Billion Dollar Batman

by Bruce Scivally

  On April 10, 1996 Daily Variety’s Anita M. Busch reported that McDonald’s had signed an exclusive 10-year promotional deal with Disney.128 The McDonald’s deal would have negative implications for Batman & Robin; the fast food giant had been Warner Bros. promotional partner on Batman Returns and Batman Forever, bringing in $35 to $40 million in promotional money for those two films.129 Now, Warner Bros. would have to find another partner. They hoped to join with the next biggest fast food giant, Burger King, but that franchise had already signed a pact with Universal Pictures and Amblin for Steven Spielberg’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park.130 In June, Warner Bros. announced that they were partnering with PepsiCo’s Taco Bell, who had been their partner on the original Batman in 1989,131 an arrangement that had brought in between $10 and $12 million in promotional money.132 The Kellogg Company, the Amoco Corporation, and the Frito-Lays unit of Pepsico Inc. joined Taco Bell for a cumulative television advertising campaign for Batman & Robin worth $44 million.133

  Merchandising now played an enormous part in the Batman films, to the extent that it began to seem that the tail was now wagging the dog. In 1995, the year of Batman Forever’s release, Warner Bros. sold $1 billion worth of Batman merchandise, and they wanted to keep the gravy train rolling. George Jones, president of worldwide licensing at Warner Bros. Consumer Products, told Daily Variety’s Gary Levin, “If you look at Batman & Robin, we were a major catalyst behind this picture being made.”

  The budget of Batman & Robin was said to be in the $80 million range, slightly higher than the final tally of $78 million the studio reportedly spent on Batman Forever.134 By the time filming had concluded, there were rumors that the budget had swelled to more than $100 million. Batman & Robin was set to enter a summer marketplace crowded with other mega-budget movies, including Starship Troopers, Men in Black, Face/Off, Speed 2: Cruise Control and Alien Resurrection. After the success of the blockbuster films Independence Day and Twister, not to mention the stellar box-office returns of Batman Forever, the economics of the movie industry were forever altered, with studios feeling that the risky mega-budget movies represented the most sound investments; although they were a huge financial gamble, when they hit, the pay-offs were enormous. Peter Bart of Daily Variety quoted one agent as saying that Hollywood had become “like a casino where all the bettors have become delusional.”135

  “I won’t give you the exact budget figure, but it’s safe to say this one is costing a touch under five percent more than Batman Forever,” said producer Peter Macgregor-Scott. “Obviously, everybody would be happy if we could make this for $3 million less than the last one. They would love it. But everybody realizes that to make a Batman movie, you must spend a little more each time out. From a purely business point-of-view, however, a Batman movie is about as safe a bet as you can make.”136

  CLIMBING EVEREST

  Production of Batman & Robin officially got underway on Thursday, September 12, 1996, with a scene between Alfred and Barbara in Wayne Manor.137 Once filming began, Clooney literally became the hardest working man in Hollywood. He continued acting in TV’s number one rated show, ER, for 14 hours a day, Monday through Thursday, and shot Batman & Robin from Friday through Sunday. “The truth of the matter is that although I’m working seven days a week right now, which is very difficult, no one wants to hear me complain,” said Clooney. “So I don’t, and that’s fair enough, because my life is also a very good one.”138

  When asked why he stayed with ER, with his film career beginning to take off, Clooney said, “Eighty percent of what you do is shit. Crap. Eight out of 10 plays I see suck. Eight out of 10 movies I see suck. Eight out of 10 TV series are awful. So if you get in that 20 percent, you take it, you bathe in it as long as you can. And I have a contract. I have a responsibility to that show. I have lawyers who say, ‘Okay, we can walk away.’ It would be easier, physically, to leave. But it’s not right. That show is why I’ve gotten to this position.”139

