'Batman Begins' press conference, part two

Read part two of what Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale and Michael Caine had to say about the movie.

Jun 16 2005

The director and cast continue their 'Batman Begins' press conference (part one of which is here).

Christopher, why did you choose Katie Holmes and Christian Bale for the leads?

Christopher Nolan: I chose Christian to play Batman based on the idea that, in trying to create a realistic version of the story, you need an actor who has sufficient intensity and focus in his eyes to make you believe that someone without superpowers could, through sheer force of will, change himself into a superhero. And I think Christian has the ability to project that kind of intensity.
And what I was looking for in the character of Rachael was somebody who would be a constant reminder to Bruce Wayne of the life that is being denied, so I needed somebody with tremendous warmth and great emotional appeal. But Katie also has a maturity beyond her years that comes across in the film and was central to the idea that Rachael as something of a moral conscience for Bruce.

Christian and Katie, what was it like to work with all these wonderful actors?

Christian Bale: It was fantastic to get to work with Michael and Morgan and Gary [Oldman] and Liam [Neeson]. It was a wonderful thing to see that this calibre of actor was interested in the movie, and it showed they recognised that here we had a good filmmaker, who they knew they could trust, and who was going to be making an original, smart movie. And also that this was a great story, which I think is really central, because that gets forgotten in large movies with lots of special effects and explosions. Usually the story goes out the window, but I think that could never happen with Chris directing. Working with people like this just makes it so much easier, because it just flows – you can feel when things are right. It's a tough time when you are working with bad actors, and that's really when you have to bust your ass to make it work, and that wasn't needed on this movie at all.

Katie Holmes: For me it was a privilege to be part of this cast and it was such a learning experience. As Christian said, it's easy when you work with such wonderful actors. I learned so much... Michael made me laugh all day. It's just such a privilege.

Michael Caine: These young actors are marvellous, and it's great because my own reaction is, if I work with a bad actor I immediately become worse than he is, because I can't do it. Christian and Katie are both wonderful in what they do and they are both extremely experienced as well. And in actual fact it was a privilege to work with both of them, too.

Did you receive any feedback from any of the previous Batmans and will there be a sequel?

Christopher Nolan: I haven't had any actual feedback from any of the former Batmen, so I don't really have anything to say on that score. As far as sequels go, the film certainly leaves things open-ended for the characters. I'm just interested in what people think of this one, and we're trying to put everything into this one so it can stand alone.

Christian, will you be back for a sequel and where do you see the character progressing from here?

Christian Bale: I could sit here and toy with you about whether I'll be back for a sequel, but I'm signed up for the next one. Whether anyone else is going to be back is a different matter, and that's what I keep asking them. But it's certainly something I'd be more than happy to come back for if people embrace this movie, enjoy the vein in which Chris has made it and enjoy my portrayal of Batman, then I'd like to reprise the character very much. I think it's kind of limitless with this superhero, because unlike others, he is so contradictory and complex – he has so many demons and issues. I think there are many things that can be done further. And there would be no point in making a sequel if there was not anything new to see. I don't think it would make any sense to return to what we've seen in the past, where Batman is suddenly sidelined and the villains are the interesting ones again. We've established that Batman is just as interesting, and in my mind more interesting character than the majority of the villains, so I would hope that would continue.

Michael, would you come back and do another one?

Michael Caine: Yes, I would. I want to put this to Chris actually, because he'll be writing the new script. A guy told me yesterday that in one of the comics, Bruce Wayne dresses up Alfred as Batman to act as a decoy. And I think Alfred dressed as Batman would be one of the funniest things ever, so will you bear that in mind Christopher... ? I just wanted to get that in.

Is there scope for two versions of 'Batman Begins' on DVD, one a more violent adult edition?

Christopher Nolan: No, the film you have seen on the screen is exactly the film we made. There really isn't anything that I was forced to take out. Tonally, I always knew in making a Batman film that I wanted it to appeal to a wide range of ages – not the youngest kid obviously... what we've done is probably a bit intense for them. But I certainly didn't want to exclude the sort of 10- to 12-year-olds, because as a kid I would have loved to see a movie like this. So we never really shot anything that would be alienating in that regard. Really, we managed to get pretty much everything we shot into the structure of the story.

Katie, your character Rachael helps Bruce find his social conscience – what did you draw on from your own life to give conviction to this role?

Katie Holmes: It was really exciting and fun to play an assistant DA, because I'm the daughter of an attorney and the sister of one, so that aspect was just kind of fun. And I guess whenever you are creating a character, there are subconsciously things that you grew up with, parts of your personality that you put into it.

Christopher, you mentioned 'Superman' as a model for the making of the movie. Was it also a model for the casting, in that that film had great actors all the way down to the smallest part?

Christopher Nolan: Yes, very much. I actually specifically spoke to the studio about coming up with an epic cast. We wanted the film to have an epic treatment for Batman, and I think other than big sets and big explosions and all that kind of stuff, what really gives a film marvellous scale is having a wonderful cast of the finest actors and recognisable faces playing even some of the smallest roles, so that there's a life off-screen for all of these characters and there's scope to the story. For that film they had Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Glenn Ford – just an extraordinary ensemble – that was very much what we were aspiring to. So we dared to ask some of the finest actors to take on these roles and I was able to put together really a dream cast.

Christopher, this is a complete departure for you, so what might be next – will you be returning to smaller films or should we anticipate more blockbusters?

Christopher Nolan: I really haven't been able to focus on what I'm going to do next yet, because frankly the release of this film was very overwhelming, it's a much larger film than I have ever done before, so this is a very new process to me. I think in the future I will be interested in doing all sorts of films. I enjoyed making a film on this scale, so I would absolutely be open to doing it again, but at the same time I have various projects with different sizes of stories. So I hope to do a variety of things in the future.

Christian, how did you do the Batman voice?

Christian Bale: When we were filming it was just my voice, and we had a gentleman there who was helping me out, so I could speak the next day. Then we did try a few different things in ADR. My understanding is that a couple of those things worked and Chris used those effects on a couple of occasions. But to be honest, I'm not exactly sure where they were.

Christopher Nolan: Basically, the voice Christian did in production was very powerful and we found that when any attempt was made to manipulate that, it became very obvious and didn't really work. We did a certain amount of re-recording of dialogue and tried that, but what I found, as we were analysing the voice and the way Christian had used it, was that just being in the suit on the set there was a degree of performance that lent the character a voice that's incredibly impressive, so we used that very much as the basis.

Michael and Morgan, how does it feel to be in such demand these days?

Michael Caine: It's great, because I spent 30 years in film not being wanted at all. I like it – I love being wanted in films, but I have not worked since November, so I'm getting a bit scared now.

Morgan Freeman: I don't work all the time, it just looks that way. Michael is right, it's great being wanted in film. Same thing – I spent quite a few years not being wanted. And this is better.

Christopher, you leave the film quite open-ended, so will there be a sequel?

Christopher Nolan: The ending of the film is intended to end this film. The appearance of that device is very much intended as a dramatic device for 'Batman Begins' and the end of it. As far as where sequels might go from here, the tone of the film is very, very different to previous films, so it doesn't stand as either a prequel or a sequel to any of the films that have come before. It is a separate thing. What that means to me is that, as far as what might be addressed in future films if they were to be made, is just as the Batmobile, the Batcave, Batman himself – just as these things have all been re-interpreted in a fresh way, that applies to The Joker, the other villains and any other things as well. This film has a different tone to the previous films, so all those elements can be re-interpreted.

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