Collegiate Times

Correction: This story has been modified from its original version. — The headline of this story has been changed to correct the spelling of Michael Uslan's name. The Collegiate Times regrets this error.

Michael Uslan, a producer who's worked on every Batman film from "The Dark Knight" to the first 1989 movie, is coming to Virginia Tech on March 31 at 7:30 p.m. The talk, titled "Pow! Zap! Oy! How Jewish Immigrants Created Super-Heroes," is sponsored by VTU and Hillel and will be given in Squires' Colonial Hall at no charge.

Collegiate Times: I understand you've worked on every single Batman film from Tim Burton's 1989 film to 2008's "Dark Knight" by Christopher Nolan. Which film has been your favorite to watch again after working on it?

Michael Uslan: In terms of going back and looking at them, Tim Burton decided to create his own universe in the world of Gotham City. If you go back and look at that film, you'll see technology and cars that look like the past, future and present, all mish-mashed together. The great thing about today is that you don't look at it today and say "that's a 1980s film" because he took a timeless approach, and that allows that picture to stand out. In terms of Nolan's more recent film, I could sit and watch both over and over again. What's been particularly spectacular is that people have had the opportunity to see the "Dark Knight" not only on DVD, but on IMAX. Not only is it larger experience, it's also a more interactive experience.

CT: Which of the six Batman films took the most work and production time?

MU: The first Batman movie took 10 years from the time Ben and I acquired the rights from DC Comics to when the movie came out in theaters. That was virtually a human endurance contest; it tests your mettle as a person when you're so convinced and you believe in your work, but everyone's telling you it's crazy and it's awful. It really tests what you're made of and how strong your commitment is to your work.

CT: I understand you originally wanted the series to be darker and more serious. Do you think that with the "Dark Knight" you've arrived at your goal?

MU: Everything that I've hoped to with a Batman franchise - with the bookends being Batman in 1989 and now "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" - I think you have to take them together, with "Batman Begins" being the payoff with "The Dark Knight," with genius due to Christopher Nolan. I wanted to eradicate from the vocabulary the words "pow," "zap" and "wam." In the afterglow of the "Dark Knight," we've almost succeeded. We've gotten way further than we did at the beginning.

CT: Why did you choose to take on the first project, and what keeps you coming back for more?

MU: It goes back to when I was in seventh grade, and the Batman television show debuted. I was simultaneously thrilled and horrified by what I was seeing. At that point in time, except for the "Adventures of Superman," you didn't see comic books and super heroes on TV. I felt like somebody was spending a lot of money because the cars were super cool, and the sets were extravagant, and that was exciting. However, I realized people all over the world were laughing at Batman. Now, I have a collection of 60,000 books dating back to 1936, and I was at the first comic book convention ever held - in New York in 1964. I had a passion and love for comics since I was little. And as a true-blue comic fan, I decided to take what I loved in life and turn it into my work, because I wanted to restore the integrity of Batman and bring him to the world the way he was brought in 1939. I thought it was a noble mission, and it was that passion that helped me endure the 10 years of being rejected by every single studio in Hollywood. They told me it was crazy; it was the worst idea they've ever heard. Now, looking back, all I can say is it was worth it.

CT: Not including any actor who has played Bruce Wayne already, who would you say would make the best Batman in a hypothetical 2010 film?

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