Prop showcase: Land Lease for Claw Island

It's been so fun these last few years finally being able to see the props they made for Batman Forever up close and inspect all the hidden details that the prop makers put into stuff that would never even be seen on screen.

This Land Lease document recently popped up on PropStore.

Fascinated by the knowledge that Nygma was renting Claw Island off someone called Baron Helmutt Von Claw with a 30 year lease at a cost of $95,000 per month (for the first month) followed by $180,000 for ever month thereafter.

Poor Baron Von Claw - I wonder who he was and what happened when Nygma went to jail. Did he have to take the Island back? What did he do with the giant structure? Did they ever get the Throne Room to descend or is it stuck sticking up in the air?

You know what I would do with it? Convert it into a Theme Park.

Batman Forever /Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Soundtrack Special

I recently picked up quite a few more soundtrack albums and singles on various formats for Batman Forever and Batman & Robin so I thought it time to do a little special episode. It's really fun collecting all these formats and I am particularly glad to have picked up a cheap vinyl player as I'm really loving the format.

Turns out I still have a couple more things to get including The Flaming Lips - "Bad Days" single which although wasn't branded as a movie tie-in (it came out in December 1995) but has a cool novelty CD sleeve with green goo inside it.

Another CD a commentator pointed out is something called "Batman Forever - Gotham City Radio" which is an 11 minute non-stop compilation of the songs from the film mixed with audio clips of all the main characters. If anyone has a copy of this or know where it's been ripped, please let me know.

Concept Art: More Batmobile designs by Tim Flattery

Absolutely love Tim Flattery's design for the Batmobile in Batman Forever. 

I did a post years back showing off some the designs both he and HR Giger did for the movie (link here).

Here are some more recently unearthed sketches he produced. Some very close to the final design, some very different.

Another guest appearance on All Star Superfan patreon talking about Superboy

Hey everyone, I guested on the All Star Superfan podcast again this week with Rob O'Connor - talking about a couple of episodes from the old (semi-forgotten) Superboy series from the late 80s/early 90. I feel like lots of people still don't know this cheesy, low budget, wildly unpredictable show even exists.

For those who haven't listened to the podcast, it's run by Rob and Alan Burke - two hugely knowledgeable Superman fans from Ireland and looks at every aspect of the Superman franchise from comics, movies, TV and everything in between. They've interviewed a whole bunch of cast and creatives including Ilya Salkind which was a highlight of their now 5 year run. They also occasionally go off topic and cover other things like the new He-Man movie.

My podcast episode is on Superboy is part of their Patreon feed of bonus episodes so it will cost a few bucks to hear but if you're unsure, have a browse of their 80+ episodes and see if you like what you hear first.

The New Nygmatech Box has arrived

Here's a little in-universe advert I put together for the Release the Schumacher Cut movement who had a trending event on Tuesday 16th June (31st anniversary of Batman Forever). Enjoyed making this, will have to think if there's other in-universe adverts I could do.

Podcast: Commentaries for Batman 1989 and Batman Forever 30th Anniversary fan edit

Drew has done a couple more commentaries of Batman movies. 

First up, he's joined by Ben Wan of Superhero Stuff You Should Know (an excellent YouTube channel if you've not checked it out) to cover the 1989 Batman movie.

And to celebrate the 31st anniversary of Batman Forever - he's done two commentaries for Jordan Jabroni's fan edit Batman Forever: 30th Anniversary Edition (a brilliant fan edit that incorporates and upscales the deleted footage available as well as adding little bits and pieces to bring the film closer to the shooting script). 

First up he's joined by Tim Partridge for this who did a great video essay about Forever.

And then he's also done a separate commentary with Jordan himself.

Rare photos of Two-Face, Bruce and Batman in Batman Forever

Looking back through this blog, I’m reminded that when I first started I had a steady stream of rare photos and magazine scans to share. That slowed down a few years ago when my scanner broke, and since then I haven’t had many opportunities to digitise more material. I’m hoping to change that over the coming months and start posting more finds again.

I don't know about you but I get such a thrill looking back through old photos and occasionally uncovering something that’s been tucked away and unseen for years.

Recently, PropStore released another batch of photos featuring props from Batman Forever. Hidden among them were some newspapers containing these fantastic photos of Two-Face, Batman and Bruce Wayne.

I know this first image - Two-Face looking through his cell bars - has been around for a while, and a lot of us probably hoped it hinted at a deleted scene featuring him in prison. But I think now it was more likely just a posed promotional photo created for props like these.

Here’s a link to PropStore so you can check out the other Batman Forever props they currently have available.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - McDonalds Special

I know I reviewed the incredible McDonalds glass mugs previously but that was over 5 years ago(!) and since then I've picked up lots of other McDonalds merchandise so it felt like a good time to take stock and do a big, long McDonalds Special.

It's fascinating to see how the promotional tie-in was handled around the world. Everyone seemed to have a different thing going on - mugs, pogs, badges, cards. 

I've got to admit, being from the UK, it's gutting that we only got a prize draw thing and a cardboard Batman mask (stick around until the end to see what that looks like). I don't even remember seeing that tie-in at the time. I guess I didn't visit McDonalds enough.

Over half the video is taken up with going through the 3D cards that only got released in New Zealand. These are really interesting and unique. I don't think many people have seen these before. I particularly love the hand drawn cards (and the funny typos).

