Christopher Nolan recently started shooting exterior scenes on location in Pittsburgh for The Dark Knight Rises, and a flood of set photos and information have been hitting the web all week. Earlier today, we got our first official look at Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman merely hours before set photos hit showing Hathaway’s stunt double filming scenes on set. Today, word comes that Ben Roethlisberger and a number of his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates will appear in the film. Since this is The Dark Knight Rises, and many people are trying to stay away from any and all information regarding the film until the release date (good luck), I’ll elaborate more on this mild-spoiler story after the jump.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Heat Vision) reported today that Roethlisberger and a number of his teammates (including Hines Ward, Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, Troy Polamalu, James Farrior and Casey Hampton) will appear in scenes that are being filmed at Heinz Field this weekend. Roethlisberger spoke a bit about the nature of their appearance:
"I heard it's going to be a neat thing at the stadium. I don't think it will be a big part, it's not like we're chasing Batman down or anything. From what I've heard, it's going to be like a pre-game, warming-up type thing. I don't know the whole concept. There's a Gotham team, a football game. We'll be wearing uniforms. It will be fun."
We knew that Nolan and Co. would be filming scenes involving a football game at Heinz Field, but no one really knew that a big name like Roethlisberger would be among those onscreen. Hopefully the players’ appearance is extremely brief, so as not to distract moviegoers from the film. It’d be a bit strange watching an intense scene in a super-serious Batman movie only to see Roethlisberger show up out of nowhere.
More information regarding the filming is provided from Be In a Movie, the company that has been handling the extras casting for the scene. They reveal that the football game is between the Gotham Rogues and the Rapid City Monuments. They also hint at more than just a football game occurring on the day of filming, saying "Nothing is ever as it seems in Gotham City, especially at such a high profile game..." They also promise "LOTS of special effects and stunt men," so it's safe to assume that the game won't be proceeding as normal.
I’m hoping Nolan’s crew is close to wrapping up location exteriors in Pittsburgh. I’d rather not watch The Dark Knight Rises in bits and pieces over the next few weeks. The film stars Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard and Joseph-Gordon Levitt. The Dark Knight Rises opens July 20th, 2012.