Matthew Modine Explains Why THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Didn’t Film at Occupy Wall Street

Earlier last month, it was reported that Christopher Nolan and his team were considering filming a few scenes at Occupy Wall Street during some location shooting in New York City. The plan was unconfirmed at the time, and how the logistics of the shoot would work was anyone’s guess. Now star Matthew Modine has revealed that they indeed were considering a OWS shoot, but ultimately decided it wasn’t a great idea. The police raid of Zuccotti Park now makes it an impossibility, but the actor says they came very close to the decision. Hit the jump to find out why Nolan and his team decided against it.

Speaking with IndieWire, Modine said Nolan and Co. decided their involvement would trivialize the movement:

“The wisdom of Christopher Nolan and his incredible team was that, while it seemed like a good idea to give [the protestors] an opportunity for work, to give them money, it would send a terrible message. At the end of the day, we’re making a movie. What’s happening down there is more important than that. To co-opt what’s happening there and around the country… we didn’t want to trivialize it. It was more important to respect what they’re doing than to do anything that could potentially trivialize the political situation downtown.”

It was probably a smart move; in hindsight the idea does seem a bit opportunistic. Judging from these NYC set photos (warning: they’re potentially pretty spoilery), we can reasonably assume that the protestors would have fight right in to these specific scenes. We’ll find out for sure just how the movement would have fit in when The Dark Knight Rises opens July 20th, 2012. The six-minute prologue for the film will be attached to 70mm prints of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in IMAX when it opens on December 16th.