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Monarch Theatre => Schumacher's Bat => Batman Forever (1995) => Topic started by: OutRiddled on Sun, 9 Jun 2013, 04:16

Title: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: OutRiddled on Sun, 9 Jun 2013, 04:16
So, Rene was originally going to be cast if Keaton was involved.  I was watching In the Line of Fire (1993) the other day and she played a similar role to Nicole Kidman as Chase Meridian in that movie.  But she was not over the top like Nicole was.  She still had the sexy/sassy thing going on, but wasn't baring her breasts all over the place like a crazed hooker.

Anyone else have an opinion on this?
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: johnnygobbs on Sun, 9 Jun 2013, 04:51
Quote from: OutRiddled on Sun,  9 Jun  2013, 04:16
So, Rene was originally going to be cast if Keaton was involved.  I was watching In the Line of Fire (1993) the other day and she played a similar role to Nicole Kidman as Chase Meridian in that movie.  But she was not over the top like Nicole was.  She still had the sexy/sassy thing going on, but wasn't baring her breasts all over the place like a crazed hooker.

Anyone else have an opinion on this?
I imagine the 'baring her breasts like a crazed hooker' thing was less to do with Nicole Kidman than Joel Schumacher and the producers.  Russo and Kidman are both beautiful women, as are Robin Wright, Alison Doody and Cindy Crawford all of whom were considered for the part of Dr Chase Meridian at one stage or another.

In some ways I wish Kidman hadn't been cast as Chase because I think she should have been spared instead for the part of Poison Ivy in the sequel, a character who is highly intelligent but crazy and seductive too, characteristics that Kidman could easily portray.  On the other hand, bearing in mind how that film was received maybe it was for the best that she appeared in the earlier and better Schumacher Batman movie.
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: The Laughing Fish on Mon, 10 Jun 2013, 02:53
^Kidman never looked any better than she did in Forever to be fair. The producers would have shown more imagination if they had Pamela Isley in the film before she became Poison Ivy, and then have her become her alter ego into the sequel. But then again, that would have changed the plot completely (and perhaps for the best too ;)).

Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: johnnygobbs on Mon, 10 Jun 2013, 03:15
Quote from: The Laughing Fish on Mon, 10 Jun  2013, 02:53
^Kidman never looked any better than she did in Forever to be fair. The producers would have shown more imagination if they had Pamela Isley in the film before she became Poison Ivy, and then have her become her alter ego into the sequel. But then again, that would have changed the plot completely (and perhaps for the best too ;)).
If there was some way of using Dr Isley's skills as a botanist in 'Batman Forever' then it might have been interesting to see the 'good' Isley as portrayed by Nicole Kidman.  However, since much was made in 'Batman Forever; about Harvey and Ed's psychology and Bruce's bad dreams not to mention the psychological theme of duality I don't see how one could easily substitute a psychiatrist like Dr Chase Meridian for a botanist.

I do agree that Kidman probably looked the best she's ever looked on film in 'Batman Forever'.
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: Catwoman on Mon, 10 Jun 2013, 03:36
i have a love/hate relationship with nicole but she did look great and i think she did the role how they wanted her to. if they'd wanted her to be a more, um, professional dr., she would have been.

nicole as ivy though? hmmm. iiiiiiiiinteresting....lol.
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: johnnygobbs on Mon, 10 Jun 2013, 03:44
Quote from: Catwoman on Mon, 10 Jun  2013, 03:36
i have a love/hate relationship with nicole but she did look great and i think she did the role how they wanted her to. if they'd wanted her to be a more, um, professional dr., she would have been.
She was clearly playing a 'comic-book' doctor.  But I like those larger than life fantasy tropes, and I'm not just being sexist.  I think the guys in comic-book movies should be ultra-fit and good-looking just as much as the women.

