptance speech no one quite expected him to deliver on behalf of his son Heath. More » -
oscars
Daughter getting Heath Ledger's Oscar — when she's 18. [THR]
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oscars
Likely Oscar Losers Brangelina Take EBay Consolation Prize
If the numbers truly don't lie, then neither Brad Pitt nor Angelina Jolie will collect Academy Awards on Sunday. But who needs Oscars when America's auction-scavenging elite are on your side? More » -
the dark knight
Petitioner Halfway To Assuring You Never See The Joker Onscreen Again
The fanboy crusade to earn The Dark Knight a Best Picture Oscar nomination may have failed, but one fan hasn't lost faith in the potential of Batman people-power. More »
1,936
By STVComment by SunnydaZe10 is BANNED!: By F… word I assume he means "fanboy"? WHY SO SERIOUS? I TELL YOU WHY!!! BECAUSE YOU ALL ARE A BUNCH... 2 Responses | Other threads
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oscars
How To Best Campaign For a Dead Oscar Nominee? Don't
Just because Heath Ledger was a favorite to claim this year's Best Supporting Actor Oscar since before The Dark Knight even opened, that doesn't mean he can't use a gentle, posthumous awards-season studio nudge. More » -
verne troyer
Verne Troyer Reveals His Heath Ledger Tattoo to British D-Listers
Most of Verne Troyer's onscreen partners like to humiliate him (sometimes in distinctly NSFW ways), but the late Heath Ledger was different. More »
7,171
Comment by avoidz: Bah, video denied! I was looking forward to washing away those memories of the tongue-flicking Mini-Me video. more » | Other threads
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twilight
Robert Pattinson Hates Prop 8, Los Angeles Comedy Scene
Has the comedy world learned nothing from the time it angered Brooke Shields with jokes about a freshly-dead Estelle Getty? Apparently not, since it now falls to Twilight star Robert Pattinson to cry, "Too soon!"
13,946
Comment by lrubemp: The guy's got good politics AND dignity AND balls. Hat's off to him -- the punk ragging on Heath deserved... 2 Responses | Other threads
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awards
Today in Awards Hell: 'Slumdog,' Heath Ledger's Relatives Prepare Oscar Speeches
Your annual Oscar anticlimax is officially underway, with Heath Ledger, Penélope Cruz and Slumdog Millionaire — among other familiar names — once again dominating the weekend's awards news. -
heath ledger
Law & Order's Heath Ledger Story Nothing Like Actual Heath Ledger Story
When you're halfway into your forty-sixth season, as NBC's long-running crime drama Law & Order is, there are only so many storylines left to do that haven't been done before. Thus, it's no surprise that the show's "ripped from the headlines" method of generating plot points would eventually lead it to the death of Heath Ledger (you'll get your turn soon, Mario!), though it's impressive just how deeply they botched their opportunity. Says Page Six: More »
3,212
Comment by Trixie from Toronto: Was he out partying with a little monkey twin who sent her bodyguard over to retrieve the little monkey bag... 1 Responses | Other threads
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the dark knight
Why So Audacious? Perhaps we spoke too soon about the tenuous connection between The Dark Knight and The President-Elect, as we've just stumbled upon this Obama-evoking Joker design from artist James Lillis. It's no DJ AM, but it'll do. Click through for full-size. [/film] -
The Dark Knight
'Heath Ledger Exploiter' Among America's Hottest New Halloween Costumes
While The Dark Knight's box-office trajectory has leveled out a smidge since becoming the fastest film to $500 million, the marketplace for morbidly exploitive Heath Ledger nostalgia has caught a new wave of holiday momentum. So say the proprietors of something called "Mr. Costumes," which proudly notes today that varieties of its Joker outfits account for nearly half of its adult costume sales for this Halloween. "The popularity of the movie and the cultural effect of Ledger's death have propelled seasonal demand for the villain costume," states a press release recently crapped into our inbox, "while effectively boosting the sales revenues and overall popularity of MrCostumes.com, an emerging player in the Halloween Costumes market." More » -
