A few weeks ago, we brought you a story of extreme directorial neglect regarding The Dark Knight Rises. Apparently, the villain Bane's voice had been mixed so inscrutably incoherent in an advance clip that audiences were completely unable to understand what he was saying. At the time, it was said that director Christopher Nolan was well aware of the sound problems -- he just didn't care, as he wanted the audience to be slightly off-balance. He'd even told The Hollywood Reporter that "it was OK for a moviegoer not to understand what was said at times, as long as the overall idea was conveyed."

If you were lucky enough to catch an extended clip of The Dark Knight Rises before screenings of Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol, you may have noticed one thing: Bane's voice. The Batman villain, played by Tom Hardy, is a big, bulky sort of guy, so it makes sense that he'd talk like he had a mouth full of coleslaw, as many buff dudes do.

Christopher Nolan has been uncharacteristically open about his desire to end his version of the Batman storyline, and Christian Bale has followed suit by acknowledging The Dark Knight Rises will be the last time he dons the rubber suit and cape. But some folks are wondering if this means that Batman may meet his mortal end at the hands of Bane, the tough-guy villain played by Tom Hardy. The new poster for the film adds to the suspicion.

Christopher Nolan is a notoriously secretive filmmaker. Despite filming scenes of The Dark Knight Rises in the middle of city streets, no one is quite sure of what to expect from Nolan’s final Batman movie. Is Occupy Wall Street involved? Why does Catwoman’s costume look so stupid? Why is there a Catwoman in the first place? Christopher Nolan sat down with Empire Magazine and finally gave a small glimpse into what the newest Dark Knight will be all about.

It's pretty official that the internet is ruining movies for everyone considering some very revealing photos from the Pittsburgh set of The Dark Knight Rises have started popping up online. As far as movies go, TDKR is trying to be one of next year's best-kept secrets, with plot details and the like being held from audiences. But there's only so much Christopher Nolan and company can do to protect their set and stars from covert-ops photographers. Ah, the travails of shooting on location.

If you doubt that The Dark Knight Rises will make a gazillion dollars when it opens next summer, allow us to prove you wrong. Last night, the teaser poster, featuring a crumbling Gotham City and a bat-shaped opening in the sky, debuted online. Movie posters debut online all the time, but the fanfare that's met this reveal is unprecedented.

● Spike Lee is officially directing the remake of South Korean cult classic Old Boy for Mandate Pictures, a less than obvious choice, if you ask us. [THR] ● Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie declined their invite to Julian Assange's 40th birthday party, because, well, it was Julian Assange's 40th birthday party. [The Atlantic Wire] ● In an inspired bit of celebrity stalking, a TMZ cameraman managed to ask Michael C. Hall if his character Dexter would go after Casey Anthony once she was released. Suffice it to say, Michael C. Hall is not amused. [TMZ]

A recent AP profile on Zack Snyder claims that the director has "a lot riding on Sucker Punch," a statement that's not entirely true. Yes, the film is Snyder's first that isn't derived from source material, and yes, it came with a $100 million price tag, but in Hollywood, when a filmmaker has "a lot riding" on a movie, it usually means it's a referendum on the rest of their career. Snyder's already got his next gig booked, and it's a big one.

When this year's Oscars nominations were announced this morning after months of guessing games, we yawned and went back to wondering whether Scarlett Johansson and Jason Sudekis are actually couple. Almost immediately following the announcements, bloggers and reporters honed in on the only reason anyone cares about the announcement anyway -- to see who got snubbed. The chatter centered on about five people: Andrew Garfield, Mila Kunis, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, and Christopher Nolan. The tiny indie Winter's Bone scoring four noms is a feel-good story, but besides that, where was the suspense? The surprises? Oh, right. There were none.

Even before The Dark Knight finished its historic box-office run, the guessing games about who would play the villain(s) in the inevitable sequel had begun. Whoever it was would have some very big (and scuffed up) shoes to fill. Names like Johnny Depp, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Cher were bandied about by countless outlets (including, ahem, us). Then Tom Hardy -- fresh off his break-through work with Christopher Nolan in Inception -- was cast as an unknown heavy. Shortlists of top actresses started popping up in the press, all of whom were apparently testing for the film. Well, the rumors end here. At a surprisingly early date in The Dark Knight Rises's production - it doesn't go before cameras until the summer - Warner Bros. has issued an official press release announcing that Anne Hathaway will take on the role of Catwoman. Tom Hardy will be playing escaped convict and super-villain Bane.