GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS #209

Friday 7th May 2004

FIRST OFFICIAL "BATMAN BEGINS" PHOTOS

The headline says it all really. Check out the rest of the news on BATMAN BEGINS and the CATWOMAN movie in the Movie News section below.

The latest NOTES FROM THE CAVE Column was posted this week at the Defender Of Gotham website. This time around I have a few thoughts on if we are heading for another wave of Batmania

So enjoy and as always we'll see you next week - Alan J. Porter

Check out our new GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS logo t-shirt. Now available on-line here.

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IN THIS ISSUE

• Comics News
• Inside Gotham City panel at WonderCon
• Comics Shipping
• In Stores - May 12th
• TV News
• JL end and start dates.
• "The Batman" updates
• TV Schedules
• Justice League
• Teen Titans
• Super Friends
• UK Schedule
• Movie News
• Batman Begins
• Cast additions.
• Location news
• Catwoman
• Trailer on-line
• Official Website launched
• Meet The Bat Team
• Novi MI, May 14-16
• Pasadena CA, May 15-16
• Philadelphia, May 21-23
• Bristol UK, May 29-30

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Comics News

INSIDE GOTHAM CITY

At the recent WonderCon, writers Greg Rucka, Devin Grayson, Ed Brubaker, and Judd Winick got together to host an "Inside Gotham City" panel. Although few, if any, project announcemnets were made there was a lot of fan / creator intercation most of it centered around the upcominf War Games cross-over storyline.

Devin Grayson announced that she will write the Batman $0.12 Adventure, which will act as a lead in to the  upcoming “War Games” crossover.  Ed Brubaker added that someone the characters in Catwoman care about ends up dying during “War Games,” but the death won’t be discovered until after the crossover is over.

Gotham Central #23-#24 will also tie into the crossover, while #25 will begin a new storyline. The critically accalimed series will swap it’s current six-issue arc structure for three or four issue arcs.

“War Games” will also pick up some threads from “Hush.”

When asked how the writers would end Batman, if they were given the assignment to finish the character’s stories. Rucka said that in the next twelve to eighteen months, he would be doing his version of that particular story.

Comics Shipping (May 12th)

BATMAN #627 - Written by Judd Winick; art by Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend; painted cover by Matt Wagner - The 5-part "As the Crow Flies" continues as BATMAN ships biweekly in May! This issue features one of a trio of painted covers by TRINITY's Matt Wagner that includes ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #628 and WONDER WOMAN #204! The Penguin has teamed up with the Scarecrow to slice off a big piece of Gotham's underworld. Can Batman and Robin possibly stop this unholy alliance? - BATMAN  |  32pg.  |  Color  |  $2.25

BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #179 - Written by A.J. Lieberman; art by Greg Scott; cover by Jorgé Zaffino - The mind-bending origin of Fat Man and Little Boy, from BATMAN's "Broken City," in a stand-alone issue written by A.J. Lieberman (BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS) with art by Greg Scott (GOTHAM CENTRAL, Sabretooth)! From their debut in Japan to the real reasons behind why they're in Gotham City, learn the secrets behind Batman's newest foes! - BATMAN  |  32pg.  |  Color  |  $2.50

GOTHAM CENTRAL #19 - Written by Ed Brubaker; art by Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano; cover by Lark - Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark return to launch an all-new arc sure to intrigue GOTHAM CENTRAL readers and longtime Batman fans alike! Driver finds himself in the middle of a hostage situation that quickly turns deadly, leaving him and Josie Mac with more questions than answers. But their resulting investigation reveals a link to a 10-year old mass-murder case and a disgraced detective not seen in the Bat-books in years: Harvey Bullock! Even more disconcerting, all that leads back to a very familiar face from Batman's Rogues Gallery! - BATMAN  |  32pg.  |  Color  |  $2.50

GREEN ARROW #38 - Written by Judd Winick; art by Phil Hester and Ande Parks; cover by Marcos Martīn and Alvaro Lopez - Part 5 of the dramatic 6-part "City Walls," guest-starring BATMAN! Demon hordes have overrun Star City. Batman faces innumerable obstacles trying to break through the mystical barrier surrounding the city. Only Ollie, Connor and a rag-tag group of cops and crooks can save the city's inhabitants now! Will Oliver's Army save the day? - DC UNIVERSE  |  32pg.  |   Color  |  $2.50

