“Chris is more than just loyal — he’s a very loyal man — but he’s also loyal for a reason,” says The Dark Knight Rises producer Charles Roven of Christopher Nolan, who has made four films with Bale. “He’s particularly loyal, and excited, to people who do great work.”
STORY: Christopher Nolan on 'Extreme Places' in the Making of 'The Dark Knight Rises'
STORY: Christopher Nolan: Superman Is More Challenging Than Batman
Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) attempts a prison escape. “This has always been Bruce Wayne’s story,” says Christopher Nolan. “We wanted to see Bruce Wayne’s story end appropriately.”
STORY: Christopher Nolan on 'Extreme Places' in the Making of 'The Dark Knight Rises'
STORY: Christopher Nolan: Superman Is More Challenging Than Batman
Michael Caine (right) was a little hesitant to sign on to Batman Begins, in which he would play Wayne’s (Christian Bale) loyal butler, Alfred, until he read the script: “The standard of writing you get in a big blockbuster, with all the stunts and special effects; you don’t usually get that kind of depth of character.”
STORY: Christopher Nolan on 'Extreme Places' in the Making of 'The Dark Knight Rises'
STORY: Christopher Nolan: Superman Is More Challenging Than Batman
Tom Hardy’s Bane provided the “massive physical threat” that none of Batman’s previous villains could muster.
STORY: Christopher Nolan on 'Extreme Places' in the Making of 'The Dark Knight Rises'
STORY: Christopher Nolan: Superman Is More Challenging Than Batman
By the end of Dark Knight Rises —- spoiler alert! —- Joseph Gordon-Bevitt’s Det. Blake (left) inherits the mantle of Gotham’s protector from z’s Bruce Wayne.
STORY: Christopher Nolan on 'Extreme Places' in the Making of 'The Dark Knight Rises'
STORY: Christopher Nolan: Superman Is More Challenging Than Batman
“The filmmaking process, the thing that’s great about it is, it’s an evolutionary process,” says Christopher Nolan, lamenting that fans now sometimes prejudge an entire work based on a minutes-long snippet. “We’re still figuring it out. Then when it’s done, then we show it to you. If a painter is painting a painting, you don’t expect to see it half-finished and get to comment on it. You wait until it’s done.”
STORY: Christopher Nolan on 'Extreme Places' in the Making of 'The Dark Knight Rises'
STORY: Christopher Nolan: Superman Is More Challenging Than Batman
The wintry feel of the Dark Knight Rises climax suited Nolan’s view that it’s an apocalyptic disaster film.
STORY: Christopher Nolan on 'Extreme Places' in the Making of 'The Dark Knight Rises'
STORY: Christopher Nolan: Superman Is More Challenging Than Batman
“Chris very much prefers shooting on location than on set,” says producer Emma Thomas. Dark Knight Rises spent much of its production on the streets of cities like New York, Pittsburgh and los angeles. “It’s just a different energy and it fits his method of filmmaking much more.”
STORY: Christopher Nolan on 'Extreme Places' in the Making of 'The Dark Knight Rises'
STORY: Christopher Nolan: Superman Is More Challenging Than Batman
The film used many real urban landscapes to create its Gotham City, including Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field.
STORY: Christopher Nolan on 'Extreme Places' in the Making of 'The Dark Knight Rises'
STORY: Christopher Nolan: Superman Is More Challenging Than Batman
“She was unbelievably dedicated, not only in terms of getting into character but in the physicality she gave to the role,” says producer Charles Roven of Anne Hathaway, who dug into Selina Kyle with tenacity. “When she wasn’t shooting, she was practicing or working out.”
STORY: Christopher Nolan on 'Extreme Places' in the Making of 'The Dark Knight Rises'
STORY: Christopher Nolan: Superman Is More Challenging Than Batman