brokeback mountain
'Brokeback Mountain' Author Not Interested in Your 'Zombie Jack Twist' Fan Fiction
An Important Drama like Brokeback Mountain has been many things to many people since its release three years ago, but who knew it was a budding franchise? Not only is the cowboys-in-love tale going opera, but ardent internet fans continue to sequelize the film with fan fiction, side stories and improbable follow-ups. Why, even Defamer has gotten into the act — Ang, the rights for "Ennis and Jack's Outrageous UFO Adventure" (above) are still available. Call us! However, there's one person who finds these add-ons downright Jack Nasty, and she's Annie Proulx, the tale's original author. As she told the Wall Street Journal: More »
2,583
Comment by enriquez the water bottle: "beneath every mangled rewrite is the unspoken assumption that because they are men they can write this story better than... 2 Responses | Other threads
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short ends
Sir Elton Can Snort You Under The Table, Dearie
· So this little exchange between Lily Allen and Sir Elton John at the GQ Awards is certainly one for the ages. Team...um...Sting? [TMZ] More »
5,694
By SethComment by Molly McAleer: That's what happens when you have a crunk-ass lady like Lily host an awards show. Calling her out in that manor... 1 Responses | Other threads
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the dark knight
Vote Now in the High-Stakes Hollywood Joker-Alike Contest
After her latest round of plastic surgery, Joan Rivers has once again sparked concern that her postmodern facial sculpting has perhaps gone one operation too far. "My motto is, 'Better a new face coming out of an old car than an old face coming out of a new car.' Spend your money on you," the Daily Mail quotes her as saying, but clearly the stakes have soared beyond self-service satisfaction: Rivers is but the latest boldface name to join the increasingly cutthroat Joker-Alike 2008 competition, in which grinning celebrities and their psychotic celluloid doppelgangers square off for ear-to-ear supremacy. Have a closer look at the finalists — and vote for a (or nominate your own) winner after the jump. More »
2,661
By STVComment by GoodBadNotEvil: Joan Rivers at this point appears to be of no discernable age, as timeless and terrifying as the Joker himself. 1 Responses | Other threads
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heath ledger
Heath Ledger's Death Loft Yours For $26,000 Per Month
After a bit of a false start, the SoHo apartment where Heath Ledger died last January is apparently back on the rental market. And what a deal can be had at $26,000 per month — an increase of more than 20% over Ledger's $22,000 monthly rent after moving in last September. Steep! But again, these are post-Dark Knight dollars, and the mythology premium is good for at least 10% over the usual bump you see around the neighborhood. Just ask a broker! More » -
wendy williams
Wendy Williams: Heath Ledger's Daughter is Not Some 'Random, Drive-By Splash-Off'
While some in Hollywood might see Heath Ledger's two-year-old daughter as a sacred cow, to talk show host Wendy Williams, she's red meat. Last seen offering unsolicited advice to a recovering Christina Applegate, Williams today turned her attention to Ledger, who died without updating his will to include his daughter Matilda or his ex, Spike Jonze-canoodler Michelle Williams. In response, actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell will be donating their fees from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (which they stepped into after Ledger's death) to both Michelle Williams and Matilda, an act of generosity that does not go unremarked-upon by Miss Wendy. Watch as she again horrifies her audience by going there in a bizarre, sperm-soaked metaphor meant to defend Matilda. Wendy, Wendy: with friends like these, who needs enemies? [The Wendy Williams Show] -
Too Soon?
Brooke Shields Will Not Stand For You Slandering The Memory of Sophia Petrillo!
