The Dark Knight used practical stunts like flipping an 18-wheel truck instead of computer effects

pop & funWikipedia2008

The Dark Knight used practical stunts like flipping an 18-wheel truck instead of computer effects

the gist

The Dark Knight, released in 2008 and directed by Christopher Nolan, is the second film in his Batman trilogy, following Batman Begins. Nolan avoided computer-generated imagery wherever possible, relying on real stunts such as flipping an 18-wheel truck and blowing up a factory. It was the first major motion picture filmed with high-resolution IMAX cameras, and filming ran from April to November 2007 with a budget of $185 million. Heath Ledger's Joker won posthumous Academy, BAFTA and Golden Globe awards, making it the first comic-book film to earn major acting awards.

so what

The film helped set a template for modern superhero movies by treating comic-book characters within a gritty crime-drama style. Its reliance on physical stunts and IMAX photography remains a reference point for filmmakers who want realism on screen.

fun fact

The Dark Knight was the first major motion picture to be filmed with high-resolution IMAX cameras.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