The stars of "The Batman" including Robert Pattinson (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Zoë Kravitz (Catwoman/Selina Kyle), Colin Farrell (The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot), Paul Dano (The Riddler/Edward Nashton), Jeffrey Wright (James Gordon) and John Turturro (Carmine Falcone) discuss their DC movie in this interview with CinemaBlend Managing Editor Sean O'Connell.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00 It literally took about a million takes to get that right.
00:03 They looked so awkward.
00:04 You're like, "Ugh!"
00:06 [ Laughs ]
00:07 ♪♪
00:11 -Still gonna be with you both. How are you doing?
00:13 -Good. How are you doing? -Good.
00:14 -That is such a cool T-shirt.
00:15 -Is that, like, a Picasso Batman shirt?
00:18 -Oh, it's a Vanguard. -It's a starry night.
00:19 -Oh, there you go. Sorry, sorry, sorry.
00:21 It's my man. It's my man.
00:22 Come on. It's been a long day, Rob.
00:24 [ Laughter ]
00:25 -Rob, I have to start with you because the only scene
00:27 in this movie that made me literally cringe in fear
00:30 and turn away from the screen was when Batman reached
00:32 into a cage with a live bat to retrieve a clue,
00:36 and I can't -- I can't do that.
00:38 If that were my point in the movie,
00:39 I'd have said, "I'm sorry. It's over. I'm out."
00:41 -Believing. -Did you really do it?
00:43 And are you scared of bats at all?
00:46 -I'm weirdly not scared of bats.
00:47 -They're not scary. They're cute.
00:49 -They're kind of cute.
00:50 -Minus COVID. -Yeah.
00:53 -I don't want to blame the bats for it.
00:54 -And that weirdly, though, that scene
00:56 was one of -- 'cause --
00:58 it's one of the strangely difficult scenes
01:01 'cause the suit only allows you to move your arm
01:04 in a certain way, and if you're at the wrong angle
01:06 and trying to twist your arm around
01:08 and do kind of -- kind of delicate motor functions,
01:13 it's almost impossible to get the thing out of the cage.
01:16 It literally took about a million takes to get that right.
01:19 They looked so awkward.
01:20 You're like, "Oh, God!"
01:23 "This guy's crazy!"
01:25 -It is a pleasure to be with you.
01:26 -Hey, Sean. -I'm gonna start here.
01:28 Every time I tell a casual fan
01:30 that you are playing the Penguin in this movie,
01:32 they refuse to believe that it's you.
01:33 When you are cast in a role,
01:35 but then they tell you that prosthetics and makeup
01:37 are gonna ensure that you are completely unrecognizable,
01:40 is that good or bad?
01:41 -I had never had an experience with it before.
01:44 I did a thing called "Horrible Bosses" once,
01:45 and I had a bit of prosthetics on that,
01:46 but, no, this was -- this was next level.
01:48 I didn't know when I signed on to do it.
01:50 I didn't know, so I was already just, in my own head,
01:52 struggling with what I could do with the character
01:54 'cause there wasn't that many scenes,
01:55 but they were all really well drawn,
01:57 written, of course, by Matt. He's a wonderful writer.
01:59 But when I saw, for the first time,
02:02 the design of Oz that Mike Marino had
02:06 so creatively and imaginatively, you know, constructed,
02:10 I just was blown away.
02:12 I was giddy with excitement, man.
02:13 I didn't -- I didn't know --
02:14 I didn't know it would be as profoundly liberating
02:18 an experience as it was.
02:20 You know, I thought it might be a bit constricting and,
02:22 you know, but it'd be interesting
02:24 and -- but when I got inside it, man, it was just a blast.
02:27 I just felt like I was, you know, a puppeteer.
02:29 It just felt like I was just operating this thing
02:31 that was capable of going to places
02:33 that I might not have been capable of going without it,
02:35 you know?
02:36 [Laughs]
02:38 [Gun cocks]
02:40 ♪♪
02:44 -Gentlemen, it's so good to be with you.
02:46 Paul, this might be a weird question,
02:47 but I'm just curious if you were the one
02:49 who wrote "To the Batman" on the Riddler's envelopes.
02:53 -No. I think we tried my handwriting.
02:56 And the -- So, the --
02:59 James Chinlan, the production designer in his art department,
03:03 they were just so killer on this movie.
03:06 And also, Matt Reeves had put so much work into this movie.
03:09 I mean, when I arrived to get there,
03:12 I mean, there was tons of different iterations
03:15 of cards, of journals.
03:16 And then I got to have my input and have my voice.
03:20 And so it was a really wonderful combination
03:22 of a super-specific, driven vision
03:25 while everybody having room to bring their own artistry.
03:28 But I don't think it's my handwriting, no.
03:32 -The Riddler is asking for you.
03:34 -The killer left this for the Batman.
03:36 Why is he writing to you?
