Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of Batman Returns, and 20 years ago today Joel Schumacher's second Batman movie, Batman & Robin, hit theaters. In honor of its 20th anniversary, The Hollywood Reporter caught up with director Joel Schumacher and some of the cast and crew.
Below you'll find the most interesting details from THR's big article with the people behind Batman & Robin.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger was paid $25 million for his role as Mr. Freeze.
- Val Kilmer dropped out of Batman & Robin at the last minute.
- Mr. Freeze's lines were written for a more "Shakespearean" type of actor in an early draft of the script. Pun-filled versions were added later on.
- Joel Schumacher decided to cast Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy after seeing her in a Vanity Fair photo shoot by Annie Leibovitz.
- Weightlifter Jeep Swenson was enlisted for Bane, after one of the stuntmen on Batman Forever suggested him.
- Paparazzi photos of Schwarzenegger in his Mr. Freeze costume were going for $10,000.
- Celebrities like Jon Bon Jovi often visited the set. Most were there to see Schwarzenegger.
- It took a team of 11 people four hours to get Schwarzenegger into his Mr. Freeze makeup.
- Schwarzenegger agreed to shave his head for the role to save 2 hours of makeup time, but backed out at the last minute. A bald cap was used instead.
- Schwarzenegger had blue LEDs in his mouth, and at one point the batteries started to disintegrate from all of his saliva, causing battery acid to drip into his mouth.
- Schwarzenegger's young son didn't recognize his dad while he was in his Mr. Freeze costume.
- Alicia Silverstone was body shamed by the press and even people in the production office at Warner Bros.
- There were multiple stunt men for Batman, Robin, and Mr. Freeze.
- Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman expressed worries to Schumacher early on.
- Toy companies and other corporate sponsors wanted to be a part of the movie after the success of Batman Forever.
- Schumacher had dreamed of doing a whole movie in Arkham Asylum.
- There were no expensive reshoots.
I'm just scratching the surface here. I highly recommend you check out THR's full article at the source link below for lots more, including quotes from the cast and crew.
SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter
