AP News, November 7th, 2007
Batman was in the spotlight again in Hong Kong as the movie's producers came under fire for asking tenants along a waterfront to keep their lights on all night for a week to better show off the city's glass and steel skyline.
Environmentalists said it was sending the wrong message at a time when the rest of the world was struggling to reduce energy consumption and Hong Kong itself was often shrouded in a hazy polluted fog.
"We welcome the filming of Batman in Hong Kong, but why do we need to keep the lights on to make the backdrop? It seems like film-making is coming before environmental protection," Gabrielle Ho, a project manager at conservation group Green Sense, told The Associated Press.
"We believe producers are able to create the same effects via post-productions works, but instead they are asking us to turn on so many lights, wasting so much energy," Ho said.
In a letter sent to tenants and management companies in 60 buildings, October Pictures Ltd., the Hong Kong company handling production of "The Dark Knight," said director Christopher Nolan loved Hong Kong's glittering skyline and wanted to show it off in his film.
October Pictures manager Chu Chen-on asked the building managers to have residents switch on all lights and signboards during the shooting period.
The controversy is the latest snag for the Hong Kong production of the Hollywood movie.
Earlier reports said a scene in which Batman was to drop from a plane into the harbor was axed after the movie's producers found the water quality could pose a health risk. And concerns have been raised about the noise that planes and helicopters swooping low over the harbor would cause.
The movie — a sequel to the 2005 hit "Batman Begins" — stars Christian Bale as Batman, Heath Ledger as the Joker and Michael Caine as Batman's butler, Alfred.
October Pictures did not respond to a request for comment.
