Sorry, New York: Gotham City in 'The Dark Knight' based on Chicago instead

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An interesting new AP article about “The Dark Knight” being based on Chicago rather than New York:

CHICAGO - Christian Bale’s Batman is perched atop a skyscraper, looking over a dark and foggy skyline pierced by glittering lights, preparing for a dive to the gritty streets below.

But when he alights, he won’t find the gargoyle-infested, bricks-and-mortar city that Washington Irving first coined “Gotham.” He won’t battle the Joker on wet cobblestones, or loom in the shadows of a dominant spire that evokes the Empire State building.

Heath Ledger isn’t the only scene-stealer in “The Dark Knight.” In the newest incarnation of the movie franchise, the mythical Gotham City — long assumed to be an allegorical Big Apple — is unmistakably based on Chicago.