Billion Dollar Batman

by Bruce Scivally

  Bruce gets an urgent message to meet Gordon at Wayne Chemical. Alfred drives Bruce there. Bruce insists on going alone to meet Gordon inside the plant. He finds the detective inside a room accessible by an access hatch. Gordon tells him, “I didn’t send for you.” Just then, the hatch slams shut, and Bruce and Gordon are trapped inside the room. They hear valves creaking open, and the sound of rushing water. Using his acrobatic skills, Bruce is able to escape and help Gordon to safety.

  Bruce, Gordon and Alfred go to the home of Lucius Fox, where Lucius’s mother, Billie, makes them breakfast. Billie and Lucius think that Lucius’s father, a Waynecorp employee, was killed because he saw something incriminating at the company. Lucius says he’ll try to get into the Wayne Chemical files.

  Bruce next goes to see Harvey Dent, who tells him not to sign the papers to turn the company over to the trustees. If he can manage to stay alive until he turns 18, the trustees won’t dare kill him; once he’s 18, if he dies without a will, his estate will go into probate for years. Bruce asks Harvey where Susan works. Harvey tells him, and Bruce and Alfred take off in the Rolls. They’re followed by two dark sedans. The men in the sedans shoot at them with machine guns. After a car chase, they escape the bad guys and end up at the Gotham City Youth Shelter, where Susan is employed.

  After talking to Susan, Bruce returns to the mansion, where he learns that Palantine has left several messages. Bruce calls him, and says he’s been so busy with supermodels he forgot to sign the papers. Gordon then calls, saying he heard about the car chase, and that Lucius has told him about the weekly shipment of hazardous waste going out that night. Bruce says he’ll meet Gordon there; Gordon tells him to stay away.

  Gordon arrives at Wayne Chemical with a couple of other officers. Bruce is also there, dressed in black. Alfred finds Bruce, and tells him to trust no one, insinuating that his father was killed because he trusted someone at Waynecorp. As Gordon and his men go through Wayne Chemical, Bruce does what he can to help, staying out of sight. Gordon rounds up the bad guys—and Bruce feels that he’s finally found something he’s really good at. Gordon takes the bad guys to the police station, where one drops hints that he wants to make a deal. While Gordon is out of the room, the prisoner commits suicide—or so it seems.

  Bruce and Alfred return to the mansion, where all of Bruce’s Gotham friends surprise him with a birthday party. Now that Bruce is 18, Dent says he doesn’t need to worry about signing the Waynecorp contract, and tosses it into the fire. Just then, Palantine arrives. Seeing the contract going up in smoke, he gives Bruce a book, Business for Beginners, and offers to be his mentor. Bruce announces to everyone that he’s decided to stay in Gotham City, to see if he can make a difference.102

  Tim McCanlies prepared a “bible” for the series outlining where the show could go over a five-year period. Future shows would introduce psychology student Harleen Quinzel, consultant Selena Kyle, would-be comedian Jack Napier, TV gossip reporter Vicky Vale, and a teen from Smallville, Kansas named Clark Kent. As the seasons progressed, we would see Bruce restoring Wayne manor, taking martial arts lessons, applying to the Gotham City Police Department and deciding it wasn’t for him, and finding a large cavern underneath the manor and bringing in workmen to set up what would eventually become the Batcave. He would also become more interested in Gotham’s criminal element, going out in the night on a motorcycle dressed in black and wearing a helmet for anonymity. Once Bruce gained control of WayneCorp, he would use their R&D division to provide him with the tools he needed in his fight against crime. After five seasons, he would finally adopt a guise to strike terror into the hearts of criminals, and become Batman.103

  The biggest hurdle was convincing the higher-ups at Warner Bros. that a TV series about a young Bruce Wayne could exist concurrently with an ongoing Batman film series. The WB Network loved the idea and wanted to move forward, but Warner Bros. film division said they were about to embark on a new Batman movie, and used that excuse to keep the TV show in limbo. According to Craig Byrne of Kryptonsite.com, when X-Men opened on July 14, 2000 and made over $54 million on its opening weekend, “suddenly all chances of Bruce Wayne on television were shot dead.”104

  According to Byrne, actors Trevor Fehrman and Shawn Ashmore were considered for the role of Bruce Wayne, and Michael Rosenbaum, who would later become Lex Luthor on Smallville, was mentioned as a possible Harvey Dent. David Krumholtz was thought of as a potential Jim Gordon.

