In the brightly lit tunnel, one vehicle after another drove in—there were large trucks carrying containers, more than a dozen police cars, and also SWAT vehicles provided by the Chicago Police Department.
This location was going to be used to shoot several explosive car chase scenes.
Because the film crew had the full support of the Chicago city government, they had ample time to temporarily close this section of the tunnel for filming. Although many related scenes had been shot earlier on set using models and green screens, some scenes still required on-location shooting.
Duke was methodically directing the entire crew's operations, occasionally checking on the actors. This part would use a large number of stunt performers to shoot some thrilling scenes, so safety measures had to be thorough.
No one wanted accidents to happen to the crew or the actors.
Additionally, specially modified Batmobiles and Batmotos from Lamborghini were transported here. These vehicles were divided into two groups: one for normal use, and the other specially altered to mount IMAX cameras.
All these scenes would be filmed entirely using IMAX cameras.
After inspecting the crew's preparations, Duke walked over to the parked vehicles, first circling around the police cars, then coming to the large truck used by the Joker to attack Harvey Dent. Just by glancing at it, he noticed something was wrong.
"Dunn, come over."
He called over the head of the props vehicle team. Duke pointed at a line of letters on the side of the truck container and said, "Did you forget something?"
After carefully inspecting it, Dunn quickly responded, "Sorry, Duke, I'll paint it right away."
"Hurry," Duke nodded slightly and reminded, "Don't delay the shooting."
After speaking, he headed toward the director's monitor station.
The props team's mistake was minor—they simply forgot to paint one letter. But the meaning of the sentence on the side of the container was completely changed because of this.
The sentence was originally "." meaning "Laughter is the best medicine," but that didn't fit the scene at all—someone like the Joker wouldn't agree with that phrase.
So, in the original design, Duke had requested to add a striking red "S" at the very front of this sentence, changing it to "." which means "Massacre is the best medicine."
According to Duke's instructions, the "S" was painted on the side door of the container—the very spot where the Joker would appear during filming.
Once preparations were complete, shooting quickly got underway. Although the vehicles weren't actually moving fast, the camera movements created the illusion of high speed. The filming was broken into many small fragments. Apart from Heath Ledger's Joker, who was strapped safely to the truck container, most of the others were stunt performers.
Especially for Batman. There wasn't a single close-up of the real actor. Duke didn't plan to have Christian Bale appear on screen at all.
In his plan, the cast list after Batman's name included two stunt actors because 90% of Batman's scenes would be performed by them.
Christian Bale's name would only appear after Bruce Wayne.
Police sedans, SWAT cars, bulletproof prisoner transport carrying Dent, more police sedans, and even a helicopter in the air all appeared one after another. Explosions and car flips were also filmed continuously.
These stunt scenes didn't have much acting difficulty, but filming wasn't quick either—massive preparation consumed a lot of time. A crash and flip scene lasting only a few seconds could take an hour or more to prepare.
The tunnel scenes were shot for three full days, then Duke moved on to shoot Batman's scenes. IMAX cameras were mounted on the specially modified Batmobiles and Batmotos to ensure the fast-moving Batman shots had strong visual impact.
Not only action scenes were filmed in Chicago; there were many drama scenes as well. The ending scenes set upstairs were filmed on a studio set, while the scenes where Harvey Dent and Batman fall downstairs were shot on location in an abandoned factory in the Chicago suburbs.
Perhaps because the rest breaks were too long, Gary Oldman and Christian Bale were both in poor condition. This night shoot had many takes and mistakes, with the crew standing in Illinois' cold wind for nearly two hours. Duke had to call both actors over.
"How are you feeling?" Duke looked at Oldman and Bale. "Looks like I shouldn't have given you a break."
Gary Oldman smiled apologetically. Christian Bale's face was hidden by the Batman mask, so his expression was unseen.
