Batman Begins

[Josh]

I have a feeling you're right Josh!

Thanks, Vi!

Anyway, I heard there's a scene in this where

Joker cuts his cheeks to make his smile wider

[Meg]

Yeah, that's what I said.

[ShyViolet]

I think I might have heard about that too Meg! Not sure where though....



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BTW: Some trivia

Caesar Romero actually had a mustache when he played the Joker--it's just covered up with makeup.

They wanted him to shave it off, but he refused!

[ShyViolet]

Also, remember this fan-made image from early on? So far this is my favorite "modern interpretation"; I REALLY hope the movie goes this way!!

[Daniel]

The Joker in The Batman is awful. Yuck!

Yes, and dare I say, the worst incarnation!

Joker cuts his cheeks to make his smile wider

Eww.. Hope its true!

[ShyViolet]

Me too! It sounds cool! Very psychological!


Also, FINALLY found it:

The Filmation Joker, from the 1977-1978 "New Adventures of Batman" animated show.




Thanks to this awesome page, which I unfortunately can't read!

http://www.batcave.stopklatka.pl/ramka. ... w=odcinki6

(not even sure what language it is--is it Polish? )

[ShyViolet]

OK one last Joker:


I never liked this one much, a lot of people have "problems" with it:

I don't hate it, but I don't love it either.





From "The New Batman Adventures" 1997 re-vamp of Batman: The Animated Series.

Copyright Warner Bros.


Thank goodness they didn't keep this one for Return of the Joker!

(BTW I'm not sure but I assume the Filmation Batman is owned by WB since WB owns all the Batman properties?)

[Jeroen]

I think most people don't like it because they didn't want a simplification of the Batman animated series look in the first place.

He was fine the way he was, oh and lets not forget the eyes

They went back to the older design for return of the joker wich was a good thing.

[Daniel]

Not the worst, but I don't like it at all. Just ugly! Thank goodness, they didn't change his voice!

[ShyViolet]

There was actually an episode where there were different versions of Batman based on artistic interpretation in The New Batman adventures:

"Legends of the Dark Knight"

They had a 1950's comic look with different voices for Batman, Robin AND the Joker!! (not Mark Hammill)

He greatly resembled the Filmation Joker, and he had this weird voice, totally different!!

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BTW, since sometimes we discuss Batman Forever as being "not as bad" as Batman and Robin, here's some cool trivia from IMDB!!


I don't know how true it all is, but I assume some of it is.

Trivia for
Batman Forever (1995)
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* Brad Dourif was considered for the role of the Riddler.

* Damon Wayans was considered for the role of The Riddler

* Mark Hamill (who voiced the Joker in the "Batman" (1992) animated series) was briefly considered for Riddler.

* While learning to twirl a cane, Jim Carrey reportedly broke around a dozen prop canes and some of his trailer furniture.

* The Robin costume weighed 41 lbs.

* Dick Grayson suggests "Nightwing" for a hero name; an in-joke for the comic books, where Dick Grayson now appears as Nightwing, an identity he took after he abandoned the Robin costume in 1980s.

* In the film there is a doctor named Burton. Tim Burton directed the first two Batman films and produced this sequel.

* At one moment, to Batman's surprise, Robin exclaims: "Holey rusted metal, Batman!", then explaining: "The ground, it's all metal. It's full of holes. You know, holey" - a jokey reference to the old US TV show "Batman" (1966) with Adam West, where Robin would yell his trademark exclamations of surprise every once in a while: "Holy something-or-other, Batman!".

* The scratches on the tails side of Two-Face's coin form the letters HD, the initials of Harvey Dent, Two-Face's former identity.

* Elizabeth Sanders, who plays Gossip Gerty, is the widow of Bob Kane, the man who created the Batman character.

* The design of the Flying Graysons' costumes was a reference to the red, yellow and green spandex that Robin wears currently in the comic books.

* In Canada, the French version of the Riddler's name is Le Sphinx.

* Chris O'Donnell's sister can be seen directly behind him in the party scene where Robin is first introduced to the public.

* In the movie, there is a scene where Two-Face keeps flipping his coin until he gets a result he wants. In the comics, a key element of his split personality is that he unquestioningly accepts the result of a single coin toss concerning any decision he makes.

* When Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell) drives the Batmobile around Gotham, a McDonald's restaurant can be seen in one of the shots. Director Joel Schumacher put it in the background, despite pressure from McDonald's to have it more visible.

