The Weekly Planet - Batman & Robin - Caravan Of Garbage

Episode Date: April 20, 2023

Batman Forever set the wheels in motion for a brand new kind of Batman. Camp. With George Clooney taking over from Val Kilmer who took over from Michael Keaton this is where people truely fell out of ...love with the Batman francise. Even the likes of Batgirl, Mr Freeze, Poison Ivy and Bane didn't stop people crying about new levels of sillyness that left the reviews and box office lower than ever. Thanks for listening to our Caravan Of Garbage reviewSUBSCRIBE HERE ►► http://goo.gl/pQ39jNHelp support the show and get early episodes ► https://bigsandwich.co/Patreon ► https://patreon.com/mrsundaymoviesJames' Twitter ► http://twitter.com/mrsundaymoviesMaso's Twitter ► http://twitter.com/wikipediabrownPatreon ► https://patreon.com/mrsundaymoviesT-Shirts/Merch ► https://www.teepublic.com/stores/mr-sunday-moviesThe Weekly Planet iTunes ► https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-planet/id718158767?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4The Weekly Planet Direct Download ► https://play.acast.com/s/theweeklyplanetAmazon Affiliate Link ► https://amzn.to/2nc12P4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Starting point is 00:00:39 Isn't it incredible that this Batman movie... Go on. ..opens with a couple of cod pieces and a couple of jiggly butts just wriggling their way into a pair of rubber pants? I mean, it doesn't start that way. It starts with the Warner Brothers logo just morphing right into the Batman logo. And I'm like, are you kidding me? This ain't my granddaddy's Batman movie.
Starting point is 00:01:02 Except it is in a lot of ways because this is if Batman from the 60s was, you know, in the 90s, I guess. But worse? It's not good, is it? No. Like, everything has gone too far. Like, when I saw that car, because we talked last week about Batman Forever and how, like, okay, this car is, like, it's kind of a good update from the previous one. Just nonsense. Absolutely fucking nonsense movie.
Starting point is 00:01:26 And the first line of this movie is, I want a car, chicks dig the car. Which is what Val Kilmer Batman said in a previous one. That's right. It's a fun reference, right? I guess maybe it is a fun reference and then Superman works alone and whatever. And then Batman slides down a dinosaur like he's Fred Flintstone. Please leave a like, by the way. Watching this by myself, Mason, I thought to myself.
Starting point is 00:01:50 As if you'd be watching it with anyone else. I know, I know. I had a Batman and Robin watching party and all my friends came around. Lies. Yeah, you're right. I thought to myself, surely comic book movies in 1997, like that year specifically, were better. What year did Blade come out? And that was actually 1998. So that year we got Spawn and Steel. So I guess it's better than Steel, I guess, but it's probably
Starting point is 00:02:17 not as good as Spawn. I think it's, oh, wow. Tough call. Yeah. You know what? I kind of settled into it. I think it's better than Spawn, but I mean, for me, it would depend on. Yeah. You know what? I kind of settled into it. I think it's better than Spawn, but, I mean, for me, it would depend on the day. This is the first time I've seen this movie, by the way. Really? I gave up. I saw this at the cinema.
Starting point is 00:02:33 This is the first Batman cinematic experience I had. Well, Batman Forever was the movie where I gave up watching these at the cinema, so Batman and Robin was the first one where I was like, I'll wait for Vhs but then it never happens i'll wait i'll wait 27 years or whatever it is and look my number one takeaway uh clooney's not a very good batman god he's not is he no he's really not he's not a good i look i understand what you think he might be because he's very handsome and charming i think he could be in a better movie.
Starting point is 00:03:06 Yeah, he's very handsome and charming. I'm sure the studio were like, we'll just slot him in there. Bruce Wayne's a handsome millionaire. It'll work perfectly. First of all, that haircut doesn't work on Clooney. It doesn't work on O'Donnell as Batman or Robin. I agree.
Starting point is 00:03:19 It looks like there was an outbreak of lice in the Batcave and Alfred had to come in and just shave their heads a couple of weeks ago. Give Clooney like Batman, like Bruce Wayne hair. He's got to have millionaire hair. He can clearly do it. He's got to have old money millionaire hair. One of my notes about this movie is everybody in this has never been worse. And I think some of those are intentional.
Starting point is 00:03:43 Yes. Uma Thurman is doing, you know, some variation on the three Catwomen from the 60s. Absolutely, yes. Like it's your Julie Newmar or your Eartha Kitt or the other one. Lee Merriweather. Thank you, yeah. It's just that.
