Comic Book Movie has posted the latest material from The Dark Knight Rises‘ viral marketing effort, which shows us what the Harvey Dent Act is all about. Written by Mayor Garcia, the act promises stricter penalties “for those who commit any crime deemed as part of a function of a larger criminal enterprise.” Could this have anything to do with the League of Shadows?
One of the TV spots for the movie has Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s character commenting on how the streets have been cleaned up good, and this act is probably one of the reasons why. The act also reminds us how Batman is now looked upon as a murderer, which will no doubt play a huge part in the movie.
Another piece of the viral marketing, also thanks to Comic Book Movie, involves the Gotham Observer. The newspaper talks about the festivities planned for Harvey Dent Day, which the act declares an official city holiday. Among the events planned is a Gotham Rogues football match and “an official charity gala at Wayne Manor.” We’ve seen bits of these events in the trailers and now we know they all take place on the same day.
There are also reports of various burglaries taking place throughout the city and I think it’s clear that it’s the work of Catwoman. What’s interesting is that the victims were attending a Bruce Wayne event during the burglaries. Ryan Borgadus was attending a charity gala which I can only assume was the one at Wayne Manor. And Erin Adelsberger was “attending an event at Wayne Enterprises.” Coincidence?
There’s also an insightful news story on the Gotham Rogues and a story on ransacked construction sites which I assume have something to do with Bane. As for the public library opening, the only connection I can find there is Officer Blake’s comment on chasing down overdue library books in the TV spot mentioned above. Or it could be one of the many places Bane attacks.
My favorite part though, is the Horoscope section. It seems to be directed mostly at Bruce Wayne, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them were about Catwoman or Bane, or someone else entirely.
The most interesting one is Virgo. “Someone from your past will make a surprise appearance.” Ra’s Al Ghul anyone?
Overall, these virals have done an excellent job in keeping me excited for the movie. They’ve given us an idea of the state of Gotham right now and what’s going on in the time leading up to the film.
The Dark Knight Rises comes to theaters on July 20, 2012 and stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine and Marion Cotillard.
Read more about the Harvey Dent Act and the Gotham Observer below: