Criminal activity

"The Dark Knight" with Christian Bale's Batman and Heath Ledger's creepy Joker grabbed another $16.8 million at the weekend box office.

The Warner Bros. Caped Crusader flick has now raised its total till to $471.5 million.

That means director Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" has passed the original "Star Wars" ($461 million) and now stands as No. 2 on the all-time domestic charts, behind only "Titanic" ($600.8 million).

I finally got to see Ledger's amazing performance last Wednesday, when I saw "The Dark Knight" at Navy Pier's IMAX movie theater on my birthday.

It doesn't disappoint.

The film clocked in a little long for my taste, but whenever Ledger was on screen, the (sold-out) audience reactions practically went through the roof.

And as an added bonus, viewers get a couple extra archvillians to warrant the ticket price with this film.

Actor Cillian Murphy, who appeared in Nolan's first 2005 "Batman Begins" film, appears earlier in the film reprising his role of Dr. Jonathan Crane aka The Scarecrow.

And of course, there's the masterful role playing of actor Aaron Eckhart as District Attorney Harvey Dent aka Two-Face.

Both actor Jack Nicholson, who played The Joker nearly two decades ago in the 1989 movie "Batman" and Tommy Lee Jones, who played Two Face in the 1995 third installment of the original Warner Bros. franchise, agree both Ledger and Eckhart have taken their portrayal of both villains to new heights.

Up next, the Hollywood buzz is that Johnny Depp could be playing Edward Enigma aka The Riddler with Angelina Jolie cast purrrfectly as Selina Kyle aka The Catwoman in the next planned "Dark Knight" film now on the drawing board.

Older masked man

On the subject of Batman, it was actor Adam West driving behind the Batmobile in the original 1960s television series and 1966 big screen film of the same name. He fought Caesar Romero's Joker (complete with the actor's trademark mustache poorly concealed under the white clown make-up), Frank Gorshin as The Riddler and Burgess Meredith as The Penguin, with Lee Meriwether and Julie Newmar taking turns as The Catwoman.

Now comes word that West, nearly 80, is being strongly considered for the new Fall installment of ABC's popular "Dancing with the Stars." The actual star roster will be announced on Aug. 25 on "Good Morning America."

Close but incorrect

My Friday cover story about Star Plaza Theatre's weekend production of "Disney's High School Musical" included a list of the winning readers who took to the stage in some very fun cameo roles.

Emily Kakol , 15, who lit up the stage during the Friday show, is actually from Dyer, and not Highland, as appeared in my original story. My apologies. At least now we have the correct town to forward fan mail!

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or 219.852.4325.

celebBirthdays

Actor L.Q. Jones ("Casino") is 81. Actress Debra Paget ("Love Me Tender" and "The Ten Commandments") is 75. Actress Diana Muldaur ("Star Trek: The Next Generation") is 70. Drummer Ginger Baker (Cream, Blind Faith) is 69. Singer Johnny Nash and actress Jill St. John are 68. Actor-turned-US Senator Fred Thompson is 66. Singer Billy J. Kramer is 65. Country singer-songwriter Eddy Raven is 64. Singer Ian Gillan of Deep Purple is 63. President Bill Clinton is 62. Actor Gerald McRaney and Tipper Gore are 60. Bassist John Deacon of Queen and actress Randi Oakes ("CHiPs") are 57. Actor Jonathan Frakes ("Star Trek: The Next Generation") is 56. Political commentator Mary Matalin is 55. Actor Peter Gallagher is 53. Actor Adam Arkin is 52. Singer-songwriter Gary Chapman and actor Martin Donovan are 51. Singer Ivan Neville is 49. Actor

Eric Lutes ("Caroline In The City") is 46. Actor John Stamos is 45. Musician/manager Robby Vinton (son of Bobby Vinton) is 44. Actress Kyra Sedgwick and actor Kevin Dillon ("Entourage") are 43. Country singer Lee Ann Womack is 42. Former MTV reporter Tabitha Soren is 41. Rapper Nate Dogg and country singer Clay Walker and actor Matthew Perry ("Friends") are 39. Rapper Fat Joe is 38. Actress Tracie Thoms ("Cold Case") is 33. Singer Karli Osborn of SHeDaisy is 24. Rapper Lil' Romeo is 19.