Wizard Universe Releases Transcript of ‘The Dark Knight’ Q&A With Nolan, Bale, Eckhart Oldman

Wizard Universe, which gingerly controlled information flow surrounding “The Dark Knight” at Saturday’s panel, on Saturday at 9:45 p.m. released a transcript of its star-studded Q&A.

The release of the transcript came just 65 minutes after Wizard’s report describing the Wizard World Chicago panel in detail.

Moderated by DC publisher Paul Levitz, the Q&A included director Chris Nolan; actors Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman; story writer David Goyer; and co-screenwriter Jonathan Nolan.

While you’re welcome to read the transcript in full here, I’ve picked out some of the interesting parts below:

Chris Nolan: This time, we wanted to expand the scope of the shooting ... to include real buildings, real streets and more location shooting.

You wouldn’t believe how many people in Chicago come up to me and thank me for bringing this film to life.

Chris Nolan: The great thing about working with [Bale] is his ability to do a lot of the physical work and the stunts.

Bale: It was like riding a bike. The second you put on the suit, there’s only one way to play it.

Eckhart: I cannot add to what [Oldman] just said (about preparing for a role). It would be blasphemy and I’d be kicked out of the union.

Moderator: I’d like to know what you guys thought of all the viral marketing done for the movie and if you know if we can expect anything else, say, around December. [Audience laughs]

Jonathan Nolan: I don’t know anything. [Audience laughs]

Chris Nolan: There’s nothing we can say about it.

Moderator: Were you guys behind it?

Jonathan Nolan: No. [Audience laughs]

Moderator: Aaron, does something happen to your face in this film?

Eckhart: I don’t speak English. [Audience laughs]

Moderator: What are the most important aspects of the Joker you needed to incorporate in this film?

Chris Nolan: We looked at it the other way around. We found a way of looking at the character and saw what role he would play in the film.

The Joker card at the end of the first film created the right kind of feeling. That hook got us thinking about the next one.

We were looking through comics and Joker stories and started writing the treatment before we even wrote “The Prestige”.

Moderator: What can you say about Heath Ledger’s performance thus far?

Oldman: He is going to knock everyone out of the park.