JLA #98 - Written by John Byrne and Chris Claremont; art and cover by Byrne and Jerry Ordway - In the penultimate chapter of "The Tenth Circle" by Byrne, Claremont & Ordway, the horrified JLA learns about the vampire coven's genocidal plans! Could it be that the World's Greatest Super-Heroes are no match for this growing evil tide? And will the JLA convince the mysterious but powerful super-group that has been shadowing them to step out of the shadows and lend a hand? - DC UNIVERSE  |  32pg.  |  Color  |   $2.25

NIGHTWING #93 - Written by Devin Grayson; art and cover by Patrick Zircher and Andy Owens - The final chapter in the year-long saga that has seen Nightwing lose his job, his love, his home and several of his closest friends! Tonight, it's just Nightwing vs. Blockbuster - the deadliest of adversaries in their final face-off. This is an issue people will be talking about for years - don't miss this shocking story! - BATMAN  |  32pg.  |  Color  |  $2.25

TEEN TITANS #11 - Written by Geoff Johns; art by Mike McKone and Marlo Alquiza; cover by McKone and Lary Stucker - Part 3 of the 4-part "Raven Rising!" It's up to Raven and the last standing Titan to save their teammates from Brother Blood's clutches. But with Deathstroke and the Ravager in their way, along with hundreds of Brother Blood cult members, it looks like the bloodletting has only begun. - DC UNIVERSE  |  32pg.  |  Color  |  $2.50

TV News

JUSTICE LEAGUE FINALE AND NEW SERIES DATES

The Comics Continuum reports that "Starcrossed," the ninety-minute season finale to Justice League, will debut on Cartoon Network on Saturday, May 29, at 7:30pm (ET/PT), the network said today. The feature-length story will bring down the curtain on Justice League, which will be reconfigured as Justice League Unlimited for the fall 2004 season. The new series will debut on August 7.

ALAN BURNETT TALKS "THE BATMAN "

Alan Burnett, a producer on the Batman animated series, is a consultant on the upcoming The Batman series that will launch this fall on Kids' WB!.

"It's a departure from our Batman, only in look, really," Burnett said at the Warner Bros. Animation panel during the recent WonderCon. "It's really true to the mythology of Batman. It just takes him younger. He's in his mid-20s and he's been at it for about three years, so he's still trying to find his way as a super-hero, although he's pretty confident and does it pretty well.    He meets the villains for the first time in this particular series." Burnett said the scripts and the look of the show have been "great."

"They have not tried to do a look that would improve on Bruce Timm's because that's quite impossible," Burnett said. "But they've come up with a new look that's great-looking."

While appealing to a Saturday morning audience, Burnett said he also found the scripts to be "quite sophisticated. There's a lot of action in it," he said. "I think it's going to be great. And I say that as somebody who's not hands on. It's not my creation. I'm consulting, and I'm offering suggestions here and there."

Burnett said that Kevin Michael Richardson has come up with a suitably weird voice for The Joker. "It's almost like a baritone Blue Meanie. It's the eeriest voice," Burnett said. "I can't wait for you to hear his voice. It's unbelievable."

And in a link to previous small-screen incarnations of Batman, the TV Riddler from the sixties, Frank Gorshin, has provided the voice of Hugo Strange for the upcoming  animated seies.

TV Schedules

JUSTICE LEAGUE (Cartoon Network)

• Sunday May 9th - 10:30pm - In Blackest Night - Part 1

TEEN TITANS (Cartoon Network)

• Friday May 7th - 6:30pm - Divide And Conquer
• Saturday May 8th - 12:00pm - Deep Six
• Monday May 10th - 6:30pm - Sisters
• Monday May 10th - 10:00pm  - Final Exam
• Tuesday May 11th - 6:30pm - Forces of Nature
• Tuesday May 11th - 10:00pm - Sum Of His Parts
• Wednesday May 12th - 6:30pm - Nevermore
• Wednesday May 12th - 10:00pm - Switched
• Thursday May 13th - 6:30pm - Deep Six
• Thursday May 13th - 10:00pm - Mask
• Friday May 14th - 6:30pm - Mad Mod

TEEN TITANS (KidsWB)

• Saturday May 8th - 9:00am - The Apprentice

SUPER FRIENDS (Boomerang)

• no details available

UK TV SCHEDULE

Toonami, Turner's new UK cartoon Network has just started broadcasting. The following Batman shows will be running.