Starting point is 00:03:57 Yeah. But just tragic. I mean, and I know it's bad and people hate this movie for various reasons. And look, we know it's also supposed to be camp. Exactly. But it doesn't work in this one. I think it worked better.
Starting point is 00:04:11 I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think it worked better in the previous one. Of course it did. Yeah. By tenfold. And I know, like, there's minor things that people have been upset about, you know, like the bat nipples. But honestly, like, who cares? That's such a minor thing. But some of the designs in this, like I mentioned, like the batmobile and the sets and that my god like that
Starting point is 00:04:29 mr free suit what the fuck were they thinking with that too much going on just the just do the art deco thing that was popular at the time you know just weird kind of bulbous, like, transparent, like, blue chest pieces. And the whole thing is powered by diamonds. And he's got weird glowing teeth. Just a nightmare. Was that some sort of... Batman goes to a party with Robin. He just goes to a party.
Starting point is 00:04:57 Well, he would have in the TV series, but... That's true. There's some... I mean, yeah. I mean, there's some very Batman TV series stuff in this. Which, look, and again, like I said, I settled into it. I'm like, okay, if this is what I have to watch for two hours, There's some very Batman TV series stuff in this. Look, and again, like I said, I settled into it. I'm like, okay, if this is what I have to watch for two hours,
Starting point is 00:05:11 I guess that's fine. I'd rather be watching. But the question is, what was Schumacher aiming for with this movie? Whatever the studio said. Put a bunch of toys in it. Here's what he said. There's some very Hot Wheels-looking car chases in this. Boy, is there. If you said you said okay how they did this is they
Starting point is 00:05:25 got they just got the actual toys yeah just ran them down a statue or a landmark or something and then with somebody's actual fingers and they just blue screen the fingers out i'd be like yeah that's probably possible sure it does it feels like like it goes you know bigger with moments like that in the action sequences or it gets just really claustrophobic on very cluttered, like rubbery, bouncy sets. And uninteresting fight sequences. Yeah, really. Really dire stuff.
Starting point is 00:05:55 So I've got a few things here from what Joel Schumacher has said about this movie. I want to talk about one of the more famous ones towards the end. But he said, I didn't do a good job. George Clooney did. Chris O'Donnell did. Uma Thurman is brilliant in it. Arnold Schwarzenegger was Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Starting point is 00:06:12 And that is certainly true. Like he's obviously he's limited as a performer, especially at this point in his career. I think he has gotten better. But you really need like a James Cameron or you put him in like a commander or like a Conan, the good Conan, you know, to, to make use of him like here as this, it's just not just no thank you. And also, let me, let me tell you this. I was, I, I, based on the memes going into this movie, I'm like, oh, Mr. Freeze is all
Starting point is 00:06:38 cold puns. He's all, he's all cold puns about a third of the time. Either commit it, either commit it all the way in or don't at all. You know what I mean? Sometimes he's just like, freeze, that's my name. Remember my name. That'll be your doom. It's not cold based.
Starting point is 00:06:53 No, it's really not. Also, he doesn't know a lot about ice. Because there's a couple of things that he said. Well, there's a lot of things. Apparently he does 27 cold related puns. But are they puns really? Here's a couple of my favorites. At one point he says,
Starting point is 00:07:06 cool party as he leaves. And I'm like, that's like how Snoop Dogg invented the word Izzle so he could just rhyme anything. Yeah, right. You could use that. It's very fortunate that cool is a synonym for, you know. Absolutely. Exciting and fun and what have you.
Starting point is 00:07:19 Because he could just do it. He could be like, cool bank because he's leaving a bank robbery. Yeah. Cool dog pissing that got frozen by a big freeze ray. That's cool. So here's a couple of my favourites that don't make sense. In this universe, there's only one absolute.
Starting point is 00:07:33 Everything freezes. That's not true. Vodka, for example. Yeah. Which is what I was drinking while I was getting through this. And this one, what killed the dinosaurs? The Ice Age. Again, no, it didn't.
Starting point is 00:07:43 That's not true. It was probably adam driver and a big meteor that's right just nonsense and then of course we've got bane uh showing up my favorite thing about bane is first of all that he like he sort of looks like the comic book character but he has none of the nuance or intelligence or fighting skills or any of that but just his little disguise as a chauffeur where he's wearing a trench coat and a hat, like just driving in the car. That's good. And I'm a big fan of that.
Starting point is 00:08:09 But yeah, that was definitely like, like putting in these three characters. I feel like especially Bane and Mr. Freeze off the back of the animated series. That was really like, what's popular? What works? What has the animated series done that people really gravitated towards? Because this version of Mr. Freeze, it takes the narrative has the animated series done that people really gravitated towards? Because this version of Mr Freeze, it takes the narrative from the animated series. It's the same concept.
