The-dark-knight-

Batman (1989)

Adam West (the star of the TV series _"Batman" (1966/II)_ ) wanted to play Batman, but Michael Keaton was given the role after getting the nod from 'Bob Kane' , the creator of the original Batman comic strip.

Sean Young was originally cast as Vicki Vale, but broke her collarbone while filming a horse-riding scene with Michael Keaton. The scene was subsequently written out of the script.

Tim Burton wanted Michelle Pfeiffer as Vicki Vale.

Willem Dafoe, David Bowie, John Lithgow and James Woods were considered the Joker.

The face of the Joker was initially inspired to Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson by Conrad Veidt as "The Man Who Laughs" (1928).

Set designer Anton Furst deliberately mixed clashing architectural styles to make Gotham City the ugliest and bleakest metropolis imaginable.

Michael Keaton worked out for two months to prepare for the role, and learned kickboxing from his stunt double, David Lea. Keaton performed most of the fights himself, and one of the few scenes in which Lea stood in for him is during the fight in the alley with the swordsman.

Director Tim Burton and Michael Keaton did a lot of re-writing during production. The most notable re-write is the opening scene in which Batman says, "I'm Batman." In the script Batman was to reply "I am the night." The other notable re-write is the showdown between Batman and the Joker.

The first draft of this movie was written in 1980 by Superman (1978) co-writer Tom Mankiewicz and told the story of Batman's and Robin's origins. The villains were The Joker and The Penguin, and Rupert Thorne and Barbara Gordon were also to appear. At the end Robin was to appear in costume (much like Batman Forever (1995)). It was going to be released in 1985 with a budget of $20 million, but with producers 'Michael E. Uslan' and Benjamin Melniker booted off the production, the project was shelved until Jon Peters and Peter Guber picked it up. In 1985, after the surprise success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), the studio offered the job to Tim Burton. Unsatisfied with the Mankiewicz script, Burton and his then girlfriend Julie Hickson wrote a 30-page treatment of the project. This treatment was approved by both the producers and studio. In 1986 Burton met Sam Hamm, who had just received a two-year contract with WB, and gave him the job of writing a screenplay based on Burton's and Hickson's treatment. However, the writing process stretched too long and Hamm couldn't write further drafts of the script because of the writers strike. In his place, Burton got Beetle Juice (1988) co-writer Warren Skaaren to continue writing. Nearly three years after working on the project Burton didn't get the film green-lit until the box-office result of Beetle Juice. Batman (1989) began filming in October and it only took 12 weeks to shoot.

It made an estimated additional $750 million in merchandising alone.

Ricky Addison Reed was cast as Robin when the character was part of an earlier story treatment. Robin was eventually dropped, and Reed lost the role.

The plastic surgeon's weird surgical tools are originally from another Warner Brothers production, Little Shop of Horrors (1986). They were the dentist tools owned by Orin Scrivello.

The Batman costume weighed 70 lbs.

The Batman symbol on the costume in this film is slightly different than the version seen in the comic books. It has two extra "points" on the bottom of the black bat emblem. However, the teaser poster and other such promotional materials for the film depict the logo just as it appears in the comics, for copyright purposes (because that specific look for the logo is what DC comics had copyrighted). The Batman costume was slightly modified for Batman Returns (1992) and sported the comic version of the symbol.

At one point during pre-production, director Tim Burton wanted to turn Frank Miller's 1986 comic "The Dark Knight Returns" into the new movie. However, Warner Bros. wanted to introduce the "dark" Batman before having a movie about his last days as a crime fighter. Not to mention that a DKR movie would be about four hours long.

Corto Maltese (where Vicki had been taking pictures) is the name of a popular European comic character, starring in the adventure comic books of Italian Hugo Pratt.

Heavy security surrounded The Joker's makeup.

The throne that the Joker sits on when he spreads money over the citizens of Gotham is a copy of the "Silver Throne", the Royal Throne of Sweden which the King of Sweden used until 1974 at the opening of the Swedish Parliament. The replica was made for the film Queen Christina (1933).

Tim Curry was an original choice to play the Joker.

Ray Liotta was reportedly Tim Burton's first choice for the Joker, and then for the character of Harvey Dent (later to become Two Face), but he turned down both due to his commitment to make Goodfellas (1990).

Robin Williams was considered for the role of The Joker; he would later be considered for The Riddler as well. Jack Nicholson got the role of The Joker but demanded top-billing and a lucrative deal that gave him royalties on all merchandise.

Billy Dee Williams appears as Harvey Dent, who in the comics became Two-Face. Williams took the role with the expectation that he would be brought back to play Two-Face and reportedly had a contract clause added reserving the role for him. During casting for Batman Forever (1995) Warner Bros. decided they would prefer Tommy Lee Jones and bought out Williams' contract.

It is claimed that Adam West was offered a cameo as Bruce Wayne's father but turned it down, though West denies being offered the part.

This was the first film to ever get a "12" rating in Great Britain. The rating was created to prevent young children from seeing the film. It had been in place up until 2002, where it was updated to "12A" for the live-action Spider-Man (2002) movie.

Kim Basinger is only a few inches shorter than Michael Keaton. To make Keaton appear taller, she wears flat heels or is in stocking feet in all the scenes in which they are standing next to each other.

Alec Baldwin, Charlie Sheen, Bill Murray, Pierce Brosnan and Tom Selleck were considered for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Mel Gibson was the original choice for Bruce Wayne/Batman but was forced to turn down the role due to his commitment with Lethal Weapon 2 (1989).

