While the rest of the dork world obsesses over which villains will be in the next Batman, I’m much more interested in what the guy who directed Memento, Insomnia, and the Prestige is doing with his non-comic book movie — probably because I’m so sophisticated (as you can see by this fine Italian loincloth).  The third trailer (above) and some TV spots (below) for Christopher Nolan’s Inception have just hit, and they’re beginning to give us some idea of the plot.

I’m always a little put off when a movie starts telling me it’s going to be about dreams, because dream sequences are almost always lame.  Case in point, the Nightmare on Elm Street trailer (Oh my God, it’s snowing… inside?  That’s so surreal!  You’re a genius!).  But this is Chris Nolan we’re talking here, and unimaginative he is not. Sample dialog:

DICAPRIO: “We create the world of the dream. We bring the subject into that dream, and they fill it with their secret. ” [Editor's note: Heh heh...]

ELLEN PAGE: “Then you break in and steal it?”

DICAPRIO: “Well, it’s not exactly legal.  It’s called ‘Inception.’ [...]

I think I’ve found a way home. And this last job?  That’s how I get there.  Dreams feel real while we’re in them.  It’s only when we wake up that we realize something’s actually strange.”

Beginning a sentence with “I was reading a Chuck Klosterman essay recently…” makes me want to strangle myself with my own scarf, but I was reading a Chuck Klosterman essay recently on the subject of Vanilla Sky, Memento and The Matrix, in which he was saying how “What is reality?” is really the only interesting question a movie can ask nowadays.  And how in sci-fi, the subject always chooses the depressing reality over the pleasant, real-feeling dream without much struggle or reflection.  Perhaps we’ll see something different here?  To put it in movie short hand, Inception looks like Tron meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind if it was a heist film, with elements of Dark City and Star Trek: Generations.  (*head explodes*)

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The JLA movie I said was never going to happen months ago is now officially on hold until after the writers’ strike ends.

Word leaked in the fall that the script, by the husband-and-wife team of Kieran and Michele Mulroney, was good but that subsequent rewrites, including the latest by Miller, had pacing issues and took the project in the wrong direction. [Reuters]

Ahh yes, “pacing issues”.  I ran into those when I was working on my script about Squiggy the Omnipotent Unicorn.  His invulnerability wasn’t a problem, it was just hard to keep a consistent level of intensity, you know?

The decision to put the project on hold now frees up the actors who had been cast in such roles as Superman (Scott Porter), Batman (Armie Hammer), Wonder Woman (Megan Gale), Green Lantern (Common) and the Flash (Adam Brody). Extensions on their contracts expired Tuesday. 

Yes, I’m sure all of Hollywood’s auteurs were beating down Scott Porter’s door.  Oh well, I bet he got some sweet pictures for his myspace page. 

"Justice’s" delay is considered good news for Christopher Nolan’s camp. The director is in post-production on "The Dark Knight," the sequel to "Batman Begins," and is said to have been unhappy with the "Justice League" movie because its version of Batman clashed with his one, starring Christian Bale. Nolan has been resisting directing a third "Batman" movie, though the studio would relish the possibility and could begin heavy courting.

Note to studio: I recommend “Grandma’s Summertime Strip-me-naked” for all your “heavy courting” needs (RAWR!).  A 30 pack of bud, a handle of the strongest grain alcohol you can find, and a package of Countrytime Lemonade.  Makes a nice little apertif.  Three glasses and he’ll be putty in your hands. (Four glasses will kill him, so be careful). 

Al Roker visited the set of The Dark Knight this morning, and as expected, compelling television ensued.

Okay, pop quiz. What’s wrong with this sentence:  "The Batman franchise has has an almost cult-like following, with the films grossing a total of one and a half billion dollars."  Gee, Al, sounds pretty mainstream to me.

Also, didn’t Christian Bale used to be British?  What’s up with the accent?  He sounds like that episode of Friends where Ross fakes the British accent and then tries to phase it out. I mean, uh… it reminds me of that one time… I was, uh… watching football with the guys, and… STOP LOOKING AT ME!

I love these promotional tours they put the poor actors through where they have to explain the psyche of character they’re playing from a philosophical standpoint, even if the character is Captain Hook or a talking donkey.  Thanks for sociology lesson, Bale!  Keep nodding fascinatedly, Roker! Such insightful questions, "So, what’s Batman like?"  I swear they pay these people to be as dumb as the folks at home.