  Several years later, after Smallville, a TV series about a teenaged Clark Kent, became a hit on the WB Network, its creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar again pitched the idea of doing a young Bruce Wayne series as a companion show. They were turned down. However, in February of 2002, Tollin/Robbins Productions and Warner Bros. Television began moving forward with a Batman-related TV series. Birds of Prey, inspired by the DC Comics series of the same name, was set in the future, in New Gotham, and centered on the crime-fighting efforts of Oracle, the former Batgirl, whose real identity was Barbara Gordon; Huntress, or Helena Kyle, the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selena (Catwoman) Kyle; and Dinah Lance, who is revealed to be the daughter of Black Canary.105

  Dina Meyer, cast as Oracle, filmed the pilot at the same time as she was shooting her role in Paramount’s theatrical film, Star Trek: Nemesis. Ashley Scott, who played Huntress, also pulled double-duty; she was completing her season’s work on the TV series Dark Angel while Birds of Prey got underway. Rounding out the cast was Rachel Skarsten as Dinah Lance, and Shemar Moore as Detective Reese, who became Huntress’s love interest.106 Ian Abercrombie, an actor best known for playing Elaine’s boss, Justin Pitt, in the sixth season of Seinfeld, was Alfred Pennyworth, dutifully waiting on the crime fighting ladies just as he’d attended to Master Bruce for all those years.

  Brian Robbins, a partner in Tollin/Robbins Productions, directed the pilot episode, which also featured Sherilynn Fenn as psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a/k/a Harley Quinn, the Joker’s paramour. Filmed in March of 2002, the pilot was written by Laeta Kalogridis—one of the uncredited writers of Catwoman—who also served as co-executive producer on the series.107 WB put the series on the fall schedule, but had to reshoot parts of the pilot when Sherilynn Fenn dropped out and the part of Dr. Quinzel was recast with Mia Sara.

  The pilot began with a scene lifted from the comic book The Killing Joke, showing the Joker shooting and paralyzing Barbara Gordon. Enraged, Batman goes after the Joker, and has a final confrontation with him inside a burning building. We are told that Batman survived, but went into exile afterward. For the few glimpses viewers get of Batman, he’s played by Bruce Thomas, who also played the Dark Knight in commercials for On Star. The Joker was played by stuntman Roger Stoneburner, though the criminal’s voice was dubbed by Mark Hamill, the voice of the Joker in the popular Batman animated series.

  In its October 9, 2002 premiere, Birds of Prey, following WB’s hit Dawson’s Creek, gave the network its strongest Wednesday audience ever in adults aged 18 to 34.108 It also scored with critics. Laura Fried of Daily Variety began her review of the show saying, “As Birds of Prey would have it, Batman is a wimp—things go bad one day, and the Caped Crusader splits town. Isn’t that just like a man? While die-hard fans may protest the slam to the hero’s rep, the WB scores points for giving the Dark Knight mythology a complete feminine makeover with Birds of Prey, a fantasy-adventure tale of sisters doing it for themselves.”109

  Cary James, in The New York Times, also praised the show, writing, “Leaping from rooftop to rooftop above the dark streets of New Gotham, the crime fighter known as Huntress has everything a supermodern superheroine needs: smart-mouthed dialogue and a really great costume. The daughter of Batman and Catwoman, Helena Kyle transforms herself into Huntress with a black bustier, leather pants and a sheer, full-length black coat that Christian Lacroix might be proud of... She is the dominant character in a trio of heroines in Birds of Prey, the sleek, entertaining new series inspired by characters from DC Comics. The show may not please pu
rists who have followed the comics, but the series is stylish fun calculated to please WB’s young audience.”110

  However, though the show got off to a good start, by the time the third episode aired the ratings had dropped 60%.111 They remained low for the rest of the season. By mid-November, the WB informed Tollins/Robbins Productions that they were not going to order any further shows past the original 13-episode commission.112 After the final two episodes aired back-to-back on February 19, 2003, the series was cancelled.