Duke paced back and forth twice, then said to Oldman and Bale, "The reason Batman and Gordon have this final conversation is that they know if the public finds out Harvey Dent's coin toss killing as Two-Face, the Joker will have truly won Gotham's spiritual battle, and this city will lose all hope."
Seeing both listening seriously, Duke continued, "If even Dent loses the standard of good and evil, falling into pure chaos—that so-called fairness state—then Gotham will develop exactly as the Joker wanted. So Batman tells Gordon to make the public believe that the people Dent kills are killed by Batman, allowing Dent to maintain a heroic, upright image."
He first turned to Christian Bale, "Your character has to bear a heavy burden for this city, becoming the true Dark Knight."
Then Duke looked at Gary Oldman, "You are a pragmatist, and for Gotham's hope, must make this choice."
Seeing both actors thoughtful, Duke waved them off, "Go get ready, we start shooting in fifteen minutes."
Perhaps Duke's analysis helped, or maybe the previous mistakes served as a warm-up, after filming resumed, both Oldman and Bale's performances improved.
Christian Bale in Batman costume looked determinedly at Gary Oldman, ready to shoulder this precious burden, and said, "Now, have them come in."
Gary Oldman hesitated, "They will hunt you down."
"Yes, you will hunt me, you will curse me, set dogs after me, because it must be this way!"
Though Christian Bale's expression was hidden behind the mask, his tone did not waver. "Because sometimes the truth is not enough! Sometimes, people deserve more! Sometimes, people's beliefs must be rewarded!"
After saying this, he no longer stayed, standing up and limping toward the parked Batpod, leaving only a black cape silhouette for the camera lens.
Duke made a gesture, and the young actor playing Gordon's son slowly walked to the camera, coming right beside Gary Oldman. Oldman slightly shifted his body, blocking the corpse lying on the ground.
"Batman? Dad, why is Batman running away?" the young actor asked confusedly.
Gary Oldman looked toward where Christian Bale had disappeared, "Because we have to catch him."
The child's expression grew even more puzzled, "But he didn't do anything wrong."
Watching the monitor screen, Duke slowly nodded. This young actor named Lanny Blackett performed very well, perfectly portraying a child's confusion and innocence, exactly the effect he wanted.
Children represent innocence, their judgment often being the most fundamentally human. To an innocent child, Batman is simply a good man.
This ending is somewhat dark; it must give the audience some hope. Gordon's son represents that hope.
With emotion, Gary Oldman spoke his final line, "Because he is the hero Gotham deserves, but not the hero it needs right now. So we hunt him, because he can endure it all. Because he's not our hero; he's a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a Dark Knight!"
"Cut!" Duke shouted to stop. Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, he added, "Not good enough, keep filming!"
In the cold air, the crew busily resumed work. Filming continued until midnight, and after capturing three more fairly satisfactory shots, Duke finally declared the day's work done.
As filming progressed in Chicago, 2006 ended, and the new year 2007 entered Duke's life. But the crew had no holiday, still following Duke's schedule. All footage had to be finished by mid-January to allow enough time for post-production.
Though much was filmed using models and real locations, many shots still required CGI compositing. Even Industrial Light & Magic needed time to complete them.
After the New Year, filming in Chicago continued for another week. Outdoor scenes were nearing completion. To stay on schedule, Duke split the crew into two teams. Anna Printz led one part to shoot remaining scattered scenes in Chicago, while Duke led the main crew to Moscow.
The Moscow scenes weren't many, mainly the part where Batman captures the gangster financing leader. Although the Russian market was huge, making a main villain a Russian would cause some trouble, but relatively, this market was more open. As long as Warner Bros. did its job well, the film could enter there without issues.
Even if Russian media criticized it after release, Duke didn't care. How many Hollywood directors really care about Russians' opinions?
Besides, if the Russians spat too much, American media would inevitably strike back. He was a born-and-bred American director; mainstream North American media would defend him.
If both sides started a spat, Duke would be glad. After all, controversy generates buzz.
....
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