Classic

THEY’RE BACK! Cheetahmen II: "PLAY OR DIE"

For those of you who aren’t aware, Cheetahmen II is a horrid but beloved sequel to the original found on ACTION 52 for the NES. The sequel was never completed or officially released. But in 1996 roughly 1,500 cartridges were found in a warehouse (in Orlando, FL) and then released on the secondary market. The retro gaming community was never the same since…

ACTION 52 was an unlicensed Nintendo cartridge containing, said 52 games. 51 which were horrendous but out of the fire arose Cheetamen. Aries, Apollo and Hercules are the 3 half-Cheetah, half-Human characters that make up the TMNT inspired, Cheetahmen and are hell bent on stopping the evil Geneticist Dr. Morbis. Compared to the other 51 lack-luster games, Cheetahmen was quite enjoyable… but Cheetahmen II is a whole other story.

Cheetahmen II is legendary for all the wrong reasons, the game controls are stiff and virtually unplayable in every possible way. The game is absurdly difficult but keep in mind it was never fully finished but something tells me if it was… it probably wouldn’t be that much better than it is now. And the game had countless glitches, some so severe that it wouldn’t allow you to progress any further leaving you unable to beat the game.

Cheetahmen is respectfully the Troll 2 of NES games, complete with a cult following of millions world wide. You can find YouTube videos of the games theme song being remixed (I remember texting the lyrics to a Cheetahmen inspired rap song I wrote to Alex Gothelf a few years ago, it had a heavy Lil’ Wayne feel to it. I named it “Cheetahmeng“), bad ass fan art, and the AVGN has even ripped the Cheetahmen games an entertaining new asshole.

But it looks like the Cheetahmen are far from done. Greg Pabich the owner of the sole prototype of the ACTION 52 cart has gotten busy tracking down the original programmer (Mario Conzalez), locking down the trademarks and copyrights necessary and forming a team aptly named the “CULT OF CHEETAHMEN” in an attempt to finish and bring this infamous unreleased game to market… as an actual NES cartridge!

So to help him out with this endeavor, Greg has turned to crowd funding to help finish the project, which I assume will be very expensive; and has reached out to famous internet gaming personalities to help spread the word to “non believers” and fans alike as stated on their page. So if you’re a die-hard retro gamer or just a fan of games in general. Get your ass on over to their Kickstarter Page and get involved in making GAME HISTORY!

The idea of buying a newly released game cartridge for my dusty-ass NES is awesome! Ohhh yeeeaahhh!!!  🙂

-Eric Chacón
Follow me on Twitter @CaptxCrunch

Tickle Your Pickle: "The Lion King Rises"

For This week’s selection of Tickle Your Pickle Fridays, we show you one of the best Hands Down mash up trailers ever made: “The Lion King Rises”.

This trailer is freaking MIND BLOWING it was Edited by Brad Hansen (CraveOnline.com), aka MovieMaestroTen even “The Dark Knight Rises” Director Christopher Nolan loved it he thought it was “pretty epic” in an Entertainment Weekly article: LINK to Article

so enough talk..check out the video below

Footage property of Disney Studios. Audio property of Warner Bros. Pictures. Use under parody.

-Brian Lansangan
Follow me on Twitter @MrSnugglenutz84

Bombshell Profile: Kate Upton

Today’s selection for Bombshell Profile is the one an only Kate Upton.

Katherine “Kate” Upton is an American model and actress known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue first in 2011, when she was named Rookie of the Year, and again in 2012, when she was announced as the cover model.

Upton was born on June 10, 1992 in St. Joseph, Michigan and raised in Melbourne, Florida. She attended Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy. Her uncle is U.S. Representative Fred Upton, Republican of Michigan’s 6th congressional district.

She also has appeared in two films these past two years: Tower Heist and The Three Stooges
PICTURE GALLERY:

VIDEO:

You can follow Kate Upton on her Twitter @KateUpton

-Brian Lansangan
Follow me on Twitter @MrSnugglenutz84

╬D Recommendation: "The Room"

“The Room” is our ╬D Recommendation of the week, Be Warn…this movie is so bad, its sooo good. We watch it so you don’t have to…but I recommend you should watch it at least once in your life.

