Collider’s own Steve Weintraub recently sat down with prolific screenwriter, producer, and directorAkiva Goldsmanfor a wide-ranging chat about his work from the past to the present and yes, even the future. One thing we here at Collider have been jonesing to talk about with Goldsman is his work on the seminal ‘90sBatmanmovies directed byJoel Schumacher, 1995’sBatmanForever, starringVal Kilmeras Bruce Wayne, and 1997’sBatman & Robin, starringGeorge Clooneyas Bruce andChris O’Donnellas Robin.
As a co-screenwriter onBatman Forever(alongsideLeeandJanet ScottBatchler) and sole screenwriter onBatman & Robin,Goldsman’s imprint on both of these ‘90sBatmanmovie is indelible. Combined with Schumacher’s vision for the world ofBatman, these two movies represent a significantly different version of Batman’s movie world that had been seen before or since. So, what does Goldsman recall, exactly, when he thinks back to his time working on bothBatman ForeverandBatman & Robin? As Goldsman tells it,
“You know, it’s complicated because I think, in a funny way, this show that Geoff Johns and I created,Titans, is kind of my apology tour forBatman & Robinbecause it was heady and extraordinary. I’m a deep, deep, deep, deep old comic book fan and so, the opportunity to get to them and to play in them was amazing. And, as you said, it was a different time; things that did last, you really wish had [lasted].”
Goldsman also took a moment to reveal one keyBatman Foreverstory arc which was ultimately cut but which he feels would have helped make the movie that much better. He recalled, “For me,Batman Foreverwas all about Bruce finding his father’s journal and in it it said, ‘Martha and I want to stay home tonight, but Bruce insists on going to see a movie,’ and you discover it was all [Bruce], he’s been holding on to the guilt all the way through about being responsible for his parents’ deaths. None of that makes the cut because we shot it and we tested it, and the audience was not interested in the psychological component of the drama at that point. That was not what they were coming to comic book movies for.”
And what exactly are Goldsman’s thoughts onBatman & Robin, a movie which hasbecome a curious artifactin the Batman movie canon because it’s, well, super campy? TheBatman & Robinscribe offered, “As forBatman & Robin, that one just confused me. I mean, we didn’t mean for it to be bad. I swear, nobody was like, ‘This will be bad.’ We were really thinking… I mean, here’s the irony: There was a reel that was put together halfway through [filming] where it actually looked dark in an interesting way. It just is what it is and I’m sorry. I think we’re all sorry.”
On the heels of this slight apology (no need, Mr. Goldsman, we still loveBatman & Robinno matter what), he did remark upon the fickle nature of movie-making: “Itisalchemy. I always used to say it’s like painting by lightning. It’s like a mural that you’re painting and every time the lightning flashes, you paint, and then the sun rises and you’re like, ‘Ooh!’ or ‘Oh, god.’ It’s magic. Obviously, if it were predictable, if it were manageable in any real way, then we’d only make good movies. […] That is the terror and the joy of it because you don’t work any less hard on the ones that don’t land.”
Sure, looking back onBatmanmovies of yore is fun, but what about the upcoming Caped Crusader featureThe BatmanstarringRobert Pattinsonand directed byMatt Reeves? Reeves’ vision for the new Batman story isreportedly much darkerthan those ’90s Batman entries — despite Goldsman aiming for a more psychologically complex angle — as Reeves attempts to carve out a new niche in the Dark Knight’s onscreen canon witha tale focused on a younger Bruce Wayne. When asked to share his thoughts about Reeves wading into the Batman world, Goldsman was nothing but complimentary, happily and candidly telling Collider,
“Matt Reeves, I think, is so insanely talented and I think Robert Pattinson is terrific. For me, the key to this is Matt. Have you ever seen the pilot ofFelicity? Matt directed it, J.J. [Abrams] wrote it, and it hums in this extraordinary way. From then, I have admired Matt as a director. I just think he’s literate, he’s articulate emotionally, he’s can cinematically virtuosic. For me, I can’t wait to see [The Batman].”
You can check out all of Akiva Goldsman’s Batman chat below. For more, check out our completecast and character guide forThe Batmanand get even more Batman updateshere.