  In an interview with Gail Simone of the website Comic Book Resources, Birds of Prey’s co-executive producer Laeta Kalogridis said, “I will say that since I was pushed off the project shortly after the pilot was shot—and I was unhappy with elements of the pilot as well—I felt the direction the show took didn’t come close to the potential it had. I had some great writers on staff—they have since gone on to write on Heroes, Fringe, Lost, Dexter—one of them is the screenwriter of the Twilight series, all the films...I think my team could have made something exceptional, and I’m sorry that Birds of Prey didn’t live up to that for fans.”113

  The next Batman-related series proposed for television was announced on September 30, 2008, a few months after The Dark Knight began breaking box-office records, when Variety reported that the producers of Smallville, Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson, as well as McG, the executive producer of Supernatural, were planning a series based on Robin, the Boy Wonder, to be called The Graysons. The show would focus on the escapades of Dick “D.J.” Grayson, before he took on the Robin persona and fought alongside Batman.114

  The show was expected to be a one-hour drama set in modern times in which D.J. would deal with first loves and young rivals. It was thought that The Graysons would be a potential replacement for Smallville, should that series end its run after the 2008 season. Besides Souders, Peterson and McG, Peter Johnson would produce the series for Warner Bros. Television.115

  But on November 7, 2008, after the concept of the series was greeted with much negative internet buzz, Daily Variety reported that the WB wouldn’t be pursuing the show after all. Apparently, after initially giving his blessing, Warner Bros. production executive Jeff Robinov had a change of heart. In a prepared statement, the studio said they had “opted not to go forward with the development of The Graysons at this time as the concept doesn’t fit the current strategy for the Batman franchise.”116 It was also said that Christopher Nolan was uncomfortable having a Batman-related series on television while his Batman films were ongoing.117The Graysons ended before the first script had even been written. But by then, the Bat was back with a vengeance.

  ___________________________

  1 Patches, Matt, “Akiva Goldsman Interview,” http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=18821, accessed June 29, 2011

  2 —, “Matt Damon Mocks George Clooney at Tribute Roast,” Starpulse.com, http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2006/10/17/matt_damon_mocks_george_clooney_at_tribu, Oct. 17, 2006, accessed Aug. 4, 2011

  3 Gubernick, Lisa, “Hollywood Hopes the Neon Lights On Broadway Are Full of Riches,” The Wall Street Journal, April 14, 1998, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  4 Hass, Nancy, “’Lestat’: Bringing Anne Rice’s World to the Stage With Elton John’s Help,” The New York Times, April 23, 2006, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  5 Hass, Nancy, “’Lestat’: Bringing Anne Rice’s World to the Stage With Elton John’s Help,” The New York Times, April 23, 2006, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  6 Gubernick, Lisa, “Hollywood Hopes the Neon Lights On Broadway Are Full of Riches,” The Wall Street Journal, April 14, 1998, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  7 Ibid.

  8 Ibid.

  9 Hofler, Robert, “Tuners-to-Pic Trend Now in Reverse,” Weekly Variety, Aug. 28, 2000, p. F30

  10 —, “Jim Steinman on ‘Batman’ and ‘Dance of the Vampires’,” NY Newsday, Nov. 21, 2002, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  11 —, “It Broadway Rocker: Jim Steinman,” Entertainment Weekly, June 20, 1999, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  12 Hofler, Robert, “It’s All About the Ives,” Variety, Nov. 3, 2002, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  13 Brodesser, Claude, “WB, Ives Set for ‘Bat’ Tuner,” Variety, April. 22, 1999, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  14 Furman, Phyllis, “Pow! Time Warner Eyes Batman for Broadway,” The New York Daily News, Dec. 9, 1998, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  15 —, “Bat-Song, “The New York Post, Aug. 30, 2002, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  16 Bernardo, Melissa Rose, “Great Adaptations: Broadway’s Upcoming Film-to-Stage Adaptations,” Entertainment Weekly # 597, May 25, 2001, http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,256552,00.html, accessed July 21, 2012

  17 —, “Bat-Song, “The New York Post, Aug. 30, 2002, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  18 Letizia, Ryan, “Batman: The Musical Waiting in the Wings,” RainbowNetwork.com, Oct. 17, 2000, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  19 Lefkowitz, David & Sean McGrath, “Ives and Steinman Still Working on Warner Bros.’ Bway Batman,” Playbill.com, Dec. 26, 2000, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  20 —, “Bat-Song, “The New York Post, Aug. 30, 2002, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  21 Hernandez, Ernio & Robert Simonson, “Steinman, Ives and Director Tim Burton in Pre-Production on Batman,” Playbill.com, Sept. 19, 2002, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/ home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  22 —, “Bat-Song, “The New York Post, Aug. 30, 2002, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  23 Hofler, Robert, “It’s All About the Ives,” Variety, Nov. 3, 2002, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  24 Ibid.

