(Left) ‘Nightbitch’ director Marielle Heller. (Right) 1992’s ‘FernGully: The Last Rainforest’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Preview:
Director Marielle Heller is developing a live-action ‘FernGully’.
It’ll be a remake of the 1992 animated movie.
Amazon MGM Studios is backing the project.
1992’s Environmental-themed ‘FernGully’ wasn’t exactly a big hit upon its original release –– it made $32 million worldwide against a $24 million budget. But in the decades since, it has earned a place in at least some cinemagoers’ hearts.
That’s surely what Amazon MGM Studios will be hoping for as it sets ‘Nightbitch’ filmmaker Marielle Heller to write and direct a live-action update.
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And let’s not forget that the studio will also be aiming to replicate the success seen by the likes of Disney and DreamWorks Animation, which have seen several re-imaginings of their cartoon output do good business at the box office in the last few years.
1992’s ‘FernGully: The Last Rainforest’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
The original film followed the magical inhabitants of an Australian rainforest as they fight to save their home, which is threatened by logging and a polluting force of destruction called Hexxus.
We don’t yet know what elements Heller –– who has written and will direct the new film –– is retaining.
When will the new ‘FernGully’ be in theaters?
Amazon MGM Studios has yet to say anything about the movie’s potential release date (and we notice it wasn’t mentioned as part of the company’s CinemaCon presentation), so we’ll have to wait and see on that front.
1992’s ‘FernGully: The Last Rainforest’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Marc Maron as Sweeney in director Michael Morris’ ‘To Leslie.’
Preview:
Marc Maron is to end his ‘WTF with Marc Maron’ podcast.
He reveals he’s burned out on hosting the show, but “utterly satisfied.”
Past guests have included Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Keith Richards and Barack Obama.
One of the early adopters of the celebrity podcast interview format, comedian and actor Marc Maron, is hanging up his headphones.
Maron, who in addition to his standup and other work has been in movies such as ‘To Leslie’ and animated effort ‘The Bad Guys’ (where he voices Snake), launched ‘WTF with Marc Maron’ in September 2009. And via a story in Deadline, he’s announced that the show will come to a close –– at least, its regular twice-weekly version, this coming fall.
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Maron had this to say about the decision on a recent episode:
“Sixteen years we’ve been doing this, and we’ve decided that we had a great run. Now, basically, it’s time, folks. It’s time. ‘WTF’ is coming to an end. It’s our decision. We’ll have our final episode sometime in the fall.”
Marc Maron in ‘Stick,’ premiering June 4, 2025 on Apple TV+. Photo: Apple TV+.
A slow-burn success since its launch, the podcast has had 1.1 billion downloads, listens and impressions since its launch with 1,645 episodes as well as more than 300 bonus episodes for premium subscribers.
Maron has interviewed comedy greats, A-list actors and even Presidents. His June 2015 interview with President Barack Obama broke the record for ‘WTF’s hosting service, Libsyn, for most downloads in a 24-hour period by more than double the previous record. President Obama travelled to Maron’s garage in Highland Park, California to discuss race relations and gun violence.
Other standout episodes include Todd Glass coming out in 2012 and a 2010 episode with Robin Williams, which was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry in 2022.
Maron, whose first ever guest was Jeff Ross, has also interviewed the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt as well as SNL creator Lorne Michaels, who was one of Maron’s white whales, the most discussed person on the podcast and the man who Maron needed closure from after a meeting that haunted him in the 1990s.
Maron and his producer Brendan McDonald were the recipients of the first-ever Governors Award by the Podcast Academy for Excellence in Audio at The Ambies in 2021.
Marc Maron talks more about the end of ‘WTF’
Marc Maron stars in ‘To Leslie,’ which opens in theaters and on VOD October 7th.
Here’s Maron discussing why he chose to end the show now:
“It really comes down to the fact that we’ve put up a new show every Monday and Thursday for almost sixteen years and we’re tired. We’re burnt out. And we are utterly satisfied with the work we’ve done. We’ve done great work. This doesn’t mean I’m never going to do something like this again. Doesn’t mean I’ll never have talks like I do here, or some kind of podcast at some point in time. But for now, we’re just wrapping things up. It’s okay. It’s okay to end things. It’s okay to try to start some other chapter in your life.”