Though no one cared enough to actually make it to her funeral, Golden Girls actress Estelle Getty was beloved in Hollywood, where actors and agents whiling down coke benders at 4 a.m. grew to love the misadventures of her sassy Sophia Petrillo during countless late-night Lifetime reruns. Still, that didn't stop the sketch comics at Upright Citizens Brigade from trotting out their impressions of the actress — as well as those of the deceased Heath Ledger and Bernie Mac — during a 72-hour marathon at the theater. According to the NY Daily News, celebrity panelist Brooke Shields wasn't laughing: More »
3,307
Comment by HoseaCassiopeia: Wow, someone in Hollywood with principles. I hope it's contagious and that even non-celebs pick it up. more » | Other threads
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this thing looks like that thing
James Franco: The Next Heath Ledger
The untimely death of Heath Ledger left a void in the acting community. In terms of his actual person, yes, but also in what he represented. A subdued, thoughtful actor who shied away from the press, who made a quiet regular guy life for himself when he wasn't emoting really well for lots and lots of money. So, for useless speculation's sake, who will fill that role now, where is our next, uh, sorta-dark knight? Ledger's Brokeback Mountain costar Jake Gyllenhaal is too splashy. Other broody types like Josh Hartnett haven't quite got that leading-man-with-gravitas movie star thing down. So we think it might be James Franco, who is, like Ledger before he died, just beginning the second act of his career. More »
12,068
Comment by Dr.ClaytonForrester: @bctx: Nah, he's following the Will Smith path, bctx. more » | Other threads
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billy bob thornton
The Curse Of Billy Bob Thornton Overtakes 'Dark Knight' Curse In Hollywood Death Toll
Bernie Mac's tragic death sparked a surge of postmortems around the Web over the weekend, with many invoking his role as the bad-ass mall gumshoe opposite Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa. But one perceptive observer commenting at Hollywood Elsewhere noted that the late comedian's passing is the latest in a string of similarly untimely demises for other Thornton co-stars as well: More »
18,013
By STVComment by Carrie Ephraim Elhammar: Maybe there is something to this Billy Bob Thornton curse thing...after all-another one of Billy Bob Thornton's co stars has... more » | Other threads
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the dark knight
Early Joker Mock-Up Reminds Us of a Producer We Know
It's well-known that the conceptual period preceding The Dark Knight was an exceptionally fertile time for all involved — smooth Batsailing for a creative team responsible for reimagining the heroes and villains of Gotham City. Chief among those visions was The Joker, preliminary sketches of whom are now appearing in a new coffee-table book for the fanboy who has everything, The Art of The Dark Knight. An attentive reader points out today, however, how one of the early, nastier Joker mock-ups reminds him of an old friend of Defamer — a guy whose uncanny likeness would have no doubt stirred more controversy, trouble and tragedy than all the accursed Dark Knight infamy we've observed over the last year. More » -
heath ledger
DEA Wraps Heath Ledger Investigation After Getting Their DVD Of 'A Knight's Tale' Signed
Days after implicating Mary-Kate Olsen but months after it began, the DEA inquiry into the death of Heath Ledger has finally wrapped, filing charges against exactly no one. Does it perhaps seem like the U.S. Attorney's Office spent an awful lot of time and money with nothing to show for it? According to TMZ, that's just the beginning — the gossip website alleges that DEA agents essentially used the Ledger investigation as an excuse to talk to supermodels, fly all over the country, and meet people from Hollywood: More »
1,750
Comment by cinerama: Let's see, a star dies from an overdose of illegally obtained prescription medication. No reason the DEA should investigate that… Sheesh. more » | Other threads
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mary-kate olsen
To Evade Unflattering Prison Stripes, Mary-Kate Olsen Seeks Immunity in Heath Ledger Drug Inquiry
