It’s an exciting day over here at the MTV Movies Blog. Our little old blog that’s come a long way in less than two years (I believe our first post was about the long forgotten flick, “The Seeker.” Our judgment HAS improved) is now a mommy…or a daddy? I don’t know. It’s a parent because as of RIGHT NOW, our new blog dedicated to that awesome place where comics and movies intersect is live!

It’s called SPLASH PAGE and we’re more than a bit excited to share it with you. Really our tag line says it all — when comics and movies collide, we’ll pick up the pieces. Expect all the exclusive news, interviews, video, humor, and commentary you’ve come to expect from the Movies Blog but over on SPLASH PAGE it’s all focused on a world that you’re probably just as obsessed with as we are.

Breaking exclusive “Watchmen” news? We’ve got it. (No really, we’ve got it, check it out right now!). News on a new flick the Joker may be turning up in soon? We’ve got info no one else has. Interviews with the most acclaimed artists and writers whose work will soon be hitting the big screen? We’re all over it. An opinionated rant about “The Dark Knight” that’s going to make your head spin? Yup, that’s SPLASH PAGE too.

We’re bringing all our expertise and experience to this new venture so rest assured as much as you currently love or hate us, you’ll probably feel moreso after checking out SPLASH PAGE. Bookmark it. Tell a friend. Spread the word. SPLASH PAGE is here.

Even as Christian Bale basks in the gargantuan success that is “The Dark Knight,” today the actor’s standing as a leading man is suddenly a lot shakier thanks to his arrest in London on assault charges. For the latest on the arrest, check out our full report here.

It couldn’t be more inopprtune timing for the star as he’s in the middle of attempting to re-start another huge franchise in the form of “Terminator Salvation.” Only days before the arrest the actor described the way this new effort would be handled on the big screen, “It will be in a similar fashion to the way that ‘Batman Begins’ revitalized and reinvented,” Bale of course is picking up the John Connor role previously occupied by Eddie Furlong, Thomas Dekker and Nick Stahl in the film. Director McG has been known to compare the “Terminator” re-launch with Chris Nolan’s Batman series, and Bale revealed to us that he hopes to do several sequels. Read more…

Whether you agree or not, judging from both fan reaction and near universal critical acclaim, “The Dark Knight” will almost certainly go down as the greatest comic book movie of all-time, with a performance from Heath Ledger that is being hailed as one of the greatest on-screen villains ever.

Now all Christopher Nolan, his brother Jonathan, David Goyer, and an as yet unnamed villain have to do is top it.

“I think that’s the scariest thing – to think, could we come up with a third movie that was as good as the first two? Can we top ourselves?” screenwriter David Goyer asked aloud, almost rhetorically, in a recent conversation with MTV News. “Doing it a third time would be a big proposition.” Read more…

The caped crusader is back in a BIG way on the silver screen. Everyone has been buzzing about it for months and here it is! maybe you saw it last night or this morning? Maybe you’re checking it out this weekend or maybe you’re scrambling for tickets like many of us? Well, before we let you sound off on the flick, maybe you want to take a look at some of truly exhaustive recent “Dark Knight” coverage.

–We talked to all the former Batmen, from Adam West to Michael Keaton

–We talked to all of the stars of “The Dark Knight”

–We’ve debuted exclusive clips from the film

–Our very own Kurt Loder weighed in with a review

–We looked at some of the comic book influences on “The Dark Knight”

–We asked the cast of “The Dark Knight” what villain they’d like to see in the next one.

Is that enough for you?!? If you’ve seen the movie by now, probably not. Well now it’s your turn. Did “The Dark Knight” live up to the hype? Sound off!

By Andrew Ross Rowe

Step aside, Chewbacca-costume-wearing tall guy. Make way, sorta-looks-like-Santa-Claus Gandalf impersonator. The Batman fans are out in full effect!

