Bane’s Costume: Will We Find Out More Later?

One of the best parts about movies is, in my opinion, the costuming.  Just think how important costumes are – would Daniel Radcliffe be Harry Potter without his glasses on, or would we even believe that Scarlett O’Hara was a selfish, upper-class Southern girl if she wore maid’s clothes?  Heck, costumes are so important that they even have their own award at the Oscars.

First attempt to costume Bane…

That’s why when I saw The Dark Knight Rises in the theatres I actually spent a second or two investigating each new costume that appeared on the screen.  I adored Selina Kyle’s classy, Audrey Hepburn-style dresses and accessories, that is when she wasn’t kicking ass in her (thankfully) full-coverage Catwoman disguise.  However, what really piqued my interest was Bane’s entire ensemble and how much it horrifically reminded me of soldiers’ uniforms from central and eastern Europe during World War II.

Apparently, I was not too far in my thinking.  In a recent interview with GQThe Dark Knight Rises‘s costume designer, Lindy Hemming, said that the costuming department specifically looked for the type of military coats that people would wear in Eastern Europe or Northern Pakistan, “where  [mercenaries] find military surplus and wear it” (GQ).  Hemming also said that Christopher Nolan asked for Bane’s outfit to be a bit reminiscent of the French Revolution, so she tried to envision and create a coat that had a high collar which then bends back down.  Finish Bane off with pants tucked into army boots and some heavy knee pads and you’ve got one scary-looking son of a bitch.

But what about Bane’s funky-looking belt and gas mask?  That’s a good question. One that was apparently answered during the filming of the movie, and yet, all of those scenes were excluded from the final cut.  Hemming expressed her disappointment in this decision and said that there was originally a lot more backstory for Bane.

In regards to his belt, she pointed out that it was a combination belt and back brace for whatever injury happened to his back to cause the scars we see.  She said, “One of the fundamental things about his costume is that he has this scar from the back injury. Even if he hasn’t got the bulletproof vest on, he still has to wear the waist belt and the braces. In that scene in the prison, where he’s learning to fight the same way Batman learned to fight, he’s wearing an early version of his waist belt. It’s showing support, but it’s not the finished one he eventually wears” (GQ).

As for Bane’s gas mask, Hemming explained that one scene shot for the film clearly showed Bane being beaten by people while he was wearing an early version of his mask.  She also said that there was an entire other scene to help clarify where the mask even came from, and why he has to wear it.

I believe it’s a shame that these scenes were not included in the final cut of the film because the clothes really do make the man.  Without the information about why Bane wears a gas mask or a brace belt for his scars and back, he suddenly becomes a little less intimidating, and also a little less goal-oriented.  Is what he’s doing in TDKR affected by more than the little bit of his past that was revealed to us?  We don’t know and can’t know yet, but hopefully the producers will realize this aspect of Bane’s character is necessary for developing the overall story and legend of the Batman legacy and include these cut scenes as special features in the DVD release.

Daredevil Movie Rights to Revert Back to Marvel Studios

So remember all of the hullabaloo the other day about Fox giving up Daredevil or possibly some Fantastic Four characters? (If not, then read the article HERE.) Well Fox made their move and it was to simply…. Do nothing with Daredevil. Deadline, Variety and IGN have all reported that Fox fully intends to do nothing with a Daredevil movie by the October 10th deadline. Apparently they don’t feel that Daredevil is necessary when they have the full stable of X-men characters and the Fantastic Four. I have to say it at least seems like Fox is now heading in the right direction since X-men: First Class was released. Now it even seems like they may be having the good ole’ canucklehead set down the right path in the upcoming The Wolverine. Hugh Jackman has been out promoting the film as a standalone story, completely separate from Wolverine: Origins. Hey, if Logan can have amnesia and forget the horrible events of the first movie then we sure as hell can… and will if I have anything to say about it.

I’m definitely glad that Daredevil is heading back to the care of Marvel Studios. They’ve been producing hits left and right with their characters since the first Iron Man movie came out and have a lot of faith that they’ll continue the tradition with the Man Without Fear. There is no word as of yet whether or not Joe Carnahan will still get a shot at directing the movie, but I would imagine that Marvel has it’s own ideas about who they’ll want to use. Personally I think that Carnahan had the right vision for Daredevil, wanting the movie to be in the vein of a 70’s crime thriller and I hope they at least sit down and talk with the guy.

Another interesting tidbit would be that Fox retains the rights to the character Elektra who, let’s face it, plays a pretty big part in the comic world of Daredevil. I’m thinking they can either have a renamed character similar to her in the movie (or future movies) or use another dangerous femme fatale who has spent a lot of time with Matt Murdock in the superhero world and the bedroom; Black Widow. As you may or may not know, in the comic books the pair dated at one point and I think it could be perfect for a movie crossover for the two characters. Hell, Daredevil was more recently on an Avengers team in the comic world so it may not be out of the realm of possibility to have him in the Avengers 2. It probably wouldn’t happen, but unlike Fox, Marvel now has all of the time in the world to make their Daredevil movie. And this true believer has all of the confidence in the world that they can do it right.

5 Spins Around the Record Shop- This Week in Music

ICP: SUPER DANGEROUS GANG WITH MAKEUP ON!

