What Has Tim Burton & Joel Schumacher Said About the Nolan Era

[TMC1982]

I kind of appreciate the feeling that all three directors (for better or for worse) brought their own unique spin on the Batman mythos/universe. I read somewhere that Tim Burton said of "Batman Forever" (and I paraphrasing) something along the lines of that it was pretty much his idea of Batman following an acid bender. Joel Schumacher on the his commentary track for "Batman & Robin" briefly makes reference to "Batman Begins" (which was still in the pre-production or principal filming phase at the time).

 

[theMan-Bat]

Tim Burton said, "The Christopher Nolan movie [BATMAN BEGINS] I thought was actually really good. He really captured the ‘real’ spirit that these kind of movies are supposed to have nowadays. When I did BATMAN 20 years ago, in 1988 or something, it was a different time in comic book movies. You couldn't go into that ‘dark side’ of comics yet. The last couple of years that has become acceptable and Nolan certainly got more to the root of what the Batman comics are about."

About his own Batman movies he said, "I came in early and read the script that Sam Hamm was working on at the time. I decided to do it as Batman was my favorite character of all of the comic book heroes because of his dark nature. At that point most comic book movies were bright colored. More campy, or whatever. So it felt more interesting to go back to the nature of the comic books. For most people that didn't know comics, that's what they thought Batman was. Brightly colored and campy. So, people who knew comics knew the other side of Batman. The movie [BATMAN] ended up somewhere in the middle I guess. Currently everybody is trying to go back to the roots of a comic book when making a movie based on it, but back then the studio's weren't used to that. They were a bit nervous and would not let me go that far. The more money that's spent on a movie, the more people get involved and the more you have to deal with business that doesn't actually have anything to do with the filmmaking. With the second Batman film [BATMAN RETURNS], I remember sitting with some people from McDonalds that wanted to know what The Penguin was going to look like, ‘Because we want to get our wrappers ready.‘ And then I had to answer that we had to make the film first and did not know yet was he was going to look like. And the fact is that they weren't going to like the way he was going to look anyway. He doesn't really fit into the Happy Meal mode. You get a lot of things like that when you enter the bigger budget things and it's quite unpleasant."

About Tim Burton possibly making another Batman movie again he said, "I don't think so. After the first two movies I went in to talk about a third one with Warner executives. And I realized halfway through that meeting that they really did not want me to do it. And I wasn't sure if I was interested myself. So I think I made my contribution to the Batman legacy and I just naturally moved on to other things.”

http://www.batman-on-film.com/burton-talks-batman-in-amsterdam_4-13-08.html

I don't believe Joel Schumacher has said anything about Chris Nolan's Batman movies. About his own Batman films he said, “With Forever, the hardest part was the pressure of not knowing if the audience was going to accept our version of Batman. But they accepted it just fine. It was sexy and fun, and it was the most profitable movie of the year. So then, with Batman & Robin, everybody got really greedy. They wanted more toys, more machines in the movie, to make it more for kids. Adults think kids are too scared of Batman, so we had to make it more kid-friendly, make it funnier, make it lighter. I take full responsibility. It's all me. I know I disappointed some people, but it's a Batman movie.”

http://www.avclub.com/content/node/22505

 

[theMan-Bat]

I read somewhere that Tim Burton said of "Batman Forever" (and I paraphrasing) something along the lines of that it was pretty much his idea of Batman following an acid bender.

Tim Burton said Batman Forever's title is "like a tattoo you get when you're on drugs."

 

[TMC1982]

Tim Burton said, "The Christopher Nolan movie [BATMAN BEGINS] I thought was actually really good. He really captured the ‘real’ spirit that these kind of movies are supposed to have nowadays. When I did BATMAN 20 years ago, in 1988 or something, it was a different time in comic book movies. You couldn't go into that ‘dark side’ of comics yet. The last couple of years that has become acceptable and Nolan certainly got more to the root of what the Batman comics are about."

