Here are a few pics of the new Joker action figure from Batman: The Dark Knight, created by Hot Toys, which is about to hit the market … I’m just amazed at how much this little figure looks exactly like Heath Ledger. I mean, I know that action figures are supposed to look like the actors who play their characters but that isn’t always the case … in this instance, the likeness is uncanny:

Hot Toys is releasing a 1/6th scale figure of The Joker in “Bank Robber” mode. The figure stands 12-inches tall, features 32-points of articulation, and comes with a choice of two removable heads, one with a huge grin, the other with the slicked back hair. Accessories include a removable clown mask, handgun, a bigger gun, duffle bag, smoke and fragmentation grenades, playing cards, gotham city money and more.

Click HERE to see more photos of this action figure, it’s really very remarkably made. I have a pretty good feeling that Heath would’ve gotten a real kick out of this action figure had he been able to see while he still lived. I think it’s a pretty cool tribute to the chilling character that he portrayed in The Dark Knight. Well done.

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At last … my new VW baby Wülfgang Jürgen-Klaüs is finally complete. Because of a missing part at the VW dealership where I purchased my new Tiguan I had to delay the installation of the included Bluetooth kit until I got back from my European vacay. Yesterday I was able to get that final installation taken care of and now my baby is complete! I managed to drop off Wülfie for service before Darion and I went out to see The Dark Knight in IMAX …

… by the time the epic film was finished, my Bluetooth was installed and all was right with the world. After I picked up my car, Darion and I went to Buddha’s Belly in Santa Monica for dinner and called it a night.

I’m telling you, seeing The Dark Knight in IMAX is a completely different experience than seeing it “merely” in theaters. IMAX is so larger than life, it’s deffo worth the trek if you have an IMAX near you. The size and clarity is just stunning … we had a great time. Dinner was fun, we walked a bit along the Third Street Promenade before going our separate ways. D met up with some friends for clubbin’ but I wanted to get home to chill.

I have an appointment this afternoon and possibly dinner plans with my friend Michael (who I haven’t seen in ages). Nothing too fancy going on … I’m trying to lie low until David arrives later on this week and we fly off to Jackson Hole, WY for our wedding — well, not our wedding but to attend the wedding of our dear friend Sashie. So yeah … I guess that is all.

Christian Bale (with his beautiful wife Sibi by his side), Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart and director Christopher Nolan were all on hand at the Tokyo International Forum in Tokyo yesterday for the Japanese premiere of Batman: The Dark Knight. Here are a few pics from the red carpet arrivals at yesterday’s premiere:

First, I think it’s amazing seeing Christian Bale smiling again. He looks so happy … even tho I’m sure that the memory of his recent embarrassing incident with his estranged family members is still fresh in his mind, he looks great — as if he’s already moved well beyond that dark incident. I think it’s pretty safe to say that The Dark Knight is pretty much on track to fully conquer the world. It’s already well on it’s way to becoming the most successful film in US box office history (it looks like the Titanic is going to sink again) and is also proving to be a big hit all around the world. I’m anxious to get back to the States to see it again … next time, on IMAX. And the TDK juggernaut rolls on …

[Photo credit: Wireimage]

Ever the consummate professional, Christian Bale attended the Spanish premiere of Batman: The Dark Knight at the Coliseum Cinema in Barcelona, Spain last night in the wake of the troubling family issues that came to light earlier this week in London. Joined by his loving and supportive wife Sibi Balzac (along with his TDK co-stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart and his director Christopher Nolan) Christian took to the red carpet to pose for photos and also spent about 30 minutes signing autographs for the assembled fans … tho, he did opt out of giving any interviews. Here are a few pics of Christian with his wife Sibi at yesterday’s premiere:

A day after his arrest on assault allegations, Christian Bale turned out for the premiere of The Dark Knight in Spain on Wednesday, meeting fans but avoiding questions from reporters. Wearing a dark blue suit, Bale, 34, signed autographs and posed for photos with his wife Sibi and his Batman costars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart at the event in Madrid. Bale, released by police in London Tuesday afternoon, appeared calm and relaxed after arriving at the premiere in a 15-car motorcade, the Associated Press reports. He did not speak to reporters or say anything about his arrest, according to AP.

The Daily Mail has published more conjecture (by way of The Sun) concerning the alleged altercation that took place at the Dorchester Hotel this past Sunday night which resulted in Bale’s arrest Tuesday. In addition to pleas for money, the paper also reports that Bale’s estranged mother and/or sister said some insulting and disparaging things about his wife that added to the tense situation (which was later alleged to be assault):

Batman star Christian Bale argued with his sister after she asked him for £100,000 to help raise her children, it was alleged today. The 34-year-old Batman star is reported to have snubbed the plea and allegedly “pushed and shoved” Sharon and his mother Jenny, 61, during a row in his suite at the Dorchester Hotel on Monday. A source told The Sun: “Christian is a very wealthy man and was asked to help his sister out financially. He was asked to loan her £100,000 but he refused and it caused an almighty row.” Jenny Bale is also said to have made highly disparaging comments about the star’s glamorous wife of eight years, Sibi, 38, a former make-up artist and model.