In the Globe office, a reporter hands Knox a drawing of a bat dressed like a man, poking fun at his belief in Batman. The drawing is signed "'Bob Kane' - the creator of Batman".

Alfred's story of how Bruce sprained his ankle while horseback-riding is a reference to Sean Young's accident when she was preparing for the film. It also refers to a deleted scene from the script which had Bruce on horseback chasing the Joker.

Martin Landau turned down the role of Carl Grissom.

Michael Jackson was asked to write and perform the songs for the movie, but he had to turn it down due to his concert commitments.

The producers wanted John Williams to write the score, but he had to turn it down due to his commitment to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

The studio offered Joel Coen and Ethan Coen the director's chair, before Tim Burton got the job.

Jack Nicholson received a percentage of the gross on the film, and due to its massive box-office took home around $60 million. As of 2003 it is still the single-movie record for actor's salary.

The flag of Gotham City closely resembles the state flag of Indiana. It can be seen briefly in Harvey Dent's office.

When the Tom Mankiewicz script was in development, the directors associated with the project included Joe Dante and Ivan Reitman. Producers wanted an unknown to play Batman and the cast wish-list included William Holden as Commissioner Gordon and David Niven as Alfred, Bruce Wayne's faithful butler.

The movie's "Vicki Vale" is actually based on 1970s Bruce Wayne girlfriend Silver St. Cloud, a name deemed too silly for a movie character. However, in the comics there was a character named Vicki Vale, who was a reporter and appeared in the comics throughout the '40s and '60s.

The character of Alexander Knox (Robert Wuhl) was a character created for the movie. In the script the character was killed during the parade scene.

In the original script, the paper Knox and Vicki worked for was the Gotham Gazette, not the Gotham Globe.

The original script featured a bitter rivalry between Bruce Wayne and Knox over Vicki.

In the original script, Bruce Wayne was described as a man with "muscles on top of muscles and scarred from nightly combat".

When Alfred receives Vicki Vale's message a portrait of Thomas Wayne can be seen in the background.

It has been reported that Tim Burton had an uncredited cameo as one of The Joker's goons in the Museum scene.

In the original script with Robin included, the Flying Graysons (John, Mary, and Dick) are introduced at the parade scene. The Joker shoots the trapeze artists sending John and Mary to their deaths and leaving Dick to survive. Dick later becomes Robin in full costume at the end.

For its first video release, the film was graded slightly lighter as cinema audiences had complained that it was filmed so darkly that they could hardly see what was going on.

Anton Furst's designs for Gotham City were incorporated into the comics during the early '90s. The design was removed during the "No Man's Land" arc.

In a newsroom scene, Vicki Vale and Alexander Knox examine a map of Gotham City which has been marked with Batman sightings. The map is actually a map of Vancouver, British Columbia.

In order to combat negative rumors about the production, a theatrical trailer was hastily assembled to be distributed to theaters. To test its effectiveness, Warner Bros. executives showed it at a theater in Westwood, California to an unsuspecting audience. The ninety-second trailer received a standing ovation. Later, it would become a popular bootleg at comic book conventions, and theater owners would report patrons paying full price for movie tickets just to have an opportunity to see the trailer, and leaving before the feature began.

The Batmobile was built on the chassis of a Chevy Impala.

Corto Maltese is also an island country in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, one of Tim Burton's inspirations for Batman.

According to a Playboy interview with Robin Williams, Jack Nicholson was offered the role of The Joker first. When Nicholson kept delaying his answer, Williams was offered the role. The producers immediately turned around and informed Nicholson that Williams was considering the offer, and Nicholson accepted. Williams has remained bitter about being "used as bait". See trivia for Batman Forever (1995).

The design of Gotham City is based on the work of architects Antoni Gaudi, Otto Wagner, Shia Takamatsu and Louis H. Sullivan.

Executive producers Benjamin Melniker and 'Michael E. Uslan' sued Warner Brothers for forcing them into accepting a net profit agreement rather than the gross profit one that was set up for other parties like Jack Nicholson. Warners then claimed that, although Batman (1989) at the time was the 5th biggest grossing film ever, it was still technically in the red, and offered the two producers a $1 million out-of-court settlement. They naturally rejected this.

The painting that the Joker spares during his vandalism spree is Francis Bacon's "Figure with Meat."

During filming, a young Tim Burton was having trouble shooting a scene with Jack Palance. An irritated Palance asked Burton, "I've made more than a hundred films, how many have you made?" Burton said, years later, that it was a "whiteout" experience he would never forget.

A scene was cut from the parade sequence where the crowd discovered that all the money that the Joker was handing out was counterfeit. In a follow-up to the Joker's earlier line that he wanted "My face on the one-dollar bill," all the dollar bills that were thrown to the crowd had the Joker's picture in place of George Washington's.

When the production design team arrived at Pinewood Studios in England to build the sets, they discovered the atmosphere processor set from Aliens (1986) in one of the sound stages, with most of the Aliens' nest and eggs still intact.

On-screen body count: 56

Batman Returns (1992)

Danny DeVito was forbidden to describe The Penguin's makeup to anyone, including his family.

Annette Bening was cast as Catwoman, but was replaced by Michelle Pfeiffer when she became pregnant. Pfeiffer's $3 million salary was $2 million more than was offered to Bening.

The bad guy's name is Max Schreck. Max Schreck played the first vampire in movie history in Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922).

