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Volume 91
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Saturday, October 22, 2005
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Page 1 of 5
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This is from boxofficemojo.com
Burbank, California—Like his movies, including this year's box office hit, Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan's office
at Warner Bros. is entirely functional. During a recent interview, the British native, who has successfully reimagined the
studio's lucrative Batman franchise, is forceful, confident and intellectual.
Having made the transition from making an independent favorite to an all-star blockbuster, the 35-year-old Nolan is preparing
for production of the Batman sequel.
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Mojo: Is Batman a hero?
Nolan: Hero has become such a bandied about word, used so broadly, and it ceases to have any meaning. Is Batman a
hero? Certainly, he's more a hero than superhero [but] I think the word "hero" is very problematic. He has no superpowers,
but he's a heroic figure. The reason to me he's heroic is because he's altruistic. He's trying to help other people with no
benefit to himself and, whatever motivates him—and this was the tricky thing to really try and nail with Batman Begins as
opposed to previous incarnations—is the difference between him and a common vigilante, the Punisher or Charles Bronson in
eath Wish. To me, the difference is he is not seeking personal vengeance. We did not want his quest to be for vengeance, we
wanted it to be for justice. That's what sends him looking for an outlet for his rage and frustration. What he chooses to do
with it is, I believe, selfless, and therefore, heroic. And that, to me, is really the distinction—selfishness versus
selflessness—and that is very noble. But it is a very fine distinction. I do think he is a heroic figure.
Mojo: But he does gain a value—justice is a value, even to Batman. Is he really selfless—or does he want to have a
life to call his own?
Nolan: To me, he's not selfish in terms of how the word is generally understood—he's not
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