Oh sorry looks like we’re back at talking about The Dark Knight. See, I do have a love/hate relationship with this film.

This is so retarded that it has to be brought to your attention, a writer for the Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post (publishing since 1908) wrote a piece about his discomfort on the portrayal of Hong Kong in The Dark Knight.

The writer expresses sadness that money gets laundered in HK (it does, by much richer men than the mobsters of Gotham), a place where only criminals hang-out and that Nolan and crew only went for the Infernal Affairs HK mythology. (Which I prefer as its much closer to the truth than the Enter the Dragon comparison, no, nobody is kung fu fighting in the streets.)

For what its worth, Nolan mentioned that he did in fact write a draft of The Dark Knight in Hong Kong as the city inspired him, and was inspired enough to return to film a sequence in the city; kind of as a ‘give-back’ - but in typical Hong Kong mentality, people complained anyways: complained that Christian Bale didn’t wear the Bat-outfit when they were filming, complained that there wasn’t enough of HK in the movie, complained when they were asked to leave the lights on for the night when they filmed that big B-52 sequence, and for what?

Nolan gets props in my book for even BOTHERING with this at all (even though I thought it should have been cut) unless it truly is a marketing trick for HK and China to get better box office. Don’t laugh, this is how and why the Robert Deniro/Al Pacino of Japan: Ken Watanabe was used for in Batman Begins. As you recall, Watanabe was used for all of 5 minutes in the first movie as the decoy Ra’s Al Ghul. American audiences might not care, but when you go to see a movie to see your local celebs in a big US movie you expect a little more. And don’t start me on Edison Chen’s supposed cameo in The Dark Knight - the Justin Timberlake/Paris Hilton of Hong Kong. (Go ahead and Google him, NSFW though)

The South China Morning Post is a paid site - but we were able to get a clipping of it below:

Film Studies: cinema city
Clarence Tsui
Updated on Jul 24, 2008

It’s a city where American mob money can be stashed, laundered and toyed with to maximise returns for its shady owners; an international legal black hole in which wanted felons can simply disappear, as the city’s authorities would never extradite “one of their own”. And don’t trust the cops, either: they’re in the pay of criminal overlords who bemoan the police for being slow to come to their aid despite the fact they’ve been in the underworld’s pay for so long.

Viewers across the world are transported to this city in The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s latest outing in the Batman franchise. But if you’re thinking of Gotham, think again, it’s closer to home than that: welcome to 21st century Hong Kong (pictured).

It’s ironic that The Dark Knight has succumbed to Hollywood norms about how to portray Asian cities, given that it’s an otherwise thoughtful study of the complex nature of heroism and social justice - and a great story with nuanced characters and superb acting.

With the blockbusters Nolan now produces, perhaps he hasn’t got the time to reach beyond Infernal Affairs and the Election diptych for inspiration. Then again, it’s not as if he’s the only filmmaker who has bought into the well-worn urban iconography of Hong Kong.

Likewise the landlord of the building that Batman jumps off is PISSED that they didn’t get more mention even when the movie made them look like incompetents having Batman just swing in there and take off:

Well, we’ve heard talk that a certain major landlord was disappointed about not getting credited in the movie. Also, there have been mutterings that some of our more spectacular buildings, such as the IFC2, were shown for only a few seconds while most Hong Kong landlords had complied to a request from the movie makers to keep the lights on well into the early morning for a week during filming last November.

One landlord even complained: “The movie makes us look stupid security-wise. We are not a major crime city but our security is much better than portrayed in the film.”

When the Batman crew decided to film around IFC2, many Central property owners were encouraged by Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen and Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan to co-operate for the good of the city. At the time, Sun Hung Kai Properties (SEHK: 0016) was keen to comply but not Henderson Land (SEHK: 0012).

The movie makers did thank the people of Hong Kong at the end but we suppose it’s hard to keep everyone happy.

Here’s a 3 minute clip from the press conference back in November 2007 in Hong Kong - watch it for info on a scene that was cut figuring on the dumping of Batman into the HK harbour:

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