Why The Dark Knight Rises Didn’t Film Occupy Wallstreet

The wisdom of Christopher Nolan and his incredible team was that, while it seemed like a good idea to give [the protestors] an opportunity for work, to give them money, it would send a terrible message. At the end of the day, we’re making a movie. What’s happening down there is more important than that. To co-opt what’s happening there and around the country… we didn’t want to trivialize it. It was more important to respect what they’re doing than to do anything that could potentially trivialize the political situation downtown.— Matthew Modine, who will appear as a villainous politician so far known only as Nixon in The Dark Knight Rises.

This is not just interesting because it’s an actual explanation about the sometimes very political stances that art can take, and the concerns that can arise when those stances are miscommunicated. It’s also interesting because it seems to indicate that the debunked rumor that The Dark Knight Rises was going to film in/around/with Occupy Wallstreet protesters during the New York City portion of their shoot was not complete fan speculation, as I had assumed, and actually based on a kernel of truth: Nolan and crew really were considering showing support for the movement by gainfully employing protesters.

Previously in Nerds and Occupy Wallstreet

• Fictional Characters Respond to Occupy Wallstreet

Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com

Author

Close

Susana Polo

Susana Polo thought she'd get her Creative Writing degree from Oberlin, work a crap job, and fake it until she made it into comics. Instead she stumbled into a great job: founding and running this very website (she's Editor at Large now, very fancy). She's spoken at events like Geek Girl Con, New York Comic Con, and Comic Book City Con, wants to get a Batwoman tattoo and write a graphic novel, and one of her canine teeth is in backwards.

twitter