 Did I miss anything that you got in your part of the world? Is my collection complete? Let me know.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Adventure set from Colorforms

Bit of a detour this week. I picked this up on eBay a while back. It caught my eye because I distinctly remember getting something similar as a kid that was Ninja Turtles related. I bought this to see if - with my adult eyes - I might see it as something more interesting and innovative... (spoilers) I did not.

This is essentially a handful of reusable stickers with a backdrop to put them on. Nothing more to it. Love the artwork they use as a backdrop though - this was a piece of concept art that has been used on a few bits of merchandise (including the audio cassette game). Need to track down who the artist was.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - I don't know what the heck is this

This week we're looking at one of the most amazing figures I've ever laid eyes on. The sculpting, detail and colours are beyond anything the hacks at Hot Toys and Prime 1 Studios can pull off. Enjoy!

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Alfred figure and Batmobile from McFarlane Toys

Finally we get to this green menace from McFarlane Toys that came out last year.

This was quite a sore point for Batman Forever fans. After releasing some very good 7 inch figures, they released a Batmobile that lit up and glowed just like the movie version. Only they got the colour wrong and it glows green rather than blue.

Yeah, I think it was a mistake in the manufacturing process and it's a shame McFarlane didn't delay it and fix it. I have seen people fix the colour themselves by taking it apart and tinting the green sections blue. I don't know that I'm bothered enough to do that but it is fixable if you have an hour spare and some paints.

Other than that huge issue, the car is great. I love the canopy opening feature and the whole thing is pretty darn accurate to the movie. The sound is a little strange - I feel they could have done more of a roaring engine sound. And sure they could have added a few more holes in the bonnet to make it more accurate and changed the headlights to be made of clear plastic but I am happy on one big point - they got the Batsymbols on the wheels to stay upright as it moves. That was a big deal for me.

On to the bonus figure. We get an Alfred Pennyworth and stand which is pretty great too - right down to his little glasses. I feel the body is probably some stock suited one they got off the shelf. I wish he had a bow tie but it's fine.

They also released a separate version without the light feature or the Alfred figure which glowed in the dark (also green!). I don't think I'll get that - this one already takes up way more space than I have. I've heard the glow in the dark feature isn't particularly strong anyway.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Counter Unit Display from Warner Bros

I've seen these floating on eBay for a while and finally pulled the trigger and picked one up. Very glad I did. These were displays that were sent out to stores to advertise the Batman Forever comic book adaptation and hold comics.

So happy that these are seemingly so readily available still. Maybe someone over ordered back in 1995?

What I realised after doing the video is I really miss is those old independent comic shops that used to have this kind of stuff inside. I mostly visit a bland Forbidden Planet these days but I have some great memories of one called Comics Unlimited (later Sci-fi Unlimited) that used to be in Bedford. It was plastered in posters and just had a really cool underground vibe. 

Podcast: Episode 13 - Netflix will eventually buy Warner Brothers

In this episode of the 1995 Batman podcast Drew takes a look at the recent bidding war that's been erupting between Paramount and Netflix to purchase Warner Brothers and what that could mean for a future Batman Forever: Schumacher Cut release.

Here's the Daily Mail article that Drew talks about if you want to read it for yourself.

And if you want to mailing a letter asking for the Schumacher Cut, send it to:-

Warner Bros.
ATTN: Mr. Michael DeLuca, Ms. Pamela Abdy
4000 Warner Blvd
Building 168
Burbank, CA 91522

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - 1/6 scale Two Face figure by Toyz Trubo Studio

I’ve finally put together a proper look at the Toyz Trubo Studio Two-Face figure after sitting on my shelf for a year or more. 

In the time, it's taken to review it, another unlicensed company, Mars Toys, actually released (from the looks of it) a superior figure called Dual Face. Maybe I'll trade this one for that one at some point in the future.

Anyway, the Toyz Trubo figure is 1/6 scale, very much playing in Hot Toys territory, even if it doesn’t quite hit those heights. The quality is pretty decent. I picked this up second-hand, and while the box and accessories feel a bit budget, the core figure is better than I expected. 

The main head sculpt is solid (let's ignore the alternate smiling one), the suit pops nicely, and it scales well on the shelf with my other Forever figures. The accessories are okay but the guns feel a little small.

If that Mars Toys one hadn't come out I would whole heartedly recommend this one. As it stands now, the Toyz Trubo one is the 2nd best 1/6 scale figure and maybe that's appropriate given Harvey's obsession with the number two.

Podcast: Episode 12 - Batman Returns commentary

With Christmas just around the corner, now seems as good a time as any to do a commentary for Batman Returns.

Of all the Batman movies, this is the one where my opinion has changed the most over the years. I used to like it quite a bit as a teenager but recently I've found more and more issues with it. I don't have any problem with Tim Burton changing the origins of Catwoman and Penguin - making them more animalistic - but I do find the tone very off putting and the story a bit of a jumble of ideas.

It's also a shame that Batman/Bruce Wayne has so little to do in the film. It's really Penguin's story - featuring Batman here and there.

Anyway, give the commentary a listen and... come what may... Merry Christmas.

If you want to just listen to the commentary without having YouTube open, here's a link to the mp3.