‘The Dark Knight’ in a harsh light

The producers of the new “Batman” movie came under fire for asking tenants along a Hong Kong waterfront to keep their lights on all night for a week to better show off the city’s glass and steel skyline.

Environmentalists said it was sending the wrong message at a time when the rest of the world was struggling to reduce energy consumption.

In a letter sent to tenants and management companies in 60 buildings, October Pictures Ltd., the Hong Kong company handling production of “The Dark Knight,” said director Christopher Nolan loved Hong Kong’s glittering skyline and wanted to show it off in his sequel to the 2005 hit “Batman Begins.” Christian Bale stars as Batman.

“We believe producers are able to create the same effects via post-production . . . but instead they are asking us to turn on so many lights, wasting so much energy,” said Gabrielle Ho, a project manager at conservation group Green Sense.