# 20 years later, Joel Schumacher apologizes for Batman & Robin **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2017, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829 "2017-06-13T01:31:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/1 "2017-06-13T01:31:12Z")
[Fantastic interview at VICE](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/twenty-years-later-joel-schumacher-is-very-sorry-about-batman-and-robin) with [_Batman & Robin_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118688/) director Joel Schumacher: > [@](#): > > “Look, I apologize,” Schumacher told me in a phone interview last week. “I want to apologize to every fan that was disappointed because I think I owe them that.” 😛 He seems like a cool guy. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/2 "2017-06-13T01:35:15Z")
Still needs to be tortured a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/3 "2017-06-13T01:39:54Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Still needs to be tortured a bit. I agree. With so many big names in a movie, it’s unforgivable that it turned out so badly. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/4 "2017-06-13T01:46:02Z")
He apologized quite a bit a couple years ago, didn’t he? Huh, I see articles from 2011 where he “owns” the badness of it. It’s a mess of a movie that he knew was terrible while making it. I feel for him. It was a crappy situation. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/5 "2017-06-13T02:06:50Z")
Where the movie lost me was in having Batgirl be Alfred’s niece instead of Barbara Gordon. The nipples on the Bat-suit didn’t bother me that much, but don’t fuck with canon. Pat Hingle appeared in the movie as Commissioner Gordon, so it wouldn’t have been that difficult to have Alicia Silverstone play his daughter. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/6 "2017-06-13T02:44:07Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Where the movie lost me was in having Batgirl be Alfred’s niece instead of Barbara Gordon. The nipples on the Bat-suit didn’t bother me that much, but don’t fuck with canon. Pat Hingle appeared in the movie as Commissioner Gordon, so it wouldn’t have been that difficult to have Alicia Silverstone play his daughter. They needed some way to have her hanging around Wayne Manor, and discovering the Batcave. They could either fuck with continuity in a few sentences, or have an actual plot. Which do you think sounded easier at the time? I just checked and Alicia Silverstone is 40. How does something like that happen? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/7 "2017-06-13T03:00:59Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I just checked and Alicia Silverstone is 40. How does something like that happen? 40, married and has an almost 6 year old son, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![TYphoonSignal8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@TYphoonSignal8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TYphoonSignal8)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/8 "2017-06-13T08:20:50Z")
Bizarre. I watched _Clueless_ with my teenaged kids a few months ago. They seem slightly younger than her. > [@silenus](#): > > Still needs to be tortured a bit. Yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/9 "2017-06-13T13:13:24Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > They needed some way to have her hanging around Wayne Manor, and discovering the Batcave. Maybe she could have been a sales drone trying to track down Batman in order to upsell him a bunch of special offers on his BatCreditCard. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/10 "2017-06-13T13:32:01Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > He apologized quite a bit a couple years ago, didn’t he? Huh, I see articles from 2011 where he “owns” the badness of it. > > It’s a mess of a movie that he knew was terrible while making it. I feel for him. It was a crappy situation. What created that mess? If he knew it was terrible, why did he take on the project and keep at it? ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/11 "2017-06-13T15:56:20Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I feel for him. It was a crappy situation. You “feel for him”, and consider it a “crappy situation”…as he made his way all the way to the bank ? That (Burton initiated) incarnation of the Batman franchise had run its course, and it was clear the studio was just trying to milk out another easy-money movie (see also “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace”). Anyone/everyone involved was just in it for the paycheck, and perhaps to be able to say they were in a “Batman” movie. There was no apparent attempt at making anything “good”, or prolonging the franchise. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/12 "2017-06-13T15:59:32Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Still needs to be tortured a bit. Wouldn’t it be poetic justice if his nipples were removed without anesthetic? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/13 "2017-06-13T16:00:09Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Maybe she could have been a sales drone trying to track down Batman in order to upsell him a bunch of special offers on his BatCreditCard. No, she’s from The Light Company and wants him to switch to a different power provider. Joel Schumacher did what The Joker, The Riddler and The Penguin never could. He killed Batman. (Note: I have never seen B&R, and I never will.) The only good thing to come out of that movie is that George Clooney made enough money that he could just make films he liked. So _Good Night and Good Luck_ owes its life to the nipplesuit. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/14 "2017-06-13T16:28:57Z")
Rumor is that if you go up to Clooney and complain about Batman and Robin, he’ll pull out his wallet and refund your ticket money in cash on the spot. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/15 "2017-06-13T16:31:06Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Rumor is that if you go up to Clooney and complain about Batman and Robin, he’ll pull out his wallet and refund your ticket money in cash on the spot. Dat’s very . . . _ice_ . . . of him. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/16 "2017-06-13T17:05:28Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Rumor is that if you go up to Clooney and complain about Batman and Robin, he’ll pull out his wallet and refund your ticket money in cash on the spot. George, I saw it THREE MILLION TIMES. And it sucked every time. Please give me my money back. PS they were full price shows. No dollar theater showings. KTHX. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/17 "2017-06-13T17:55:18Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Maybe she could have been a sales drone trying to track down Batman in order to upsell him a bunch of special offers on his BatCreditCard. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > No, she’s from The Light Company and wants him to switch to a different power provider. Is it established in any known continuity that Commissioner Gordon’s daughter worked at either of those jobs? If not, the fanboys would still have something to complain about. I only know her as a librarian. I suppose you could make her an antique book dealer sent to appraise Bruce Wayne’s collection for insurance purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/18 "2017-06-13T18:18:24Z")
Michael Caine should be obligated to refund the money of anyone who saw Jaws 4. It’s an even worse 4th movie in a series. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/19 "2017-06-13T19:46:16Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Michael Caine should be obligated to refund the money of anyone who saw Jaws 4. It’s an even worse 4th movie in a series. Oh, I don’t know…does “The Phantom Menace” count as a 4th movie in a series? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829/20 "2017-06-13T19:52:05Z")
With or without counting the Christmas Special? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-years-later-joel-schumacher-apologizes-for-batman-robin/788829.md?page=2)