LOWDOWN:
An American black comedy about love and passion, betrayal and lies. It depicts the depths of friendship and relationships in one’s life and raises life’s real and most asked question: “Can you ever really trust anyone?…Are you ready to see reflections of your life? A successful banker, Johnny, is madly in love with his fiancé, Lisa, and plans to be married next month. His plans take a horrid turn when he finds the truth about Lisa and the people surrounding him.

REVIEW:
Multiple drop off plots, awful diaolague, Horrific acting, but overal immensly entertaining. A massive bust at a dark drama that is terribly done, so bad that it was advertised as a black comedy when Wiseau never intended or wanted to market it as a black comedy. But really, it’s worth a view.

The Room is amazing! Not because of great acting, a great script, and a great director, but because of how awful it is! Tommy Wiesau wrote, directed, produced, and stars in this big beautiful mess of a movie. It is the ultimate “so bad, its good” movie. Go see for yourself especially with the RIFFTRAX track.

OVERALL: It’s not so much the bad acting, it’s the bizarre script, quirky characters, subplots that are mentioned, then never discussed again, an Incredibly odd and distracting soundtrack, Characters that are never seen again, football being played 3 feet away from each-other, And who can forget the chicken noises? Its a pretty damn hilarious movie, and even if you don’t find it funny, its still undoubtedly 10X more interesting than most films out there today

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5 templar crosses out of 5
IT’S SO BAD, IT’S GOOD AND IT’S TEARING ME APART!!!!!!


TRAILER:
CREDITS:

Tommy Wiseau as Johnny the man with the silver tongue
Juliette Danielle as Lisa
Greg Sestero as Mark
Philip Haldiman as Denny
Carolyn Minnott as Claudette
Robyn Paris as Michelle
Mike Holmes as Mike
Dan Janjigian as Chris-R
Kyle Vogt as Peter
Greg Ellery as Steven

-Brian Lansangan
follow me on Twitter @MrSnugglenutz84

Comic Review: Gotham Central, Book 1: In the Line of Duty

Gotham Central, Book 1: In the Line of Duty, is next selection on next Comic Review.

LOWDOWN:
The first ten issues of the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning series is collected in hardcover for the first time! Written by Ed Brubaker (Captain America) and Greg Rucka (Detective Comics, 52), this series pitted the detectives of Gotham City’s Special Crimes Unit against the city’s greatest villains – in the shadow of Batman himself.


This volume collects two cases of the Gotham Special Crimes Unit. In the first, a cop is killed by Mister Freeze, and the squad is in a race against time to bring him in without the help of the Dark Knight. In the second story–the acclaimed, award-winning “Half a Life”–Detective Renee Montoya is outed as a lesbian and finds her work environment and personal life turned upside down. Things only become more complicated when she’s kidnapped by Two-Face. This debut volume features an introduction by acclaimed mystery author Lawrence Block.

REVIEW:
If any series ever deserved the hardcover reprint treatment, Gotham Central is it. The book is as good as any police procedural on television, giving names and personalities to the Gotham police force that up until that point had been relegated to minor background characters and cannon fodder for Joker, Two-Face and the like. A tragic run-in with Mr. Freeze in the opening pages is enough to suck readers in, and Rucka and Brubaker continually drive home the cost of being a good cop in a city that relies on Batman for protection. Honestly, Batman’s portrayal during this era of comics was never great, often crossing the line from being edgy and gritty into just being unlikable. Gotham Central really puts this in perspective with the cops only asking for assistance from Batman as an absolute last resort (a theme that intensifies in the next volume). Also spotlighted this volume is the relationship between Renee Montoya and Two-Face, which Rucka had been steadily building since Batman: No Man’s Land, Vol. 2.

OVERALL:
I am very please with the product by DC and the team. Brubaker, Rucka, and Lark created characters that are three-dimensional, and not the same out boring cops. Every character has their flaws, and some more than others. This is not a pretty world that the cops live in with the madness that is Gotham City. There are egos, conflicts, and that just in the department.

