This video..which oddly enough I found because it was using the fan poster I made featuring Keaton/Pfeiffer/Willaims in a FOREVER dressing...claims that a script does exist for the abandoned Burton project, and he gives details on it. It sounds great, frankly, and I wonder if you guys would have a look see, AND if anyone could help me get my hands on the script. Link bellow to video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCh34ORcXA0
I don't no, I mean in the BR DVD doc. Burton says that literally in the first meeting about B3 that Burton was pretty much told that Warner didn't want him to do a third.
However, you never know, it may have been a quick muck-up that Burton prepared.
Thanks for the link, GK.
Unfortunately, I have a feeling he may have read a fan script by someone who wished the film turned out that way. May sound ridiculous, but these do crop up. Batman: The Frightening is an example of a script that hit the Internet and was credited to the From Hell screenwriters Rafael Yglesias and Terry Hayes, but turned out to be written by a fan.
The video maker's info doesn't match up at all to what the Batchlers have shared about Burton's role in the development of the film, as well as what Burton shared in the featurette that Seantastic mentioned. As much as I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt, I believe the Batchlers and Burton over him, unless all of them later confirm that this was legit and give us a context on how it fits into what they've shared previously.
Also, some of the ideas sound like someone's attempt at merging Burton's Batman world with Batman Forever's cast (Two-Face, Riddler, Robin, and Chase Meridian are in it, but so are Chip Shreck and Catwoman?). Killing off Chase Meridian in particular sounds like wish fulfillment.
Yeah. I remain a skeptic myself, but jump at possibilties. I. too, have the Batman Returns Special edition, and remember Tim Burton clearly stating he only had one meeting with WB (When he was still attached to direct). My memory has a tent pole on his quote "toying with ideas." And, indeed, Forever's screenwriters confirm this by saying that they never got any real imput ideawise from Tim.
It's always possible, though.
sigh. I must admit it sounded legit to me based on some of the ideas. Like the beginnings of a thought process were at hand and would evolve over time. In all likelihood, its fake, but its fun to talk about, eh?
It's certainly exciting for me as well to think that Burton was going to continue a bit of the Schreck-Catwoman storyline as well as bring his vision of Two-Face (with Billy Dee) to life and a darker take on The Riddler than the Jim Carrey version.
But the Chase Meridian mention really pushes the credibility for me. It may be possible that Burton had thought of using Two-Face and Riddler and bringing Wayans to do Robin for real this time before Schumacher and the Batchlers decided to use all three characters (though it'd be quite a huge coincidence).
But Chase Meridian was a Batchler creation and the Batchlers were hired after Schumacher was already tapped to replace Burton. If this is legit, it has to be one of the early drafts they wrote for Schumacher, not Burton.
Even then, I have my doubts they'd have toyed around with bringing Chip Schreck and Catwoman back and reusing Burton and Daniel Waters's Robin mechanic idea, when Burton was off the project.
Ah...The Chase thing really puts a dent in it then.
Sorry to disappoint, my friend :(
Yep, I called BS when I took a look at the video. Pretty cool ideas although. The ending with Catwoman was taken from her first appearance in the Animated Series.
Aha! I knew that Catwoman ending sounded familiar, but couldn't place if it was from an animated series episode or a comic.
Hey everyone. I was one of the first to have a website of Tim Burton's Batman III, and a lot of the 'sources' are linked directly to my old site..
Well, the site shut down in 09.
I did A LOT of research when making the website and had a ton of people email me about facts and rumors surrounding the pre production.
THERE WAS NO SCRIPT when Burton had his tiny little meeting with WB. NOOO script.
He indeed was reading a fan script. I will tell you why. Tim Burton said in the documentary of Batman Returns in the special edition, he never wants to do a 'continuation' of the previous film. He wanted to do something completely NEW. The first thing this fan script said was 'funeral for shrek'.. So that right there is a dead give away that this was a fan bogus script.
