BATMAN & ME

Meeting Christian Bale aka Bruce Wayne aka The Godamn Batman was thrilling.

People are often confused by my Bat-obsession. They ask: What is it about Batman? It all comes down to formative childhood experiences. My earliest childhood memory is meeting Adam West and Burt Ward in full costume at an auto show when I was 3 years old. I remember everything about the encounter: The soft silky gloves Batman (West) wore when he shook my hand and the fact that Robin (Ward) wasn't wearing his gloves (I found this peculiar and somewhat upsetting). They were signing glossy photos of themselves. I was there with my Dad and his two younger brothers, my uncles. When it was my turn to meet the caped crusaders, Batman asked for my name. I told him Domenic. He quickly scrolled his signature and gave it back to me. My Dad and his uncle's laughed. At the time I didn't know why. A few years later when I learned to read, I realized he wrote From Batman to his friend DEREK. The Dark Knight Detective messed up my name. At least Robin got it right. I still have those glossy black and white signed photos. They are stored at my parents home. Next time I go down to Montreal I will bring them back to Los Angeles and show them to you. It's funny but all my early memories involve Batman in some way. I remember eating in front of the TV and seeing this vampire (how I knew what a vampire was, was entirely my mom's fault. She was a big horror film fan). He was a vampire but he was helping people and stopping crime. I soon realized he wasn't a vampire. He was a man. Just a regular guy who trained himself to perfection. Who studied hard. Who made himself into the pinnacle of physical and intellectual perfection. I was hooked. Yes, there was Superman and Spiderman but no one could hold a candle to Batman. Whatever Batman lacked in superpowers, he more than made up for it in resourcefulness and intelligence. I believe until this day that with enough prep time Batman could beat anyone. Prep time Batman could even beat Jesus.

So here we are all these years later and in the span of a week I get the privilege of meeting not only what I consider to be the best Batman but also the definitive Commissioner Gordon. Meeting Christian Bale and Gary Oldman, two actors who I've admired for years, was an awesome experience. Both were gracious, classy and elegant. I don't get star-struck easily but with Bale I was virtually speechless. I hope I didn't embarrass myself. That was a bucket list moment and perfect symmetry. I met the First Batman (at least for me) as a toddler and the best Batman (at least for me) as an adult.

Gary Oldman. Pure Class.

If meeting Batman and Gordon wasn't enough. A week later. Tonight, in fact, I saw the Prologue for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. I don't think there's a more anticipated film in my lifetime. This is the last Batman Film for Bale and director Christopher Nolan. And they plan on going out with an epic. The prologue was jaw-dropping in every conceivable way. Bane is going to give little boys nightmares.

SPOILERS after the epic poster.

You were warned. Read no further if you don't want to know how THE DARK KNIGHT RISES begins...

It opens on the Harvey Dent memorial/funeral. Gordon speaking at a podium says: " Harvey Dent inspired me. Maybe someone else will inspire all of us. I believed in Harvey Dent."

We cut to a wheat field, as the camera fly's over it. We are inside an SUV with three hooded prisoners in the back. The prisoners are delivered to a waiting CIA military plane. The CIA are supposed to pick up one man -- Dr. Leonid Pavel. But instead have 3 extra prisoners who are said to be the accomplices of the masked Terrorist known as BANE. The CIA were not expecting the other prisoners but are excited to have Bane's associates. They are all loaded on the plane. In the plane, the hooded men are on the floor on their knees. The point man for the CIA opens the plane hatch and threatens to throw one of the hooded prisoners out of the plane unless he gives him info on Bane.

CIA guy yells:"Why does he wear the mask?!?" Nothing. No response. The CIA Agent pretends to shoot one of the hooded men. One of the burly hooded guys on his knees says: "He's probably wondering why would you shoot a man before throwing him out of a plane?" His voice sounds almost electric... mechanical.

CIA GUY: "At least you can talk? Who are you?"

BANE: "Who we are is not important. What matters is the plan. No one cared who I was until I put on the mask.""

They remove the hood and it's BANE! The CIA guy asks Bane "what would happen if I took off your mask?" Bane answers: "It would be extremely painful... for you."

CIA GUY says: "So what's the next step of your master plan?"

BANE: "Crash the plane... with no survivors."

The plane begins to shake and is overtaken by a much larger plane from above. The tribal music we heard in the original online trailer intensifies: De-shay! Bashara! (it's Bane's theme and it is very cult-like, more on this later).

Four swat-clad men fast-rope from the large plane to the military plane. They machine gun the windows blowing them out and killing some of the CIA agents inside. They attach ropes to the military plane. The large plane is now basically pulling the smaller military plane whose wings begin to bend, break and shatter. No more wings, the military plane hangs vertically like a huge cigar in the sky beneath the large plane. The four swat-clad men attach explosives to the top of the military plane and blow the tail off... creating an entrance.

Inside the plane, BANE breaks out of his restraints and is hurled around the bouncing plane. He's here for Doctor Pavel. He needs to know how much the doctor told the CIA about Bane's terrorist group. The 4 swat guys fast-rope into the dangling military plane. They carry a body bag. They unzip the body bag and attach an IV to the doctor's arm. A blood transfusion takes place (I have no idea why, I'm sure it will be explained later in the film). All the CIA agents are dead. The evil Swat guys are fast-roping out of the plane. One of the hooded men (Bane's accomplice) asks Bane if he is to be rescued. The tribal music stops. Eerie silence.

BANE tells him: "They expect one of us in the wreckage, brother."

Bane's follower looks at him with a believer's eyes. (It's here that I realized that Bane is a cult leader with devoted followers. Creepy.) The follower, his eyes blazing with devotion, a small smile on his face, says: "Have we started the fire?"

Bane attaches the doctor to himself, looks at his follower and says: "The Fire Rises." BOOM! The tribal music starts up again. More intense than ever.

The doctor attached to Bane is screaming with panic. Bane tells him: "Now's not the time for fear doctor. That comes later."

Bane presses a button and the entire military plane with passengers some alive, some dead -- slips out from beneath him. Bane with the doctor strapped to him, is being hauled by ropes through the air by the larger plane, as what's left of the military plane plummets downward to the ground... and my jaw was on the floor. It was a stunning scene that looked real. I didn't feel the CGI. Bane's voice was metallic and creepy. Not always clear but I'm sure they will clean that up in post. My first thought after watching the prologue was: James Bond just shit his pants. This was the best Bond opening in history.

There was a sizzle reel after the prologue that included a great shot of Catwoman in costume. A shot of Selina Kyle in an orange jail prisoner outfit. Bane fighting Batman at City Hall in the snow. Bane detonating a bomb. The Batwing chasing a camo-tumbler. Batman in an underground parking lot aiming his plasma rifle and the capper: Bane holding a shattered Batman cowl in what appears to be the Batcave. EPIC.

They gave us this collector's T-shirt at the screening. There was a BANE themed one with the word END on it. Didn't manage to get one of those.

Working in the film industry I've seen and done some pretty amazing things. I get to meet some awesome people. This past week has been a pretty amazing one and things are about to get even better... as we begin scouting on my next film in Spain...

More on that in another post.

Your Friend,

D.