About his own Batman movies he said, "I came in early and read the script that Sam Hamm was working on at the time. I decided to do it as Batman was my favorite character of all of the comic book heroes because of his dark nature. At that point most comic book movies were bright colored. More campy, or whatever. So it felt more interesting to go back to the nature of the comic books. For most people that didn't know comics, that's what they thought Batman was. Brightly colored and campy. So, people who knew comics knew the other side of Batman. The movie [BATMAN] ended up somewhere in the middle I guess. Currently everybody is trying to go back to the roots of a comic book when making a movie based on it, but back then the studio's weren't used to that. They were a bit nervous and would not let me go that far. The more money that's spent on a movie, the more people get involved and the more you have to deal with business that doesn't actually have anything to do with the filmmaking. With the second Batman film [BATMAN RETURNS], I remember sitting with some people from McDonalds that wanted to know what The Penguin was going to look like, ‘Because we want to get our wrappers ready.‘ And then I had to answer that we had to make the film first and did not know yet was he was going look like. And the fact is that they weren't going to like the way he was going to look anyway. He doesn't really fit into the Happy Meal mode. You get a lot of things like that when you enter the bigger budget things and it's quite unpleasant."

About Tim Burton possibly making another Batman movie again he said, "I don't think so. After the first two movies I went in to talk about a third one with Warner executives. And I realized halfway through that meeting that they really did not want me to do it. And I wasn't sure if I was interested myself. So I think I made my contribution to the Batman legacy and I just naturally moved on to other things.”

http://www.batman-on-film.com/burton-talks-batman-in-amsterdam_4-13-08.html

That's too bad that Tim Burton never got a chance to do another Batman movie after "Returns". I would've loved to see his take (and not to take anything away from Joel Schumacher's contributions) on the Riddler, Two-Face (possibly, with Billy Dee Williams in the role instead of Tommy Lee Jones), Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane. I think that Warner Bros. seriously regretted giving Burton carte blanche with "Batman Returns". "Returns" was more of a personal, less "commercialized" or mainstream oriented movie than the first one or the Schumacher films. They were so desperate to get Burton (and as an extension, Michael Keaton) back, they they pretty much let him do whatever he wanted with the sequel and ultimately, got burned. Warner Bros. possibly couldn't have anticpated just how dark, sinister, and twisted (thus scaring away folks like McDonald's) Burton could get with Batman.

 

[El Payaso]

Tim Burton said, "The Christopher Nolan movie [BATMAN BEGINS] I thought was actually really good. He really captured the ‘real’ spirit that these kind of movies are supposed to have nowadays. When I did BATMAN 20 years ago, in 1988 or something, it was a different time in comic book movies. You couldn't go into that ‘dark side’ of comics yet. The last couple of years that has become acceptable and Nolan certainly got more to the root of what the Batman comics are about."

Nevertheless Burton did explore Batman's dark side. And the dark side of the Kane era. It worked, others felt free to follow this and now we have TDK. Sometimes things are just beautiful.

Tim Burton said Batman Forever's title is "like a tattoo you get when you're on drugs."

t: LOL

 

[mongoose-mania]

When asked what Tim Burton thought about The Dark Knight:
"I haven't seen it yet. I'm just, you know, busy. I do want to see it. I've heard it's very good. And I'm sure it is very good. Mostly everybody that I know that has seen it has said that it's very good and I take their word for it."

 

[Bat Attack]

Tim Burton said, "The Christopher Nolan movie [BATMAN BEGINS] I thought was actually really good. He really captured the ‘real’ spirit that these kind of movies are supposed to have nowadays. When I did BATMAN 20 years ago, in 1988 or something, it was a different time in comic book movies. You couldn't go into that ‘dark side’ of comics yet. The last couple of years that has become acceptable and Nolan certainly got more to the root of what the Batman comics are about."

About his own Batman movies he said, "I came in early and read the script that Sam Hamm was working on at the time. I decided to do it as Batman was my favorite character of all of the comic book heroes because of his dark nature. At that point most comic book movies were bright colored. More campy, or whatever. So it felt more interesting to go back to the nature of the comic books. For most people that didn't know comics, that's what they thought Batman was. Brightly colored and campy. So, people who knew comics knew the other side of Batman. The movie [BATMAN] ended up somewhere in the middle I guess. Currently everybody is trying to go back to the roots of a comic book when making a movie based on it, but back then the studio's weren't used to that. They were a bit nervous and would not let me go that far. The more money that's spent on a movie, the more people get involved and the more you have to deal with business that doesn't actually have anything to do with the filmmaking. With the second Batman film [BATMAN RETURNS], I remember sitting with some people from McDonalds that wanted to know what The Penguin was going to look like, ‘Because we want to get our wrappers ready.‘ And then I had to answer that we had to make the film first and did not know yet was he was going look like. And the fact is that they weren't going to like the way he was going to look anyway. He doesn't really fit into the Happy Meal mode. You get a lot of things like that when you enter the bigger budget things and it's quite unpleasant."

About Tim Burton possibly making another Batman movie again he said, "I don't think so. After the first two movies I went in to talk about a third one with Warner executives. And I realized halfway through that meeting that they really did not want me to do it. And I wasn't sure if I was interested myself. So I think I made my contribution to the Batman legacy and I just naturally moved on to other things.”

http://www.batman-on-film.com/burton-talks-batman-in-amsterdam_4-13-08.html

I don't believe Joel Schumacher has said anything about Chris Nolan's Batman movies. About his own Batman films he said, “With Forever, the hardest part was the pressure of not knowing if the audience was going to accept our version of Batman. But they accepted it just fine. It was sexy and fun, and it was the most profitable movie of the year. So then, with Batman & Robin, everybody got really greedy. They wanted more toys, more machines in the movie, to make it more for kids. Adults think kids are too scared of Batman, so we had to make it more kid-friendly, make it funnier, make it lighter. I take full responsibility. It's all me. I know I disappointed some people, but it's a Batman movie.”

http://www.avclub.com/content/node/22505

Gaaah! He says that for everything!

 

[Bat-Mite]

I always love reading Burton's comments on the Nolan franchise. But like Bat Attack said, Schumacher always uses "it's a Batman movie" or "it's a comic book movie". As if that automatically justifies the campy, neon orgy he created. Moreover, he always says it in a tone that implies, "It's just a Batman movie. Get over it." Very annoying. As if he thinks a comic book film must be campy or childish. I'd like him to see TDK and then try to justify that line of thinking.

 

[El Payaso]

I always love reading Burton's comments on the Nolan franchise. But like Bat Attack said, Schumacher always uses "it's a Batman movie" or "it's a comic book movie". As if that automatically justifies the campy, neon orgy he created. Moreover, he always says it in a tone that implies, "It's just a Batman movie. Get over it." Very annoying. As if he thinks a comic book film must be campy or childish. I'd like him to see TDK and then try to justify that line of thinking.

Happily enough, Christopher Nolan changed that forever. You'll never be able to say "It's just a Batman movie" just like that. From now on "a Batman movie" will mean something really difficult to surpass...

 

[metalhead_dave]

I dunno what Schumacher thought of the Dark Knight... but I remember Val Kilmer saying something along the lines of the Dark Knight was the type of Batman movie that he wanted to be a part of back when he was doing Batman Forever.

I'd give a link, but it was in one of the MANY youtube videos of the press coverage of TDK.

 

[El Payaso]

I dunno what Schumacher thought of the Dark Knight... but I remember Val Kilmer saying something along the lines of the Dark Knight was the type of Batman movie that he wanted to be a part of back when he was doing Batman Forever.

Well, who wouldn't.

 

[[A]]

^ exactly

 

[I Am The Knight]

Well, who wouldn't.

Joel.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

I really would be interested in what Joel says about Nolan's bat-films!

 

[I Am The Knight]

"They are Batman movies."

 

[metalhead_dave]

Well, who wouldn't.

But didn't Kilmer and Schumacher get into a BUNCH of fights because Kilmer thought he'd be doing a darker Batman movie, only to run into the crap fest from Forever?

 

[Matt.S99]

Did they? Thats good then. Its good to know that Kilmer actually KNEW the character was meant to be darker.(Though even for shumachers movies, his batman was a bit dark)

 

[p4poetic]

Burton thought... oh thank God.

 

[deadskie]

::hee:: I love Tim Burton. He's so perfectly antsy in his nervous responses--but he always ends up making a lot of sense.

 

[Gexmeister]

But didn't Kilmer and Schumacher get into a BUNCH of fights because Kilmer thought he'd be doing a darker Batman movie, only to run into the crap fest from Forever?

Yes, they did. That's part of the reason Kilmer didnt return for Batman & Robin.

 

[El Payaso]

Burton thought... oh thank God.

I didn't know he believed in God.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Tim Burton said Batman Forever's title is "like a tattoo you get when you're on drugs."

I thought he said it was something like the title sounded like something you put on your lunchbox.

 

[TMC1982]

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvuyMR5jSQA[/YT]