STACK #149 Mar 2017

CINEMA FEATURE

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BATMAN BLOCK BUSTER

STACK talks Batman's trademark growl, bromance withThe Joker and bizarre social media backlash with The LEGO Batman Movie 's Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis and Rosario Dawson. Words Gill Pringle

A fter Will Arnett debuted his gravelly Batman voice in 2014’s The LEGO Movie , he left both fans and filmmakers wanting more. “What was so special about Batman in the first movie is that he was selfish and egotistical, but still loveable in his own way,” says returning LEGO producer Dan Lin. “He has zero self-awareness; a total subversion of the superhero genre. We wanted to give him his own movie.”

Wayne, he was kind of playful and a bon vivant playboy. Michael Keaton is obviously an amazing actor and doesn’t get enough credit.” Arnett is joined by Zach Galifianakis, who voices Batman’s wannabe arch nemesis The Joker, and is likewise fascinated by Arnett’s voice, suggesting his throat must be a weird shape.

If Will Arnett’s spot-on delivery came as a surprise to many, then he argues that it’s all in the family. “My dad had a pretty deep voice so he’s always claimed that if anything happens to me, he could take over my career. By the way, I’m like: 'Thanks a lot! I’m your son! Your son is dead! Are you not worried about that!?” laughs Arnett when STACK meets with him in Beverly Hills. “But ever since I hit puberty, my voice started to drop – along with everything else.” His inspiration, he says, is Michael Keaton’s Batman. “His growl wasn’t so deep or as dark as Christian Bale’s but it was very fresh.

[Michael Keaton's] growl wasn't so deep or as dark as Christian Bale's but it was very fresh

Keaton and Tim Burton started the idea that Batman talks like this,” says Arnett, slipping into his Batman voice. “That’s Michael Keaton man! And that’s what we’ve come to take for granted as The Batman. He came up with it. And at the same time, while he was Bruce

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MARCH 2017

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