With the record-breaking box office numbers of Marvel Studios and the Oscar-winning success of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy, it’s interesting to think about how, not too long ago, people were calling for the death of superhero films. And for many of those people, you can trace the fall of comic book filmmaking to one man: director Joel Schumacher. Thanks to “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin,” people throw the late-‘90s demise of superhero films directly at his feet.
READ MORE: Michael Keaton bailed on “Batman Forever’ because the script ‘sucked’
In hindsight, though, it’s a bit ridiculous to call Schumacher the man who brought down superhero films. Granted, while his two ‘Batman’ films were not exactly great, they do have a campy quality that helped them attain cult status with a smaller audience. And regardless of your thoughts on his two superhero films, one thing you can’t say is that Schumacher isn’t honest about that situation. In a new interview with Vulture, the filmmaker opened up about his time on ‘Batman’ and how a few specific actors made the working conditions less than ideal.
The entire (and lengthy) interview is worth reading, but for the purpose of this, we’re going to focus on Schumacher’s discussion about working with Tommy Lee Jones and Val Kilmer on the set of “Batman Forever,” which many think is easily the better of the two Schumacher ‘Batman’ films and perhaps better than many gave it credit for two decades ago.
READ MORE: Joel Schumacher apologizes for “Batman & Robin”
According to the filmmaker, there was no shortage of issues on the set of that film, specifically with Tommy Lee Jones, who joined the film after earning an Oscar for his role in “The Fugitive.” Apparently, Jones was a bit difficult to work with.
“[Jones] was fabulous on ‘The Client,’” said Schumacher. “But he was not kind to Jim Carrey when we were making ‘Batman Forever.’ And I didn’t say Val [Kilmer] was difficult to work with on ‘Batman Forever.’ I said he was psychotic.”
The director went on to explain just how the relationship between Jones and Carrey quickly deteriorated. This was obviously a problem; since the duo played villains Two-Face and The Riddler, Gotham super-villains teaming up to take down Batman, meaning they were working together quite a bit.
“Tommy is, and I say this with great respect, a scene stealer. Well, you can’t steal the scene from Jim Carrey. It’s impossible. And, I think it irked Tommy,” said Schumacher. He added, “No, he wasn’t kind to Jim. He did not act towards Jim the way an Oscar winner with a star on Hollywood Boulevard, being the oldest member of the cast, and having such a distinguished career and the accolades to go with it, should have acted towards Jim. But what happens on the set stays on the set.”
READ MORE: Joel Schumacher: “Bat Nipples Will Be On My Gravestone”
While he wouldn’t expound on what made Kilmer “psychotic,” Shumacher did provide an example of the difference between the actor’s emotional state and Tommy Lee Jones’ antics. “Here’s the difference between Val Kilmer and Tommy Lee Jones. I don’t care what state Tommy is in emotionally, when that camera rolls, there is no bad take. Val is a different story. But he was a fabulous Batman.”
It does seem like a lifetime ago when Kilmer suited up as Batman. Since then, we’ve had Christian Bale and Ben Affleck both don the cowl on the big screen. And we’re soon to see Robert Pattinson get a chance in a couple of years. Let’s just hope Pattinson’s director Matt Reeves has an easier time of it than Schumacher did.