TEMPLAR NOTE:
A great read for adult Batman fans. There’s not much of the Bat, but I found that refreshing. It focuses on the cops, and their resentment toward Batman for solving the crimes they cannot. I really started empathizing with each of the characters. The art is also very nice, and evokes a Year One quality. Highly recommended. I’d love to see this made into a TV show on HBO.

-Brian Lansangan
follow me on Twitter @MrSnugglenutz84

Character Spotlight: Ryu (Street Fighter)

Street Fighter’s Ryu is this week’s exciting selection of Character Spotlight.

Having premiered in the first “Street Fighter” in 1987, Ryu appears as the lead character from the game along with his best friend Ken Masters participating in the Street Fighter tournament. Further games from the series show Ryu to be highly focused on his training, aiming to become the strongest he can. However, his powers also attract several criminals who want to use him for their plans. In some games, Ryu has an alternate form known as Evil Ryu. Ryu has arguably become the most famous character in the fighting game genre, starring in early fighting games such as Street Fighter, but really got well known in Street Fighter II, where he was considered a “basic” character. He, along with Mega Man, is considered one of Capcom’s unofficial “mascots”.

REAL NAME: Ryu

OCCUPATION: Fighter and World Traveler
BIRTHPLACE: Japan
MARITAL STATUS: Single
HEIGHT: 5’9
WEIGHT: 150lbs
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Brown/Black
BLOOD TYPE: O
FIGHTING STYLE: Martial Art rooted in Ansatsuken
FIRST APPEARANCE: Street Fighter in 1987


BIO:
Ryu is portrayed as a Japanese man whose basic and most recognizable attire from the Street Fighter II timeline consists of medium-length brown hair, brown eyes, a long, red headband, a white karate gi with the sleeves ripped off at the shoulders, completely bare feet, and a black belt. Ryu’s first appearance in the original Street Fighter replaced the red headband with a white one and depicted him with bright red hair, gray eyes, and red slippers. In the Street Fighter Alpha series, Ryu’s hair became a lighter shade of brown, and he retained the white headband which hearkens back to his appearance in the first Street Fighter. Ryu would not canonically receive his red headband until after a sparring session with Ken during this timeline. In Street Fighter III, Ryu has black hair, and facial stubble to show his growth in age. Ryu’s gi becomes increasingly tattered and aged throughout the game’s timeline, indicating its years of wear and tear. Ryu’s most recent appearance in Street Fighter IV has him in his original Street Fighter II outfit.

In many of his appearances, Ryu carries around a large, white duffel bag containing items important to his travels, such as clothing, plane tickets, passports, and local currency.

In some official Street Fighter II artwork, Ryu’s belt has four kanji emblazoned upon it: kaze (風 wind), hayashi (林 woods), hi (火 fire) and yama (山 mountain); these four kanji make up the furinkazan. The same four kanji can be seen on a sign on the left-hand side of Ryu’s stage inStreet Fighter II. The four words are based on chapter seven of Sun Tzu’s Art of War, which dictates how one should conduct battle: “as fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as fire, and immovable as the mountain.” These kanji are again visible on his belt in Street Fighter IV.

PERSONALITY:
Ryu is usually a silent, humble, serious individual whose severity is often juxtaposed against the light-hearted, fiery persona of his best friend, Ken. He travels the globe with a stern nature, often appearing to others as boring or detached. On rare occasion, Ryu shows a very bad sense of humor. Ryu’s overarching goal in Street Fighter is to become a total master of his fighting style. To this end, Ryu plays the part of the wandering warrior, and takes both his travels and his training very seriously. Although he appears to be aloof and unemotional, Ryu is actually a kind and good-hearted person. He respects others with skills equal to his own and holds heroic figures like Captain America, Spider-Man and Cyclops in high regard, as seen in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. However, by the time of Street Fighter III, it seems that Ryu has developed a somewhat more friendly personality. He is still very quiet and reserved, but is willing to greet people with a smile and some kind advice, very much like his master Gouken.