Starting point is 00:08:30 It's just done much worse. We see the footage of Victor Freeze being shocked by some sort of scientific equipment and being hurled into a big vat of cryonic chemicals. Man, everybody gets thrown into a thing of chemicals. Maybe put a safety rail in. Yeah. That's an OH&S issue.
Starting point is 00:08:48 That's a fine. Let me tell you that much. Are you kidding me? He's just like, oh. How'd this happen? At one point, Robin falls into a big vat of what I think is ice cream. What is that? Well, if it wasn't somebody's fetish before this, it is now.
Starting point is 00:09:03 I can't get off unless I see a Robin being thrown into some ice cream. Let's talk about Robin Mason. Okay. First of all, there's this contentious kind of relationship between Batman and Robin in this, and you feel like it's going to go towards the Nightwing situation. Which is to say that this version of Robin quits being Robin and he takes on his own identity,
Starting point is 00:09:22 which costume-wise looks almost identical to this version, except he doesn't have a cape. Yeah, exactly. And there's a couple of reasons why that's happening. One, he's in love with Poison Ivy, and he just can't see past that fact for even a second. And the other is that Batman doesn't trust him. And there's a moment where they get back from their first mission where Robin made a big mistake by getting frozen, and Batman's like, Jesus, this guy, really? He's like, you need to do more training in the simulator.
Starting point is 00:09:46 Also, what does that look like? I'd love to know. We don't know at this point, obviously. But also, in that very same mission, Batman got himself frozen to the inside of a rocket, and Robin had to save him. So really, maybe you should get in the simulator. That's right.
Starting point is 00:09:59 He's bad at being Batman. Terrible. Also, what we learn in the opening sequence of this movie is that if Mr. Freeze blasts you with his freeze gun, you have 11 minutes to be unfrozen, otherwise you'll die. You don't just die of no oxygen. That's right. But we learn that 14 minutes into the movie,
Starting point is 00:10:17 which means that all the people Mr. Freeze froze right at the start of the movie, they're all dead now. Yeah. Do you don't think Batman went back with his laser that he carries? Not enough time. And his ice skates? Oh, there wouldn't have been enough time. They're all dead now. Yeah. Do you don't think Batman went back with his laser that he carries? Not enough time. And his ice skates? Oh, there wouldn't have been enough time.
Starting point is 00:10:28 You're absolutely right. I also feel like this Batman, you know, he clearly doesn't trust Robin for a number of reasons and it's noticeable in even the Batmobile because for the first time
Starting point is 00:10:37 in this series. Single seat Batmobile. Single seat Batmobile. Uh-huh. Unbelievable. That was probably for action figure purposes though, I'm sure.
Starting point is 00:10:44 Sure. It was just cheaper to build a single seat toy. Yeah. And then you have to buy two also. You have to get the motorbike and this. That's exactly right. Yeah. It's really bizarre that this whole thing is leading towards Nightwing.
Starting point is 00:10:55 And then at the end they just go, no. But also I feel like, not that we should be discussing character development in these movies, really, but I feel like the idea that Batman works alone, but then he encounters this new guy and takes him under his wing and then they become you know they learn to work together i feel that was resolved at the end of the last one right well that's true yeah i think they were just like we what kind of arc we're gonna have but like that's what batgirl should be there for yep oh there we go mason okay i find the introduction of that character so funny because dick grayson opens the door and the way it's shot it looks like he's four feet tall looking up at
Starting point is 00:11:32 alicia silverstone like wow wow a goyle but also and i also thought it was going to be like some sort of pervy thing but then it just wasn't no they do some motorcycle missions or whatever what she does the same thing that he did in the previous movie. Yes, exactly right. There's also what they've decided to do in this, the makeup department, whenever she has been doing some motorcycle stunts or motorcycle-based adventures,
Starting point is 00:11:57 she returns and she's got like what is meant to be, I think, sort of like sexy grease marks on her face. It's like a bloody chimney sweep. She does look like... Odd spots to put them is all I'm saying. And of course, you know, this version is not related to a completely incompetent
Starting point is 00:12:15 Commissioner Gordon. What does he even do in these movies, honestly? I have a note here, it says it took four movies, but Pat Hingal's Commissioner Gordon finally did something. There was a switch that had been flipped. It was freezing everybody, and he unflipped the switch. He staggered across that set, and he unflipped the switch, and everybody was like, ah, my lungs have unfrozen.
