I SAW THEM!!!
It’s a madhouse out there right now. On the way back from lunch, around 2pm, me and two co-workers stopped in the crowds that made up Lyndhurst Terrace to see what we could see. Which wasn’t much except some crew and a bunch of cameras and gear.
I heard two of the crew talking and one turned and said “I’m going to go talk to Chris about some of these questions.” Then I noticed a ton of security guards keeping the door to the restaurant directly across the street from us which is where that guy went. The cops started pushing everyone back but I stayed at the front with all the journalists. And then, a giant blue rice delivery truck pulls in front of us all and blocks our view. The squeals start and all the photographers push me and everyone else out of the way because the actors used that time to walk out of the restaurant. So basically my perfect photo spot was ruined and I didn’t see much.
So we walked back toward the office and I decided to go on the escalator itself to see if I could see anything. Again all I could see was the crew and maybe Michael Jai White (but I’m not sure if that was him with the crazy hair in the background). I think it was him.
Then a little bit later I noticed someone else. Morgan Freeman! He is epitome of cool. And I was close! Well relatively. The pics are a little fuzzy but you can tell it’s him. I think that might be director Christopher Nolan next to him as well. Both circled.
Then just a bit later Christian Bale showed up in a dark suit and blue shirt. I could see him as he was talking with the rest of the cast and crew. Unfortunately, that is also when the crew started physically enforcing the no camera rule. One of them was especially mean about it. So although I saw Christian Bale (and maybe Aaron Eckhart, but I couldn’t tell) I have no picture proof. However I do have another picture of the back of Morgan Freeman’s head, the guy with the crazy hair that may or may not be Michael Jai White, a guy who may be Christopher Nolan and the mean guy. All labeled for your reference.
I watched as they did two takes of a scene with a bunch of white people for extras and Christian Bal and Morgan Freeman and other people I couldn’t make out but they kept holding big yellow signs in the way to make it hard to see and take pictures. Since I couldn’t take any more pictures and I could barely see what was going on, I just decided to go back to work. Stupid mean guy….
November 9, 2007 3:48 pm 10 Comments
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By HK Muse/Your Better Half, November 9, 2007 @ 5:10 pm
Listen to you, you celebrity whore!
I am kidding, of course.
I’m glad you got to see MORGAN FREEMAN, I’m a little jealous of that.
I would be nashing my teeth right now if you had spoken to him or got his autograph.
Mean people suck!
By Bambang Sugiarto, November 9, 2007 @ 6:05 pm
I think the guy with the crazy hair is not Michael Jai White. But I have been wrong before.
By cybrpunk, November 9, 2007 @ 9:18 pm
Probably right. I’m just not sure who else it could be. Could be staff or crew or something too I suppose. Either way, he was odd looking.
By rev_matt_y, November 9, 2007 @ 11:39 pm
That is awesome!
By J., November 10, 2007 @ 3:42 am
Love your photo with the arrows and labels, haha.
By ocicat, November 10, 2007 @ 3:47 am
oh god! I admire your talents on getting a few snap shots in that crowd at a lunch break. Well, I work on the Kowloon side and didn’t get sick leave today…totally missed the fun.
Anyway, I was sniffing around near The Center at around 11pm (Fri)-12:30am(Sat), talking to police men, the batman equipment setting guys and those security guards you mentioned (the undercover walkway).
Conclusion is that there should be more action at IFC2 in the afternoon (Sat), and very likely to be the big scene after midnight (Sun). [local news mentioned that Queens Rd Central outside The Center will be closed at between 12am-6am, may be Sun or Mon]….we may have to stay late on Sat night then!!!
PS: I live by the Harbour, and I WILL LEAVE MY LIGHTS ON…not that anyone in Central will.
By Jason, November 10, 2007 @ 4:59 am
Way cool. I’m jealous.
