ENTERTAINMENT
Night is no foe for Batman fans
The midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight,” the latest in the Batman film saga starring the late Heath Ledger as the arch villain Joker, appeared much like Halloween in July on Thursday night.
At theaters across the Buffalo area, people in capes and face paint stood in line to see the film that was second only to “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” for advanced ticket sales on Fandango. com.
Thirty-two showings were held in the Buffalo area between 12:01 and 3:30 a. m. — most sold out, according to Fandango.
Batman pandemonium will continue through the weekend, with Regal Cinemas holding one or two showings an hour starting at 9 a. m.
“This is like the Fourth of July for us,” said Kelly O’Keefe, 18, of the Town of Tonawanda.
O’Keefe, with her brother Kevin, 22, replicated the Joker’s face paint and ensemble for one of the 12:01 a. m. showings at Regal Cinemas Transit Center Stadium 18.
“We’ve been lifelong Batman fans,” Kevin O’Keefe said. “And I’ve been a lifelong Joker fan.”
Along with nine showings on regular screens, the Regal 18 theater in Lancaster had two IMAX showings at 12:01 a. m. and 3:15
a. m.
Justine Distefano of Clarence,, with friends sporting Batman T-shirts from Target, arrived almost two hours early to claim the front of the line for a 12:30 a. m. showing. Distefano said she purchased her tickets a week ago.
“It’s supposed to be the best movie of the summer,” she said. “And Heath Ledger — that’s another reason.”
The waiting movie-goers, by the large young people, invariably said Ledger, the young Hollywood star who died of an overdose in January, was a huge draw for the film.
For 20-year-old viewers, the newest Batman film is a double dose of childhood nostalgia, Distefano said. Not only does it bring a favorite cartoon hero to life, it presents an eerie last vision of the actor who stole many a high school heart in ’90s teen classics like “10 Things I Hate About You” and “A Knight’s Tale.”
“Personally, I think Heath Ledger’s performance is going to make Jack Nicholson look pathetic,” O’Keefe said, referencing Nicholson’s turn as the Joker in 1989’s “Batman.”
Some fans believed the rumor that Ledger’s intense concentration while shooting the film led to his accidental overdose on a mixture of prescription drugs.
“I heard it was partly why he kind of went . . . crazy,” said Ellina Stein, 18, of Clarence.
Mike Schneggenburger, 18, of Depew, said he didn’t buy the rumor but believed before even seeing the movie that Ledger deserves to win an Oscar posthumously.
Schneggenburger, dressed as Joker, and friends miming Batman villains Two Face, the Riddler and Joker-paramour Harley Quinn make a hobby of attending midnight premieres in full costume.
“Everybody here at the midnight movie is a fan,” Schneggenburger said. “We do it for everyone.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report jvosgerchian@buffnews.com