03:38 -[ Sighs ]
03:40 -Bruce Wayne.
03:43 ♪♪
03:48 -Bruce Wayne.
03:49 -I'm sorry.
03:50 -I wouldn't be bothering you here,
03:51 but your people keep telling me you're unavailable.
03:54 -Rob, over the course of the film,
03:55 were you surprised at how little you had to play Bruce Wayne?
03:59 -It's funny, 'cause you don't really realize
04:02 when I first read the script.
04:04 I mean, it's --
04:05 It just didn't really register to me that --
04:08 It's like, "Oh, wow, I'm Batman the whole time."
04:10 And it's also --
04:11 But I guess the easy --
04:13 What made it easy, he hasn't really figured out
04:16 where Bruce ends and where Batman begins at this point
04:19 in our telling of the story.
04:21 And so sometimes kind of Bruce is seeping out of Batman.
04:25 And there's a couple of scenes where I'm doing
04:27 kind of little subtle vocal changes.
04:30 I mean, sometimes --
04:32 It's incredibly subtle a lot of the time.
04:34 But sometimes he's kind of more in Bruce's register
04:37 when he's Batman.
04:39 'Cause he hasn't got full control
04:41 over the delineation yet.
04:43 So it actually kind of -- It made it --
04:45 It was a little challenge, but, yeah, kind of interesting.
04:49 I don't think it had really been done.
04:50 Normally, the only time you see Batman
04:51 is before you get punched in the face.
04:53 [Grunting]
04:56 So that's kind of --
04:58 So, yeah, to kind of -- to play different shades was fun.
05:01 ♪♪
05:03 Jeffrey, it was interesting to see Gordon
05:06 take a punch from the Batman.
05:08 What does it feel like to take a punch from the Batman?
05:10 It was actually very convincing.
05:12 Uh, well, yeah.
05:14 I mean, you know, well, Gordon, obviously --
05:18 Well, without giving too much away,
05:22 it's a part of a larger plan.
05:25 And because I wanted to make it authentic
05:28 and we were going for this grounded thing,
05:30 I told Rob to really hit me, you know?
05:33 'Cause, you know, and so he did.
05:35 And, you know, it looks --
05:36 That's why it looks so legit.
05:40 It's a good moment. Yeah.
05:41 That's entirely untrue.
05:43 [Laughs]
05:46 To be surprised what even a good man is capable of.
05:50 Mr. DeToro, I have to believe
05:51 you're the only Batman cast member
05:53 with a son who works at DC Comics.
05:55 And so I want to know what his reaction was
05:57 when he heard that you were playing Carmine
05:59 and what questions you might have had for him
06:01 or maybe what comics he handed you and said, "Read these."
06:05 Amadeo gave me a bunch of the Frank Miller comics.
06:08 And, obviously, we discussed it at length.
06:12 And he pointed me --
06:16 Amadeo pointed me in very specific directions.
06:20 So I wouldn't have done it without Amadeo's blessing.
06:26 Has he seen your performance yet?
06:27 Yes! Yeah. I'm really --
06:29 And vote of confidence? Yeah. Yeah.
06:31 Good. Very good. That's a tough review to give.
06:33 Thumbs up. Yes.
06:34 I'm relieved and very happy. So, yes.
06:37 You got a lot of cash.
06:39 I have a thing about stripes.
06:41 Zoe, it felt to me like Selena, the character,
06:43 was giving a performance in almost every scene
06:46 that she's in.
06:47 And a lot of times, her specific movements
06:50 mirrored the type of personality
06:52 that she was trying to put forward.
06:53 I was wondering if that's accurate,
06:54 that you really felt like you were playing her
06:55 differently from scene to scene.
06:57 Yeah. I mean, I feel like, you know, Selena is a person --
07:00 You know, she's a survivor.
07:01 And in order to survive, you know,
07:03 I think she knows that she has to kind of morph
07:06 into what fits her environment, which is, you know,
07:08 something that we tried to do with the different looks,
07:10 the different wigs.
07:11 You know, she acts and looks very different
07:13 depending on if she's at work, if she's alone,
07:15 if she's with Batman.
07:17 And, you know, I think, you know,
07:19 one of the relationships --
07:20 one of the things that Matt wanted to base
07:22 their relationship off of was Clute.
07:24 And the thing that he really liked about it
07:25 was that you really couldn't tell, you know,
07:28 who she really was, what her real intention, you know, is.
07:32 And so, yeah, she's just --
07:33 She is this mystery to Batman specifically.
07:36 I think that's part of her allure.
07:38 Selena, don't throw your life away.
07:40 Don't worry, honey. I got nine of them.
07:42 ♪♪
07:45 I've been trying to reach you.
07:49 Burn to die!
07:51 Paul, the prison confrontation that eventually happens
07:54 between you and the Batman is an instant all-timer.
07:58 I just want to know, how much time did you have
08:00 to prep for that scene?