And on his other reasons:
“It’s nice to be able to end things on our terms. We’ve always had that power to do that and that’s what we’re going to do. We started the show on our terms, we grew it on our terms, and we’ll end it on our terms.”
Where else have we seen Marc Maron?
(from left) Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos) and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) in DreamWorks Animation’s ‘The Bad Guys 2’, directed by Pierre Perifel. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Maron initially came to prominence through his stand-up and has had several specials.
Outside of that and ‘WTF’, stand-up comedian and podcast host.
He’s hosted ‘The Marc Maron Show,’ and been co-host of both ‘Morning Sedition’ and ‘Breakroom Live,’ all politically-oriented shows, produced under the auspices of Air America Media.
Shelley Duvall in ‘The Shining’. Photo: Warner Bros.
Preview:
Actor Shelley Duvall has died at the age of 75.
She’ll forever be remembered for ‘The Shining’.
Duvall was a favorite collaborator of director Robert Altman.
Shelley Duvall, who seared herself into the public imagination as the harried yet resourceful Wendy Torrance opposite an axe-wielding Jack Nicholson in ‘The Shining’, died at home in Texas from complications of diabetes. She was 75.
Yet ‘The Shining’ was just one role in a varied and creative career, partly marked by collaborations with Robert Altman.
(Center) Shelley Duvall in ‘Nashville’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Shelley Alexis Duvall was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1949, and was soon recognized as an artistic soul with boundless energy (her childhood nickname was “Manic Mouse”). But she initially took science courses and even sold cosmetics.
Still, fate, in the form of a fortuitous party encounter, had other plans.
Discovered by talent scouts working for director Robert Altman in 1970, Duvall found herself thrust into the world of filmmaking. Despite having no prior acting experience, her infectious energy and unique presence impressed Altman. He cast her in the black comedy ‘Brewster McCloud,’ marking the beginning of a fruitful collaboration. Duvall, initially hesitant about acting, found herself drawn to Altman’s unconventional style and willingness to explore the fringes of human behavior.
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This became a hallmark of Duvall’s career. She wasn’t afraid to take on challenging, often quirky roles. She reunited with Altman for films like ‘McCabe & Mrs. Miller’, ‘Thieves Like Us’ and ‘Nashville‘ showcasing her versatility and ability to portray complex characters with depth and nuance.
“He offers me damn good roles. None of them have been alike. He has a great confidence in me, and a trust and respect for me, and he doesn’t put any restrictions on me or intimidate me, and I love him. I remember the first advice he ever gave me: ‘Don’t take yourself seriously.’ Sometimes I find myself feeling self-centered, and then all of a sudden that bit of advice will pop into my head and I’ll laugh.”
Shelley Duvall and ‘The Shining’
(L to R) Director Stanley Kubrick and Shelley Duvall on the set of ‘The Shining’. Photo: Warner Bros.
The turning point for Duvall came in 1980. Director Stanley Kubrick, notorious for his demanding style, cast Duvall alongside Nicholson in his classic psychological horror film infamously adapted from Stephen King’s book.
Her portrayal of a writer’s wife unraveling alongside him in a haunted hotel, became iconic. Duvall’s commitment to the role was legendary, with the filming process taking an emotional toll. Yet her performance delivered a masterclass in portraying emotional descent and sheer terror, forever etching Wendy Torrance in the annals of horror cinema.
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Shelley Duvall: Other Work and Later Struggles
(L to R) Shelley Duvall and Robin Williams in 1980’s ‘Popeye’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Torrance may be the role for which she’s remembered, but she brought warmth and humor to films like Altman’s ‘Popeye’ opposite Robin Williams, and ‘Time Bandits’ with Sean Connery.
The 1990s saw a shift in Duvall’s career. Public appearances became less frequent, and she took on fewer roles. Personal struggles became a focus of unwanted media attention. Yet, she continued to act sporadically, appearing in films such as ‘The Underneath’ and ‘The Portrait of a Lady’. Her final on-screen appearance was 2022 horror film ‘The Forest Hills.’
