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I write this within moments of finding out that the actor to portray the Joker in this summers Batman movie has sadly passed away. To be honest Heath was never my first choice, but after seeing pictures of him, and him in action in the trailer i was happily proved wrong.
Heath was found today with pills close by, unresponsive. Heath is survived by his 2 year old daughter Matilda. Heath was oscar nominated for his role in Brokeback mountain and was semming to begin a long career in the movies.
Words escape me at this time, But my thoughts and prayers go out to Heath's daughter and family at this awful time.
Every Batman fan has there favorite Batman film and the bulk of fans either side with Batman 1989, Batman Mask of the phantasm or the more recent Batman Begins. Seldom do you get a fan who will state Batman Forever Or Batman & Robin as there favorite.
Why? because there bad episodes in the series, bad issues in a great comic run. but when you look a little deeper that simply is not the case.
Batman, Batman Begins and Mask of the Phantasm need little explaining as to why there popular, there dark brooding incarnations of the Dark Knight what Bat-fan can not love that. Batman Returns sits in neither valley of favorites or hated, often sat on the fence. For one person Burton went too far, for another he never went far enough. for one it was too crude for another it was fine. Batman Returns really sits on the fence you either love it or hate it.
But that leaves Batman Forever and Batman & Robin in the cold. Ok there not perfect films but what film is, Ok Batman and Robin is far from great, its overly camp, awful dialogue and seems just to be a showcase for that decades acting 'talent' but for most fans it's just not true to its source material.
Wrong, Batman & Robin is actually very true to it's source material. Ok maybe not to comics from the 1980's with Frank Miller at the helm or even the Jim Apro era of the 70's, but go back further to the 1960's. Flower Power is everywhere its free love, The Beatles, The monkees are on the radio and batman comics are as camp, over the top, bright and daft as you can't begin to imagine. this is the 1960's and Adam West's ABC serial Batman is setting a trend for the comic's to follow.
Truth is Batman Comic's were failing to sell along with others and were set for cancellation Along came William Doziers TV show and got the comic's selling by the bucket load, not to mention the merchandise, so the comics naturally reflected the camp TV Batman (one comic even had Batman in the Batcave unable to decide what color suit to don that night including a pink one) to look at Batman & Robin as a reflection of that era's comics it was faithful to the source.
Batman Forever sits between the gritty and the bright, there's still enough darkness to entice fan's yet not so much to scare and alienate children and there all important paying parents. it too reflects its decade the 1950's still the dark tone, getting brighter, before it gets as bright as it possibly can. Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Begins and Batman Mask Of the Phantasm all sit neatly in the 1980's (not when they were made but the tone of comics they reflect)when Batman went back to his root's dark, brooding, how he should be. Just like he was in comic's by Frank Millar, Neal Adams, Alan Moore & art by the likes of Brian Bolland. I'm sure The Dark Knight will sit with them too.
Whether Batman Forever & Batman & Robin were to your taste or left you feeling cold they do match the comics they come from, it all depends if you like those comics.
Take Care,
C.W.
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Second Edition
September 2007
You may well have noticed the sites lacked news for a few weeks but please bear with me, i've not forgotten. I'm just trying to make the site even better, changing fonts (as requested by you) i've been told on several occasions that the menu side bar on the home page was too distracting, so i finally got round to it, im also changing the icon on every page the old little white house that took you 'home' is now a more funky looking globe, i've also noticed that videos' of Batman 1989 & Batman returnswere not working so thats been fixed.
The sites been up for well over a year now and feedback is mostly positive so thanks for that and your continued support, hope to see you in the forth coming members area that will not only contain exclusives but chances to win some cool prizes, more on that soon.
Take care,
C.W.
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First Edition.
Aug 2007
Were now Just a year away from the Dark Knight hitting screen's and seeing the new nolan vision of the Joker, but this is far from the Jokers first big screen apearance infact the clown prince of crime has appeared on the silver screen three, yes three times (Batman 1966, Batman 1989 and Batman Mask of The Phantasm, even though only released theatrically in the US and not over here after poor Box Office of 5 million) but as far as Batman in the media goes thats just the tip of the iceberg and though now Batman is back where he belongs on the silver screen, things in Gotham was'nt always plain sailing.....
Batman was stuck in limbo, major limbo, the Dark Knight really was stuck between a rock and.....well you get the idea. After the disaster that was Joel Shumachers neon Batman & Robin Warners struggled to get Batman Back on the big screen with attempts from Joel Schumacher to go back to the dark roots by sending robin away with Batgirl and bringing in the Scarecrow (names in the frame included Jeff Goldblum, Jeremy Irons & Howard Stern) and Harley Quinn (not the Jokers Girlfriend but his daughter, Names in the frame for Harleen included Madonna) Schumacher even wanted to bring back Jack Nicholson as the Joker in a nightmare. The script by Mark Protisvitch 'Batman Triumphant' was left on the shelf and so far has'nt even snook on the internet. Clooney was again inline for the role, and though maybe not the best Batman, i think with a good script he could have been a good Batman. bale or Keaton standards? who knows but he never really got to shine did he?
then there were the clooney rumers, is he coming back? well he's under contract im not sure he will though? so then came the casting rumers as to who Schumacher wanted to fill the suit, Keaton was coming back then he wasent, Clooney is definetly coming back.....actually no he's not even (and i kid you not) John Travolta was considered (but only very briefly)
Schumacher wanted to stay involved with Batman, not as producer but as Director, really wanted to stay involved so again he approached Warners with a 'New' idea, Batman back to his roots a prequel, how did he aquire his skills? where did he learn his art? Shumacher was determined to show Warners he was the man to bring this to the screens with an adaption of 'Batman Year One' by Frank Miller. Schumacher even had a casting suggestion in Ben Affleck for Batman, Warners however was'nt interested, well not at the moment anyway.
Another Frank Miller work 'The Dark Knight Returns' based on a 50 year old retired Batman donning cape and cowl was also mooted the adaption was considered as briefly as it was with Paul Newman and most Famously Clint Eastwood as the ageing Batman while fan's wanted Micheal Keaton reprising his role as Batman, the film was never made however and the rumers are as far as it went.
Not long after the mooted 'Dark Knight Returns' Warners debuted 'Batman Beyond' (Batman of the Future in the UK) the success of it even made the early planning stages of a movie version to be directed by Boaz Yakin, Cantering again on an aged Bruce Wayne taking a new Batman under his....er....wing, even Paul Dini (one of the head writers of the animated series) was on board. The project was deemed to expensive and unfilmable and was dropped.
Enter Darren Aronofsky and Frank Miller, Aronofsky wanted to bring Miller's 'Year One' to the screen, in the process he wanted Christian Bale or Aaron Eckhart as Batman (You couldent make it up could you) Alfred to be a black mechanic named 'Al' and to film Hong Kong as Gotham on a budget of Sixty Thousand pounds, This is where i imagine Warners sat up and liked what they heard. 'A Batman Film For 60 thousand?' but as dark rooted as Batman is, he is and always will be a superhero and thats where the problem lay, children will always like superhero's, yet the script Aronofsky and Miller turned in was far from family freindly. again the script was shelved on what was now becoming a rather packed shelf i should imaginewith scripts from Protisvitch, the Watchowskis, Miller & Aronofsky oh and Joss Whedon of Buffy fame, thats when out of no where came the nesthat Nolan and Goyer had a script, not only was it good, but Warners had Greenlit it and after seven years away, Batman got back to where he belonged, The silver screen.
On a side note this is the first Gotham Globe. and i'd like to say thank you to all the people who pop on this site, its a one man show and took alot of my time, so thanks to everyone who takes the time to pop on. I never aimed to be BOF, i just think the internets a big place, im sure theres room for me and my site.
