Batman Battles Evil on Streets of Hong Kong

Bloomberg: "Batman ventures out of Gotham City this weekend and swoops into Hong Kong where he will fight evil near the bar district of Lan Kwai Fong and against the city's neon-lit skyline -- though he will avoid a dunking in the harbor.

Actors Christian Bale and Morgan Freeman arrived in the southern Chinese city this week with the crew and executives of ``The Dark Knight,'' the sixth film in the latest saga of the Caped Crusader. The four-day filming in Hong Kong is one of several location shoots that may include London and Los Angeles. The movie is scheduled for summer release in the U.S.

Bale, 33, said reprising his role as Batman will entail ``climbing the tallest buildings and jumping off them'' during his Hong Kong stay. Producers decided to ax a scene where Batman drops into the harbor after test samples showed strains of salmonella and tuberculosis, the South China Morning Post, a local English- language daily, reported.

Director Christopher Nolan said the decision not to proceed with the scene was his and had nothing to do with pollution.

``It's simply a script decision,'' said Nolan, at a press conference. ``As far as any pollution questions go, I have absolutely no problem with dumping'' the stars into the harbor.

Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor is one of the world's busiest container ports. It's flanked on both sides by skyscrapers such as the I.M. Pei-designed Bank of China Building.

Areas around Queen's Road Central, Lyndhurst Terrace and the Mid-Levels' escalator, the world's longest outdoor covered escalator, may also be used as settings for some scenes, according to the Post. Ponnie Leung, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman of distributor Warner Bros. Pictures, said she doesn't know the film's Hong Kong schedule.

Light Battle

The production team drew the ire of environmental groups for asking tenants along a waterfront to keep their lights on all night during the shoot to illuminate the city's skyline, according to the Associated Press.

``It's a very short-term inconvenience to our residents and local operators,'' said Jack So, chairman of Hong Kong's Film Development Council. ``The long-term economic benefits of having international studios shoot in Hong Kong definitely outweighs such short-term inconveniences.''

Executive Producer Kevin de la Noy appealed to the media for ``space to do our work in as efficient a manner as possible so we cause the least congestion possible.''

Hong Kong has an active tabloid press that's known to hound celebrities for photos and interviews.

Nolan, 37, who's also writing the screenplay, said he thought of working Hong Kong into the script after a brief stay in the city. In 2005, Nolan directed ``Batman Begins,'' which traces the superhero's beginnings and grossed $372 million at the box office, twice its production cost, according to BoxOfficeMojo.

Jackie Chan

Hong Kong is encouraging location filming by foreign studios to boost its movie industry. Until recently, piracy and Hollywood blockbusters had all but decimated an industry that produced stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.

The movie ``will enhance Hong Kong's status internationally and promote tourism,'' said the Film Development Council's So.

The production company spent about a year working with the government to arrange the shoot, said Producer Charles Roven.

The city has featured in movies including the 2002 James Bond movie ``Die Another Day,'' where the fictional super-spy 007 enters the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club after escaping from a villain. "