Second, while WB was finding a new director, there were ideas being thrown around about the next project. A question mark would be shaved in Riddler's head. Riddler would have a pet rat. Really crazy stuff. Joel Shumacher jumped on board as a Yes Man director to make a more kid friendly movie to sell toys and McDonalds stuff.
It was kind of disappointing to hear about Tim Burton's Batman 3. Fan boys want to think that there was some amazing story and all this stuff was going on before Tim left and Joel came on, but the truth is there was nothing going on, lol. It was probably 1 or 2 meetings with Tim Burton and then he left to do other things. There was no storyboard and Burton ideas flying out there inbetween directors. I wish! Every fan boy wishes.... But it was a whole bunch of nothing....
Interesting Batman 3 article I found!
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308195,00.html
Let the Bat Mania begin. Now that Joel Schumacher (Falling Down) has replaced Tim Burton at the helm of Batman 3, what can fans of the $800 million-grossing global franchise expect of the next caped crusade? Some predictions... *An end to the batlash: Hiring Schumacher to direct the summer-of-'95 release is seen by insiders as an attempt by Warner Bros. to get the Batman movies back on track. The studio, which declined to comment, has always given Burton full credit for reviving and modernizing Batman, and Burton's office confirms he will executive-produce the next film. Still, Warner doesn't want a repeat of the macabre 1992 sequel, Batman Returns, which frightened small children and angered many parents. And even though it earned $163 million in the U.S. and Canada, Returns made substantially less than 1989's Batman, which grossed $251 million. ''Warner Bros. didn't want Tim to direct,'' says a source close to the project. ''He's too dark and odd for them.'' Schumacher, on the other hand, has a penchant for making stylish and successful movies out of such moribund topics as vampires (The Lost Boys) and near-death experiences (Flatliners). *Bat in the saddle: Not only does Schumacher have Burton's blessing (''I wouldn't have approached it if Tim wasn't supportive of the idea,'' he says), but he has Michael Keaton's as well. ''Schumacher can make Batman sexier and more heroic,'' says Harry Colomby, a partner in Keaton's production company. ''Burton is not the hero type. His heart beats for the outsider-look at Edward Scissorhands.'' Keaton, who made $5 million for Batman and $10 million for the sequel, could earn as much as $15 million this time out of the Batcave. ''The predisposition for Michael is always to do Batman,'' says Colomby. Also watch for Keaton, who had to share the spotlight with those cute penguins in Batman Returns, to be more of a player in the next installment. And he may wear a new flexible batsuit to allow the Dark Knight more mobility. *New terrors for Gotham City: Schumacher acknowledges that the nemesis probably will be the Riddler, though he adds that it's too early to say whether Robin Williams will play him. (Williams' agent insists no one has contacted the actor about the role.) If Williams doesn't sign on, John Malkovich, who played a menace to society in In the Line of Fire, is the odds- on pick. *Holy sidekicks: Schumacher is toying with the idea of reinstating Robin the Boy Wonder. ''Tim was thinking of having a black Robin,'' says the director, ''but I'm not sure there is going to be a Robin, let alone what race he might be.'' And, of course, Batman will need a love interest. ''There may be a new heroine,'' says Schumacher, though it won't be Kim Basinger's Vicki Vale. ''Maybe some character from the comic books, or it may be somebody completely new.'' *But no cat: Although Michelle Pfeiffer is sitting out Batman 3, Burton and Warner might revive her kitty-with-a-bullwhip in a spin-off. ''The Catwoman movie is just a whole new concept, completely open for Tim's creative vision,'' says Burton's spokeswoman. Adds Pfeiffer: ''I would love to do it. Catwoman breaks just about every taboo.'' *Meanwhile, Schumacher expects to see a script, possibly by writers Lee and Janet Batchler (CBS' The Equalizer), later this year. ''Sure (it's pressure), but that's part of the challenge too,'' says Schumacher, who starts shooting next September. ''This is a wonderful period in the movie's production, where everything seems possible.''
