When Michael Keaton walked away from Batman Forever, producer Tim Burton had his own idea about who the next Batman should be—his Edward Scissorhands star, Johnny Depp. In an interview with Robert Genola of ComicBookMovie.com, Depp said, “What happened was Tim was producing it and he was trying to talk Joel Schumacher and the movie bosses to give me a shot at the role but it just never really worked out.”85
Warner Bros. drew up a short list of other viable candidates to play the Dark Knight: Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell and Billy Baldwin, younger brother of Alec, who had been considered for the role in the first Batman opus. Ultimately, it was felt that Baldwin was too young to play mentor to a teenage or early-20s Robin. Russell was a long shot favorite and a bona-fide action star, with tough-guy roles in Escape From New York (1981), Tequila Sunrise (1988), and Tombstone (1993), where he played Wyatt Earp to Kilmer’s Doc Holliday. But it was Kilmer who stole the show in Tombstone, and it was Kilmer whom director Joel Schumacher championed for the Batman role. “Val was my first and only choice,” said Schumacher.86 “I’ve been a fan of Val’s since Top Secret. When I saw Tombstone, I thought he’d make a great Batman/Bruce Wayne, not knowing we were ever going to change from Michael.”87
However, finding Kilmer proved to be a challenge. He was finally tracked down in the African veldt, where he was researching a screenplay.88 “It turned out that while they were discussing me as the next candidate for the role, I was researching a film about an African adventure,” said Kilmer. “On the day that Warner Bros. called my agent and said, ‘Yeah, he’s who we want,’ I was in a cave full of bats in South Africa.”89 Kilmer accepted the Batman role without even reading the script. “I said, ‘Sure, why not?”” recalled Kilmer. “How many different variations [of Batman] can there be?...I knew I wasn’t going to read anything that would make me gravely concerned about playing the part.”’ With a new lead actor, Schumacher now felt more than ever that he could leave his own stamp on the series. “When Val came on board, that further made it a new franchise because we had a different Batman,” said Schumacher. “So even though this was Warner’s third Batman, it was our first.”90
The new Batman was born in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve, 1959, to Eugene and Gladys Kilmer.91 “My father was raised in the mountains of New Mexico, and he picked cotton for a dollar a day,” said Kilmer. “He was working for the family from the time he was 7.” Eugene Kilmer eventually became a real estate developer in the San Fernando Valley, where Val Kilmer grew up with his brothers on a ranch once owned by Roy Rogers.92 At the young age of 12, Kilmer appeared in an ad for a fast food company. He continued acting at Chatsworth High School, along with classmates Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham, then attended the Hollywood Professional School.93 At age 17, he became the youngest student ever admitted to the drama department of New York’s Juilliard School.94 He perfected his craft on stage in New York, appearing in How It All Began, a play he co-wrote with Juilliard classmates, and The Slab Boys, co-starring then-unknowns Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon. In 1984, he landed his first feature film role, playing an Elvis Presley-type singer who gets involved with spy intrigue in Top Secret! More feature films and TV roles followed, including a high-profile turn as Tom Cruise’s nemesis in Top Gun (1986), and the starring role in the 1988 fantasy adventure Willow. But it was Kilmer’s channeling of Jim Morrison for The Doors(1991) and his scene-stealing performance as Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993) that put him solidly on Hollywood’s A-list.95
Kilmer’s hiring was announced the same day as Keaton’s departure. But once the 42-year-old Keaton was replaced with the 33-year-old Kilmer, the studio decided that 40-year- old Rene Russo might be too old to play Batman’s love interest.96 Sandra Bullock, co-star of the surprise hit Speed, which had opened a couple of weeks earlier, was in the running to replace her. Bullock also had another offer, for the romantic comedy While You Were Sleeping, which was due to begin shooting at the same time as Batman Forever. Ultimately, she chose to go with the romantic dramedy, which gave the actress her first leading role and kept her from becoming typecast in action-adventure films.97