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Shelley Duvall: Tribute
Dan Gilroy, Duvall’s partner since 1989, wrote the following tribute:
“My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley.”
Shelley Duvall in ‘The Shining’. Photo: Warner Bros.
Robin Williams in 1980’s ‘Popeye.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Preview:
The Popeye character is in development for a new, live-action movie.
‘Sexy Beast’ TV scribe Michael Caleo is attached to write the script.
Chernin Entertainment and King Features are behind the new movie.
Since his debut in 1920s comic strips, the spinach-loving sailor man ‘Popeye’ has most famously been brought to screens by Robert Altman.
His 1980 offering, which starred Robin Williams as the cackling, corn-pipped character and Shelley Duvall as the sailor’s quirky love interest Olive Oyl, was panned upon release but has since gained cult status. It was also surprisingly profitable, released by Paramount Pictures at a $20 million budget before grossing roughly $60 million worldwide.
Now, after a difficult period as a potential CG ‘toon (see more on that below), someone thinks that the world is crying out for a new, live-action take.
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Who is involved with making the new ‘Popeye’ movie?
(L to R) Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall in 1980’s ‘Popeye.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
So far there is only one person attached to the movie –– writer Michael Caleo, who, given his history with gangsters (one of his big early gigs was on ‘The Sopranos’, he most recently created the TV series based on 2000 crime film ‘Sexy Beast’ and he wrote and directed comedy crime thriller ‘The Family’ in 2013), makes us wonder whether his vision for Popeye will be as a vigilante hunting down criminals.
Will regular villain Bluto turn out to be working for the mob? Will this new movie launch a world-wide boom for the spinach industry? We’ll have to wait and see.
(L to R) Shelley Duvall and Robin Williams in 1980’s ‘Popeye.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
In 2010, Sony announced development of a CG film built around the character via Sony Pictures Animation and produced by Avi Arad.
Here’s what Arad said at the time to Variety:
“Scot [Sassa, whose company owned the character back then] called me and said, ‘I have something for you.’ I literally started singing the famous ‘Popeye’ song after securing the rights. What always blew me away is the level of the animation. It was so beautiful and unbelievably detailed.”
Then, in 2012, ‘Samurai Jack’ creator and ‘Hotel Transylvania’ franchise regular director Genndy Tartakovsky unexpectedly signed on to direct the CG outing for the studio. Yet despite the emergence of some test footage, Tartakovsky and Sony parted ways in 2015.
Here’s Tartakovsky’s statement on why he left the film:
“I was in love with what we were doing, but I think the studio is going through changes and I don’t know if they want to make the ‘Popeye’ that I want to make. So they’ve got to make a decision. Right now, I’m off that project and moving on to the other one that we soft-announced, which is ‘Can You Imagine?’, an original idea of my own and a very personal story. It was hard to let ‘Popeye’ go, but that’s the business.”
Since then, development on the CG version has crawled to a halt and now the rights are owned by Peter Chernin’s company.
When will the new ‘Popeye’ movie land on screens?
None of the companies involved have revealed a timeline for the movie yet, so we wouldn’t expect this one much before 2026 at the earliest.
Appropriately enough, given its title, ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ is made up of parts sewn together from other, better movies: there’s a little ‘Edward Scissorhands’ in there, a seasoning of ‘Ginger Snaps,’ and even strands of screenwriter Diablo Cody’s own 2009 cult favorite, ‘Jennifer’s Body.’ But the messaging is confusing to say the least, the jokes miss the mark, and the direction – by first-timer Zelda Williams, daughter of the late Robin Williams – falls flat.
Following the death of her mom in a home invasion, Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) is forced to move to a new town and a new high school when her dad Dale (Joe Chrest) gets remarried rather quickly to high-strung nurse Janet (Carla Gugino). Despite the best efforts of her well-meaning but dim stepsister Taffy (Liza Soberano), Lisa is an outcast and loner at school, pining from afar for the editor of the literary magazine while she sits in a local graveyard and writes poetry at the grave of what appears to be a young 19th century nobleman.