Well apparently the predisposition for Michael wasn't 'always to do Batman'. Especially if it wasn't to his liking, Mr. Colomby.
Anyways, kinda interesting to read Schumacher being a bit coy about adding the Boy Wonder since in the Forever SE interviews, he vividly recalled being pretty adamant about including Robin into the film.
John Malkovich would have been a good choice. More recently, Malkovich would have made a good Vulture as well. :) *sigh*
Thanks for the link, BTW.
Quote from: The Joker on Sun, 5 Sep 2010, 15:10
John Malkovich would have been a good choice. More recently, Malkovich would have made a good Vulture as well. :) *sigh*
I always thought that Malkovich would have made a great Scarecrow if say Burton was directing. For The Riddler, Kevin Spacey would probably have been my choice circa 1995. Malkovich seems a bit too imperious for The Riddler, a quality that far better suits The Scarecrow IMO.
Great link, Batman 333. Didn't know Malkovich was rumored.
Some interesting facts from the Entertainment Weekly article...
1) No script obviously when Joel was on board. Wasn't even sure if Robin was in it, so obviously the video in the OP was misinformed and indeed did read a fan script...
2) Robin Williams agent claims he was never contacted about Riddler. Interesting... That means WB , Burton and Joel was 'toying' with the idea of bringing Robin Williams in, but never even went as far as contacting him or setting up a meeting to play the Riddler.
3) Chase was a character developed AFTER Joel was on board. Not while Burton was considered. So once again, this proves the video to have false information on a script.
Quote from: johnnygobbs on Sun, 5 Sep 2010, 21:44
I always thought that Malkovich would have made a great Scarecrow if say Burton was directing. For The Riddler, Kevin Spacey would probably have been my choice circa 1995. Malkovich seems a bit too imperious for The Riddler, a quality that far better suits The Scarecrow IMO.
I think Malkovich could have easily handled playing the Scarecrow as well. Though I suppose I always saw Jeff Goldblum playing the Scarecrow if it really came down to just personal preference during this time period. Which is mainly due to his outstanding performance as Seth Brundle in the remake/reimaging of "The Fly".
Quote from: Batman333 on Mon, 6 Sep 2010, 06:18
2) Robin Williams agent claims he was never contacted about Riddler. Interesting... That means WB , Burton and Joel was 'toying' with the idea of bringing Robin Williams in, but never even went as far as contacting him or setting up a meeting to play the Riddler.
Well, Williams wasn't contacted as of October 1993, when that EW article was published.
Williams himself mentioned that he was offered the role, which probably happened sometime after that article- I'm guessing early 1994 before Jim Carrey went in full swing with Ace Ventura, The Mask, and Dumb & Dumber:
"Plus, the Batman films have screwed me twice before: years ago they offered me The Joker and then gave it to Jack Nicholson, then they offered me The Riddler and gave it to Jim Carrey."
http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1054
Quote from: BatmAngelus on Mon, 6 Sep 2010, 19:38
Quote from: Batman333 on Mon, 6 Sep 2010, 06:18
2) Robin Williams agent claims he was never contacted about Riddler. Interesting... That means WB , Burton and Joel was 'toying' with the idea of bringing Robin Williams in, but never even went as far as contacting him or setting up a meeting to play the Riddler.
Well, Williams wasn't contacted as of October 1993, when that EW article was published.
Williams himself mentioned that he was offered the role, which probably happened sometime after that article- I'm guessing early 1994 before Jim Carrey went in full swing with Ace Ventura, The Mask, and Dumb & Dumber:
"Plus, the Batman films have screwed me twice before: years ago they offered me The Joker and then gave it to Jack Nicholson, then they offered me The Riddler and gave it to Jim Carrey."
http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1054
Very interesting facts about Robin Williams getting the offers to play Joker & Riddler.
I guess what happened was WB always wanted Jack to do Joker, but he was hesitant on taking the part, so WB contacted Robin Williams as a back up plan in case Jack said no. They used Robin Williams as bait to help Jack say yes to the part. Robin Williams offended about this.