Everyone from the Caped Crusader himself to the Joker to Poison Ivy showed up to stand in line at midnight for the opening-night showing of “The Dark Knight.”

But why not see the movie at a normal time, rather than on a weekday in the middle of the night? I suppose it’s moot to ask someone who’s wearing full regalia from a comic book. At least I took advantage and shot some video!

Almost everyone in Batman gets an origin story of some sort — so what about Alfie? Michael Caine, who says he’s never read the comics about the faithful valet or the Caped Crusader he worked for, came up with one of his own, just so that he could understand the character better.

“I made him a sergeant in the Special Air Services, the SAS, in the British army,” Caine said. “He got wounded, but he didn’t want to leave the army, so he went to work in the officer’s mess, in the canteen, which is where he learned how to do cocktails and mixed drinks and cook. Thomas Wayne went back and there and saw him, which is how he got hired.”

Read more…

This weekend, millions of moviegoers will head to their local theater and fork over their ten bucks for “The Dark Knight,” eager to see Batman, the Joker, Two-Face and some other Gotham City favorites. But will they also get a brief glimpse of Batgirl?

MTV News recently caught a screening of “The Dark Knight,” and it isn’t giving away any spoilers to say that Gary Oldman’s James Gordon has a very different-looking family. The role of his wife has been recast (Ilyssa Fradin in “Batman Begins,” now Melinda McGraw), as has his son James Jr. (an infant in “Begins,” now 10-year-old Nathan Gamble). Most suspiciously, however, a daughter has been added.

As die-hard fans of the comics (and Sixties TV series) know, several incarnations of the Batman universe have had Gordon fathering a daughter named Barbara, who then grows up to don a costume of her own and take on the persona “Batgirl.” In “The Killing Joke” storyline, the Joker turns her into a paraplegic, and she becomes Oracle. Read more…

The 1927 Yankees. The 1972 Dolphins. The 2008 Clippers.

Okay, I’m kidding about that last one, but you get the idea: Sports fans love to debate the greatest teams of all time. And when the talk turns to All-Star “Dream Teams,” things get even more heated. Now, with “The Dark Knight” hitting theaters this Friday, isn’t it time moviegoers get in on the action?

With that in mind, and all the decades of caped-crusader interpretations behind us, here is my Batman all-star team. Put these people together, in their primes, and you’d have the ultimate depiction of the prince of Gotham City. Give it a look, and then tell us yours. Let the geek wars begin!

Batman — It’s the ultimate showdown, with several beloved actors going toe-to-toe. And George Clooney. In the end, I give the smallest edge imaginable to Michael Keaton over Christian Bale. There’s one simple reason: As a moviegoer, I can project myself onto Keaton’s Batman. Tim Burton cast the funnyman because of his every-guy quality, and Mr. Mom was only beginning to scratch the surface of Bruce Wayne when he got dumped. Nolan’s goal has always been to make Batman as real as possible, and the thought of him directing a late-80’s Keaton seems like a Dark Knight dream team. Read more…

I have a problem. I watch clips and coverage of “The Dark Knight” far too much. I’ve probably watched more clips, trailers, and interviews for this film than anything since “The Phantom Menace.” Don’t worry. I’ve seen “The Dark Knight” and there is nary a Gungan in sight.

There is however an awesome car chase that pits Batman against the Joker. You’ve seen a taste of it in the trailers, but now we’re pleased to show off an exclusive look right here.

Like what you see? What scene or performance are most looking forward to in “The Dark Knight”?

Chamillionaire is on the way to save the day! The Texas MC is putting out the fourth installment of his acclaimed Mixtape Messiah series on August 27.

The first taste he’s giving us of his latest studio sessions is a freestyle over Nas’ “Hero” record. However, judging from the emailed jpeg we received from his camp this morning, Cham is all about a certain SUPER Hero.

Are you surprised by the buzz “The Dark Knight” is getting? So much that the movie posters have become iconic even before the film’s release?? Chime in below!