New Batman movie completes high profile shooting in Hong Kong
Hong Kong (AP): The new Batman movie starring Christian Bale has finished most of its filming in Hong Kong with a scene showing dozens of police officers storming a skyscraper in the financial district, the local production company assisting the filmmakers said on Monday.
The sequence filmed late Sunday and early Monday, which did not involve any of the movie's stars, marks the end of a high-profile shoot clouded by pollution and energy consumption concerns.
An official at Hong Kong's October Pictures said filmmakers could shoot more footage of Hong Kong's famed skyline at sunset, but it was unlikely. The official declined to give his name.
Earlier, director Christopher Nolan and his crew filmed Christian Bale, who plays Bruce Wayne and Batman, and Morgan Freeman, who portrays Lucius Fox, having a conversation on a pedestrian bridge that connects Hong Kong's Central financial district and the upscale Mid-Levels residential area, the official said.
They also filmed Lucius Fox arriving at the same office building stormed by the police officers and chatting with security guards, he said.
Bale said at a press conference Friday he was scheduled to jump off Hong Kong's tallest building, the 90-floor International Finance Center, a sequence also featured in ``Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life,'' starring Angelina Jolie.
``The Dark Knight,'' which also involves scenes shot in Chicago and London, involves Batman leaving Gotham City for the first time.
His foray into Asia hit several snags in Hong Kong, however, with local media reporting that filmmakers cut a scene involving Batman jumping from a plane into the city's Victoria Harbor because of its filthy waters. Nolan denied the reports, saying the change was a scripting decision.
Environmental activists also criticized a request from October Pictures asking tenants of waterfront buildings to keep their lights on all night to better showcase Hong Kong's skyline, filled with glittering skyscrapers, calling it a waste of energy.
Hong Kong officials earlier also expressed concern over noise pollution and traffic chaos during the shoot.
``The Dark Knight,'' a sequel to the 2005 hit ``Batman Begins,'' also stars Heath Ledger as the Joker and Michael Caine as Batman's butler, Alfred. The Warner Bros. production is due out next summer.
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