Ah yes…the writers behind Batman. Before you doze off to sleep, I implore you all to think about just how significant these unsung heroes have been, not only in the creation of the Caped Crusader himself (Bob Kane) but also by their ability to sustain him as an internationally renowned fictional hero for nearly 75 years. In 1939, the Great Depression was coming to an end, a new World War was beginning its wave of global horror, and one man created a character that could rise the downtrodden spirit of America, lifting them up to escapist heights that every melancholic soul desperately yearned for. A 24-year old man had no clue that he’d just unleashed a beast onto society, one that would ravage their eyes as they rapidly scrolled up, down, right, left, and back again, marveling at a man in a bat suit who starred in a popular comic strip, Detective Comics. The instant popularity seemed unreal considering this was a guy in a freaking bat suit, who was starting to become as popular as God himself. But those who actually read the words on the pages knew this comic book detective was no ordinary hero. He was something special, precisely because he wasn’t very extraordinary at all. Kane introduced a man, Bruce Wayne/Batman, who lived the epitome of the American Dream, but didn’t stop there — Batman was a hero who fought for everyone’s “American Dreams,” and for that he was someone worth idolizing well into the next century, and beyond. Below, you will find biographical synopses of some of the most prolific writers of the Batverse, so I hope you all enjoy and learn something you hadn’t already known about these nearly invisible yet omnipresent forces behind our favorite man in black…
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Holy time warp, Batman! We are now only four days away from the release of The Dark Knight Rises! And while we all wait with bated breath for the final installment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, the studios are crossing their fingers on the potential box office gargantuan that we all expect the film to be. The question isn’t whether or not The Dark Knight Rises will rake. The question is where will the film stand on the all-time box office list when all is said and done?
Look at it this way: If The Avengers made enough money to settle in at third all-time in box office revenue, then why would any of us really be that surprised to see The Dark Knight Rises finish as the highest grossing film ever? Now, Nolan insisted on making the film in 2-D (God bless him for that), so the movie won’t have those inflated ticket prices to help boost its numbers, but if the film is as good as many of us expect, then I don’t think it will matter. There is so much anticipation behind this film that the first wave of movie patrons should take it close to breaking the opening weekend box office record (a common trend for a Batman film). And from there, if the word of mouth is strong enough, I believe the box office will grow even stronger. Because hitting those dollar amounts isn’t just about getting people to go out and see the film, it’s about getting them to go see it a second, or even third, time.
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 We have spent the past three weeks talking about the past films, the characters, the history of Batman on film and the superstars attached to the series. But as I am prone to on The Awards Circuit, I’d like to take the time to highlight the collaborative work of those craftsmen who thanklessly work on the pieces of a film’s success we take for granted.
Rather than laboriously spell out the overall effect of the crew behind the Bat, I’d rather take the very best individual achievements of cinematographers, production designers, wardrobe, and musical composers that have given their all to make each Batman film their most indelible qualities. We’ve often discussed the influence of the various directors attached to the Caped Crusader over the years, but it’s about time we paid tribute to the members of their team that bring their visions to life. Introducing the top ten below-the-line contributors to Batman on film: Read more on Batman Below-the-Line…
Categories: Article Tags: batman, Batman & Robin, Batman Begins, Batman Forever, Batman Returns, danny elfman, Hans Zimmer, Rick Baker, The Dark Knight, the dark knight rises, Wally Pfister
When a Batman film is made, we always tend to sit back and try to figure out who would have been better suited as one of the iconic characters and who fit the role just right. Throughout the years we’ve been discussing the best and worst performances in a Batman flick, and in the recent months since the casting of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, we’ve sat back and doubted the casting decision. But in the end, we’re here to discuss the best and worst female portrayals in a Batman movie.
Before we begin though, I wanted to point out one thing. If Halle Berry’s Catwoman (2004) had been considered a Batman film she would have been named the worst actress in a Batman film. Catwoman wasn’t a Batman film, therefore won’t be seen on this list.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s begin. Read more on Best & Worst Female Portrayals in a Batman Film…
Categories: Article Tags: Alicia Silverstone, Anne Hathaway, batman, Batman & Robin, Batman Begins, Batman Forever, Batman Returns, Catwoman, Katie Holmes, Kim Basinger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michelle Pfeiffer, nicole kidman, The Dark Knight, Uma Thurman
Awards Circuit Presents: 30 Days of Batman
It’s sort of hard to imagine now, what with The Avengers having demolished seemingly every box office record in existence, but prior to the New Millennium, comic book superhero movies were not the ubiquitous Hollywood staples that they have become today. In fact, prior to Bryan Singer’s X-Men kicking off the entire craze and even for a few years after, studio honchos were rather unsure of how to go about bringing even the most iconic superheroes to the big screen. Of course times are much different now; especially since 2008, when the two watershed films Iron Man and The Dark Knight became the go-to templates for seemingly the entire genre (“dark and aggressive” or “humorous popcorn romp”). While I very much enjoyed both of those films, I now have to concede that they were the ones that really snowballed the superhero genre into their current state of artistic predictability that make me sick of the whole thing now. Read more on Historical Circuit: Batman Returns (**½)…
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