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Volume 595
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Wednesday, April 15th, 2020
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Page 1 of 5
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This is from thedailybeast.com
The COVID-19 pandemic has effectively shut down Hollywood, and no paused production is bigger, or more eagerly anticipated, than The Batman, Warner Bros.' upcoming tentpole starring Robert Pattinson as the
Dark Knight, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Paul Dano as the Riddler and Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon. A bold departure from Zack Snyder's DC Universe films featuring Ben Affleck
as the Caped Crusader, writer/director Matt Reeves' original effort is as high-profile as they come, and recent teases of a cowled Pattinson and his muscle car-ish Batmobile have only further stoked
excitement for the summer 2021 release.
Whether it makes that scheduled debut is anyone's guess at this point. But from the safety of his home, where he's quarantined with his family, Reeves admits that, until the coronavirus struck, the film
had been proceeding smoothly: "It was going great. We shot about a quarter of the movie so far; we have three quarters to go. And when the time is right and it's safe to do so, we'll return to it."
Reeves' hiatus has allowed him to take creative stock of The Batman, and it's also afforded him the chance to discuss Tales from the Loop, an Amazon series (out now) which he executive produced, and which
was created and written by Nathaniel Halpern. Based on the paintings of Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag, it's a collection of interconnected narratives about an
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American town where strange and miraculous events occur, thanks to a subterranean technological marvel known as The Loop. As it turns out, the exact purpose and operation of that device is less important
than the effect is has on the locale's inhabitants, whose intertwined dilemmas-concerning time travel, body-swapping, and other extraordinary developments-are handled with a gentleness, and empathy, that's
far removed from the slam-bang pageantry of most modern sci-fi fare. Starring Jonathan Pryce and Rebecca Hall, and directed by Mark Romanek, Andrew Stanton and Jodie Foster (among others), it's an
anthology that's small-scale in the best way possible.
For Reeves, whose previous behind-the-camera credits include Cloverfield, Let Me In, and both Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, the Amazon series-like The Batman-provided
a unique opportunity to explore personal human stories through the prism of fantastical fiction. And it's additional confirmation that few artists today are making more daring, or deeply felt, genre work
than Reeves. As a result, it was an ideal time to chat with the acclaimed filmmaker about the genesis of Tales from the Loop, the status (and political relevance) of The Batman, and how he's coping with
our new global pandemic reality.
How are you faring during the pandemic? Obviously, The Batman has now been halted for the foreseeable future...
Thankfully, my family and I are doing well. We're holed
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