Night owls flock to new Batman flick
Jason Hawk | The Chronicle-Telegram
ELYRIA — The Joker’s hideous laugh and acid-etched smile brought in serious business this morning at a midnight screening of the new Batman movie, “The Dark Knight.”
And not only did the Clown Prince of Crime get a full house, he filled seven screens at Regal Cinema Cobblestone Square 20. However, managers kept the number of tickets sold as secret as the Caped Crusader’s identity.
One thing they couldn’t keep under wraps: The blaring purple suit and white face paint sported by 19-year-old Stephen Berg of Bay Village.
Berg said he’s a huge fan of the late Heath Ledger, who portrays the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” and who died of an accidental drug overdose Jan. 22, just after filming wrapped.
“I wanted to pay tribute to him,” Berg said. “I always dress up for midnight showings. I dressed up for ‘Sweeney Todd’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ too.”
There were only a few costumed moviegoers at the film’s debut — far fewer than the lightsaber-wielding Jedis who came out for the “Star Wars” prequel launches. But while Berg’s Joker was joined by a Batgirl and even a Harvey Dent, there were no Batmen.
In fact, it seemed more ticket-holders — including Aaron Pratt of Wakeman — were pumped to discover the fate of the Joker than cared about what would happen to the Bat.
“I was a big fan of his movies, like ‘Rock Star’ and ‘A Knight’s Tale,’” Pratt said. “I wanted to see what he could do with his last role.”
Stewart Wilson of Wellington said he’s a big superhero movie fan and has been waiting a long time for “The Dark Knight.”
“It’s going to be interesting to see what they do to end the Joker and what twists they throw in,” he said.
Comic book nerdiness aside, some showed up just for the thrill of a good summer blockbuster.
“I just wanted to be scared,” said Jessica Rickard of Avon Lake.
Contact Jason Hawk at 329-7148 or jhawk@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Jason Hawk | The Chronicle-Telegram July 18th, 2008 in Top Stories. Popularity: 4% |
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