* Rene Russo was originally cast to play Dr. Chase Meridian when Michael Keaton was still attached to the project as Batman. However, when Keaton dropped out of the project and was replaced by Val Kilmer, Russo was deemed to old to play his love interest and was replaced by Nicole Kidman.

* Alec Baldwin was almost cast as Batman.

* In the original Batman (1989), District Attorney Harvey Dent was played by Billy Dee Williams. Williams accepted the role with the knowledge and expectation that Dent would eventually become Two-Face: he reportedly had a clause put into his contract reserving the role for him in any sequels, which Warner Bros. had to buy out so they could cast Tommy Lee Jones.

* Scott Shaw (I) was offered the role of the Gang Leader. When he turned it down, the role eventually went to Don 'The Dragon' Wilson.

* Chase remarks about "Or do I need skin tight vinyl and a whip", an obvious reference to the "Catwoman" character in Batman Returns (1992).

* When left at Wayne Manor, Grayson informs Wayne that he is leaving. To this, Bruce replies that the circus would be halfway to Metropolis, which is the city of Superman.

* The movie was going to be shot in Cincinnati, using the old subway tunnel. The exterior of the Gotham City Hippodrome (the arena where Dick Grayson's family is killed) is based on the exterior of Union Terminal, a famous 1930's Art Deco train station in Cincinnati.

* The role of the security guard Two-Face captures was written for Wayne Knight, who was expected to accept it.

* The exterior set for Two-Face's hide out is the same set used in the first disappearance of Max Schreck (Christopher Walken) in Batman Returns (1992).

* Exterior scenes of Wayne Manor were filmed at the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture on Long Island, NY. The production team had to change the school's "W" on the entrance gate because it had an anchor behind it.

* Joel Schumacher's decision to put nipples on the Bat-costumes and an earring on Robin caused controversy - it even bothered Batman creator 'Bob Kane' . Schumacher said he wanted the costumes to have an anatomic look, while the earring was supposed to make Robin more hip.

* Actors Kimberly Scott (Bruce's assistant) and Michael Paul Chan (a worker at Wayne Enterprises) came back for Batman & Robin (1997), but in different roles, playing scientists at the Gotham Observatory. Joel Schumacher frequently uses them in his movies.

* Michael Worth tested for the role of Robin.

* Olympic gymnast Mitchell Gaylord was a stunt double for Chris O'Donnell.

* Val Kilmer learned he was the new Batman while he was literally in a bat cave in Africa, doing research for another project. He accepted the role without reading the script.

* 25 minutes of the film were digitally color corrected at 2K resolution - a very early example of digital grading for motion pictures.

* Mel Gibson was offered the role of Harvey Dent/Two-Face, but was forced to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts with Braveheart (1995).

* Clint Eastwood was considered for the role of Harvey Dent/Two-Face.

* Christian Bale, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, and Matt Damon all auditioned for the role of Dick Grayson/Robin. Bale later went on to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins (2005).

* The Scarecrow was originally going to make a cameo appearance but was scrapped because there where too many villains.

* Scott Speedman tried out for the role of Robin.

* The scene where Dick Grayson sorts and dries his laundry using kung-fu moves was taken shot-by-shot from a similar scene in the Hong Kong film Yong zhe wu ju (1981) (aka "Dreadnaught").

* Leonardo DiCaprio screen tested for the role of Robin.

* After Tim Burton stepped down as director, Sam Raimi (then a popular "cult" director) offered his services to the studio. He never got the job because the studio felt he wasn't a big enough name. Raimi went on to become a big name by directing Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004).

* The character Dr. Chase Meridian was given her first name as a pun, since she spends most of the film chasing after Batman.

* Robin Williams had been cast as The Riddler when Tim Burton was still attached to direct.

* After the Batmobile rides up the wall to escape from Two-Face, there was going to be a car chase on the rooftops of Gotham. Due to time and money constraints, this idea was scrapped and used in the next film, Batman & Robin (1997).

* The Batmobile was usually driven by stunt drivers, but 'Chris O'Donnell (I)' insisted on driving it himself in the joyride scene - but he crashed it into a curb and dented a fender.

* Reportedly, the role of Robin was narrowed down to two finalists: Chris O'Donnell and Leonardo DiCaprio. In order to decide who should get the role, the producers went to a comic book convention and asked groups of 11 year old boys (the target audience of the film) who would win a fight between the two actors. O'Donnell was overwhelmingly chosen by the boys as the winner of the fight and ultimately he won the role.

* Will Shortz, "puzzlemaster" on National Public Radio and editor of the NY Times crossword puzzle, created the Riddler's riddles.