The next actress approached for the role was Nicole Kidman, who had most recently appeared opposite Michael Keaton in the drama My Life (1993).98 Born in Hawaii to Australian parents in 1967, Kidman spent the first few years of her life growing up in Washington, D.C. before the family returned to their native Sydney. Her love of performing began early; she studied ballet at age 3 and mime at age 8, and later became a regular at Sydney’s Philip Street Theatre. At 16, she was cast in Bush Christmas (1983), a TV movie that became a regular holiday attraction in Australia. Two years later, she received international acclaim in director Philip Noyce’s Dead Calm, as a woman terrorized by a psycho on a yacht. This led to her first role in Hollywood, playing a neurologist who falls in love with a race car driver, played by Tom Cruise, in Days of Thunder (1990). Cruise was smitten with her, and the two wed on Christmas Eve of 1990 in a secret ceremony in Telluride, Colorado. Joel Schumacher had long been a fan of the actress, and was delighted when she accepted the role of Dr. Chase Meridian. “I’ve had my eye on her since Dead Calm,” he said. “You meet a lot of beautiful people in this business, but there’s something almost luminous about her. I wish I had a clause in my contract that said Nicole Kidman had to be in every one of my movies.”99
Only two actors were retained from Tim Burton’s ensemble. Michael Gough returned as Alfred, Bruce Wayne’s faithful butler and aide-de-camp, and Pat Hingle reprised his role of Police Commissioner Gordon. In a Starlog interview with Tom Weaver, Hingle said, “When I went to do the new one...I said, ‘Listen, are you guys gonna hire Michael Gough, the British actor, to play Alfred again? ‘ And they told me, ‘Oh, yeah. You and Michael are the bookends—one on one end and one on the other, and we just put in other actors!”100 Gough was happy to be back in the black suit and white collar, saying, “Luckily, I was blessed to have worked with Val in Top Secret!, so he was already a friend and we already had a working and personal relationship, which made acting with a new Batman and Bruce much easier.”101
For the role of Edward Nygma’s boss, Fred Stickley, Schumacher turned to an actor he’d worked with previously, Ed Begley, Jr. “Joel Schumacher had been a friend of mine for years,” said Begley. “I had met him in 1978 when he directed a thing called Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill, with a very early in his career Dennis Quaid, Tanya Tucker, Candy Clark and myself...I suppose because of that I got a call to be in Batman Forever, and play Jim Carrey’s boss at Wayne Industries.”102
With the major roles cast, Bob Ringwood was engaged to once again work on costumes for the film, this time joined by Ingrid Ferrin, who had just worked with Schumacher on The Client. A new Batsuit was constructed out of a special foam rubber. It weighed about 30 pounds, and under the hot studio lights, temperatures inside it reached as much as 140 degrees. The Batsuit was designed so that it could be put on or taken off in 10 minutes, with zippers hidden beneath the sculpted muscles.103 “By the time we filmed the third one with Val Kilmer,” said Bob Ringwood, “we had perfected the Batsuit. It couldn’t get sleeker.”104 To keep it looking fresh during filming, more than 130 Batsuits were made during the production.105
Despite Ringwood’s enthusiasm, Val Kilmer found the Batsuit less than perfect. “It hurts,” he said. “It shrinks all the time, whether it’s on me or not. It’s like being wrapped up. Fortunately, most of the time when [Bruce] Wayne puts it on, there’s something he wants to hit or punch.”’ Kilmer also said that the Batsuit “was like being old. You feel young, you don’t stop feeling or reacting in your mind, but your body just can’t do things at the same speed. Plus, you can’t see. Or breathe. You can’t find things. Your joints ache for no reason. And you can’t hear anymore.” A lot of his acting, he said, was done with his lips.106 When Movieline magazine asked Val Kilmer what he wore underneath his Batsuit, the star responded, “Buff, man. He’s dedicated, Batman.”
