News: Akiva Goldsman is trying to get the Schumacher Cut released

More news from this year's San Diego Comic Con. 

Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman was speaking at the "Producers on Producing Panel", hosted by Steve Weintraub, and was asked about the Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever.

He revealed that he has been trying, since Joel Schumacher's death in 2020, to get Warner Brothers interested in doing a polished version of "Batman Forever: Preview One" (presumably a very early test screening cut of the film - the exact contents of this cut are still unknown).

He has mentioned this "Preview One" cut before but it is unknown if this is the same cut as the one Kevin Smith screened last year at his Smodcastle Cinema. 

Akiva was very good friends with Joel and wants to revisit the film as a tribute to him.

Unfortunately the hold up is that Warner Brothers keeps changing management which resets the project back to the start. He mentioned "one administration ago" the project was close to being approved.

In terms of what need doing, Akiva said: "There’s some visual effects that need to be finished. There would be some music that would have to be if not re-scored or rewritten. The whole soup to nuts was about a million bucks. They were on the verge of doing it and then Warner got sold again. There’s a-whole-nother DC."

This is fantastic news as it sounds like Goldsman is not only keen to see this cut released but also willing to keep pushing and actually oversee it's creation! 

I know for some this will be seem like a non-story but I think the fact that someone with Akiva's clout (remember, he's not just a screenwriter but a highly successful TV and film producer too) is willing to see this through, gives it much more of a chance of happening.

It sounds like Akiva is bidding his time, waiting for the new DCU to start up, and will then pursue the project with Warner Brothers and DC again.

Read the full Collider article here:-

https://collider.com/batman-forever-directors-cut-joel-schumacher/

Riddle Me This - What is the Schumacher Cut (and what does it contain)?

 Okay here's something I've been working on for a while. Back in March 2021 a twitter user @MinddKidzag released three awesome scanned pieces of paper work from Batman Forever. 

1) First up, a copy of the shooting script (previously there was only the Batchler's original Batman 3 script and one of Akiva Goldsman's drafts). This scan appears to be what they actually shot and contains scenes and lines not featured in the film. Some of this tallies with the deleted scenes on the DVD and Blu-rays but some does not.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14J_KaRP1zR3SOoG2us24dsE5z6LkBfor/view

2) A comprehensive film schedule detailing the order that everything was filmed. Again there are a couple of bits not featured in any script (featuring Nygma purchasing and developing Claw Island).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14-gi2Uf1ZOetsRuoTI-K9Do3q8O4WQLD/view

3) A list of scenes to complete (ie. small insert shots needed after principal photography was completed). Some of these were done and some seemingly were abandoned (like the helicopter ride to Wayne Enterprises).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1omDrt9X2JP1QPc2NQBtNvXdaI7lbLcxg/view

There’s a big push to get the hashtag #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut trending on twitter on 16th June (the twenty sixth anniversary of the film's release). As such I thought it would be a good idea to go through the script and pull out the missing stuff because I believe it ultimately tells us what the Schumacher Cut includes.

So if you want to see the stuff I talk about in the video, go online on 16th June and let @ATT @hbomax @jasonkilar know that you want them to #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut

And please follow @CutSchumacher on Twitter.

Miscellaneous content: Scanned Batman Forever script by Akiva Goldsman

A user on twitter Mindd Kidzag has scanned a copy of the Batman Forever script. Unlike the two scripts that have been available previously which dated from late 1993 and early 1994 this is new one is specifically dated 13th October 1994. 

Interestingly the part where Dick steals the Batmobile and confronts the Neon Gang has handwritten dates at the top 13th February 1995(!) - suggesting this scene was rewritten towards the end of shooting.

This is really exciting because it tallies with the shooting period of 24th September 1994 to 2nd March 1995 and gives us the closest view as to what exactly was filmed. With the Snyder Cut of Justice League having just been released a lot of Batman fans are turning their attention to the Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever. In my view, this script is the best record of what that Schumacher Cut is/would be.

I'm going to be doing an in-depth video analysis of it soon but in the meantime, have a read by clicking here.

Magazine article: Comics Scene 1995

This week we're looking at Comics Scene - seemingly another spin off from Starlog magazine. Marc Shapiro - who at this point had interviewed just about everyone involved with the film - speaks to Akiva Goldsman about being a co-writer on the film.

Interesting to note that Goldsman is still involved in DC properties and most recently worked as a writer on Titans - the DC Universe TV show adaptation of Teen Titans.

Miscellaneous Content: the Blinko logo

While looking at a scan of some old production documents for Batman Forever I came across this logo in the bottom corner of one of the pages. It was tiny and when I blew it up it was pretty pixellated.

Now "Blinko" was the codename that was used while Batman Forever was in production. The name Batman Forever didn't come along until (I think) the later drafts of the screenplay (it was possibly Akiva Goldsman's choice but I can't verify that). The Batchler's first draft was simply titled Batman III.