There is, however, a dark side to Ryu. His drive to improve himself, no matter the difficulty, can sometimes develop into a drive to win and to be the best, no matter what the cost, as these two goals are so dangerously similar. This darker drive is fed by, and in turn feeds, the Satsui no Hadou within him, an influence which Ryu must constantly fight to suppress (at least until the time of Street Fighter III). Ryu’s desire to be better can sometimes make his advice to his defeated opponents seem more arrogant and judgmental than Gouken’s, though he is fundamentally well-intentioned. In times when his inner darkness threatens to overcome him, Ryu relies on his friends – primarily Ken, Chun-Li, and Sakura – to keep him grounded and snap him out of it.

SPECIAL MOVES:

Ryu’s techniques are the “Hadouken” which has become a staple projectile among fighting referred to as the “Fireball”, the “Shoryuken” which is a favorite among many players to use, referred to as a “Dragon Punch” and is an uppercut maneuver that hits once, and the “Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku” or “Hurricane Kick” as most refer it to. In early versions of Street Fighter 2, Ryu could only use all attacks on the ground, however in later versions, he is able to perform the Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku in the air. Also he has the ability to use a more powerful version of the Hadouken known as the “Shakunetsu Hadouken” where the Hadouken is a variation of fire and deals more damage. In the Alpha series, he has a tactic known as the “Hadou no Kamae” which is a tactic of trickery, fooling the opponent into a potential counter. More variations of Ryu’s attacks came in the form of his medium punch, kick, and heavy punch moves where holding forward and pressing any of the 2 punch buttons enables different attacks which deals two hits but has a delayed start. In Alpha, The Medium Kick action performs a weaker version of the Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku, which deals less damage but is quicker to perform. In the ‘Street Fighter 3series, Ryu gains one new special move called the “Joudan Sokutou Geri” which is a powerful side kick that shoves opponents away with great force while its EX version is powerful to bounce the opponent off the arena wall. In the Street Fighter EX Series, his Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku is replaced with a flying kick attack which can be done in succession by inputting the same command twice or three times.

FIGHTING STYLE:
While Ryu and Ken follow the same martial arts discipline, as the Street Fighter series evolved, the differences between the two characters was portrayed by their attacks: Ryu focused on technique while Ken opted for stylish unpredictability.

Ryu’s normal attacks are slightly slower than Ken’s, albeit straightforward. His special moves are more focused; Ryu inflicts damage with individual strikes rather than combinations. His Shoryuken does only one hit, so Ryu can effectively use this move at full power against airborne opponents. Ryu can dodge projectiles at the start of hisShoryuken maneuver and knock an opponent down with one hit.

Ryu focuses more on the Hadou principle of the fighting style, which translates to him being very skilled with his usage of ki – Ryu has the most concentrated Hadoken between him and Ken, and is surpassed only by Goukenand Akuma (in their “Shin” forms) in both gauge and concentrate in certain instances. However, both Gouken and Akuma have a generation’s worth of experience over him. Ryu is the only student of this martial art capable of using the Shakunetsu Hadouken with the greatest of care—ensuring that the surge still burns bright with flames, but won’t result in immolation.

Ryu and Ken have a comparable duality with Akuma. There are two philosophical approaches to Karate, and Japanese martial arts in general. Do and Jutsu, or The path/way, and method/technique. One is more for personal development (as in judo) and the other is more for practical application (as in jujutsu).

Capcom USA originally referred to Ryu’s fighting style as “Shotokan”, despite bearing little resemblance to the discipline. Because of this, Ryu and other characters who use similar styles (such as Ken and Akuma) are still called “Shoto clones” or “shotos” by fans. Although as the Ryu character is based on the real life events of Yoshiji Soeno, who was a practitioner of kyokushinkai karate under Masu Oyama, the traditional kyokushinkai techniques can be clearly seen in the character’s fighting style, as with Makoto, who’s fighting style and techniques are based off shotokan karate.

