Christian Bale was on hand at ShoWest to promote some footage from The Dark Knight, and gave a revealing interview to Entertainment Weekly. The magazine immediately pumped him for Batman information, and Bale was forthcoming -- but noncommittal.

When asked if there would be a third installment, Bale wouldn't confirm or deny. "Um, look, let's wait and see." When the magazine "mistakenly" referred to it as a sixth installment, Bale was quick to correct them, and elaborate on the possibilities of a trilogy. "No, no, no, no, no. Part 3 is what I'd consider it, yeah, I don't say part 6. Batman Begins - that was the beginning there, with all due respect to the others. We are re-creating this. You know, obviously the decision is out of my hands. I would, knowing the Dark Knight story, I would like very much to complete a trilogy. And I think that knowing the story of The Dark Knight, it leaves you anticipating something that really can get very, very interesting for a third. Now, the question would be: Is Chris going to be doing it? Because to me I find it tricky to imagine working on it without it being a collaboration with Chris."

So, can we safely assume that Heath Ledger's premature death does not affect the trilogy's storyline? That has been the biggest question on everyone's mind. If you combine this interview with Aaron Eckhart's latest, I am still of the belief that Joker ends up in Arkham, and Two-Face could be the main villain in a third film. I can't imagine they didn't leave Joker's fate open ended, considering the villain's place in Batman's world, but no one from the film seems to feel the storyline cannot continue. Perhaps a bigger question is why Nolan isn't confirmed to continue the series.

Imagine not having to input your birth date and other information in order to watch a red band trailer. Oh yeah, that's already a reality thanks to YouTube. But you know what I mean. Legally, currently, we've had to prove our ages to see restricted trailers for such movies as Pineapple Express, Semi-Pro, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, The Foot Fist Way (this comedy's whole website is age-restricted), Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem and, most recently, Tropic Thunder. We've even seen red band trailers for PG-13-rated movies like Beowulf, which doesn't make any sense at all. Well, now we can see them on the big screen again. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Regal Entertainment Group cinemas (includes: Regal, United Artists, Edwards) has decided to bring red band trailers back to theaters.

Regal, the nation's largest cinema operator, made the announcement last week at ShoWest (yet the news hit the trades too late for my summary) and will begin looking at red band ads this week to see which film gets to be the inaugural title (the chain has already been quietly experimenting with a few at its Art Theaters). Obviously the trailers will only be shown before movies rated R or NC-17 or which are unrated. And most of them will likely continue to be for Judd Apatow movies. The move by Regal should put some new life into the marketing of certain movies -- Semi-Pro might have done better had its red band trailer been shown in theaters -- and will possibly influence other cinema chains to follow suit.

I find it kind of interesting -- no, funny, actually -- that while tons of movie fans were down in Austin for SXSW, enjoying the greatest cinema experience available, at the Alamo Drafthouse (Ritz and South Lamar), exhibitors from all over the country were piling into Las Vegas for ShoWest, the annual convention and trade show, where discussion and conversation often turns to the question, "how can we make moviegoing a better experience and, more importantly, a more lucrative business?"

Maybe some of the suits should have made the trip to SXSW instead, had a beer and a burger (ahem, a Royale with Cheese), and started lobbying their districts, if need be, to begin following the business model of the Alamo. I know that in my state of New York, it's not technically legal to serve alcohol in a cinema, but surely it is part of some antiquated law that needs to be adjusted (like how technically you're not allowed to dance at many bars in NYC).