Although I'm not a big fan of the Schumacher Batman films I give them credit, or at least this one, for embracing the OTT, fantastical feel of a comic-book complete with glamorous 27-year-old published doctors.  Far too many comic-book movies these days seem rather dour and prosaic by contrast with all the emphasis on 'realism'.
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: riddler on Sun, 16 Jun 2013, 16:14
Anyone seen the movie Freejack? Kind of a crappy action film but Russo does an admirable job as the leading lady, I think she would have been less of a groopie than Kidman was.
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: JokerMeThis on Thu, 4 Jul 2013, 04:06
I'm glad Nicole Kidman was in this movie because I think she's a good actress and that this is one of the movies shes looked the best in. But I would've rather Nicole Kidman played Poison Ivy. I think she would've been very interesting in the role.
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: johnnygobbs on Thu, 4 Jul 2013, 04:42
Quote from: JokerMeThis on Thu,  4 Jul  2013, 04:06
I'm glad Nicole Kidman was in this movie because I think she's a good actress and that this is one of the movies shes looked the best in. But I would've rather Nicole Kidman played Poison Ivy. I think she would've been very interesting in the role.
I don't dislike Uma Thurman.  In fact, in films like 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Kill Bill', and many non-Tarantino movies too especially 'Baron Munchausen' and not just because she looked absolutely stunning as Venus, she has given some great performances, but I don't think she did a remotely good job as Poison Ivy.  Even though it seems pretty clear that Schumacher was aiming for an even campier tone than 'Batman Forever' I still can't help thinking that Nicole Kidman might have given a much subtler, and by extension sexier, performance as Poison Ivy if she hadn't already played Dr. Chase Meridian.
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: JokerMeThis on Tue, 9 Jul 2013, 03:44
Batman and Robin is like a comedy to me like the Adam West Batman TV show. In that context, what is wrong with Uma's performance in that movie? Or the perforamances of the other actors?
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: johnnygobbs on Tue, 9 Jul 2013, 03:52
Quote from: JokerMeThis on Tue,  9 Jul  2013, 03:44
Batman and Robin is like a comedy to me like the Adam West Batman TV show. In that context, what is wrong with Uma's performance in that movie? Or the perforamances of the other actors?
Batman, Batman Returns and Batman Forever all featured a lot of humour but Batman & Robin was just filled with awful OTT camp humour without an ounce of wit.  Everyone was practically winking at the audience.  I realise the TV series traded on broad humour too but since the show was effectively a parody it worked.  It was also suffused with a greater deal of wit than Batman & Robin.  Also, if the latter film was meant to be a parody it was never made clear.  Besides, why would Schumacher do a spoof Batman movie rubbishing everything that had been so successful with the previous three Batman movies?
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: JokerMeThis on Tue, 9 Jul 2013, 03:58
I'm not sure what you think but Batman and Robin doesn't hurt the superior three movies that came before it for me.

Batman and Robin isn't the movie I would've made. I would've prefered something at least like Batman '89 if a movie like Batman Returns was not going to be permitted. But I just accept it for what it is.
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: johnnygobbs on Tue, 9 Jul 2013, 04:36
Quote from: JokerMeThis on Tue,  9 Jul  2013, 03:58
I'm not sure what you think but Batman and Robin doesn't hurt the superior three movies that came before it for me.

Batman and Robin isn't the movie I would've made. I would've prefered something at least like Batman '89 if a movie like Batman Returns was not going to be permitted. But I just accept it for what it is.
I don't personally think Batman & Robin hurts the earlier films, no although plenty of others dismiss the Burton/Schumacher series because of what it became.  However, that was not my point.  My point was simply that Batman & Robin's tone made no sense.  Why make what comes across as a parody of three very successful Batman films rather than a sequel which shared the rough tone and feel of the earlier movies? 

I wouldn't have minded a proper spoof to be honest (i.e. a Naked Gun/Airplane type movie back in the day before the spoof genre had been utterly blemished for good by the Wayans Brothers and their even more wretched 'Epic/Superhero/Meet the Spartans/Scary Movie' successors) but like I stated this was not meant to be one and was thus caught between trying to be a proper Batman film and a self-parody and comprehensively failed at both.
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: JokerMeThis on Tue, 9 Jul 2013, 05:15
It doesn't bother me a whole lot. Again, Batman and Robin isn't the movie I would've made but it doesn't bother me much. I'd have liked a whole series like the Burton movies personally.

And I kind of like some of those spoof movies you mentioned.  ;D
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: The Dark Knight on Fri, 26 Jul 2013, 00:01
I don't even really like Nicole Kidman, but I'd take her circa 1995 incarnation over Russo.

Characterisation and all that jazz which people pick on aside (it doesn't bother me much these days to be honest) Kidman was absolutely stunning in every scene she appeared in.
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: JokerMeThis on Sat, 27 Jul 2013, 01:20
Kidman looked like a goddess in Batman Forever. She is one of the best looking women in Hollywood I think. And I don't care what some people think. I think she's beautiful today still.
Title: Re: Rene Russo VS Nicole Kidman
Post by: Edd Grayson on Sat, 27 Jul 2013, 07:01
I'm with you on this one JokerMeThis. Nicole Kidman is a beautiful woman.