As much as I’m looking forward to seeing The Dark Knight I have to admit that Tim Burton’s Batman and Jack Nicholson’s madcap performance as the Joker will always have a special place in my heart.

Jack gave a rare interview to MTV to promote his latest flick The Bucket List and discussion turned to the new incarnation of the Joker.

So how does he feel about Heath Ledger playing the Clown Prince of Crime?

“I’m furious.”

“They never asked me about a sequel with the Joker. I know how to do that! Nobody ever asked me.

“[Warner Bros] kind of drove the franchise into the ground,” Nicholson added before saying he wouldn’t see The Dark Knight.

Jack had some kind things to say about his Tim Burton, though.

“[He’s] a genius. He had the right take on it. That’s why I did the movie. [Burton is] one of the great moviemakers. I think the world of him.”

Jack is of course too old to play this part again but if you read Andrew Kevin Walker Batman vs. Superman script and picture Nicholson, Reeve, Keaton and Hackman in the lead roles then it’s a pretty great sequel. It’s a shame it wasn’t written in 1992.

Jack can’t be that angry, though. His original deal for the Joker included a cut of the revenue from any Batman sequels. I don’t know if that part of his contract is still active but he would’ve made a pretty penny from Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin without doing a thing.

I had the chance to see Batman on the big screen a few years back and though I’d concede Batman Begins is the better movie, in terms of cinema, if you’re after pure blockbusting entertainment fun then Burton’s movie wins every time. The scene where the Batwing rises in front of the moon to form a bat-signal in the sky is utterly pointless in context but in terms of pleasing an audience boy is it effective!

Something like that goes against the reality that Chris Nolan wants but at least he’s still willing to throw us a bone with that ending rooftop scene in Begins. Can’t wait for the Two-Face reveal at the end of The Dark Knight!

source - mtv movies blog