Starting point is 00:12:34 That's good stuff. That is good stuff. Incredible police work. And she obviously gets into the Batcave because her uncle let her in or whatever's happening there and she she's got a her own bat girl costume and all of that and she and she comes out and one of the first things she says when she meets batman and robin is bruce it's me like that's it that's a joke i assume like what is that like is it but it said so earnestly i mean
Starting point is 00:13:02 because it looks exactly like alicia's, she's got the mask on. Obviously. The small mask on, yeah. But I guess also this is like a universe where you don't recognise people who have just got little domino masks on, right? Correct, yes. But just wild. And then George Clooney says something like,
Starting point is 00:13:15 Batgirl, that's not very PC. What about Batperson? And I booed Mason. I said, boo, boo George Clooney. Just awful. So do you know about the stories at the time of the body shaming in relation to Alicia Silverstone? I have a vague recollection of that, yeah.
Starting point is 00:13:32 This went absolutely wild through the press. Which, by the way, nobody's talking about George Clooney and being like, well, he's not very muscular as a Batman. Boy, he's bobbling his head a lot like a big bobblehead man. There's a scene where Pamela Isley, Poison Ivy, confronts him at some sort of press event. And he's wearing a big double-breasted suit and he looks like a weedy little man.
Starting point is 00:13:53 He's not a big guy. Allegedly he's six foot tall. I looked it up. He's absolutely not six foot tall. He's not six foot tall because I know somebody who's seen him in real life and was like, no, he looks like a little bobblehead man. He's got an enormous like man-sized head. Right. Like a little body.
Starting point is 00:14:08 That's often the way with Hollywood stars, I believe. It presents really well on camera. But Uma Thurman, I looked up also, is listed as 5'11 and 3 quarters or something like that. So she's six foot if she's a day. Because I'm sure they work backwards. They work in reverse for female stars, I imagine. Absolutely, yeah. But yeah, clearly they were like, we've got to make her look teeny tiny and George Clooney look real big.
Starting point is 00:14:28 It didn't work. No, absolutely not, yeah. But, so, yeah, all these stories came out at the time that, you know, she wasn't fitting into the costume properly. This is Alicia Silverstone. This is Alicia Silverstone. And one of the press articles from the time from EW Entertainment Weekly was that she looked more like Babe the Pig than a babe.
Starting point is 00:14:46 I know, right? And she looks incredible. I don't know. How could you look at that person and go, hideous? Also, if she- Was this like Paris Hilton? How small do you want the costume to be? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:14:57 Completely. Was this the era of your Paris Hilton? It was just pre that. Okay, but this would have been that era of probably like American Pie. Like a Kate Moss heroine-ship kind of situation. It was like, well, look, one of the Spice Girls is really fat. And it's like, which one? What are you talking about?
Starting point is 00:15:15 Yeah, because that was the era where female stars had to be dangerously thin. Ally McBeal. And a lot of these stars have since opened up about this, how they were basically starving the entire time for years on end. Mara Flynn Boyle? Yeah, absolutely. Right off thin. This is a true story as well.
Starting point is 00:15:34 A storyboard artist on this film even drew her being cinched into a corset, which was a rumor that they had to just really wrap her up in this suit and then put it up on the wall. And this person nearly got fired for it, but then didn't because he didn't sign his name to it. So they're like, oh, we can't exactly. You reversed Bob Candom. Exactly, yeah.
Starting point is 00:15:52 Wasn't me. I didn't invent this. But yeah, but also, again, like, the idea that they would be shaming her, but also these two men in these obviously fake muscle suits get a pass. Ridiculous. Nobody had that physique then. No. Ridiculous.
Starting point is 00:16:05 Well, nobody who was doing these movies. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. But to his credit, Joel Schumacher came out swinging in her defense and was just like, what is this? Why are you doing this? Because by all accounts, you know, everybody seemed to like him and he made the movie that the studio asked him to make.
Starting point is 00:16:20 We'll talk about it more. Look, I think the only good George Clooney stuff in this, and it's not even that good, is his relationship with Alfred. On May 10th, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is coming to IMAX and theaters everywhere. What a wonderful
Starting point is 00:16:40 day! This summer, one movie event will reign. It is our time. Apes hunt humans. That is wrong. Bend for your king. Never. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
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Starting point is 00:17:21 Help CAMH build a future where no one is left behind. So, who will you rise for? Register today at sunrisechallenge.ca. That's sunrisechallenge.ca. Sort of explored and that dynamic of why do you have a 90 year old butler who's dying working for you? Why did the doorbell ring? and rather than you going like 20 feet to your right and opening the door, did you go, Alfred, open the door, Alfred.
