LG: Did you get along with Jack Nicholson when you made Batman?
KB: Oh, I loved Nicholson. Im not a fan of anybodys but I think hes done some wonderful performances. Hes not afraid to do anything, so thats cool with me. But it was hard, it was tough. Jack and all the producers made money. Peters-Guber, they made money. And Warner Bros., of course, made money. But none of the rest of us made anything. We got raped, everybody did. It was a rape deal, it really was.
LG: You and Jon Peters were rumored to have been an item at the time. You called Jon a catalyst who shook up something inside of you. Can you talk about him?
KB: Jon is very street-wise, he makes things happen. He was a friend. Hes also a chance-taker and I like that. Hes willing to take you on. I looked at Jon Peters and I said, There is something lacking from this script. If you knew the truth about Batman you would faint. So I said, Weve got to make this into a love story. And we spent hours and hours looking at film and me showing him film about things that should be. We had a lot of problems on Batman and Id go home at night and write over the weekend. Jack Nicholson just came in and wanted to work every day, he wasnt about to be part of the writing team on this. He was thinking about The Two Jakes. And Michael Keaton had done four films in a row and he was exhausted out of his mind. I got to know [director] Tim Burton pretty well, and Tim didnt want to write this. He had enough problems. The magnitude of this film was unbelievable. But I saw a lot that was missing from Batman. I saw the reconstruction work that should be done. Ive rewritten a lot of the stuff Ive done in movies, so I just rewrote a lot of this crap, period.
LG: Did you consider asking for a writing credit?
KB: No, I didnt. I learned a lot from Batman. I learned about being screwed and I learned about how not to ever get screwed again. I have got seventeen projects in the works in my own production company, most of which I have written myself. I dont need somebody patting me on the back about credit. I just want to see things done. And I want to see the right people getting the right money.
LG: Speaking of money, you and some partners plunked down a considerable amount to buy Braselton, the town near Athens, Georgia, where you grew up. What possessed you to do that?
KB: I know I have to develop this area. It just came to me as clear as anything. I said, Ill buy it. Then I looked up at God when I was there and I said, God, you know what I did? And this voice went, Yes, we know. And I said, Okay, are you going to help me? Absolutely. So I said, Fine. So I bought this town to develop to build a major studio there. Ive got a big job ahead of me.
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