After her drink is cruelly spiked by a mean girl at a party, Lisa wanders in a hallucinatory daze to the graveyard, where she wishes she could be with the young man buried in that grave. But instead of ending her own life, Lisa somehow manages to reanimate the young man himself (Cole Sprouse), whose decaying, fetid, walking corpse she stashes in her walk-in closet.
Horrified at first, Lisa soon realizes that she’s attracted to her Victorian dreamboat as she begins to clean the accumulated grue off him and get him nicer clothes. She also ascertains that he’s quite fond of her – and sensitive to her needs – in ways that soon lead Lisa and her Creature (who is never named) on a path of vengeance against those who have wronged her.
Whatever happened to Diablo Cody? The writer of such sharp satires as ‘Juno,’ ‘Young Adult,’ and ‘Tully‘ has dipped with mixed results into the horror-comedy genre before with ‘Jennifer’s Body,’ but Cody is utterly flailing here. ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ plays like a first-draft screenplay that Cody had sitting on her hard drive for years, collecting digital dust, before sending it off with barely a glance at it. While Sprouse’s Creature actually gets a decent character arc (helped by the actor’s winning, wordless performance), Newton’s Lisa is literally all over the place, bouncing from pariah to school vamp within a single cut and even introducing a tired “loss of virginity” subplot late in the ballgame. The plot pushes the characters instead of the other way around, and aside from a few chuckles here and there, most of the jokes don’t land.
The ’80s setting arguably contributes nothing to the proceedings except some nostalgia-fueled costumes, set designs, and needle drops, and director Zelda Williams’ visual aesthetic – which also includes a clever, black-and-white animated title sequence – is on point. But Williams has no idea how to give this half-baked story any momentum, stringing out jokes from scene to scene with no sense of rhythm or pacing, and often leaving her actors adrift.
The final product plays – inadvertently, we assume – like a cheapo ‘80s direct-to-video horror knockoff, complete with some funny-not-funny gore and stiff staging, but armed with the kind of post-modern self-awareness that only makes its flaws stand out more.
Kathryn Newton has distinguished herself as a young actor to watch with film and TV roles in ‘Blockers,’ ‘Big Little Lies,’ ‘Freaky,’ and ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ the latter of which introduced her as fledgling superhero and future Young Avenger Cassie Lang. But while the 26-year-old Newton effectively embodies a high school student here, the script gives her nothing else to work with. Her character’s motivations spin on a dime, buffeted by whatever the script requires, and giving us little with which to empathize with Lisa’s plight(s).
We’ll confess to not knowing Cole Sprouse’s previous work as Jughead on ‘Riverdale,’ or in his earlier Disney Channel efforts. But in a completely non-verbal role, Sprouse delivers an odd appeal and makes effective use of his own physicality. His reanimated Victorian lad is, ironically, perhaps the best-written character in the movie, even if the circumstances of his resurrection are nonsensical. Sprouse manages to bring some dignity to a role that is, especially early on, relegated to rather gross throat noises and a heavy load of goopy prosthetics.
The rest of the cast doesn’t get much of a chance to stand out, although Liza Soberano as Taffy has a few moments where she does something more than just the usual bubble-brained cheerleader trope. We also have to give a shout-out to Carla Gugino, a terrific actor who is given a thankless task here as the stereotypical cruel stepmom. Gugino understands the assignment as always, but is again hampered by the one-dimensional aspect of her shrill character and deserves better.
Aside from the appeal of both Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse – who are both severely hampered by the direction and writing – we can find little else to recommend about ‘Lisa Frankenstein.’ Diablo Cody’s script recycles elements of her work that she’s touched on before, but seems unpolished and unfinished. Director Zelda Williams, meanwhile, needs to focus less on clever imagery and more on making the characters and story come to life onscreen. This is a ‘Frankenstein’ monster that should be dispatched quickly and mercifully.
‘Lisa Frankenstein’ receives 3 out of 10 stars.
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What is the Plot of ‘Lisa Frankenstein’?