  Filming soon moved to the Long Beach Seaport Dome, for scenes involving Batman and Mr. Freeze. When Schwarzenegger made his first on-set appearance, Schumacher exclaimed, “A Time to Freeze!”140 George Clooney came to the production with short-cropped hair, a result of having just finished playing a military figure in Dreamworks’ The Peacemaker. The filmmakers contemplated putting a wig on him, but ultimately decided to go with Clooney’s short-haired look. Schumacher also decided to keep the distinguished flecks of gray in Clooney’s hair, to show that this Bruce Wayne was a bit more mature than in the previous film.141 Chris O’Donnell’s hair was also somewhat different than it had been in Batman Forever; for Batman & Robin, it was slightly shorter and lighter-colored. It was decided to give Dick Grayson a little tattoo on the side of his neck, but during the first day of shooting, it looked like a dirty smudge, so the idea was dropped.142

  While Clooney, as is his custom, wore no make-up at all, Arnold Schwarzenegger was subjected to a daily three-hour regimen in the make-up chair to become the bald, blue-skinned, frost-covered Mr. Freeze.143 Jeff Dawn, who had worked with Schwarzenegger on 14 films starting with 1984’s Terminator, helped develop the actor’s Mr. Freeze make-up. During pre-production, Dawn began experimenting with a double, coloring him various shades of blue and silver and adding little sparkles for a frost effect, duplicating a look he had used for Terminator II: Judgment Day for a scene where the T-1000 was frozen with nitrogen before breaking into pieces. After four makeup tests, Dawn tried the makeup on Schwarzenegger, but wasn’t satisfied with the results. Dawn thought perhaps it would be better to start off by painting the actor with a silver base foundation, then airbrushing white and blue dots on top of it for texture.144

  Seeing how long it took to apply the makeup with a baldhead cap, Dawn urged Schwarzenegger to shave his head for the role, to save time in the makeup chair. “Had Arnold shaved his head, it would have taken an hour off the makeup process in the morning, and another 20 minutes off at night,” said Dawn. In the months leading up to the start of production, Schwarzenegger seemed to agree that shaving his head would be the most practical way to go. At the end of the first day of shooting, Schwarzenegger said that putting on the baldhead cap was a pain. He asked for the behind-the-scenes video crew to be brought in the next morning to videotape him having his head shaved, but when the morning came, and with the video crew standing by, Arnold, looking at his hairstylist Peter Tothpal standing ready with a razor, suddenly seemed uncomfortable. Then he said cheerfully to Dawn, “Okay, Jeff, let’s put the cap on.” Dawn said, “But we’re gonna shave your head today.” Schwarzenegger replied, “Oh no, you’re not! You touch that razor to my head, and I’ll make your life miserable the rest of your life!”145

  For the rest of his work on the picture, Schwarzenegger went through the extra time to put on the bald cap. Each day, the process began with Tothpal slicking down Schwarzenegger’s hair with a water-based resin that hardened like plastic when dried with a hair dryer. During the half hour that Tothpal worked on Schwarzenegger’s hair, Dawn and his assistant Jim Kail covered the actor’s face with a product that protected the skin against chemicals and glues.146

  “In lieu of a conventional bald cap, we opted for a foam-latex bald cap, custom made to fit Arnold’s hairline and skull shape,” said Dawn. “We then stipple a putty-like product over the edge to add more skin texture, so that you can’t tell where his real skin leaves off and the bald cap begins.” By that point, Dawn and Kail were an hour and a half into the process. Next, they glued his eyebrows flat to his head with a medical adhesive and used appliances to cover them up.147

  Acrylic silver metallic paint was then stippled all over Schwarzenegger. His eyes, lips and the hollows of his face were painted a darker shade of blue. Schwarzenegger was then walked outside to a special tent, where his face was splattered with blue and white acrylic paints to give it more texture. Then it was back inside, where he was sprayed with various sealers, and contact lens specialist Laurie Smith inserted rigid corneal opalescent lenses i
nto his eyes to make them glow. Following that, the actor was hustled off to the costume department to be bolted and screwed into his heavy Mr. Freeze armor, and finally he was ready to face the cameras for a 12-hour day.148

  The bulky Mr. Freeze suit caused Schwarzenegger a little trouble in one of his early scenes in the Freezemobile. “I was supposed to break through the wall, stop, open up the top, come out holding my Freeze Cannon, and make a joke,” said Schwarzenegger. “I’m opening this up, delivering this funny line and I can’t get out because the shoulders are too wide for the opening of the Freezemobile!” The problem was solved by cutting away to a shot of Poison Ivy.149

  Uma Thurman, who described the relationship between Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze as “star-crossed lovers separated by temperature,”150 was rather awed by the scale of the production, saying, “In the beginning it was very nerve-racking, but because of this difference, it’s also been fascinating. The bottom line is that this is a comic-book world, so everybody keeps it light and fun, which is just as it should be.”151

  Clooney, known as a practical joker, seemed to be having a great time, hitting it off with Chris O’Donnell, who said “I thought that Val Kilmer did a great job, but as long as Joel had to cast a new Batman, I’m glad he chose George. He’s great in the role, and we have a lot in common. He’s also addicted to basketball and golf, and he’s famous for kidding around on the set.”152 Alicia Silverstone concurred, saying, “George is very kind, and when he and Chris get together they’re a comedy team that helps make wearing the Batgirl suit more comfortable.”153

  With filming finally underway, Schumacher was also pleased with his new Batman. “Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer were both wonderful as Batman, but I think George is the best of all,” said Schumacher. “He’s very much a man, a wonderful actor and of course, extremely handsome. He looks very much like Bruce Wayne in the comic books. George has also brought a real humanity and humor in the piece, an accessibility that I don’t think anybody else has been able to. George is also dynamic with Chris O’Donnell, who has matured since the last film. Chris has really grown into his looks and as a performer. Since Batman Forever, Chris has carried movies on his own, which is a great responsibility. So when you see George and Chris together on-screen as Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, you totally believe that they would be friends.”154

  Chris O'Donnell as Robin and Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl in Batman & Robin (Warner Bros./Photofest, © Warner Bros.).

  Bob Kane made his customary visit to the set, and, as usual, was effusive with his praise, saying, “I feel George is the best Batman of all. He’s suave, elegant, has a great profile with a strong chin, like the features of Batman in the comic books. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze is just incredible, and Uma Thurman is superlative as Poison Ivy, every man’s desire with her flaming red hair and beautiful costumes. Chris O’Donnell is back, and he’s a tremendous Robin. He’s a great personality, and he really delivers the goods. And Alicia Silverstone is such a cute Batgirl...teenagers will love her!”155

  Kane also praised Schumacher. “Joel has a great vision, and he’s an ardent comic book fan from way back,” said Kane. “Joel was kind enough to write the preface for the revised edition of my book Batman & Me, and there’s a wonderful phrase he used that sticks in my mind: ‘The reveries of childhood sometimes become the vocation of adults.’ Batman was Joel’s favorite comic book character when he was a boy, and I’m thrilled that he’s the one who’s inherited the Batman movies.”156

  For his part, Arnold Schwarzenegger enjoyed having a role that allowed him to be both menacing and humorous, saying, “Villains are fun to play, because you can dig as deep as you can inside of yourself to find whatever evil is there, and then play with it. Joel Schumacher is a very talented director who can really get to you and pull out the best performance.”157 In a USA Today interview with Andy Seiler, the Austrian muscleman added, “Mr. Freeze’s story is really a love story. On the other hand, he wants to freeze Gotham City and freeze the world and tear Batman’s heart out. But because it’s all for the wife and I have tears in my eyes, I think that people find it very endearing.”’

  Schumacher was pleased with Schwarzenegger’s performance, saying, “His acting is wonderful, especially with Uma. He is very funny, which audiences have seen before, and he’s very, very menacing, which they also have seen, but I’m not sure they’ve seen them together in the same role. He was my only choice for the role, and I was thrilled he said yes. He’s one of the most amazing people I’ve ever known.”158

  Thurman, prancing about in the tight togs of Poison Ivy, quickly became a scene-stealer, especially in a party scene in which she makes an entrance in a gorilla costume—made from 450 Santa wigs dyed magenta and dipped with black roots and tips159—and does a sinuous strip-tease, an homage to a similar entrance made by Marlene Dietrich in the “Hot Voodoo” number of the 1932 classic Blonde Venus. “I’ve never gotten to be so flamboyantly over the top,” said Thurman. “I felt like I was on the ceiling somewhere, an incredible, dangerous feeling of doing everything that you’re trained not to do as an actor.”160