Ringwood was also obliged to
come up with an outfit for Robin. Although the Boy Wonder was shown with an updated version of the familiar red-vested, yellow-caped outfit during the circus performance, once he becomes a superhero, he’s in a muscle-enhancing rubber suit similar to Batman’s. “The tights were kind of tough to step into,” said O’Donnell. The mask also had its downside; it had to be stuck to his face with adhesive.107
Schumacher was inspired by classic Greek statuary to add a design element to the Batman and Robin costumes for which he would be forever vilified: nipples. “The suits are very sexy because they’re very body conscious,” said Schumacher. “They’re idealized, almost Greek, with a little steroid in it. It’s playful sexy, of course. We’re not talking Basic Instinct here.”108
Flamboyant costumes were also created for both Two-Face and The Riddler. Jim Carrey helped design what was called the Riddler’s “Vegas suit,” adorned with 2,500 computer- controlled blinking lights. Despite all the electronics, the coat weighed no more than the average blazer.109
Besides over-the-top costumes, Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey were subjected to grueling make-up sessions. It took two-and-a-half hours to transform Jones into Two-Face. The Jekyll and Hyde-inspired make-up was created by Rick Baker, who was on his way to collecting his third Academy Award for transforming actor Martin Landau into Bela Lugosi for Tim Burton’s Ed Wood. Baker’s Two-Face concept used just five prosthetic foam pieces. The two make-up artists who applied it to Jones eventually got the routine streamlined so that by the shoot’s end the application only took 90 minutes.110 Jim Carrey’s Riddler make-up, including the day-glo red flat-top he wore for some scenes, and the green rubber domino-style mask affixed to his face, took up to three hours to apply.111 Debi Mazar, who played Two-Face’s paramour Spice, spent about two hours in the make-up chair, thanks to the five-piece wig that had to be weaved onto her head.112
Schumacher turned to another recent collaborator to be the film’s production designer. Barbara Ling, a Los Angeles native who received a political science degree from UCLA before becoming a set designer for theatrical productions and films, had worked with Schumacher on Falling Down. Ling and Schumacher decided not to try and recreate the Gotham City of Anton Furst or Bo Welch, but to take a fresh spin. “When I first approached the design of Gotham City, my mind always went to the World’s Fair idea of buildings and statues being so over-scaled that man is stunted,” said Ling. “Gotham City is designed to be three times the height of New York, with everything on a monumental level. We examined lots of photos and films of the great World’s Fairs of the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s, which were filled with tiny people staring in awe at tremendous buildings.”113
Ling designed more than 60 sets. The largest stage at Warner Bros., Stage 16, contained the Second Bank of Gotham vault, the Gotham Hippodrome Circus and the gigantic domed lair of the Riddler. Other soundstages held Chase Meridian’s apartment, the Gotham Police Headquarters rooftop (complete with Batsignal), the abandoned Gotham Plaza subway station, and the Arkham Asylum exterior.114 When the production overran the available stages at Warner Bros., Universal Studio’s Stage 12 was rented for the interior of Arkham Asylum and the 50-foot-tall cylinder that led to the Riddler’s lair.115
Still, the production needed more studio space, so the massive 140,000 square foot Long Beach Dome, which had once housed Howard Hughes’ experimental Spruce Goose airplane, was taken over. Four sets were constructed there: the 60-foot tall Batcave, the 150-foot long Wayne Enterprises research laboratory, the interior of Wayne Manor, and Two-Face’s lair.116 An old Hughes Aircraft hangar in Playa del Rey became the headquarters of John Dykstra’s visual effects department. There, Dykstra and his crew created a miniature of Gotham City that stretched 100 feet long, up to 50 feet wide and nearly 50 feet tall.117
Production designer Barbara Ling also redesigned the Batmobile for the new film. She and art department illustrator Tim Flattery, who had automotive design experience, took inspiration for the design from a videotape of a bat flying in a wind tunnel to create a car that was more torpedo-shaped, with a big Batfin on the back reminiscent of the Batmobile seen in Batman comics of the 1940s. “The Batmobile was quite a challenge, and we actually went through many stages to get to the final vehicle,” said Ling. “We went for a stylized, automotive version of a bat. I wanted the Batmobile to look like a living, breathing thing.”118
