Wesley Strick

[Bobthegoon89]

While reading Michael Singer's official movie book of the making of Batman Returns I discovered something that some fans perhaps are not aware of. It looks like there were two writers who worked on the sequel. Daniel Waters of course who wrote the quirky black comedy "Heathers" but also a guy named Wesley Strick who performed a re-write of Waters draft.

After doing research I also found Strick's name attached to severeal memorable films that also happen to be favourites of mine. He wrote "Arachnophobia", a film I regard as the scariest thing I've ever watched lol If you have my fear (the hints in the title folks) you'll agree with me on that one. He also wrote one of my favourite psychological thrillers "Cape Fear", the remake version starring Robert De Niro. I like to think it was this project (released in 1991) that got him the job on Batman's 2nd cinematic outing.

Unusually he never recieved screen credit for Batman Returns. Why was this? Does anybody know what he altered or added to in the story?

[Paul (ral)]

It's strange, but I haven't realised that Strick never got credit. It's just something that I've always taken as known.

From what I'm aware of, Waters' script was more harsh and cynical.

[Bobthegoon89]

It's strange also that new writers became involved in the sequel at all. Nowadays it would often be the same writing team who worked on previous entries (Alvin Sargeant on the Spider-Man films, Johnathan Nolan for the Dark Knight series e.c.t). I think Warren Skaaren had died by 1992 and Sam Hamm's orginal script was turned down (amazingly enough since he wrote the first one). I just think it was an incredibly bold move to go to, of all people, the guy who wrote the great but extremely bizaare "Heathers" film (which I've only just recently seen).

[Furstmobile]

Yeah, Burton didn't like anything about Hamm's Batman II script, and for good reason. I'm glad they parted ways rather than endlessly revising that plot. And the whole reason new writers were brought in at London was due to a writer's strike. If Hamm had been there he would've fought against the Napier killing his parents and letting Vicki into the Cave. Probably would've been able to save Knox's line about Gordon in the Wayne Murder photo too. Jonathan Gems also did uncredited re-writes. He wrote a ton of screenplays for Burton that were never made, like Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, which I actually think sounded great. I wish they would've made that back the early 90's. But I'm probably the only one.

But about Strick, judging by the drafts available to me online, Strick saved the Penguin portion of the movie for me. I hated most of Batman & Penguin's lines in the Waters version. Waters did come up with most of the best Catwoman lines though. Very easy to see why Keaton didn't want to say all his crap Batman lines.

I don't really think Waters' versions were more harsh really, but Batman had some cheesy kind of cynical retorts to what Catwoman is always saying. Not talking about Action One-Liners like "Eat floor!" (I love those) He does tiny rants about his new public image being used for toy merchandising and how males also have an impossible macho image to live up to or something. That's the main difference. There were little details in Waters script that I wished stayed, where it's mentioned that Selina's had karate lessons, coming home to her apartment after being Catwoman and there was a short diamond theft scene before scratching the rapist's face. I'm guessing Burton had a problem with playing up the thief aspect of the character at all, after Selina's rejection of all "girly" things. After she whips off the mannequin heads, she moves over to some jewelry behind glass and just knocks it about, like everything else she now hates. Just like when the cigarette holder is placed in Oswald's mouth and he immediately spits it out. Outwardly defying traditional imagery that doesn't fit with these new versions of the characters. I dig it. I just wish the anti-jewelry image would've been a little more blatant. No one seems to notice it.

It would be nice if Strick, Waters & Hamm showed up on Fatman on Batman. Smith could get some juicy tidbits out of them.


Ii seems like it would be way more accurate to list it as Screenplay by Wesley Strick based on a Story by Daniel Waters. Is Hamm still listed due to political nonsense or did the studio just want to keep the name of the primary writer on the first film on the poster for the second? Makes you wonder how much Goyer really had to do with the Batman Begins sequels, or even the first movie.

[Catwoman]

if wesley strick's script is the one that was filmed, then i know of two glaring differences between waters and his.

1. waters had selina be clearly a willing accomplice to the ice princess' murder.

2. waters had selina die.

[The Laughing Fish]

Yeah, Burton didn't like anything about Hamm's Batman II script, and for good reason. I'm glad they parted ways rather than endlessly revising that plot.

I read that Batman II script on imsdb.com. It was pretty crap, it confirmed to me that Sam Hamm was unfortunately a one trick pony. Which is a shame because I thought he delivered an interesting premise for the '89 movie.

Admittedly, I don't Returns as much as I liked '89, but I'm glad they never pursued with Hamm's script. I never liked the whole treasure hunt plot, where it was revealed the missing treasure was underneath the Batcave, and I even thought it was many parts even too violent than Returns' script, i.e. Catwoman slashing someone to death with blood smeared across the wall if I remember correctly. The only part I did like about Hamm's script was Penguin being released from jail and sets off a signal that commands pigeons to kill his cellmate for revenge for letting his birds escape from his cage.

Besides, reading Batman's part of the script felt like he would have appeared for about ten minutes throughout the movie, even less amount of screen time than he ending up having in Returns.

[zDBZ]

It's worth noting that Sam Hamm and Daniel Waters each wrote a number of drafts for what became Batman Returns, and as far as I know, only one from each is available online. They both appear to have been early passes; the Waters script, for instance, still has Robin in it, along with the subplot of Schreck and Penguin being related.

As far as the credits go; the WGA determines writing credit. Innovations in Sam Hamm's script - Penguin and Catwoman teaming up, Batman being framed, the Christmastime setting - all survived to the final film. This would usually be enough to garner a writer a "story" credit, because however much the plot and dialogue changed in development, these elements remained. Daniel Waters contributed much more to the story, giving him a co-story credit, and the vast majority of the scenes, the dialogue, and the plotting were as he wrote them, earning the "screenplay" credit.

Wesley Strick's biggest contribution was the "death of the firstborn" plan for the Penguin. According to Strick, that lack of a "master plan" for the Penguin was a chief reason he was hired; according to Waters, another reason was that Waters was reluctant to make changes requested by Tim Burton and Michael Keaton, particularly where Batman himself was concerned.

I would consider the addition of the Moses element enough to warrant a co-screenplay credit (if done in the order of: Screenplay by Dan Waters and Wesley Strick); perhaps the WGA felt that adding a single plot point and cleaning up some dialogue wasn't sufficient. To give it some perspective; Strick did less work, and his work had much less impact on the overall tone and quality of the film, than Tom Mankiewicz with the original Superman films. At the same time, Mankiewicz got a credit, albeit a diminished one.

[lifesabitch]

I read both scripts. Waters' script was an absolute mess. Strick revised so much of it that it's criminal he didn't get a credit.

[Pigeon]

Good points, everyone!  I, too, have wondered why Strick didn't get a credit.  If Hamm got one, that's just wrong.  Personally, I loved Waters' script, but after having read it several times I had to admit that it was just too busy.  Too much going on, too many subplots, too many characters.  I love the depth that he goes into with the characters, particularly the villains, but it was just too much for a movie that had to make money.  As a movie, it would have to have been 4 hours long to cram all of that in.  I still think it would make an excellent novel.  It's been argued that the villains were too sympathetic in BR.  I think that argument would be even more justified, had Waters' original script been used.

[zDBZ]

I read both scripts. Waters' script was an absolute mess. Strick revised so much of it that it's criminal he didn't get a credit.

To my knowledge, the only one of his scripts available online is an early draft; he went through several. By the time Strick came in, Waters' work was much closer to the finished film.