Starting point is 00:17:51 Where are you at times ticking, Alfred? What's that story about like Alfred's brother as well? Oh, Wilfred Pennyworth. Who's also a butler. He's also a butler. Well, he's a golden age character. Yeah, he is. I mean, in the loosest possible sense.
Starting point is 00:18:05 But yeah, that never went anywhere, did it? And also, Alfred's Yeah, he is. I mean, in the loosest possible sense. Yeah. But yeah, that never went anywhere, did it? And also, Alfred's like, I've got this information, I'm putting it on a CD, and when I die, because that's going to happen real soon, I'm going to need you to don't look at this, Barbara. Don't look at what's on here. Just send it to Wilfred. And then she, first of all, while he's dying in the other room,
Starting point is 00:18:26 she is just like at his computer like trying to crack his password where he's like, you know, succumbing to this disease. Against his wishes, she's cracking this password. But he knew. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But he wanted her to get into the Batcave and all of that, right? Yeah, but then she opens the – she cracks the – Just be like, just go to the Batcave.
Starting point is 00:18:45 Right? She cracks... I made you a suit. She hacks this CD by putting a name in. Yep. Also, I hate those scenes. Where somebody looks... I've got to crack this guy's password.
Starting point is 00:18:55 And they look around the room and go, Ooh, air conditioner. There's an air conditioner in this room. It must be an air conditioner. Yeah. Or whatever. And it's like, nobody... It's random.
Starting point is 00:19:03 That's right. Also, I'm saying this because all my passwords are air-conditioned. Getting throwing people off the scent there. Lowercase. That's right. But then she cracks, she hacks through this, she hacks the firewall, James. And then it's just like, it looks like all Batman's technology.
Starting point is 00:19:18 It's like a bunch of blueprints for all the Batcave stuff, like all the Batmobile and all the. What if she did send it to. Is he selling it? Was the idea to get him to come and work at the Batcave stuff, like all the Batmobile and all that. What if she did send it to... Is he selling it? Was the idea to get him to come and work at the Batcave? Oh, maybe Wilfred's got his own superhero on the other side of the world who just is constantly being brutalised by criminals
Starting point is 00:19:36 because he doesn't have any cool gadgets. Like this Batman, he's useless at being a vigilante. But, you know, if you had all the toys and the grappling hooks and the what have you. And it's also got an MP4 of the opening title sequence. Oh, it does, yeah. Because it's like, oh, the Batman logo and the Robin logo in there. But they go in there and Alfred's a computer now.
Starting point is 00:19:54 And he goes, hello, I'm Max Hedrum, sort of. That's right. I mean, I like the idea of, like, a digital AI Alfred, which I'm sure they've done multiple times since in, like, the comics. You know, it's like the Jarvis Tony Stark situation. I like that idea. And Michael Goff is always great. But look, yeah, just that the moment where Bruce Wayne has an honest chat with him
Starting point is 00:20:13 as Alfred's probably dying, they have more chemistry and more of a relationship between, say, him and Al McPherson, who's in this movie for some reason. James, I've written here, this is a question for you. Is Al Macpherson an upgrade or a downgrade from Nicole Kidman? Downgrade, Mason. Wow. I didn't think you'd fall for that.
Starting point is 00:20:31 I thought you'd say they're both beautiful Australian roses and I couldn't make a choice. I just meant in terms of like a compelling actor. That's what I meant, Mason. I don't judge people on how beautiful they are. That's you. I know. Worked out pretty well so far. Seems to have, yeah. Also, all right. I don't judge people on how beautiful they are. That's you. I know. Worked out pretty well so far.
Starting point is 00:20:48 Seems to have, yeah. Also, there's a lot of diamonds disinformation in this movie. Oh, yes. Mason, do you mind if we have a little sidebar here, a little section called Diamond Disinformation? I love it. Here we go. So first of all, if Mr. Freeze wanted to get diamonds to power his suits and lasers, whatever, just break into De Beers,
Starting point is 00:21:03 who have been hoarding diamonds for well over 100 years and still hold over 27% of the world's diamonds in order to jack up the price of diamonds because diamonds are actually quite plentiful. I don't know if you know this, everybody. That's right, I did know that. That's right. But they had a big stockpile and they're like,
Starting point is 00:21:19 what if we start a little marketing campaign that suggests they're rare and beautiful and you simply must get one as an engagement ring. Yep. For example. Big scam. Makes you think, doesn't it? It really does, Mason.
