After a handful of outlandish Batman 3 casting rumors recently trickled online in a impressionistic stream of semi-consciousness, we may have found one that not only can't be attributed to a fanboy crack binge, but may actually be... true? And for the six of you who haven't yet seen The Dark Knight, spoilers follow, so consider skipping ahead: Aaron Eckhart, whose Two-Face/Harvey Dent ended up as killed as any TDK character got without going through the necessary franchise terminus of burial/cremation/being chopped into pieces, confirmed this week that, yes, his villain is dead, and no, he will not be returning in any forthcoming Batman sequels. That is, Eckhart added, if there are any Batman sequels to be made at all — at least with Christopher Nolan overseeing things:

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After her latest round of plastic surgery, Joan Rivers has once again sparked concern that her postmodern facial sculpting has perhaps gone one operation too far. "My motto is, 'Better a new face coming out of an old car than an old face coming out of a new car.' Spend your money on you," the Daily Mail quotes her as saying, but clearly the stakes have soared beyond self-service satisfaction: Rivers is but the latest boldface name to join the increasingly cutthroat Joker-Alike 2008 competition, in which grinning celebrities and their psychotic celluloid doppelgangers square off for ear-to-ear supremacy. Have a closer look at the finalists — and vote for a (or nominate your own) winner after the jump.

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Rising and shining today after a long, lucrative season of hits and hits and hits — the second richest on record, we're told — what better way to welcome fall than with a hungover glimpse at the Labour Day weekend's multiplex triumphs? Another day off, you say? We're afraid we can't help you there, so for now, behold your Tuesday Morning Box Office:

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Small in Japan: It was bound to happen eventually: We've finally found the one country in the world where The Dark Knight is underperforming. Japanese moviegoers have reportedly bowed out of the global phenomenon, with TDK hovering around the equivalent of $8.7 million in its second week of release. In comparison, observers point to the film's $14 million take during the same frame in Korea, as well as Batman Begins' own $14 million Japanese opening three years ago. Why the plunge? Competition from Hayao Miyazaki's blockbuster Ponyo on the Cliff — currently sitting at $93 million after only a month in theatres — hasn't helped. Nor has its unrelenting heaviness, says one critic: "Japanese movie fans expect such films to be fun and action-packed, for the hero to be attractive, for the villain to be loud and outrageous, and for the movie itself to be easy to understand and light." At least that should brighten post-Hulk spirits at Marvel: Iron Man opens in Japan on Sept. 20. [Film Junk via /film]

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After a bit of a false start, the SoHo apartment where Heath Ledger died last January is apparently back on the rental market. And what a deal can be had at $26,000 per month — an increase of more than 20% over Ledger's $22,000 monthly rent after moving in last September. Steep! But again, these are post-Dark Knight dollars, and the mythology premium is good for at least 10% over the usual bump you see around the neighbourhood. Just ask a broker!

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It is now approximately five million years (let's see if the Dido fans correct me on that one) since the latest Christopher Nolan Batman installment, The Dark Knight, opened at #1 on the Australian box office charts. But just when you thought it was going to stay perched atop the charts like Christian Bale brooding on top of a skyscraper for the rest of our natural lives, along comes the little satire that could - Tropic Thunder - to ruin the party. The question that remains begging to be answered through all this, is: does this mean that The Dark Whopper will be reduced in price?

The film, which also stars Robert Downey Jr and Jack Black, grossed $3.05 million on its opening weekend to take the number one position.

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Another day, another Batman casting rumour! In the wake of murmurs that Philip Seymour Hoffman could be the next Penguin and Johnny Depp (not Brian Austin Green) may play The Riddler, the latest scuttlebutt concerns Batman foe Catwoman — and let's just say this casting choice ain't Angelina. No, according to the British press, 62-year-old Cher is in talks with director Christopher Nolan to add the comic-book role to an acting repertoire that already includes gypsies, tramps, and thieves. Says the Daily Telegraph:

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The Horse Actorer. We think we finally have some solid evidence as to what was afoot with Batman's weird-sounding voice in The Dark Knight: He was neighing! "I love horses. I've learned from them," he told a Japanese reporter recently. "Once you master a horse — but it also masters you — you gain more confidence in yourself." [AFP/Yahoo]

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If there's one important lesson that can be drawn from the blockbuster performance of Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight, it's that audiences aren't afraid of a comic-book movie that takes a walk on the dark, grim side. However, the same can't necessarily be said for Fox topper Tom Rothman (the bane of AICN) who greenlit two Fantastic Four movies, hired Brett Ratner to direct X3, and now is allegedly mucking with the X-Men spinoff Wolverine. Despite the fact that the gritty, Hugh Jackman-topped film was met with a giddy response at this year's Comic-Con, Jeff Wells says that Rothman is pressuring director Gavin Hood to make the movie more kid-friendly — and when Hood won't cave, Rothman is taking matters into his own hands:

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With The Dark Knight now the second-highest domestically grossing film of all time, some of Batman's friends and co-workers are having trouble convincingly faking their delight over his success. First and foremost among that group would be Superman, with one source claiming the Kryptonian native had gotten "catty" with the cowled vigilante recently, demanding to know if he'd "remembered to celebrate Mother's Day this year," before adding, "Come on, Flash. Let's go play Wii Fit," and storming out of the Justice League cafeteria. It's no secret what the source of that animosity is— Bryan Singer's uninspiring take on the Superman mythos fizzled at the box office, failing to capture the public's imagination—and according to Variety, the very fate of the failed franchise reboot now hangs in the balance:

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