  Playing Poison Ivy, said Thurman, required generous amounts of narcissism. During a fight scene with Alicia Silverstone, the actress had an idea. “Holding the knife, I said to Joel, ‘Would you mind if I interrupted this fight?’ My idea was that her own image in the knife catches her eye, and frankly, that’s more interesting to her.” Schumacher liked the idea, and gave her a key bit of advice: “The key to the Batman villain, the key to characters, is that they love themselves,” said Thurman. “And that’s the difference between them and the classic villains. They just think that they’re wonderful. They love evil. They love it with a genuine passion.”

  In October, a month into the production of Batman & Robin, Val Kilmer told Daily Variety’s Army Archerd that he wouldn’t mind returning to the series. “I’d like to come back as a bad guy,” said Kilmer. “George Clooney could even kill me! I think I’ll mention it to Bob (Daly) and Terry (Semel).”161

  While there was harmony on the set, off the set, at the end of October, Clooney began a very public feud with Paramount Domestic Television. The actor claimed that a story about he and his girlfriend that aired on Paramount’s syndicated entertainment news program Hard Copy in September violated a written promise from Frank Kelly, president of Paramount TV Group, that Hard Copy would refrain from doing any stories on Clooney in return for Entertainment Tonight, another Paramount program, getting access to him. After Clooney had complained about the intrusive practices of videographers, Kelly had written to the actor in March, saying, “I see no reason why there should be any areas of conflict in the future. We agree that Hard Copy will not be covering you in any future stories.” Kelly said that he would “look into the practices you referred to regarding video ‘paparazzi.’ I don’t think it makes any sense for any of our shows to be airing footage that is created under the circumstances you described. These people may still try to sell footage to other programs, but at least they will not have our shows as outlets.” For six months, Kelly kept his promise, running no stories about Clooney on Hard Copy. Then in September came the report about Clooney and his girlfriend. “What is most amazing to me is that he offered this deal in the first place,” said Clooney. “In a letter! He actually wrote it down. A so-called news format show will agree that they will not be covering me in any future stories, if I do his other show... What an idiot!”

  In a letter to Entertainment Tonight producer Linda Bell Blue, Clooney wrote, “He broke our deal. A deal that he proposed... So now we begin. Officially. No interviews from this day on. Nothing from ER, nothing from One Fine Day [a film Clooney had just completed co-starring Michelle Pfeiffer], nothing from Batman & Robin, and nothing from DreamWorks’ first film, The Peacemaker. These interviews will be reserved for all press but you. Access Hollywood, E! whoever...Maybe other actors will join me. Maybe not. That doesn’t matter. It’s about doing what’s right.”162

>   Hard Copy was not the only TV tabloid program causing the production grief. After Inside Edition ran footage surreptitiously videotaped on the closed Batman & Robin set, three people were arrested. Warner Bros. vowed to press charges against them.163 With the growth in popularity of the tabloid shows, which vied with each other for exclusive footage and paid top dollar for “first look” images, the studios had been increasing security on their sets and cracking down on violators. The Batman & Robin set had the tightest security of any Warner Bros. production. Crewmembers were required to go through metal detectors and to wear identification badges embossed with bat-shaped holograms.164

  Nonetheless, two men were arrested on October 19 on Warners’ Burbank lot, after infiltrating the Batman & Robin set and taking photos of George Clooney clad in his Batman costume, which they then sold to Inside Edition. Arraigned in Burbank Municipal Court, one was charged with burglary, trespassing, receiving stolen property, forgery of government documents and forgery of a driver’s license, while the other was charged with burglary and trespassing. After posting bail of $10,000 each, both men were released. A female accomplice was arraigned on November 8 on charges of burglary, trespassing, forgery of government documents and forgery of driver’s licenses. Warner Bros. officials suspected that the photos taken by the trio were sold to Inside Edition by a man in New York.165