In various media, Ryu is also shown as a very versatile fighter, able to quickly adapt on opponent’s fighting style. He also posesses great stamina, which allows him to take a lot of punishment against brutish foes.

-Brian Lansangan
Follow me on Twitter @MrSnugglenutz84

Andy Griffith Dead at 86

We at Templar Digital, are sad to announced that The Great Actor Andy Griffith has died of an undisclosed illness on July 3rd, 2012

Say the name Andy Griffith, and you’ve said something about America. Griffith, who, as Sheriff Andy Taylor on the actor’s namesake 1960s TV comedy, kept the peace, and represented a heartland ideal, died Tuesday, the actor’s friend Bill Friday told WITN News. He was 86.

In addition to The Andy Griffith Show, Griffith created a darkly iconic character in the 1957 film, A Face in the Crowd, and won fans in the long-running whodunit series, Matlock. But, in the end, it was Mayberry that put him on the map. From 1960 to 1968, Griffith’s kindly sheriff raised a son, Opie, played byRon Howard, and a high-strung deputy, Barney Fife, played by Don Knotts. That Taylor, a white lawman in the Civil Rights-era South, became a model of fairness was a tribute to the series.

Born June 1, 1926, in noplace else but North Carolina, Griffith tapped his country roots for laughs in a popular 1950s comedy monologue that begat TV appearances, which begat Broadway and film work, via the Army comedy No Time for Sergeants. Griffith traded on his aw-shucks persona as two-faced populist Lonesome Roads in Elia Kazan‘s A Face in the Crowd. Now considered a classic, the film “didn’t make a dime” back in the day, its star once recalled. “I’d struck out on Broadway, and I’d struck out in the movies, so I kinda had to go to television,” Griffith said in 2008.

From the start, The Andy Griffith Show, with its classic, catchy whistling theme, was an audience and critical favorite. Griffith, however, never won an Emmy for the series, nor was he ever nominated for it. Knotts, who won five straight Emmys as the fumbling Fife, would say people thought mistakenly that Griffith wasn’t acting, that he was just acting natural. Griffith would return the compliment, saying the show owed its early success to Knotts, who died in 2006.

Among latter-day roles, Griffith rated Oscar buzz for playing the sage if exacting diner owner in 2007’s Waitress, and stumped for President Barack Obama in a 2008 campaign ad directed by Howard, his TV son turned Oscar-winning filmmaker. (More controversially, he appeared in a 2010 TV ad that promoted the Obama-backed health-care law.)

In 2005, on the occasion of the actor receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, then-President George W. Bush neatly defined the man and where he stood in the collective American consciousness: “TV shows come and go, but there’s only one Andy Griffith.”
Source: IMDB, E! Online

-Brian Lansangan
follow me on Twitter @MrSnugglenutz84

Prometheus Review

Prometheus is Director Ridley Scott‘s return to form. The story takes place before 1979’s revered sci-fi classic ALIEN. Set in 2093, 30 year’s before the Nostromo. It’s written by Jon Spaihts (The Darkest Hour) and Damon Lindelof (LOST, Cowboys & Aliens). Prometheus manages to stand on it’s own maintaing a unique look and feel while building worlds on top of the existing Alien mythology with out feeling out of place in terms of technical or creature design. It perfectly balances a strange but familiar atmosphere…

Being a fan of the Alien franchise, I had certain expectations going into this film. I’m happy to say that Ridley Scott took those expectations flipped them on their head and shattered them.

Right from the opening of the film, what I’ve come to call the “Genesis” scene, Ridley Scott makes his intentions clear… what you are about to watch is complex, beautiful, terrifying and facinating.

Prometheus isn’t just a return to form for Ridley Scott but for the sci-fi genre itself. Today, science fiction is more known for it’s lite hearted, brain disengaging story lines and eye popping special effects. Growing up in the late 80’s early 90’s, science fiction was better known for introducing strange new “ideas” and the serious “exploration” of possibilites. Prometheus refreshingly engages this concept.