BATMAN OF THE FUTURE (Batman Beyond) :

• Weekdays - 06:30am, 10:30am, 3:00pm.
• Weekends - 07:30am, 12:00 noon, 3:00pm

JUSTICE LEAGUE

• Weekdays & Weekends - 00:30am, 05:10am, 11:30am, 02:30pm, 06:30pm.

Movie News

LATEST BATMAN BEGINS RUMORS & NEWS

• The latest reports from Batman-On-Film indicate that actress Sara Stewart has joined the cast in an unspecified role and that Rick English is doing stunts for the film.. Mark Straker has landed a part in   which is described as "a small, but beautifully formed, role." .British actress Alexandra Bastedo is playing "Mrs. Delane." .British actress Lucy Russell has nabbed the role of "Susan." And the young British actress Siobhan Hewlett is up for the role of Bruce Wayne's secretary "Jessica" according to an interview in World Movie Magazine.
• Rumors of "considerable" changes to the script of BATMAN BEGINS are circulating. It appears that they will not change the tone of the movie but add a few new twists not evident in the copy of the script that was circulating on the net a few weeks ago.
• It appears that the scheduled location work in Chocago later in the year will be filmed as the old Helena Curtis Plant that was shut down at the Intersection of Cicero Ave. & North Ave.
• Leighton-Buzzard Today reports that "filming of the new Batman movie has turned Mentmore into a thriving hive of activity this week. Signs have been erected around the village saying 'TIG' – the initials of the movie's title 'The Intimidation Game' – pointing the way to Mentmore Towers, where scenes for the forthcoming Hollywood blockbuster are being shot until the end of this week. But locals who had hoped to see the some of the movie's stars, including the likes of Christian Bale, Sir Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Katie Holmes and Liam Neeson, have so far been disappointed by Warner's decision to make it a closed set.
  One resident said: "There have been loads of people going up to the gates to see what's going on, but the security guards just keep saying they can't say anything and that no-one's allowed in. There are lots of posh cars with blacked out windows going in and out, but everything is being kept pretty top secret at the moment."
  While filming is taking place at Mentmore Towers – Batman's 'Wayne Manor' home in the movie – a temporary film set is also being constructed in Ivinghoe Aston quarry.
• From IGN comes reports that BATMAN BEGINS will soon be filming at St. Pancras Chambers from May 10th to May 17th.The official site says the building "fronts St Pancras Station. It was built as the Midland Grand Hotel between 1868 and 1876" and remains "a great example of high Victorian Gothic architecture." The hotel closed in 1935 but was later reopened as a railway office and renamed St. Pancras Chambers. It closed down in the 1980s and has remained empty ever since, despite its exterior being renovated during the 1990s. St. Pancras Station, "the gateway between London and the Midlands," is "currently being restored and modernised to provide both a national and international terminal due for full completion in 2007." Gotham City's railway system plays a key role in the story of Batman Begins, with a major action sequence taking place there.

CATWOMAN UPDATES

• The first Teaser Trailer is now avaiable on-line and versions in various media and sizes can be found here.
• Warner Bros. Studios have launched the officialy CATWOMAN MOVIE WEB-SITE this week. It includes downloads, a photo gallery, a synopsis of the film and a sketchbook.
• BET.com has up an exclusive look at an animatic (computer generated storyboard) for the upcoming film! You'll see this same scene in the film with finished CG effects and live-action footage!

Meet The Bat Team

MOTOR CITY COMIC CON - Novi MI, May 14 to 16

Guests at this year's Motor City Comiccon include: NORM BREYFOGLE, GUY DAVIS, DAVE DORMAN.

WIZARD WORLD PHILLY, May 21 to 23

The major East Coast convention of the season has a large and impressive guest list, including: MICHAEL TURNER, TOMMY CASTILLO, DARWYN COOKE, BO HAMPTON,

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GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS is a FOREST COMICS Publication.

 FOREST COMICS and GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS are (c) and TM  - Alan J. Porter (1994 - 2004)

 "GOTHAM WEEKLY NEWS", "GOTHAM GAZETTE - The BATMAN Magazine On the Web" and "THE UNAUTHORIZED BATMAN COLLECTORS GUIDE" are not affiliated to, or endorsed by, either Warner Bros. or DC Comics.

BATMAN and all related characters and indicia are acknowledged as Trademark and copyright DC Comics Inc..

 BATMAN created by Bob Kane & Bill Finger