Batman fans pack midnight showings around Buffalo as 'Dark Knight' opens

The midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight," the latest in the Batman film saga starring the late Heath Ledger as the arch villain Joker, appeared much like Halloween in July.
At theaters across the Buffalo area, people in capes and face paint stood in line to see the film that was second only to "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" for advanced ticket sales on Fandango.com.
Thirty-two showings were held in the Buffalo area between 12:01 and 3:30 a.m., and most sold out, according to Fandango.
"This is like the Fourth of July for us," said Kelly O'Keefe, 18, of Tonawanda.
O'Keefe, with her brother Kevin, 22, replicated the Joker's face paint and ensemble for one of the 12:01 a.m. showings at Regal Cinemas Transit Center Stadium 18.
"We've been lifelong Batman fans," Kevin said. "And I've been a lifelong Joker fan."
Along with nine showings on regular screens, the Regal 18 theater in Lancaster had IMAX showings at 12:01 and 3:15 a.m.
Justine Distefano of Clarence, with friends sporting Batman T-shirts from Target, arrived almost two hours early to claim the front of the line for a 12:30 showing. Distefano said she purchased her tickets a week ago.
"It's supposed to be the best movie of the summer," she said. "And Heath Ledger … that's another reason."
The waiting movie-goers, by the large young people, invariably said Ledger, the young Hollywood up-and-comer who died of an overdose in January, was a huge draw for the film.
For 20-year-old viewers, the newest Batman film is a double dose of childhood nostalgia, Distefano said. Not only does it bring a favorite cartoon hero to life, it presents an eerie last vision of the actor who stole many a high school heart in "90s teen classics like "10 Things I Hate About You" and "A Knight's Tale."
O'Keefe said a tragic allure of the film is how trailers showed Ledger completely submerged in the role of the infamous comic book maniac … a sign that the former heartthrob was coming into his own as a versatile actor.
"Personally, I think Heath Ledger's performance is going to make Jack Nicholson look pathetic," she said, referencing Nicholson's turn as the Joker in 1989's "Batman."
Some fans believed the rumor that Ledger's intense concentration while shooting the film led to his accidental overdose on a mixture of prescription drugs.
"I heard it was partly why he kind of went . . . crazy," said Ellina Stein, 18, of Clarence.
Mike Schneggenburger, 18, of Depew, said he didn't buy the rumor, but believed before even seeing the movie that Ledger deserves to win an Oscar posthumously. "Have you seen the previews?" he said.
Schneggenburger, dressed as Joker, and friends miming Batman villains Two Face, the Riddler and Joker-paramour Harley Quinn make a hobby of attending midnight premieres in full costume.
"Everybody here at the midnight movie is a fan," Schneggenburger said. "We do it for everyone."