Random 'Batman & Robin' Was A Much Bigger Behind-The-Scenes Nightmare Than You Ever Realized (15 items)

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  (#13) There Was A Lot Of Money Wasted On 'Batman & Robin'

  After spending $25 million on Arnold Schwarzenegger, you'd think Warner Bros. would want to crack down on additional spending. According to star Chris O'Donnell, that was not the case. Twenty years after Batman & Robin was released, O'Donnell was incredibly open in an interview with ET, detailing how the studio seemed more than happy to solve their problems with money.

  O'Donnell recalled what happened immediately after finishing Batman Forever:

  All of a sudden it was like, boom here’s another one. There was a lot of waste. I felt it wasn’t tight and it wasn’t thought out. People just got greedy. That being said, I had a great time doing it.
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  (#8) The Release Date For 'Batman & Robin' Was Set Before Filming Began

  It's not unheard of for a big budget superhero movie to receive a release date before it begins shooting, but in the case of Batman & Robin, there simply wasn't enough time to make sure the film was actually good.

  According to director Joel Schumacher, after the success of Batman Forever, Warner Bros. was keen on getting some more of that sweet Wayne family money:

  You are going to open whether you have something or not. Because those spots in the summer are so sought-after and so juggled around that you've got to piss on your ground or you're not going to have dates in the summer. And then it's like, "Oh my God, I'm opening. But now I have to make something to open with."
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  (#12) It Took Forever To Get Schwarzenegger Into Costume

  Many consider Arnold Schwarzenegger great in Batman & Robin. Instead of snoozing his way through the movie and collecting his check, Schwarzenegger chews the scenery up like it's made of cotton candy. Unfortunately, it took 11 people four hours every morning to put Arnold Schwarzenegger into his costume.

  No one says how long it took to get him out of costume, but the time spent was likely comparable. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but the star had a hard 12-hour rule written into his contract that wouldn't allow him to stay on set any longer. That didn't give him a lot of time to film. 

  Remember, Schwarzenegger got paid one million dollars a day for his work on the film, even if the cameras were only rolling for a couple of hours. 
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  (#11) Schwarzenegeger Was Hiding A Heart Surgery During The Film's Press Run

  In his autobiography, Total Recall, Schwarzenegger reveals that he scheduled heart surgery in between finishing his work on the film and beginning his promotional duties. He didn't want anyone, including his wife, to know about the surgery, and goes on to say that he is an "expert" in secrecy.

  Why would he do something like this? At the time of filming Batman & Robin, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a huge star, even bigger than Clooney, who was best known for E.R. at that point. Schwarzenegger likely felt he was carrying the entire project on his shoulders, so to make sure everything looked like it was running smoothly, he hid his medical issues. 
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  (#10) Chris O'Donnell And Arnold Schwarzenegger Never Filmed A Scene Together

  Something many people don't know about major motion pictures is there are often multiple teams working on a single film. While the film's director, in this case, Joel Schumacher, is working with the first unit, a second unit director will be taking care of crowd scenes, exteriors, and "less important" shots. Many people who worked on Batman & Robin said they were making the movie on a short timetable, and, to get all the shots they needed, the actors were split up between units to film. 

  In a making-of documentary, Chris O'Donnell said he can't remember filming many of the scenes he was in because his stunt double was used. Regarding his scenes with Arnold Schwarzenegger, O'Donnell said, “I was in a lot of scenes with Mr. Freeze, but I didn’t work a single day with Arnold. Not a single day."
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  (#2) Major Parts Of The Film Were Created By A Toy Company

  Outside interference is one of the biggest threats to tentpole franchises. Undesired influence can lead to a "too many cooks..." situation, which inevitably results in an overstuffed piece of cinema.

  The pre-production for Batman & Robin sounds like a disaster. The toy company working on merchandise started giving input on the film and even helped design the Batmobile. In a commentary piece released after the fact, director Joel Schumacher said Warner Bros. didn't care if he made a good movie, as long as it was “toyetic.”  The behind-the-scenes reel also features Chris O'Donnell claiming that while Batman Forever was a "real movie," Batman & Robin felt like a "toy commercial."

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