You know how Michael Keaton was apparently hanging around the set of The Dark Knight this week? Well, yesterday the old post office building being used as Gotham National Bank caught on fire and was evacuated. Coincidence? Of course it is. As much as the former Batman has reason to be jealous of the new franchise, there is no reason to suspect the actor, even if his movie choices these days could suggest that he's either crazy or desperate. But regardless, the coincidence is rather funny. According to TMZ, which has a nice picture and video footage of the smoking building, the fire started in an airway duct, causing the roof to appear on fire. Supposedly witnesses thought that it was part of the shoot -- never a good thing with real fires -- but fortunately a sprinkler system was activated and fire trucks did respond to the scene. There were reportedly no actors near the set at the time and the fire was not related to the production in any way. Photos of the Gotham National Bank set, which seems to be the first location being used for the Batman Begins sequel, were first circulated last week. As always, we'll continue to keep you up to date on any other Dark Knight news as it comes about -- especially if the studio decides to release a real picture of The Joker. Also, this week and next Cinematical will be on the scene at Tribeca, where at least two rumored cast members of the film have a full slate of appearances, so maybe we'll be able to bring you a scoop or two -- wish us luck!
Cinematical's 2008 Cannes Preview
EXCLUSIVE: 'City of Ember' Poster Premiere!
Tons of New 'Quantum of Solace' Images!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-25-2007 @ 5:59PM
jessica ferrara said...
I see you haven't heard the Batman sabotage history. It started when Adam West was refused the part of Batman in Tim Burton's version. There was orginally a horseback-riding scene in that movie and unfortunately, Sean Young took the horse that West secretly trained to throw off Michael Keaton and she broke her collarbone. Michael Keaton was blamed for the incident because he got dibs on the good horse before Young could. West then convinced Sean Young to help him get revenge on Keaton and Burton. She stalked the set of "Batman Returns" disguised as Catwoman, a plan that was not exactly fool-proof. She never contacted West again.
Keaton and Burton agreed that they were done with "Batman" after the sequel, but after a series of bad movie roles, Keaton was upset. He was such a good Batman that after three years, he still had that Batmanic sense of revenge. Burton wouldn't help him out, but Adam West knew where to find him. Keaton met with Schumacher on the pretext that he might be persuaded to return as Batman, as Schumacher really wanted to use him. During the meeting, Keaton said "I'll only do it if you put nipples on the Batsuit and an earring on Robin." Schumacher agreed, but Keaton dropped out anyway. Adam West called the plan "genius" but it didn't work, either.
When it came time for "Batman and Robin", Val Kilmer declined an invite to the Keaton/West network, as he did not recall playing a man-bat.
George Clooney didn't give a sh*t when Christian Bale became Batman. By 2005, Adam West was working on Family Guy and doing other guest spots, so he didn't really care either. But Keaton was still in a rut. "Herbie: Fully Loaded" was a far cry from "Beetlejuice". Clooney wouldn't help him destroy "Batman Begins" but Arnold Schwarzenegger was in. He scouted the set for Keaton, but the plan fell apart when he became governor.
The fire on the set was the closest Michael Keaton had come to success in destroying the other Batmen. He still leaves periodic drunken voicemails to Tim Burton and once in a while he'll prank-call Adam West.
Reply
4-25-2007 @ 6:39PM
Akbar Fazil said...
nice bit of fiction you have there Jessica.
Reply