The movie, besides it’s entertaining value, brilliantly asks the heavy questions. Where do we come from? Are we alone in the universe? Do we have a creator? What happens after we die? The movie explores those questions through the impeccably casted crew of the Prometheus and is the underlying motivation for the principle characters, who’s points of view range from Christianity, Creationism, Darwinism, to Atheistic. Needless to say, the movie doesn’t pretend to know all the answers instead leads our curiosity down a perpetual path of questions.

For example there was a small but interesting scene after the crew discovers the existence of the “Engineers” where Elizabeth Shaw (played by Noomi Rapace) is sharing an intimate moment with Charlie Holloway (played by Logan Marshall-Green).

(More or less the way I remembered it)

Charlie (to Elizabeth): “You can take off your fathers cross now.” 

 Implying that they now have the answer to who created the human race, proving Shaw’s religious beliefs false.

Elizabeth: “Why?” 

Charlie: “Because we found our creators.”

Elizabeth (unwaveringly): “and who made them?”

Prometheus starts with an overwhelming sense of discovery and wonder but promptly hits a slippery slope of terrifying events that progressively increase in shock and intensity. The “Caesarian” scene comes to mind. Which reminds me, this morning the news reported that in Australia a 13 year old boy suffered a seizure during that scene. So you can add Prometheus to the infamous list of movies that killed/almost killed an audience member (Pulp-Ficiton, Jaws).

The Swiss surrealist H.R. Giger returns to create the new creature designs for the film and as you would expect they’re completely faithful to the Alien-verse. Fresh and new but indicative of what the species will inevitably evolve to.

Supporting that sense of exploration and foreshadowing terror is the films soundtrack composed by German composer Marc Streitenfeld which features two supplemental pieces by English composer Harry Gregson-Williams. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack for a week now (I’ve been avoiding the song titles until I saw the film lol) and my 3 favorite tracks are “Life”, “Going In” and “Space Jockey”. Symphonically those 3 tracks sum up the movie for me.

The movie has a running time of 124 minutes and I’ve heard complaints about the films pacing, but in all honesty I didn’t find it to be problematic. To the contrary. Once the story takes a turn for the worst the films pacing induces a feeling of falling down a horrifying rabbit hole. Every climatic moment in the story immediately leads you to the next, twisting your expectations along the way. From the Xenomorphic microbes, the phallic shaped creature, to the “Space Jocky’s” exo-suit. It got to the point for me that I just had to stop trying to outthink the movie and let it resolve itself.

The main characters in the film felt hefty and believable. David the synthetic (played by Michael Fassbender) was creepy, cold, but fascinating to watch. Meredith Vickers (played by Charlize Theron) was rigid, authoritarian but alluded to something more. Elizabeth Shaw (played by Noomi Rapace) was surprisingly good and well fleshed-out, worthy of being Ripley’s predecessor.  Charlie Holloway (played by Logan Marshall-Green) wasn’t the most intriguing of characters but I don’t think he was meant to be. He’s was pretty straight forward in his pursuits throughout the film. Janek (played by Idris Elba) is the Captain of the Prometheus and delivers a calm and cool-headed performance. The rest of the supporting cast  do a good job adding to the ambience of the film with some memorable moments sprinkled throughout.

As I was leaving the theater my mind started to run wild with all the numerous questions the film leaves you with and I bantered back and forth with my brother and sister-in-law.

Shortly after I came to the conclusion that Prometheus has to be the best summer movie so far. Few movies manage to get me excited with anticipation and leave me with a renewed sense of excitement afterwards. I’m well aware that The Dark Knight Rises is just around the corner. But I honestly don’t see The Dark Knight Rises being better than Prometheus, not that TDKR will suck, God no. But Nolan has to wrestle with the bar he set with The Dark Knight… so theres a giant Texas-sized hurdle he has to over come.

Ridley Scott proves that he still has his movie making mojo. Prometheus is nothing short of spectacular. It more than succeeds in intriguing, entertaining and scaring you. I’m sure the Bluray/DVD of Prometheus will be one of those discs you watch over and over again, dissecting each scene and discussing minut details with your fellow movie-going friends.