Anyway, I was fascinated with this logo. I love how the question mark is neatly incorporated into the text to hint at the Riddler's inclusion. It's a nice little piece of Batman Forever history that's been basically lost and I wanted to preserve it for future fans.

I don't own any production documents for the movie (just the press kit) so I couldn't rescan it but I set about using my limited photoshop knowledge to recreate it. So here it is at a higher resolution.

And here's my final version that softens the edges and gives a bit of texture to the picture.

External link: Batman Forever novelist Peter David on the Batman Forever movie

For those that have read the novelisation of Batman Forever by Peter David. Here's a link to his own website where he reviews the film.

http://www.peterdavid.net/2011/07/01/movie-review-batman-forever/

And here's another post where he talks candidly about the Batman Forever script he had to adapt. Describing it as having "plot holes you could drive a Nazi truck through"!

https://www.peterdavid.net/2015/01/30/the-strange-case-of-akiva-goldsman/

Miscellaneous content: Two Batman Forever Scripts

Here's an interesting bit of reading - an early (possibly first) draft by Lee Batchler and Janet Scott Batchler and a production draft incorporating the revisions by Akiva Goldsman.

I'll likely do a more in-depth analysis comparing the two versions at some point but for now here's my "Cliff's Notes" version.

Some interesting things to note about the Batchler's draft:-

• The story beats in the finished film are pretty much all there. A couple are out of sequence such as Bruce meeting Edward before putting on the batsuit and foiling Two-Face's robbery.
• The Batchler's script has the Riddler's real identity be Lyle Heckendorf rather than Edward Nygma.
• His company is called HeckTech (get it, as in hectic).
• Dr Chase MeridiAn is Dr Chase MeridiEn (pedantic I know).
• There are flashbacks to Bruce and his father at the beginning but nothing about the red book (diary) that were in the deleted scenes.
• Batman has sex (off-screen) with Chase but keeps his mask on!
• The Bruce dialogue still feels Michael Keaton-ish. There's a bit where he turns up at WayneTech and mischievously demands that everyone stop working for 5 seconds. Not sure, but that feels like a Keaton moment.
• Lyle is present at the Circus scene - disguised as a fortune teller dressed as a leprechaun. He sees Two-Face fleeing the scene and follows him. The leprechaun costume ends up becoming The Riddler costume.
• Sugar and Spice are called Leather and Lace.
• There are a few sections set on a talk-show hosted by Vondelle Millions who comments on what is happening in the story. These felt somewhat reminiscent of the TV commentators in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.
• Rather than giving Dick a telling off back at the cave Batman berates him immediately after getting rescued. Commissioner Gordon and a host of reporters turn up not long after and Batman is forced to explain that the costumed boy is his new partner Robin.
• There's a long series of scenes with Bruce and Dick training while Bruce explains the rules of being his crime fighting partner.
• The scene of Bruce remembering who he is by going into the Batcave and confronting a giant bat is present here.
• The Riddler's Lair is creepier and more maze-like. I can picture what Burton would have done had he directed the film.
• At the Riddler's Lair, Batman encounters a holographic room that makes him witness his parents being shot.
• When Two Face has Robin, Batman and Chase cornered Batman doesn't throw extra coins to confuse Two Face. He just tells Two Face to use his coin and he ends up slipping off the steel beam.

Some interesting things to note about the Akiva Goldsman draft:-

• Dialogue is mostly changed and closer to the finished film. The Riddler's lines in particular seem to have been tailored to Jim Carrey.
• Vondelle Millions talk-show remains in this script.
• Goldsman added the red book (diary) subplot that can be seen in the deleted scenes.
• There's a nod early on that Bruce is working on a Sonar Suit so that's it's a not a surprise when it turns up at the end.
• Edward Nygma tests his prototype box on his landlady Mrs Lucertola.
• Goldsman introduces the minor plot point about the dream doll.
• There's a scene where Two Face and the Riddler use the hypnotic Box to steal the jewels and money from the audience at an opera.
• The part where Batman confronts Two-Face in the tunnel is more elaborate. He ends up having to fight a group of snowboarders (!) before Two-Face sets off the gas explosion.
• Jack Napier is name checked as is Selina Kyle and Oswald Cobblepot firmly setting this as a sequel to the two Burton films.
• There's no sequence with Nygma trying to come up with a costume and title.
• There are only placeholders for the riddles, they were obviously figured out just before production.
• Oh, and lastly there's no Batmobile driving up a wall scene. According to a magazine interview Joel Schumacher came up with that whole sequence.

Here are the links to view the PDFs and download.

Batman Forever - Early Draft by Lee and Janet Scott Batchler

Batman Forever - Production Draft by Akiva Goldsman