Uncle Jesse would be very disappointed: according to the New York Post, Mary-Kate Olsen is refusing to speak (wait, they talk?) with federal investigators looking into the death of Heath Ledger — that is, until she receives immunity from prosecution. It seems the feds are making inquiries to determine when and from who Ledger obtained the drugs that may have led to his death, and Olsen (who, as you'll recall, was the first person called when Ledger's masseuse discovered the body) is the only one who isn't talking: More »
2,489
Comment by Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.: Unflattering? The horizontal stripes would give the illusion she's of normal weight! (also: totes guilty) more » | Other threads
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spike jonze
Let The Wild Rumpus Start: Michelle Williams Comforted By Spike Jonze's Quirky Touch
She may be unable to share with her child's father the spoils of his critically spoojed-upon turn in what is well on its way towards becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time ($14 billion on Tuesday alone!), but all is not dark for Michelle Williams. The actress has reportedly found comfort in the arms of Torrance Community Dance Group captain Spike Jonze. The Daily Mail has been keeping a respectful distance from their blossoming love: More »
3,414
By SethComment by fractal_elves: He's a jerk to Sophia Coppola. Michelle deserves way better than the trust fund whiny baby likes of Spike Jonze. more » | Other threads
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johnny depp
Johnny Depp, Phillip Seymour Hoffman Rumored as Next Serious Actors to Stretch as Bat-Villains
The Golden Age of Villainy may be upon us. Between the accolades and eventual Oscar for Javier Bardem's singular evildoer in No Country For Old Men and the virtual repeat of the same cycle this year for Heath Ledger's Joker, no prospect stokes A-list egos these days quite like a chance to OD on wretchedness. Sony has enough confidence in the era to have undertaken development on the Spider-Man spinoff Venom, a full-length riff on Topher Grace's enemy from Spider-Man 3 that, naturally, will be recast with someone likelier to open a blockbuster. More » -
the dark knight
How 'Dark Knight' Will Sink 'Titanic' For All-Time Box-Office Glory
With its enshrinement as The Greatest Film Ever Made safely assured and its box-office trajectory soaring ever upward, The Dark Knight is now being groomed for a spot so exclusive that it only changes hands once per decade: The highest-grossing film in history. Feel free to take the news with a grain of salt, seeing as it came from the notably math-challenged John Horn in today's LA Times; even so, it's hard to argue when Knight is looking at $400 million by this weekend and Titanic sits idle at the dock with $600 million. More » -
the dark knight
Aaron Eckhart's 'Dark Knight' Oscar Campaign Jump-started By Loud-Mouthed Sports Columnist
While most of the punditocracy is demanding that Sid Ganis engrave Heath Ledger's name on the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor before the month of July comes to a close, the notoriously contrarian ESPN talking head Skip Bayless isn't quite convinced. During today's episode of their afternoon gabfest 1st And 10, Bayless got into a heated argument with the equally opinionated (read: full of shit) mouthpiece Stephen A. Smith about whether or not The Dark Knight was better than Tim Burton's Batman. As these conversations generally go, the topic of conversation quickly switched to Heath Ledger's universally lauded performance as The Joker. That is to say, universally lauded by everyone but Skip Bayless. More »
19,136
By Mark GrahamComment by YourGoldKeith: @micke: why are they talking AT ALL? more » | Other threads
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the dark knight
The Greatest Movie Ever Made (Or Something): Six Instant Implications of 'The Dark Knight'
The Dark Knight's record-breaking opening left us entranced by not only its tsunami of cash, but also by the news, commentary and other unclassifiable phenomena we spotted in its wake around the Web. For your Monday morning convenience, here's a glimpse at what the biggest three-day box-office weekend in history will get you: More »
5,699
By STVComment by Good Crazy...: @DickWhitman: My bat-fan was with you until you said the story topped Miller. After that, not so much. more » | Other threads
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mamma mia
'Mamma Mia' Narrowly Outpaces 'Dark Knight' in Close Race For Gayest New Release
