What's the origin of the "I'm Batman" line?

[BatmanFurst]

For years now I've seen people say that the famous "I'm Batman" line was a creation of Michael Keaton's. Supposedly the original response to the thug was going to be "I'm the night". However, now it seems that Jon Peters is taking credit for the line even going so far as to say that he originally wanted it to be "I'm Batman mother*****". So what's the truth here? Did it originally come from Keaton or Peters?

[Kamdan]

Producers like to take credit for everything, especially Peters. He's from "the streets" of his palatial Hollywood estate and thinks he knows what the "kids" are saying. Sounds like Keaton had the idea of just outright saying who he is instead of that cringeworthy "You're trespassing, rat breath" dialogue that led up to the "I am the (k)night" line. Peters, like any producer, wanted put his own touch to it and wanted to add MF on it. Thankfully, someone said no to that.

All said and done, I would like to hear more of his input on what script changes were made throughout the production. Everyone apparently was pleased with the initial Sam Hamm script and that's what everyone set out to make. As I understand it, Robin was cast, but when they needed to cut part of the budget, all of Robin's scenes were cut. This led to a problem of motivation of persuading The Joker in the final act as he killed the Graysons. That's how The Joker became the murders of the Waynes. With this new detail, they had to have rewrites to accommodate this plot change, such as cutting out most of Bruce and Vicki's relationship. Always wondered if that was a Peters note with Bruce keeping his distance after they slept together.

[thecolorsblend]

I understand why Peters isn't universally loved among some fans but B89 was a pet project of his that he nursed along step-by-step. Yes, producers take credit for stuff all the time. But considering the level of involvement Peters had with B89 and just how big a role he played, first in championing the movie at all and, second, being one of Burton's biggest cheerleaders to WB (Burton might not have gotten the job without Peters), I'm prepared to cut Peters a LOT of slack.

[BatmanFurst]

I understand why Peters isn't universally loved among some fans but B89 was a pet project of his that he nursed along step-by-step. Yes, producers take credit for stuff all the time. But considering the level of involvement Peters had with B89 and just how big a role he played, first in championing the movie at all and, second, being one of Burton's biggest cheerleaders to WB (Burton might not have gotten the job without Peters), I'm prepared to cut Peters a LOT of slack.

Well said

[The Dark Knight]

Damn true. Through last minute script changes and casting decisions, it all came together like destiny. Through perceived chaos you can have a burst of creativity with a range of ideas being thrown around. Basinger wasn't originally cast as Vicki, and yet she helped out substantially with suggestions for the cathedral sequence that was largely done on the fly. Convention is not always the best way. Burton and the crew MADE it happen, and even though we've lived with the film for 30 years, I couldn't imagine it any other way. They nailed it.

[Kamdan]

I understand why Peters isn't universally loved among some fans but B89 was a pet project of his that he nursed along step-by-step. Yes, producers take credit for stuff all the time. But considering the level of involvement Peters had with B89 and just how big a role he played, first in championing the movie at all and, second, being one of Burton's biggest cheerleaders to WB (Burton might not have gotten the job without Peters), I'm prepared to cut Peters a LOT of slack.

Damn true. Through last minute script changes and casting decisions, it all came together like destiny. Through perceived chaos you can have a burst of creativity with a range of ideas being thrown around. Basinger wasn't originally cast as Vicki, and yet she helped out substantially with suggestions for the cathedral sequence that was largely done on the fly. Convention is not always the best way. Burton and the crew MADE it happen, and even though we've lived with the film for 30 years, I couldn't imagine it any other way. They nailed it.

I definitely get credit to Peters input that made the movie more commercial and the marketing approach. I will remind everyone that Peters came pretty late in the game when comes to the producers. Uslan and Melniker brought the project to Peter Guber at Casablanca Records in hopes of them being able to further persuasion to get the film made. Guber ended up forming a partnership with Peters and they pushed Uslan and Melniker out of being associated with the production.

Once they had full grasp of the Batman project, they were tempted to stray away from the initial dark and serious approach and try something comedic, which was were the idea of Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy as the Caped Crusaders came up. Thankfully, the reception of The Dark Knight Returns lead them back to taking the road they traveled.

[BatmanFurst]

I understand why Peters isn't universally loved among some fans but B89 was a pet project of his that he nursed along step-by-step. Yes, producers take credit for stuff all the time. But considering the level of involvement Peters had with B89 and just how big a role he played, first in championing the movie at all and, second, being one of Burton's biggest cheerleaders to WB (Burton might not have gotten the job without Peters), I'm prepared to cut Peters a LOT of slack.

Damn true. Through last minute script changes and casting decisions, it all came together like destiny. Through perceived chaos you can have a burst of creativity with a range of ideas being thrown around. Basinger wasn't originally cast as Vicki, and yet she helped out substantially with suggestions for the cathedral sequence that was largely done on the fly. Convention is not always the best way. Burton and the crew MADE it happen, and even though we've lived with the film for 30 years, I couldn't imagine it any other way. They nailed it.

I definitely get credit to Peters input that made the movie more commercial and the marketing approach. I will remind everyone that Peters came pretty late in the game when comes to the producers. Uslan and Melniker brought the project to Peter Guber at Casablanca Records in hopes of them being able to further persuasion to get the film made. Guber ended up forming a partnership with Peters and they pushed Uslan and Melniker out of being associated with the production.

Once they had full grasp of the Batman project, they were tempted to stray away from the initial dark and serious approach and try something comedic, which was were the idea of Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy as the Caped Crusaders came up. Thankfully, the reception of The Dark Knight Returns lead them back to taking the road they traveled.

I'd never heard of them pushing Melniker, and Uslan out.

[Kamdan]

I'd never heard of them pushing Melniker, and Uslan out.

Really? Thought it was pretty well known that Peters and Guber pretty much pulled the rug from under the initiating producers and screen rights holders of the Batman films and they were relegated to the executive producer credits with no creative input at all. They attempted to sue, but their case was thrown out.

[The Dark Knight]

Once they had full grasp of the Batman project, they were tempted to stray away from the initial dark and serious approach and try something comedic, which was were the idea of Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy as the Caped Crusaders came up. Thankfully, the reception of The Dark Knight Returns lead them back to taking the road they traveled.

Very interesting indeed. TDK Returns came at exactly the right time. The Burton/Schumacher era lightened up over time, so it begs the question, would the reverse have happened if B89 began the franchise on a lighter note? I'm inclined to say yes, as the hunger for that style of Batman would've only grown.

[Kamdan]

Very interesting indeed. TDK Returns came at exactly the right time. The Burton/Schumacher era lightened up over time, so it begs the question, would the reverse have happened if B89 began the franchise on a lighter note? I'm inclined to say yes, as the hunger for that style of Batman would've only grown.

It does indeed make me wonder how things would have turned out if the movie had been made sooner. Uslan very much loved how the first two Superman movies turned out and wanted that same approach with Batman, right down to hiring Tom Mankiewicz to write the screenplay. It's quite a puzzle to imagine how they could have pulled off an intimating version of Batman with the materials that made Superman's costume.

Uslan seemed to be very adamant about making the details of the comic be reality. When it first announced, he claimed that the Batcave would be replicated exactly with the giant penny and dinosaur. While that attention to detail is admirable, it ultimately paid off how the filmmakers decided to steer away from the trendsetter of Superman and do their own thing. We all saw how things turned out when they thought the approach taken for Nolan's Batman films would apply to Superman. Could have saved them a lot of trouble if they had learned from the past.  There was a reason it hadn't been done before.