Starting point is 00:21:29 Also, side note that is unrelated to beers, if you can afford like a giant rocket tank car, you could probably just buy some diamonds, I reckon. You probably could, couldn't you? Yeah. Okay, so diamonds cannot generate electricity. So there's a bit of diamond disinformation. I think quartz can.
Starting point is 00:21:48 You should have a quartz-powered suit. That's not very... I mean, you could get quartz anywhere, couldn't you? That's right. It wouldn't be very exciting as a movie. You'd crack open a bunch of digital watches. You could. But here's something interesting.
Starting point is 00:21:58 A team of physicists and chemists from the University of Bristol have actually grown a man-made diamond that when placed in a radioactive field is able to generate a small electrical current. and chemists from the University of Bristol have actually grown a man-made diamond that, when placed in a radioactive field, is able to generate a small electrical current. So, you know, if he was going for that, I'd be like, well, that's actually scientifically accurate. I don't know why I was mad about this particular aspect of the story. I think it's because there's just so many things going on and it's all nonsense. My brain is like, which part of this do I even focus on?
Starting point is 00:22:28 You know, and I guess, I don't know, it's dumb that he needs diamonds to power his suit. Why would he? Why would he need that in particular? Because he can hold the big diamond and go, ice to meet you or whatever. He should be scurrying around behind people's houses like a squirrel just attacking their air conditioning units with a screwdriver and drinking the contents. That's what this movie should have been about. Absolutely. And that's more relatable to us.
Starting point is 00:22:50 I don't own any diamonds, but I have an air conditioner. That's a great point. So famously, Joel Schumacher has actually apologised to fans, well, multiple times, but specifically also on the making of on the DVD. Oh, that's the worst place to put it, I think. Here it is, though, if you want to see it. The thing the thing is though i don't think he needs to apologize for this this is not his fault this is studio interference they said make the worst thing that you can with a bunch of toys in it
Starting point is 00:23:16 he was even known to shout on set this is a comic book just shout it and whatever who cares and you know that does sound like his fault actually but if But if you look at the movies, he's actually... He could have said, act better, build better sets, do better choreography, let's not use weird CGI models of the three heroes and have them do weird leaps and such. But he didn't yell any of those things, did he, James? No, he didn't yell any of that.
Starting point is 00:23:41 But if you look at his filmography, there's a lot of really good stuff on there. The movie Falling Down, which is about a hero who's had enough. That's what that movie's about, isn't it? That's absolutely right. He did the movie Phone Booth. About a phone booth that's just had enough. He did the movie The Phantom of the Opera with Jerry Butler.
Starting point is 00:24:01 Wow. Yeah. He did Tigerland. You ever seen Tigerland? Yeah, it had Colin Farrell in it. It's a great movie. So, you know, I think he is a really good director, but he's just kind of been,
Starting point is 00:24:09 people only seem to really remember him for this, despite, you know, a number of other good things he's been in. And speaking of. Well, maybe if they made some Tigerland toys. Sure. Colin Farrell, he could have been a Batman. You push a button on his back and he turns into a tiger? I don't want to go to Vietnam.
Starting point is 00:24:25 Too bad. You've got tiger powers so you've been drafted idiot so George Clooney apparently it's been said this is the Hollywood rumour that he will refund you if you mention to him in person that you saw Batman and Robin
Starting point is 00:24:38 and he did take this as a career move because if you look at like Michael Keaton look at Val Kilmer it didn't hurt them. I feel, I would even say though,
Starting point is 00:24:47 I don't think it hurt him that much either, because as a result of getting this, he was already kind of getting more movie roles and he was known as a movie star. He'd already kind of transitioned or was very much in the process of becoming like a television guy to like a leading, like a leading movie man. That's right.
Starting point is 00:25:04 He left Ur behind. What? Ur? The TV series Ur. He did. Yeah. Apparently. It was about a man who.
Starting point is 00:25:14 Who erred on the side of caution. That's right. And he took a long time to think of what he needed to say. Much like us. Apparently, though, he still keeps a poster of the film in his home office as a warning to himself. Anyway, it's time for Green Trivia Slash. That guy shouts Rodney.
Starting point is 00:25:29 Now, it's called Green Trivia, James, because, of course, Poison Ivy is quite green, isn't it? Yeah, that's right. That's correct. No, no, it was in the Green Latin episode. Sorry, I was just trying to help. Don't do that. Wow. This is a lesson about us working as a team, I think.
Starting point is 00:25:42 Don't do it. Yeah, don't do it. So, John Glover appears in this as Jason Woodrue. That's right. He was also, of course, Lionel Luthor in Smallville, the Riddler in Batman the Animated Series, and Mr. Savannah in Shazam. Mr. Savannah.