Sean Young very much wanted the role of The Catwoman. During preproduction she arrived at the studio in a Catwoman costume to confront the makers of the movie. She used other people scouting the studio grounds, using walkie-talkies to communicate, to track down the producers. Tim Burton hid behind his desk so as to avoid seeing her. See also Batman (1989).

Christopher Walken, remembering a film he'd seen earlier, requested from director Tim Burton cufflinks made of human molars. He got them, and wore them in the film as the villain, Max Shreck. (The movie, incidentally, was The Great Gatsby (1974) where the molar cufflinks are worn by the friend of Gatsby who fixed the 1912 World Series.)

Paul Reubens and Diane Salinger from Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) reunite briefly at the beginning of the film as The Penguin's father and mother.

The Batman costume weighed 55 lbs.

The first film made in Dolby Digital.

Neither Tim Burton nor Michael Keaton had been signed up in advance for a sequel; Burton came on board only after the script met all his demands (he hadn't been entirely happy with the first film's screenplay), whilst Keaton only agreed to do the second film after a serious hike in salary.

Sam Hamm's original screenplay draft had The Penguin and Catwoman going after hidden treasure. Dissatisfied with that, Tim Burton brought in Daniel Waters, writer of Heathers (1989), who came up with the concept of an evil mogul backing a bid for the Mayor's office by The Penguin.

At least 50% of the Warner Brothers lot was taken up with Gotham City sets.

The set for The Penguin's underground lair was filled with half a million gallons of water and a simulated ice floe island.

Danny DeVito spent two hours a day in make-up.

The massive Gotham City sets were all constructed to be mobile, and were often shifted between days of filming. Michelle Pfeiffer routinely got lost on her way to filming each day.

The final shot of the film, in which Catwoman is seen looking at the Bat-signal, was added as an afterthought, literally weeks before the film opened. The shot had to be filmed on a weekend, less than a day after conception, with a double for Michelle Pfeiffer. That single shot cost $250,000.

The crew had a hard time getting the shot where the monkey delivers the letter from Batman to the Penguin. Evidently, Danny DeVito's make-up terrified the animal.

Security was so tight on the production that even Kevin Costner was refused permission to visit the set. Warner Brothers employed a private investigator firm when some shots of Danny DeVito in costume made it into the tabloids.

Michelle Pfeiffer got through 60 catsuits during the 6 month shoot, at a cost of $1,000 a time.

The production wanted to use King Penguins but the only tame ones in captivity were at a bird sanctuary in the Cotswolds deep in the English countryside. So the birds were flown over to the States in the refrigerated hold of a plane, they were given their own refrigerated trailer, their own swimming pool with half a ton of fresh ice every day, and had fresh fish delivered daily straight from the docks. Even though the temperature outside frequently topped 100 degrees, the entire set was refrigerated down to 35 degrees. The birds also had a round-the-clock bodyguard. Clearly the birds enjoyed the experience as, following their stint in Hollywood, most of them had mated and produced eggs - the sure sign of a contented penguin.

In the US, McDonald's were forced to cancel a Happy Meals promotion with the film, after parents protested about its violent and sexual nature being inappropriate for young children.

It made $47.7 million in its first 3 days, a record at the time.

Director Trademark: [Tim Burton] [music] music by Danny Elfman

Tim Burton sought Marlon Brando for the role of The Penguin. By then, Brando had become virtually impossible to cast in motion pictures. Warner Bros. adamantly opposed casting Brando in their beloved multimillion-dollar franchise, as did creator Bob Kane, who said Brando was the worst possible choice for the role.

In order to get the cats to surround Selina when she's knocked out, the filmmakers put tuna on a dummy version of Selina and tuna on Selina's suit.

In the crowd waiting outside of the cemetary, there is a man wearing a Go-Go jacket. Go-Go was a character on the Warner Brothers cartoon "Tiny Toon Adventures" (1990).

The first script draft of Batman Returns was intended to be a direct-sequel to the previous film. As a result, sub plots and continuity from the first film that would have been addressed included gift shops selling fragments of the destroyed Bat-Wing, further revelations into the past of the now deceased Jack Napier AKA Joker, and even Bruce Wayne proposing to Vicki Vale by the end of the film. However, Tim Burton was uncomfortable in making a direct sequel and as a result, the script was rewritten. However, several plot elements from the original script did make it into the final draft. This included the Penguin and Catwoman's alliance, their framing of Batman, and the Dark Knight's escape via Bat-Glider. Further elements even made their way into the third film, Batman Forever (1995), most notably the storming of Wayne Manor and the Batcave.

During the scene where Penguin's henchmen are wrecking a shop, there is a reprise of the "Making Christmas" theme from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), which Danny Elfman also composed.

The Penguin's line: "I am an animal. I am *not* a human being," is a work on John Hurt's line: "I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man!" as John Merrick in The Elephant Man (1980).

The role of Max Schreck was originally written to be District Attorney Harvey Dent. The explosion at the end was only to scar Dent, which led to his becoming Two-Face in the third movie. Also, most of Schreck's plot points and political aspirations would make more sense if they came from a D.A. and not a department store owner. Reportedly Billy Dee Williams took the role of Harvey Dent in the first Batman movie because he knew that the character would eventually become Two-Face. Rumor has it that Williams' contract to appear in the sequel was bought out heavily by Warner Bros.