  25 Ibid.

  26 —, “Jim Steinman on ‘Batman’ and ‘Dance of the Vampires’,” NY Newsday, Nov. 21, 2002, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  27 Hass, Nancy, “’Lestat’: Bringing Anne Rice’s World to the Stage With Elton John’s Help,” The New York Times, April 23, 2006, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  28 Ibid.

  29 —, “Why Bloody Johnny Depp is a Cut Above,” The Daily Mail, Nov. 16, 2007, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  30 —, “Batman: The Musical by Jim Steinman?” ContactMusic.com, July 18, 2006, http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm, accessed Jul. 27, 2011

  31 Croughton, Paul, “The Kapow Factor: Spider-Man Belly-Flopped in America; Will Batman Fly Here as a Stage Show? What Does It Take to Put On the £7.5m Action Spectacle?” The London Times, July 10, 2011

  32 Ibid.

  33 Wells, Dominic, “Batman Live at the MEN Arena, Manchester,” The London Times, July 21, 2011

  34 Harris, Dana, “There’s New ‘Batman’ in WB’s Belfry,” Daily Variety, Aug. 22, 2000, p. 1

  35 Ibid.

  36 Holson, Laura M., “In This ‘Superman’ Story, the Executives Do the Fighting,” The New York Times, Sept. 15, 2002, p. 3.1

  37 Ibid.

  38 Ibid.

  39 Ibid.

  40 Harris, Dana, “WB Sends ‘Pi’ Guy Into the Bat Cave,” Daily Variety, Sept. 21, 2000, p. 1

  41 Ibid., p. 21

  42 Miller, Frank, Batman: Year One screenplay, © Warner Bros.

  43 Harris, Dana & Fleming, Michael, “WB Powers Up Super Team,” Dail
y Variety, August 8, 2001, p. 5

  44 Walker, Andrew Kevin and Akiva Goldsman, Asylum (Batman vs. Superman) Screenplay, Radiant Productions, June 21, 2002 Draft

  45 Holson, Laura M., “In This ‘Superman’ Story, the Executives Do the Fighting,” The New York Times, Sept. 15, 2002, p. 3.1

  46 Harris, Dana, “WB Finds a Referee For ‘Batman vs. Superman,’” Daily Variety, July 9, 2002, p. 1

  47 Ibid., p. 1, 12

  48 Ibid., p. 12

  49 Ibid.

  50 Ibid., p. 1

  51 Holson, Laura M., “In This ‘Superman’ Story, the Executives Do the Fighting,” The New York Times, Sept. 15, 2002, p. 3.1

  52 Harris, Dana, “Petersen Marches Into ‘Troy,’” Daily Variety, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 5

  53 Fleming, Michael, “Scribe Pair’s Ready to Play ‘Ender’ Game,” Daily Variety, Feb. 10, 2004, p. 46

  54 —, “Mattel Wins Right to Market Warner Characters,” The New York Times, Jul. 9, 2002, p. C.6

  55 Bloom, David, “Caped Commerce: Warners Superheroes Suit Up for Toy Wars,” Weekly Variety, July 15-21, 2002, p. 7

  56 Russo, Tom, “Up, Up and Away: Classic Superheroes Soar to New Profits Heights for Licensors,” Daily Variety, June 21, 2005, p. A1

  57 Amour, Meredith, “Warner Reassessed: Report: Studio Undervalued at AOL TW Share Price,” Daily Variety, June 16, 2003, p. 7

  58 Brodesser, Claude, “Caught in Crime Web: Police Nab Studio Costume Theft Suspects,” Daily Variety, Sept. 13, 2002, p. 5

  59 Wood, Stuart, “EIFF 09: Darren Aronofsky On Robocop & Batman Year One,” June 23, 2009, CinemaBlend.com, http://www.cinemablend.com/new/EIFF-09-Darren-Aronofsky-On-Robocop- Batman-Year-One-13673.html, accessed July 16, 2011

  60 Fleming, Michael, “Coen Brothers Do the Soft Shoe for Musical,” Daily Variety, July 23, 2002, p. 22

  61 Fleming, Michael, “Clancy Leaves Par for Savoy ‘Without Remorse,’” Daily Variety, June 17, 1993, p. 43