In 1989, a misunderstood teenage goth girl named Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) reanimates a handsome corpse (Cole Sprouse) from the Victorian era during a lightning storm and starts to rebuild him into the man of her dreams by using a broken tanning machine in her garage. After going through a playfully horrific transformation, the romantic duo embarks on a murderous journey to find true love, happiness, and a few missing body parts along the way.
‘Once Upon A Studio’ at the Long Lead Press Day; In-Person Presentation for ‘Wish’ at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.
Disney Animation Studios is releasing a special short for its centennial anniversary. ‘Once Upon A Studio’ makes its debut on ABC on October 15 and is filled with an all-star cast of characters from past and recent Disney animated movies.
During the long lead day presentation at the El Capitan Theater, Moviefone had the pleasure of screening the short film in its entirety. ‘Once Upon A Studio’ features 543 characters from over 85 feature films and short films in all-new hand-drawn and CG animation. Written and directed by Dan Abraham (‘Encanto’) and Trent Correy (‘Frozen II’) and produced by Yvett Merino and Bradford Simonsen.
What is the plot of ‘Once Upon A Studio?’
(L to R) Dan Abraham and Trent Correy speak onstage for ‘Once Upon A Studio’ at the Long Lead Press Day; In-Person Presentation for ‘Wish’ at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.
Directors Dan Abraham and Trent Correy call the short film a “love letter to Disney animation”. Set inside the Disney Animation Building, once all the animators have left work for the day, iconic Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse leap out of their respective paintings, calling out to others to do the same as they prepare for a group photo in celebration of Disney’s 100th anniversary. Heroes, villains, princesses, princes, and sidekicks all gather to celebrate the 100th anniversary.
For any original voice actors who are no longer with us, the filmmakers pulled sound bites from the original films or used sound-alike to fill the role. When asked whether AI was used to recreate the voices of any of the characters, Trent Correy says, “There was no AI in the making of this short.”
The filmmaker goes on to explain the process of how they got each character to sound exactly like the original.
Trent Correy: We were so lucky that everyone we reached out to that’s still with us came back. And then we wanted to infuse the short with some of the nostalgic voices.
Dan Abraham: And you know, some of the folks have passed on, right? So, we got our best soundalikes that we possibly could.
Correy and Abraham realized they would only have seconds with each character when they appeared on screen, and it was important for them to look and sound exactly as everyone remembered them. Producer Yvett Merino chimes in, “And there are some lines in there that are actually taken from the original film. So, whenever the line was exactly the same from the original film that it came from, we picked that line out.” This was the case for Genie’s line in the short, portrayed by the late Robin Williams.
Dan Abraham: There were a couple moments. Like, I really wanted Cliff Edwards for Jiminy Cricket at the end. I didn’t want to get a soundalike. So, they had to strip away the music from his original recording digitally. Some scientist masterminds were able to figure that out. And yeah, so we got Cliff Edwards in there, which was important to us.
Trent Correy: And the thinking behind that was sometimes you only have three seconds with these characters, so they need to look, feel, and sound exactly how you remember them, so it brings you back to that moment.
The Disney Legends
(L to R) Brad Simonsen, Yvett Merino, Dan Abraham and Trent Correy speak onstage for ‘Once Upon A Studio’ at the Long Lead Press Day; In-Person Presentation for ‘Wish’ at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.
‘Once Upon A Studio’ is more than just paying tribute to the characters from classic Disney films. It’s also about the people who worked on them and had a hand in creating Disney magic. Abraham and Correy made sure to incorporate Disney legends such as Burny Mattinson, who appears at the beginning of the short.
Burny Mattinson was an animator, director, producer, and story artist for Disney. Employed since 1953, Mattinson was with the company for over 70 years, making him Disney’s longest employee. His work can be seen in films such as ‘The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh’, ‘The Jungle Book’, and many more. It was important to the filmmakers to have a legend such as Mattinson a part of the short. Seeing him walking shoulder-to-shoulder with a Disney intern at the beginning of the film symbolizes the tradition at Disney of passing the torch from generation to generation.
