"The Dark Knight Rises," the conclusion of the Batman saga, won't be released for seven months, but if you're like me you're all goosebumpy to see even a snippet. So mark Dec. 16 on your calendar as Sneak Peek Day. Beginning that Friday, an exclusive "TDKR" prologue sequence will hit the really big screens at 42 IMAX locations in the U.S. and Canada. Locally, it's headed for the Great Clips theater at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, the only screen in the state to host the showing. For tickets, visit www.imax.com/minnesota No need to stampede. The snippet will screen before all "MI: GP" Zoo showings through Feb. 9.Why restrict the hotly anticipated film's publicity to just one theater in the state? The prologue will be attached to IMAX showings of "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol" on screens using true 70mm IMAX film projection. Theaters using the more common digital projection will not get the preview "MI: GP" is opening exclusively in IMAX five days before its general release date, on Dec. 21. It should pull in the same action-loving 18-35 males who made Nolan's Batman series a blockbuster. Nolan and "MI: GP" director Brad Bird both shot extensive scenes for their movies in IMAX, making it their format of choice for presentation. The MPAA is treating the sequence as a mini-movie, awarding it a PG-13 rating for "some violence." The ratings bulletin doesn't note a precise runtime for the short subject, but it's said to be between 6 and 8 minutes. Back in July a teaser trailer for "TDKR" played in front of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," but it was mostly footage from the earlier installments of Christopher Nolan's superhero trilogy. This new trailer echoes the strategy Warner Bros. used to promote "The Dark Knight" in 2007. The opening sequence, a bank heist led by Heath Ledger's iconic Joker, was attached to the IMAX release of "I Am Legend." "The Dark Knight Rises" cast features the return of Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Nestor Carbonell and Michael Caine, and adds franchise newcomers Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard.
