The heart of
ATMAN
ER heart-throb GEORGE CLOONEY has swapped his white coat for a rubber suit as the all-new Batman. But is a great bedside manner enough to bring villain Arnold Schwarzenegger to his RDQES? Words: Nigel Floyd
IF THE CREATORS of Batman And Robin were looking for something to get the blood pumping after three previous doses of Batman movies, they chose the right tonic.
Forget the all-new Bat Cave and Batmobile, and the completely redesigned costumes — including one for new recruit Batgirl Alicia Silverstone. It is in the casting department that Batman And Robin plays its three ace cards. with ER heart-throb George Clooney replacing Val Kilmer as Batman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman as the Caped Crusader‘s latest would-be nemeses. Mr Freeze and Poison Ivy. Chris O’Donnell fills Robin's suit admirably for the second time.
It was director Joel Schumacher who suggested Clooney for the role: ‘I had my eye on George for a long time. Every time I saw a picture of him in the paper I used to take my black Magic Marker and draw the Batman mask on him.’
Clooney's own take on how he assumed the Batman mantle previously worn by Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer is typical of his flippant. self-mocking manner: ‘Oh. I don‘t know, I try to throw a little Dr Ross into everything I do. It’s actually a lot less pressure being the third guy to play Batman. I think Val had it tougher because Michael had done two ahead of time; by the time I came along. we’d kind of established that Batman was replaceable.‘
Going batty: Alicia Silverstone, George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell tight the powers
6 THELIST 13—26 Jun 1997