Batman franchise `plagued by curse`

Melbourne: The talk that the Batman trilogy is cursed has resurfaced again following the Colorado massacre, where a gunman dressed as the film villain ‘The Joker’ opened fire at a packed US movie theatre leaving at least 12 dead and 59 injured. The horrific cinema shooting spree is the latest tragedy associated with the film after the death of Heath Ledger, who played the Joker in `The Dark Knight`, according to the Daily Mail. The Australian actor died in January 2008 at the age of 28 from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, six months before the film`s release. The filming of ‘The Dark Knight’ was marred by another misfortune - the death of New Zealander Conway Wickliffe, News.com.au reported. The special effects technician was on a camera truck filming a stunt when it crashed into a tree in October 2007. On the set of the latest sequence, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, a stunt double for Anne Hathaway, who plays Catwoman, reportedly crashed into expensive camera equipment during filming in Pittsburgh. The Batman “curse``” also touched ‘The Dark Knight’s leading stars Morgan Freeman and Christian Bale. Freeman, who played Lucius Fox in the film, was seriously injured in a car accident in Mississippi in August 2008. The crash left both Freeman and his passenger Demaris Meyer badly injured after the car flipped several times and landed in a ditch. In the days after the accident, Freeman and his wife of 24 years announced they were divorcing. His passenger, who was widely reported to have been his mistress, denied she was romantically linked to him and sued the actor for negligence. The trilogy’s bad luck also followed Christian Bale, the star of the franchise. The famously volatile actor, who plays Batman, hit the headlines in July 2008 when he was arrested for allegedly assaulting his mother and sister at the Dorchester Hotel shortly before the London`s premiere. ANI