* Early concepts of the final showdown on Claw Island had a huge, muscled, Riddler sitting on his throne when Batman finds him. The Riddler twists the two skulls on his armrests and the Riddler's muscled body is revealed to be a shell which splits in two, from which the real Riddler (wearing his white and green jumpsuit) steps out. This description made it into the junior novelization of the movie by Alan Grant, and was also featured in the video game based on the movie.

* Before deciding not to don the cape and cowl for a third time, Michael Keaton met with Joel Schumacher and declined to join the project after deciding that he did not like the direction in which Schumacher was looking to take the franchise. In the brief time that Tim Burton was still considering doing a third Batman film, Riddler was the only villain that he planned on using. The idea of using Two-Face did not come up until Schumacher joined the project.

* After seeing him in this film, record producer George Martin approached Jim Carrey about performing the song "I am the Walrus" for his The Beatles tribute album "In My Life". Carrey accepted.

* Joel Schumacher had asked Bono of U2 to reprise his role of Macphisto that he played during the band's ZOOTV tour, but Bono denied, saying that when ZOOTV ended so did Macphisto, so instead U2 contributed the song "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" to the soundtrack.

* John Malkovich was considered as a potential Riddler.

* Dean Cain was another choice to play Batman but was dropped because he was too well-known as Superman in the series "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" (1993) at the time.

* John McTiernan was Warner Brothers first choice to direct the film, but he had to turn it down because he was busy working on Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)

[Ben]

Some of those things are vaguely familliar to me.

Two biggest disappointments about Batman Forever, which would have otherwise been a fair and fine third movie, was the loss of Keaton and failed continuity with Billy Dee as Two-Face.

If those two things had remained, even without Burton as director, we'd have gotten a pretty cool third Batman.

Interesting near misses: McTiernan would have made a great and gritty film, and Hamill a terrific Riddler!

[ShyViolet]

Yeah, I do clearly remember hearing several times about Robin Williams possibly playing The Riddler.


He'd have been good, but didn't look the part enough!!

I agree, Hammill would have been awesome!!!

(Although I do admit I always like hearing Carrey going "Riddle me this.....riddle me that...." for some dumb reason.

(Soooooo ironic about Rami, and Bale. )


Also, here's some funny stuff about Batman and Robin:

* The Batman costume weighed 90 pounds; with the material being rubber, the entire body suit weighed 50 pounds plus a 40-pound piece rubber cape attached to the headpiece.

* The Batgirl costume weighed 50 pounds.

* The Robin costume weighed 50 pounds the same as the bat girl costume.

* The Mr. Freeze costume weighed 75 lbs.

* Anthony Hopkins, who was one of Joel Schumacher's other choices for Mr. Freeze, was also considered for the role of Alfred in Batman Begins (2005).

* Anthony Hopkins was also considered for the role of Mr. Freeze.

* Hulk Hogan was Joel Schumacher's third choice to play Mr. Freeze.

* A new form of light foam rubber was used to make the superhero costumes. This helped the costumes weigh less than on any other Batman film, but they ripped and tore very easily.

* Batgirl had a full-head costume designed for her much like Batman's (complete with pointy ears) in this movie, but it was rejected in favor of letting Alicia Silverstone's hair flow freely (except in one scene where she wears it as a crash helmet). Batgirl action figures designed for the movie reflect the full-head costume, before the toy makers were informed of the change.

* The sign on a club reads "The Head Room" just before the scene in which Alfred's computer likeness talks to Barbara in a manner resembling Max Headroom.

* The disease "MacGregor Syndrome" was named after producer Peter Macgregor-Scott.

* During the scene where Batman and Robin bid for Poison Ivy, Batman pulls out his credit card. Its expiration date: FOREVER (a reference to Batman Forever (1995)).

* Dr. Jason Woodrue appeared in DC Comics as another plant themed super-villain, as himself and as The Floronic Man.

* Dr. Woodrue creates Bane with what he calls his "Super Soldier Serum". This is a reference to the origin of the Marvel Comics character Captain America. Created in the early 1940s (under Marvels's previous incarnation as Timely Comics), Captain America was Steve Rogers, a man too frail to enlist to fight in World War II. He agreed to subject himself to the Super Soldier Serum which heightened every ability and sense to the highest human limits. Of course, as these things go, the doctor who created the formula was promptly killed and Captain America would be the only Super Soldier. Despite Timely/Marvel having been a somewhat popular line at the time, Captain America was wildly succesful, rivaling Superman, Captain Marvel, Batman, and Wonder Woman in popularity.

