It’s been more than two decades since Batman was resurrected–rebranded–to the mainstream world, and it’s largely due to a boy and his dream.
I wasn’t just rejected from every studio in Hollywood; I was emphatically rejected because Batman was known only as a punch line to a joke.
When I watched the sitcom in 1966, I was both thrilled and horrified–the former because my idol was on TV with a cool car, and the latter because people were laughing at Batman and that just killed me. I knew then that my purpose in life was to show everyone who the Dark Knight really was.
As for some of the reasons the Batman franchise became one of the most successful in film history:
• A talented team: Thanks to genius filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Tim Burton, super producers, daring execs, amazing casts, and incredible crews, the rebranding of the character became so strong that the word “Batman” wasn’t even included in the titles of the last two films, “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises.”
• Branding–a built-in narrative: A cool symbol, check; tall, dark and handsome, check; a relatable origin story (no superpowers) check; great technology for the character to use against villains, check…You know a brand has hit the mark when a logo conveys all of the key points. But rebranding can be tricky. I knew about the innate potential, but Hollywood couldn’t see Batman as the Dark Knight after the 1960s sitcom, which is why it took a decade after acquiring the rights to Batman to actually start production. Rebranding is often the art of uncovering a product’s past.
• Branding–a safer investment: Other successful movies this year–Marvel’s “The Avengers” and “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Hunger Games”–all carry strong brands. Most successful products, in and out of Hollywood, have successful brands behind them. When a brand has been established, it becomes a safer risk for investors and opens multiple revenue streams across many platforms.
• Unwavering conviction: How does a middle-class kid in his 20s, the son of a stonemason and a bookkeeper, buy the film rights to Batman? How does that same guy create the comic-to-film craze that society has witnessed in the past two decades when no one believed in his vision? Every time his resolve was questioned, it came down to the same answer, I had 100 percent confidence it would work.
Branding is absolutely the most important aspect to marketing any product these days. We succeeded. I believed 100 percent in a vision that involved my favorite super-hero of all time, a character the world recognized and responded to across borders and even cultures. Batman needed to be presented in a way he’d only been seen in the comic books–as the Dark Knight.”
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Michael Uslan, (www.theuslancompany.com), is the originator and executive producer, along with his partner Benjamin Melniker, of the Batman franchise of motion pictures. In his 36 years in the film and television industry, he has been involved with such projects as “National Treasure,” “Constantine,” and countless animated projects. His projects have won Oscars, Golden Globes and Emmy Awards. He is the author of “The Boy Who Loved Batman,” his autobiography (www.theboywholovedbatman.com).
L.A. Location Lensing Declines In 2024 Despite Uptick In 4th Quarter
FilmLA, partner film office for the City and County of Los Angeles and other local jurisdictions, has issued an update regarding regional filming activity. Overall production in Greater Los Angeles increased 6.2 percent from October through December 2024 to 5,860 Shoot Days (SD) according to FilmLA’s latest report. Most production types tracked by FilmLA achieved gains in the fourth quarter, except for reality TV, which instead logged its ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline.
The lift across all remaining categories came too late to rescue 2024 from the combined effects of runaway production, industry contraction and slower-than-hoped-for post- strike recovery. With just 23,480 SD filmed on-location in L.A. in 2024, overall annual production finished the year 5.6 percent below the prior year. That made 2024 the second least productive year observed by FilmLA; only 2020, disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, saw lower levels of filming in area communities.
The continuing decline of reality TV production in Los Angeles was among the most disappointing developments of 2024. Down 45.7 percent for the fourth quarter (to 774 SD), the category also finished the year down 45.9 percent (to 3,905 SD), which placed
it 43.1 percent below its five-year category average.
The two brightest spots in FilmLA’s latest report appeared in the feature film and television drama categories. Feature film production increased 82.4 percent in the fourth quarter to 589 SD, a gain analysts attribute to independent film activity. The
California Film & Television Tax Credit Program also played a part, driving 19.2 percent of quarterly category activity. Overall, annual Feature production was up 18.8 percent in 2024, though the... Read More