Environmentalists said it was sending the wrong message at a time when the rest of the world was struggling to reduce energy consumption and Hong Kong itself was often shrouded in a hazy polluted fog.

“We welcome the filming of ‘Batman’ in Hong Kong, but why do we need to keep the lights on to make the backdrop? It seems like filmmaking is coming before environmental protection,” Gabrielle Ho, a project manager at conservation group Green Sense, told The Associated Press.

“We believe producers are able to create the same effects via post-productions works, but instead they are asking us to turn on so many lights, wasting so much energy,” Ho said.

October Pictures manager Chu Chen-on asked the building managers to have residents switch on all lights and signboards during the shooting period.

The controversy is the latest snag for the Hong Kong production of the Hollywood movie.

Earlier reports said a scene in which Batman was to drop from a plane into the harbor was axed after the movie’s producers found the water quality could pose a health risk. And 서산출장샵 concerns have been raised about the noise that planes and helicopters swooping low over the harbor would cause.

The movie, a sequel to the 2005 hit “Batman Begins” stars Christian Bale as Batman, Heath Ledger as the Joker and Michael Caine as Batman’s butler, Alfred.

October Pictures did not respond to a request for comment.