According to Huffingtonpost.com, the Hip-Hop, Horrorcore duo are suing the FBI for classifying their fans as gang members! Juggalos and Juggalettes are devoted fans of bands on the Psychopathic Records label, such as ICP. The Gathering of the Juggalos is a large get-together for music, events, and Faygo showers for the fans! Apparently, according to the FBI, this is a gang-related event. On the Huff Post, they said:

The FBI maintains, however, that subsets of the Juggalos “exhibit gang-like behavior and engage in criminal activity in violence,” according to the 2011 report. The FBI classifies the Juggalos as a “loosely-organized hybrid gang.”

ICP said that they will go through the lawsuit against the FBI no matter what it takes. In the meantime, you should probably leave your clown makeup and Hatchet-man necklace at home.

NBC CAUSES OUTRAGE: CUTS OFF CLOSING CEREMONY!

NBC decided that it would be a good idea to cut off the end of the closing ceremony… bad move, NBC! Instead of the Who, Muse, and Ray Davies of the Kinks, NBC showed the world a commercial-free episode of Animal Practice. They did show the Who’s performance around midnight… but leaving out Muse?! In case you weren’t aware, Muse’s song “Survival” was the official song of the 2012 Olympics.

RIP: MARVIN HAMLISCH (1944-2012)

The composer of A Chorus Line and The Way We Were passed away August 6th in Los Angeles. The details of his death were not made public, just that he was suffering from a brief illness, and passed away. Hamlisch is one of the prestigious few to receive an Emmy, an Oscar, a Tony, and a Grammy. His talents will be sorely missed.

SHERYL CROW’S “DINER” DEBUTS NEXT YEAR!

Sheryl Crow’s musical adaptation of “Diner” is debuting on Broadway April 10, 2013! Diner was originally scheduled to show at the Curran Theatre this year in San Fransisco from October 23-November 16, according to Yahoo News. Instead of the pre-broadway debut, the time will be spent putting on a four-week fully staged workshop in New York. According to Yahoo, “Diner” is set in Baltimore at the end of 1950s and centers on a group of former high school friends as they struggle to adjust to the demands of adulthood.

‘NO DOUBT’ NEWS

I have been following No Doubt’s career pretty closely since I was 12 years old. It brings me great joy to add into this article a video for “Settle Down“- a single from their new album “Push and Shove” releasing on September 25, 2012.

That’s it for this week’s music news. Join me next week for more melodic shenanigans.

Star Wars: You Have Reached Level 1313

A new trailer for Star Wars 1313 has come out and it just makes me more and more excited… and angry because there is still no release date for the game! I would imagine It will hit store shelves sometime next year (Spring hopefully, though Christmas would be ideal for sales.) the way they are promoting it and how finished the game appears to be. The graphics are simply stunning and smooth and this time around won’t be your typical Star Wars game. Normally you are able to play as a Jedi and do all sorts of awesome shit with your lightsaber, in an unusually overpowered Jedi way as evidenced below:

However, the minimal information that we have to go on for 1313 is that it takes place in the deep underworld of Coruscant, the lawless abyss known as level 1313, hence the title of the game. And in the game instead of playing as a Jedi or Sith apprentice, you’ll be stepping into the shoes of a bounty hunter on the hunt to take down a criminal conspiracy. The criminals? We don’t know. The conspiracy? We don’t know. Although we do know that as this bounty hunter there will be an ass load of weaponry to use. The game has also been described to have cover based gameplay, platform gameplay and playable cinematic gameplay. I can only envision the cover based gameplay being a lot like our good friend Mass Effect, and upon watching gameplay footage of 1313 it sure the hell looks like Mass Effect, which is awesome. As much as I like Mass Effect the Star Wars galaxy is a far bigger place with a lot of avenues to explore. Listen to me thinking sequel already. But seriously watch the newest trailer below. I’m all for a sequel already:

The playable cinematic gameplay I would imagine is akin to something like Resident Evil 4 or parts of the Force Unleashed games. Maybe by now they’ve found more innovative ways to do things instead of quick button tapping and button combinations. Check out some direct gameplay below:

Personally I hope that Black Sun is involved somehow in this “criminal conspiracy”. They seem to be the mainstay criminal organization in the Star Wars universe aside from the Hutt Cartels. But then again, we don’t even know which era this will be in. Looking at some of the ship designs I’m betting it will be in the Dark Times era between episodes 3 and 4, which is a time period I love. There’s something about the dark and dangerous storylines in the Star Wars universe where the Empire is always a looming cloud and Jedi, smugglers and rebels alike are constantly on the run from them. The mood of that era does seem to fit perfectly with the supposed gritty and adult themed feel that the game will be sporting.

Hopefully more will be revealed soon as time progresses. (Like a damned release date!) I can’t get enough of the locales of Coruscant, particularly the less savory parts. Whether it is in the comics, movies,  games or books, the Coruscant’s underbelly is a diverse yet dangerous place. The best writing and descriptions of Coruscant are done by author Michael Reaves not only in the excellent Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, but also in the equally awesome Coruscant Nights trilogy that takes place soon after Order 66 and the end of the Clone Wars. I don’t expect any of the locations used by Reaves to be in the game but I’m eagerly anticipating whether or not they give Coruscant the same life that Mr. Reaves was able to convey in his novels.