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After abandoned attempts in Batman and Batman Returns, Dick Grayson finally makes his entrance in Batman Forever, in the form of Actor Chris o'Donnell (Scent of a Woman). That may be hardly cause for rejoicing among those who remember the character as a colorful but extraneous sidekick; however, the filmmakers intended to turn Robin into something more than just a Boy Wonder. ''This is no 'Holy Cheese-cake' Robin,'' director Joel Schumacher insists. ''He's young and angry, and has a story of his own.'' ''I grew up watching the TV-show, and Charlie in Scent of a Woman was actually more like the Burt Ward character!'' laughs O'Donnell. ''Joel had this vision of Robin as a circus gypsy, someone who's grown up and been toughened on the road. He undergoes a traumatic experience - his parents die - but when he meets Bruce Wayne, this is the kind of person he resents. |
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''Joel was very specific about the look: leather jacket, and cut-off sleeves - he wanted him to be kind of sexy,'' O'Donnell adds, referring to Robin's new ''Europunk'' apearrance, which includes an earring that baffled Batman-creator Bob Kane. ''Apparently, he said that he didn't understand it. Don't worry, it's on the left ear!'' Akiva Goldsman elaborates on the approach to the characterization: ''One of the very early ideas that Joel had, when we were working on Client, was that he never wanted a 12-year-old wide-eyed acolyte, whom Batman willingly accepts. He wanted a tough kid who was a more accurate representation of somebody who lives in a circus and who was psychologically and emotionally an island. We came up with the notion that, if Robin is an echo of Batman's past, then Batman is not going to say 'Come on board.' In fact, there's nothing worse than seeing what happened to him happen to someone else, and the last thing he would want is for this kid to live a life as ridden with danger and obsession as his. So what you have then is a lovely conflict, which you always want at the beginning of great relationships.'' That relationship was altered somewhat by the recasting of Batman, O'Donnell recalls, ''Val really changed the dynamics. It became more a big brother-little brother relationship. Originally, it was written a little bit younger, and with Michael Keaton it would have been more a father-son type of thing.''The film offered an opportunity to share the screen with not only Kilmer but also Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones, but the acting demands were more Bruce Lee than Lee Strasberg. In fact, o'Donnell had to take martial arts training in order to pull off numerous physical encounters, including a fight with world champion Don ''the Dragon'' Wilson. ''I am by no means an expert, but I can take it on camera,'' O'Donnell admits. ''This is a good experience, but from an acting standpoint Scent of a Woman is much more satisfying. Action films are fun, but you spend the whole day doing little inserts and cuts, which can become monotonous. Doing a 10-minute dialogue scene each take with (star of Scent of a Woman) Al Pacino is like heaven.'' Nevertheless, Goldsman considers the newly devised dynamic between Batman and Robin ''one of the best things about this movie. I think it's a terrifically interesting relationship, and Robin gets to be a superhero in a way that has only recently been done in comics.'' Does this mean the celluloid Robin could follow the example of his comic book counterpart and launch his own franchise, as Nightwing? ''That would be cool as a concept,'' O'Donnell admits. ''Obviously, there's a lot more to it, and Robin needs his own gadgets and mode of transportation.'' O'Donnell was content to continue as a sidekick in later Batman films. ''I'd definitely do one,'' ha was saying at the time. ''Someone was asking me where I would like the series to go. I just wish they'd bring Catwoman back; I think Robin and Catwoman could have a serious romance - at least I'd be willing to try.'' In fact, Catwoman wouldn't even touch him to scratch him. |
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