Michael E. Uslan - Batmans Batman: A Memoir from Hollywood, Land of Bilk and Money

Table of Contents

What Others Are Saying about Batmans Batman

Against all odds, Michael Uslan has done it again! Batmans Batman is that rare sequel that is every bit as entertaining, informative, and inspirational as his first book. Highly recommended.

Mark Hamill, voice of the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars

Great enterprises often take an equally great amount of time to come to fruition. The Greeks had laid siege to Troy for ten years, at a cost of many lives, before Odysseus got the bright idea to hide a few men inside a big wooden horse. And Michael Uslan spent an equal amount of timefrom 1979 to 1989on his own personal crusade to get a high-budget, adult-worthy film about Batman onto the big screen. Both menthe canny king of Ithaca and the New Jersey Boy Who Loved Batmandeserve to remembered and celebrated for a job well done!

Roy Thomas, former editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and co-creator of Wolverine

I loved this book. Overflowing with tales of towering victories and crushing near-misses, Michael Uslan shows us the heart of a writer, the soul of a dreamer, and the burdensome gift of being unstoppable.

Gail Simone, acclaimed writer of Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, and Deadpool

Batmans Batman is an extraordinary tale of courage, tenacity, originality, and heart. It is an emotional roller coaster for anyone pursuing their dreams and finding their identity.

Howard Deutch, director of Pretty in Pink, The Great Outdoors, and Grumpier Old Men

Michaels passion and vision took a 21st-century no-brainer, where we have half a dozen actors playing Batman in various podcasts, films, and animated series, and forged it into existence in a time when no one believed it was a wise investment. Michaels shadow looms large over the entire Batman legacy. And from this Riddlers perspective, Im very grateful.

John Glover, Tony Awardwinning actor and The Riddler in Batman: The Animated Series

A fellow New Jerseyian, Michael talks about one of the keys to being a successful producer (and surviving) in this business is passion and storytelling. Batmans Batman shows he is one of the best at both. His tales reveal his love for movies and the people who make them, not to mention what it takes to get things done. If youre a fan of Hollywood stories, as I am, you will enjoy this. As I did.

Robert Wuhl, actor, writer, and a star of Tim Burtons Batman

Michael Uslans life is a dream come true. Hes a true fan with an encyclopedic knowledge of comics who also had enough business savvy to become a player in Hollywood. Batmans Batman is an inspiring read!

Reginald Hudlin, director and Academy Awardnominated producer

As a child, my dear friend Michael was fascinated with comics. His fascination turned into a passion. His passion into an obsession. His obsession into a career. The result: millions of transformed happy comic fans. A life well lived!

Greg Hildebrandt, internationally known fantasy and sci-fi artist, and designer of the original Star Wars movie poster and the Marvel Masterpieces card collection

Michael Uslan is one of the true legends of Hollywood! Without him, superhero movies would not be where they are today and graphic novelbased IPs would not be dominating the global box office. His decades-long fight to bring the true Batman to the big screen is the perfect example of how persistence is that primary talent needed to achieve goals that most would think impossible. I hope this book helps inspire a new generation of producers as much as Michael has inspired me.

Dimitri Vegas Thivaios, award-winning artist and producer

BATMANS

BATMAN

This book is a publication of

RED LIGHTNING BOOKS

1320 East 10th Street

Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA

redlightningbooks.com

2022 by Michael E. Uslan

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

MANUFACTURED IN CANADA

First printing 2022

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Uslan, Michael, author.

Title: Batmans Batman : a memoir from Hollywood, land of bilk and money / Michael E. Uslan.

Description: Bloomington, Indiana : Indiana University Press, 2022.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021034050 (print) | LCCN 2021034051 (ebook) | ISBN 9781684351831 (hardback) | ISBN 9781684351848 (paperback) | ISBN 9781684351862 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Uslan, Michael | Motion picture producers and directorsUnited StatesBiography. | Television producers and directorsUnited StatesBiography. | Motion picturesProduction and directionUnited States. | TelevisionProduction and directionUnited States.

Classification: LCC PN1998.3.U85 A3 2022 (print) | LCC PN1998.3.U85 (ebook) | DDC 791.4302/33092 [B]dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021034050

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021034051

DEDICATION

Once upon a time in the world of Comicbookdom, there was a Marvel family, a Superman family, and even a Batman family. This memoir is dedicated to my own family and extended family from the past, through the present, to the future, all to be carried forward by my granddaughters, Harlie Jade Uslan and Tallulah Joe Duncan, who have progressed from infants to toddlers to Disney princesses to superheroes, and my grandson and Bat-Boy, Finley Morris Duncan. On the pages that follow, my grand grandchildren, you will find your roots. From them, may you find your wings.

Love, Poppy

CONTENTS

So heres the tagline to the book youre about to read, a book that will be a real page-turner or, in this brave new media tech world, a scroll-downer:

Im the boy who loved Batman... since I was five years old. I had a collection of over fifty thousand comic books dating back to 1936 and attended the first comic book conventions ever held on the planet Earth. Comic books were my life and superheroes my gods (or at least my inspirations). As a kid in my twenties, I had an idea. I raised some money privately and bought the movie and allied rights to Batman from DC Comics in order to set out on my passion dream in life... albeit a geeky dream... to make dark and serious movies about Batman and his disturbed villains and show the world the Batman as the creature of the night he was originally conceived as by his creators in 1939. It was a good idea, this idea I had. But how could a kid in his twenties buy the rights to Batman, then grow up to be the originator and executive producer of the blockbuster Batman/Dark Knight/Joker movie franchise? Its impossible! Unbelievable! Inconceivable! But its true. I did. That whole story I told in my prior memoir, The Boy Who Loved Batman. Did you read it yet? You should.

And that brings us to this memoir, Batmans Batman: A Memoir from Hollywood, Land of Bilk and Money. The title says it all. The following says more...