"He can’t mope. He can’t have a self-indulgent angst."

comicbookresources has posted part one of their extended interview series with the creators of the dark knight.

part one is with director christopher nolan, and fans of comics and/or mythology will love it. the man's very, very bright, and seems to get what the batman/joker dichotomy is all about.

some choice quotes:

Is The Joker a force of nature?
He is a force of nature, and once you start thinking of the character as a given -- that he is just who he is -- then the psychology of that becomes immediately very obvious, and the idea that he’s a very unusual character, a very anarchic character in our society does seem to me quite obvious. We very much took the view in looking at the character of the Joker that what’s strong about him is this idea of anarchy, this commitment to chaos. He’s not just a bank robber or an ordinary criminal who’s only in it for material gain. His chief motivation is that of an anarchist. I talked to Heath a lot about it even as we were finishing the script, and we both agreed that the most threatening force society faces is pure anarchy, someone who wants to do harm for its own sake and for his own entertainment.

There's a quote attributed to you that said Superman is sort of the way that America views itself and that Batman is the way that the rest of the world views America.
That’s fantastic that’s attributed to me, but it’s not my quote, it’s Michael Caine’s. He said that to me the first time I met him, I thought it was very interesting. It was a very interesting point of view. I agree with that only in the sense that Superman is an ideal of something. I think that Batman, being a more human character, is not as ideal, and is having to deal with the consequences of his actions in a more relatable and a more human and in a more political way. That’s what I love about the character, because it means the story gets messy. It’s not always easy to figure out what is the heroic course of action, what is it okay to do? What’s the line you can’t cross as a vigilante or as somebody who works outside the law? This story gets to really explore those issues.

ugh why isn't this movie out now.