Robin was originally going to be introduced in the sequel. Reportedly Tim Burton helped DC Comics artist Norm Breyfogle redesign the Robin costume in the comic books to coincide with the planned movie costume. Robin was rumored, originally be portrayed by an African American boy. Kenner Toys even went as far as designing a Robin action figure for the movie's toy line. When Robin was eventually written out of the script, Kenner released the toy as the Robin depicted in the comic books.

Lena Olin and Madonna were considered for the role of Catwoman.

Tim Burton passed on directing Stay Tuned (1992) to direct this film.

Madonna was reportedly considered for the role of Catwoman.

Marlon Wayans was signed on to play Robin in this movie and Batman Forever (1995) - he even went through costuming for the five minutes that he appeared in the script. But when the script was re-written and Joel Schumacher took over as director, the role went to Chris O'Donnell. Wayans was paid for both movies.

Burgess Meredith (the original Penguin from _"Batman" (1966/II)_ ) was asked to play The Penguin's father at the beginning of the movie, he accepted, but couldn't play him due to illness.

When Selina is sitting at the desk in Max's office, the light casts a shadow through her eyeglass frames, creating the outline of the pointed mask Catwoman wore in the original DC comic.

The plot about the Penguin becoming mayor was borrowed from the episodes "Hizzoner the Penguin/Dizzoner the Penguin" in the Batman TV show.

When The Penguin first decides to run for mayor, someone puts a cigarette in his mouth, with a cigarette holder. A reference The Penguin from the batman TV show.

In Tom Mankiewicz's script for the first movie, that featured The Penguin, he was described as "a tall, proper-looking, thin man".

Several modifications were made to the Batsuit, including the color scheme and chestplate logo. At the request of Michael Keaton, a zipper was also added to the pants.

Warner Bros. had to constantly submit new Catwoman posters for various cities as many of the bus stop ads were being stolen. It soon got so bad that police officers had to patrol bus stops in order to catch perpetrators before they could break the Plexiglas containers. Today the large scale Catwoman bus ads are worth a great deal of money.

During an A&E Biography, Michelle Pfeiffer said that her Catwoman costume was vacuum sealed once she was fitted into it for scenes, so she actually had only a short amount of time to perform before she would have to have it opened or she could become light headed and pass out. She also admitted that when she first was learning to use the whip she accidentally cut her trainer's face with it, at which he acted as a complete gentleman and continued with their training.

Danny DeVito refused a stand-in during the scene where the penguin gets pummeled with vegetables.

WILHELM SCREAM: Before Batman straps the dynamite to the fat clown, he hurls a goon over a bridge. As the goon flies through the air, he screams the famous Wilhelm scream.

Dustin Hoffman was Warner Brothers' first consideration for the Penguin.

'Dan Waters' ' original script originally had the Bat-Signal blinking on and off at the end of the film as a sign that Selena's electrocution of Max had disrupted the power supply of the city. Tim Burton instead opted to end the film with Catwoman looking out at the signal over a snowy sky, hinting at her survival and possible appearance in a future film.

Jack Nicholson convinced Danny DeVito to take the role of the Penguin after Nicholson had gained a fair amount of acclaim and a generous paycheck for his role as the Joker.

In another version of the script, Max Shreck was discovered to be the Penguin's older brother.

Christopher Lloyd was considered for the role of The Penguin when he was a tall, thin ordinary-looking man.

Batman Forever (1995)

Brad Dourif was considered for the role of the Riddler.

Damon Wayans was considered for the role of The Riddler

Mark Hamill (who voiced the Joker in the "Batman" (1992) animated series) was briefly considered for Riddler.

While learning to twirl a cane, Jim Carrey reportedly broke around a dozen prop canes and some of his trailer furniture.

The Robin costume weighed 41 lbs.

Dick Grayson suggests "Nightwing" for a hero name; an in-joke for the comic books, where Dick Grayson now appears as Nightwing, an identity he took after he abandoned the Robin costume in 1980s.

In the film there is a doctor named Burton. Tim Burton directed the first two Batman films and produced this sequel.

At one moment, to Batman's surprise, Robin exclaims: "Holey rusted metal, Batman!", then explaining: "The ground, it's all metal. It's full of holes. You know, holey" - a jokey reference to the old US TV show _"Batman" (1966/II)_ with Adam West, where Robin would yell his trademark exclamations of surprise every once in a while: "Holy something-or-other, Batman!".

The scratches on the tails side of Two-Face's coin form the letters HD, the initials of Harvey Dent, Two-Face's former identity.

'Sanders, Elizabeth' , who plays Gossip Gerty, is the widow of 'Kane, Bob' , the man who created the Batman character.

The design of the Flying Graysons' costumes was a reference to the red, yellow and green spandex that Robin wears currently in the comic books.

In Canada, the French version of the Riddler's name is Le Sphinx.

Chris O'Donnell's sister can be seen directly behind him in the party scene where Robin is first introduced to the public.

In the movie, there is a scene where Two-Face keeps flipping his coin until he gets a result he wants. In the comics, a key element of his split personality is that he unquestioningly accepts the result of a single coin toss concerning any decision he makes.

When Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell) drives the Batmobile around Gotham, a McDonald's restaurant can be seen in one of the shots. Director Joel Schumacher put it in the background, despite pressure from McDonald's to have it more visible.

Rene Russo was originally cast to play Dr. Chase Meridian when Michael Keaton was still attached to the project as Batman. However, when Keaton dropped out of the project and was replaced by Val Kilmer, Russo was deemed to old to play his love interest and was replaced by Nicole Kidman.

Alec Baldwin was almost cast as Batman.

