Signs are looking better that “The Dark Knight” will get a nod for best picture when the Acadamy Award nominations are announced later this year.
The film, which made a plethora of top ten lists of the nation’s top critics, has been on the radar as a potential best picture nominee since it opened in July. Heralded by many as the best movie of 2008, many believe that the Batman movie faces long odds in securing a best picture nomination. (Few would argue that Heath Ledger’s turn as the Joker isn’t a virtual lock for a best supporting actor nomination).
But when the nominees for the Golden Globes were announced last month, “The Dark Knight” was conspicious in its absence, leading some to speculate that it might not be a solid a best picture lock as originally thought.
Those doubts were reduced yesterday when “Dark Knight” was announced as one of the finalists for Producers Guild of America’s coveted Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award.  The Zanuck award is the PGA’s equivalent of the best-picture category for the Acadamy Awards.
Many insiders see this as putting “The Dark Knight” in the short list of finalists for best picture. The PGA is a made-up of Hollywood insiders and seems to realize that films with a sci-fi or fantasy leaning shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand.  The PGAs also recognized “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “Wall-E” for awards.
The PGA winner is often seen as the front-runner for the Oscar for Best Picture. So, if “Dark Knight” can pick up this award, things look good that it could take home Oscar gold.
It was good, but I don’t know about best picture. It was (IMO) too long and the end was way to drawn out. I guess that didn’t stop Return of the King though. They really should have set up a Two-Face story rather than bring it to fruition.
Christian Bale’s “Batman” voice was really annoying by the end.
Seriously…watch it again and his conversation with Joker at the end gets almost laughable.