Seeing how cool the new Batmobile looked, the other actors couldn't help but look enviously at Christian Bale. "Man, you're really lucky—that's the real deal."
Christian Bale was also excited as he looked at the car, but he was very self-aware. "It'll mostly be the stunt drivers handling it. I'll probably just pose in it."
"This car is so cool, I want one too," Gary Oldman said, clearly jealous.
Gilbert patted Gary Oldman on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll have your chance to drive it too."
"Really?" Gary Oldman suddenly remembered there was such a scene in the script, and his face lit up. "That's awesome! I want to drive it myself—no stuntmen needed."
The car was indeed amazing. Christian Bale then added, "After filming, I'm going to buy one to keep in my garage.
Just having it there, even if it can't be driven, would still be something to brag about."
"Totally," the other actors agreed, then all turned their eyes toward Gilbert.
Gilbert said, "Lamborghini has already decided to release a limited edition. As for the ones used by the crew, once the promotional tour ends, you'll be able to buy them."
"Fantastic!" the actors who wanted one cheered. "Long live the director!"
"Don't give me that," Gilbert said with a smile. "The best thanks you can give me is to perform your roles perfectly."
"Of course. You'll see—I'll give it everything I've got."
"Same here. I'm going back to study the script right now…"
A single car had managed to fire up the entire cast. Gilbert knew exactly how to motivate people—he'd just injected a dose of adrenaline into his actors.
Interestingly, Christian Bale had actually auditioned for the role of Robin in Batman Forever back in 1995. Who would have thought that nine years later, he'd be playing Batman himself?
He even shared a little story. When Christopher Nolan first approached him about playing Batman, Bale was hesitant.
Later, while buying ice cream, he noticed a little girl around seven or eight years old staring longingly at the ice cream shop door. Feeling moved, Bale bought her a cone.
The little girl was overjoyed and hugged Bale's leg, saying, "You're my superhero!"
That single sentence made Christian Bale feel a sense of duty—to portray a superhero who could inspire children. That was why he ultimately accepted the role.
Although, after reading the script, Bale realized the story was far deeper than the superhero movie he'd imagined, he was glad to see such a powerful narrative.
Aside from the Batmobile, the design of Batman's suit also took a lot of creative effort.
In the comics and older Batman films, the costume's chest featured a yellow circle with a bat emblem inside.
After seeing it, Gilbert said it looked awful. The yellow was too bright and not suitable for stealth at night. He instructed the art department to redesign the Batsuit.
"Since we're trying to stay as realistic as possible, the Batmobile's priority should be function, not appearance," Gilbert explained.
The art team then asked, "What about the cape? Its design is purely for appearance's sake."
"You could give the cape some functionality," Gilbert suggested. "For example, make it electric—once powered, it could transform into a glider, allowing Batman to glide short distances."
The art team's creativity immediately sparked. "Yes! That's definitely a great design direction."
These people were professionals, and with Gilbert's guidance, the art director even went to consult DC's former CEO, Paul Levitz.
Paul Levitz summarized it into three key elements: the cape, the color black, and the ears. As long as a design had those three, it was Batman—without them, it was just Captain America in stealth gear.
Thus, Morgan Freeman's character, Lucius Fox, became the engineer responsible for developing Batman's gadgets—essentially filling the same role as Q from the 007 series.
In fact, Batman's earliest story appeared in Detective Comics back in 1939, where Bob Kane completed Batman's origin story in just twelve panels.
A young Bruce Wayne witnessed his parents being murdered by a robber. In his study, he swore to dedicate his life to fighting crime and avenging his parents.
While training one night, he caught sight of a bat—and thus, Batman was born.
That was the original origin story of Batman. Simple and crude, yet it didn't stop Batman from becoming one of the most beloved superheroes of all time.
In the many years that followed, the world changed rapidly, and superheroes became symbols of something greater.
Grant Morrison wrote in Supergods that Superman began as a symbol of socialism, while Batman became the ultimate capitalist hero—a defender of privilege and hierarchy.
Gilbert once joked to David S. Goyer and Jonathan Nolan, "That's exactly why I wanted Jonathan to write the Batman script—no one understands privilege and class better than the British."
Jonathan Nolan responded, "Then you'd better get a British actor to play Batman."
His words proved prophetic—British actor Christian Bale indeed became Batman. However, Bale insisted on performing with an American accent instead of his native British one.
Another interesting story involves the Batcave. Initially, the production team planned to rent two airplane hangars at Hughes Airport and convert them into the Batcave.
But art director Selina Heifei, during her time in Iceland, also made a trip to the United Kingdom. There, she not only found a mansion suitable for shooting Wayne Manor but also discovered a cave on the east side of the estate—though it lacked a waterfall.
After returning to Los Angeles, Selina immediately recommended the site to Gilbert, suggesting that once filming permission was obtained, the cave could be renovated.
A nearby river could be redirected to create a waterfall effect, and the interior space was truly vast.
Gilbert agreed on the spot, instructing Selina to send a team to negotiate locally and begin modifying the cave.
As for the bats, there was no practical solution. They could only rely on visual effects. Gilbert had never heard of anyone capable of controlling bats, let alone using them for film shoots.
Cameron Diaz gave a sharp-witted remark about Gilbert's obsession with practical effects: "To keep up his persona, Gilbert's gone mad—he insists on shooting everything for real. Only when it's absolutely impossible does he use CGI."
Many agreed with her, yet it's undeniable that practical effects have their own unique charm. Before CGI reached today's level of precision, live-action was often the best approach.
The key was finding the right locations and crafting the props properly—practical shooting could even be cheaper than computer graphics.
For Batman Begins, Gilbert chose to collaborate with IMAX, using IMAX cameras to film the opening sequences.
Years earlier, Gilbert and James Cameron had both been following the development of IMAX technology closely.
Cameron even became a partner of IMAX, combining IMAX and 3D technology for his planned film Avatar.
Batman Begins wouldn't be the first 3D film, but it would become the first movie shot in the IMAX format.
....
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