In the original Batman (1989), District Attorney Harvey Dent was played by Billy Dee Williams. Williams accepted the role with the knowledge and expectation that Dent would eventually become Two-Face: he reportedly had a clause put into his contract reserving the role for him in any sequels, which Warner Bros. had to buy out so they could cast Tommy Lee Jones.

Chase remarks about "Or do I need skin tight vinyl and a whip", an obvious reference to the film's prequel's (Batman Returns (1992)) character "Catwoman".

When left at Wayne Manor, Grayson informs Wayne that he is leaving. To this, Bruce replies that the circus would be halfway to Metropolis, which is the city of Superman.

The movie was going to be shot in Cincinnati, using the old subway tunnel. The exterior of the Gotham City Hippodrome (the arena where Dick Grayson's family is killed) is based on the exterior of Union Terminal, a famous 1930's Art Deco train station in Cincinnati.

The role of the security guard Two-Face captures was written for Wayne Knight, who was expected to accept it.

The exterior set for Two-Face's hide out is the same set used in the first disappearance of Max Schreck (Christopher Walken) in Batman Returns (1992).

Exterior scenes of Wayne Manor were filmed at the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture on Long Island, NY. The production team had to change the school's "W" on the entrance gate because it had an anchor behind it.

Joel Schumacher's decision to put nipples on the Bat-costumes and an earring on Robin caused controversy - it even bothered Batman creator 'Bob Kane' . Schumacher said he wanted the costumes to have an anatomic look, while the earring was supposed to make Robin more hip.

Actors Kimberly Scott (Bruce's assistant) and Michael Paul Chan (a worker at Wayne Enterprises) came back for Batman & Robin (1997), but in different roles, playing scientists at the Gotham Observatory. Joel Schumacher frequently uses them in his movies.

Michael Worth tested for the role of Robin.

Olympic gymnast Mitchell Gaylord was a stunt double for Chris O'Donnell.

Val Kilmer learned he was the new Batman while he was literally in a bat cave in Africa, doing research for another project. He accepted the role without reading the script.

25 minutes of the film were digitally color corrected at 2K resolution - a very early example of digital grading for motion pictures.

Mel Gibson was offered the role of Harvey Dent/Two-Face, but was forced to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts with Braveheart (1995).

Clint Eastwood was considered for the role of Harvey Dent/Two-Face.

Christian Bale, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, and Matt Damon all auditioned for the role of Dick Grayson/Robin. Bale later went on to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins (2005).

The Scarecrow was originally going to make a cameo appearance but was scrapped because there where too many villains.

Scott Speedman tried out for the role of Robin.

The scene where Dick Grayson sorts and dries his laundry using kung-fu moves was taken shot-by-shot from a similar scene in the Hong Kong film Yong zhe wu ju (1981) (aka "Dreadnaught").

Leonardo DiCaprio screen tested for the role of Robin.

After Tim Burton stepped down as director, Sam Raimi (then a popular "cult" director) offered his services to the studio. He never got the job because the studio felt he wasn't a big enough name. Raimi went on to become a big name by directing Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004).

The character Dr. Chase Meridian was given her first name as a pun, since she spends most of the film chasing after Batman.

Robin Williams had been cast as The Riddler when Tim Burton was still attached to direct.

After the Batmobile rides up the wall to escape from Two-Face, there was going to be a car chase on the rooftops of Gotham. Due to time and money constraints, this idea was scrapped and used in the next film, Batman & Robin (1997).

The Batmobile was usually driven by stunt drivers, but 'Chris O'Donnell (I)' insisted on driving it himself in the joyride scene - but he crashed it into a curb and dented a fender.

Reportedly, the role of Robin was narrowed down to two finalists: Chris O'Donnell and Leonardo DiCaprio. In order to decide who should get the role, the producers went to a comic book convention and asked groups of 11 year old boys (the target audience of the film) who would win a fight between the two actors. O'Donnell was overwhelmingly chosen by the boys as the winner of the fight and ultimately he won the role.

Will Shortz, "puzzlemaster" on National Public Radio and editor of the NY Times crossword puzzle, created the Riddler's riddles.

Early concepts of the final showdown on Claw Island had a huge, muscled, Riddler sitting on his throne when Batman finds him. The Riddler twists the two skulls on his armrests and the Riddler's muscled body is revealed to be a shell which splits in two, from which the real Riddler (wearing his white and green jumpsuit) steps out. This description made it into the junior novelization of the movie by Alan Grant, and was also featured in the video game based on the movie.

Before deciding not to don the cape and cowl for a third time, Michael Keaton met with Joel Schumacher and declined to join the project after deciding that he did not like the direction in which Schumacher was looking to take the franchise. In the brief time that Tim Burton was still considering doing a third Batman film, Riddler was the only villain that he planned on using. The idea of using Two-Face did not come up until Schumacher joined the project.

John McTiernan was Warner Brothers first choice to direct the film, but he had to turn it down because he was busy working on Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)

After seeing him in this film, record producer George Martin approached Jim Carrey about performing the song "I am the Walrus" for his The Beatles tribute album "In My Life". Carrey accepted.

Joel Schumacher had asked Bono of U2 to reprise his role of Macphisto that he played during the band's ZOOTV tour, but Bono denied, saying that when ZOOTV ended so did Macphisto, so instead U2 contributed the song "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" to the soundtrack.

John Malkovich was considered as a potential Riddler.

Dean Cain was another choice to play Batman but was dropped because he was too well-known as Superman in the series "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" (1993) at the time.