08:01 Did you get several takes to go through it?
08:03 Did you shoot it early on in the process,
08:04 or was it something you all built towards?
08:08 It was originally meant to be
08:09 towards the very end of the shoot,
08:11 and then we had to shut down production
08:13 for about five months,
08:16 which I was sad about,
08:21 partially because, frankly, that scene meant so much to me,
08:24 and thanks for that, but that --
08:26 You're hoping for some accrual of energy over time
08:30 going towards that destination.
08:33 So to have this break
08:37 was interesting, but then we came back,
08:40 and then it was early when we came back,
08:44 and it was actually, like, because it was isolated.
08:49 We were one of the first major productions back,
08:51 so we actually started with a bunch of Riddler stuff
08:54 'cause it was kind of isolated,
08:56 and with the COVID stuff,
08:58 we were kind of dipping our toes back in, so, yeah.
09:03 This is about a kick, and Riddler's the match.
09:06 [Buzzer]
09:07 I'm sorry.
09:08 Your answer must be in the form of a question.
09:10 Thank you for playing.
09:12 Colin, you worked with the great Joel Schumacher
09:14 on "Phone Booth" shortly after he wrapped his Batman run.
09:17 I was curious if he shared any war stories
09:19 back in the day with you on his time in that franchise.
09:22 No.
09:24 Some war stories, yeah,
09:26 but nothing that I don't think he shared publicly.
09:27 I think that hurt him.
09:30 I know his Batman films and how they were received
09:34 really hurt him 'cause the only thing Joel,
09:36 honest to God, ever went out to do
09:37 was really to entertain people.
09:38 There's actually an apology.
09:40 I think you can find it on YouTube, that he makes,
09:42 and it was really almost upsetting for me to see
09:46 'cause I care about the man so much,
09:47 and he's such a wonderful man,
09:48 and he was apologizing to the fandom
09:50 'cause he knew, Joel knew how important
09:54 this character was and is,
09:56 just in the same way Matt does,
09:58 but he just went down a route
09:59 that people weren't too happy with.
10:01 Matt, you know, Matt,
10:03 one of the most wonderful things about working with Matt
10:05 was his reverence, again, and his integrity,
10:09 and his desire to go back to grassroots
10:11 and the world of seeing Batman as an incredible detective,
10:15 as somebody who had a methodology
10:17 and was just at home in the stillness of a crime scene
10:20 as he was physically fighting crime on the streets.
10:23 Oh, yeah, Joel, he's gone on.
10:26 God bless him.
10:27 - A man's gotta go his own way.
10:29 A friend told me that.
10:31 - Jeffrey, when this movie ended,
10:34 after three hours, I was legitimately pissed.
10:37 I wanted to stay in this universe for three more hours
10:39 and just soak in the atmosphere that Matt has created.
10:42 I know they're gonna try to extend it
10:44 with this Gotham PD HBO Max series.
10:46 Are you part of that?
10:47 - I'm right now just focused on getting this film out
10:54 and excited for fans to see.
10:58 Is that a, like, is that a
10:59 Bat-Signal-as-Starry-Night kind of vibe?
11:04 - It is a Starry Night Batman t-shirt.
11:06 Yes, it is. - That's super cool.
11:08 That's super cool. - Thank you very much.
11:10 - Yeah. - Thank you very much.
11:11 - Super cool, I've never seen that before.
11:13 - I like the way that you changed the topic
11:16 before I dug a little bit deeper into you.
11:17 - You're welcome. - Joining that HBO Max series.
11:19 Well done.
11:20 How exciting is it to be able to continue Oz
11:22 on the streaming service?
11:23 Something that is new to the industry,
11:25 but something that's becoming pretty prevalent.
11:27 - Oh, that's cool.
11:28 Really exciting.
11:29 Yeah, I mean, I just feel there's,
11:32 you just go anywhere with this character, really, you know?
11:34 Oz, and again, to, I feel like, pardon the pun,
11:38 it was only the tip of the iceberg
11:39 what I had the opportunity to do.
11:40 I loved working on this film.
11:42 I was so greedy.
11:43 I wanted more to do.
11:44 I was kind of a bit, "Humph!"
11:46 You know, you can get miserable very quick
11:48 when you're as spoiled as I've been over the years.
11:49 And when I read the script for the Batman,
11:51 the script was extraordinary,
11:52 but I wanted more to do in it.
11:53 And the fact that I might get the opportunity to do more is,
11:57 you know, satisfies my greed,
11:58 and that's, let's face it, what it's all about.
12:01 - Ah, I got you!
12:02 (laughs)
12:04 I got you!
12:04 (dramatic music)
12:07 (explosion booms)
12:14 (dramatic music)
12:17 (dramatic music)
12:20 (dramatic music)
12:23 (dramatic music)
12:25 (explosion)
12:28 [BLANK_AUDIO]