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Interview: The world of Stephen Tobolowsky

Features

Holy multiplicity, Batman!

MICHAEL KEATON
YOU KNOW HIM FROM. . . Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992).
UNIFORM. . . Uncomfortable-looking black carapace rippling with abdominal musculature.
VILLAINS FOUGHT. . . The Joker (Jack Nicholson), the Penguin (Danny DeVito), Max Shreck (Christopher Walken), Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer).
BEST NON-BATMAN PROJECT. . . Mr. Mom.
CHOICE QUOTE. . . “Y’see, my life is really . . . complex.”
THE CRITICS SAID. . . “A triumph of design over story, style over substance — a great-looking movie with a plot you can’t care much about.” (Roger Ebert)
BAT FACT. . . Mel Gibson turned down the role because “I just didn’t want to put a spandex suit on.” (snarkygossip.com)

VAL KILMER
YOU KNOW HIM FROM. . . Batman Forever (1995).
UNIFORM. . . Stylized plasticized suit of armor, like a full-sized action figure. A massive helmet that belittles, as one Internet wag put it, his “tiny chin.”
VILLAINS FOUGHT. . . Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones), the Riddler (Jim Carrey).
BEST NON-BATMAN PROJECT. . . Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.
CHOICE QUOTE. . . “You called me here for this? The Bat signal is not a beeper.”
THE CRITICS SAID. . . Kilmer’s “goofball grin” is “utterly disarming . . . a deftly understated performance.” (Rolling Stone)
BAT FACT. . . The only blond Batman.

GEORGE CLOONEY
YOU KNOW HIM FROM. . . Batman and Robin (1997).
UNIFORM. . . Nipples! Nipples!
VILLAINS FOUGHT. . . Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman).
BEST NON-BATMAN PROJECT. . . “Booker” on Roseanne.
CHOICE QUOTE. . . Robin: “I want a car, chicks dig the car.” Batman: “This is why Superman works alone.”
THE CRITICS SAID. . . “I’d have more respect for [director Joel] Schumacher if I discovered that he hated Batman, and had intentionally ruined it with this garbage. Then, this might actually be just his own personal joke.” (posting on IMDb.com)
BAT FACT. . . George Clooney: “I think we might have killed the franchise.”