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mysteryfan (mysteryfan) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-10-11 10:37:00

Entry tags:

char: alfred pennyworth, char: batman/bruce wayne, creator: david mazzucchelli, creator: frank miller, publisher: dc comics, title: batman

Bruce and Alfred: Frank Miller's Batman Year One

In light of a recent discussion about Alfred and Alfred's influence, I put together these scans from Batman Year One. By Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.

From Batman Year One: Chapter 1/Batman #404

And Batman Year One: Chapter 4/Batman #407

I know that Grant Morrison would like for Bruce to be 20 years old in Batman Year One, instead of 25 years old. I don't think that's been officially retconned, though.

But about Alfred and his influence: Is Bruce's whole '12 years abroad starting at age 13' referenced other places?

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	Re: They almost did.. filthysize 2009-10-12 02:37 am UTC (link)
	Actually, not really. The Aranofsky Year One was going to be something completely different, an original take by Frank Miller somewhat closer to what All-Star ended up being. Bruce Wayne is homeless, Alfred ia a big black mechanic and Gordon is suicidal (his first scene in the script is him sitting in his bathroom with a gun in his mouth). (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: They almost did.. steverodgers5 2009-10-14 08:12 pm UTC (link)
	Ohhh.. Well in that case, 'There..but for the grace of God...' Don't quite feel so bad about us missing out on that now. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: They almost did..

thebat_man
2009-10-20 09:28 pm UTC (link)

Miller said "Darren and I had a blast on YEAR ONE but developed many a friendly difference. Mine lived in the subway and revealed Wayne Manor to Selina in time for a big climax with the Joker. Just to name a couple of the differences. We both submitted separate drafts but the whole works went south when Darren left as director and Warner cleaned house."
http://www.moebiusgraphics.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1534
Miller and Aronofsky were both doing different versions of Batman's origin. Neither of them were trying to do completely faithful adaptions of the Year One comic. The difference is Miller was embellishing Year One by adding more of Catwoman, the Penguin, the Joker, Batman moving temporary into the underground subway system below Gotham as the first Batcave with Catwoman which Batman references to in All-Star Batman 10. Aronofsky was just doing his own version of Batman. Aronofsky had no desire at all to be faithful to Year One.
Here's the Frank Miller version in a terribly written review which bashes the script for Gordon cheating on his wife with Sarah Essen which is from the Year One comic but it's Miller's script http://www.aintitcool.com/?q=node/9819
Director Aronofsky wanted a black Alfred and the director has all the power so Miller added that bit which would of course be changed. I'm certain Miller knew Warner would demand that Alfred be white and British. Aronofsky also wanted the film set in the 70s because Aronofsky wanted to give the film a feel similar to French Connection and Taxi Driver. Warners would of course want a more contemporary film so the 70s bit would have changed too.
Here's the radically different Aronofsky version, Miller's name is on because Miller was the official script writer for the project but this is actually Aronofsky's version http://leonscripts.users5.50megs.com/scripts/BATMANYEARONEscript.htm/
In Aronofsky's version he lives above a garage. Bruce Wayne raised in the garage by a mechanic called Little Al.
http://mysterymanonfilm.blogspot.com/2008/09/script-review-batman-year-one.html
Miller said "Ideas pour out of him. In many ways I think I'm the lighter one of the team and I'm not used to that. I can't really talk about what's in the movie, though because I think Warner Brothers would have somebody beat me up. And asking a screenwriter what the movie's going to be like is like asking a doorman whether a building is going to be condemned."
Aronofsky said "I was never planning to direct Year One. I was more interested in writing a screenplay with Frank Miller on Batman. My pitch was always very realistic. I wasn't interested in fantasy I was interested in the psychology of a real man dressing in a disguise to pay out real vengeance. The batmobile was a souped up Lincoln continental with a bus engine. It was technical and rusty and extremely violent. They would have never let us have violence."
http://www.deadprogrammer.com/category/person/darren-aronofsky
Miller disagrees with a very realistic Batman. On the documentary Legends of the Dark Knight History of Batman Miller said "People are attempting to bring a superficial reality to superheroes which is rather stupid. They work best as the flamboyant fantasies they are. I mean, these are characters that are broad and big."
Aronofsky said, "It was a hard R-rated Batman. What I pitched them was Travis Bickle meets The French Connection - a real guy running around fighting crime. No super-powers, no villains, just corruption. For the Batmobile I had him taking a bus engine and sticking it in a black Lincoln. Real low-tech geek stuff."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/apr/27/1
Aronofsky also said, "I never really wanted to make a Batman film, it was a kind of bait and switch strategy. I was working on Requiem for a Dream and I got a phone call that Warner Bros wanted to talk about Batman. At the time I had this idea for a film called The Fountain which I knew was gonna be this big movie and I was thinking, 'Is Warners really gonna give me $80 million to make a film about love and death after I come off a heroin movie?' So my theory was if I can write this Batman film and they could perceive me as a writer for it."
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/EIFF-09-Darren-Aronofsky-On-Robocop-Batman-Year-One-13673.html

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