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Post by RhodoraO on Feb 17, 2017 23:41:32 GMT
Item from REVISITING WIZARD MAGAZINE’S “55 COMIC BOOK MOVIE THINGS WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE” 9 YEARS LATER, c. 2014, on Nerdist.com: #2. The Return of Batman
What Wizard Said: “It’s been eight years since the cape and cowl last flashed onto the silver screen — and the anticipation is killing us! The trailers have looked amazing and Christian Bale’s first appearance in costume is sure to inspire spontaneous ovations in theaters everywhere!”
Did We Get It?: Yup. Batman Begins came out in 2005, a few months after this issue came out.
Was It Satisfying? A resounding HELL YEAH it was. It’s easy to forget now, nine years later, but before Nolan’s Batman Begins, the Batman franchise was dead as a door nail thanks to 1997’s Batman & Robin. Nolan revived the Dark Knight in a way that just wouldn’t have been possible in the decades previous, and gave fans of the comic books finally something that resembled the books they had read for years. When Christian Bale finally appears (almost an hour in) as Batman, while I’m not sure there were any ovations, many many fanboys whispered “Finally. They got it.”
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Post by RhodoraO on Mar 5, 2017 5:24:31 GMT
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Post by RhodoraO on Mar 7, 2017 5:00:34 GMT
Item #20 from the same source (see above):
#20. The First Time the Bat-Signal Is Lit
What Wizard Said: “what better way to culminate a return to the light (after the “dark times” of Joel Schumacher) than the glow of the Bat-signal against the cloudy Gotham sky?”
Did We Get It? Yes, we see the first time the Bat signal is lit in Batman Begins.
Was it Satisfying? Like most things in Christopher Nolan’s excellent (dare I say classic?) Batman reboot, the lighting of the Bat-signal the first time is a pretty powerful moment, especially since he uses mob boss Carmine Falcone to create a makeshift “bat”. When we saw that the first time in theaters, we all gasped and whispered “that’s bad ass.”
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Post by RhodoraO on Mar 9, 2017 5:39:11 GMT
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Post by Admin on Mar 15, 2017 4:47:10 GMT
What other Batmen had to say during the days of Batman Begins' release! A very interesting article with Adam West and Michael Keaton's detailed comments on the subject along with Christian Bale's responses: Source: web-beta.archive.org/web/20050612034500/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1503862/06092005/story.jhtml06.09.2005 Listen To Your Elders: New Batman Gets Advice From Adam West, Michael Keaton 'Don't get your cape caught in the wrong places' is West's sage counsel.
They've both lowered the iconic black cowl over their faces; they've both defended the residents of Gotham from the sadistic evildoers who prey upon the weak.
Although separated by two decades, Adam West and Michael Keaton were the first two actors to portray the mysterious Dark Knight, more commonly referred to as Batman. Now, with Christian Bale descending into the Batcave in this month's "Batman Begins," the two comic-adaptation icons welcome him to the brotherhood with open arms and a healthy dose of time-tested advice.
"Don't get your cape caught in the wrong places," laughed West, the jovial 76-year-old star of the original "Batman" television series, which aired from 1966-68. "Things will change [for you], because Batman is such a huge, iconic character. He's been around for so long in the public consciousness that [you] will be many times perceived as Batman by some. And I think if you have a good sense of humor, this wit about you, you can deal with that, and that's the best way to handle it."
Keaton, who is as much the godfather of the so-called "dark" Batman as West is to the more comic portrayals, says he is familiar enough with Bale to know that the "American Psycho" star won't let the newfound notoriety go to his head. "He's smart," insisted the star of 1989's "Batman" and '91's "Batman Returns." "[Bale is] really talented, and he knows what to do."
"Good advice," Bale laughed upon hearing the comments from his predecessors. "That cape isn't the handiest thing to have around you, especially in the Batmobile or whatever. But Batman needs it, because he can't fly without it."
Such observations on Bat paraphernalia distinguishes "Begins" from the adventures of West and Keaton (as well as fellow Batmen Val Kilmer and George Clooney). For this reinvention of the Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan ("Memento") and writer David Goyer (the "Blade" movies) set out to explain reasons for the existence of every facet of Batman's costume, right down to the pointy ears with high-grade stereo microphones allowing him to eavesdrop on villains.
