My Brush With The Dark Knight...

A few months ago, I had gone to China on vacation in Yunnan (see archives for the pics if you want to check that out), and after the tour we also made a stop in Hong Kong. Guess who was in town at the same time as me?

I couldn't have planned it better. Here's a pic from the local
news: Mr. Shawshank Redemption and Mr. Memento
in the flesh.

They were in town for a few days, so I thought - what the heck? Shouldn't pass this up!

Most of the interiors and night shoots were in a part of Hong Kong called Lan Kwai Fong, a tourist area filled with ex-pat bars, dance clubs and a portion of the business district. A real "Word Hard, Play Hard" kind of area.

Here was the name the production was under during
the shoot.

From what I can piece together, this was the hotel
that the stuntman jumps from in the movie. Interiors for
the crimeboss capture were also shot here as well, but
don't quote me on that.

Here's me with the other onlookers trying to get a glimpse
at the production. Since this night was mostly for interiors,
the only person we got to see was Nolan.

This was taken minutes before director Chris Nolan
stepped out of the black Mercedes. I still regret not
having a telescopic lense that night to get the shot.
By the time I recognized him, he was already inside the
lobby.

The white van carried a bunch of the crew that was
working on set.

Security was pretty tight-lipped, considering that they were
trying to keep this thing a secret in one of the biggest little cities
in the world. The crowd was roudy, but polite -- which is
not typical of Hong Kongers at all...

I don't know if it's in the movie or not, but the news said
that Morgan Freeman also shot a dialogue scene here,
on the longest escalator in the world. Eh, I guess they
figured that if they made it this far, might as well
feature this thing too.

NOTE: This escaltor was also featured in the film
Chunking Express by Wong Kar Wai. It's used in the plot,
and I won't give it away here.

And just like that, after a few days, they were gone.
I still didn't get to see Bale or Freeman, but hey, it was all
fun.

The Dark Knight opens nationwide tomorrow.

Okay Warners, I've plugged the film. Where's my money?... ;)