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Did Batman and Robin really kill anyone's careers?

posted 8 years ago by TMC-4
19 replies | jump to latest

https://lebeauleblog.com/2016/09/17/did-batman-and-robin-really-kill-anyones-careers/

Batman & Robin is the textbook definition of an infamous film. It’s considered one of the worst movies ever made, it’s almost every comic fan’s example of a terrible comic book movie, and, at the time, it was considered a franchise killer for the Batman series. It was also considered a career killer for many of the people who worked on it. However, is that really true or has the effect this movie had on their careers been exaggerated?

[–] glynis23-282-577521 8 years ago

Pretty much yes everyone but Clooney.

[–] TMC-4 (20494) 7 years ago

https://www.quora.com/Why-was-George-Clooneys-career-able-to-survive-Batman-Robin-when-compared-to-Chris-ODonnell-Alicia-Silverstone-and-Uma-Thurman-pre-Kill-Bill

[–] WilliBerg 8 years ago

I agree with the article that Chris O'Donnell and Alicia Silverstone continued to work in big movies after this and this movie was only a part of a series of movies that saw their decline in popularity. Alicia could never match the success of "Clueless" and Chris kind of peaked young and so as he got older he didn't get those teen heartthrob roles he became famous for (until he came back older with NCIS.)

Uma was always hit and miss with her movies but she has always come back with a big movie and/or a critically-praised one.

Arnold was already getting older with this movie and I remember he was talking about his heart surgery during promotion for this movie. This role came at the height of his popularity and kind of plays up to his bigger than life image, almost like a parody/caricature of himself - there's nowhere really to go after that. It marked the end of that part of his career. So you could say this role "ruined" his career as you can really see the shift in Arnold's work after this movie.

[–] TMC-4 (20494) 7 years ago

Chris O'Donnell was arguably the '90s version of Chris Evans: Boy next door handsome and could do comedies, dramas, and action films. But for some reason, it never really clicked for him after the Batman franchise ran out of gas.

https://www.looper.com/18435/hollywood-wont-cast-chris-odonnell-anymore/

[–] kwestmo (4385) 6 years ago

Chris O'Donnell was arguably the '90s version of Chris Evans

Evans is a better actor and more charismatic. O'Donnell was anther "next big thing" that never happened

[–] TMC-4 (20494) 6 years ago

https://www.quora.com/Have-any-actors-or-actresses-watched-their-careers-get-destroyed-by-being-in-a-super-hero-movie/answer/Johan-Torres

We should all be pretty sad about what happened to her.

In 1995 Silverstone starred in Clueless, a movie which became a massive pop culture phenomena. And in so doing, Silverstone, who was only 18 when filming, became a massive Hollywood star. Batman and Robin was the big commercial follow up that was supposed to cement her career.

However as production began on Batman and Robin, Silverstone started to face relentless criticism about her weight.[1] She was compared to the pig from Babe, she was harassed by paparazzi chanting “fat girl” at her. And it wasn’t just external, even on set she was subject to mocking for her weight.

All of which set the stage for what became considered one of the worst movies of the ‘90s, and is now a punchline in its own right. In most reviews, Silverstone didn’t come off any worse than anyone else involved in Batman and Robin, but she suffered far more for it.

Everyone involved in the production had to rebuild their career afterwards. George Clooney rebuilt himself as the guy who does independent Academy Awards bait movies. Uma Thurman was lucky enough that she starred in Pulp Fiction only a few years earlier and retreated back into more eclectic movies. Chris O’Donnell went into hiding for fourteen years before reemerging as a TV star. Alicia Silverstone, however, never recovered. She has worked in small parts on small projects but nothing particularly high profile.

Going into Batman and Robin, Silverstone was the biggest star after Arnold Schwarzenegger. Going out of it, her career was in ruins and never recovered.

[–] Broncho_Knight 8 years ago

I always felt the "this film killed everyone's careers" has been an exaggeration to make the film seem worse than it is.

Alicia Silverstone was just a Lindsey Lohan type who was just a short-term fad anyway.

Chris O'Donnell made some respectable films after this such as Vertical Limit and Kinsey and has found success on TV with NCIS and guest appearances on several series.

George Clooney obviously is a huge movie star and this movie might have even propelled his career.

Uma Thurman has made several big films since this including Gattaca, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, and the Kill Bill films. Real-life motherhood is what really has kept out of prominent films for most of the past decade.

Schwarzenegger continued to make big films after this and only took a break to be governor and has made a comeback in recent years after leaving politics.

[–] TMC-4 (20494) 7 years ago

Alicia Silverstone's problem is that she really wasn't that good of an actress to begin with. She got lucky with Clueless but her subsequent film choices were really substandard. Also she developed a reputation for being very unpleasant and difficult to work with. She got too big for her britches (please, no "Fat Girl" jokes) when she thought that she could produce her own movies. Once that movie Excess Baggage flopped, it all but proved that she was way over her head.

[–] TMC-4 (20494) 7 years ago

Alicia Silverstone's initial hype and appeal was that she was sort of a Drew Barrymore type minus the familial Hollywood Dynasty connections. What I mean is that Alicia was seen as cute, quirky, coquettish, and down to earth. As illustrated in Clueless, she just had the “it-factor” and charisma. She was able to equally appeal to all men while still being tolerable and nonthreatening to other women.

https://www.datalounge.com/thread/17683976

[–] TMC-4 (20494) 6 years ago

Uma Thurman was probably another victim of Harvey Weinstein when you really think about it.

[–] urenatu 8 years ago

Only director's, i think

[–] glynis23-282-577521 8 years ago

The film did relegate Schumacher into making less ambitious projects.

[–] TMC-4 (20494) 7 years ago

You can argue that Joel Schumacher was still considered an A-list director (for a while of course) despite of Batman & Robin. It no doubt hurt his name value and marketability as a filmmaker. It wasn't until he did The Number 23 with Jim Carrey that he once and for all lost his standing.

[–] MickyMac (3254) 7 years ago

Not many of his none Batman stuff are films that are shouted about. Dark and gritty doesn't necessarily mean a better film.

Him coming off as flamboyant must have contributed to him losing his standing for one it would be attracting ridicule.

[–] TMC-4 (20494) 7 years ago

Joel Schumacher's issue was that he was never really an "auteur" so to speak like say Tim Burton or later Christopher Nolan. He was when you get right down to it a good workman-like director with a talent of adapting to any genre and making reasonably successful movies on time and within the budget. In other words, he's not a director whom you would expect to not "rock the boat" (in other words, he's a studio friendly guy) too much.

[–] MickyMac (3254) 7 years ago

Nearly always best to go with an auteur or a young hotshot director for a superhero movie.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 7 years ago

Didn't work for Fant4stic Four...

[–] TMC-4 (20494) 6 years ago

I meant to add that Joel Schumacher was able to last as long as he did because he actually had a solid reputation as being a friendly, easy to work with director (well, outside of Val Kilmer). If Schumacher was considered an asshole, dictator, "my way or the high way" filmmaker (off the top of my head, David O. Russell) or somebody who was totally unreliable on set (take for instance, Bryan Singer or Josh Trank) and yet didn't have the result to back it up (critically and/or commercially), then he would've been done for a lot sooner.

[–] MickyMac (3254) 6 years ago

A lot of the fanboy hate and scapegoating towards him is an attack on him being flamboyantly gay.