Starting point is 00:25:56 Yeah. Oh, because he's Dr. Savannah's dad. He probably has a name. I thought you misspoke. No, I would never. You didn't pick me up on Shazam, though? No, that's fine. No. I expect that kind of gu't pick me up on Shazam, though? No, that's fine.
Starting point is 00:26:07 I expect that kind of guff from you normally. So we talked about... Anyway, he's great. I like him. Yeah, I agree. So we talked about how Val Kimmerer didn't want to return after the last one he did, and neither did Joel Schumacher want him. So a few of the names that went up was William Baldwin, again, and also David Duchovny.
Starting point is 00:26:24 Oh, yeah, okay. I can see that. I remember at the time people being like, that nose doesn't work in the cow. I don't think that's strictly true. You know, if they can squeeze a big jiggly butt into a pair of rubber pants, you can do something with David Duchovny. Yeah, that's right.
Starting point is 00:26:39 So Arnold Schwarzenegger got $25 million for this movie and top billing. Does have top billing, that's right. He smoked white Cuban cigars, so he got regular Cuban cigars and got them painted white so he could just smoke on set. And apparently he was contracted to only work 12 hours a day and that includes the makeup process and had handlers feeding and massaging his hands in the makeup chair. This is still like peak Arnold Power.
Starting point is 00:27:05 Oh, absolutely, yeah. If anyone had dared to challenge the logic of Mr. Freeze smoking what were clearly regular cigars, heat-producing cigars, they would have gotten a piece of his mind, I would imagine. That didn't even occur to me. So a new form of light foam rubber was used to make the superhero costumes,
Starting point is 00:27:20 and this helped the costumes way less than any other Batman film. But as a result of that, they often ripped out and tore very easily and they actually needed to be replaced or repaired quickly from the like 100 plus costumes which were harvested or uh or built for this and you know there was a very real possibility listen no there was a very real possibility this is your worst one yet there was the very real possibility you really had to shoehorn listen to me mason you're not listening to me there was the very real possibility. You really had to shoehorn that in there. Listen to me, Mason. You're not listening to me. I'm listening. There was a very real possibility that when the skim was exposed
Starting point is 00:27:48 because of the cold sets, they would turn blue. Anyways, in an interview with the Belsen star in Texas. Disgraceful. Disgraceful. Coolio, who's in this movie, said that the reason he agreed to. Oh, Coolio. Yeah. Said the reason that he agreed to do this cameo was because Joel Schumacher promised
Starting point is 00:28:09 that he'd get to play the Scarecrow in the next film. So apparently he's Jonathan Crane in this. Oh. Yeah. Right then. Alicia Silverstone's costume was later repainted and used for Barbara Gordon's bat suit in Birds of Prey. Something we have talked about before.
Starting point is 00:28:23 That's right. Bad show. I agree. One of the worst. And Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, has we have talked about before. That's right, bad show. I agree. One of the worst. And Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, has called Batman and Robin the most important comic book movie ever made because its catastrophic failure forced major comic book companies and their film studios to rethink how they presented comic book-based media.
Starting point is 00:28:39 And that is certainly true. That is true. Because the box office for this, despite having a budget between $125 and $160 million, bit of a gap there, isn't there? It really is. true. And it's true. Because the box office for this, despite having a budget between $125 and $160 million, a bit of a gap there, isn't there? It really is. Which one is it? A lot of costumes, a lot of Hot Wheels, I imagine.
Starting point is 00:28:51 That's right. The box office return on this, though, was only $238 million worldwide, which was well behind the previous three. It actually came in behind Titanic, The Lost World, Men in Black, Tomorrow Never Dies, Air Force One, As Good As It Gets, Liar Liar, My Best Friend's Wedding, The Fifth Element, The Full Monty, Bean, Hercules and Face Off. Number 14 that year. Wow. Yeah, not good.
