Three exclusive clips from The Dark Knight DVD from The Guardian
What do these exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews tell us about the making of the Batman smash, and the possibility of a sequel?
There's still no sign of a third Batman film from Christopher Nolan on the horizon, four months after the release of The Dark Knight. One gets the impression that this movie was such a labour of love for Nolan and his team that no one is going to sign on the dotted line for the next instalment until they've thought long and hard about what they're getting themselves into. In the meantime, we've had to make do with spurious casting rumours (Cher as a craggy old Catwoman, Johnny Depp as the Riddler, Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin, etc), while Nolan seems to have spent most of the intervening period on his hols.
But while we wait for news of that third film, the DVD of the Dark Knight is set to hit a store near you just in time for Christmas. In the US, there are three different versions available, with the most expensive featuring a replica of the Batpod (sadly, not lifesize and ridable) and a nice steel case to stick your DVDs in. For some reason, we in the UK seem somewhat shortchanged, with only one two-disc version available and no Batpod model anywhere to be seen. Still, those six bravura scenes shot on Imax cameras in their original format are going to be on it, plus the usual featurettes and documentaries.
The Guardian have three exclusive clips from the UK DVD of Nolan and his cast talking about Batman, the Joker and Harvey Dent, Gotham's crusading district attorney. Click here to watch them.
Hordes greet Warcraft expansion
The second expansion pack for the fantasy role-playing online game the World of Warcraft has gone on sale last night.
More than 2,000 people waited outside an Oxford Street store in central London, in advance of a special midnight opening. On the stroke of midnight, players - many of whom had queued for hours - got to pick up a copy of the game signed by the developers.
Scott Hamshere, from Bromley, should have been the first person in the UK with a copy of the game. He had started queuing at 6am and was the first in line. However, as the barriers were lifted, it was all too much, and he collapsed from exhaustion. Instead it was 23-year-old Ben West, from Greenwich, who became the first person to own the game. Speaking to the BBC he said that it all came as a real shock.
"Up until that point it was a bit of an anti-climax in some respects. I expected to be second in line, and when I was first it was a real surprise," he said.
For the vast majority of people, the night was an entertaining one, with many players saying they were going to play Warcraft all night once they got back home.
The Wrath of the Lich King includes a bonus continent for high-level players, a plethora of new enemies, extra equipment, spells, and new professions. The expansion also gives players the chance to take on a new type of character known as a Death Knight.
Developed by Blizzard Entertainment and launched in 2004, World of Warcraft has grown into one of the most popular of all online games, with more than 11m registered players.
To read more click here.
Mr Sulu is now a contestant on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
It's that time of year again, when we accidentally switch on the box to find celebrities we hardly remember eat eye balls and stick their hand in insect infested tanks, all to get that little yellow star! Yes, it's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
However the suprising highlight this year is the presence of George Takei, who (as if I need to tell you) played Mr Sulu in Star Trek. He says that, at 71, he's still very fit. "I used to run marathons," he says. "The marathon that got me to stop was the London Marathon - I did terribly at that."
Other people, hoping to regain their stardom this year include Ex-EastEnder Joe Swash, Former tennis champion Martina Navratilova, Model Nicola McLean, Ex-Blue singer Simon Webbe, politician Robert Kilroy-Silk, Brian Paddick, the Met Police's former deputy assistant commissioner, Model and fitness instructor Carly Zucker, Presenter Dani Behr and TV presenter Esther Rantzen.
Eat out in James Bond style
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Daniel Craig's James Bond is as sophisticated as his predecessors but leaner and meaner. All that video-game style action must make for one hungry special agent. So where would a thoroughly modern 007 eat in England?
One suspects that he'd move discreetly between classy country boltholes serving updated British fare and chic contemporary restaurants with playful, exotic dishes.
Read the BBC's review of five restaurants in England where 007 could find great grub, gadgets and romance his Bond girls, including Skylon, a suitably stylish restaurant in the Royal Festival Hall, London's Sake No Hana, the Fat Duck in Berkshire, Dartmoor's Gidleigh Park and Hampshire's Terravina.
Read them here now.
Probe ends historic Mars mission
Nasa says its Phoenix lander on the surface of Mars has gone silent and is almost certainly dead. Engineers have not heard from the craft since Sunday 2 November when it made a brief communication with Earth.
Phoenix, which landed on the planet's northern plains in May, had been struggling in the increasing cold and dark of an advancing winter. The US space agency says it will continue to try to contact the craft but does not expect to hear from it.
"We are actually ceasing operations, declaring an end to operations at this point," Phoenix mission project manager Barry Goldstein said at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
"However, since we've been surprised by the robustness of this vehicle, we're going to keep listening. As the orbiters fly overhead every two hours, we'll constantly turn on the radio and try to hail Phoenix to see if it is alive."
Read more from the BBC here.
