FILM 2247: BATMAN & ROBIN (1997)

TRIVIA: Most of the scenes with Batgirl were cut, because Alicia Silverstone had gained a few pounds during production and the wardrobe team had to refit her costume. When the press discovered the news, they slammed Silverstone's weight gain and mocked the actress for being "too fat" to fit into her costume. Director Joel Schumacher publicly defended Silverstone during interviews and press meetings, joking "What is this girl's big sin - that she ate some pizza?" When the taunting continued, Schumacher lashed out at the reporters that taunted her. He said in a magazine interview, "It was horrible. I thought it was very cruel. She was a teenager who gained a few pounds - like all of us do at certain times. I would confront female journalists and I'd say, 'With so many young people suffering from anorexia and bulimia, why are you crucifying this girl?'"

In later interviews, director Joel Schumacher blamed studio pressure to make the film more "toyetic" (i.e., a showcase for marketable toys and games). In a "making-of" documentary on the DVD, he apologized to disappointed fans.

When filming was over, George Clooney quipped, "I think we just killed the series."

Batman limps visibly inside the freeze rocket. During filming, George Clooney injured his lower leg playing basketball. He needed to cut the boot off of the Batsuit in order to wear a cast.

Voted as the #1 in Empire magazine's "50 Worst Movies Ever" (February 2010).

After Val Kilmer refused to return for this film, David Duchovny was also considered for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Duchovny was later considered for the same role in Batman Begins (2005).

After the film's negative reception, plans for Tim Burton's "Superman Lives" have been shut down. The movie would've been a first attempt to have a shared universe between Batman and Superman, with George Clooney reprising his role as Batman, and with Nicolas Cage as Superman.

Hulk Hogan was Joel Schumacher's third choice to play Mr. Freeze.

Uma Thurman and Elle Macpherson both went on to have children by Arpad Busson who refused to marry either of them.

The scene of Ivy debuting at the charity ball, first by hiding among the performers in an ape costume and slowly taking it off seems to have been an homage to Marlene Dietrichin Blonde Venus (1932) where she performs a musical number entitled "Hot Voodoo," which starts off with her in an ape costume.

Lead dialogue mixer Donald O. Mitchell said that 95% of the dialogue in the film was looped: "We have so much steam, prop and other noises on the production track, that we had to replace most of the lines. Also, in certain scenes Arnold [Schwarzenegger] was difficult to hear clearly, because of his costume. During the pre-dubs, we pitch-shifted George Clooney's voice down by about 5% when he appears as Batman, to give it more depth and resonance, and to distinguish the two roles. For [the voice processing of] "Mr. Freeze," we'll use more of a metallic feel, with a Lexicon [480XL] or a flanger."

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This is featured on the podcast We Hate Movies Batman & Robin (LIVE at the Hollywood Improv Comedy Club)