Special effects supervisor Tommy Fisher, working with Allen Pike and Charley Zurian of TFX, a vehicle fabrication company, took the design from the drawing board and turned it into reality, using cutting-edge materials. The body was made from carbon fiber, the same material used in F-16 fighter planes and Formula One racing cars, along with a high-temperature epoxy resin with all of the air vacuumed out. “It makes it super lightweight and super strong,” said Pike.119 Under the hood, the car featured a Chevy 350 ZZ3 high-performance 345 horsepower motor. The Batman logo now appeared on the hubcaps, which were backlit and affixed with counter-rotating gears to keep the logo still when the car was in motion. Its maximum speed was 160mph.120
There were three Batmobiles made for the film. One was a stunt version, with modified suspension and front and rear brakes for scenes requiring the car to spin out. Another was a fully operational “hero” model for partial interior shots, and finally a “buck” model that didn’t actually run, but provided a complete mock-up interior for shots inside the vehicle.121
Ling and Tim Flattery also developed three other vehicles for the movie, the Batwing, Batboat and Batsub. The Batwing was redesigned to make it appear swifter, sharper and more consistent with the look of the new Batmobile. The same approach was taken with the Batboat, which was created with input from a marine expert to make sure it was seaworthy. The Batsub was never actually fabricated; all shots of it were created entirely digitally by John Dykstra’s visual effects department.122
Bob Kane once again acted as a consultant on the film, and voiced his approval of the new Batman, telling Variety’s Army Archerd that Kilmer “is near to my comic book character. He’s more Batmanesque.”123 He later told USA Today reporter Andy Seiler, “Michael Keaton was very good, but Val Kilmer is even closer to the image of Batman.”124 Kane’s wife, actress Elizabeth Sanders, was given a showier cameo role this time, playing Gotham City gossip columnist Gossip Gertie. “She really pops out of the screen,” said Kane.125 When the reporters were off the set, however, Kane was less effusive. “He didn’t like the idea of Dick Grayson wearing an earring,” said Schumacher. “He didn’t understand why it was necessary. He also wasn’t thrilled with the fact that the new Batsuit has nipples on it. He would come up to me every once in a while and say, ‘Joel, I just don’t understand.’”126
Schumacher went into the film thinking that it was going to be great fun, but as the start date loomed, he began to worry. “I thought to myself, ‘What have I done?’ I had never directed anything of this size or this complexity before,” said Schumacher. “It dawned on me that this was not going to be fun and that this would be the most arduous thing I had every done in my life.”127
MIRACLE MAN
Schumacher’s fears began to evaporate on the first day of production, when he arrived on set in New York for a week of location shooting in Lower Manhattan. Filming began with shots of the Batmobile at Exchange Place. “We closed down Wall Street for five blocks and after years of planning, we were all ready for the first shot,” said Schumacher. “We were standing out in the middle of the street and suddenly, the Batmobile comes racing down the street at 100 miles an hour. It was like the beginning of a dream come true.”128 To keep the filming as top secret as possible, sheets of plywood closed the location off from public view. Later in the night, a shot was needed of the car several blocks away on Gold Street. Dawn was approaching, and there was no time to put the vehicle into its custom-built truck to transport it there. So, early-morning risers in New York were astounded to see the Batmobile driving to the next location, with an N.Y.P.D. escort.129 For the location shots, the Bat
mobile was put through its paces by stunt driver Dick Hancock, whose resume included street racing in Austin, Texas.130
Filming continued with New York’s Surrogate’s Court Building serving as the interior and exterior of the Gotham Municipal Police Complex. For exterior shots of the Ritz Gotham Hotel, the production company used what had once been the U.S. Customs Building, just weeks before it reopened as the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. Then the crew was off to Glen Cove, Long Island, where the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture became the exterior of Wayne Manor.131
Once filming moved to the interior sets, the actors found Schumacher calm, cool and in control. “He’s real sensitive to actors’ needs,” said Chris O’Donnell. “He wants to make sure you’re in the right frame of mind, and he makes you want to talk to him on an acting as well as a personal level.”132 O’Donnell learned more than just his lines during the production; while making the film, he was also attending night school at UCLA to complete the last four courses required for his marketing degree from Boston College.133
Michael Gough sang Schumacher’s praises, telling Michael Singer, author of Batman Forever: The Official Movie Book, “Joel is a miracle man, as far as directors go. He’s entirely sympathetic, but won’t let anything go that he doesn’t like. He really wants you to be good, and he likes actors.”134
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