Batman & Robin (1997)

The Batman costume weighed 14.5 lbs.

The Batgirl costume weighed 12 lbs.

The Robin costume weighed 14 lbs.

The Mr. Freeze costume weighed 75 lbs.

Anthony Hopkins was also considered for the role of Mr. Freeze.

Patrick Stewart and Anthony Hopkins were both considered for the role of Mr. Freeze till Joel Schumacher decided that Mr. Freeze must be "big and strong like he was chiseled out of a glacier".

Hulk Hogan was Joel Schumacher's third choice to play Mr. Freeze.

A new form of light foam rubber was used to make the superhero costumes. This helped the costumes weigh less than on any other Batman film, but they ripped and tore very easily.

Batgirl had a full-head costume designed for her much like Batman's (complete with pointy ears) in this movie, but it was rejected in favor of letting Alicia Silverstone's hair flow freely (except in one scene where she wears it as a crash helmet). Batgirl action figures designed for the movie reflect the full-head costume, before the toy makers were informed of the change.

The sign on a club reads "The Head Room" just before the scene in which Alfred's computer likeness talks to Barbara in a manner resembling Max Headroom.

The disease "MacGregor Syndrome" was named after producer Peter Macgregor-Scott.

During the scene where Batman and Robin bid for Poison Ivy, Batman pulls out his credit card. Its expiration date: FOREVER (a reference to Batman Forever (1995)).

Dr. Jason Woodrue appeared in DC Comics as another plant themed super-villain, as himself and as The Floronic Man.

Dr. Woodrue creates Bane with what he calls his "Super Soldier Serum". This is a reference to the origin of the Marvel Comics character Captain America. Created in the early 1940s (under Marvels's previous incarnation as Timely Comics), Captain America was Steve Rogers, a man too frail to enlist to fight in World War II. He agreed to subject himself to the Super Soldier Serum which heightened every ability and sense to the highest human limits. Of course, as these things go, the doctor who created the formula was promptly killed and Captain America would be the only Super Soldier. Despite Timely/Marvel having been a somewhat popular line at the time, Captain America was wildly succesful, rivaling Superman, Captain Marvel, Batman, and Wonder Woman in popularity.

Director Joel Schumacher first realized that George Clooney would make a good Batman after drawing the famous cowl over Clooney's face in an advertisement for From Dusk Till Dawn (1996).

In the original theatrical trailer, Mr. Freeze says the line, "Button up, boys. A storm is coming." That line is not present in the final film.

'Julia Roberts' , Sharon Stone, and Demi Moore were all rumored to be in the running for the part of Poison Ivy, before Uma Thurman was cast.

Joel Schumacher once said in an interview that if Arnold had not wanted to play Mr. Freeze, Sylvester Stallone was his second choice.

Arkham Asylum was originally "made up" by horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, to use in his stories (and was located in Arkham, not Gotham City).

In the evidence room at the prison where Freeze is held and before Bane breaks in, both the Riddler's and Two-Face's outfits can be seen.

Pat Hingle (Commissioner Gordon) and Michael Gough (Alfred Pennyworth) are the only actors to appear in all four of the Batman films.

One of three movies to feature two future United States Governors acting in the same film. Jesse Ventura, elected Governor in Minnesota in 1998, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, elected Governor of California in 2003. (The other two films were Predator (1987), and The Running Man (1987). All three of these movies featured Ventura and Schwarzenegger.)

The computer in Alfred's room is a 20th anniversary Macintosh built by Apple Computer.

In an interview the cast members were asked what item from filming they would like to take home with them. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that he would be taking Mr. Freeze's armor home, Uma Thurman said that she wanted Ivy's floral throne, and Elle Macpherson said that she just wanted a cap or something with the "Batman & Robin" logo before anyone else. When asked, George Clooney said he wanted Elle Macpherson.

During shooting, George Clooney visited his friends on the set of "ER" (1994) in full costume.

George Clooney injured his lower leg playing basketball, while shooting Batman & Robin (1997). Because of this, he needed to cut the boot off of the Bat-suit in order to wear a cast. You can tell when his leg was injured from his limping while inside the freeze rocket.

When Batgirl sneaks to the motorcycle contest, one of the gangs there are dressed like the main characters in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). At the same time, the background song is "Fun for Me", performed by Moloko. Moloko is Nadsat (Alex de Large and his droogs' language) for Milk.

Rated #4 in Entertainment Weekly's Top 25 Worst Sequels Ever Made (2006)

Batman Begins (2005)

The device, on the heel of his boot, that the Batman uses to summon a swarm of bats is taken directly from Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One".

A second stage Scarecrow look was created for the hallucination scenes but was never shown on film. The mask was more organic and tighter around the actor's face.

Before Christopher Nolan took over, director Darren Aronofsky was attached to make a Batman movie based on the graphic novel "Batman: Year One" and have the author Frank Miller write the screenplay. By 2003 there was a first draft screenplay with story boards, which are properties of AOL Time Warner. Warner's decision for not producing the film is unknown, but based on the details that have since leaked out, it would probably have to do with the screenplay, which strayed a considerable amount from the source material, making Alfred an African-American mechanic named "Big Al," the Batmobile being a souped-up Lincoln Towncar, and Bruce Wayne being homeless, among other things. This is all detailed in David Hughes' book "Tales from Development Hell."

The wide-shot of the house of the League of Shadows was entirely computer-generated.