Again, I totally believe that Christian Bale will be vindicated of these charges and I not only commend him for sticking to his commitments and attempting to carry on in a professional manner but I commend his loving wife for staying by his side thru all of this drama. I imagine it must be terribly painful to have to contend with family issues like this in the public eye but Christian seems to be soldiering on like a champ.

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Batman: The Dark Knight had its UK premiere at Odeon Leicester Square in London, England last night where the principal stars (including Christian Bale, who has been since arrested for alleged assault against his mother and sister) came out for the event. Here are a few pics from the red carpet arrivals last night:

It’s hard to not think about the allegations against Christian Bale right now, especially when looking at photos of the man. In any event, everyone looked great on the red carpet … Maggie Gyllenhaal especially looked great in her sexy black dress. Here are a few pics of some of the other celebs who came out for the premiere:

As always, it’s nice to see the McFly boys out and about and how about that Kelly Osbourne. The girl see-saws between lookin’ really tragic to lookin’ really good — she looks pretty amazing these days, I think. I’m not sure what Ne-Yo was doing at the premiere (it’s a pretty random sighting) but I’m sure a good time was had by all. I am very much looking forward to hearing what folks in the UK and Europe think about The Dark Knight. After setting 8 box office records here in the US last weekend, I’m curious to see how the rest of the world will receive the film.

[Photo credit: Splash News]

After many, many, many months of anticipatory hype (going all the way back to May of 2007 when we got our very first look at Heath Ledger as the Joker), the sequel to Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins opened in theaters this weekend to incredible demand. The Dark Knight managed to not only enjoy the biggest opening weekend in box office history but it also set 7 other box office records as well. Spider-Man 3 previously owned the opening weekend box office record of $151.1 million until now … Batman: The Dark Knight generated $153.34 million this weekend, setting a new benchmark high:

A Warner Bros. executive says the Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” has taken in $155.34 million to top “Spider-Man 3″ for best opening weekend ever at the box office. The figures released Sunday show “The Dark Knight” more than $4 million ahead of the $151.1 million first weekend for “Spider-Man 3″ in May 2007. Studio distribution chief Dan Fellman says “The Dark Knight” also broke the “Spider-Man 3″ record for best debut in IMAX large-screen theaters with $6.2 million. “Spider-Man 3″ opened with $4.7 million in IMAX cinemas. Stoked by fan fever over the manic performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, “The Dark Knight” also set a one-day box office record with $66.4 million on opening day, Fellman said Saturday. The movie’s Friday haul surpassed the previous record of $59.8 million set last year by “Spider-Man 3.” iReport.com: Did you see ‘Dark Knight’? “The Dark Knight” began with a record $18.5 million from midnight screenings, topping the previous high of $16.9 million for “Star Wars: Episode III — The Revenge of the Sith.” The opening day grosses for “The Dark Knight” far exceeded the full weekend haul of its predecessor, “Batman Begins,” which took in $48.7 million in its first three days in 2005. Reviews were excellent for director Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins,” but they were stellar for his “Dark Knight.” “We’ve really never seen anything like this,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. “The death of a fine actor taken in his prime, a legendary performance and a movie that lives up to all the hype. That all combined to create these record-breaking numbers.” Buzz had been high for the Batman sequel well before Ledger died of an accidental prescription-drug overdose in January. Trailers last fall revealing Ledger’s demented Joker, with crooked clown makeup, turned up the heat even more. The critical acclaim over his performance that built from advance screenings left fans in a frenzy. “It’s a combination of things. Certainly, that’s a great part of it, but I think this movie’s gross was partly because of the reviews it received and the incredible buzz and word of mouth that preceded it with our early screenings,” Fellman said. “And the success and quality of the last one, ‘Batman Begins,’ delivered by Chris Nolan just set the tone for the opening of this movie” … The film spins an epic crime duel as Ledger’s Joker orchestrates a reign of terror on the city of Gotham aimed to spread chaos and break down the restraint that keeps Batman on the right side of the law. Although critics are taking the film seriously enough to suggest that Ledger could be in line for an Academy Award nomination, the action-packed movie also delivers as pure summer movie escapism.

Here is a list of all the box office records set by The Dark Knight in its opening weekend:

1 - LARGEST NUMBER OF OPENING THEATRES WITH 4,366 (MORE THAN THE 4,362 DEBUT THEATRES OF PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END IN 2007).

8 - BIGGEST JULY OPENING EVER (BEATS PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST‘S $135,634,554 ON JULY 7, 2006).

I, for one, am not at all surprised by this stellar performance at the box office. In fact, I would’ve been surprised had The Dark Knight not surpassed the previous opening weekend box office record. I contend that the film will go on to make gads of money in the coming weeks … there are still many people out there who have yet to see the film (primarily because the majority of this weekend’s showings were completely sold out). As a huge Batman fan, I’m thrilled. My wish is that TDK and Heath Leger, in particular, will go on to enjoy recognition from the Academy come awards season. It’s a long shot but stranger things have happened. If Juno can garner Academy Award noms, then so can The Dark Knight.

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