I've always walked a fine line when reporting casting rumors and movie leaks of information here on CA.Since 1995 I've been contacted by people who've given scoops that have turned out to be 100% correct as well as scoops that have been 100% incorrect. Over the years I had to develop a network of insiders who trusted me enough to reveal who they were, and I used those sources to run by rumors that floated by. It's a proven method in journalism and it's worked pretty good for me and my site.
I know the guy that runs Batman-on-Film and he runs a quality site about all things Batman. When he gets tips about what's happening in the Batman universe, he runs them through his sources and tries his best to confirm or shoot them down. And Jett has been doing just that as we lead up to the start of production for The Dark Knight Rises, publishing rumors and assessing the likelihood of what characters or actors could be in TDKR.
To show you how well Batman-on-Film is regarded amongst the movie website community, late yesterday there was a tweet that said this: "RW as Strange? Hmm..." Just four words, but it was enough for plenty of online reporters to pick up and run stories about the possibility that RW, or Robin Williams, could be playing Dr. Hugo Strange in Dark Knight Rises.
As you may recall, Strange was a heavily favored candidate for inclusion in Christopher Nolan's new Bat-film. But in the Dark Knight Rises casting announcement last week there was no mention of Strange being in the movie's roll call, or a mention of any actor playing the character, much less Williams' involvement. And with the news that Hugo Strange seemed to be the primary adversary in the new Arkham Asylum video game, the case appeared to be shut about the bad doctor being a bad guy in Dark Knight Rises. Batman-on-Film's latest tweet now uncorks the genie from his bottle once again and invites speculation that perhaps not all of the major casting for The Dark Knight Rises has been done.
Before you consider this a wild rumor that doesn't have much merit, consider this quote from Williams (published in Empire). Remember that the actor worked with Christopher Nolan before in Insomnia, made before the success of Batman Begins -- and we all know Nolan likes working with people from earlier film projects.
Here's what Robin Williams said:
"I would work with Chris again in a second, playing anyone in anything. I'd play The Riddler in the next Batman, although it'd be hard to top Heath as the villain, and I'm a little hairy for tights. Plus, the Batman films have screwed me twice before: years ago they offered me The Joker and then gave it to Jack Nicholson, then they offered me The Riddler and gave it to Jim Carrey. I'd be like, 'Okay, is this a real offer? If it is, then the answer's yes. Don't pump me again, motherfuckers.
"I'm using this article as an ad. Chris, call me, I'll do anything. I could be a great character or some weird little man in the background in Arkham Asylum."
So the question really is, did Christopher Nolan hear the message that Robin Williams sent?
I'm kinda glad Williams didn't get either the Joker or the Riddler. I'm sure he would have seen the scripts for Batman and Batman Forever is invitations for him to do his usual shtick. (At the same time, though, his Popeye was sufficiently Popeye-like.)
Maybe I just prefer Williams as a dramatic actor.
mckracken wrote:
but with Catwoman and Bane... AND Dr. Hugo Strange ... wouldnt that be like Batman and Robin redux again where bane gets the 10 minute cameo and takes a back seat to a rather lame Bat-flick???
Batman Begins features quite a few villains. There's R'as al Ghul and the Scarecrow, but there's also Carmine Falcone. He's a big part of what makes Batman Batman, and he's also in the comics. You might even want to throw Rutger Hauer's character in there. You might even want to throw in R'as al Ghul twice, since there's a bait-and-switch going on with the character. We're told Ken Watanabe's character is R'as, at first, and that Liam Neeson is Ducard (another character from the comics).
The Dark Knight features a shitload of villains. The Joker and Two Face are there as the big comic villains, but the Scarecrow is also there, and so are Lau, Salvatore Maroni (also from the comics), the Chechen, and Gambol. They don't wear costumes, but neither does Two Face. The Joker wears a tailor-made suit and the Scarecrow wears a burlap sack.
Nolan can afford to throw in some secondary and tertiary villains, costume or no. He's been doing it all along.
When I first read this headline, my eyes bulged, but then I remembered that Williams can do well in a situation where he is controlled by script and director. I trust Nolan; he's a good guy.
Yeah, Williams can be excellently creepy. I really liked him in One Hour Photo, and I remember really digging his cameo in Dead Again.
I'm familiar of the BOF website but I've felt in the last couple of years, Jett or Bill Ramey, has become increasingly caught up in his own hype. So much so that these days he will NEVER break anything of note but will lay claim to knowing such and such after some other outlet has broken new Batman news and claim that he knew all along.
I can applaud the man for being so devoted to a site really focused on just one series of films but by the same token, I think Jett has become somewhat a victim of his own self-importance and celebrity.
Hey, I may be wrong. but I still think Patrick shits all over Bill.
I like the casting.
One thing's for sure: if this casting goes down, we're gonna see about a million articles with 'Good Will Hunting' references.
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mckracken
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Posts: 965
Posted: 14 years 12 weeks ago
"years ago they offered me the Joker" Heh... lots of people cast... how about those hard feelings that Tom Selleck has over losing out on Han Solo or or or....
c'mon Robin.. no hard feelings... that was the Tim Burton/Joel Schulmacher days of Batman and those days are long since gone... thats all water under the bridge now, pal.
but yeah, he'd be totally miscast as Riddler... Dr Hugo Strange YES definitly I can totally see that... but with Catwoman and Bane... AND Dr. Hugo Strange ... wouldnt that be like Batman and Robin redux again where bane gets the 10 minute cameo and takes a back seat to a rather lame Bat-flick???