Before Christian Bale was cast as Batman, many other actors were considered for the role including Ashton Kutcher, David Boreanaz and newcomer Hugh Dancy.

Only days before the role of Batman was cast, eight actors were asked to audition for the part. The actors were Christian Bale, Joshua Jackson, Eion Bailey, Hugh Dancy, Billy Crudup, Cillian Murphy, Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal. While Bale won the part, Christopher Nolan liked Murphy's audition so much, he cast him as Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow.

Marilyn Manson was considered for the role of Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow.

Wanting to use as many practical effects as possible, Christopher Nolan told the production crew that he wanted the Batmobile to actually do its own stunts without camera trickery, CGI or models, and as a result, the Batmobile built for the movie could take sharp turns at 60 miles per hour, though it will lift the inside front tire in a corner at 30 miles per hour.

The Batmobile, 9 feet wide and 16 feet long, has a top speed of 106 miles per hour and can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6 seconds. The engine is a 5.7 liter V8 Chevy. It runs on unleaded gas and can do about 7 miles per gallon. It has four 44-inch tires at the rear, made by Interco Tire Corp, while the front is covered in jagged plates of armor. It was designed and built by Chris Corbould and Andrew Smith at Shepperton Studios in England. This Batmobile was built from the ground up and is estimated to be worth half a million pounds.

Director Christopher Nolan decided that there would be no second unit, and so for the whole of the one hundred and twenty nine shooting days Nolan oversaw every shot of the film personally.

The name of the commissioner on the film is "Loeb". However, this is NOT a reference to comic book writer Jeph Loeb, author of the graphic novels "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory", but rather simply the canonical name of the Gotham City police commissioner when Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham. This is shown in Frank Miller's Year One, which actually influenced both "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory" and was published nearly a full decade before either of these.

Christopher Eccleston was rumored for the role of Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow before Cillian Murphy was eventually cast.

David S. Goyer said that the graphic novels "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory" by Jeph Loeb were a huge influence on his screenplay. When he was asked the question, "What about Frank Miller's Year One?", he replied, "Our story is not Year One." An early draft of David S. Goyer's script leaked onto the Internet in April of 2004.

This is the first movie to use the new DC logo.

Much of Batman's gear and apparel, including his cape and suit, is based on actual military technology.

During the interviews he performed to promote the movie, Christian Bale continued using the American accent he'd adopted to play Bruce Wayne/Batman. He explained that he didn't want potential moviegoers to be confused about why Batman, an American institution, was being played by a Welshman.

When the prisoners are all released from Arkham, briefly visible is Mr. Zsasz, a serial killer from the comics with tally marks scarred into his skin, representing each of his victims. Mr. Zsasz also appears in the courtroom in the beginning of the film where he is being transferred to Arkham Asylum by Dr. Crane.

Contrary to the previous Batman films, in which the Batcave was realized as a combination of a live set and matte paintings (done either by hand or computer), no visual effects were used in this film to show the Batcave. The entire Batcave is instead a massive full-scale set.

The score track names refer to Latin names of bat species. Also notice that the first letters of track 4-9 spell B A T M A N.

Christian Bale had previously screen tested and was considered for the role of Robin in Batman Forever (1995).

In the movie, Bruce Wayne is shown arriving at a fancy hotel in a Lamborghini Murciélago. The word murciélago is Spanish for bat (although the car itself was named after a prized bull owned by Don Antonio Miura, who had nothing to do with bats).

Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by at one of the sets during filming.

The sets were built in the Admiralty Hangar No. 2 at Cardington, one of the largest hangars in the world. The floor area is the size of 16 Olympic-size swimming pools. The No. 2 shed was assembled at the site in 1928 to house the British airship R100.

The license plates for the Gotham related cars were designed in the same style as the Illinois state license plates. This was done to stay consistent with other vehicle license plates while filming the car chases in Chicago.

Ra's Al Ghul is Arabic for "The Demon's Head". This refers to his position at the height of the Brotherhood of the Demon, also called the League of Shadows.

A quote from Christian Bale that some of the crew had on the back of their t-shirts (the wardrobe dept. did it as a joke) said: "It's hot, dark and sweaty and it gives me a headache."

Chris Cooper turned down the role of James Gordon.

Kurt Russell and Dennis Quaid were considered for the role of James Gordon.

Viggo Mortensen turned down Liam Neeson's role. Daniel Day-Lewis was also approached.

The title went through many changes. First, it was known as "Batman 5". It became "Batman: The Frightening" for a while. To prevent script leaks, they were titled "Intimidation Game" to throw off the public, before settling on "Batman Begins".

Anthony Hopkins was offered the role of Alfred but declined.

Laurence Fishburne was considered for the role of Lucius Fox.

Filming was temporarily delayed on the London soundstage due to the sound of amorous pigeons in the rafters above.

The crime boss Carmine "The Roman" Falcone was a character from the comics. He was Gotham City's last "old school" gangster. He was killed, and his empire wiped out, when Batman's familiar rogues gallery came into prominence.

On 22 May 2004 filming took place at Senate House (a property belonging to the University of London, just off Russell Square). The front of the building was made up as the Gotham City courts, complete with New York-style taxis and Gotham Police Department cars.

Christian Bale's trailer didn't have his name on the door but said "Bruce Wayne" instead.

A full city block of Gotham - much of it based on the slums of Kowloon in Hong Kong which were torn down in 1994 - was built in a converted aircraft hangar.

On the set, the costumed Christian Bale constantly had two people trailing him to keep the Batsuit smudge-free.