By Kitty, November 10, 2007 @ 9:28 am
Kitty was also there (I was incognito with my cat woman mask of course) as the afternoon progressed it was actually easier and easier to get close and a found a place where I could actually watch the scene! I was 20 feet away from Nolan, CB and MF. CB’s wife or PA was there too – a beauty with very long straight hair. I could tell Nolan was really pissed at the lack of crowd control and CB seemed pleased by it. Morgan just seems to take everything in stride without emotion (as you would expect from MF or Fox for that matter)
Because of my mask -I did interviews with at least 22 journalists from various countries including a long one with SCMP plus 2 TV news interviews. I posed for pictures with children and many 80 year old Cantonese gentlemen. I had a blast!
By Gweilo Paul, November 10, 2007 @ 11:17 am
hi
found your website through google.
good posts.
by the way the guy with big hair is not michael jai white just a local expat brought in for filming.
if you find out where else they will be filming please post again
many thanks
Gweilo Paul
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34749
http://www.batman-on-film.com/TDK_HK-shoot_pics3_11-9-07.html
http://www.batman-on-film.com/TDK_HK-shoot_pics4_11-9-07.html
By Kitty, November 10, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
It was a very fun day yesterday in HK. And yes. I did not get to meet them but got within 20 feet of them. I was noticed. 500 people? More like 5,000. I especially liked posing for pictures with the young children and the elderly Chinese men that begged to have a picture with me.
Anyway I am miss-quoted (journalists are just scum aren€™t they?) on the Front page of the B section of the South China Morning Post today (I am Kitty :) Kelly Chan did the interview):
Crowds flock to greet Batman
Fans throng Central as lead characters suit up for action and cameras roll
Barclay Crawford and Kelly Chan
Nov 10, 2007
|
Batman is supposed to fight crime, but this week in Hong Kong he seemed stuck battling disgruntled residents and environmentalists.
But all the complaints stopped yesterday as the stars of The Dark Knight emerged from their luxury suites at the Four Seasons hotel – a little jetlagged but smiling – first to declare their love for Hong Kong and then to film on the city’s streets.
More than 500 fans, tourists and curious onlookers armed with cameras jammed Lyndhurst Terrace and the Mid-Levels escalator in Central to watch the action unfold throughout the afternoon.
Director Christopher Nolan and stars Christian Bale (Batman) and Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) arrived on Thursday night, but the production team had weathered a tough week without them.
First came noise complaints from Central and Western residents about low-flying aircraft and helicopters used to film certain scenes. Then there were claims that a scene where Batman falls into the harbour had to be cut due to pollution.
And finally there were complaints from environmentalists after producers urged commercial buildings along the harbourfront to keep their lights on all night to better illuminate the city. Only a few more than 20 per cent of those asked agreed to do so.
Nolan said he had the idea to take Batman out of Gotham City and bring him to Hong Kong to capitalise on the spectacular skyline. “Hong Kong is really an extraordinary place to take this character out of his ordinary environment,” he said. Freeman said he had enjoyed the view from his hotel room on the 46th floor.
Bale said he was looking forward to “climbing your highest buildings and jumping off them”. He did not jump, but standing in his bat suit at the edge of Hong Kong’s tallest building, Two IFC, he certainly made for spectacular viewing for those with telescopes and binoculars.
On the escalator, dozens of police struggled to keep control as fans tried to get close to the stars. During the shoot, Bale looked cool in a tie-less suit and sunglasses and waved to fans during breaks in filming. Freeman walked close to Bale and the two exchanged words.
Before action was called, assistant director Gary Mak Wing-lun used hand signals to remind the crowd to keep silent. Shooting finished at 5.30pm. Mak said the day’s filming had been “very, very smooth. The onlookers have been very co-operative, although some camera flashes hindered the shooting”.
The crowd included Kitty, who had come all the way from New York and dressed for the occasion in a black shirt, skirt and a Batman mask.
“I’ve been a superfan of Batman for 15 years,” she said. “I am very excited and I can tell my friends ‘I was there for the movie’.”
Lyndhurst Terrace newspaper vendor Cheng Kwong-sum said 20 per cent of his newspapers were unsold but it was a “worthy sacrifice to have such a big movie shoot here”.
Johnny Hanson, who owns the shop American Nutrition, had Bale stop and buy some products. “It kills business, but it’s good for the neighbourhood in the long term. Last time people came to buy things because they saw us in the movies.”