Until today, we didn't really know Mamma Mia! had any competition for the weekend's gay-readiest cinematic treat, with the most recent evidence stretching the film's ABBA creds to recommend tips for building your own home disco. Classy, no? But a few Dark Knight contrarians are out there, subverting the conventional wisdom ("Is Mamma Mia! the gay Batman?") and giving the musical's loyalists a run for their gay money: More »
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By STVComment by OMG! Ponies!: Mamma Mia is not a "gay" movie. Funny Girl is a gay movie. Roman Holiday is a gay movie. Arguably,... more » | Other threads
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the dark knight
Batman, ABBA and... Lou Reed? Summer's Biggest Weekend is Upon Us
Welcome to another edition of Defamer Attractions, your weekly cheat sheet to everything new and noteworthy at the movies. This is a fairly easy installment for us, as will happen when the most anticipated superhero movie of, like, ever is threatening to run off with the biggest opening weekend, like, ever. As such, knowing that at least half of you are browsing this from a lawn chair in some long, twisting multiplex queue, let's skip the formalities: This weekend features one blockbuster, a melodic bit of counterprogramming, a primate-centric flop-in-the-making and a concert film for the manic depressive in you. As usual, our opinions are our own, but they are burnished to a soft, infallible glow. Off we go! More » -
heath ledger
Outraged Terry Gilliam Refuses to Place Heath Ledger in His Midsummer Oscar Pool
Whether he's outmaneuvering the cosmic pox on his films or simply panhandling for his next directing opportunity, Terry Gilliam is a man Hollywood can always count on to deliver his own special brand of crazy when it counts. But whereas we've generally been leery to attribute much more than pity to him over the years, for once we've got Gilliam's back in a scintillating new attack on Warner Bros. More » -
kate holmes
Who Knew? The Top 10 Unlikely Vocal Performances From Non-Singing Actors
In light of Pierce Brosnan's brave, warbling turn in Mamma Mia—as well as recent news that Kate Hudson would veer off the Bongo Romcom highway to explore the musical theater side roads in Rob Marshall's Nine—Defamer videologist Molly McAleer has compiled a countdown of 10 Classic Musical Crossover Performances. We've ordered these from least to most successful; some of these actors-who-sing are arguably better singers than they are actors, and have gone on to cut their own records. Some are clearly better actors than singers. And some should probably just give up both and become something sensible like a dental hygienist or insurance broker. We have no doubt you have your own strong opinions on notable omissions; feel free to post video in the comments. More » -
the dark knight
Defamer Reviews 'The Dark Knight': Same Batman, Bleaker Bat Channel
After surviving months of Dark Knight hype, viral outreach and tastefully overblown praise for late co-star Heath Ledger, Defamer finally got its chance at a screening Tuesday to see what all the Bat-fuss was about. And as editor Seth Abramovitch and senior editor S.T. VanAirsdale discovered in their second installment of Defamer Instant Reviews, not everybody is ready to validate its Second Coming status quite yet. Is it good? Absolutely. Is it the best film of the summer? That's where things get complicated — on AIM, of course, because this watershed cultural moment deserves no less. More »
6,497
By STVComment by StratfordX: @hildyburns: Less. Is. More. thank fucking CHRIST they didn't try to get into a joker backstory. more » | Other threads
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andy dick
Andy Dick Arrested For Finger-Lickin' Fondling
Andy Dick wears many hats: substance-friendly pansexualist, loving dad, and infrequent cannibal. We can add to that list chicken-wingery-parking-lot-felon, as the comedian was arrested at 2 a.m., found allegedly fondling a teenager in a van parked outside Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Murrieta. From TMZ: More » -
verne troyer
Verne Troyer's Tribute to Heath Ledger Overshadowed by Potential For Ex-Strangling
Life is rough these days for Verne Troyer, the diminutive, sex-tape-making, back-tax-owing (allegedly), bomb-starring actor whose bout with the tabloids took an introspective turn Tuesday in an interview with E! Denying he had anything to do with the "unauthorized" release of his videotaped tongue-stabbing of ex-girlfriend Ranae Shrider, a sober Troyer inventoried Shrider's motivations for supposedly dropping the tryst at TMZ's doorstep — and, in the process, both defused and started harrowing rumors we could have gone the rest of our lives without conjuring: More » -