As an Alien fan I give it a perfect 5 Crosses out of 5, it gives you more than what you want and leaves you wanting more. As an average movie-goer I give it 4 out of 5 because it leaves you holding a few loose ends.

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Sets the bar for the 2012 summer season! IMAX/3D is highly recommended!

-Eric Chacón

Deh-Shay! Deh-Shay! Bah-Sah-Rah! Bah-Sah-Rah!

The world famous composer, Hans Zimmer rises to the task of scoring the third and final Dark Knight film. Zimmer’s approach to the Dark Knight Rises has been called unusual by the film’s director. And if that’s any indication, this will be one hell of a soundtrack.

In an interview with MTV, Zimmer mentioned that he did go over the story arc of the film with Nolan and discussed the themes for many of the films returning and debuting characters. But insisting that he can’t say more than that. In the interview he goes on to say…

“The thing about Chris and myself is, what we try to do, is treat each one with the autonomy it deserves, to try and invent and reinvent, not just go over old ground,” he said. “I think that’s what was most exciting for people on ‘The Dark Knight.’ They knew we were doing the ‘Batman’ movie, but they had no idea it was going to be that kind of ‘Batman’ movie.”

In an other interview with Collider, while promoting Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Zimmer talked about coming up with an unorthodox idea to not only create a new sound for the 3rd film but to open the project up to the fans as well.

“Well, before I started on Sherlock, I had an idea for Dark Knight. I said to Chris [Nolan], “Would it be okay if I got the most outrageous orchestra together and tried this experimental thing?” It involved chanting and all sorts of stuff. And, if I decided that it was just complete rubbish, then we could just throw it away and nobody would ever mention that Hans went and spent all that money. So, I went off and spent weeks writing it. I recorded the piece, and Chris came by and said, “Well, you’ve done half the movie now.” I said, “Well, I don’t think that’s quite true.” But, I think I figured out my cornerstone to the thing. I’m hellishly ambitious on that. The chant became a very complicated thing because I wanted hundreds of thousands of voices, and it’s not so easy to get hundreds of thousands of voices. So, we Twittered and we posted on the internet, for people who wanted to be part of it. It seemed like an interesting thing. We’ve created this world, over these last two movies, and somehow I think the audience and the fans have been part of this world. We do keep them in mind. And I thought it would be something nice, if our audiences could actually be part of the making of the movie and be participants in this. So, we’ve got this website up, www.ujam.com, where you can go on and be part of it. It was fantastic. The first Tweet that went out just melted our server because we had tens of thousands of people a second, trying to get onto the site.You always want to create a sound that nobody has ever heard, but I think, this time, we might be doing that. As a musician, I think about what environment things are recorded in. Now, you have hundreds of thousands of voices, all recorded in their own individual environment. Up until now, that’s been impossible to do. There’s a lot of people doing a lot of editing, as well.”

When asked if he cared about online reviews and criticism, Hans said

“I read it. My character is flawed, and I read it and suffer terribly when people don’t like what I do, or misunderstand it, but I learn things from it. Every and any conversation you have about the thing that you’re most interested in – which in my case, happens to be the movies I’m working on – might not be a novel conversation, but somebody’s point of view does make me think about things. Other than the really bitter and twisted stuff, I think people, especially with The Dark Knight franchise, are very interested in us making a good movie, and they’re trying to cheer us on, and they’re trying to make suggestions that are actually helpful to us. So, I am very aware of what’s going on out there.”

Zimmer elaborated on the “chant” used for the big Bane reveal. He said

“It’s nice to have the whole world join in on a chant. My only problem is that they’re so well-behaved on the chanting right now. If anybody goes onto UJAM right now, I need a little bit more. If you want to be heard, get a little louder, get a little more aggressive. It’s not necessarily his through-line; it will be an aspect of it. Right now we’re all focusing on the chant because that’s all you guys are hearing. It’s a very small part of the score, but I think there is something wonderful about finding a way of having the people who really care for this movie be participants in this movie.”







[sourc] MTV, Collider

-Eric Chacón