Another Disney Legend included in the short is composer and songwriter Richard Sherman. Sherman is known for his work in films such as ‘Mary Poppins’, where he won an Academy Award for the song “Chim Chim Cher-ee”. Sherman doesn’t make a cameo in the short; however, viewers can look forward to hearing him play “Feed The Birds”. This was newly recorded for the short, and it was done inside Walt’s office, just like how Sherman used to play for Walt in the past.
What Else Is There To Know About ‘Once Upon A Studio?’
(L to R) Dan Abraham and Trent Correy speak onstage for ‘Once Upon A Studio’ at the Long Lead Press Day In-Person Presentation for ‘Wish’ at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.
The first version of the short was about 12 to 13 minutes long.
The original animator for Aladdin’s Genie, Eric Goldberg, worked on this project as Head of hand-drawn animation.
All animations seen in the short are brand new. The hand-drawn characters remained hand-drawn, and the CG characters were created by CG animation.
Upon hearing Abraham and Correy’s pitch for ‘Once Upon A Studio’, Jennifer Lee burst into tears, “I don’t know how, but we need to make this.”
The score for the short is fully new, recorded by Dave Metzger.
The short film is about 8 and a half minutes long.
Where Can I Watch ‘Once Upon A Studio?’
(L to R) Dan Abraham and Trent Correy speak onstage for ‘Once Upon A Studio’ at the Long Lead Press Day; In-Person Presentation for ‘Wish’ at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.
‘Once Upon A Studio’ will debut on ABC on October 15 as a part of ‘The Wonderful World of Disney: Disney’s 100th Anniversary Celebration.” The short will arrive on Disney+ on October 16. It will also be shown ahead of Disney’ ‘Wish” on November 22.
(L to R) Brad Simonsen, Yvett Merino, Dan Abraham and Trent Correy speak onstage for ‘Once Upon A Studio’ at the Long Lead Press Day; In-Person Presentation for ‘Wish’ at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.
It’s been 30 years since the world was gripped by Bat-Mania. “Batman” truly dominated the summer movie season in 1989, giving starving superhero fans a taste of a darker, more dramatic Caped Crusader. While we wait for the dark Knight to return to the big screen in 2021’s “The Batman,” learn more about the making of Tim Burton‘s epic superhero revamp.
1. The origins of “Batman” can be traced back to 1979, when producers Benjamin Melniker and Michael E. Uslan purchased the rights to the franchise from DC Comics in the hope of making a darker movie more in line with the original Bob Kane/Bill Finger comics.
2. The project went through numerous incarnations over the course of that next decade. At one point “Ghostbusters” director Ivan Reitman pitched a more comedic take starring Bill Murray as Batman and Eddie Murphy as Robin.
Columbia Pictures
3. Despite this prolonged period of development, WB didn’t officially greenlight “Batman” until Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice” became a box office success in 1988.
4. Burton has admitted to never having read the Batman comics before being hired as director, though this is due to his dyslexia rather than an actual distaste for the source material (as many detractors have claimed). Burton has also said the 1988 graphic novel “Batman: The Killing Joke” helped him gain a better handle on the Batman/Joker dynamic while preparing for the job.
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5.Jack Nicholson negotiated an extremely favorable deal with WB that granted him top billing in the credits, control over his shooting schedule and percentage points of both the box office gross and merchandise sales.
6. In fact, Nicholson’s deal is considered to be one of the most lucrative in Hollywood history. He’s estimated to have earned at least $100 million from the franchise over the years, including being compensated for sequels in which he never appeared.
Warner Bros.
7. Nicholson may have eventually reprised his role had the series not been rebooted following 1997’s “Batman and Robin.” A planned fifth movie called “Batman Unchained” would have featured the Joker returning in the form of a hallucination caused by Scarecrow’s fear gas. That story pitch also introduced Harley Quinn as the vengeful daughter of Jack Napier.
8.Robin Williams lobbied for the Joker role and came very close to winning the part when it appeared Nicholson would bow out. Williams’ remained bitter about losing the role for many years, even refusing the opportunity to play The Riddler in 1995’s “Batman Forever.”
