I’m sorry if my overuse of capitals hurt your eyes, but really, your pain pales in insignificance compared to the prospect of Batman 3 getting underway next year!!! After the colossal success of The Dark Knight, rumours surrounding director Chris Nolan’s third Batman film have been flying out of every A-Lister's orifice. The latest comes from cast member and all-round stellar chap Gary Oldman who plays police commissioner Gordon in the films. Whilst taking part in a panel at Comic-Con with Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis to promote their latest film The Book of Eli, some ballsy person probed Oldman on the latest Batman 3 news. He had this to say:
“We’re starting filming on the next Batman next year. So it won’t be out for another two years at least, I think. But you didn’t hear it from me!”
Actually, Oldman, we did hear it from you since you’re the only semi-reliable person to dish anything about the movie in recent months. Hmmm, another two years you say? That would make a new Batman film due for release around 2012-ish which sounds about right considering Nolan is busy festering away on his latest project Inception. What’s that? Nolan is making a non-Batman film? Yes, kids, believe it or not he’s extremely good at it too. For those wanting to hear all about Nolan’s sci-fi actioner, stay tuned as I intend to post a full run-down on Inception in the next few days.
P.S. Breaking news y'all! The trailer for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland leaked on the net last night and it looks radical! You can watch it in its entirety here. Considering this puppy isn't released in Australian cinema's until March 11 next year, I'm quite ecstatic to see a trailer this early. No doubt a longer version will be released closer to the opening date but as far as sneak peeks go this is psychedelic. You MUST watch. There has been so much hype surrounding this film and the atmosphere was elevated to frenzy this week when a bunch of new stills from the film were shown at Comic-Con (one of which is above). Early days yet, but this looks like it's shaping up to be one of the most original and exciting adaptations of anything in recent years. Not to mention much more faithful to the book which was about an acid trip. Burton's versions looks very much like an acid trip and I'm pretty sure I will try to eat my face if I see it in 3D.
The Sevens, launched today on Secret Location’s website, is a multi-layered narrative experience will also live online at www.whatarethesevens.com and can be enjoyed on a number of levels: as a short film, an interactive game or a fully immersive mystery in which users can participate.
“The interactive film is the start of a larger narrative that we’ll continue to build on over the next year and beyond,” explains company founder James Milward. “A lot of the time the most experimental ideas we have aren’t appropriate or are too risky to hinge the success of our clients on. As a result, we built this experience as a sandbox for us to play in and experiment with ideas, techniques and technology in a way that will prove concept with real users.”
For the past four years, Secret Location has produced several experimental interactive experiences, including Rookie Blue: Interrogation Room, Stanfield’s Guy At Home and Endgame Interactive, which won an International Digital Emmy® in 2012. The Sevens begins with a phone call and contains three puzzles for viewers to solve. In a suburban home, a young girl named Julie is confronted with a series of mysterious symbols that, once arranged in a particular order, unlock a phone number and passcode. If users solve the puzzles and dial the number, they are taken deeper into the story’s narrative by being given a chance to solve one final puzzle in order to reveal an alternative ending.
“The nature of the story is that it keeps drawing you in further and further, making you more vulnerable. It’s the classic Alice In Wonderland rabbit hole scenario,” says Pietro Gagliano, creative director and partner at Secret Location. “We want people to feel shaken up by how deeply immersive the experience feels at the end.” The idea evolved from Secret Location’s portfolio launch four years ago. Set up as a Choose Your Own Adventure-type narrative, the site drove 120,000 people through the portfolio in the first three months. Incidentally, the designers posted a phone number on the bottom of the site for potential clients to call but visitors assumed it was part of the game. “We received nearly 100,000 phone calls in the first six months,” says Gagliano. “Suffice it to say, it was annoying but it did give us an idea and proved that people would call if we asked them to – or even if we didn’t ask them to.”
The team began brainstorming and writing The Sevens in November 2011 with writer/filmmaker José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço and production began in February 2012. Now that it’s live, the creative team intends to grow the story, add new characters and create related content that can live on other sites, such as YouTube. Secret Location has already rolled out several real world elements connected to The Sevens. In tandem with the site launch, cryptic posters featuring characters from the film and chalk stencils of the mysterious symbols and the URL have begun appearing in select cities across North America, including Toronto, New York and Los Angeles. “We’d love to keep adding elements to this narrative,” says Gagliano. “That’s why we created an open invitation at the end of the experience for the user to contribute ideas.” “This is really not the end,” adds Milward. “It’s just the beginning of a growing story eco-system and mythology that we’re creating around The Sevens.”
About Secret Location: Secret Location is an Emmy® Award-winning interactive agency that launches products and solves problems through storytelling for brands, broadcasters and producers. Just four years old, the company is a three-time Webby Awards honoree, was shortlisted for a 2011 Cannes Lion and is a Gemini, AToMiC, Creativity International, CASSIES and Marketing Awards winner. Secret Location is based in Toronto, Canada, and is led by President/Executive Producer James Milward. http://www.thesecretlocation.com/
Credits: Created by Secret Location Executive Producer: James Milward Creative Director & Lead Designer: Pietro Gagliano Technical Director: Ryan Andal Project Manager: Ashlee Lougheed Art Director: Stefan Grambart Graphic Designer: Kai Salminen Editing & Motion Graphics: Steve Miller Assistant Editor: Michael Kazanowski Web Developers: Gino Fazari, Michael Phan, Paul Stodolak Music & Sound Design: Lodewijk Vos & Joseph Murray Cast– In Order of Appearance Dad: David Straus Julie: Elle McFeeters Dog: Pearl Mom: Jennifer Fullerton Written By: José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço & Secret Location Directed By: José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço Director of Photography: Henry Less Assistant Director: Billy Shand Line Producer: Luke Bryant Assistant Camera: Nick Giordano Gaffer: Dave Lewis Art Director: Michael Leach Set DResser: Dylan Jackson Sound Recordist: Edward Senkowski Hair & Makeup: Margot Keith Wardrobe Stylist: Sarah Millman Production Assistant: Derek Modesto Contributors: Adam Drake Adam Park Ann Marie Donnelly CJ Hervey Graham Budd Jenn Hartnoll Jory Krüspe Josh Manricks Kathryn Rawson Noora Abu Eitah Sabrina Saccoccio
