Christopher Nolan has reiterated his promise — there’s no fourth Batman movie in his future.
With his “The Dark Knight Rises” opening July 20, Nolan joined spouse and producing partner Emma Thomas on the opening panel at the Producers Guild of America’s “Produced By” conference Saturday at Sony Studios. PGA exec director Vance Van Petten asked halfway through the hourlong session if Nolan is planning another Batpic.
No was the answer from Nolan, who had explained that he always has envisioned his Batman story as a trilogy — resulting in “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises.”
“I don’t want to hold anything back,” he added.
He credited Richard Donner’s “Superman” as a key inspiration in pitching “Batman Begins” to Warner Bros. brass nearly a decade ago — rather than relying on the comicbook stories.
“I explained the potential of what was exciting to me,” he recalled. “There really had not been an origin story about this extraordinary figure in an ordinary world.”
Nolan also emphasized that credits the fans of the “Batman” franchise with helping to guide him.
“You’re really working with something that belongs to the audience,” he added.
The discussion covered a wide range of topics such as flexibility in producing — “You have to turn on a dime,” Nolan said — and a spirited defense of shooting on film rather than digitally.
“Film is most analogous to what the eye sees,” Nolan said.
He added that the push for digital shooting is the result of economics.
“The change is being forced in a consumer way,” Nolan said. “It’s not about what is going to give me the best images.”