Warner Bros.
9.Michael Keaton improvised some of Batman’s most memorable lines in the movie, including the now-iconic “I’m Batman.” The script has the character instead saying, “I am the night.”
10. The newspaper cartoonist’s rendition of “The Bat-Man” is actually drawn by Batman co-creator Bob Kane. Kane was also supposed to have played the cartoonist, but he fell ill during filming.
Warner Bros.
11. To date, this is the only theatrical Batman movie to feature exactly one supervillain from the comics. Every other Batman movie has included at least two villains.
12.Pat Hingle (Commissioner Gordon) and Michael Gough (Alfred Pennyworth) are the only two “Batman” actors to reprise their roles in all three sequels.
Warner Bros.
13. Sam Hamm’s original screenplay included a pre-Robin Dick Grayson. Child actor Ricky Addison Reed was cast in the role, but the character was cut when Warren Skarren revised Hamm’s script shortly before filming commenced.
14. The ending was another source of many last-minute revisions. Originally, the climax revolved around an enraged Batman attacking Joker after the death of Vicki Vale.
Warner Bros.
15. “Batman” became the highest-grossing DC Comics movie of all time and wasn’t unseated until 2008’s “The Dark Knight.”
Dead Poets Society is a film whose legacy has only grown with time, so stand on your desk, pay your respects and learn some fun facts about the making of this classic coming-of-age drama.
1. While Welton Academy is a fictional institution, writer Tom Schulman based the film on his own experiences at Tennessee’s Montgomery Bell Academy. Keating himself is inspired by Schulman’s former teacher, University of Connecticut professor Samuel F. Pickering, Jr.
2. The movie was filmed on location at St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, Delaware. Simon Mein, who plays the vicar at Welton Academy, was actually the vicar of St. Andrew’s at the time of filming.
20th Century Fox
3. Liam Neeson was originally expected to star, but the role instead went to Robin Williams after original director Jeff Kanew was replaced by Peter Weir.
4.Dustin Hoffman was once attached to both direct and star in the film, but Hoffman eventually dropped out of the project.
Touchstone Pictures
5. Other actors considered for the John Keating role include Mel Gibson, Alec Baldwin, Bill Murray and Mickey Rourke.
6. The original screenplay includes a death scene where Keating succumbs to leukemia in a hospital, but Weir opted not to include it in the film, wanting the focus to remain on Keating’s students.
Touchstone Pictures
7. The scene featuring Ethan Hawke‘s Todd crying outside in the snow had to be done in one take. This is because the scene was originally meant to be shot indoors, but Weir decided to take advantage of a fleeting snowstorm outside the set.
8. In order to help get his young actors into character, Weir had them all board together during filming and shoot in chronological order, so that their relationships would develop naturally over the course of production.
Touchstone Pictures
9.Lara Flynn Boyle originally had a role in the film, but her character was cut from the final version. According to Boyle, she didn’t find out about being cut until the day the film premiered.
10. The film turned out to be an unexpected success for Disney. It became the first film released under the Touchstone Pictures label to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, and it also out-grossed “The Little Mermaid” and “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” on the global box office in 1989.
Disney
11. A stage adaptation of “Dead Poets Society” ran off-Broadway from October through December 2016. Jason Sudeikis starred as John Keating.
“There is a sense that no time has passed,” Jakub said. “It’s a bit of a time warp.”
They reminisced about Williams, who played the kids’ dad and disguised elderly British nanny. In particular, they recalled his fatherly advice about mental health and addiction.
“One of the most powerful things for me about working with him is that he was very open and honest with me talking about his issues with addiction and depression,”Jakub noted. “That was so powerful to me at 14. I have struggles with anxiety my whole life.”
Lawrence added, “Robin was like a guiding source. He would just all of a sudden, out of the blue look over and be like, ‘Don’t do drugs. They really messed up my brain, I’m serious. Do not do them.’ That stuck with me.”
It’s been 25 years since “Mrs. Doubtfire,” so @GadiNBC decided to reunite members of the beloved cast to mark the anniversary! pic.twitter.com/TKEk1nqu3L