Starting point is 00:29:13 But of course there was going to be a sequel because people thought this would do well. And this was Batman Triumphant? There was Batman Unchained as well. There's a few names out there. I don't recall Batman ever being chained, quite frankly. That's ridiculous. I agree. We talked about this last week also,
Starting point is 00:29:30 but this one should have really been called Batman Forever. It's the fourth one. That's right. I didn't even realise that, Mason. And neither did anybody who worked on these, obviously. So, yeah, one of the ideas was Harley Quinn, who was going to play the Joker's daughter, and Scarecrow were going to appear,
Starting point is 00:29:47 and hallucinations that the Scarecrow would make people have would mean that former villains would appear, including Jack Nicholson's Joker. Just casually slip him $30 million to appear in one of these again. There was also a Nightwing spin-off sequel that was going to be in the works, and Joel Schumacher apparently had several meetings with Warner Brothers trying to convince
Starting point is 00:30:05 them to let him make another Batman movie. He wanted to make it darker, that Batman year one movie that we talked about last week. That's right. And he wanted to cast Kurt Russell as a young Commissioner Gordon. But Warner Brothers decided not to rehire him. And of course, it went through a number of handlers, including Darren Aronofsky was going to do it at one point. But yeah, the next one was Batman Beman begins which despite being only eight years later it feels like there's
Starting point is 00:30:31 like it's like 100 years 100 years between those movies oh my god oh my god anyways just i mean i know people talk about you know how bad it is yeah it's because it is it's very bad yeah yeah i wouldn't say it's boring though but i would say it is kind of boring It's because it is. It's very bad. Yeah. I wouldn't say it's boring, though. I would say it is boring. It's kind of boring. I'd say it's kind of boring in parts, actually. Yeah. Yeah, fair enough.
Starting point is 00:30:52 Well, I wouldn't say it's very boring. How about that? I also wouldn't say it's very boring. So when they do the new 4K release, put that on the poster. Absolutely. We wouldn't say it's very boring the whole time. Definitely.
Starting point is 00:31:02 It's just very boring some of the time. Agreed. And Bane wears his little hat. And that's not boring boring the whole time. Definitely. It's just very boring some of the time. Agreed. And Bane wears his little hat. And that's not boring. That's fun. Yeah. Anyways, if you want to see these early, because these aren't boring, I feel. That's right.
Starting point is 00:31:12 I mean, I'm biased, obviously. You can actually head over to BigSandwich.co where Ben and Lawrence, they get the edit done, and it always goes up there early, including next week's episode. Here's a hint. What is it? I think we're doing Back to the Fast and Furious universe back to the Fast and Furious
Starting point is 00:31:27 universe what would that be like Marty it's all about family Marty Marty Vin Diesel he sucks I think he's not a
Starting point is 00:31:36 apparently he's intolerable just a completely insufferable I've heard that maniac apparently in the new one like there's almost no scenes
Starting point is 00:31:43 with Don with anybody other than Michelle Rodriguez. I've heard that. Because he doesn't like any of them. Well, that's what I like, though. I like that, too, yeah. Yeah, just weird green-screened movies where nobody's in the same room.
Starting point is 00:31:53 But in addition, if you head over to Big Sandwich, there's bonus movie commentaries. There's bonus podcasts. We do video game Let's Plays there, don't we now? That's right. That's a new thing. That's a new thing. But also an old thing because we used to do it.
Starting point is 00:32:05 Now it's on there and whatever. And also our podcast, The Weekly Planet, where we talk movies and comics and TV shows, that actually comes out there Monday. Do you mean Sunday? Sunday as opposed to Monday. Love it. What do you think about George Clooney returning as Batman? Just in something.
Starting point is 00:32:21 If they improve the hair. Yeah? Look, we've all heard rumors. Sure. Do you think if they did bring him in for like a little gag the hair. Yeah? Look, we've all heard rumors. Sure. Do you think if they did bring him in for like a little gag or something like that, do you think we'll see the hair and will it just be his regular hair? I think it'll be under the cowl. Yeah, it'll be under the cowl.
Starting point is 00:32:35 Or maybe, no, because you'd have to, because he's not very distinct in the cowl, is he? Well, nobody is, really. Yeah, well, that's true. Yeah. I think there's a fair chance that they're going to trap Ezra Miller in the George Clooney Batman universe at the end of those movies. All right, thanks, everyone. Grab that gem, you guys.
Starting point is 00:32:51 We'll see you next week. Also, Mr. Freeze, he says grab the gems or something. Wow. Get the gems. Get the gems, he says. That's the thing that I say. That's great stuff. And just to be clear, I didn't steal it because I haven't seen this movie
Starting point is 00:33:03 until now, so I didn't steal that. Yeah, it's your favorite movie. Goodbye. I did steal Lisa Garza. Goodbye. As women, our life stages come with unique risk factors. Like when our estrogen levels drop during menopause, causing the risk of heart disease to go up. Know your risks.
Starting point is 00:33:24 Visit heartandstroke.ca. FX's The Veil explores the surprising and fraught relationship between two women who play a deadly game of truth and lies on the road from Istanbul to Paris and London. One woman has a secret. The other, a mission to reveal it before thousands of lives are lost. FX's The Veil, starring Elizabeth Moss, is now streaming on Disney+.

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