There is one essential accessory, however, that West reminds Bale to pack whenever loading up the utility belt for an adventure: Shark Repellent Bat-Spray. "Yes, the shark was rubber," West admitted of the memorable scene in his 1966 movie, which had him spraying and hitting a hilariously fake not-so-Great White clinging to his leg. "Some of the guys on the set said, 'You can't hit the shark like that, because it just sounds like rubber.' And I said, 'Keep it, make it sound the way it is,' because later it explodes anyway, and really it was kind of the feel, the tenor of the show to have a rubber shark on his leg, and not a real one."
While Keaton and Bale both concede a fondness for the corny "BIFF!" and "THWACK!" days of West, the star of Tim Burton's moody masterpieces says he's happy that the new movie leans more toward his blueprint.
"You can't ever go too dark for me," said Keaton, who stars in "Herbie: Fully Loaded" this month. "There is a way into that guy, a trick to it. [Being dark] was the one way to get into him; that is the only way I could get into him, and that's the way I went."
"This is not 'Batman 5,' " Bale responded, saying that his portrayal takes Keaton's darkness even further. "I would not be interested in making a fifth Batman movie. This, to me, is the first Batman movie, like the title suggests."
Speaking of sequels, Bale revealed that he has signed on to do two more films, and hopes that they will push the envelope even further. "I think it can go darker, in fact whether anybody would ever listen to me or not," he said, offering up a rare grin. "There is a great place for an R-rated Batman. I don't want to exclude children, but I think that you can do one movie with PG and R-rated versions as well, because if you look at many of the graphic novels, if you were to depict what they show in the novels straight onto film, it could be nothing but an R-rated movie."
West, who recently narrated a special Bravo series that ranked the best superheroes, says he would have enjoyed the opportunity to take Batman dark before Keaton got the chance. "I've never been asked that, but yes, I would have liked it," he said, "because I would have been challenged by [giving] Batman a different kind of mission. Even now, at my age, if we were to do another generation of Batman that is an older one, or Bruce Wayne is in troubled waters in the streets, and maybe [needs help] ... I don't mean to sound self-serving or like somebody looking for a job, but I think that would be challenging, and the great thing is it would probably bring in both audiences."
While Adam West offers to suit up once again, Keaton insists that he got out at just the right time. " kinda got to retire the jersey on that one, you know?" he said of the then-controversial decision to make "Batman Returns" his swan song. "I dug it, it was interesting ... One of the reasons I didn't do the third one was I just didn't think it was going in the direction I was interested in. The direction that I suggested was, if not a prequel, then some version of a prequel which is exactly what ['Batman Begins'] is, and that's really what I wanted to do the third time."
These three Batmen, spanning five decades and weathering just as many reinterpretations of the character, come from drastically different backgrounds. They do agree on one thing, however: The iconic hero that binds them together is fueled by an original story compelling enough to keep him relevant for years to come.
"It's the backstory," West said. "He's somebody who's an ordinary human being; who, because his parents were murdered in his presence as a child, becomes someone who wants to pay back and get rid of anyone who might try to do the same thing."
"He's such a potentially fascinating character," Keaton asserted, admitting that he'll be in line to see the new movie. "I'm curious."
"I want the Batman persona not just to be Bruce Wayne in a Batsuit," Bale said of how he'll tell the story, "but to become a creature ... that can channel his rage and his grief and his anger, so that as Bruce Wayne, he is able to function in life without being absolutely psychotic."
When the legendary Bat symbol lights up the night sky once again on June 15, one thing is certain: every Batman will be watching.
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Post by RhodoraO on Jul 21, 2019 4:41:48 GMT
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Post by RhodoraO on Jul 21, 2019 4:47:35 GMT
From a Comic con MTV interview with Orland Bloom on when he met way back with Nolan for Batman Begins ... heroichollywood.com/orlando-bloom-christopher-nolan-batman-begins/"When asked about Christian Bale’s turn as Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, Orlando Bloom had nothing but positive things to say about hisportrayal of the Caped Crusader: “No, I think Christian Bale was phenomenal. But it’s funny now I think about it and I’m like “Yeah. It was an interesting window.””
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