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We just heard about Be@rbrick & Kubrick The Dark Knight Twin Pack a while ago. Now, we would like to present you the long rumors - 400% Be@rbrick The Joker from the Blockbuster Movie - The Dark Knight. The design of this limited Be@rbrick is inspired by the movie poster - “Why So Serious?”.
This 400% Be@rbrick The Joker is limited to 800 pcs. 300 pcs of this Be@rbrick will be release by Medicom Toy on the 3rd August 2008 at Wonder Festival in Japan. Another 500 pcs will be available for online order.
The Joker is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Batman #1 (Spring 1940), and was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson. The Joker is a master criminal, whose characterization has varied from a violent sociopath who murders people, causes chaos and commits crimes for his own amusement, to a goofy and virtually harmless trickster-thief. The character is the archenemy of Batman, and has been responsible for numerous tragedies in the Caped Crusader’s life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon (Batgirl/Oracle) and the murder of Jason Todd (the second Robin). Wizard magazine rated Joker as the greatest villain of all time. The Joker’s real identity is unknown, and there have been different takes on his origin; the most common variation depicts him as having fallen into a vat of chemicals, which bleached his skin white, dyed his hair green and turned his lips bright red, giving him the appearance of a clown.
The character has appeared in numerous Batman related media; portrayed by Cesar Romero in the 1960s Batman television series; Jack Nicholson in the 1989 film Batman (Nicholson’s version of the Joker ranks #45 in the American Film Institute’s list of the top 50 film villains); voice actor Mark Hamill in the 1990s Batman: The Animated Series television series; and Heath Ledger in the 2008 Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight.
Heath Ledger described the Joker as a “psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy”. Nolan had wanted to work with Ledger on a number of projects in the past, but had been unable to do so. When Ledger saw Batman Begins, he realized a way to make the character work consistent with that film’s tone, and Nolan agreed with his anarchic interpretation. To prepare for the role, Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character’s posture, voice and psychology, and kept a diary, in which he recorded the Joker’s thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance. While he initially found it difficult, Ledger was eventually able to generate a voice that did not sound like Jack Nicholson’s take on the character in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film. He was also given Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth to read, which he “really tried to read [...] and put it down”. Ledger also cited inspirations such as A Clockwork Orange and Sid Vicious, which were “a very early starting point for Christian [Bale] and I [sic]. But we kind of flew far away from that pretty quickly and into another world altogether.” “There’s a bit of everything in him. There’s nothing that consistent,” Ledger said, adding that “There are a few more surprises to him.” Before Ledger was confirmed to play the Joker in July 2006, Paul Bettany, Lachy Hulme, Adrien Brody, Steve Carell, and Robin Williams publicly expressed interest in the role.
On January 22, 2008, after he had completed filming The Dark Knight, Ledger suddenly died, leading to intense press attention and memorial tributes. “It was tremendously emotional, right when he passed, having to go back in and look at him every day,” Nolan recalled. “But the truth is, I feel very lucky to have something productive to do, to have a performance that he was very, very proud of, and that he had entrusted to me to finish.” All of Ledger’s scenes appear as he completed them in the filming; in editing the film, Nolan added no “digital effects” to alter Ledger’s actual performance posthumously. Nolan has dedicated the film in part to Ledger’s memory, as well as to the memory of technician Conway Wickliffe, who was killed during a car accident while preparing one of the film’s stunts.
How to find them: First, take the subway to the Zhongxiao Dunhua Station and get out at Exit 11. There, you'll find the Dinghao Shopping Center (above).
On the third level of Dinghao is Monster Taipei (above), a store which sells all kinds of toys, including Bearbricks. Jen Huang, the owner of this store is the driving force behind the Taipei Toy Festival, an annual event that has put Taipei on the map when it comes to designer toys.
Here, the staff will gladly give you directions to the next store (below).
Monster Gear, the sleek, upscale version of Monster Taipei, is only three blocks away. At this store, you do not have to sift through boxes – all the toys are properly displayed behind clear glass, like easy targets. If you're also scouting around for fashionable street gear, just go down the basement. A rainbow of Bearbricks adorn the door of Monster Gear.(Above) The next stop is Hot Dog Toyz, a two-minute walk from Monster Gear. The store (which is on the 2nd floor) is neatly organized – it's the sheer number of choices that will confuse you!
It's the best place to find Bearbricks in Taipei (or in the world, even) – look at this display! Thanks to the wonderful salesperson (I forgot her name); she gave me two (2) free 'secret' bears because I spent so much – haha!
Finally, there's Paradise Toys, only a minute away from Hot Dog Toyz. Not quite 'paradise' in terms of size but definitely worth a visit.
In my (Bearbrick Lover's) experience, the hunt for designer vinyl toys is not easy. They are only available in a few specialty stores that are often hard to find. Even in big cities where such toys have a large cult following – New York City, San Francisco, Paris, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Taipei – you'd better come armed with Internet research if you don't want to go home empty-handed.
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Monster Gear, the sleek, upscale version of Monster Taipei, is only three blocks away. At this store, you do not have to sift through boxes – all the toys are properly displayed behind clear glass, like easy targets. If you're also scouting around for fashionable street gear, just go down the basement.