* Director Joel Schumacher first realized that George Clooney would make a good Batman after drawing the famous cowl over Clooney's face in an advertisement for From Dusk Till Dawn (1996).

* In the original theatrical trailer, Mr. Freeze says the line, "Button up, boys. A storm is coming." That line is not present in the final film.

* 'Julia Roberts' , Sharon Stone, and Demi Moore were all rumored to be in the running for the part of Poison Ivy, before Uma Thurman was cast.

* Joel Schumacher once said in an interview that if Arnold had not wanted to play Mr. Freeze, Sylvester Stallone was his second choice.

* Arkham Asylum was originally "made up" by horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, to use in his stories (and was located in Arkham, not Gotham City).

* In the evidence room at the prison where Freeze is held and before Bane breaks in, both the Riddler's and Two-Face's outfits can be seen.

* Pat Hingle (Commissioner Gordon) and Michael Gough (Alfred Pennyworth) are the only actors to appear in all four of the Batman films.

* One of three movies to feature two future United States Governors acting in the same film. Jesse Ventura, elected Governor in Minnesota in 1998, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, elected Governor of California in 2003. (The other two films were Predator (1987), and The Running Man (1987). All three of these movies featured Ventura and Schwarzenegger.)

* The computer in Alfred's room is a 20th anniversary Macintosh built by Apple Computer.

* In an interview the cast members were asked what item from filming they would like to take home with them. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that he would be taking Mr. Freeze's armor home, Uma Thurman said that she wanted Ivy's floral throne, and Elle Macpherson said that she just wanted a cap or something with the "Batman & Robin" logo before anyone else. When asked, George Clooney said he wanted Elle Macpherson.

* During shooting, George Clooney visited his friends on the set of "ER" (1994) in full costume.

* George Clooney injured his lower leg playing basketball, while shooting Batman & Robin (1997). Because of this, he needed to cut the boot off of the Bat-suit in order to wear a cast. You can tell when his leg was injured from his limping while inside the freeze rocket.

* When Batgirl sneaks to the motorcycle contest, one of the gangs there are dressed like the main characters in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). At the same time, the background song is "Fun for Me", performed by Moloko. Moloko is Nadsat (Alex de Large and his droogs' language) for Milk.

* Rated #4 in Entertainment Weekly's Top 25 Worst Sequels Ever Made (2006)

* Patrick Stewart and Anthony Hopkins were both considered for the role of Mr. Freeze till Joel Schumacher decided that Mr. Freeze must be "big and strong like he was chiseled out of a glacier".

* The film did so poorly in the box office that Warner Brothers canceled the fifth Batman film, "Batman Triumphant".

Actually I think Patrick Stewart, as well as Hopkins, would have both made a GREAT Mr. Freeze--if the story was made darker.

Arnie??????? What the heck was Schumacker thinking?

[Jeroen]

Be glad he didnt go with Hulk Hogan Vi

There was actually an episode where there were different versions of Batman based on artistic interpretation in The New Batman adventures:

"Legends of the Dark Knight"

They had a 1950's comic look with different voices for Batman, Robin AND the Joker!! (not Mark Hammill)

He greatly resembled the Filmation Joker, and he had this weird voice, totally different!!

That episode was great!!
It even had the female robin if I remember correctly.
Was that the one with the huge instruments during the joker part?

[ShyViolet]

Was that the one with the huge instruments during the joker part?

Yeah that's the one Z!!


It's so funny 'cause when it first aired, I wasn't keeping up with B:TAS or the New Adventures, so I just turned on the TV and switched to WB randomly. And I saw.....THAT. (The "Old-style" Batman segment)

I had no idea what the **** was going on!!!

I thought the whole episode was like that!! I was like: what, are they gonna do the whole show like this now or something???



The (MUCH) later on I read about the New Adventures and remembered about that ep, so I was like "Ohhhhhhhh....."

Be glad he didnt go with Hulk Hogan Vi Very Happy

Oh yeah.....

* John Malkovich was considered as a potential Riddler.

I actually think this might have been interesting....

He's much more low-key than Carrey of course, sort of like the Riddler in the Animated Series.

[ShyViolet]

Also, I thought it would be cool if I could find a REALLY old incarnation of the Joker from the old Batman serials, but I'm not even sure they had him as a villain then.

I think Caesar is as far back as it goes!!

I did find this cool site however:

http://www.polarblairsden.com/superherobatman1943.html


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Plus George posted this superdickery thread a long time ago, but it's so funny it's worth repeating!!

Also, you get to see a pretty neat-looking old style Joker--I guess it's the 40s from the look of it?



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