On a converted parking lot at Shepperton, the film crew built an entire village of trailers where chemists and costume artists made neoprene-and-foam-latex Batsuits. The place was dubbed "Cape Town."

The script was written by David S. Goyer in the seven weeks before he was due to direct Blade: Trinity (2004), which he also wrote. Director Christopher Nolan took over the writing chores from there.

While shooting on the streets of Chicago, a person accidentally crashed into the Batmobile. The driver was apparently drunk, and said he hit the car in a state of panic, believing the Dark Knight's vehicle to be an invading alien spacecraft.

David S. Goyer mentioned in an interview that his favorite pre-audition choice for Batman was Jake Gyllenhaal, but that he was won over by Christian Bale after seeing his test.

While filming in Lower Wacker Drive, in Chicago, Illinois, the filmmakers were so concerned for the care of the Batmobile, that they told the stunt driver to take as much time as he needed to make any move. Therefore, when it came time to back the Batmobile up, they went so slow as to cause traffic jams that had to be reported on the news. Simply moving the Batmobile around Chicago took numerous police as well as caused traffic jams where ever they went.

Before the shooting began, Christopher Nolan invited the whole film crew to a private screening of Blade Runner (1982). After the film he said to the whole crew, "This is how we're going to make Batman."

Christopher Nolan wrote in the character Rachel Dawes with Katie Holmes in mind. No other actresses were in serious consideration; it was hers to lose.

Unlike most characters on the movie, Rachel Dawes, played by Katie Holmes, doesn't exist in "Batman" or any other DC Comics' series. She was created by director Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer.

Henri Ducard was created by Batman (1989) screenwriter Sam Hamm. THe character was in the movie's original script, however was dropped. Hamm later during his comic book writing debut on Detective Comics series incorporated the character into the Batman mythos.

This is the first Batman film to be shot in 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

Contains 400 VFX shots.

The "daylight" coming through the windows of Wayne Manor was created by a single 100,000-watt floodlight which weighed nearly 400 pounds.

At the time of this film's release, Forbes Magazine did a breakdown of how much it would actually cost to become Batman. The magazine estimated that total expenses in US dollars would be around $3.5 million.

The gun Bruce Wayne tosses in the river is a Brazilian six-shot Taurus.

The calling card the Joker leaves is a replica of the Joker Card from the 1989 graphic novel "Arkham Asylum".

All the big name cast members were initially not told that the movie was a Batman movie as the script they were sent was titled "The Intimidation Game". Michael Caine commented that when he first saw the title, he assumed the script was some kind of gangster movie.

A pair of Batman pajama bottoms can be seen hanging from the line in the scene where Batman talks to the little boy in the Narrows.

The license plate on Bruce Wayne's sports car is 375 265.

Since Alfred's sense of duty and loyalty towards Bruce Wayne reminded him of the comradeship that exists in the military, Sir Michael Caine based his character's voice on that of a colonel he knew when he was in the army as an 18-year-old.

When Warner Bros. was considering "Batman: The Frightening" as the title, a script was released online that was widely believed to be official. Two writers, Terry Hayes and Rafael Yglesias, were credited on the draft, but both denied writing it. The author was later discovered to be Brandon Gaines.

Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski were approached to direct, and even wrote their own treatment based on Frank Miller's graphic novel "Batman: Year One", but turned down the offer and made the Matrix sequels instead.

Broke opening weekend box office record for IMAX theaters.

For the IMAX version, some of the theatres running older IMAX equipment, the credits for the movie wouldn't fit on the platters. IMAX and the theatres had to get special permission from Warner Brothers to show the movie without the credits.

During earlier developments of the movie, Ewan McGregor was considered for the role of Scarecrow.

During production, DC Comics commissioned well known Batman artists to give their interpretation of the Dark Knight. The results were shown to Christopher Nolan and the cast to help give them a better idea of where the comic artists were coming from. Among the artists were James Jean, Jock, Tommy Lee Edwards and John Paul Leon.

Early work on the script and the production design was conducted in the back of Christopher Nolan's garage. During the writing process, Nolan and David S. Goyer sometimes took walks near the site of the original Batcave from _"Batman" (1966/II)_ .

Due to his part in Maquinista, El (2004) (aka The Machinist), Christian Bale was vastly underweight (about 120 pounds on his 6 foot+ frame) when he was under consideration for the part. After being cast, he was told to become as "big as you could be" by Christopher Nolan. Bale underwent a dietary and exercise regimen and ending up weighing about 220 pounds (about 40 pounds above his normal weight). It was decided that Bale had became too large (friends of his on the film's crew dubbed him "Fatman") and he quickly shed about 20 pounds to have leaner, more muscular frame.

Alfred's last name is Pennyworth.

When Christian Bale and Liam Neeson were fighting on the frozen lake they could hear the ice cracking beneath their feet. The next day, the lake was completely melted.

During filming of the scene where Batman is being towed, by a train through the streets of Gotham, so much steam was used that after each take that it would "rain" on the cast and crew for several minutes.

Production designer Nathan Crowley said that the design of the Batmobile was largely influenced from the design seen in Frank Miller's graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns". The incarnation of the Batmobile was given the nickname "The Tumbler" by both filmmakers and Miller.

Christopher Nolan originally didn't want to give Scarecrow a mask. Screenwriter David S. Goyer was able to talk him into it.

Wayne Tower is based on the Chicago Board of Trade Building.

The Dark Knight (2008)

this is the first batman film not to feature the word batman in the title.

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