the dark knight
First Negative 'The Dark Knight' Reviews Ding Impenetrable Bat-Armor
It's arguably the most anticipated movie of the last five summers—the second installment of a rare franchise resuscitation, helmed by a maverick suspense master with nary a misfire to a short but stellar career. Weak links would be replaced. Tragedy would strike. And then a lucky few got to see it, instantly dislodging an avalanche of superlatives. The Dark Knight has, until now, been enjoying the best advance word-of-mouth of any release in a surprisingly bountiful mind-candy season that included Iron Man and Wall-E. In fact, it's until only recently been coasting at an astonishing 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. What changed? Two Daves of note filed their pans: The New Yorker's David Denby (who just lavished his highest praise upon Hancock, so take that for what it's worth), and New York's Dave Edelstein. The cumulative effect of the Dave-naysaying? A sizable dent in the dark armor, with the movie's RT score tumbling to 88% at post time. As for our worst fears—that Ledger isn't posthumously Oscar-worthy, just hammy from the grave—Edelstein confirms every last one of them after the jump. We're seeing it tomorrow, after which we'll try to get our Defamer Instant Review up as quickly as possible, for those who are just dying to know how categorically good this movie is, in easy-to-digest IM format. More » -
shiloh jolie-pitt
The Cutthroat World Of Celebrity Toddler Fashion Just Got A Little More Fierce
Poor little Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt. Not only does she face a future of scratch marks on her chubby cheeks wielded by notoriously jealous Zahara, but the female half of the Chosen Twins has to compete with older sister Shiloh for a spot on Hollywood’s Best Dressed Little Girls list. OK! has released their juvenile version of Mr. Blackwell’s annual rundown, awarding gold stars to everyone from newborn Harlow Madden, with her “mix between chic and rock,” to 2-year old Shiloh’s ability to “navigate the line between girly glam and tomboy cutting edge.” Yes, well done, Chosen One. What skill and grace it must take to lie back, spit up a few gaga goos, and wait for personal dresser Brad Pitt to equip you with a pricey new cashmere-and-diamond onesie. The rest of the list, including the mag’s pick for #1 most fashionable little doomed diva, after the jump. More »
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Comment by NotReadyForPrimeTime: How much does Tom Cruise pay to get his kid on the list? If anyone were paying attention, Suri's... more » | Other threads
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sacha baron cohen
Hellos and Goodbyes
· Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno exploits took him from Israel to Arkansas; his Sherlock Holmes adventures to come may or may not include the missus. More » -
defamer
'Dark Knight' Spoiler Campaign Continues as Early Viewers Break Out the Cameraphones
We're seeing The Dark Knight next week like everybody else, but since David Letterman has already wrecked everything for us, the hell with it: SPOILER ALERT. Like, seriously. The screenshots that some douchebag smuggled out of a press screening and pollenated our inbox with this morning aren't going to shatter the Earth, but they'll warrant crossing at least two items off your list of "Twists I Can't Wait to Totally Ruin By Seeing Them Before the Movie." More »
6,567
By STVComment by LucilleMcGillicuddy: OMG, I am totally breaking up with him. That is IT. It is so over. more » | Other threads
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defamer
Limits Of Fanboy Endurance To Be Tested With 6 A.M. Screenings of 'The Dark Knight'
For all the veins of Dark Knight interest Warner Bros. has opened among stampeding fanboys, late-night talk-show hosts and, er, Michael Bay, at the end of the day nothing succeeds like success. To wit: When your showtimes — midnight to 6 a.m. in some markets — become national news, you can probably just put the campaign on cruise-control and move on to the next film: More »
defamer
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Fri Jul 10
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